Essentials of Psychology

This text is available as a digital option through Sage Vantage, an intuitive digital platform that offers auto-graded assignments and interactive multimedia tools—including video—all designed to enable students to better prepare for class. Learn more.

What’s Your Prediction? activities at the beginning of each chapter prompt students to critically consider research methods and their own assumptions about human behavior. Students take on the role of subject, experimenter, or observer, placing themselves into the details of each study and predicting results. 

 

Psychology Applied spotlights some of the most exciting work being done in areas of health, education, law, sports, and current events, enabling students to see the relevance of psychology as an active participant.

 

Video Activities in Sage Vantage support the understanding and applications of foundational studies such as Gibson’s Visual Cliff and Bandura’s social learning theory. Other video activities elucidate tough concepts, such as differentiating between classical and operant conditioning or understanding types of stress.

Try This! activities guide students through mini-experiments so that they can test intriguing psychological phenomena for themselves. For instance, the “Primacy Effect” activity provides materials to test how something as simple as the order of words can impact our attitudes toward a stranger. 

Learning Checks throughout each chapter enable students to review their knowledge by quizzing themselves on the material in a variety of formats, such as matching, sorting, recall, ordering, multiple-choice, and true-or-false.

Thinking Like a Psychologist sections at the end of each chapter prompt students to assume the role of psychologist, considering scientific questions, a summary of related findings, challenging readers to critically consider key theories, studies, and pertinent contextual factors.

 

Career Connection profiles introduce students to a diverse variety of careers that utilize the skills developed in the course of the psychology major. 

 

 

Chapter 2 is now devoted to Research Methods, providing a more thorough understanding of how psychological science is ethically conducted and statistically tested to answer our most pressing

questions about human behavior.  A new What's Your Prediction? feature looks at research on online browsing during class. 

 

Over 900 new references reflect research updates from across psychology's domains. Highlights include the rise of AI, the effects of social media usage on mental health, the introduction of semaglutide drugs, and using mindfulness as a strategy for improving wellness. 

Streamlined content throughout the book delivers a more concise reading experience without sacrificing rigor or clear explanations. 

 

Learning Checks and other pedagogy are refreshed and refocused to provide more effective opportunities for study and self-testing.