Psychology: The Adaptive Mind - Hardcover

Nairne, James S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0534206824 ISBN 13: 9780534206826

Publisher: Brooks/Cole, 1996

Synopsis

In this introductory psychology text, the author treats research and theory from an adaptive problem-solving perspective. The subject matter of psychology is "reframed" by placing the major emphasis on how particular behaviours, cognitive processes, and emotions help people solve important adaptive problems, not just survival problems, but everyday problems. For example, the principles of classical conditioning are introduced as "solutions" to the problem of how people learn about signals in their environment; neural transmission is introduced as a "solution" to the problems associated with communicating internally; short-term memory is introduced as a "solution" to the problem of how people remember information over the short-term, and so on.

About this title

Review

The book takes a scientific approach right from the start. In every chapter I examined, support for theories was described in empirical, data terms rather than in terms of simple logic of cultural stereotypes...I find that the 'Adaptive Mind' sections help hold the text together as a coherent book rather than as a set of independent chapters. The chapter summaries do an excellent job of giving the reader a true overview of the important content of each chapter. I also appreciate the way that in each chapter there are references to ideas of information that will be covered in more detail later in the text.

About this edition

• Publisher: Brooks/Cole
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0534206824
• ISBN 13: 9780534206826
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 600