Introducing Psychology

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Authors

Daniel L. Schacter

Daniel Schacter is William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. Dan received his B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He subsequently developed a keen interest in amnesic disorders associated with various kinds of brain damage. He continued his research and education at the University of Toronto, where he received his Ph.D. in 1981. He taught on the faculty at Toronto for the next six years before joining the psychology department at the University of Arizona in 1987. In 1991, he joined the faculty at Harvard University. His research explores the relation between conscious and unconscious forms of memory, the nature of distortions and errors in remembering, and how we use memory to imagine future events. Many of Schacters studies are summarized in his 1996 book, Searching for Memory: The Brain, The Mind, and The Past, and his 2001 book, The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers, both winners of the APAs William James Book Award. Schacter has also received a number of awards for teaching and research, including the Harvard-Radcliffe Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Prize, the Warren Medal from the Society of Experimental Psychologists, and the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions from the American Psychological Association. In 2013, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Daniel T. Gilbert

Daniel Gilbert is Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. After attending the Community College of Denver and completing his B.A. from the University of Colorado, Denver, he went on to earn his Ph.D. from Princeton University. From 1985 to 1996, he taught at the University of Texas, Austin, and in 1996, he joined the faculty of Harvard University. He has received the American Psychological Associations Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology, the Diener Award for Outstanding Contributions to Social Psychology, and has won teaching awards that include the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Prize and the Harvard College Professorship. His research focuses on how and how well people think about their emotional reactions to future events. He is the author of the international best seller Stumbling on Happiness, which won the Royal Societys General Prize for best popular science book of the year, and he is the co-writer and host of the PBS television series, This Emotional Life.

Daniel M. Wegner

Daniel Wegner was the John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in Memory of William James at Harvard University. He received his B.S. in 1970 and Ph.D. in 1974, both from Michigan State University. He began his teaching career at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, before his appointments at the University of Virginia in 1990 and then Harvard University in 2000. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the recipient of the William James Award from the Association for Psychological Science, the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions from the American Psychological Association, and the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. His research focused on thought suppression and mental control, transactive memory in relationships and groups, and the experience of conscious will. His work on thought suppression and consciousness served as the basis of two popular books, White Bears and Other Unwanted Thoughts and the Illusion of Conscious Will, both of which were named Choice Outstanding Academic Books. He died in 2013.

Matthew K. Nock

Matthew Nock is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. Matt received his B.A. from Boston University (1995) and his Ph.D. from Yale University (2003), and he completed his clinical internship at Bellevue Hospital and the New York University Child Study Center (2003). Matt joined the faculty of Harvard University in 2003 and has been there ever since. While an undergraduate, Matt became very interested in the question of why people do things to intentionally harm themselves, and he has been conducting research aimed at answering this question ever since. His research is multidisciplinary in nature and uses a range of methodological approaches (e.g., epidemiologic surveys, laboratory-based experiments, and clinic-based studies) to better understand how these behaviors develop, how to predict them, and how to prevent their occurrence. He has received multiple teaching awards at Harvard and also four early career awards recognizing his research, and in 2011, he was named a MacArthur Fellow.

Preface
Chapter 1: The Evolution of Psychological Science
Chapter 2: Methods in Psychology
Chapter 3: Neuroscience and Behavior
Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception
Chapter 5: Consciousness
Chapter 6: Memory
Chapter 7: Learning
Chapter 8: Emotion and Motivation
Chapter 9: Language, Thought, and Intelligence
Chapter 10: Development
Chapter 11: Personality
Chapter 12: Social Psychology
Chapter 13: Stress and Health
Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders
Chapter 15: Treatment of Psychological Disorders
Essentials of Statistics for Psychological Science
Glossary
References
Name Index
Subject Index

Product Updates

August 2025 Update - New Data Literacy Activities Launched

Prepare Students for Research, Careers, and Beyond with Data Literacy
In psychology and the social sciences, data literacy is no longer optional—it’s foundational. From APA standards to employer expectations, the ability to read, analyze, and interpret data—all with ethically-sound research processes—is a core competency for today’s students.

Our Data Literacy Activities are designed to support your curriculum by targeting the five essential skill areas identified in both educational and workplace research:

Let’s Take a Look!: Visual Displays of Data – Helps students confidently interpret charts, tables, and visual data
How’d You Do That?: Methods in Psychological Research – Teaches when and how to apply different research approaches
Why, Why, Why?: Quantitative versus Qualitative Research – Clarifies these core concepts and their practical uses
Chart It, Sort It, Spot It!: Descriptive Statistics – Reinforces statistical thinking in an accessible way
They Did Not!: Ethics in Psychological Research – Emphasizes responsible data use, aligned with APA ethics codes

These skills not only support degree requirements and APA guidelines, but also help boost the basic data skills that employers expect from day one.

Integrate data literacy into your course with ready-to-use, targeted content that complements your teaching and promotes student readiness—for research, for graduate study, and for the job market. Support your students with the skills that matter. Let’s build data fluency—together.

Spring 2025 Update

New AI skills modules! Achieve features two new interactive activities geared toward giving students a hands-on understanding of artificial intelligence, including responsible usage and ways to ethically incorporate AI into their course work. An instructor guide (in PDF) is also available.

Sixth Edition Update (2024)

Achieve

Macmillan Learning’s acclaimed course platform sets a whole new standard for integrating activities, assessments, and analytics into one powerful learning system. It brings together a host of features for students and instructors, including an interactive e-textbook, LearningCurve adaptive quizzing, immersive learning activities, videos, and extensive instructor resources.

Now In Achieve

Completely Updated Immersive Learning Activities. The Visualizing Data features have been updated in Achieve. These activities invite students to engage with the material by answering questions the way psychologists do—namely, by looking at data.
iClicker. Macmillan Learning’s acclaimed classroom response system is fully integrated into Achieve.
Video Collection for Introductory Psychology features 120 new current and classic clips. This collection was carefully curated with the help of faculty and student advisory boards.

In the text

Words Matter. The text begins with this new section that explains our use of words denoting sex, gender, and race, and encourages students to think about how they use these words in their everyday lives.

Stronger DEI Coverage. Careful and thorough attention to issues of diversity, equity and inclusion throughout.

Hundreds of new research citations.

Authors

Daniel L. Schacter

Daniel Schacter is William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. Dan received his B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He subsequently developed a keen interest in amnesic disorders associated with various kinds of brain damage. He continued his research and education at the University of Toronto, where he received his Ph.D. in 1981. He taught on the faculty at Toronto for the next six years before joining the psychology department at the University of Arizona in 1987. In 1991, he joined the faculty at Harvard University. His research explores the relation between conscious and unconscious forms of memory, the nature of distortions and errors in remembering, and how we use memory to imagine future events. Many of Schacters studies are summarized in his 1996 book, Searching for Memory: The Brain, The Mind, and The Past, and his 2001 book, The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers, both winners of the APAs William James Book Award. Schacter has also received a number of awards for teaching and research, including the Harvard-Radcliffe Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Prize, the Warren Medal from the Society of Experimental Psychologists, and the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions from the American Psychological Association. In 2013, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Daniel T. Gilbert

Daniel Gilbert is Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. After attending the Community College of Denver and completing his B.A. from the University of Colorado, Denver, he went on to earn his Ph.D. from Princeton University. From 1985 to 1996, he taught at the University of Texas, Austin, and in 1996, he joined the faculty of Harvard University. He has received the American Psychological Associations Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology, the Diener Award for Outstanding Contributions to Social Psychology, and has won teaching awards that include the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Prize and the Harvard College Professorship. His research focuses on how and how well people think about their emotional reactions to future events. He is the author of the international best seller Stumbling on Happiness, which won the Royal Societys General Prize for best popular science book of the year, and he is the co-writer and host of the PBS television series, This Emotional Life.

Daniel M. Wegner

Daniel Wegner was the John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in Memory of William James at Harvard University. He received his B.S. in 1970 and Ph.D. in 1974, both from Michigan State University. He began his teaching career at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, before his appointments at the University of Virginia in 1990 and then Harvard University in 2000. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the recipient of the William James Award from the Association for Psychological Science, the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions from the American Psychological Association, and the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. His research focused on thought suppression and mental control, transactive memory in relationships and groups, and the experience of conscious will. His work on thought suppression and consciousness served as the basis of two popular books, White Bears and Other Unwanted Thoughts and the Illusion of Conscious Will, both of which were named Choice Outstanding Academic Books. He died in 2013.

Matthew K. Nock

Matthew Nock is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. Matt received his B.A. from Boston University (1995) and his Ph.D. from Yale University (2003), and he completed his clinical internship at Bellevue Hospital and the New York University Child Study Center (2003). Matt joined the faculty of Harvard University in 2003 and has been there ever since. While an undergraduate, Matt became very interested in the question of why people do things to intentionally harm themselves, and he has been conducting research aimed at answering this question ever since. His research is multidisciplinary in nature and uses a range of methodological approaches (e.g., epidemiologic surveys, laboratory-based experiments, and clinic-based studies) to better understand how these behaviors develop, how to predict them, and how to prevent their occurrence. He has received multiple teaching awards at Harvard and also four early career awards recognizing his research, and in 2011, he was named a MacArthur Fellow.

Product Updates

August 2025 Update - New Data Literacy Activities Launched

Our Data Literacy Activities are designed to support your curriculum by targeting the five essential skill areas identified in both educational and workplace research:

Let’s Take a Look!: Visual Displays of Data – Helps students confidently interpret charts, tables, and visual data
How’d You Do That?: Methods in Psychological Research – Teaches when and how to apply different research approaches
Why, Why, Why?: Quantitative versus Qualitative Research – Clarifies these core concepts and their practical uses
Chart It, Sort It, Spot It!: Descriptive Statistics – Reinforces statistical thinking in an accessible way
They Did Not!: Ethics in Psychological Research – Emphasizes responsible data use, aligned with APA ethics codes

These skills not only support degree requirements and APA guidelines, but also help boost the basic data skills that employers expect from day one.

Spring 2025 Update

Sixth Edition Update (2024)

Achieve

Now In Achieve

Completely Updated Immersive Learning Activities. The Visualizing Data features have been updated in Achieve. These activities invite students to engage with the material by answering questions the way psychologists do—namely, by looking at data.
iClicker. Macmillan Learning’s acclaimed classroom response system is fully integrated into Achieve.
Video Collection for Introductory Psychology features 120 new current and classic clips. This collection was carefully curated with the help of faculty and student advisory boards.

In the text

Stronger DEI Coverage. Careful and thorough attention to issues of diversity, equity and inclusion throughout.

Hundreds of new research citations.

Transforming psychology from a course students take to a subject students love

With Schacter, Gilbert & Nock’s Introducing Psychology, psychological science goes from a course students take to a subject students love. Its rich story-telling and fascinating examples captivate student readers as they develop essential critical thinking and scientific literacy skills.

This edition offers hundreds of new citations; careful attention to diversity, equity and inclusion; and examples and applications that demonstrate the real world implications of psychological theories and research. It’s also the first edition of the text accompanied by Macmillan’s breakthrough online learning platform, Achieve.

Achieve - Learn Psychology. Build Skills for Life.

At Macmillan Learning, we’re reimagining what it means to teach - and learn psychology. Our authors bring diverse perspectives and immersive content to the classroom, connecting students to the real-world relevance of psychological science. Through purposeful and data driven AI-powered innovation and skill-building tools, Achieve helps students develop the habits they need to succeed in school, at work, and beyond.

Achieve turns this vision into action - giving instructors powerful tools to help students think critically, apply psychological concepts, and reflect on their own learning.

New in Achieve Explore new, interactive learning tools that connect psychological science to real-world application

Foundational Skills Modules for note-taking, time management, and study strategies
Data Literacy Activities across visual data, ethics, methods, and statistics
AI Skills Modules on AI history, function, and ethical use
Goal Setting & Reflection Survey Summaries and Cards to guide goal-setting and progress tracking
Late Night Lectures short videos that make core psychology concepts engaging and fun

Each new activity is designed to deepen engagement and promote the habits that define successful learners and prepare them for the workforce.

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.