This classic text emphasizes the science of psychology, with a special focus on applying psychology to students' daily lives.   Now available in a special edition tied to the award-winning “Discovering Psychology” video series, produced by WGBH Boston with the American Psychological Association.  Author Phil Zimbardo narrates the video series, as leading researchers, practitioners, and theorists probe the mysteries of the mind and body and bring psychology to life for introductory students.   Psychology and Life: The Discovering Psychology Edition offers the same content as the Eighteenth Edition, and adds a built in Discovering Psychology viewing guide at the end of each chapter.  Each new copy of the text comes packaged — at no additional cost — with access to MyPsychLab, an online tool that includes links to the “Discovering Psychology” videos, as well as interactive viewing activities tied to the videos.   Students can go to MyPsychLab to launch the videos and then either complete the viewing activities in their textbook or do the assignments online.  There’s also an Index of Multimedia that makes it easy for instructors to find and launch specific video segments for classroom presentation.    Psychology and Life continues to provide a rigorous, research-centered survey of the discipline while offering students special features and learning aids that will spark their interest and excite their imaginations.

Table of Contents:
1. PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE WHAT MAKES PSYCHOLOGY UNIQUE? Definitions The Goals of Psychology PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: CAN PSYCHOLOGY HELP FIND ME A CAREER? THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN PSYCHOLOGY Psychology’s Historical Foundations Current Psychological Perspectives CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: WHY DO FRIENDSHIPS END? WHAT PSYCHOLOGISTS DO HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Study Strategies Study Techniques Special Features RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   2. RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY THE PROCESS OF RESEARCH Observer Biases and Operational Definitions Experimental Methods: Alternative Explanations and the Need for Controls Correlational Methods Subliminal Influence? PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: CAN SURVEY RESEARCH AFFECT YOUR ATTITUDES? PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT Achieving Reliability and Validity Self-Report Measures Behavioral Measures and Observations ETHICAL ISSUES IN HUMAN AND ANIMAL RESEARCH Informed Consent Risk/Gain Assessment Intentional Deception Debriefing Issues in Animal Research BECOMING A WISER RESEARCH CONSUMER CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: HOW CAN YOU EVALUATE PSYCHOLOGICAL INFORMATION ON THE WEB? RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   STATISTICAL SUPPLEMENT UNDERSTANDING STATISTICS: ANALYZING DATA AND FORMING CONCLUSIONS ANALYZING THE DATA DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS INFERENTIAL STATISTICS BECOMING A WISE CONSUMER OF STATISTICS KEY TERMS   3. THE BIOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY BASES OF BEHAVIOR HEREDITY AND BEHAVIOR Evolution and Natural Selection Variation in the Human Genotype THE NERVOUS SYSTEM IN ACTION The Neuron Action Potentials Synaptic Transmission Neurotransmitters and Their Functions BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR Eavesdropping on the Brain The Nervous System Brain Structures and Their Functions Hemispheric Lateralization The Endocrine System Plasticity and Neurogenesis: Our Changing Brains CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: WHAT DOES “IT’S GENETIC” MEAN? PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: WHY DOES MUSIC HAVE AN IMPACT ON HOW YOU FEEL? RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   4. SENSATION AND PERCEPTION SENSING, ORGANIZING, IDENTIFYING, AND RECOGNIZING The Proximal and Distal Stimuli Reality, Ambiguity, and Illusions SENSORY KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD Psychophysics From Physical Events to Mental Events THE VISUAL SYSTEM The Human Eye The Pupil and the Lens The Retina Processes in the Brain Seeing Color CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: CAN TECHNOLOGY RESTORE SIGHT? HEARING The Physics of Sound Psychological Dimensions of Sound The Physiology of Hearing YOUR OTHER SENSES Smell Taste Touch and Skin Senses The Vestibular and Kinesthetic Senses Pain ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES IN PERCEPTION Attentional Processes Principles of Perceptual Grouping Spatial and Temporal Integration Motion Perception Depth Perception Perceptual Constancies PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: WHY IS EATING “HOT” FOOD PAINFUL? IDENTIFICATION AND RECOGNITION PROCESS Bottom-Up and Top-Down Processes The Influence of Contexts and Expectations Final Lessons RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   5. MIND, CONSCIOUSNESS, AND ALTERNATESTATES THE CONTENTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS Awareness and Consciousness Studying the Contents of Consciousness THE FUNCTIONS OF CONSCIOUSNESS The Uses of Consciousness Studying the Functions of Consciousness SLEEP AND DREAMS Circadian Rhythms The Sleep Cycle Why Sleep? Sleep Disorders Dreams: Theater of the Mind PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: DO YOU GET ENOUGH SLEEP? ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS Lucid Dreaming Hypnosis Meditation Religious Ecstasy MIND-ALTERING DRUGS Dependence and Addiction Varieties of Psychoactive Drugs CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: DOES ECSTASY HARM THE BRAIN? RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   6. LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS THE STUDY OF LEARNING What Is Learning? Behaviorism and Behavior Analysis CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: LEARNING PREDICTABLE SIGNALS Pavlov’s Surprising Observation Processes of Conditioning Focus on Acquisition Applications of Classical Conditioning OPERANT CONDITIONING: LEARNING ABOUT CONSEQUENCES The Law of Effect Experimental Analysis of Behavior Reinforcement Contingencies Properties of Reinforcers Schedules of Reinforcement Shaping PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: HOW DOES CLASSICAL CONDITIONING AFFECT CANCER TREATMENT? CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: TO SPANK OR NOT TO SPANK BIOLOGY AND LEARNING Instinctual Drift Taste-Aversion Learning COGNITIVE INFLUENCES ON LEARNING Animal Cognition Observational Learning RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   7. MEMORY WHAT IS MEMORY? Types of Memories An Overview of Memory Processes MEMORY USE FOR THE SHORT-TERM Iconic Memory Short-Term Memory Working Memory LONG-TERM MEMORY: ENCODING AND RETRIEVAL Retrieval Cues Context and Encoding The Processes of Encoding and Retrieval Why We Forget Improving Memory for Unstructured Information Metamemory       CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: HOW CAN MEMORY RESEARCH HELP YOU PREPARE FOR EXAMS? STRUCTURES IN LONG-TERM MEMORY Memory Structures Remembering as a Reconstructive Process BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF MEMORY Searching for the Engram Amnesia Brain Imaging PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: WHY DOES ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AFFECT MEMORY? RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   8. COGNITIVE PROCESSES STUDYING COGNITION Discovering the Processes of Mind Mental Processes and Mental Resources LANGUAGE USE Language Production Language Understanding Language and Evolution Language, Thought, and Culture PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: WHY AND HOW DO PEOPLE LIE? VISUAL COGNITION Using Visual Representations Combining Verbal and Visual Representations PROBLEM SOLVING AND REASONING Problem Solving Deductive Reasoning Inductive Reasoning JUDGMENT AND DECISION MAKING Heuristics and Judgment The Psychology of Decision Making CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: CAN POLITICAL EXPERTS PREDICT THE FUTURE? RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   9. INTELLIGENCE AND INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENT WHAT IS ASSESSMENT? History of Assessment Basic Features of Formal Assessment INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENT The Origins of Intelligence Testing IQ Tests Extremes of Intelligence THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE Psychometric Theories of Intelligence Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences and Emotional Intelligence CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: CAN YOU TRUST ASSESSMENT ON THE WEB? PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: DO THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE MATTER? THE POLITICS OF INTELLIGENCE The History of Group Comparisons Heredity and IQ Environments and IQ Culture and the Validity of IQ Tests CREATIVITY Assessing Creativity and the Link to Intelligence Extremes of Creativity ASSESSMENT AND SOCIETY RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   10. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN STUDYING DEVELOPMENT PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN Prenatal and Childhood Development Physical Development in Adolescence Physical Changes in Adulthood COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN Piaget’s Insights Into Mental Development Contemporary Perspectives on Early Cognitive Development Cognitive Development in Adulthood PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: WILL YOUR BRAIN WORK DIFFERENTLY AS YOU AGE? ACQUIRING LANGUAGE Perceiving Speech and Perceiving Words Learning Word Meanings Acquiring Grammar SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages Social Development in Childhood Social Development in Adolescence Social Development in Adulthood CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: HOW DOES DAY CARE AFFECT CHILDREN’S DEVELOPMENT? SEX AND GENDER DIFFERENCES Sex Differences Gender Identity and Gender Roles MORAL DEVELOPMENT Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning Gender and Cultural Perspectives on Moral Reasoning LEARNING TO AGE SUCCESSFULLY RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   11. MOTIVATION UNDERSTANDING MOTIVATION Functions of Motivational Concepts Sources of Motivation A Hierarchy of Needs EATING The Physiology of Eating The Psychology of Eating PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: HOW DOES GENETICS CONTRIBUTE TO OBESITY? SEXUAL BEHAVIORS Nonhuman Sexual Behaviors Human Sexual Arousal and Response The Evolution of Sexual Behaviors Sexual Norms Homosexuality MOTIVATION FOR PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT Need for Achievement Attributions for Success and Failure Work and Organizational Psychology CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: HOW DOES MOTIVATION AFFECT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT? RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   12. EMOTION, STRESS, AND HEALTH EMOTIONS Basic Emotions and Culture Theories of Emotion Functions of Emotions PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE HAPPIER THAN OTHERS? STRESS OF LIVING Physiological Stress Reactions Psychological Stress Reactions Coping with Stress Positive Effects of Stress HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY The Biopsychosocial Model of Health Health Promotion Treatment Personality and Health Job Burnout and the Health-Care System A Toast to Your Health CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: CAN HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY HELP YOU BE A HEALTHY PERSON BY 2010? RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   13. UNDERSTANDING HUMAN PERSONALITY TYPE AND TRAIT PERSONALITY THEORIES Categorizing by Types Describing with Traits Traits and Heritability Do Traits Predict Behaviors? Evaluation of Type and Trait Theories PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES Freudian Psychoanalysis Evaluation of Freudian Theory Extending Psychodynamic Theories PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE SHY? HUMANISTIC THEORIES Features of Humanistic Theories Evaluation of Humanistic Theories SOCIAL-LEARNING AND COGNITIVE THEORIES Mischel’s Cognitive-Affective Personality Theory Bandura’s Cognitive Social-Learning Theory Cantor’s Social Intelligence Theory Evaluation of Social-Learning and Cognitive Theories SELF THEORIES Dynamic Aspects of Self-Concepts Self-Esteem and Self-Presentation The Cultural Construction of Self Evaluation of Self Theories COMPARING PERSONALITY THEORIES CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: WHO ARE YOU ON THE INTERNET? ASSESSING PERSONALITY Objective Tests Projective Tests RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS     14. PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS THE NATURE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS Deciding What Is Abnormal The Problem of Objectivity Classifying Psychological Disorders The Etiology of Psychopathology ANXIETY DISORDERS Generalized Anxiety Disorder Panic Disorder Phobias Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Causes of Anxiety Disorders MOOD DISORDERS Major Depressive Disorder Bipolar Disorder Causes of Mood Disorders Gender Differences in Depression Suicide PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: HOW CAN WE PINPOINT INTERACTIONS OF NATURE AND NURTURE? PERSONALITY DISORDERS Borderline Personality Disorder Antisocial Personality Disorder SOMATOFORM AND DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS Somatoform Disorders Dissociative Disorders SCHIZOPHRENIC DISORDERS Major Types of Schizophrenia Causes of Schizophrenia CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: IS “INSANITY” REALLY A DEFENSE? PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS OF CHILDHOOD Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Autistic Disorder THE STIGMA OF MENTAL ILLNESS RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   15. THERAPIES FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS THE THERAPEUTIC CONTEXT Goals and Major Therapies Therapists and Therapeutic Settings Historical Perspectives on Institutional Treatment PSYCHODYNAMIC THERAPIES Freudian Psychoanalysis Later Psychodynamic Therapies PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: ARE LIVES HAUNTED BY REPRESSED MEMORIES? BEHAVIOR THERAPIES Counterconditioning Contingency Management Social-Learning Therapy Generalization Techniques COGNITIVE THERAPIES Changing False Beliefs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy HUMANISTIC THERAPIES Client-Centered Therapy Gestalt Therapy GROUP THERAPIES Couple and Family Therapy Community Support Groups BIOMEDICAL THERAPIES Drug Therapy Psychosurgery EC and rTMS CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: DOES THERAPY AFFECT BRAIN ACTIVITY? TREATMENT EVALUATION AND PREVENTION STRATEGIES Evaluating Therapeutic Effectiveness Prevention Strategies RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   16. SOCIAL COGNITION AND RELATIONSHIPS CONSTRUCTING SOCIAL REALITY The Origins of Attribution Theory The Fundamental Attribution Error Self-Serving Biases Expectations and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Behaviors That Confirm Expectations ATTITUDES, ATTITUDE CHANGE, AND ACTION Attitudes and Behaviors Processes of Persuasion Persuasion by Your Own Actions Compliance CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: DO LATE-NIGHT TV ADS REALLY WORK? PREJUDICE Origins of Prejudice Effects of Stereotypes Reversing Prejudice SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS Liking Loving PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: CAN LASTING RELATIONSHIPS FORM ON THE INTERNET? RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS   17. SOCIAL PROCESSES, SOCIETY, AND CULTURE THE POWER OF THE SITUATION Roles and Rules Social Norms Conformity Decision Making in Groups Situational Power: Candid Camera Revelations ALTRUISM AND PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR The Roots of Altruism Motives for Prosocial Behavior The Effects of the Situation of Prosocial Behavior CRITICAL THINKING IN YOUR LIFE: HOW CAN YOU GET PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER? AGGRESSION Evolutionary Perspectives Individual Differences Situational Influences Cultural Constraints THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CONFLICT AND PEACE Obedience to Authority The Psychology of Genocide and War Peace Psychology A PERSONAL ENDNOTE PSYCHOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE: HOW MIGHT RECONCILIATION BE POSSIBLE? RECAPPING MAIN POINTS KEY TERMS