This best-selling, reader-friendly introduction to psychology as a science provides engaging coverage of traditional topics -- giving readers a firm grasp of the scope, vocabulary, and concepts of psychology. It treats psychology as a diverse discipline -- the way psychologists perceive it -- combining a concern for research, theory, gender, and cross-cultural issues with examples that are both familiar and applicable to readers. Provides full coverage of the core topics in psychology: biological basis of behavior; sensation and perception; consciousness; learning; memory; cognition and language; intelligence and mental abilities; life span development; motivation and emotion; personality; stress and health psychology; psychological disorders; therapies; social psychology. Contains a full chapter on Culture and Diversity and integrates the themes of diversity (e.g., gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation) throughout. Provides an Industrial/Organizational Psychology appendix that covers topics such as personnel selection, training, performance appraisal, leadership and motivation as well as human factors, cross-cultural issues, and human resource development. For anyone wanting a solid introduction to psychology and its contemporary applications.