Invitation to Psychology

1 What is Psychology? The Diversity of Psychology Areas of Specialization Physiological Sensation and Perception Learning and Conditioning Memory Cognition Motivation Emotion Development Personality Assessment Social Abnormal Clinical and Counseling School Industrial and Environmental Percentages: Who Does What? APA Divisions Defining Psychology and Its Goals A Definition Goals Methods of Psychology Experiments Naturalistic Observation Test Interviews and Questionnaires Case Histories Correlation Levels of Analysis Points of View Psychological Perspectives Fields versus Levels Two Kinds of Chapters Summary Readings2 The Physiological Basis of Behavior Level One: The Neuron The Neuron: The Basic Unit What Does a Neuron Look Like? How a Neuron Works Synaptic Events and Neurotransmitters Level Two: Functional Groups of Neurons Types of Groups Afferent, Efferent, and Connecting Groups Level Three: The Nervous System The Peripheral Nervous System The Central Nervous System: The Brain and the Spinal Cord The Brain Techniques for Brain Study The Hindbrain The Midbrain The Forebrain The Cortex and Behavior Our Senses and the Cortex Movement and the Cortex Learning, Thinking, and the Cortex Language and the Cortex Split-Brain Experiments The Endocrine System The Pituitary Gland The Thyroid Gland The Adrenal Glands Behavioral Genetics Chromosomes and Genes Dominant and Recessive Genes Chromosomal Abnormalities Twin Studies Selective Breeding and Inbred Strains Heredity, Environment, and Evolution Summary Readings3 Sensation and Perception Sensory Thresholds Specialized Receptors Absolute Threshold Difference Threshold Sensory Adaptation The Minor Senses Dominant and Minor Senses The Skin Sensors Position Sensors Smell Taste The Major Senses I: Hearing Sound Waves The Components of the Ear Functions of the Ear The Major Senses II: Vision Light The Eye The Retina: Rods and Cones Dark Adaptation Color Vision Perception and Experience Perception Isn't Perfect: Illusions The Ponzo Illusion The Moon Illusion The Gamma Phenomenon Additional Illusions Illusions and Delusions Two Perceptual Processes Selective Attention Organization Information Processing: The Perception of Patterns, Movement, and Space Pattern Recognition Perception of Movement Depth Perception Depth Perception: Innate or Learned? Perceptual Constancy Perceptual Expectations Perceptual Development Summary Readings4 Exploring States of Awareness ESP Definition Personal versus Scientific Observations Types of ESP Reasons for Caution Kirlian Photography Give It a Chance Sleep and Dreams Sleep as an Active Process Eye Movements and Brain Waves Patterns of Sleeping and Dreaming Dream Theories Hypnopaedia The Need to Sleep The Need to Dream How Long Does a Dream Take? Who Needs How Much Sleep? Hypnosis Entering the Hypnotic Trance The Hypnotic Trance Hypnotic Effects Role Playing Who Can Be Hypnotized? The Uses of Hypnosis Drug Use