Introduction to Learning and Behavior

Clearly introduce the principles of learning and behavior with the variety of innovative teaching and learning tools in Powell/Honey/Symbaluk's Introduction to Learning and Behavior, 6e.

Students learn both basic principles and their practical application through a student-friendly behavioral approach to psychology that emphasizes how this information is critical for understanding and improving today's world. Updated, expanded coverage and a dedicated appendix address self-control and behavior self-management in detail with specific tactics. "Study Tip" boxes guide students from how to read a text to the use of stimulus control procedures to increase concentration and reduce procrastination.

Content is ideal for providing self-management projects as a course assignment. Numerous updated and new exploration, review, self-testing and learning features help students maximize their comprehension as they retain and apply this edition's principles. Instructor resources are also available.

What's New

• NEW LEARNING OBJECTIVES BEGIN EACH CHAPTER. These new learning objectives at the start of each chapter provide students with a brief overview of the main concepts covered within that chapter.
• EXPANDED INTRODUCTION PRESENTS A MORE COMPLETE BEHAVIOR MODEL OF SELF CONTROL. The authors have provided more content within this edition's introduction that offers a more thorough behavioral model of self-control. This new content is designed to both enlighten and motivate students.
• NEW FORMATTING HIGHLIGHTS CLASSICAL AND OPERANT CONDITIONING PROCEDURES. This edition now uses unique formatting for diagramming classical and operant conditioning procedures and drawing attention to particularly important information.
• NEW "IN REVIEW" SECTIONS GUIDE STUDENTS IN SUMMARIZING EACH CHAPTER. These new "In Review" sections at the end of each chapter replace traditional chapter summaries and provide suggestions on how students can actively create their own summary of the material. This more active form of learning, as opposed to passively reading a highly condensed summary, facilitates students’ grasp of the material.
• NEW "FURTHER EXPLORATION" SECTIONS CONNECT STUDENTS TO ONLINE MATERIALS THAT REINFORCE CONCEPTS. These new sections replace the former Suggested Readings sections at the end of each chapter. Students find links to easily access online material and expand their understanding of particular concepts.
• ANSWERS TO ALL QUICK QUIZ ITEMS NOW APPEAR AT THE END OF THE TEXT. The authors have made this addition in response to persistent student requests. Students can now immediately check their understanding of the material.

Features

• CONTENT EMPHASIZES BASIC PRINCIPLES OF BEHAVIOR DERIVED FROM EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH. Students also examine the usefulness of these principles in understanding important aspects of human behavior -- from raising children to managing romantic relationships to understanding what makes life meaningful. This edition emphasizes both the conceptual background and the practical tools for effectively managing behavior. These tools enable students to strengthen this skill that many students admit they are lacking.
• PROVEN LEARNING FEATURES KEEP STUDENTS ENGAGED AND LEARNING. This edition provides chapter outlines, opening vignettes and interesting quotations that keep the material students are learning organized as well as meaningful for today's learners.
• REVIEW AND SELF-TESTING FEATURES MAXIMIZE STUDENT'S STUDY TIME AND COURSE SUCCESS. Each chapter contains numerous Quick Quizzes as well as a more challenging end-of-chapter test that helps students process and retain information.
• "STUDY TIPS" GUIDE STUDENTS IN REPLACING PROCRASTINATION WITH REGULAR, EFFECTIVE STUDY. Most chapters contain helpful "Study Tips" that demonstrate how to stop procrastinating and study more regularly. Students also learn how to review more efficiently, making them more independent learners.
• "AND FURTHERMORE" BOXES IN EACH CHAPTER EXPAND UPON THOUGHT-PROVOKING TOPICS. These features build upon interesting material presented in the preceding section. These boxes often feature unique topics not covered by other texts on learning, such as "Was Sigmund Freud a Behavior Analyst?" and "Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Behavioral Perspective."
• "ADVICE TO THE LOVELORN" CONNECTS RESEARCH TO ACTUAL LIFE CONCERNS. Inspired by real and fictional people, these "Advice to the Lovelorn" inserts in each chapter demonstrate how students' real-life concerns relate to current research on basic principles of learning.

About the Authors

Russ Powell earned his Ph.D. in psychology under the mentorship of notable behavior analysts Dr. Frank Epling and Dr. David Pierce at the University of Alberta. As a long-standing faculty member at MacEwan University, Dr. Powell has taught classes in learning and behavior for more than 30 years using a variety of behaviorally inspired formats. He has published and conducted research in a wide range of areas, including operant conditioning, social psychology, sleep and dreams (especially nightmares) and self-regulation. He has also researched the history of psychology and helped identify the individual believed to have been Little Albert, the famous infant in whom Watson and Rayner (1920) attempted to condition a phobia of furry animals (Powell, Digdon, Harris, and Smithson, 2014).

Lynne Honey -- a self-described "evolutionary behaviorist" -- completed a Ph.D. in experimental psychology in Jeff Galef's lab at McMaster University, studying the role of social learning on alcohol consumption in rats. She has published a number of papers on this topic and considers social learning to be one of the most powerful adaptations available to our species and others. Dr. Honey joined the department of psychology at MacEwan University in 2003 because of its focus on teaching and student engagement. She currently conducts research on human social behavior in an evolutionary context, focusing on the influence of personality traits on social behaviors. She also studies the effectiveness of various teaching methods, and she has been recognized with several awards for innovation and excellence in teaching.

Diane Symbaluk received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Alberta in 1997, with a specialization in criminology and social psychology. She joined MacEwan University in 1996 to pursue her joint passion for teaching and research mentorship. Her publications include textbooks, journal articles and more than 40 pedagogical resources such as study guides, test banks, instructor manuals and online resources. Dr. Symbaluk’s contributions to student success through teaching and educational leadership have been recognized with distinguished teaching awards and a 3M National Teaching Fellowship.