1. Introduction: Working Out and Working In What makes an Idea Great? Great Ideas and Orientations in Psychology Concluding Comment 2. The Psychological Laboratory The Laboratory Becomes Central to Psychology Critically Assessing the Psychology Laboratory Concluding Comment 3. Placebo Effect Factors to Consider in Testing for the Placebo Effect Meaning and the Active Placebo Complicating Factors Concluding Comment 4.The Freudian Unconscious Early History of the Unconscious The Freudian Unconscious The Unconscious Re-assessed Concluding Comment 5.The Memory Trace: Long Term Potentiation (LPT) Pioneering Ideas Pioneering Experimental Research Debate Over Long-Term Potentiation Concluding Comment 6.Learning The Law of Effect and Classical Conditioning The American Context and Instrumental Learning Learning, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Culture Concluding Comment 7.Intelligence Tests Why Are Intelligence Tests Important? At What Age, If Ever, Does Intelligence Become Fixed? What Are the Contributions of Nature and Nurture to Intelligence? Is There One or Multiple Intelligence? Concluding Comment 8.Artificial Intelligence The Context of Artificial Intelligence The ‘Long Debate’ and Artificial Intelligence Concluding Comment 9.Stage Models of Development The Major Stage Models Core Assumptions Concluding Comment 10.The Zone of Proximal Development Assumptions of the Traditional Approach A Vygotskian Approach to Child Development Concluding Comment 11.Attachment The Historical Context of the Idea Bowlby’s Four Phase Model Variations on the Attachment Theme Concluding Comment 12.Displaced Aggression The Idea of Displaced Aggression in Wider Context The Assumed Association Between Frustration and Aggression Displaced Aggression and Freud’s Intergroup Psychology Concluding Comment 13.Personality Traits Methodological Dilemmas Conceptual Dilemmas Concluding Comment 14.The Self The Sense of Self Self-Perception Self-Presentation Concluding Comment 15.Conformity to Group Norms Conformity to Arbitrary Norms Power, Norms, and Conformity Concluding Comment 16.Obedience to Authority The Experimental Study of Obedience Why Are Milgram’s Obedience Studies Important? Lessons From Psychological Research on Obedience Concluding Comment 17.Feminist Psychology The Cultural and Historical Context Discovering and Interpreting Gender Differences Concluding Comment 18.Multicultural Psychology Assimilation and Identity Multiculturalism and Identity Concluding Comment 19.Evolutionary Psychology The Historical Context of Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory Genetics and Evolutionary Psychology Genes as ‘Causes’ of Behavior Concluding Comment 20.Social Constructionism The Context and Background of Social Constructionism The Main Implications of Social Constructionism Concluding Comment

What is it about ideas like the Freudian unconscious that has caused them to have such an enduring impact on both the study of psychology and on our everyday lives? In an accessible and original manner, Fathali Moghaddam takes the reader on a tour of the nineteen great ideas that have revolutionized the way we think about ourselves, from such classic discoveries as the placebo effect to modern developments in IQ testing and artificial intelligence. Keeping the jargon to a minimum, Moghaddam examined each idea in its cultural and historical context, encouraging the reader to form their own conclusions about such key questions as: • Would Freud have formed the same theories about dreams and childhood is he had lived in an eastern culture where dreams are perceived to represent the future? • To what extent are new theories like evolutionary and feminist psychology a product of modern western society – will they stand the test of time in this and other cultures? Packed with insight, erudition and good sense, this book offers the perfect introduction to the central ideas of psychology for students and general readers alike

"This clear, erudite and elegant treatment of seminal psychological ideas will reward its readers with an excellent introduction to the intellectual currents of the discipline." Ciaran Benson - Professor and Chair of Psychology, University College Dublin "An excellent book" Robert Sternberg - IBM Professor of Psychology and Education, Yale University, and Past President of