Psychology is part of everyone's experience: it influences the way we think about everything from education and intelligence, to relationships and emotions, advertising and criminality. People readily behave as amateur psychologists, offering explanations for what people think, feel, and do. But what exactly are psychologists trying to do? What scientific grounding do they have for their approach? This Very Short Introduction explores some of psychology's leading ideas and their practical relevance.



In this new edition, Gillian Butler and Freda McManus explore a variety of new topics and ways of studying the brain. Until recently it was not possible to study the living human brain directly, so psychologists studied our behavior, and used their observations to derive hypotheses about what was going on inside. Now—through neuroscience—our knowledge of the workings of the brain has increased and improved technology provides us with a scientific basis on which to understand the structure and workings of the brain, allowing brain activity to be observed and measured. Exploring some of the most important advances and developments in psychology—from evolutionary psychology and issues surrounding adolescence and aggression to cognitive psychology—this is a stimulating introduction for anyone interested in understanding the human mind.