NEW

Psychology in Everyday Life

Sixth Edition

Publication Date: April 30, 2023

Paperback ISBN: 9781319498665

Pages: 656

Think critically, consider diverse perspectives, and improve your everyday life.

Best-selling authors David Myers' and Nathan DeWall’s briefest introduction to psychology speaks to all students, with no assumptions made in the vocabulary, examples, or presentation. The manageable and effective chapters help students apply psychological concepts to their own lives in...

Read more

Online course materials that will help you in this class. Includes access to e-book and iClicker Student. Learn more about Achieve

ISBN: 9781319514891
Achieve for Psychology in Everyday Life (2-Term/Twelve-Months Online; International Edition)

$83.95

Online course materials that will help you in class. Includes access to e-book and quizzing.

ISBN: 9781319514914
Read & Practice for Psychology in Everyday Life (2-Term/Twelve-Months Online; International Edition)

$83.95

Take notes, add highlights, and download our mobile-friendly e-books.

ISBN: 9781319514853
Psychology in Everyday Life

$95.95
$57.57

Read and study in the print textbook.

ISBN: 9781319498665
Psychology in Everyday Life

$119.95

Combine the printed textbook with the online course in Achieve for a blended learning experience.

ISBN: 9781319518912
Psychology in Everyday Life 6e & Achieve for Psychology in Everyday Life 6e (2-Term/Twelve-Months Access; International Edition)

$134.95

Instructor Preface 
Student Preface: Skills for Student Success—How to Apply Psychology to Live Your Best Life 
CHAPTER 1
Psychology’s Roots, Critical Thinking, and Self-Improvement Tools 
Psychology Is a Science 

Critical Thinking and the Scientific Attitude 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: The Scientific Attitude 
Psychological Science’s Birth and Development 
Today’s Psychology 
The Need for Psychological Science 
The Limits of Common Sense 
Psychological Science in a Post-Truth World 
How Do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions? 
The Scientific Method 
Description 
Correlation 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: Correlation and Causation 
Experimentation 
Choosing a Research Design 
Predicting Everyday Behavior 
Psychology’s Research Ethics 
Studying and Protecting Animals 
Studying and Protecting Humans 
Values in Psychology 
Use Psychology to Become a Stronger Person—and a Better Student 
CHAPTER 2
The Biology of Behavior and Consciousness 
The Power of Neuroplasticity 
Neural Communication 

A Neuron’s Structure 
How Neurons Communicate 
How Neurotransmitters Influence Us 
The Nervous System 
The Peripheral Nervous System 
The Central Nervous System 
The Endocrine System 
The Brain 
Tools of Discovery—Having Our Head Examined 
Brain Regions and Structures 
The Limbic System 
The Cerebral Cortex 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: Do We Use Only 10 Percent of Our Brain? 
Damage Response and Brain Hemispheres 
Brain States and Consciousness 
Selective Attention 
Sleep and Dreams 
CHAPTER 3
Developing Through the Life Span 
Developmental Psychology’s Major Issues 

Nature and Nurture 
Continuity and Stages 
Stability and Change 
Prenatal Development and the Newborn 
Conception 
Prenatal Development 
The Competent Newborn 
Twin and Adoption Studies 
Infancy and Childhood 
Physical Development 
Cognitive Development 
Social Development 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: Parenting Styles—Too Hard, Too Soft, Too Uncaring, and Just Right? 
Adolescence 
Physical Development 
Cognitive Development 
Social Development 
Emerging Adulthood 
Adulthood 
Physical Development 
Cognitive Development 
Social Development 
CHAPTER 4
Sex, Gender, and Sexuality 
Gender Development 
Similarities and Differences
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: Gender Bias in the Workplace 
The Nature of Gender 
The Nurture of Gender 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: Sexual Aggression 
Human Sexuality 
The Physiology of Sex 
The Psychology of Sex 
Sexual Orientation 
Cultural Attitudes and Prevalence 
Why Do We Differ? 
An Evolutionary Explanation of Human Sexuality 
Male-Female Differences in Sexuality 
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences 
Critiquing the Evolutionary Perspective 
Sex and Human Relationships 
Reflections on the Nature and Nurture of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality 
CHAPTER 5
Sensation and Perception 
Basic Concepts of Sensation and Perception 
From Outer Energy to Inner Brain Activity 
Thresholds 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: Subliminal Stimulation and Subliminal Persuasion 
Sensory Adaptation 
Perceptual Set 
Context, Motivation, and Emotion 
Vision
Light Energy and Eye Structures 
Information Processing in the Eye and Brain 
Perceptual Organization 
Perceptual Interpretation 
Hearing 
Sound Waves: From the Environment Into the Brain
Decoding Sound Waves
How Do We Locate Sounds?
Skin, Chemical, and Body Senses
Touch 
Chemical Senses: Taste and Smell 
Body Position and Movement 
Sensory Interaction 
Perception Without Sensation? 
CHAPTER 6
Learning 
How Do We Learn? 
Classical Conditioning 

Pavlov’s Experiments 
Pavlov’s Legacy 
Operant Conditioning
Skinner’s Experiments 
Skinner’s Legacy 
Contrasting Classical and Operant Conditioning 
Biology, Cognition, and Learning 
Biological Limits on Conditioning 
Cognitive Influences on Conditioning 
Learning by Observation 
Mirrors and Imitation in the Brain 
Observational Learning in Everyday Life 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: The Effects of Viewing Media Violence 
CHAPTER 7
Memory 
Studying Memory 

An Information-Processing Model 
Building Memories: Encoding
Our Two-Track Memory System 
Automatic Processing and Implicit Memories 
Effortful Processing and Explicit Memories 
Memory Storage 
Retaining Information in the Brain 
Synaptic Changes 
Retrieval: Getting Information Out
Measuring Retention 
Retrieval Cues 
Forgetting 
Forgetting and the Two-Track Mind 
Encoding Failure 
Storage Decay 
Retrieval Failure 
Memory Construction Errors 
Misinformation and Imagination Effects 
Source Amnesia 
Recognizing False Memories 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: Can Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse Be Repressed and Then Recovered? 
Children’s Eyewitness Recall 
Improving Memory 
CHAPTER 8
Thinking, Language, and Intelligence 
Thinking 
Concepts 
Solving Problems 
Making Good (and Bad) Decisions and Judgments 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: The Fear Factor 
Thinking Creatively 
Do Other Species Share Our Cognitive Skills? 
Language 
Language Acquisition and Development 
The Brain and Language 
Thinking Without Language 
Do Other Species Have Language? 
Intelligence 
What Is Intelligence? 
Assessing Intelligence 
The Nature and Nurture of Intelligence 
Intelligence Across the Life Span 
Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores 
CHAPTER 9
Motivation and Emotion 
Motivational Concepts 

Drives and Incentives 
Arousal Theory 
A Hierarchy of Needs 
Hunger
The Physiology of Hunger 
The Psychology of Hunger 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: The Challenges of Obesity and Weight Control 
The Need to Belong 
The Benefits of Belonging 
The Pain of Being Shut Out 
Connecting and Social Networking 
Achievement Motivation 
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation 
Goal Setting
Emotion: Arousal, Behavior, and Cognition 
James-Lange Theory: Arousal Comes Before Emotion 
Cannon-Bard Theory: Arousal and Emotion Happen at the Same Time 
Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory: Arousal + Label = Emotion 
Zajonc, LeDoux, and Lazarus: Emotion and the Two-Track Brain 
Embodied Emotion 
The Basic Emotions 
Emotions and the Autonomic Nervous System 
The Physiology of Emotions 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: Lie Detection 
Expressed and Experienced Emotion 
Detecting Emotion in Others 
Culture and Emotion 
The Effects of Facial Expressions 
CHAPTER 10
Stress, Health, and Human Flourishing 
Stress: Some Basic Concepts 

Stressors—Things That Push Our Buttons 
Stress Reactions—From Alarm to Exhaustion 
Stress Effects and Health 

Stress and Heart Disease 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: Stress and Health 
Coping With Stress 
Coping Strategies
Personal Control 
Optimism and Pessimism
Emotion Regulation
Social Support 
Finding Meaning 
Managing Stress Effects 
Aerobic Exercise 
Relaxation and Meditation 
Faith Communities and Health 
Happiness and Well-Being 
When Are We Happiest? 
What Makes Us Happy?
Evidence-Based Suggestions for a Happy Life
Questioning Some Myths About Happiness 
CHAPTER 11
Social Psychology 
What Is Social Psychology’s Focus? 
Social Thinking 

The Fundamental Attribution Error 
Attitudes and Actions 
Persuasion 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: How to Be Persuasive 
Social Influence 
Cultural Influences
Conformity and Obedience 
Group Influence 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: The Internet as Social Amplifier 
Social Relations 
Prejudice 
Aggression 
Attraction 
Altruism 
From Conflict to Peace 
CHAPTER 12
Personality 
What Is Personality? 
Psychodynamic Theories 

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Perspective: Exploring the Unconscious 
The Neo-Freudian and Later Psychodynamic Theorists 
Assessing Unconscious Processes 
Evaluating Freud’s Psychoanalytic Perspective and Modern Views of the Unconscious 
Humanistic Theories 
Abraham Maslow’s Self-Actualizing Person 
Carl Rogers’ Person-Centered Perspective 
Assessing the Self 
Evaluating Humanistic Theories 
Trait Theories 
Exploring Traits 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: The Stigma of Introversion 
Assessing Traits 
The Big Five Factors 
Evaluating Trait Theories 
Social-Cognitive Theories 
Reciprocal Influences 
Assessing Behavior in Situations 
Evaluating Social-Cognitive Theories 
Exploring the Self 
The Benefits and Costs of Self-Esteem 
Self-Serving Bias 
Culture and the Self 
CHAPTER 13
Psychological Disorders 
What Is a Psychological Disorder?

Defining Psychological Disorders 
Understanding Psychological Disorders 
Classifying Disorders—and Labeling People 
Anxiety-Related Disorders
Anxiety Disorders 
Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders 
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 
Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders
Understanding Anxiety-Related Disorders 
Substance Use Disorders 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: Tolerance and Addiction 
Types of Psychoactive Drugs 
Understanding Substance Use Disorders 
Depressive Disorders and Bipolar Disorders 
Depressive Disorders 
Bipolar Disorders 
Understanding Depressive Disorders and Bipolar Disorders 
Schizophrenia 
Symptoms of Schizophrenia 
Onset and Development of Schizophrenia 
Understanding Schizophrenia 
Dissociative, Personality, and Eating Disorders 
Dissociative Disorders 
Personality Disorders
Eating Disorders 
Risk of Harm to Self and Others 
Understanding Suicide 
Nonsuicidal Self-Injury 
Does Disorder Equal Danger? 
Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Intellectual Disability
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: ADHD—Normal High Energy or Disordered Behavior? 

CHAPTER 14
Therapy 
Treating Psychological Disorders 
The Psychological Therapies 

Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Therapies 
Humanistic Therapies 
Behavior Therapies 
Cognitive Therapies 
Group, Couple, and Family Therapies 
Evaluating Psychotherapies 
Is Psychotherapy Effective? 
Which Psychotherapies Work Best? 
How Do Psychotherapies Help People? 
Human Diversity and Psychotherapy 
Seeking Psychotherapy
Ethical Principles in Psychotherapy
The Biomedical Therapies 
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT
: Therapeutic Lifestyle Change 
Drug Therapies 
Brain Stimulation 
Psychosurgery 
Preventing Psychological Disorders and Building Resilience 
Preventive Mental Health 
Building Resilience 
APPENDIXES
 A Statistical Reasoning in Everyday Life 
 B Psychology at Work 
 C The Story of Psychology: A Timeline 
 D Career Fields in Psychology   
 E Complete Chapter Reviews
 F Answers to the Retrieve & Remember and Chapter Test Questions 
Glossary 
Glosario 
References 
Name Index 
Subject Index 

About Achieve

Achieve is our online learning system backed by extensive development and research. Proven to increase student engagement and boost performance. Achieve offers:

  • Access to the ebook to download, read and virtually annotate for a completely flexible experience
  • Course and book-specific resources including adaptive quizzing (Learning Curve) to personalize the experience for students
  • A grade book, assignable assessments with targeted feedback, insights and reporting, instructor resources - all with seamless integration options.
Learn More Schedule Demo Sign into Achieve

Instructor Resources

To get our full suite of instructor resources, request access to Achieve, our online learning platform.

Instructor Resources

Need instructor resources for your course?

Access Test Bank

You need to sign in as a verified instructor to access the Test Bank.

request locked icon

Test Bank for Psychology in Everyday Life

David G. Myers; C. Nathan DeWall | Sixth Edition | ©2023 | ISBN:9781319447311

Learn more about our Test Banks or Sign up for training.

Download Resources

You need to sign in to unlock your resources.

request locked icon

APA Correlation to Quality Principles (.docx)

request locked icon

Clicker Questions (Accessible)

request locked icon

Image Slides and Tables (Accessible)

request locked icon

Instructor's Resource Manual All Chapters (.zip)

request locked icon

Lecture Slides (Accessible)

request locked icon

MCAT Correlation Guide (.docx)