Jim Kalat's best-selling INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY takes a "critical thinking" approach to the major theories and concerns of psychology. By prompting students to ask themselves questions like "How was this conclusion reached?" and "Does the evidence really support it?," Kalat encourages the use of scientific principles. He walks students through the hypothesis-method-results-interpretation steps that psychologists use when attempting to answer questions about human intellect, emotion, and behavior. Kalat's approach is proven to help students separate what merely sounds plausible from what is scientifically provable?both in the psychology classroom and beyond it. With his humorous writing style and hands-on "Try It Yourself" exercises, Kalat puts students at ease and gets them involved with even with the most intimidating concepts. Within each chapter, he "chunks" the material into a modular format so that students can master one idea at a time, building confidence as they go. This format makes it convenient for instructors to assign material to match the way they teach the course. Kalat's supplements package includes substantial resources for professors and students alike. Students receive a free CD-ROM with the text, free access to the Book Companion Web Site (featureing a personalized Self-Study Assessment program--see below), free access to InfoTrac College Edition, and free access to vMentor online tutoring. Instructors receive an Instructor's Resource Manual (now in a three-ring binder format), Test Bank with item analysis, and much more. See below for details.
Dr. James W. Kalat received his B.A. degree from Duke University, Summa Cum Laude, and then continued his education at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving his Ph.D. in psychology under the supervision of Paul Rozin. Currently, Dr. Kalat is at North Carolina State University where he is a professor of psychology, teaching both introductory psychology and biological psychology. Besides having authored the best selling biological psychology text, Dr. Kalat is the author of INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY, 8th Edition (Wadsworth, 2008) and has published articles on a variety of diverse topics such as taste aversion learning and on the teaching of introductory psychology. With Michelle Shiota, Kalat is co-author of EMOTION (Wadsworth, 2007). A talented and frequently requested speaker, Kalat receives rave reviews wherever he presents, including the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology and the Texas Community College Teachers Association.
