Understanding Psychology [antikvár]

PREFACE when I wrote the preface to the first edition of Understanding Ps)'cholog^i, I began it in this way: As I look out the window, the form of Mount Norwottock, an ancient glacial mountain, rises above the landscape. I can see a farmer in the valley below Norwottock methodically plowing his fields, as, closer to home, a mother walks her child to school. A crew of carpenters is building a new house on land nearby, working together and following complicated architectural plans. At the same time as 1 look out on this peaceful scene, the morning newspaper lying across my desk reports another terrorist attack, a Mideast treat)- broken, and a murder in a small town nearby. It tells of a march of members of a Nazi-like organization who want to expel minorities from the United States, and of the upcoming release from a tnental hospital of a killer judged innocent by reason of insanit)'. For better or worse, little has changed over the past few years. More homes are being built in the valley below Norwottock, but the scene is still primarily one of open fields. And my newspaper reports the same variety' of behavior and thinking that defies easy explanation. We still see selfishness and self-sacrifice; thoughtfulness and irrationality; cooperation and violent competition among the peoples of the world. What has changed, though, is the discipline of psychology. It has cotne closer to its goal of explaining the behavior and thought that we find around us and of meeting the challenge of understanding human behavior. This second edition of Understanding Ps\'cholog}i reflects these advances in the field, as well as presenting the fundamentals on which the discipline is built. INTRODUCING THE SECOND EDITION OF UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOLOGY As with the first edition, the second edition of Understanding Psychology has three major goals. First, it is intended to provide effective and broad coverage of the field of psychology', introducing readers to the theories, research, and applications that constitute the science. Second, it is meant to provide an impetus for students to begin to think as psychologists, even after the recall of specific content has waned, and to foster an appreciation for the scientific basis of psychology. Finally, this book is designed to be engaging and interesting, arousing students' intellectual curiosity and building an appreciation of how psychology can increase their understanding of the world around them. These goals, of course, are interdependent. In fact, I would argue that if the text is successful in accurately coinmunicating the nature of psychology,