Christian Jarrett (ed.) - 30-Second Psychology: The 50 Most Thought-Provoking Psychology Theories, Each Explained in Half a Minute

The 50 most thought-provoking psychology theories, each explained in half a minute

Editor

Christian Jarrett

Contributors

Vaughan Bell

Moheb Costandi

Christian Jarrett

Dave Munger

Tom Stafford

First published in the UK in 2011 by

Icon Books Ltd

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2011 by Ivy Press Limited

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Digital ISBN:9781848314511

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The familiarity of psychologys subject matter sets it apart from the other sciences. After school, few of us will set foot in a chemistry laboratory, were unlikely to peer down a microscope and the closest that well get to a black hole is watching Star Trek. By contrast, we all have a mind of our own, and we spend every day interacting with others. So the focus of psychology on minds and behaviour is familiar to everyone. In a sense, were all amateur psychologists.

However, we should be careful not to confuse familiarity with mastery. Just because we have our pet theories for other peoples motives and actions, doesnt mean they are accurate. Psychology is about setting aside our intuitions and using the objective tools of science to discover how the mind really works, why people really behave the way they do.

Such an endeavour met resistance from the outset. Questions of the mind used to be the preserve of philosophy. And even after the first laboratories demonstrated the feasibility of a psychological science, a movement within the discipline argued that only observable behaviour, not inner thoughts, should be studied. The first section of this book, Old School, New School, charts how these arguments were resolved and how psychology became the thriving and respected science that it is today.

A topic that provokes particularly strident lay beliefs is that of child development. Just how does a screaming, helpless, newborn child mature into a fully formed, self-conscious adult? The section on Growth & Change introduces you to the pioneers in this field and concludes with the theory of neuroplasticity recognition that our brains are flexible and never stop changing and adapting until the day that we die.

The mind turned inwardPsychology is the scientific study of ourselves and why we behave the way we do. Intuition is put on hold and cool-headed experimentation is the order of the day.

A focus of psychology that is of extreme practical relevance is how to optimize the decisions people make for the good of themselves and society at large. Decision Making & Emotions provides an overview of some of the biases that affect our thinking. As you will see, emotions, as well as providing the foundation of our humanity, also influence our decisions and so the two topics are dealt with together.

Whether in gangs or companies, sports teams or political parties, we humans are intrinsically social, forever forming groups to serve our needs and interests. Social Psychology deals with the issues that naturally arise when we mix and merge, including leadership and prejudice. The chapter also features some of the most famous experiments in psychology including Zimbardos insights into tyranny and Milgrams shocking research on obedience.

The next two sections, Ways We Differ and Disordered Minds, feature theories that perhaps most closely resemble popular beliefs about psychology: from personality and intelligence to insanity and psychotherapy. The last section, Thoughts & Language, deals with those theories that delve inside our heads, beginning with the placebo effectthe power of the mind to affect the body and ending with consciousness, the miracle and mystery of how flesh gives rise to mental life.

Each of the books 50 entries provides a plain English 30-second introduction, a 3-second psyche for when youre really in a rush, and a 3-minute analysis, which probes a little deeper. The chapters also include biographical profiles of some of the luminaries in this field, including Sigmund Freud and William James. Whether you choose to dip in or to study the book from cover to cover, you are about to learn about the most complex entity in the universe the human mind. Have fun!

A new sciencePsychology is relatively young its first laboratories werent established until the late nineteenth century. Yet there are already many important and controversial psychological theories. Allow our team of talented writers to introduce you to them.

anthropology The study of humankind. Areas covered include the origins and development of the human species, its biological characteristics, belief structures and social customs. Although the subject was discussed by Herodotus as long ago as 500 BC, it only became a discipline in its own right during the Renaissance, with the writings of Michel de Montaigne, Ren Descartes and Immanuel Kant. The term comes from the Greek anthropos (human) and logos (science) and was coined in Germany in the sixteenth century.

consciousness The totality of experience of which a person is aware at any one moment. This is a constantly shifting state, moving between current thought processes, memory, visual and aural stimuli and physical experiences. The US psychologist William James said consciousness was like a stream, constantly chopping and changing direction, but essentially continuous.

Ego According to Freud, this is the conscious, rational part of personality. He saw the human psyche as being made up of three parts: the Id, which seeks instant gratification, the Superego, which makes moral judgments, and the Ego, which mediates between the first two. It does so using the reality principle, which compels us to abide by current social norms. Freud said the Id was like a horse and the Ego like a man riding the horse and controlling its wilder instincts.

Id According to Freud, this is the instinctive, unconscious aspect of human personality that seeks immediate gratification. Its primitive impulses are restrained and controlled by the Ego. Although the Id is often associated with negative and antisocial behaviour, it is also responsible for instincts that are essential for our survival, such as hunger and thirst, as well as the reproductive urge.