Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1
Coping and Health
Susan Folkman,
University of California, San Francisco
Susan Folkman's chapter provides an exceptional overview of current frameworks that explain what makes us resilient in the face of stress and what makes us crumble. Her chapter provides some practical direction about how health psychology theories can be applied to improve our ability to cope.
Chapter 2
Personality Psychology:
Havings, Doings, and Beings in Context
Brian R. Little
Carleton University and Harvard University
Brian Little's sense of humor makes this chapter about personality theory a unique reading experience. He explains how three students with distinctive backgrounds illustrate various personality principles as they pursue admission to graduate school.
Chapter 3
Industrial/Organization Psychology 2010:
A Research Odyssey
Brian W. Schrader,
Emporia State University
Industrial/Organizational Psychology 2010: A Research Odyssey examines the many content and research changes that are set to happen in the next decade across the major areas of I/O Psychology: personnel selection, work motivation, leadership, training, work attitudes, organizational issues, and performance appraisal with a strong emphasis on the latter. The chapter also explores the current hot topics in I/O Psychology as well as provides advice for students interested in becoming an I/O Psychologist.
Chapter 4
The Next Frontier in Neuroscience?
Believe It or Not, It's Physiological Psychology
Timothy M. Barth,
Texas Christian University
Physiological psychology is one of the most enduring specialties in psychology. Yet, technological advances have made emerging studies in this area among psychologists most exciting adventures. This chapter explores many historical and contemporary aspects of physiological research including applications to behavioral assessment, neurodegenerative disease, and recovery.
Chapter 5
Cross-Cultural Psychology in the 21st Century
David Matsumoto,
San Francisco State UniversityEverything you thought you knew in psychology may or may not be true for all people of all cultures. Cross-cultural psychology challenges the very nature of truth and principle in all areas of psychology, and promises to change those truths in fundamental ways.
Chapter 6
Dr. Jekyll Meets Mr. Hyde:
Two Faces of Research on Intelligence and Cognition
Robert J. Sternberg,
Yale UniversityRobert Sternberg uses Robert Louis Stevensonís tale of Jekyll and Hyde to explore the advantages and disadvantages of intelligence testing. His work highlights the nature of creativity in research design and execution as an essential characteristic of successful research.
Chapter 7
Social Psychology:
Past, Present, and Some Predictions for the Future
Nyla R. Branscombe, University of Kansas and
Russell Spears, University of AmsterdamSocial psychology provides insight into how our behavior is influenced by our own identities, and which are salient at any given moment. We emphasize the social identity and self-categorization theoretical perspective, and show how it can be used to unify the empirical findings obtained in the field as a whole. Our discussion of identity processes emphasizes new topics that are likely to increasingly capture investigators' attention in the new millennium.
Chapter 8
Psychology of Women and Gender in the 21st Century
Janet Shibley Hyde & Amanda M. Durik,
University of WisconsinThis engaging chapter interweaves three main themes: research focused on women and their psychological functioning; research on gender, both gender differences and gender as a stimulus variable; and feminist psychology. The authors offer solid advice for aspiring feminist scientists in carving our distinctive research careers.
Chapter 9
Sensation and Perception:
A Window into the Brain and Mind
Charles B. Woods, Austin Peay State University and
John H. Krantz, Hanover CollegeContemporary research in these areas represents a blend of interest in low level sensory processing to high level perceptual mechanisms that give meaning to human experience. This chapter explores vision and visual perception as both a basic and applied science. The authors conclude with some speculation about virtual reality research as an exciting venue for understanding and applying knowledge in sensation and perception.
Chapter 10
Trends in Human Development
Laura E. Berk,
Illinois State UniversityChildhood specialist Laura Berk provides broad view of the nature of human development by examining major characteristics of this field of study. She highlights the theories of Vygotsky as an avenue for promoting integration across specialized fields in developmental psychology. She examines play, private speech development, and impulse control as just a few of the many exciting fields in which contemporary researchers do their work.
Chapter 11
Psychology and the Law,
Now and in the Next Century
Matthew T. Huss,
University of Nebraska at LincolnForensic psychology stands at the intersection of clinical psychology and the law. This chapter details the manner in which basic psychological principles are applied to our legal system.
Chapter 12
Psychopathology
Richard P. Halgin,
University of Massachusetts at AmherstRichard Halgin speculates about the future of research in psychopathology based on the significant premise that the scientific truths of one era often become challenges and replaced through intellectual evolution in the field. He reviews major philosophical differences among perspectives that explain psychopathology and offers suggestions to neophyte researchers about the nature of graduate training that will help them achieve professional resilience even under the pressures of changing scientific truths.
Chapter 13
Comparative Psychology and Animal Learning
Jesse E. Purdy, Southwestern University and
Michael Domjan, University of Texas at AustinZoos and animals trained for entertainment have been popular for centuries, and nature shows dealing with animal behavior can be seen on TV virtually any time of day. Most of us know first hand that animals can be fun, interesting, and emotionally satisfying, but nonhuman animals can also provide information about learning, cognition, and the evolution of intelligence. This chapter explores the study of comparative psychology and animal learning from three perspectives--past, present, and future. Readers will learn that persons who have a personal fascination with animals and nature can turn that interest into studying comparative psychology and animal learning and end up knowing more about the human animal as well.