Critical Thinking In Psychology And Everyday Life

Critical Thinking in Psychology and Everyday Life shows how a scientific, critical thinking approach can be effective in addressing psychological questions, and discusses other questions that straddle the boundary between science and non-science. While scientific, critical thinking can be effective in addressing psychological questions, this textbook is a guide for how to separate fact from speculation and true claims from misconceptions and misinformation. Covering a wide range of topics, this book seeks to engage students in a serious search for answers, using what psychologists and other scientists know about how to think effectively. What does science have to say about whether some people have special psychic abilities, such as being able to "see" the future? Can people use their minds to move objects without any physical aid? Does the mind actually leave the body during an out-of-body experience? You may be surprised to learn that we are tantalizingly close to a scientific answer to this last question (see Chapter 7).

C​ritical Thinking in Psychology and Everyday Life shows how a scientific, critical thinking approach can be effective in addressing psychological questions, and discusses other questions that straddle the boundary between science and non-science. While scientific, critical thinking can be effective in addressing psychological questions, this textbook is a guide for how to separate fact from speculation and true claims from misconceptions and misinformation. Covering a wide range of topics, this book seeks to engage students in a serious search for answers, using what psychologists and other scientists know about how to think effectively.

Explores key topics in psychology, showing how they can be critically examined.

Critical thinking is taught at all universities, often put forward by lecturers as the key skill that can most dramatically improve a student's understanding of a course and transform their writing. It pervades research methods teaching, critical psychology, and a range of other core curriculum elements, in exactly the same way that critical thinking pervades any discipline, and indeed, life generally. But what is it, exactly, and how can we apply it specifically to the field of psychology? In his relaxed and accessible style, Mark Forshaw takes modern real-world examples from psychology and everyday life to lighten the learning of critical thinking, explaining what it entails, why it is important, and how it can be applied to this fascinating field of study.

Pinpoints exactly what critical thinking is and uses cutting-edge research to show how to teach and assess it.

Creating an exceptionally student-friendly textbook in psychology isn’t just about making the chapters shorter and pages more colorful. It’s about using that type of format to provide a clear portrait of psychological science, concise but not oversimplified, all while continually answering the recurring student question: “What does this have to do with me?” David Myers’ brief introduction to psychology, Psychology in Everyday Life, certainly does offer brief, easily manageable chapters and a colorful, image-rich design (both shaped by extensive research, class testing, and instructor/student feedback). But what makes it such an exceptional text is what flows through those chapters—rich presentations of psychology’s core concepts and field-defining research, examined in context of the everyday lives of all kinds of people around the world and communicated in the captivating storyteller’s voice that is instantly recognizable as Myers’. The new edition of Psychology in Everyday Life offers an extraordinary amount of new research, effective new inquiry-based study tools, and further design innovations, all while maintaining its trademark brevity and clean layout. And it is accompanied by an innovative media/supplements of the same scope as all of David Myers’ more comprehensive textbooks.

This innovative text is designed to improve thinking skills through the application of 30 critical thinking principles—Metathoughts. These specialized tools and techniques are useful for approaching all forms of study, inquiry, and problem solving. Levy applies Metathoughts to a diverse array of issues in contemporary clinical, social, and cross-cultural psychology: identifying strengths and weaknesses in various schools of thought, defining and explaining psychological phenomena, evaluating the accuracy and usefulness of research studies, reducing logical flaws and personal biases, and improving the search for creative solutions. The Metathoughts are brought to life with practical examples, clinical vignettes, illustrations, anecdotes, thought-provoking exercises, useful antidotes, and contemporary social problems and issues. Tools of Critical Thinking, 2/E is primarily suited as a core textbook for courses in critical thinking/problem solving, or makes an ideal supplement in a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate psychology courses, including introductory psychology, abnormal psychology (psychopathology), cross-cultural psychology, theories and methods of psychotherapy, research methods and design, theories of personality, clinical practicum, and contemporary problems and issues in psychology. Second Edition features: The application of critical thinking skills to cross-cultural psychology and issues of cultural diversity More than 60 new and updated reference citations related to a wide range of contemporary topics 140 multiple-choice test bank items and 20 short-answer/essay questions Comprehensive PowerPoint CD package as a pedagogical aid to augment lecture presentations Improved glossary of key terms, containing over 300 fully cross-referenced definitions The expanded use of humor, including parodies, cartoon illustrations, and clever satires

This book consists of two titles, which are the following: Book 1: Many people don’t understand what critical thinking is. Moreover, not all the ones that do, apply it in their daily lives. Politics, the media, and so many other aspects of society show how small the number is of people who use their brains. Critical thinking means, among others, that you look at multiple sides of a controversial topic, that you can stay objective and put away your biases until you have reached a firm conclusion based on verifiable facts. This skill is highly valuable in job interviews, relationships, and everyday life. In order to improve your critical thinking skills, it would be best to adopt the best practices that help you accomplish this task. In other words, some things help you develop this skill, others are a waste of time and effort, or even worse, go against it and cause a degeneration of your intellect and open-minded attitude. Book 2: What makes someone a critical thinker? The attributes of such a person are elaborately described in this book. Alongside with that, the book highlights the many benefits of critical thinking, an often-neglected brain skills society needs to improve on. However, most of the book is focused on relevant and irrelevant reasoning. So often, we attribute certain consequences to the wrong causes. We jump to conclusions based on limited information, emotions, or generalizations. This book will clear all that up by giving you new insights to determine what is relevant and what is not.