Psychology Themes and Variations, Sixth Canadian Edition
By Doug Mccann, Wayne Weiten and Deborah Hunt Matheson
Contents:
CHAPTER 1
THE EVOLUTION OF PSYCHOLOGY
From Speculation to Science: How Psychology Developed 3
A New Science Is Born 4
The Battle of the “Schools” Begins: Structuralism versus
Functionalism 4
Watson Alters Psychology’s Course as Behaviourism Makes Its Debut 5
Freud Brings the Unconscious into the Picture 7
Skinner Questions Free Will as Behaviourism Flourishes 7
The Humanists Revolt 8
Psychology in Canada 9
Psychology Comes of Age as a Profession 11
Cognition and Neuroscience in Psychology 12
A Focus on Culture and Diversity 14
Psychology Adapts: The Emergence of Evolutionary
Psychology 15
Psychology Moves in a Positive Direction: The Positive
Psychology Movement 15
AN ILLUSTRATED OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOLOGY’S HISTORY 16
Psychology Today: Vigorous and Diversified 18
Research Areas in Psychology 18
Professional Specialties in Psychology 19
Putting It in Perspective: Seven Key Themes 21
Themes Related to Psychology as a Field of Study 21
Themes Related to Psychology’s Subject Matter 22
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Improving Academic Performance 26
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Developing Critical Thinking Skills: An Introduction 29
Concept Chart 31
Key Terms 33
Multiple-Choice Questions 33
CHAPTER 2
THE RESEARCH ENTERPRISE IN PSYCHOLOGY
The Scientific Approach to Behaviour 36
Goals of the Scientific Enterprise 36
Steps in a Scientific Investigation 36
Advantages of the Scientific Approach 39
Looking for Causes: Experimental Research 41
Independent and Dependent Variables 41
Experimental and Control Groups 41
Extraneous Variables 42
Variations in Designing Experiments 43
Advantages and Disadvantages of Experimental Research 44
Looking for Links: Descriptive/Correlational
Research 45
Naturalistic Observation 45
Case Studies 46
Surveys 47
Advantages and Disadvantages of Descriptive/Correlational
Research 48
Looking for Conclusions: Statistics and
Research 49
Descriptive Statistics 49
AN ILLUSTRATED OVERVIEW OF KEY RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY 50
Looking for Flaws: Evaluating Research 57
Sampling Bias 57
Placebo Effects 58
Distortions in Self-Report Data 59
The Importance of Replication 59
Experimenter Bias 60
Looking at Ethics: Do the Ends Justify the
Means? 61
The Question of Animal Research 62
Ethical Guidelines for Research in Psychology in Canada 63
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 1 and 7 64
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Finding and Reading Journal Articles 65
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
The Perils of Anecdotal Evidence: “I Have a Friend Who …” 67
Concept Chart 69
Key Terms 71
Multiple-Choice Questions 71
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 3
THE BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOUR
The Anatomy of the Nervous System 74
Glial Cells 74
Neurons 75
The Function of Neurons: Information Transmission 76
Neurotransmitters and Behaviour 82
Organization of the Nervous System 85
The Peripheral Nervous System 85
The Central Nervous System 87
Looking Inside the Brain: Research
Methods 88
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation 90
The Brain and Behaviour 91
The Hindbrain 92
The Midbrain 93
The Forebrain 93
The Limbic System: The Centre of Emotion 94
The Plasticity of the Brain 96
Right Brain/Left Brain: Cerebral Laterality 98
Bisecting the Brain: Split-Brain Research 98
Hemispheric Specialization in the Intact Brain 100
The Endocrine System: Another Way to Communicate 101
Heredity and Behaviour: Is It All in the Genes? 102
Basic Principles of Genetics 102
Investigating Hereditary Influence: Research Methods 103
The Interplay of Heredity and Environment 106
Epigenetics: The Interplay of Heredity and Environment 106
The Evolutionary Bases of Behaviour 107
Darwin’s Insights 107
Later Refinements to Evolutionary Theory 108
Behaviours as Adaptive Traits 109
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 1, 4, and 6 109
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Evaluating the Concept of “Two Minds in One” 111
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Building Better Brains: The Perils of Extrapolation 113
Concept Chart 116
Key Terms 118
Multiple-Choice Questions 118
CHAPTER 4
SENSATION AND PERCEPTION
Psychophysics: Basic Concepts and Issues 120
Thresholds: Looking for Limits 121
Signal-Detection Theory 121
Perception without Awareness 122
Sensory Adaptation 122
Our Sense of Sight: The Visual System 123
The Stimulus: Light 123
The Eye: A Living Optical Instrument 124
The Retina: The Brain’s Envoy in the Eye 125
Vision and the Brain 126
Vision for Perception and Vision for Action 128
Viewing the World in Colour 129
The Visual System: Perceptual Processes 134
Perceiving Forms, Patterns, and Objects 134
Looking at the Whole Picture: Gestalt Principles 136
Perceiving Depth or Distance 138
Perceptual Constancies in Vision 139
The Power of Misleading Cues: Visual Illusions 140
Our Sense of Hearing: The Auditory System 143
The Stimulus: Sound 143
Human Hearing Capacities 143
Sensory Processing in the Ear 144
Auditory Perception: Theories of Hearing 145
Auditory Localization: Perceiving Sources of Sound 146
Our Chemical Senses: Taste and Smell 148
Taste: The Gustatory System 148
Smell: The Olfactory System 150
Our Sense of Touch: Sensory Systems in the
Skin 152
Feeling Pain 152
Our Other Senses 155
The Kinesthetic System 155
The Vestibular System 155
AN ILLUSTRATED OVERVIEW OF FIVE MAJOR
SENSES 156
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 2, 5, and 7 158
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Appreciating Art and Illusion 159
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Recognizing Contrast Effects: It’s All Relative 161
Concept Chart 163
Key Terms 165
Multiple-Choice Questions 165
CHAPTER 5
VARIATIONS IN CONSCIOUSNESS
The Nature of Consciousness 168
Variations in Awareness and Control 168
Consciousness and Brain Activity 169
Biological Rhythms and Sleep 170
The Role of Circadian Rhythms 170
Ignoring Circadian Rhythms 171
Realigning Circadian Rhythms 172
The Sleep and Waking Cycle 173
Cycling through the Stages of Sleep 173
Repeating the Cycle 175
Age Trends in Sleep 176
Culture and Sleep 177
The Neural and Evolutionary Bases of Sleep 177
Doing Without: Sleep Deprivation 178
Problems in the Night: Sleep Disorders 180
The World of Dreams 184
The Contents of Dreams 184
Links between Dreams and Waking Life 185
Culture and Dreams 186
Theories of Dreaming 186
Hypnosis: Altered Consciousness or Role Playing? 187
Hypnotic Induction and Susceptibility 188
Theories of Hypnosis 189
Meditation: Pure Consciousness or
Relaxation? 190
Long-Term Benefits 190
Altering Consciousness with Drugs 191
Principal Abused Drugs and Their Effects 192
Factors Influencing Drug Effects 196
Mechanisms of Drug Action 197
Drug Dependence 198
Drugs and Health 199
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 200
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Addressing Practical Questions about Sleep and Dreams 202
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Is Alcoholism a Disease? The Power of Definitions 204
Concept Chart 206
Key Terms 208
Multiple-Choice Questions 208
CHAPTER 6
LEARNING
Classical Conditioning 211
Pavlov’s Demonstration: “Psychic Reflexes” 211
Terminology and Procedures 212
Classical Conditioning in Everyday Life 213
Basic Processes in Classical Conditioning 215
Stimulus Generalization and the Mysterious Case of
Little Albert 216
Cognition and Classical Conditioning 219
Evolutionary and Biological Effects on Conditioning 219
Operant Conditioning 221
Thorndike’s Law of Effect 221
Skinner’s Demonstration: It’s All a Matter of
Consequences 222
Terminology and Procedures 223
Basic Processes in Operant Conditioning 224
Reinforcement and Superstitious Behaviour 226
Schedules of Reinforcement 228
Positive Reinforcement versus Negative Reinforcement 230
Punishment: Consequences That Weaken Responses 232
Cognitive Processes in Conditioning: Latent Learning and
Cognitive Maps 234
Evolutionary and Biological Effects on Conditioning 236
Observational Learning 237
Basic Processes 237
Observational Learning and the Media Violence
Controversy 238
Observational Learning and the Brain: Mirror Neurons 241
AN ILLUSTRATED OVERVIEW OF THREE TYPES
OF LEARNING 242
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 3 and 6 244
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Achieving Self-Control through Behaviour Modification 245
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Manipulating Emotions: Pavlov and Persuasion 248
Concept Chart 250
Key Terms 252
Multiple-Choice Questions 252
CHAPTER 7
HUMAN MEMORY
Encoding: Getting Information into Memory 255
The Role of Attention 255
Levels of Processing 256
Enriching Encoding 257
Storage: Maintaining Information in Memory 259
Sensory Memory 259
Short-Term Memory 260
Long-Term Memory 262
How Is Knowledge Represented and Organized in Memory? 264
Retrieval: Getting Information Out of
Memory 265
Using Cues to Aid Retrieval 266
Reinstating the Context of an Event 266
Reconstructing Memories 266
Source Monitoring 268
Forgetting: When Memory Lapses 268
How Quickly We Forget: Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve 269
Measures of Forgetting 269
Why We Forget 270
The Repressed Memories Controversy 273
Seven Sins of Memory: How Memory Goes Wrong 275
In Search of the Memory Trace: The Physiology of
Memory 276
The Neural Circuitry of Memory 276
The Anatomy of Memory 278
Systems and Types of Memory 280
Implicit versus Explicit Memory 280
Declarative versus Nondeclarative Memory 281
Semantic versus Episodic Memory 282
Prospective versus Retrospective Memory 283
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 2, 4, and 7 284
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Improving Everyday Memory 286
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Understanding the Fallibility of Eyewitness Accounts 289
Concept Chart 291
Key Terms 293
Multiple-Choice Questions 293
CHAPTER 8
LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT
Language: Turning Thoughts into Words 296
What Is Language? 296
The Structure of Language 296
Milestones in Language Development 297
Learning More than One Language: Bilingualism 300
Can Animals Develop Language? 302
Language in an Evolutionary Context 304
Theories of Language Acquisition 304
Culture, Language, and Thought 305
Problem Solving: In Search of Solutions 306
Types of Problems 307
Barriers to Effective Problem Solving 308
Approaches to Problem Solving 310
Culture, Cognitive Style, and Problem Solving 313
Decision Making: Choices and Chances 313
Making Choices about Preferences 314
Taking Chances: Factors Weighed in Risky Decisions 315
Heuristics in Judging Probabilities 315
The Tendency to Ignore Base Rates 316
The Conjunction Fallacy 316
The Sunk Costs Fallacy 317
Behavioural Economics 318
Evolutionary Analyses of Fast and Frugal Heuristics 319
Thinking Fast and Thinking Slow: Two Systems of
Thought 319
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 1, 5, 6,
and 7 320
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Understanding Pitfalls in Reasoning about Decisions 321
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Shaping Thought with Language: “Only a Naïve Moron
Would Believe That” 324
Concept Chart 326
Key Terms 327
Multiple-Choice Questions 327
CHAPTER 9
INTELLIGENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
Key Concepts in Psychological Testing 330
Standardization and Norms 330
Reliability 331
Validity 331
The Evolution of Intelligence Testing and
Our Understanding of the Construct of Intelligence 332
Origins of Modern Intelligence Testing 332
The Debate about the Structure
of Intelligence 333
Broadening the Concept of Intelligence 335
Basic Issues in Intelligence Testing 340
What Do Modern IQ Scores Mean? 340
Do Intelligence Tests Have Adequate Reliability? 341
Do Intelligence Tests Have Adequate Validity? 341
Do Intelligence Tests Predict Vocational Success? 342
Are IQ Tests Widely Used in Other Cultures? 343
Extremes of Intelligence 343
Intellectual Disability 343
Giftedness 346
Heredity and Environment as Determinants of
Intelligence 347
Evidence for Hereditary Influence 348
Evidence for Environmental Influence 349
The Interaction of Heredity and Environment 351
Cultural Differences in IQ Scores 351
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 3, 5, and 6 354
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Understanding Creativity 356
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
The Intelligence Debate, Appeals to Ignorance,
and Reification 359
Concept Chart 361
Key Terms 362
Multiple-Choice Questions 362
CHAPTER 10
MOTIVATION AND EMOTION
Motivational Theories and Concepts 364
Drive Theories 365
Incentive Theories 365
Evolutionary Theories 365
The Motivation of Hunger and Eating 366
Biological Factors in the Regulation of Hunger 366
Environmental Factors in the Regulation of Hunger 367
Eating and Weight: The Roots of Obesity 369
Sexual Motivation and Behaviour 372
The Human Sexual Response 372
Evolutionary Analyses of Human Sexual Behaviour 374
The Mystery of Sexual Orientation 376
The Need to Belong: Affiliation Motivation 379
Ostracism and the Fear of Rejection 379
Achievement: In Search of Excellence 380
Individual Differences in the Need for Achievement 380
Situational Determinants of Achievement Behaviour 381
The Elements of Emotional Experience 383
The Cognitive Component: Subjective Feelings 383
The Physiological Component: Diffuse and Multifaceted 384
The Behavioural Component: Nonverbal Expressiveness 387
Culture and the Elements of Emotion 388
Theories of Emotion 391
James–Lange Theory 391
Cannon–Bard Theory 391
Schachter’s Two-Factor Theory 392
Evolutionary Theories of Emotion 393
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 2, 3, 4, 5,
and 6 395
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Exploring the Ingredients of Happiness 396
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Analyzing Arguments: Making Sense Out of Controversy 400
Concept Chart 402
Key Terms 404
Multiple-Choice Questions 404
CHAPTER 11
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN
Progress before Birth: Prenatal Development 407
The Course of Prenatal Development 407
Environmental Factors and Prenatal Development 409
The Wondrous Years of Childhood 411
Exploring the World: Motor Development 411
Easy and Difficult Babies: Differences in Temperament 413
Early Emotional Development: Attachment 414
Personality Development in Childhood 417
The Growth of Thought: Cognitive Development 419
The Development of Moral Reasoning 426
The Transition of Adolescence 428
Physiological Changes 428
Neural Development: The Teen Brain 430
Time of Turmoil? 430
The Search for Identity 432
Emerging Adulthood as a New Developmental Stage 432
The Expanse of Adulthood 433
Personality Development 434
Transitions in Family Life 434
Aging and Neural Changes 438
Aging and Cognitive Changes 439
Death and Dying 440
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 2, 3, 4, 5,
and 6 441
AN ILLUSTRATED OVERVIEW OF HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT 442
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Understanding Gender Differences 446
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Are Fathers Essential to Children’s Well-Being? 450
Concept Chart 452
Key Terms 454
Multiple-Choice Questions 454
CHAPTER 12
PERSONALITY: THEORY, RESEARCH, AND
ASSESSMENT
The Nature of Personality 457
Defining Personality: Consistency and Distinctiveness 457
Personality Traits: Dispositions and Dimensions 457
The Five-Factor Model of Personality Traits 458
Psychodynamic Perspectives 459
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory 459
Jung’s Analytical Psychology 465
Adler’s Individual Psychology 466
Evaluating Psychodynamic
Perspectives 467
Behavioural Perspectives 468
Skinner’s Ideas Applied to Personality 468
Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory 469
Mischel and the Person–Situation Controversy 471
Evaluating Behavioural Perspectives 471
Humanistic Perspectives 472
Rogers’s Person-Centred Theory 472
Maslow’s Theory of Self-Actualization 474
Evaluating Humanistic Perspectives 476
Biological Perspectives 476
Eysenck’s Theory 476
Behavioural Genetics and Personality 477
The Neuroscience of Personality 478
The Evolutionary Approach to Personality 478
Evaluating Biological Perspectives 479
FOUR VIEWS OF PERSONALITY: AN
ILLUSTRATED OVERVIEW OF MAJOR
THEORIES OF PERSONALITY 480
Contemporary Empirical Approaches to
Personality 482
Narcissism 482
The Dark Triad 483
Culture and Personality 483
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 2, 3, and 5 486
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Understanding Personality Assessment 487
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Hindsight in Everyday Analyses of Personality 490
Concept Chart 492
Key Terms 494
Multiple-Choice Questions 494
CHAPTER 13
SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Person Perception: Forming Impressions of
Others 497
Effects of Physical Appearance 498
Cognitive Schemas 499
Stereotypes 500
Subjectivity and Bias in Person Perception 501
An Evolutionary Perspective on Bias
in Person Perception 501
Attribution Processes: Explaining Behaviour 502
Internal versus External Attributions 502
Attributions for Success and Failure 502
Bias in Attribution 503
Culture and Attributions 505
Interpersonal Attraction: Liking and Loving 505
Key Factors in Attraction 506
Perspectives on the Mystery of Love 507
Culture and Close Relationships 509
The Internet and Close Relationships 509
An Evolutionary Perspective
on Attraction 511
Attitudes: Making Social Judgments 512
Components and Dimensions
of Attitudes 512
Implicit Attitudes: Looking Beneath
the Surface 513
Trying to Change Attitudes: Factors
in Persuasion 514
Theories of Attitude Formation
and Change 517
Conformity and Obedience: Yielding to
Others 520
Conformity 520
Obedience 522
Cultural Variations in Conformity
and Obedience 523
The Power of the Situation: The Stanford Prison
Simulation 524
Behaviour in Groups: Joining with Others 525
Behaviour Alone and in Groups: The Case of the Bystander
Effect 525
Group Productivity and Social Loafing 526
Decision Making in Groups 527
Social Neuroscience 529
A Neuroscience Perspective
on Social Psychology 529
Topics in Social Neuroscience 530
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 1, 5, and 7 531
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Understanding Prejudice 532
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Whom Can You Trust? Analyzing Credibility and Social Influence
Tactics 536
Concept Chart 538
Key Terms 540
Multiple-Choice Questions 540
CHAPTER 14
STRESS, COPING, AND HEALTH
The Nature of Stress 544
Stress as an Everyday Event 544
Appraisal: Stress Lies in the Eye
of the Beholder 544
Major Types of Stress 545
Frustration 545
Internal Conflict 545
Change 546
Pressure 547
Responding to Stress 548
Emotional Responses 548
Physiological Responses 550
Behavioural Responses 553
The Effects of Stress on Psychological
Functioning 555
Burnout 555
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 556
The Effects of Stress on Physical Health 557
Personality, Hostility, and Heart Disease 557
Emotional Reactions, Depression,
and Heart Disease 558
Stress, Other Diseases, and Immune Functioning 558
Sizing Up the Link between Stress
and Illness 559
Factors Moderating the Impact of Stress 560
Social Support 560
Optimism, Conscientiousness,
and Hardiness 562
Positive Effects of Stress 563
Health-Compromising Behaviour 563
Smoking 564
Lack of Exercise 565
Alcohol and Drug Use 566
Risky Sexual Behaviour 567
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 4 and 7 567
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Improving Coping and Stress Management 569
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Thinking Rationally about Health Statistics and Decisions 573
Concept Chart 575
Key Terms 577
Multiple-Choice Questions 577
CHAPTER 15
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Abnormal Behaviour: Myths, Realities, and
Controversies 581
The Medical Model Applied to Abnormal Behaviour 581
Criteria of Abnormal Behaviour 582
Stereotypes of Psychological Disorders 583
Psychodiagnosis: The Classification of Disorders 584
The Prevalence of Psychological Disorders 586
Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorders 587
Anxiety Disorders 587
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder 589
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 591
Etiology of Anxiety and Anxiety-Related Disorders 593
Dissociative Disorders 595
Description 595
Etiology of Dissociative Disorders 596
Depressive and Bipolar Disorders 596
Major Depressive Disorder 597
Bipolar Disorder 599
Diversity in Mood Disorders 600
Mood Disorders and Suicide 601
Etiology of Depressive and Bipolar Disorders 601
Schizophrenia 605
General Symptoms 606
Etiology of Schizophrenia 608
AN ILLUSTRATED OVERVIEW OF THREE
CATEGORIES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL
DISORDERS 612
Personality Disorders 614
Antisocial, Borderline, and Narcissistic Personality
Disorders 614
Etiology of Personality Disorders 616
Neurodevelopmental Disorders 616
Autism Spectrum Disorder 617
Psychological Disorders and the Law 618
Insanity 619
Culture, Pathology, and Trauma 620
Are Equivalent Disorders Found Around the World? 620
Are Symptom Patterns Culturally Invariant? 621
Intergenerational Trauma 621
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 3, 4, 5,
and 6 622
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Understanding Eating Disorders 624
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
Working with Probabilities in Thinking about
Mental Illness 627
Concept Chart 630
Key Terms 632
Multiple-Choice Questions 632
CHAPTER 16
TREATMENT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
The Elements of the Treatment Process 635
Treatments: How Many Types Are There? 635
Clients: Who Seeks Therapy? 636
Therapists: Who Provides Professional Treatment? 637
Insight Therapies 639
Psychoanalysis 639
Therapies Inspired by Positive Psychology 643
Group Therapy 644
Couples and Family Therapy 644
How Effective Are Insight Therapies? 645
How Do Insight Therapies Work? 646
Behaviour Therapies 646
Systematic Desensitization 647
Aversion Therapy 648
Social Skills Training 649
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapies 649
How Effective Are Behaviour Therapies? 651
Biomedical Therapies 652
Treatment with Drugs 652
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) 656
New Brain Stimulation Techniques 658
Current Trends and Issues in Treatment 659
Increasing Multicultural Sensitivity in Treatment 659
AN ILLUSTRATED OVERVIEW OF FIVE MAJOR
APPROACHES TO TREATMENT 660
Using Technology to Expand the Delivery of Clinical
Services 663
Institutional Treatment in Transition 664
Disenchantment with Mental Hospitals 664
Deinstitutionalization 665
Mental Illness, the Revolving Door, and
Homelessness 666
Putting It in Perspective: Themes 2 and 5 667
PERSONAL APPLICATION
Looking for a Therapist 668
CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION
From Crisis to Wellness—But Was It the Therapy? 671
Concept Chart 674
Key Terms 676
Multiple-Choice Questions 676