Investigating Human Behavior is a ground-breaking, accessible textbook that uses substantive research stories to illustrate the presentation of research methods in each chapter; it systematically presents the entire research process and its major variants within a unifying conceptual framework; it is written in a style that is clear and appealing to students while also maintaining the highest expectations about what they should learn; and it highlights the relevance and challenge of research ethics in each chapter.



Key Features

• With the scientific method at its core, students learn how to design and critique research in the behavioral sciences.


• A full chapter on ethics is complemented in the chapters that follow by end-of-chapter exercises applying ethics to the topic at hand.


• Each chapter has an interesting overarching thematic issue or topic, illustrated by real data, which teaches students the concepts and methods in an applied fashion.


• More illustrations and comparable texts visually reinforce key concepts and techniques.


• Unique end-of-chapter exercises—Research in the News and Ethics in Action—will help give students in-depth experience in applying the chapter content


• An extensive, unique ancillary package with Interactive Exercises tied to research articles, video clips, and learning activities is included on the companion study site.


• Case Study Approach: Each chapter is organized around a study selected from the psychological literature that is carefully deconstructed to illustrate the procedures, logic, and design of research.


• Experiential, hands-on, roll-up-the-sleeves approach to learning: Elegant but simple experiments are presented that can be customized for both in-class exercises and course projects.


• Research in the News: Each section summarizes a science story that attests to the relevance of research methods. Students evaluate the extent to which the journalistic account is true to the actual research study and learn the difference between peer-reviewed scientific articles and journalistic pieces.


• Cultural and developmental perspectives: This feature illuminates how culture shapes our thinking and how our thinking shapes culture. Also coverage of experimental designs used in developmental psychology through the lens of a longitudinal design examining brain maturation in children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.


• Statistical reasoning elements introduced in each chapter, culminating in Chapter 10, which is exclusively devoted to data analyses.

New To This Edition:



1. Additional examples specific to experimental psychology

2. Increased use of statistical examples in set-off boxes in each chapter to enhance students' data literacy.

3. Chapter pre-tests and posttests in set-off boxes to help students identify what they already know and don’t know about the chapter contents and to gauge what they have learned in the chapter.

4. Chapter opening substantive research example with findings summarized at the end of the chapter.

5. Mid-chapter research topic to help students apply their knowledge.

6. Updated examples, data, and Research in the News topics throughout the book.