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Cover: Scientific American: Psychology, 4th Edition by Deborah Licht; Misty Hull; Coco Ballantyne

Scientific American: Psychology

Fourth Edition  ©2025 Deborah Licht; Misty Hull; Coco Ballantyne Formats: Achieve, Read & Practice, E-book, Print

Authors

  • Headshot of Deborah Licht

    Deborah Licht

    Deborah Licht is a professor of psychology at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She received a BS in psychology from Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio; an MA in clinical psychology from the University of Dayton; and a PhD in psychology (experimental psychopathology) from Harvard University. She has three decades of teaching and research experience in a variety of settings, ranging from a small private university in the Midwest to a large public university in Copenhagen, Denmark. Deborah has taught introductory psychology, psychology of the workplace, abnormal psychology, the history of psychology, child development, and elementary statistics, in traditional, online, and hybrid courses. Working with community college students for nearly two decades has been very inspiring to Deborah; the great majority of students who attend community colleges often must overcome many challenges in pursuit of their dreams. Deborah continues to be interested in research on causal beliefs, particularly in relation to how college students think about their successes and failures as they pursue their degrees.


  • Headshot of Misty Hull

    Misty Hull

    Misty Hull is a professor of psychology at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She has taught a range of psychology courses at Pikes Peak Community College, including introductory psychology, human sexuality, and social psychology in a variety of delivery formats (traditional, online, and hybrid). Her love of teaching comes through in her dedication to mentoring new and part-time faculty in the teaching of psychology. She received her BS in human development and family studies from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, and an MA in professional counseling at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado. Misty has held a variety of administrative roles at Pikes Peak Community College, including interim associate dean and coordinator of the Student Crisis Counseling Office. In addition, she served as the state psychology discipline chair of the Colorado Community College System from 2002 to 2010. One of her many professional interests is research on the impact of student persistence in higher education.


  • Headshot of Coco Ballantyne

    Coco Ballantyne

    Coco Ballantyne is a New York based journalist and science writer with a special interest in psychology. Before collaborating with Misty Hull and Deborah Licht on the Scientific American: Psychology series, Coco worked as a reporter for Scientific American online, covering the health, medicine, and neuroscience beats. She has also written for Discover magazine and Nature Medicine. Coco earned an MS from the Columbia University School of Journalism, where she received a Horgan Prize for Excellence in Critical Science Writing. Prior to her journalistic career, Coco worked as a teacher and tutor, helping high school and college students prepare for standardized tests such as the SAT, GRE, and MCAT. She also worked as a physics and math teacher at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, California, and as a human biology course associate at Stanford University, where she earned a BA in human biology.

Table of Contents

0. Are You Ready for This?
1. Introduction of the Science of Psychology
2. Biology and Behavior 
3. Sensation and Perception
4. Consciousness
5. Learning 
6. Memory
7.  Cognition, Language, and Intelligence
8. Human Development
9. Motivation and Emotion
10: Sex and Sexuality
11. Personality 
12: Social Psychology 
13: Stress and Health 
14: Psychological Disorders
15: Treatment of Psychological Disorders 
Achieve only: Industrial/Organization Psychology

Product Updates

New content in the Fourth Edition:
  • Updated terminology throughout aligns with DSM-V-TR and APA, as well as with Macmillan Learning’s comprehensive DEI guidelines. 
  • New separate chapter 10 on Sexuality and Gender – also with essential yet integrated coverage of this area in the Human Development, Motivation, and Emotion chapters for those who do not require a more extensive discussion.
  • Completely new and re-imagined digital Infographics and Your Scientific World activities provide fresh everyday examples and connections that make concepts resonate with learners.

New in Achieve:
  • New Skills Activities based on feedback from Intro Psych instructors are now in Achieve to help students refine core skills like: How to Read a Syllabus, How to Manage Your Time, How to Use APA Style, How to Take Notes, and How to Read a Research Article – as well as save instructors valuable teaching time covering these topics!
  • New chapter! Industrial/Organizational Psychology chapter (Achieve-only) — with specific discussions of the psychological impact of COVID-19 and how remote working has changed the workplace.
  • Expanded Introductory Psychology Video Collection (with classic and contemporary footage, plus original footage) has over 100 new clips (over 200 total videos). The new videos include topics like Alzheimer’s, CTE, prejudice and bias, advances in therapy and therapeutic approaches, scientific methodology, and APA’s Introductory Psychology Initiative (IPI). Each segment is assignable and assessable, with results reporting directly to the Achieve gradebook. 

Extraordinary people, compelling stories—the science of psychology comes alive

With the best of Scientific American: Psychology 3e and Presenting Psychology 3e streamlined into a single, powerful volume, Scientific American: Psychology, Fourth Edition offers an engaging real-world approach to psychology that offers a captivating exploration of how psychology directly impacts our everyday lives.

In student-friendly language, the realms of real-life applications and scientific journalism converge, allowing students to better appreciate the relevance of psychology to their own lives. The dynamic authorial collaboration between two seasoned community college psychology instructors and a scientific journalist results in intriguing profiles and video interviews of real people to personify some of psychology’s key concepts!

Success Stories

Here are a few examples of how Achieve has helped instructors like you improve student preparedness, enhance their sense of belonging, and achieve course goals they set for themselves.

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See how the resources in Achieve help you engage students before, during, and after class.

Prof. Jennifer Duncan

Use diagnostics in Achieve for a snapshot into cognitive and non-cognitive factors that may impact your students’ preparedness.

Prof. Ryan Elsenpeter

Here’s why educators who use Achieve would recommend it to their peers.

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Deborah Licht; Misty Hull; Coco Ballantyne | Fourth Edition | ©2025 | ISBN:9781319495886

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