Psychology in Your Life, 4th Edition
Sarah Grison and Michael S. Gazzaniga
CONTENTS IN BRIEF
Welcome to Psychology in Your Lifeviii
- Psychology in Your Life2
- The Role of Biology in Psychology46
- Consciousness92
- Development Across the Life Span134
- Sensation and Perception178
- Learning220
- Memory258
- Thinking and Intelligence302
- Motivation and Emotion342
- Sex, Gender, and Sexuality384
- Health and Well-Being424
- Social Psychology464
- Self and Personality502
- Psychological Disorders544
- Psychological Treatments592
Appendix A: How Can You Understand Data From Psychological Research?A-1
Appendix B: Answers to In-Chapter QuestionsB-1
CONTENTS
Meet the Authors vi
Welcome to Psychology in Your Life viii
Changes to the Fourth Edition xx
Acknowledgments xxii
Digital Tools for Instructors and Students xxvii
Psychology in Your Life 2
Why Is Psychology Important in Your Life? 4
1.1 Psychology Is a Science That Helps You Understand Your Mental
Activity, Behavior, and Brain Processes 4
1.2 Psychology Uses the Science of Learning to Help You Study Better 6
LEARNING TO LEARN INFOGRAPHIC: Six Strategies IMPACT
Your Learning 7
1.3 Psychology Develops Your Critical Thinking Skills 9
LEARNING TIP: Developing Critical Thinking Skills 11
1.4 Psychology Improves Your Life Personally and Professionally 13
What Key Principles Guide Psychology Today? 15
1.5 Psychologists Investigate Topics Across Five Interconnected Domains 15
PUTTING PSYCHOLOGY TO WORK: What Can You Do With a
Degree in Psychology? 16
1.6 Psychology Is Becoming More Diverse 18
1.7 Psychologists Must Be Ethical in Their Research 23
How Do You Benefit From Psychological Research? 25
1.8 Psychologists Use the Scientific Method 25
1.9 Descriptive Methods Describe What Is Happening 29
THE METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY: The Hawthorne Effect 32
1.10 Correlational Methods Reveal Relationships 34
LEARNING TIP: Problems Determining Causality in Correlational
Methods 35
1.11 Experimental Methods Test Causation 37
LEARNING TIP: Understanding the Differences Between Dependent
and Independent Variables 39
Big Picture 43
Practice Test 45
The Role of Biology in Psychology 46
How Does Your Nervous System Work? 48
2.1 Your Nervous System Is the Basis of Your Mental Activity and Behavior 48
2.2 Neurons Communicate With Each Other in Your Nervous System 50
LEARNING TIP: Communication From Presynaptic Neuron to
Postsynaptic Neuron 53
2.3 Neurotransmitters Influence Your Mental Activity and Behavior 55
How Do the Parts of Your Brain Function? 59
2.4 Our Understanding of How the Brain Works Has Improved Over Time 59
2.5 The Hindbrain and Midbrain House Basic Programs for Your Survival 62
2.6 Forebrain Subcortical Structures Control Your Motivations and Emotions 64
2.7 The Cerebral Cortex of the Forebrain Processes Your Complex Mental Activity 66
LEARNING TO LEARN INFOGRAPHIC: IMPACT Your Learning
By: Monitoring 70
2.8 The Hemispheres Work Together With Some Specialization 72
2.9 Using Psychology in Your Life: How Can You Succeed If You Have a
Learning Disability? 75
How Does Your Brain Communicate With Your Body? 76
2.10 The Peripheral Nervous System Includes the Somatic and Autonomic
Systems 77
LEARNING TIP: Remembering the Autonomic Nervous System 77
2.11 The Endocrine System Affects Your Behavior Through Hormones 79
PUTTING PSYCHOLOGY TO WORK: How Can Understanding
Biological Psychology Help You in Your Job? 81
How Do Nature and Nurture Affect Your Brain? 81
2.12 Your Genes Affect Your Mental Activity and Behavior 82
2.13 Your Genes Interact With Your Environment to Influence You 83
2.14 Your Environment Changes Your Brain 85
Big Picture 88
Practice Test 90
Consciousness 92
What Does It Mean to Be Conscious? 94
3.1 Consciousness Is Your Subjective Experience 94
LEARNING TIP: Understanding Objectivity and Subjectivity 95
3.2 Consciousness Results From Brain Activity 96
3.3 Consciousness Involves Attention 99
3.4 Unconscious Processing Sometimes Affects Behavior 101
THE METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY: Inattentional Blindness Studies 102
How Does Sleep Affect Consciousness? 104
3.5 Consciousness Changes During Sleep 104
3.6 People Dream While Sleeping 107
3.7 Sleep Is an Adaptive Behavior 110
3.8 Using Psychology in Your Life: How Can You Develop Better Sleep Habits? 112
3.9 Sleep Disorders Are Relatively Common Throughout Life 113
How Do Hypnosis and Meditation Alter Consciousness? 115
3.10 Attention to Suggestions May Alter Consciousness in Hypnosis 116
3.11 Meditation Alters Consciousness and Brain Functioning 118
How Do Drugs Alter Consciousness? 119
EVALUATING PSYCHOLOGY IN THE REAL WORLD: You’re Stressed
Out . . . Can Meditation Help? 120
3.12 Psychoactive Drugs Affect the Brain 121
3.13 Substance Use Disorder Has Physical and Psychological Aspects 126
PUTTING PSYCHOLOGY TO WORK: How Can Understanding
Consciousness Help You in Your Job? 128
Big Picture 130
Practice Test 132
Development Across the Life Span 134
How Does Development Happen in the Womb? 136
4.1 Humans Develop in Three Key Areas Starting in the Prenatal Period 136
LEARNING TO LEARN INFOGRAPHIC: IMPACT Your Learning
By: Improving 137
4.2 There Are External Threats to Prenatal Development 140
How Do Infants and Children Develop? 142
4.3 Infants and Children Change Physically 142
4.4 Infants and Children Change Socially and Emotionally 145
THE METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY: Harlow’s Monkeys and Their
“Mothers” 148
4.5 Infants and Children Change Cognitively 149
LEARNING TIP: Assimilation and Accommodation 150
4.6 Language Develops in an Orderly Way 154
How Do Adolescents Develop? 156
4.7 Adolescents Develop Physically 157
4.8 Adolescents Develop Socially and Emotionally 158
4.9 Using Psychology in Your Life: What Roles Do Peers Play in
Development? 161
4.10 Adolescents Develop Cognitively 163
How Do Adults Develop? 165
4.11 Emerging Adulthood Is a New Developmental Period 165
4.12 Bodies and Minds Change in Adulthood 166
4.13 Adults Develop Lifelong Social and Emotional Bonds 169
Big Picture 174
Practice Test 176
Sensation and Perception 178
How Do You Sense and Perceive Your World? 180
5.1 Your Senses Detect Physical Stimuli, and Your Brain Processes
Perception 180
5.2 There Must Be a Certain Amount of a Stimulus for You to Detect It 182
How Do You See? 185
5.3 Sensory Receptors in Your Eyes Detect Light 185
5.4 You Perceive Color Based on Physical Aspects of Light 187
5.5 You Perceive Objects by Organizing Visual Information 191
LEARNING TIP: Bottom-Up and Top-Down Processing 193
5.6 When You Perceive Depth, You Can Locate Objects in Space 194
5.7 Cues in Your Brain and in the World Let You Perceive Motion 195
5.8 You Understand That Objects Remain Constant Even When Cues Change 196
How Do You Hear? 198
5.9 Receptors in Your Ears Detect Sound Waves 199
5.10 Using Psychology in Your Life: How Can You Avoid Damage to Your
Hearing From Listening to Loud Music With Earbuds? 200
5.11 You Perceive Sound Based on Physical Aspects of Sound Waves 202
How Are You Able to Taste and Smell? 205
5.12 Receptors in Your Taste Buds Detect Chemical Molecules 205
THE METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY: Infant Taste Preferences
Affected by Mother’s Diet 208
5.13 Your Olfactory Receptors Detect Odorants 208
PUTTING PSYCHOLOGY TO WORK: How Can Understanding
Sensation and Perception Help You in Your Career? 209
How Do You Feel Touch and Pain? 212
5.14 Receptors in Your Skin Detect Temperature and Pressure 213
5.15 You Detect Pain in Your Skin and Throughout Your Body 214
Big Picture 217
Practice Test 219
Learning 220
How Do You Learn? 222
6.1 You Learn From Experience 222
6.2 You Learn in Three Ways 223
How Do You Learn Through Classical Conditioning? 225
6.3 Through Classical Conditioning, You Learn That Stimuli Are Related 225
THE METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY: Pavlov’s Classical
Conditioning 227
LEARNING TIP: Understanding Classical Conditioning 228
6.4 Learning Varies in Classical Conditioning 229
6.5 You Can Learn Fear Responses Through Classical Conditioning 231
6.6 Adaptation and Cognition Influence Classical Conditioning 232
How Do You Learn Through Operant Conditioning? 234
6.7 Through Operant Conditioning, You Learn the Consequences of Your
Actions 235
6.8 You Can Improve Learning Through Reinforcement 237
6.9 Both Reinforcement and Punishment Can Influence Behavior 239
LEARNING TIP: The Four Types of Reinforcement and Punishment 240
LEARNING TIP: The Four Schedules of Reinforcement 242
6.10 Positive Punishment Is Often Ineffective 243
6.11 Using Psychology in Your Life: Can Behavior Modification Help You
Learn to Exercise Regularly? 245
6.12 Biology and Cognition Influence Operant Conditioning 247
How Do You Learn by Watching Others? 249
6.13 There Are Three Ways You Learn by Watching Others 250
EVALUATING PSYCHOLOGY IN THE REAL WORLD: Does
Playing Violent Video Games Cause Children to Become More
Violent? 252
6.14 Biology Influences Observational Learning 254
Big Picture 255
Practice Test 257
Memory 258
How Do You Create Memories? 260
7.1 You Create Memories by Processing Information 260
7.2 Your Memories Are Unique 261
How Do You Maintain Memories Over Time? 264
7.3 You Maintain Information in Three Memory Stores 264
7.4 Sensory Storage Lets You Maintain Information Very Briefly 266
7.5 Working Memory Lets You Actively Maintain Information in Short-
Term Storage 267
7.6 Long-Term Storage Lets You Maintain Memories Relatively
Permanently 269
LEARNING TO LEARN INFOGRAPHIC: IMPACT Your Learning
By: Thinking Deeply 271
7.7 Your Long-Term Storage Is Organized Based on Meaning 273
What Types of Long-Term Memories Do You Store? 276
7.8 There Are Two Types of Amnesia 276
PUTTING PSYCHOLOGY TO WORK: How Can Understanding
Memory Help You Succeed at Your Job? 277
7.9 Your Explicit Memories Involve Conscious Effort 279
7.10 Your Implicit Memories Function Without Conscious Effort 281
7.11 Memory Is Processed by Several Regions of Your Brain 283
How Do You Retrieve Memories? 286
7.12 Retrieval Cues Help You Access Your Memories 287
7.13 You Forget Some of Your Memories 289
EVALUATING PSYCHOLOGY IN THE REAL WORLD: Can Brain
Training Improve Your Memory? 290
LEARNING TIP: Understanding the Prefix “Retro” 292
7.14 Your Memories Can Be Distorted 293
Big Picture 298
Practice Test 300
Thinking and Intelligence 302
What Is Thinking? 304
8.1 Thinking Is the Mental Manipulation of Representations 304
8.2 Schemas and Concepts Are the Basis of Thinking 306
8.3 Schemas Are the Basis of Stereotypes 308
How Do You Use Thinking? 309
8.4 Biased Reasoning Can Lead to Faulty Beliefs 310
8.5 How You Think Biases Decision Making 312
8.6 Using Psychology in Your Life: How Can You Be Satisfied With Big
Decisions? 316
8.7 You Solve Problems to Achieve Goals 318
8.8 You Overcome Obstacles to Solve Problems 321
What Is Intelligence? 322
8.9 One General Factor May Underlie Intelligence 322
8.10 There May Be Alternative Types of Intelligence 325
8.11 Intelligence Is a Result of Genes and Environment 329
How Is Intelligence Measured? 331
8.12 Intelligence Is Assessed With Psychometric Tests 331
LEARNING TIP: Validity and Reliability 334
8.13 Intelligence Is Associated With Cognitive Performance 335
Big Picture 338
Practice Test 340
Motivation and Emotion 342
What Motivates Your Behavior? 344
9.1 Many Factors Influence Motivation 344
9.2 Some Behaviors Are Motivated for Their Own Sake 349
LEARNING TO LEARN INFOGRAPHIC: IMPACT Your Learning
By: Practicing 351
What Are Your Most Important Motivated Behaviors? 352
9.3 Motivation to Eat Is Affected by Biology 352
LEARNING TIP: Biological Mechanisms That Motivate Eating 353
9.4 Motivation to Eat Is Also Influenced by Learning 355
9.5 People Have a Need to Belong 356
9.6 People Have a Need to Achieve Long-Term Goals 359
How Do You Experience Emotions? 361
9.7 Emotions Are Personal but Labeled and Described Consistently 362
9.8 Three Major Theories Explain Your Emotions 364
9.9 Your Body and Brain Influence Your Emotions 367
THE METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY: Testing the Two-Factor
Theory 368
9.10 Most People Try to Regulate Their Emotional States 372
PUTTING PSYCHOLOGY TO WORK: How Can Understanding
Motivation and Emotion Help You Work With Customers? 373
How Do Emotions Support Social Relationships? 375
9.11 You Use Facial Expressions to Interpret Emotions 375
9.12 Emotions Strengthen Your Interpersonal Relations 379
Big Picture 381
Practice Test 383
Sex, Gender, and Sexuality 384
What Are the Aspects of Our Biological Sex? 386
10.1 Genetics and Hormones Are Aspects of Biological Sex 386
LEARNING TIP: Biological Aspects of Sex 387
10.2 Some People Experience Variations in Biological Aspects of Sex 391
How Do We Experience Gender? 393
10.3 Thoughts About Gender Affect Our Perceptions, Expectations, and
Actions 394
10.4 Gender Identity Is How You Think and Feel About Your Own Gender 397
LEARNING TIP: Gender Schemas Include Information About
Gender Roles and Influence Gender Identity 398
10.5 People Vary in Gender Identity 399
10.6 Using Psychology in Your Life: How Can You Support People of All
Gender Identities? 402
How Do We Vary in Sexual Orientation? 403
10.7 Variations in Sexual Orientation Are Common 403
10.8 Sexual Orientation Has a Biological Basis 406
LEARNING TIP: Three Potential Biological Contributors to Sexual
Orientation 409
PUTTING PSYCHOLOGY TO WORK: How Can You Support
People With Variations in Sex, Gender, and Sexuality? 410
What Motivates Us to Have Sexual Relations (or Not To)? 411
10.9 Biology Influences the Motivation for Sexual Activity 411
10.10 Environmental Context Influences the Motivation for Sexual Activity 415
10.11 Individual Differences Influence the Motivation for Sexual Activity 418
Big Picture 421
Practice Test 423
Health and Well-Being 424
What Affects Your Health? 426
11.1 Biology, Psychology, and Social Factors Influence Your Health 426
11.2 Obesity Has Many Health Consequences 429
11.3 Exercise Benefits You Physically, Cognitively, and Emotionally 434
11.4 Sexually Transmitted Infections Can Be Prevented by Practicing Safer Sex 435
11.5 Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health 438
How Does Stress Affect Your Health? 441
11.6 There Is Stress in Daily Life 441
LEARNING TIP: Stressors, Responses, and Mediating Factors 442
11.7 You Can Have Several Responses to Stress 443
THE METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY: Stress and the Immune
System 446
How Do Mediating Factors Affect Your Stress? 448
11.8 Personality and Emotional States Influence the Impact of Stress on
Heart Disease 448
11.9 Coping Mediates the Impact of Stress 450
11.10 Using Psychology in Your Life: How Can You Reduce Exam
Anxiety? 452
Can a Positive Attitude Keep You Healthy? 453
11.11 Positive Psychology Emphasizes Well-Being 453
EVALUATING PSYCHOLOGY IN THE REAL WORLD: Can
Petting a Therapy Dog Increase Your Sense of Well-Being? 455
11.12 Social Support Is Associated With Good Health 457
11.13 Several Strategies Can Help You Stay Healthy 459
Big Picture 461
Practice Test 463
Social Psychology 464
How Do You Think About Other People? 466
12.1 You Tend to Make Snap Judgments About Other People 466
12.2 You Make Attributions About Other People 467
LEARNING TIP: Attributions and the Actor/Observer Bias 469
12.3 You Tend to Stereotype Other People 469
12.4 Stereotypes Can Lead to Prejudice and Discrimination 472
LEARNING TO LEARN INFOGRAPHIC: IMPACT Your Learning
By: Connecting 473
How Do Your Attitudes Affect You? 475
12.5 You Form Attitudes Through Experience and Socialization 476
12.6 Discrepancies Between Attitudes and Behavior Lead to Dissonance 478
12.7 Your Attitudes Can Be Changed Through Persuasion 480
How Do Other People Influence You? 482
12.8 Groups Affect Your Behavior 482
12.9 You Conform to and Comply With Others 484
12.10 You Probably Obey People Who Have Authority 487
THE METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY: Milgram’s Shock
Experiments on Obedience 488
12.11 You May Hurt or Help Other People 490
How Can You Develop Strong Relationships? 494
12.12 Situations and Personalities Affect Your Relationships 494
12.13 Love Is a Key Part of Romantic Relationships 496
Big Picture 499
Practice Test 501
Self and Personality 502
How Do You Know Yourself? 504
13.1 Your Self-Concept Is What You Know and Believe About Yourself 504
13.2 People Differ in How They Value Themselves 506
EVALUATING PSYCHOLOGY IN THE REAL WORLD: Can Self-
Compassion Help You Feel Better? 509
13.3 You Try to Create a Positive Sense of Self 510
13.4 Your Sense of Self Is Influenced by Cultural Factors 513
How Can You Understand Personality? 514
13.5 Psychodynamic Theory Emphasizes Unconscious Conflicts 515
LEARNING TIP: Id, Superego, and Ego 518
13.6 Humanistic Approaches Emphasize Goodness in People 518
13.7 Social Cognitive Approaches Focus on How Thoughts Shape
Personality 520
13.8 Trait Approaches Describe Characteristics 522
LEARNING TIP: Remembering the Big Five 523
13.9 Using Psychology in Your Life: Do Personalities Matter in Roommate
Relationships? 524
How Does Biology Affect Personality? 525
13.10 Personality Has a Biological Basis 526
13.11 Personality Is Influenced by Genes 527
13.12 Temperament Is Innate 528
13.13 Personality Stability Is Influenced by Biology and Situation 530
How Can Personality Be Assessed? 533
13.14 Several Methods Are Used to Assess Personality 533
PUTTING PSYCHOLOGY TO WORK: How Can Understanding
People’s Personalities Become a Career? 534
13.15 Behavior Is Influenced by Personality and Situation 538
Big Picture 540
Practice Test 542
Psychological Disorders 544
What Is a Psychological Disorder? 546
14.1 Disorders Interfere With Our Lives 547
LEARNING TIP: Limitations of the Criteria for Disordered
Emotions, Thoughts, and/or Behaviors 548
14.2 There Are Two General Ways to View the Causes of Disorders 549
14.3 Disordered Thoughts, Emotions, and Behaviors Can Be Assessed and
Categorized 551
How Do People Experience Disorders of Emotion? 555
14.4 Anxiety Disorders Make People Fearful and Tense 555
LEARNING TO LEARN INFOGRAPHIC: IMPACT Your Learning
By: Attending 557
14.5 Some Disorders Involve Unwanted and Intrusive Thoughts That
Increase Anxiety 559
14.6 Depressive Disorders Involve Sad, Empty, or Irritable Mood 562
14.7 Many Factors Influence the Development of Depressive Disorders 563
14.8 Using Psychology in Your Life: What Should You Do If You Think a
Friend or Loved One Might Be Considering Suicide 565
14.9 Bipolar Disorders Involve Mania 567
How Do People Experience Disorders of Thought? 569
14.10 Schizophrenia Involves a Disconnection From Reality 569
14.11 Schizophrenia Is Caused by Biological and Environmental Factors 572
How Do People Experience Disorders of Self? 574
14.12 Personality Disorders Are Maladaptive Ways of Relating to the World 575
14.13 Dissociative Disorders Involve Disruptions in the Sense of Self 578
14.14 Eating Disorders Involve Distortions or Distress About Body Image 580
What Disorders Affect Children? 582
14.15 Children May Experience Neurodevelopmental Disorders 582
14.16 Autism Spectrum Disorder Involves Social Deficits and Restricted
Interests 583
14.17 Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Is a Disruptive Impulse
Control Disorder 586
Big Picture 588
Practice Test 591
Psychological Treatments 592
How Are Psychological Disorders Treated? 594
15.1 Some Types of Psychotherapy Focus on Providing Insight 595
15.2 Behavioral and Cognitive Treatments Aim to Change Thoughts,
Feelings, and Behaviors Directly 597
15.3 The Context of Therapy Matters 599
15.4 Biological Therapies Are Effective for Certain Disorders 600
15.5 Scientific Evidence Indicates Which Treatments Are Safe and Effective 603
15.6 Various Providers Assist in Treating Psychological Disorders 604
15.7 Using Psychology in Your Life: How Do You Find a Provider Who
Can Help You? 606
PUTTING PSYCHOLOGY TO WORK: How Do You Become a
Counselor or Clinical Psychologist? 608
What Are the Most Effective Treatments? 609
15.8 Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Are Best Treated with
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy 609
15.9 Many Effective Treatments Are Available for Depressive Disorders 614
THE METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY: Mayberg’s Study of Deep
Brain Stimulation for Depression 618
15.10 Psychotropic Medications Are Most Effective for Bipolar Disorders 618
15.11 Atypical Antipsychotic Medications Are the Best Treatment for
Schizophrenia 620
Can Personality Disorders Be Treated? 621
15.12 Dialectical Behavior Therapy Is the Best Treatment for Borderline
Personality Disorder 622
15.13 Antisocial Personality Disorder Is Extremely Difficult to Treat 623
How Can Disorders Be Treated in Children and Adolescents? 624
15.14 Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Benefit from Structured
Behavior Therapy 625
15.15 Children with ADHD Can Benefit from Various Approaches 626
Big Picture 629
Practice Test 631
Appendix A: How Can You Understand Data From Psychological Research? A-1
A.1 Research Data Provide a Description of What Occurred A-1
A.2 Research Data Can Reveal Relationships Between Variables A-5
A.3 Research Data Reveal Whether Results Are Meaningful or Just Due to
Chance A-8
Big Picture A-12
Practice Test A-13
Appendix B: Answers to In-Chapter Questions B-1
Glossary G-1
References R-1
Permissions Acknowledgments P-1
Name Index N-1
Subject Index S-1