Discovering Psychology: The Science of Mind

Encouraging readers to put what they learn into action, "Thinking Scientifically" features help students sharpen critical-thinking skills by giving them an opportunity to critique a piece of research.

"Visual Summary Tables" present key chapter concepts at the end of every major section, with visual cues to help students remember and learn -- maximizing their study time.

Both comprehensive and thorough, the book explores five integrative perspectives within psychology: social and personality, cognition, biology/evolution, development and clinical psychology.

Integrated into the chapter narrative and identified by an icon, "Psychology as a Hub Science" features broaden the discussion by showing how psychology is engaged in cooperative science with other disciplines, helping undergraduates see how what they are learning in their introductory psychology course will help them no matter what they major in.

Chapter prologues spotlight both big picture and micro views of the chapter topic, providing a window into how the integration of psychology as a science provides a larger perspective for the psychology student.

"Interpersonal Relationships" features show how various psychological perspectives -- such as methodological and social psychological -- can be applied to increase understanding of a single topic. The authors explore a topic students from all walks of life will find interesting and relevant: how to build and maintain significant social relationships.

"Connecting to Research" features highlight classic and contemporary studies relevant to chapter material.

"Experiencing Psychology" provides hands-on, experiential activities for students, enabling them to more deeply engage with chapter concepts.

"Psychology Takes on Real World Problems" meets the recommendations of the APA's 2014 "Strengthening the Common Core of the Introductory Psychology Course" report. To implement the report's suggested Big Problems approach, each feature shows how the chapter material relates to a familiar, relevant topic -- social connectivity and loneliness. By reading all 16 sections, students see how the many facets of psychology -- gene-environment interaction, motivation, self-regulation -- contribute to understanding the causes of and solutions to an important issue.

"Diverse Voices in Psychology" features in every chapter augment diversity content integrated throughout the textbook -- reinforcing psychology's relevance to the understanding of diversity. Topics include ethics associated with genetic research using vulnerable participants (Ch. 3), "shooter bias" (Ch. 13) and culturally competent counseling and psychotherapy (Ch. 15).

Building on the foundation of the first three editions, Stephanie Cacioppo joins the author team, bringing the additional insight of a licensed clinician. Dr. Cacioppo's research into such high-interest student topics as sexuality and love provides further engagement.

The “Big Problems” feature now focuses on social connectivity and loneliness -- a highly relevant topic for the college student experience and beyond. Students are walked through this problem from the perspective of each chapter with the goal of producing advocacy policy to address this issue. This feature provides frequent opportunities for students to apply what they're learning to real-life issues while forming connections across the 16 chapters.

Instead of shying away from the "replication crisis" issue in psychology, the text emphasizes the evolving, fluid nature of good science.

The emphasis on "myth busting" is consistent with the APA's most recent recommendations for introductory psychology. As with the replication crisis, the authors present issues in a way that supports rather than undermines student trust in the scientific method.

Reflecting the latest developments from the field, the science is updated in each chapter, providing the most current possible approach to the subject matter.