Michael W. Passer,
University of Washington Ronald E. Smith,
University of Washington Michael L. Atkinson,
University of Western Ontario John B. Mitchell,
Brescia University College, U. of Western Ontario Darwin W. Muir,
Queen's University
ISBN: 0070939764 Copyright year: 2005
Feature Summary
New Features :
Gaining Direction: At the end of each chapter the opening vignette is revisited with the new "Gaining Directions" box which suggests some answers to the questions posed at the beginning of the chapter. In the spirit of Problem-Based Learning, these answers are not definitive, but merely suggest a set of issues to be explored and some sources of information. With this new feature, students will be able to apply the newly-learned material to these real-world situations, thus enhancing their understanding of both the topics in the text, and of the use of psychology in real life.
Reader's Guide: To help familiarize students with the pedagogical features incorporated in Psychology, Chapter 1 contains a number of call-outs written by the authors to draw attention to specific features in the text and illustrate why they have been incorporated. These notes will help guide the student in their understanding of the features to come throughout the text, and ultimately help their learning of the material.
New Chapters: In response to reviewer and user suggestions, the text now has 16 chapters, including a new chapter on Genes, Evolution and Behaviour (Chapter 4) and a new chapter on Stress, Coping and Health (Chapter 15). The former capstone chapter on Living in the Modern World has been incorporated throughout the text where appropriate, and the chapter on Social Psychology now concludes the text.
Research Frontiers Box: Each chapter includes this in-depth feature, which highlights both current and future directions in psychological theory and research, illustrating the dynamic nature of psychological science and ways in which it can promote humane development.
Applications of Psychological Science Box: In each chapter this feature brings a key concept into the realm of real-life application. Many of these boxes throughout the book focus on important skills that can enhance students' learning and performance. For example, in Chapter 1, this feature comprises a discussion of good study habits and other ways that students can enhance their learning.
In Review feature: To facilitate student understanding and instructor flexibility of assignments, each major section concludes with an interim summary (In Review), breaking the content into more manageable modules or segments.
Retained Features :
Problem-Based Learning: Chapter-opening vignettes, identified by the "compass" icon, are Problem-Based Learning tools which introduce real-world cases closely related to the topics presented in each chapter. The "compass" icons in the margins throughout the chapters identify points at which an element of the corresponding text relates directly back to the case introduced in the opening vignette.
Focus on Scientific Psychology: Throughout the book psychology is portrayed as a contemporary science without becoming excessively formal or terminological. Psychology, 2nd Canadian edition, focuses both on principles derived from research and how good research is done.
Focus on Relations Between Basic Science and Applications: Whether in the context of their personal lives or of larger societal issues, many questions studied from a basic science perspective are inspired by real world questions and issues, and basic research findings often guide solutions to social and individual problems. In this way, students can be guided by their knowledge in other aspects of their lives.
Integrated Coverage of Cultural and Gender Issues: Cultural and gender issues are at the forefront of contemporary psychology, and rather than isolating this material within dedicated chapters, we integrate it throughout the text. Our Levels of Analysis approach conceptualizes culture as an environmental factor and also as a psychological factor that reflects the internalization of cultural influences.
Levels of Analysis: A Unifying Framework Students Will Remember: To help students become more sophisticated in their everyday understanding of behaviour, we present a simple framework that emphasizes how to study behaviour at biological, psychological, and environmental levels, and how these explanations are related to one another. While we carry this Levels of Analysis framework throughout the book in textual discussion and Understanding Behaviour schematics, we apply it selectively without being overly repetitious for students or confining for instructors.
Research Close-Ups Box: Each Research Close-Up describes and critically evaluates a high-interest study. Presented in a simplified journal format (background, method, results, critical analysis), these studies represent a diversity of research methods to engage students in the process of critical thinking.
Directed Questions: Each chapter has forty to fifty directed questions in the margin of the text adjacent to important material. When Passer/Smith author Ron Smith took introductory Psychology in University, he wrote questions in the margin of the text to help him study for exams. It was of such benefit to him, that this practice has been continued, to help all students both in first reading of the chapter and later revisiting the material. These directed questions enhance student concept mastery, serve as retrieval clues during review and act as a performance feedback measure for students. They are also available on the test bank to give instructors the option of including them on exams.
Helping Students to Think Critically: The Levels of Analysis framework reinforces the concept that behaviour typically has multiple causes and encourages students to be wary of overly simplistic explanations. Critical thinking issues such as correlation and causation are addressed, while pointing out when necessary that many faulty inferences — in everyday life as well as in science — are made by failing to understand the simple principle that correlation does not establish causation.
Canadian Content: Times have changed and work once was considered classic is now being performed in labs all across North America. Thus, we have included a large number of studies by both Canadian and U.S. authors. The text has been written to be relevant in a Canadian context, using examples our students can relate to, statistics that reflect the Canadian and North American scene, and stories and vignettes that occur in Canadian locations. By so doing, psychology is brought to life for students.
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2005 McGraw-Hill Higher Education