How to Think Straight About Psychology, 11th edition

For courses in Introductory Psychology, Critical Thinking, and Research and Experimental Methods.

Market-leading consumer's guide to assessing psychological claims

How to Think Straight About Psychology helps students build the critical thinking skills needed to independently evaluate psychological information. Author Keith Stanovich teaches students to analyze claims found in the media, to distinguish between pseudoscience and valid psychological research, and to apply psychological knowledge to the world around them.

The 11th Edition covers a range of new topics. Fresh examples illustrate psychological principles, pseudoscience and issues obscuring the growing knowledge base in the field.

Hallmark features of this title

• The author helps students learn critical analytical skills for evaluating psychological claims found in the media and self-help literature.
• The text presents vital concepts aiding in critical evaluation of psychological information. These include falsifiability, converging evidence and correlational vs. experimental studies.
• How To features offer practical tips for distinguishing between pseudoscience and true psychological research.
• The text illustrates psychological principles using current issues. For instance, the issue of driving accidents caused by cell phone use is used as an example of the connectivity principle.
• The author examines common misconceptions in psychology that are rarely discussed in other texts, but frequently raised by students.

New and updated features of this title

• EXPANDED: The 11th Edition includes 290 new citations providing the most up-to-date references relevant to concepts and experimental effects discussed throughout the text.
• UPDATED: The author has replaced dated examples with new contemporary examples, including the dangers of vanity publishing and why people waste millions of dollars on alternative medicine.
• NEW: This edition provides new examples of pseudoscience encountered in the media, such as the media's suggestion that science is non-cumulative in their reporting of research on autism, reading disability and ADHD.
• NEW: Additional studies cited include including Walter Mischel's famous marshmallow studies and meta-analytic studies on marriage longevity and suicide prevention.
• NEW: New content addresses challenges in the field of psychology, including the implications of myside bias for objectivity in psychological science and how vivid presentations of neuroscientific results can skew conclusions.
• NEW: A new section examines the relationship between lab and field results in psychology. This content helps students better understand the real-world applications of empirical evidence.