Life Lessons from Psychological Science: Understanding and Improving Interpersonal Dynamics

Life Lessons from Psychological Science: Understanding and Improving Interpersonal Dynamics provides students with a primer for developing self-awareness and insight through interpersonal conversation. The text focuses on human behavior in various situations-from educational settings to the workplace and the home-in order to help readers understand, appreciate, and enrich the human dynamics of their everyday lives. This book features 50 life lessons grounded in contemporary research and relevant to improving interpersonal dynamics. Several life lessons reflect the behavioral science principles of positive versus negative reinforcement, observational learning, and behavior-based feedback. Other life lessons are founded on humanism, including empathy, interdependence, systems thinking, and self-transcendence. Still others are derived from social psychology, including six principles of social influence, the dynamics of group decision-making, and critical distinctions between discrimination and stereotyping. Domains of psychology such as sensation and perception, personality, health and stress, learning, and motivation are the foundation of other life lessons. The lessons are complemented by instructive and entertaining illustrations and discussion questions to initiate lively dialogue. A dynamic, contemporary, and personal text, Life Lessons from Psychological Science is an ideal resource for introductory psychology courses.