Psychology as a Discipline
Here's the core of the Encyclopedia — a carefully plotted, interconnected survey of concepts, theories, models, and fields. Readers will find a clearly written overview of the History and Philosophy of Psychology and comprehensive coverage of dozens of fields within psychology, from Animal Learning and Behavior to Sport Psychology, in articles that present the history of each field, its distinctive methods, perspectives, tools, and contributions.
There is also separate coverage of the major theories and models of psychology. Authoritative, balanced introductions review everything from Agency and Control Theory to Work Adjustment Theory. The Encyclopedia is a valuable professional resource as well, with up-to-date coverage of essential issues in training, ethics, and practice.
Biographies
The influential figures of psychology are fully represented in close to 400 biographies that span thousands of years and many different areas of achievement. Luminaries such as Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, and B. F. Skinner are covered, as well as the essential contributions of lesser-known figures, such as Gustav Theodor Fechner and Edmund Husserl. Many of the great minds that are often associated with other areas — Friedrich Nietzsche, René Descartes, and David Hume to name are few-but whose thinking has had extraordinary influence on how the self is understood are given unique coverage in the Encyclopedia.
Research Design and Statistics, Testing, and Assessment
From the diverse strategies of Qualitative Research to the techniques of Nonparametric Statistics and every other important quantitative method, the Encyclopedia is a primer on the fundamental tools of the behavioral scientists, covering in-depth such topics as the basic requirements for test construction and validation, leading methods of data analysis such as Factor Analysis, and much more, including the uses and limits of every major psychological test.
On Body and Mind, Brain and Behavior
How we think, feel, learn, remember, and communicate has always been a central concern of psychology. Close to 200 articles synthesize what we know about biological and cognitive processes. The articles bring together a remarkable body of knowledge about the body's basic systems, sensory processes, and projection, learning, memory, states of consciousness, thinking, language, communications, and emotion.
How do Cognitive Maps make sense of the world? What does Psycholinguistics investigate? What is the psychology of Joy? The biology of Taste? The dynamics of — and debates about — Repressed Memory? The Encyclopedia has the answers.
The Personal, Interpersonal, and the Social
Questions of identity — Who am I? What shapes me?-resonate through today's society as never before. The Encyclopedia's extensive coverage of personality and social psychology traces the connections between the self and its world, from foundation articles on Self-Esteem to surveys of dynamics that connect individuals and groups.
Here are 24 in-depth articles on Intelligence; extensive coverage of Sex and Gender; and expert surveys of every aspect of life in a social world-from the dynamics of Love and Friendship to the sources of Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia.
Development Across the Lifespan
What it means to be human through the stages of our lives is treated in articles on the psychology of Infancy and Early Childhood through to Adolescence, Adulthood, and Aging. Along the way, separate articles examine the passages we make in life from the psychology of Early Learning through to the stages of Death and Dying.
Institutions and Environments: Family, School, and Work
The Encyclopedia moves from the individual to the structures of daily life in a rich selection of articles on the psychology of the family, from Birth Order to Parent–Child Relationship; schooling and education; work, employment, and careers; neighborhoods and communities; machines and technology.
Cultural and Cross-Cultural Psychology
Twenty-seven entries comprise the Encyclopedia's coverage of the impact of culture on human identity and behavior-and the cultural contexts of psychological theory and practice in a diverse world.
Introductions to such core concepts as Acculturation, Alienation, Cultural Pluralism, and Ethnic and Racial Identity are complemented by surveys of ethnocultural groups and traditions-from African American Psychology to the psychological concerns of such groups as Migrants and Refugees.
Mental Health and Mental Disorders
Comprehensive coverage of adjustment and clinical dysfunction touches on three major areas: a broad range of behavioral and mental disorders, including Alcoholism, Panic Disorders, and Schizophrenia; physical illnesses and conditions, from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome to the psychological implications of Vision Impairment; and social problems, from Child Abuse and Neglect to Sexual Harassment.
Throughout, the articles skillfully blend history, theory, research, and clinical findings, with an eye to current and future developments in research and treatment.
Health and Wellness
The Encyclopedia surveys the full range of psychological interventions, from preventive measures such as Headstart to psychosocial interventions (from Family Therapy to Genetic Counseling), pharmacological and other biological treatments to institutional care. Overviews of basic topics (Psychotherapy, for example) and critical assessments of each modality help readers understand the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.
Psychology and the Larger World
An important focus of the Encyclopedia is the relationship of psychology to other facets of the human enterprise. Discover the uses of psychological knowledge in such arenas as the law, politics, the military, religion, and the arts-from the psychology of Political Leadership to the interplay of psychology and Religious Symbol, Myth, and Ritual across many cultures and traditions.
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