Psychology: A Very Short Introduction

Psychology is part of everyone's experience: it influences the way we think about everything from education and intelligence, to relationships and emotions, advertising and criminality. People readily behave as amateur psychologists, offering explanations for what people think, feel, and do. But what exactly are psychologists trying to do? What scientific grounding do they have for their approach? This Very Short Introduction explores some of psychology's leading ideas and their practical relevance.

In this new edition, Gillian Butler and Freda McManus explore a variety of new topics and ways of studying the brain. Until recently it was not possible to study the living human brain directly, so psychologists studied our behaviour, and used their observations to derive hypotheses about what was going on inside. Now - through neuroscience - our knowledge of the workings of the brain has increased and improved technology provides us with a scientific basis on which to understand the structure and workings of the brain, and allows brain activity to be observed and measured. Exploring some of the most important advances and developments in psychology - from evolutionary psychology and issues surrounding adolescence and aggression to cognitive psychology - this is a stimulating introduction for anyone interested in understanding the human mind.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Gillian Butler, Oxford Health NHS Trust (retired),Freda McManus, University of Oxford

Gillian Butler is a clinician, teacher, researcher, and writer at the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre. She is the author of the popular psychology book Manage Your Mind (2007, 2nd edition).

Freda McManus is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry. She is currently Director of the OCTC/University of Oxford's Diploma in Cognitive Therapy.

1. What is psychology? How do you study it?
2. What gets into our minds? Perception
3. What stays in the mind? Learning and Memory
4. How do we use what is in the mind? Thinking, Reasoning and Communicating
5. Why do we do what we do? Motivation and Emotion
6. Is there a set pattern? Developmental Psychology
7. Can we categorize people? Individual Differences
8. What happens when things go wrong? Abnormal Psychology
9. How do we influence each other? Social Psychology
10. What is psychology for?
Glossary
References
Further Reading
Index