Teaching introductory psychology is one of the greatest challenges facing any acade3mic psychologist. Indeed, because of the range of our subject matter, it is probably the most difficult course to teach effectively in all of acade3mia. The course must cover both the micro level analyses of nerve cell processes and the macro level analyses of cultural systems: both the vitality of health psychology and the tragedy of lives blighted by mental illness. The challenge in writing this text, like the challenge in teaching is to give form and substance to all this information, to bring it to life for your students.

    More often than not, students come into the course filled with misconceptions about psychology that they have picked up from the infusion of “pop psychology” into our society. They also bring with them high expectations about what they want to get out of a course in psychology, they want to learn much that will be personally valuable, that will help them improve their everyday lives. Indeed, that is a tall order for any teacher to fill. But I believe that Psychology and Life can help you to fill it.

    The goal has been to design a text that students will enjoy reading as they learn what is so exciting and special about the many fields of psychology. The goal for every chapter, in every sentence, has been to ensure that students will want to go on reading. At the same time, I have focused on how the text will work within the syllabi of instructors who value a research centered, applications relevant approach to psychology.

    This 20th edition of Psychology and Life has only a single author, but it retains the vision reflected in the collaboration between Richard Gerrig and Philip Zimbardo. That partnership was forged because of a shared a commitment to teaching psychology as a science relevant to human welfare. Phil Zimbardo and I brought our teaching experience to bear on a text that balances scientific rigor with psychology’s relevance ot contemporary life concerns. This latest edition continues the text’s tradition of bringing the most important psychological insights to bear on your students’ lives.

1. Psychology and Life
2. Research Methods in Psychology Statistical Supplement
3. The Biological and Evolutionary Bases of Behavior
4. Sensation and Perception
5. Mind, Consciousness, and Alternate States
6. Learning and Behavior Analysis
7. Memory
8. Cognitive Processes
9. Intelligence and Intelligence Assessment
10. Human Development Across the Life Span
11. Motivation
12. Emotion, Stress, and Health
13. Understanding Human Personality
14. Psychological Disorders
15. Therapies for Psychological Disorders
16. Social Psychology