Psychology : 50 Ideas You Really Need to Know

An introduction to the key ideas of psychology in 50 concise and accessible essays.

How different are men and women's brains? Does altruism really exist? Are our minds blank slates at birth? And do dreams reveal our unconscious desires?

Psychology is everywhere in today's society. No crime fiction, documentary, chat show or medical consultation is complete without the introduction of a psychological angle. Psychology seeks to understand and explain thoughts, feelings and behaviour through a dizzying array of ideas and theories, shedding light on everything from memory, social mobility and attitude formation to delusions of grandeur, alcoholism and computer phobia, to name a few.

In 50 Psychology Ideas You Really Need to Know, Professor Adrian Furnham explains the central ideas of psychology in 50 concise and accessible essays. Packed with the latest research, most important case studies and arguments of key thinkers, this book is the perfect introduction to psychological theory.

Contents include: Placebo effect; Kicking the habit; Hallucinations; Positive psychology; Emotional intelligence; IQ and you; Multiple intelligences; The Rorschach inkblot test; Detecting lies; Obedience to authority; Self-sacrifice or selfishness; Gambler's fallacy; Remembrance of things past; Artificial intelligence; Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon; Psychosexual stages; Tabula rasa; Phrenology; Dyslexia.

About the Author

Adrian Furnham is Professor of Psychology at the University of London (UCL). He is also a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, the previously elected President of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences and Visiting Professor of Management at Henley Business School. Adrian writes regularly for the Sunday Times and the Daily Telegraph and has written over 650 scientific papers and 55 books, including Culture Shock, The Psychology of Money and The Dark Side of Behaviour at Work. He lives in London.