Cover: Scientific American: Psychology, 4th Edition by Deborah Licht; Misty Hull; Coco Ballantyne

Scientific American: Psychology

Fourth Edition  ©2025 Deborah Licht; Misty Hull; Coco Ballantyne Formats: Achieve, Read & Practice, E-book, Print

Authors

  • Headshot of Deborah Licht

    Deborah Licht

    Deborah Licht is a professor of psychology at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She received a BS in psychology from Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio; an MA in clinical psychology from the University of Dayton; and a PhD in psychology (experimental psychopathology) from Harvard University. She has three decades of teaching and research experience in a variety of settings, ranging from a small private university in the Midwest to a large public university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Deborah has taught introductory psychology, psychology of the workplace, abnormal psychology, the history of psychology, child development, and elementary statistics, in traditional, online, and hybrid courses. Working with community college students for nearly two decades has been very inspiring to Deborah; the great majority of students who attend community colleges often must overcome many challenges in pursuit of their dreams. Deborah continues to be interested in research on causal beliefs, particularly in relation to how college students think about their successes and failures as they pursue their degrees.


  • Headshot of Misty Hull

    Misty Hull

    Misty Hull is a seasoned educator and administrator within the Colorado Community College System. She currently serves as the Dean of Academic Success for Allied Health at CCA. Prior to this role, she spent over two decades at Pikes Peak State College (formerly Pikes Peak Community College), where she was a Professor of Psychology and co-chair of the Psychology Department. She also held leadership positions as the Associate Dean for Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and served as the State Psychology Discipline Chair for the Colorado Community College System from 2002 to 2010.

    She is well-known in the academic community as a co-author of the textbook series Scientific American: Psychology (published by Macmillan Learning). Her professional expertise includes:

    • Instruction: Teaching a wide range of courses including Introductory Psychology, Human Sexuality, and Social Psychology.
    • Student Support: Serving as the coordinator of the Student Crisis Counseling Office and focusing on research related to student persistence in higher education.
    • Workforce Development: Advocating for micro-credentials to provide accessible entry points into behavioral health and healthcare careers


  • Headshot of Coco Ballantyne

    Coco Ballantyne

    Coco Ballantyne is a New York based journalist and science writer with a special interest in psychology. Before collaborating with Misty Hull and Deborah Licht on the Scientific American: Psychology series, Coco worked as a reporter for Scientific American online, covering the health, medicine, and neuroscience beats. She has also written for Discover magazine and Nature Medicine. Coco earned an MS from the Columbia University School of Journalism, where she received a Horgan Prize for Excellence in Critical Science Writing. Prior to her journalistic career, Coco worked as a teacher and tutor, helping high school and college students prepare for standardized tests such as the SAT, GRE, and MCAT. She also worked as a physics and math teacher at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, California, and as a human biology course associate at Stanford University, where she earned a BA in human biology.

Table of Contents

0. Are You Ready for This?
1. Introduction of the Science of Psychology
2. Biology and Behavior 
3. Sensation and Perception
4. Consciousness
5. Learning 
6. Memory
7.  Cognition, Language, and Intelligence
8. Human Development
9. Motivation and Emotion
10: Sex and Sexuality
11. Personality 
12: Social Psychology 
13: Stress and Health 
14: Psychological Disorders
15: Treatment of Psychological Disorders 
Achieve only: Industrial/Organization Psychology

Product Updates

What’s New in Achieve

You can rely on Achieve to keep your teaching current, with continuous updates that reflect the latest developments in Psychology and the evolving needs of your classroom.

Summer 2026 Updates

  • AI Skills Modules give students a practical understanding of artificial intelligence through two interactive activities focused on responsible use and incorporating AI ethically into their coursework.
  • Data Literacy Activities help students build confidence in analysing research, interpreting statistics, and applying data practices. Five new modules allow you to assign and assess these skills directly in Achieve.
  • AI-Enabled Guided Quiz Review provides personalised formative feedback between quiz attempts, helping students identify gaps in their understanding and focus on mastering concepts, without adding extra work for you.
  • Short-Form Writing Creator helps you turn videos, webpages, PDFs, articles, and other sources into meaningful writing assignments in minutes. Built-in AI can help create or refine prompts, generate rubrics, and evaluate student submissions against those rubrics.

What’s New in this Edition

  • Updated terminology throughout aligns with DSM-5-TR and APA, as well as with Macmillan Learning’s comprehensive DEI guidelines. 
  • A new dedicated chapter on Sexuality and Gender provides an in-depth exploration of the topic, while integrated coverage in the Human Development, Motivation, and Emotion chapters offers flexibility for courses that require less extensive discussion.
  • New and reimagined digital infographics and Your Scientific World activities use fresh, everyday examples and connections to help make psychological concepts resonate with students.
  • Skills for Intro Psych Success Activities in Achieve support student preparedness and success, covering topics such as how to read a syllabus and time management
  • A new Industrial/ Organisational Psychology chapter in Achieve explores the psychological impact of COVID-19 and how remote working has changed the workplace.
  • An expanded Introductory Psychology Video Collection includes more than 100 new classic and contemporary clips from high-quality sources, alongside engaging original content.

Extraordinary people, compelling stories

Help students see psychology at work in the world around them with Scientific American: Psychology. Compelling scientific journalism, authentic stories, and real-life applications connect key concepts to students’ own experiences, making psychology more meaningful and engaging.

The fourth edition features new digital infographics and Your Scientific World activities, along with a new Industrial/Organisational Psychology chapter in the updated Achieve course. Together, these resources give students more opportunities to explore psychological concepts, make real-world connections, and apply what they learn.

Success Stories

Here are a few examples of how Achieve has helped instructors like you improve student preparedness, enhance their sense of belonging, and achieve course goals they set for themselves.

Prof. Kiandra Johnson, Spelman College

See how the resources in Achieve help you engage students before, during, and after class.

Prof. Jennifer Duncan

Use diagnostics in Achieve for a snapshot into cognitive and non-cognitive factors that may impact your students’ preparedness.

Prof. Ryan Elsenpeter

Here’s why educators who use Achieve would recommend it to their peers.

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Deborah Licht; Misty Hull; Coco Ballantyne | Fourth Edition | ©2025 | ISBN:9781319495886

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