How to Think Straight About Psychology

9780205360932

0205360939

This widely used supplement focuses on applying critical thinking techniques to standard concepts in psychology and teaches students to recognize and critically appraise pseudoscience. In particular, this text provides tips on evaluating claims that arise in discussions of psychology in the media and self-help literature. By boldly examining common misconceptions in psychology, the text helps students become more critical and discriminating consumers of psychological information. Highlights of the Seventh Edition: Presents psychological topics such as falsifiability, operationalism, experimental control, converging evidence, correlational vs. experimental studies, and statistics as tools for critical evaluation, providing students with a set of practical consumer skills to independently evaluate psychological claims. Discusses psychology in the media and gives students some consumer rulesfor dealing with it. Presents information on how to tell true psychological research from pseudoscience. Provides instructors with the opportunity to teach critical thinking skills within the rich context of modern psychology.