Psychology continues to be one of the most popular fields of study at colleges and universities the world over, and Psychology offers a comprehensive overview of the historical, methodological, and conceptual core of modern psychology. This textbook enables students to gain foundational knowledge of psychological investigation, exploring both the biological basis and mental processes underlying our thoughts and behaviours. Officially endorsed by the British Psychological Society, this book covers topics ranging from biological, cognitive and developmental psychology to the psychology of social interactions, psychopathology and mental health treatments. Each chapter provides detailed examination of essential topics, chapter summaries, real-world case studies, descriptions of research methods, and interactive learning activities to strengthen student comprehension and retention. This textbook offers a wealth of supplementary material for instructors of introductory and advanced undergraduate courses in psychology. An instructor's manual includes lecture outlines, classroom discussion topics, homework assignments and test bank questions, while online access to additional digital content provides a complete resource to facilitate effective teaching and learning.

Table of Contents:
Contents List of Contributors xxi Preface xxiii Chapter 1 The Science of Psychology 1 Dominic Upton, Charlotte Taylor, Felicity Penn, and Abbye Andrews What Is Psychology? 2 Psychology’s Roots: The Path to a Science of Mind and Behaviour 5 Levels of Analysis: Types of Psychology and Their Contribution to Understanding 13 Issues and Debates in Psychology 16 Bias in Psychological Research 22 Psychology at the Cultural Level 25 Psychology Today 29 Psychology in Action: Applying Psychological Science 32 Future Developments 40 Chapter Summary 42 Chapter 2 Research Methods in Psychology 51 Graham Hole The Scientific Method 52 The Dissemination of Scientific Ideas 55 Quantitative Research Methods 56 Analysing and Interpreting Quantitative Data 77 Qualitative Research Methods 82 Good and Bad Practice in Psychological Research 87 Future Developments 95 Chapter Summary 98 Chapter 3 Evolutionary and Genetic Foundations of Psychology 107 Daniel Nettle Introduction 108 What Makes You Unique? The Origins of Variation 112 Passing It On: The Mechanisms of Heredity 120 Staying Alive: The Operation of Natural Selection 129 Staying Alive: Selection of Behaviours and Adaptation 134 The Value of Evolution for Psychology 138 Future Directions 147 Chapter Summary 150 Chapter 4 Neuroscience, the Brain, and Behaviour 157 Jamie Ward and Sarah King Introduction 158 Neurons and Synaptic Transmission 159 Structure of the neuron 160 An Overview of Brain Structures and Their Functions 173 Animal Neuroscience Methods 179 Human Neuroscience Methods 184 Hemispheric Lateralization 192 Plasticity and the Brain 196 Future Directions 199 Chapter Summary 200 Chapter 5 Motivation 209 Graham Davey Theories of Motivation 210 The Biological Bases of Primary Motivations: Hunger and Drinking 219 The Biological Bases of Primary Motivations: Sex and Aggression 229 Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation 240 Affiliation and Achievement Motivation 243 Applications of Theories of Motivation 247 Chapter Summary 250 Chapter 6 Consciousness: Conscious Versus Unconscious Processes 262 Zoltan Dienes and Anil Seth Introduction 263 Theories of Consciousness: Higher-Order Versus Integration Conscious Versus Unconscious Memory 270 Conscious Versus Unconscious Perception 279 Conscious Versus Unconscious Learning 292 Conscious Versus Unconscious Intentions: Volition and Hypnotic Conscious Versus Unconscious Attitudes and Emotions 307 Functions of Consciousness and Future Directions 310 Chapter Summary 312 Chapter 7 Sensation and Perception 324 George Mather Introduction 325 The Neuroscience of Sensation and Perception 333 Sensory Qualia and Modality 340 Audition 347 Vision: Physiology 354 Visual stimulus 354 Vision: Perceiving Object Properties 360 Multimodal Perception 366 Future Directions 372 Chapter Summary 375 Chapter 8 Learning 382 Mark Haselgrove Introduction: What Is Learning and Why Does It Happen? 383 Types of Learning 385 Human Causal Learning 404 The Theoretical Basis of Learning 407 The Adaptive Brain: Learning Through Connections 411 Practical and Clinical Applications of Learning 413 Conclusions and Future Directions 421 Chapter Summary 422 Chapter 9 Memory 429 Chris Moulin and Lucie Corbin What Is Memory? 430 Memory for Beginners: The Cognitive Psychology of Remembering 436 Thinking About Memory: Models and Frameworks 443 Three Dichotomies in Human Memory 449 Future Directions 468 Chapter Summary 472 Chapter 10 Emotion 479 Brian Parkinson Introduction 480 Emotion Differentiation 481 Facial Expression 496 Appraisal 505 What’s Different About Different Emotions? 515 Conclusions and Future Directions 519 Chapter Summary 521 Chapter 11 Cognitive Development 529 Andy Bremner Introduction 530 Theories of Development: How Nature and Nurture Interact 532 Research Methods in Developmental Psychology 538 Development of the Brain and Nervous System 541 Multisensory Perceptual Development 547 Sensorimotor Development 556 Cognitive Development 562 Chapter Summary 577 Chapter 12 Language and Thought 589 Alan Garnham Introduction 590 Language 591 Thinking 609 Language and Thought 639 Chapter Summary 641 Chapter 13 Intelligence 650 Sophie von Stumm Introduction and Defining Intelligence 651 History of Intelligence 654 Factors of Intelligence 663 Intelligence Development 671 Causes of Individual Differences in Intelligence 676 Alternative Models of Intelligence 684 Future Directions 687 Chapter Summary 689 Chapter 14 Personality 693 Tom Farsides Introduction to Personality 694 Psychodynamic Personality Theory 697 Trait Personality Theory 708 Humanistic Personality Theory 719 Social Cognitive Personality Theories 730 Behaviourism 731 Observational learning 732 Culture and instruction 733 Self-efficacy beliefs 733 Goals and self-regulation 734 Conclusions and Future Directions 737 Chapter Summary 740 Chapter 15 Mental Health and Psychopathology 750 Frances Meeten and Graham Davey Introduction to Psychopathology 751 A Brief History of Psychopathology 753 Defining Psychopathology 756 Explanatory Approaches to Psychopathology 760 Classifying Mental Health Problems 766 Mental Health and Stigma 768 Psychological Disorders 771 Conclusions and Future Directions 789 Chapter Summary 791 Chapter 16 The Treatment of Mental Health Problems 803 Kate Cavanagh and Graham Davey Introduction 804 Psychological Treatments for Mental Health Problems 809 Ways of Delivering Psychological Therapy 822 Social and Environmental Approaches to Treatment 825 Biological Approaches to Treatment 828 Evaluating Treatments for Mental Health Problems 832 Conclusions and Future Directions 842 Chapter Summary 843 Chapter 17 Social Development 855 Lance Slade, Mark Wright, and Robin Banerjee Introduction 856 Early Emotional Development and Temperament 857 Caregiver–Child Interactions and the Development of Attachment 863 Social Understanding and Self-Regulation 873 Socio-Moral Development 883 Who Am I? The Development of Self and Identity 890 Developing in a Social Context: Family, Peers, and Media 896 Future Directions 907 Chapter Summary 908 Chapter 18 Social Cognition and Attitudes 935 Russell Hutter, Chantelle Wood, Lucy Davies, and Mark Conner Social Thinking 936 Self and Identity 939 Person Perception 1: Social Inference and Attribution 944 Person Perception 2: Social Cognition and Social Knowledge 948 Stereotyping 952 Attitudes and Attitude Change 958 Automatic Processes in Social Cognition 969 Future Directions 972 Chapter Summary 974 Chapter 19 Interpersonal, Group, and Intergroup Processes 986 Rhiannon N. Turner Introduction 987 Interpersonal Processes 987 Group Processes 998 Intergroup Processes 1007 Future Directions 1017 Chapter Summary 1018 Index 1029