Psychology For Dummies

Adam Cash is a clinical psychologist who has practiced in a variety of settings including forensic institutions and outpatient clinics. He has taught Psychology at both the community college and university levels. He is currently in private practice specializing in psychological assessment, child psychology, and neurodevelopmental disorders.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 2Icons Used in This Book 2Beyond the Book 3Where to Go from Here 3Part 1: Getting Started with Psychology 5Chapter 1: The Purpose of Psychology 7Whys, Whats, and Hows of People 9A useful metaphor: Building a person 10Why? 11What? 11How? 12Troubleshooting 13Putting It All Back Together Again 14Chapter 2: Thinking and Behaving as a Psychologist 15The Core Activities of a Psychologist 17Experimental and research psychologists 17Applied psychologists 17Teachers/educators/professors 18Theoretical and philosophical psychologists 18How Do I Become a Psychologist? 18Getting Started with Metatheory and Frameworks 19Biological 20Behaviorism 20Cognitive 20Sociocultural 21Developmental 21Evolutionary 22Humanistic and existential 22Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic 22Feminism 23Postmodernism 23A Unifying Model? Working with the Biopsychosocial Model 24Feeling out the role of the body 24Thinking about the role of the mind 24Observing the role of the outside world 25Developing a good theory 27Seeking Truth 27Applying the scientific method 29Researching Matters 30Understanding descriptive research 30Doing experimental research 30Measuring one, measuring all with statistics 31Relating variables: Correlation versus causation 33Being “Good”: Ethics in Psychology 35Part 2: Picking Your Brain (and Body) 37Chapter 3: Brains, Genes, and Behavior 39Believing in Biology 40The Biological “Control Room” 42Cells and Chemicals 44Networking and crossing the divide 45Branching out 47Activating brain change 47The Organization of the Brain 49Forebrain 50Midbrain 51Hindbrain 51Tiptoeing back and forth from the periphery 52Finding Destiny with DNA 52Understanding Psychopharmacology 53Easing depression 55Shushing the voices 55Relaxing 56Chapter 4: From Sensation to Perception 59Building Blocks: Our Senses 60The sensing process 61Seeing 62Hearing 65Touching and feeling pain 66Smelling and tasting 67Balancing and moving 68Finishing the Product: Perception 68Organizing by Principles 70Chapter 5: Exploring Consciousness 73Carving Awareness and Being at Its Joints 74Consciousness as an ability, skill, or process of the mind (and the brain) 74Consciousness as a state or type of awareness 75Catching some zzzzs 76Understanding tired brains, slipping minds 78Arriving at Work Naked: Dreams 79Altering Your Consciousness 80Getting high on conscious life 81Being conscious of my mind (meditative states) 82Falling into hypnosis 84Part 3: Thinking and Feeling and Acting 85Chapter 6: Thinking and Speaking 87What’s on Your Mind? 88Thinking like a PC 89Turing’s challenge 89Computing 90Representing 91Processing 91Modules, Parts, and Processes 92The attention process 93The memory process 94The knowing process 97The reasoning process 100The decision-making/choosing process 101The problem-solving process 104It’s All about Connections 105Bodies and Minds 106Thinking You’re Pretty Smart 108Considering the factors of intelligence 108Getting a closer look 109Adding in street smarts 110Excelling with multiple intelligences 111Making the grade — on a curve 112Figuring Out Language 114Babel-On 114Rules, syntax, and meaning 115Chapter 7: Needing, Wanting, Feeling 117What’s My Motivation? 118Would you like some adrenaline with that bear? 119Feeling needy 120Knowing who’s the boss 121Arousing interest in prime rib 123Getting cheaper long distance is rewarding 124Facing your opponent-process theory 125Believing in yourself 125Pleasure and pain 127Escaping psychological pain 128Launching Countless Bad Poems: Emotions 130Watch out for that sabertooth! 132Your brain on emotion 133Which comes first, the body or the mind? 135Expressing yourself 137Acknowledging anger 138Being happy 140Discovering your smart heart: Emotional intelligence and styles 142Being in Control 143Chapter 8: Barking up the Learning Tree: Dogs, Cats, and Rats 147Learning to Behave 149Drooling like Pavlov’s Dogs 149Conditioning responses and stimuli 150Becoming extinct 152Classic generalizing and discriminating 153Conditioning rules! 154Battling theories: Why does conditioning work? 156Studying Thorndike’s Cats 157Reinforcing the Rat Case 159Finding the right reinforcer 159Using punishment 161Scheduling and timing reinforcement 163Stimulus Control and Operant Generalization 165Operant Discrimination 166Part 4: Me, You, and Everything in Between 167Chapter 9: Myself and I 169Getting to the Magic Number 5 171They Made Me This Way 173Representing Ourselves 174Schemas 174Scripts 175It Depends on the Situation 176Feeling Self-Conscious 179Becoming aware of your body 180Keeping it private 180Showing it off 181Identifying Yourself 181Forging a personal identity 182Carving out a social identity 184Mustering up some self-esteem 185Chapter 10: Connecting 187Getting Attached 188Realizing even monkeys get the blues 188Attaching with style 189Cavorting with Family and Friends 191Parenting with panache 192Embracing your rival: Siblings 193Getting chummy: Bridge building 194Attraction, Romance, and Love 195How we choose the ones we love 195Love’s expanse 196Connecting to Thoughts and Action 198Explaining others with person perception 198Minding “you” with theory of mind 201Dancing with others: Embodied social cognition theories 202Communication Skills 202Asking questions 203Explaining 204Listening 204Asserting yourself 205Chapter 11: Getting Along or Not 207Playing Your Part 208Ganging Up in a Group 209Conforming 210Doing better with help 212Kicking back 213Remaining anonymous 213Thinking as one 214Persuading 215Credibility of communicator 216Delivery approach 216Audience engagement 217Age of audience 217Being Mean 218Acting naturally 218Being frustrated 219Doing what’s learned 219Lending a Helping Hand 221Why help? 221When to help? 224Who gives and receives help? 225Birds of a Feather or Not 226Examining isms 226Understanding discrimination 227Making contact 228Chapter 12: Growing Up with Psychology 229Beginning with Conception and Birth 230Xs and Ys get together 230Uniting and dividing all in one night 231Going from Diapers to Drool 233Survival instincts 233Motoring about 234Flexing their muscles 235Scheduling time for schemata 235Getting your sensorimotor running 237Learning within the lines 238Saying what you think 239Blooming social butterflies 240Getting on the Big Yellow Bus 241Mastering the crayon 241Being preoperational doesn’t mean you’re having surgery 242In the zone 243Becoming even more social 243Agonizing over Adolescence 244Pining over puberty 244Moving away from parents 245Existing as a Grown-Up 246Looking at you 246Connecting and working 246Aging and Geropsychology 247Chapter 13: Psychology in the Digital Age 249Love and Robots 250Talk to the box 251Me and my friends 252That perfect someone 253Digitized (d)evolution 254The Dark Side of the Digital World 256Say that to my face 256Hooked on the Internet 257Bullying moves from the schoolyard to the desktop 258Can Technology Make Us Better at Being Human? 260Part 5: Adapting and Struggling 261Chapter 14: Coping When Life Gets Rough 263Stressing Out 264Ways to think about stress 264The causes of stress 268The impact of stress 269Crisis: Accumulated or overwhelming stress 271Posttraumatic stress disorder 273The stress of loss 274Coping is No Gamble 275Learning how to cope 276Finding resources 276Chapter 15: Modern Abnormal Psychology 279What Is” Abnormal” Anyway? 280Who decides what’s normal? 281Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Model 282Defining Mental Disorders 283Psychotic Disorders: Grasping for Reality 286Schizophrenia 286Other types of psychoses 290Feeling Funky: Depression 292Staying in the rut of major depression 292Depression’s causes 293Treating depression 295Bipolar Disorder: Riding the Waves 295Bipolar disorder’s causes 297Treating bipolar disorder 297Panic Disorders 297Panic disorder’s causes 300Treating panic disorder 300Mental Disorders in Young People 301Dealing with ADHD 302Autism: Living in a world of one’s own 303Let’s Talk about Stigma 305Part 6: Repairing, Healing, and Thriving 307Chapter 16: Testing, Assessment, and Evaluation 309Answering the Call 310What kinds of tests and instruments are there? 311What kind of evaluations do psychologists do? 312The Interview and Evaluation Process 312Interviewing and observing 313History taking 317Checking under the Hood with Psychological Testing 318Standardization 318Reliability 319Validity 319More Detail on Testing Types 320Clinical testing 320Educational/achievement testing 321Personality testing 322Intelligence testing 323Neuropsychological and cognitive testing 323Keeping Them Honest 325Chapter 17: We Can Help! 327Is It Time for Professional Help? 328Types of help 330The Crown Jewel of Therapy: Psychotherapy 333Good ethics is good therapy 334The common factors model 335Major Schools of Therapy 337Psychodynamic therapies 338Behavior therapy 342Exposure-based therapies 343Cognitive therapy 344Playing together nicely: Behavior and cognitive therapies 346Acceptance and mindfulness-based therapies 347Dialectical behavior therapy 348Client-centered therapy 350Emotion-focused therapy 354Empirically Supported Treatments for Specific Problems 356ESTs for depression 357ESTs for anxiety and trauma 357ESTs for disorders in children 358Chapter 18: Be Positive! Fostering Wellness, Growth, and Strength 359Going beyond Stress: The Psychology of Health 360Preventing illness 360Making changes 360Intervening 362Harnessing the Power of Positivity 363Stepping Up! 365High-performance skills 366Choking versus being clutch 366Acquiring the Bionic Brain 367Doing smart drugs 368Hitting the limits of the skull 369Part 7: The Part of Tens 371Chapter 19: Ten Tips for Maintaining Psychological Well-Being 373Accept Yourself 375Strive for Self-Determination 375Stay Connected and Nurture Relationships 375Lend a Helping Hand 376Find Meaning and Purpose and Work toward Goals 376Find Hope and Maintain Faith 377Find Flow and Be Engaged 377Enjoy the Beautiful Things in Life 377Struggle to Overcome; Learn to Let Go 378Don’t Be Afraid to Change 378Chapter 20: Ten Great Psychological Movies and Shows 379One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 380A Clockwork Orange 380Ordinary People 381Girl, Interrupted 381The Silence of the Lambs 382Sybil 382The Matrix 383Black Mirror 384True Detective (Seasons 1 and Season 3) 384Psycho 385Index 387