Invitation to Psychology (PDF)

Invitation to Psychology provides an introduction to fundamental concepts in psychology. It seeks to address the need of both teachers and students by offering two different kinds of chapters. The first variety covers the basic data and research within each of the traditional areas of psychology. In these "basic" chapters, the authors provide up-to-date and complete coverage of important developments in each area. The second type of chapter is innovative. These "exploring" chapters examine some of the practical applications and implications of the findings discussed in the basic chapters. These describe how basic psychological data are being used in the outside world, and discuss ongoing, often controversial explorations into some frontier areas of psychology. In other words, information about explorations and applications that is often scattered through the pages of other texts is brought together into systematic chapters in this text. The dual-chapter approach helps resolve the dilemma of differing expectations of teachers and students. Key topics covered include the definition of psychology; the psychological basis of behavior; sensation and perception; states of awareness; learning, memory, and cognition; motivation and emotion; abnormal psychology and social behavior.