Psychology [antikvár]

PREFACE PSYCHOLOGY: A WAY TO GROW is designed to help students in an introductory psychology course in two ways. First, the book provides a solid foundation in the basic theories and principles of psychology. Second, it guides students toward a greater understanding of their own capacity for growth. Students who plan to take additional courses in psychology will thus have a solid basis on which to build. All students, however, will be able to benefit from the findings in a field that touches almost every aspect of their daily lives. The book fits readily into most psychology courses. Traditional topics, such as personality, learning, and social psychology, are given proper attention. We have also included chapters on the brain and consciousness, child and adolescent development, and new frontiers in psychology. Special sections on research techniques, dreams, career opportunities, the troubled personality, and parapsychology all add interest and depth to the contents. Several major themes run through PSYCHOLOGY: A WAY TO GROW. First, students are led toward self-understanding. Principles of behavior are illustrated by real-life situations that lie within the range of adolescent and young-adult experiences. As self-understanding grows, the student moves toward greater understanding of others. Connections among individuals, family, community, and society are probed for useful lessons and insights. Then, as understanding of self and others develops, readers begin to recognize opportunities for growth. Students become aware of self-defeating behaviors and counterproductive choices they sometimes make. From that point, they can then make more positive decisions about their lives. No single school of psychology dominates this book. Freud receives respectful attention, but we are not Freudians. Neither are we biased toward behaviorism, humanistic psychology, existentialism, or any other specific viewT)oint. When we discuss strategies for coping with problems of daily life in the special case studies in Chapter 16, our approach is totally pragmatic. We made every effort to write a readable, easy-to-use text. Technical terms are defined in context, and the language is clear, direct, and personal. The layout is open and inviting. Each chapter starts with a lively "grabber" that sets the stage for the material to come. Pro & Con features involve the reader in a series of debates on controversial. issues. Similarly, BioBoxes introduce readers to outstanding figures in the field (but not always to the most predictable ones). Other special features describe important experiments, summarize key ideas, and illustrate the people and events that make psychology so dynamic. Finally, carefully written summaries lead to an extensive set of end-of-chapter materials. These study aids include key terms, objective and discussion questions, student activities, and a reading list. When all the theories, experiments, and debates are ended, what does psychology say to us? Perhaps Shakespeare put it best almost four hundred years ago. In Hamlet, he has old Polonius say: This above all, to thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Psychology gives people the chance to know who they are and what they are. With that self-knowledge, they can go on to become mature and productive individuals. Carl R. Green William R. Sanford Hi