Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

In this revision of his best-selling text, Wayne Weiten presents a text that is both challenging to think about and easy to learn from, both visually stunning and conceptually integrated, and both scientifically sound and fun to read. Well-respected in the field for its fresh, original approach, its attention to teaching/learning issues, and its impeccable scholarship, Psychology: Themes and Variations, Third Edition, offers much that is new: new studies, new topics, new applications, as well as a new theme (''culture influences behavior'')..In a writing style users have termed ''near perfect,'' Weiten emphasizes ideas instead of isolated facts and shows how research and application work in harmony. Now using seven integrative themes to emphasize the connections between different areas of research in psychology, Weiten challenges students to grapple with ''the big issues and tough questions'' while at the same time helping them master the basic concepts of psychology. Throughout the book, Weiten emphasizes the unity in psychology's intellectual heritage (the themes) as well as psychology's immense diversity (the variations).

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Chapter 1 The Evolution of Psychology
• From Speculation to Science: How Psychology Developed(p. 2)
• Psychology Today: Vigorous and Diversified(p. 17)
• Putting It in Perspective: Seven Key Themes(p. 22)
• Personal Application - Improving Academic Performance(p. 27)
• Critical Thinking Application - Developing Critical Thinking Skills: An Introduction(p. 32)
• Chapter 2 The Research Enterprise in Psychology
• Looking for Laws: The Scientific Approach to Behavior(p. 38)
• Looking for Causes: Experimental Research(p. 42)
• Looking for Links: Descriptive/Correlational Research(p. 48)
• Looking for Conclusions: Statistics and Research(p. 53)
• Looking for Flaws: Evaluating Research(p. 57)
• Looking at Ethics: Do the Ends Justify the Means?(p. 61)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 65)
• Personal Application - Finding and Reading Journal Articles(p. 66)
• Critical Thinking Application - The Perils of Anecdotal Evidence: "I Have A Friend Who..."(p. 71)
• Chapter 3 The Biological Bases of Behavior
• Communication in the Nervous System(p. 76)
• Organization of the Nervous System(p. 83)
• Looking Inside the Brain: Research Methods(p. 86)
• The Brain and Behavior(p. 91)
• Right Brain/Left Brain: Cerebral Laterality(p. 98)
• The Endocrine System: Another Way to Communicate(p. 101)
• Heredity And Behavior: Is It All In the Genes?(p. 102)
• The Evolutionary Bases of Behavior(p. 108)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 114)
• Personal Application - Evaluating The Concept of "Two Minds In One"(p. 116)
• Critical Thinking Application - Building Better Brains: The Perils of Extrapolation(p. 120)
• Chapter 4 Sensation and Perception
• Psychophysics: Basic Concepts and Issues(p. 126)
• Our Sense of Sight: The Visual System(p. 131)
• Our Sense of Hearing: The Auditory System(p. 157)
• Our Chemical Senses: Taste and Smell(p. 162)
• Our Sense of Touch: Sensory Systems in the Skin(p. 165)
• Our Other Senses(p. 167)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 168)
• Personal Application - Appreciating Art and Illusion(p. 169)
• Critical Thinking Application - Recognizing Contrast Effects: It's All Relative(p. 174)
• Chapter 5 Variations in Consciousness
• On the Nature of Consciousness(p. 180)
• Biological Rhythms and Sleep(p. 182)
• The Sleep and Waking Cycle(p. 184)
• The World of Dreams(p. 195)
• Hypnosis: Altered Consciousness or Role Playing?(p. 199)
• Meditation: Pure Consciousness or Relaxation?(p. 202)
• Altering Consciousness with Drugs(p. 204)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 211)
• Personal Application - Addressing Practical Questions About Sleep and Dreams(p. 212)
• Critical Thinking Application - Is Alcoholism a Disease? The Power of Definitions(p. 216)
• Chapter 6 Learning
• Classical Conditioning(p. 222)
• Operant Conditioning(p. 232)
• Changing Directions in the Study of Conditioning(p. 246)
• Observational Learning(p. 250)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 253)
• Personal Application - Achieving Self-Control Through Behavior Modification(p. 256)
• Critical Thinking Application - Manipulating Emotions: Pavlov and Persuasion(p. 260)
• Chapter 7 Human Memory
• Encoding: Getting Information Into Memory(p. 267)
• Storage: Maintaining Information in Memory(p. 270)
• Retrieval: Getting Information Out of Memory(p. 279)
• Forgetting: When Memory Lapses(p. 283)
• In Search of the Memory Trace: The Physiology of Memory(p. 291)
• Are There Multiple Memory Systems?(p. 294)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 297)
• Personal Application - Improving Everyday Memory(p. 298)
• Critical Thinking Application - Understanding the Fallibility of Eyewitness Accounts(p. 302)
• Chapter 8 Language and Thought
• The Cognitive Revolution in Psychology(p. 308)
• Language: Turning Thoughts into Words(p. 308)
• Problem Solving: In Search of Solutions(p. 318)
• Decision Making: Choices and Chances(p. 327)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 335)
• Personal Application - Understanding Pitfalls in Reasoning About Decisions(p. 336)
• Critical Thinking Application - Shaping Thought with Language: "Only a Naive Moron Would Believe That"(p. 340)
• Chapter 9 Intelligence and Psychological Testing
• Key Concepts in Psychological Testing(p. 346)
• The Evolution of Intelligence Testing(p. 351)
• Basic Questions About Intelligence Testing(p. 354)
• Extremes of Intelligence(p. 359)
• Heredity and Environment as Determinants of Intelligence(p. 362)
• New Directions in the Assessment and Study of Intelligence(p. 372)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 376)
• Personal Application - Understanding Creativity(p. 378)
• Critical Thinking Application - The Intelligence Debate, Appeals to Ignorance, and Reification(p. 382)
• Chapter 10 Motivation and Emotion
• The Motivation of Hunger and Eating(p. 388)
• Sexual Motivation and Behavior(p. 395)
• Affiliation: In Search of Belongingness(p. 408)
• Achievement: In Search of Excellence(p. 409)
• The Elements of Emotional Experience(p. 412)
• Theories of Emotion(p. 418)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 421)
• Personal Application - Exploring the Ingredients of Happiness(p. 422)
• Critical Thinking Application - Analyzing Arguments: Making Sense Out of Controversy(p. 426)
• Chapter 11 Human Development Across the Life Span
• Progress Before Birth: Prenatal Development(p. 432)
• The Wondrous Years of Childhood(p. 437)
• The Transition of Adolescence(p. 456)
• The Expanse of Adulthood(p. 462)
• Putting it in Perspective(p. 473)
• Personal Application - Understanding Gender Differences(p. 475)
• Critical Thinking Application - Are Fathers Essential to Children's Well-Being?(p. 480)
• Chapter 12 Personality: Theory, Research, and Assessment
• The Nature of Personality(p. 486)
• Psychodynamic Perspectives(p. 488)
• Behavioral Perspectives(p. 499)
• Humanistic Perspectives(p. 503)
• Biological Perspectives(p. 508)
• Contemporary Empirical Approaches to Personality Traits(p. 514)
• Culture and Personality(p. 516)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 517)
• Personal Application - Understanding Personality Assessment(p. 519)
• Critical Thinking Application - Hindsight in Everyday Analyses of Personality(p. 524)
• Chapter 13 Stress, Coping, and Health
• The Nature of Stress(p. 530)
• Major Types of Stress(p. 531)
• Responding to Stress(p. 535)
• The Effects of Stress on Psychological Functioning(p. 543)
• The Effects of Stress on Physical Health(p. 546)
• Factors Moderating the Impact of Stress(p. 552)
• Health-Imparing Behavior(p. 553)
• Reactions to Illness(p. 558)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 559)
• Personal Application - Improving Coping and Stress Management(p. 560)
• Critical Thinking Application - Thinking Rationally about Health Statistics and Decisions(p. 564)
• Chapter 14 Psychological Disorders
• Abnormal Behavior: Myths. Realities, and Controversies(p. 570)
• Anxiety Disorders(p. 577)
• Somatoform Disorders(p. 582)
• Dissociative Disorders(p. 584)
• Mood Disorders(p. 586)
• Schizophrenic Disorders(p. 592)
• Personality Disorders(p. 598)
• Psychological Disorders and the Law(p. 603)
• Culture and Pathology(p. 604)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 606)
• Personal Application - Understanding Eating Disorders(p. 607)
• Critical Thinking Application - Working with Probabilities in Thinking About Mental Illness(p. 610)
• Chapter 15 Treatment of Psychological Disorders
• The Elements of the Treatment Process(p. 616)
• Insight Therapies(p. 619)
• Behavior Therapies(p. 626)
• Biomedical Therapies(p. 630)
• Current Trends and Issues in Treatment(p. 635)
• Institutional Treatment in Transition(p. 642)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 645)
• Personal Application - Looking for a Therapist(p. 646)
• Critical Thinking Application - From Crisis to Wellness--But Was It the Therapy?(p. 650)
• Chapter 16 Social Behavior
• Person Perception: Forming Impressions of Others(p. 656)
• Attribution Processes: Explaining Behavior(p. 659)
• Close Relationships: Liking and Loving(p. 665)
• Attitudes: Making Social Judgments(p. 670)
• Conformity and Obedience: Yielding to Others(p. 678)
• Behavior in Groups: Joining with Others(p. 683)
• Putting It in Perspective(p. 688)
• Personal Application - Understanding Prejudice(p. 690)
• Critical Thinking Application - Whom Can You Trust? Analyzing Credibility and Social Influence Tactics(p. 694)
• Appendix A Answers To Concept Checks(p. 1)
• Appendix B Statistical Methods(p. 7)
• Appendix C Industrial/Organizational Psychology(p. 15)
• Appendix D Evaluating The Quality of Web-Based Resources(p. 29)
• Appendix E URLs For Recommended Web Links(p. 33)
• Glossary(p. 1)
• References(p. 1)
• Name Index(p. 1)
• Subject Index(p. 15)