Learning from Psychology

Welcome to psychology! Our names are Sandy Hockenbury, Susan Nolan, and Don Hockenbury, and we’re the authors of your textbook. Every semester, we teach several sections of introductory psychology. We wrote this text to help you succeed in the class you are taking. Every aspect of this book has been carefully designed to help you get the most out of your introductory psychology course. Before you begin reading, you will find it well worth your time to take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the special features and learning aids in this book.

Learning Aids in the Text

KEY THEME

You can enhance your chances for success in psychology by using the learning aids that have been built in to this textbook.

KEY QUESTIONS

First, read and think about the “Myth or Science?” questions at the beginning of each chapter. These questions reflect common ideas about some of the topics we’ll cover. How many of these statements have you heard before? In the course of reading the chapter you’ll find out which statements are popular myths—and which are actually true and based on scientific evidence.

Next, take a look at the Chapter Outline at the beginning of each chapter. The Chapter Outline provides an overview of the main topics that will be covered in the chapter. You might also want to flip through the chapter and browse a bit so you have an idea of what’s to come.

Then, read the chapter Prologue. The Prologues are true stories about real people. Some of the stories are humorous, some dramatic. We think you will enjoy this special feature, but it will also help you to understand the material in the chapter that follows and why the topics are important and relevant to your life. In each chapter, we return to the people and stories introduced in the Prologue to illustrate important themes and concepts.

As you begin reading the chapter, you will notice several special elements. Major Sections are easy to identify because the heading is in orange type. The beginning of each major section also includes an Advance Organizer—a short section preview that looks like the one above.

The Key Theme provides you with a preview of the material in the section to come. The Key Questions will help you focus on some of the most important material in the section. Keep the questions in mind as you read the section. They will help you identify important points in the chapter. After you finish reading each section, look again at the Advance Organizer. Make sure that you can confidently answer each question before you go on to the next section. If you want to maximize your understanding of the material, write out the answer to each question. You can also use the questions in the Advance Organizer to aid you in taking notes or in outlining chapter sections, both of which are effective study strategies.

Notice that some terms in the chapter are printed in boldface, or darker, type. Some of these key terms may already be familiar to you, but most will be new. The darker type signals that the term has a specialized meaning in psychology. Each key term is formally defined within a sentence or two of being introduced. Some key terms include a pronunciation guide to help you say the word correctly.

Occasionally, we print words in italic type to signal either that they are boldfaced terms in another chapter or that they are specialized terms in psychology.

Certain names also appear in boldface type. These are the key people—the researchers or theorists who are especially important within a given area of psychological study. Typically, key people are the psychologists or other researchers whose names your instructor will expect you to know.

A Concept Review appears several times in every chapter. The Concept Reviews contain exercises that allow you to check your understanding of important information.

You’ll also notice notations at the end of major sections inviting you to Test your understanding with . This notation signals that the material you have just finished reading is covered by a comprehensive quiz in Launch-Pad. (You can find instructions on how to access LaunchPad in the section titled “LaunchPad for Psychology 7e” below.)

In the margins of every chapter, you will find callouts directing you to LaunchPad activities. Some of these LaunchPad activities expand upon topics introduced in the text, while others will help you review and better comprehend the text’s information. Many of the activities incorporate video footage or simulations, but all of them were chosen for their relevance to the chapter material.

Another special feature is the Think Like a Scientist digital activity, which you will also find in LaunchPad. These activities were created by your authors to help you develop your scientific thinking skills. Each activity provides an interactive, fun, and interesting activity to apply what you’ve learned to a new topic or claim. Whenever you see a Think Like a Scientist callout in the margin of your textbook, check out the activity to explore questions like “Can you learn to tell when someone is lying?” and “Do you have psychic powers?”

Reviewing for Examinations

The Chapter Review at the end of each chapter includes several elements to help you review what you have learned. The chapter’s key points are summarized and bulleted under each major section heading. All the chapter’s key people and key terms are listed, along with the pages on which they appear and are defined. The key terms are also boldfaced in the chapter summary so you can see their use in context. You can check your knowledge of the key people by describing in your own words why each scientist is important. You will also want to define each key term in your own words, then compare your definition to information on the page where it is discussed.

Special Features in the Text

Each chapter in Psychology has several boxes that focus on different kinds of topics. Take the time to read the boxes because they are an integral part of each chapter. They also present important information that you may be expected to know for class discussion or tests. There are five types of boxes:

The Psych for Your Life section at the end of each chapter provides specific suggestions to help apply chapter information to help you deal with real-life concerns. These suggestions are based on psychological research, rather than opinions, anecdotes, or pop psych self-help philosophies.

Especially important is the Psych for Your Life section at the end of Chapter 1, which provides a list of research-based study techniques that you can use to help you succeed in psychology and other courses as well. In addition, the Psych for Your Life sections for Chapters 5, 6, and 8 deal with setting and achieving goals and enhancing motivation and memory, so you may want to skip ahead and read them after you finish this To the Student section. We hope that all of the Psych for Your Life sections make a difference in your life.

There are two special appendices at the back of the text. The Statistics: Understanding Data appendix discusses how psychologists use statistics to summarize and draw conclusions from the data they have gathered. The Industrial/Organizational Psychology appendix describes the branch of psychology that studies human behavior in the workplace. Your instructor may assign one or both of these appendices, or you may want to read them on your own.

Also at the back of this text is a Glossary containing the definitions for all key terms in the book and the pages on which they are discussed in more detail. You can use the Subject Index to locate discussions of particular topics and the Name Index to locate particular researchers. Finally, interested students can look up the specific studies we cite in the References sections.

LAUNCHPAD FOR PSYCHOLOGY, SEVENTH EDITION

Get the most out of Psychology, Seventh Edition with LaunchPad, which combines an interactive e-Book with high-quality multimedia content and activities that give you immediate feedback on your performance. Throughout the book you will see callouts that signal you to go to LaunchPad to access this online content.

To learn more about LaunchPad for Psychology, Seventh Edition or to request access, go to www.launchpadworks.com.

That’s it! We hope you enjoy reading and learning from the seventh edition of Psychology. If you want to share your thoughts or suggestions for the next edition of this book, you can write to us at the following address:

Or you can contact us at our e-mail address:

Hockenbury.Psychology@gmail.com

Have a great semester!