Essential psychology : for students and professionals in the health and social services

While this book is concerned with psychology let no reader believe that after studying it he or she will be a budding psychologist. Only those elements of psychology which are central to the adequate functioning of the professional in the health and allied caring services are covered. Many popular topics, such as intelligence, memory, concept formation, will not be found within the covers of this book. The objective of this book is to enable those professionals who have responsibility for the wellbeing, health, and care of others to develop insight into and to become more empathetic to the needs, motivations, feelings and behaviour of their charges. An ancillary objective is that the readers too might come to understand a little more about their own behaviour, particularly in relation to their work situation. Patients in hospital, children in residential care, the elderly in the old folks' home are all perceiving and thinking organisms, not merely interesting medical cases, a classical set of symptoms, a collection of statistics or a bulging case file. Every person whether professional or client is affected by the way others respond to them, by the feelings each has for the other, by the non-verbal signals of eye contact, smile, and voice tone, etc. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Psychology: Its Role and Scope....Pages 1-19 Heredity and Environment....Pages 21-30 Childhood....Pages 31-49 Adolescence....Pages 51-60 Adulthood and Old Age....Pages 61-72 Learning Theories....Pages 73-94 Motivation....Pages 95-115 Personality Theories....Pages 117-138 Child-rearing Practices....Pages 139-151 Maternal Deprivation....Pages 153-170 The Self-concept....Pages 171-196 Social Perception....Pages 197-208 Social Influence....Pages 209-223 Role....Pages 225-235 Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication....Pages 237-248 Persuasion by Communication....Pages 249-268 Admission to Hospital....Pages 269-285 Patient Behaviour....Pages 287-305 Abnormality....Pages 307-318 Behaviour Modification....Pages 319-336 Stress....Pages 337-350 Grief, Loss, Pain and Placebos....Pages 351-361 Back Matter....Pages 363-382