Creativity must represent something different, new, or innovative. It has to be different and also be appropriate to the task at hand. The first chapter of the book deals with the Four-Criterion Construct of Creativity, which attempts to integrate both Western and Eastern conceptions of creativity. This is followed by a chapter which addresses how creativity operates on individual and social/environmental levels, and the effects and outcomes of the creative mind. Chapter 3 discusses the structure of creativity. A key work on creative domains is that of Carson, Peterson, and Higgins, who devised the creativity achievement questionnaire (CAQ) to assess 10 domains. The fourth chapter discusses measures of creativity and divergent thinking tests, Torrance Tests, Evaluation of Potential Creativity (EPOC) and Finke Creative Invention Task. Some popular personality measures use different theories, such as Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire, which looks at extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism. Chapter 6 focuses on a key issue, intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation and their relationship to creativity. While the seventh chapter deals with the relationship between creativity and intelligence, the eighth chapter describes three ’classic’ studies of creativity and mental illness which focus on the connection between bipolar disorder and creativity, usage of structured interviews and utilization of historiometric technique. One school admissions area that already uses creativity is gifted admissions—which students are chosen to enter gifted classes, programs, or after-school activities. The book also talks about creative perceptions and dwells upon the question whether creativity is good or bad.

This book presents the best short introduction to genius to be found. It is a valuable resource for all students of psychology and anyone interested in the field. The book examines the many definitions of “genius”, and the multiple domains in which it appears, including art, science, music, business, literature, and the media. The term genius is peculiar. It can be precisely defined or loosely defined. It can be applied to a diversity of phenomena or confined to just one or two. It all depends on how you use the term. The tremendous range in usage reflects the fact that genius is both a humanistic concept with a long history and a scientific concept with a much shorter history. There are two principal ways to assess degrees of genius. One is historiometric, and the other is psychometric. Whatever the actual association between historiometric and psychometric genius, we have a strong inclination to associate the two concepts. This connection was demonstrated in a recent survey of college students at both U.S. and Canadian universities. The book also examines three alternative positions on the nature of cognitive ability: unified intellect, diverse intellects and hierarchical intellect. Whether intelligence is unified or multiple, all budding geniuses must go through some sort of apprenticeship period in which they acquire the expertise that will enable them to make original and exemplary contributions to their chosen domain of achievement. The book further explains what psychologists have said about problem-solving research in cognitive psychology.

This book explores a set of key topics that have shaped research and given us a much better understanding of how language processing works. The study of language involves examining sounds, structure, and meaning, and the book covers the aspects of language in each of these areas that are most relevant to psycholinguistics. The book then covers relatively low-tech methods that simply involve pencil and paper as well as very high-tech methods like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that use advanced technology to determine brain activity in response to language and discusses a topic that has dominated the field for over two decades how people handle ambiguity in language. It describes how language is represented, both in the brain itself and in how multiple languages interact, which parts of the brain are critical for the basics of language, and how language ability can be disrupted when the brain is damaged. The book further talks about progressive language disorders like semantic dementia and what the study of disordered language can tell us about the neurological basis of language. Finally, it looks at sign language research to see if and how sign language processing differs from speech and a relatively new hypothesis that has emerged: most previous work has taken for granted that comprehenders (and speakers) fully process language, that is that we try to build complete representations of what we hear, read, or produce.

The purpose of this book is to dispel many of the myths about the gifted, define the term in a nonelitist manner, explore how it manifests in individuals, describe why it is important, consider its origins, examine its psychological implications, and provide guidelines for its recognition, assessment, and development. It provides a cohesive conception of the psychology and development of a group with special needs. This perspective was shaped through 50 years of concentrated study and is informed by the author’s experience as a teacher of gifted elementary students, a counselor of gifted adolescents, a teacher educator of graduate students in gifted education, a psychologist specializing in the assessment of giftedness, a clinician with gifted clients, the creator of a refereed psychological journal on adult giftedness, and a researcher. In humanistic psychology, optimal development has been conceptualized differently. Self-realization can be understood in terms of Maslow’s self-actualization, Dabrowski’s secondary integration, Jung’s individuation, or other theoretical perspectives of human development. Families, educators, and psychologists can support inner development or they can act as agents of socialization, exhorting the gifted to "work harder" to attain external trappings of success.

This book is about all the exciting aspects that have been investigated in the science of positive psychology. One of the reasons that the interest in positive psychology has increased so much in recent years is that people are interested in happiness, and they’re interested in enhancing their well-being. All conceptions of positive psychology involve something to do with the “positive side of life”, which is clearly contrasted with the negative side of life. The positive side of life seems to go by many names, such as happiness, flourishing, thriving, a worthwhile life, a meaningful life, a fulfilling life, or “what goes right in life”. The study of positive subjective states involves two related but distinct areas of study: positive emotions and subjective well-being (SWB). Positive psychologists often refer to two types of happiness: hedonic and eudaimonic. Any treatments of the history of happiness spend little time on ancient Jewish contributions to our understanding of well-being. From the early Christian tradition, writers encouraged enduring suffering now in the light of future happiness in the afterlife. The book focuses on two theories that are both representative and helpful to the field of positive psychology: the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and the Hedonic Adaptation Prevention (HAP) model. Gratitude and compassion are very important to the good life; however, when we also emphasize strengths such as prudence, humility, self-control, and integrity, we are much more likely to flourish. The issue of Internet relationships also brings up an alternative form of relationships: Our relationships with our pets. The book attempts to describe the cognitive characteristics of happy people.

The importance of the field of geropsychology (psychology of aging) is seen in the ever-increasing demographics of older adults. A psychologist needs to understand the various life stages that define different cohorts of older adults. Older adults are affected by the forces of stigma and ageism, which are of four types: personal, institutional, intentional, and unintentional. A majority of older adults experience age discrimination and stigmatization after the age of 65. The use of medical model of psychopathology causes contradictions and distortions, one of which is the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Assessment of deficits in olfactory functioning are potentially useful for a psychologist who is attempting to differentiate between cognitive disturbances of normal aging and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Sexual interest remains high throughout old adult developmental stages, but sexual activity declines in most men as they age. While older adults are more likely to avoid illicit substances, many older adults having chronic pain from cancer or arthritis need opioid medications. Older adult abuse is a multifactorial phenomenon as the abuse may be emotional, financial, physical, sexual, or self-induced. Environmental geropsychology is based on Lewin’s field theory model Lawton and Nahemow’s ecological model, and an environmental geropsychologist focuses on the environmental component to develop interventions to change older adults’ interpersonal and intrapersonal experiences. Heightened awareness of coming of death results in an existential crisis for many older adults causing a loss of their sense of purpose for their lives.

This book provides us with what we need to sleep well. It provides the tools and techniques to reverse insomnia and improve sleep long-term. Insomnia, persistent trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, affects our daytime functioning and wellbeing. The book breaks down the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), the sleep program considered first-line treatment in the clinic, into a step-by-step and reader friendly program that can be easily followed at home. Written by a clinical psychologist and researcher who has worked in the sleep field for 40 years, the book uses data from a real patient to illustrate each step of the process. The book is complete with detailed sleep diaries, worksheets, and more, all of which are also available online to download and use on your own journey to sleeping better now and into the future. Guiding readers through this self-directed sleep therapy program, the book features updated information and new scientific findings on key topics for patients and health care providers including: tried-and-true CBT-I methods of sleep management; successful cognitive therapy methods to deal with racing thoughts at bedtime; different sleep needs for women and men through life and health conditions; influence of nutrition, exercise, and sex on sleep in a brand-new chapter; depression, anxiety, and traumatic stress and how they intersect with sleep; and prescribed and non-prescribed medications, herbal remedies, and cannabis for sleep.

Depression, often referred to as the “common cold of psychopathology”, is among the most prevalent psychiatric conditions, yet it remains challenging to understand and treat. Experience such as the difficulty of continuing on with one’s typical routine, desires, and goals that differentiate more normal experiences of sadness and malaise from syndromes of depression drive people to seek treatment for these conditions. This book provides an overview of all aspects of unipolar and bipolar depressive disorders, including their presentation, course, impact on functioning, etiology, and treatment. It integrates recent research on risk factors for these conditions and biological underpinnings of depression and mania alongside well-established observations regarding the phenomenology and correlates of these conditions. The book explicitly integrates models of depression such as the diathesis-stress model and vulnerability model, across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The book shows how such major psychology disciplines as clinical, developmental, evolutionary, personality, and behavioral neuroscience shed light on the causes, risk factors, and treatment options for the full spectrum of depressive disorders. It describes what is known about the kinds of stress that seem to be most relevant to depressive disorders; how this stress may exert its effects; and other factors that may help to explain individual differences in the stress-depression relationship. Cultural and gender as variables are examined as is depression across the lifespan. In addition, the book clarifies common misconceptions about depression and mood disorders, and considers how the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) affects diagnostic practice.

This book concerns itself with the research on how media influences people, how people influence media, and how society even influences the way we try to answer questions about how media influences people. The history of media and society has often involved considerable push and pull between social forces advocating greater liberalization or restriction of media content. After a brief introduction about society and media through history, the book discusses some of the basic theoretical approaches used in media research such as the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), self-determination theory (SDT), and catalyst model. This is followed by a presentation on how influential are advertisements on our behavior, what “tricks” do advertisers use to influence behavior, and how do the influences of advertisements compare to fictional media. The impact of televisions, or boob tubes as they were called earlier, on academic achievement is the next topic of discussion. This is followed by a chapter covering media addiction. Regarding television, relatively little attention has been paid to the concept of television addiction despite the heavy viewing habits of the average individual. Book bannings and burnings have long been part of authoritarian regimes, whether aristocratic, fascist, or communist. Book bannings are intended to prevent others from reading a book. The book also discusses many other important topics such as body dissastisfaction, teen sexual behavior, racial relations, criminal news, television/movie/video game violence, and pornography. As with most issues with media psychology, the travails of social media involve separating the hype from the truth.

This book helps in understanding motivation from a perspective of basic knowledge, provides a bit of the schema set that a motivation researcher brings to these situations and offers some guidance in one or more motivational models. Chapter 1 begins with a global definition of motivation. Motivation is not a learning theory, but it affects what people learn. The second chapter talks about topics related to incentives, rewards, reinforcers, and punishers using the operant-conditioning framework. Self-determination theory (SDT) is a large-scale model for motivation, and allows for the discussion of social development, individual differences, and cultural factors that can assist or impede a person’s progress. Needs can be thought of as arising from three categories: physiological, psychological and social needs. The sheer “motivation” for paying attention in class and working on material in class concerning physiological needs is impressive. Individuals have beliefs and judgments about their ability to successfully complete an activity or task, which can be termed as expectations. Additionally, people also have a value system associated with the expectation. Goals are important and goal setting is crucial for moving forward. Long-term goals are better suited for increasing intrinsic motivation. Chapter 7 describes several focused theories within the thematic concept of self-evaluation or self-judgment. Positive psychology falls within the perspective of humanism but focuses on testing ideas. Optimism has been viewed as a cognitive characteristic with an emotional component to it.