Teach Yourself Psychology explains basic psychological processes and how they influence us in all aspects of everyday life. It explores why human beings are as they are, how they came to be that way and what they might do to change seemingly fundamental traits. .
The book puts psychology in context, using non-technical language to analyze everyday situations. It is a comprehensive introduction that shows how human experience can be understood on many levels.
Chapter Summary's .
Ch.1 What is psychology?.
Psychology is about understanding people: how they think, what they say, and why they do what they do. Its about finding out what motivates people, what is important to us, and why we are all so individual.
The problem with trying to understand people is that people are complex, and change all the time. People learn from their own experiences, form good intentions and act by certain circumstances. What this means is that its very important for psychologists to study people in a careful and systematic way. .
The word psychology comes from the Greek word psyche, which means "the soul", or "the essence of life" and is sometimes portrayed as a female figure representing the mind. The second part of the word also comes from the Greek language, and indicates knowledge or science. So combining the two gives us the idea of psychology as being the science of the mind.
Ch.2 Self and others.
This chapter is about who we are and how we come to be that way. Each of us has a different life experience and we were each born with our own particular temperament and physique. These things all help to make us different from one another. People live in society, and as a part of that, we learn how to act with other people and how to recognize experiences that we have in common. People inherit a powerful tendency to be sociable and to learn from other people who matter to us.
