How Psychology Applies to Everyday Life - by Charles Brooks & Michael Church (Hardcover)

About the Book

Do violent video games lead to violence? Does spanking children make them unstable? Can the alcoholic drink socially? Do children raised by gay parents turn out OK? Are eyewitness accounts accurate? Is winter a cause of depression? Does cell phone use compromise driving ability? These questions and others from the world of psychology touch on our everyday experiences, and are also areas of research that many students want to explore further. Psychology Applied to Everyday Life provides the reader with a portal to discovering what psychologists know about these questions. For each question, the authors review a recent research article and provide a straightforward answer to the question. The writing is conversational, informal, and non-technical. The authors deal with topics in a straightforward manner, allowing readers to develop an understanding of each topic.

Psychology Applied to Everyday Life divides its 59 questions into seven fun sections:

- Sex, Booze, and Other Fun Things

- Raising the Little Ones

- Cops, Robbers, and Forensics

- Memory and Intelligence

- Anxiety, Stress, and Staying Cool

- Odds and Ends

- Notes from the Shrink

For those interested in further investigation into a topic, the authors provide additional analysis and references. In addition to reviewing recent research, the authors consider questions from the practice of clinical and counseling psychology. Issues in this section are illustrated with actual case studies from the authors' files, and include questions concerning how best to work with couples, whether psychotropic medications (such as anti-depressant and anti-anxiety agents) are effective, and recent developments in counseling techniques.

Book Synopsis

Do violent video games lead to violence? Does spanking children make them unstable? Can the alcoholic drink socially? Do children raised by gay parents turn out OK? Are eyewitness accounts accurate? Is winter a cause of depression? Does cell phone use compromise driving ability? These questions and others from the world of psychology touch on our everyday experiences, and are also areas of research that many students want to explore further. Psychology Applied to Everyday Life provides the reader with a portal to discovering what psychologists know about these questions. For each question, the authors review a recent research article and provide a straightforward answer to the question. The writing is conversational, informal, and non-technical. The authors deal with topics in a straightforward manner, allowing readers to develop an understanding of each topic.

Psychology Applied to Everyday Life divides its 59 questions into seven fun sections:
- Sex, Booze, and Other Fun Things
- Raising the Little Ones
- Cops, Robbers, and Forensics
- Memory and Intelligence
- Anxiety, Stress, and Staying Cool
- Odds and Ends
- Notes from the Shrink

For those interested in further investigation into a topic, the authors provide additional analysis and references. In addition to reviewing recent research, the authors consider questions from the practice of clinical and counseling psychology. Issues in this section are illustrated with actual case studies from the authors' files, and include questions concerning how best to work with couples, whether psychotropic medications (such as anti-depressant and anti-anxiety agents) are effective, and recent developments in counseling techniques.

About the Author

Charles I. Brooks is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology, King's Collge, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Duke University, his masters in psychology from Wake Forest University, and his doctorate in experimental psychology from Syracuse University. He has taught at King's College since 1975 and was designated a distinguished service professor in 1993. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 scholarly publications in psychology.

Michael A. Church is Associate Professor of Psychology at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He received his bachelor's degree in psychology from California State University at Fullerton, and his masters and doctoral degrees in psychology from the University of Miami. He has taught at King's College since 1976, and has been a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice since 1980. He is a member of the Council of National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.