This text for undergraduate courses in critical thinking across disciplines uses the intriguing and appealing exploration of pseudoscience to apply these principles and skills. Providing an accessible foundation of what critical thinking is, why it's important, and how to apply these skills, the book explores the psychological and social reasons of why human beings tend to find credence in extraordinary claims. The book then shows how critical thinking skills are used to evaluate specific pseudoscientific arenas by applying scientific methods from various disciplines. From alien abductions, ghosts, and psychic phenomena to historical revisionism and unsupported medical and mental health treatments, this intriguing book uses examples form a wide range of pseudoscience fields and brings evidence from diverse fields as psychology, biology, and physics to critically examine these claims. Authored by a psychologist and a philosopher who have extensive experience teaching and writing on critical thinking and skeptical inquiry, this work is a lively text for courses in critical thinking and the phenomenon of pseudoscience across multiple disciplines.

In the relatively short history of psychology as a science, our understanding of human behavior, cognition, emotion, and perception has moved forward in leaps and bounds. This knowledge is frequently applied today to help make improvements in people's lives, from more effective therapies for the mentally ill to educational strategies to increased work productivity. But if we step back in time only a few decades, we find psychologists playing a key role in a very different effort: the attempt to support racist and sexist attitudes and policies with results from experiments and other forms of research. This book provides a window into this period, reprinting over 20 journal articles from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with commentary from noted educators Abramson and Lack. Will we continue to twist science to fit our preformed beliefs or can we learn from the mistakes of our past? "This is an important contribution to the literature in psychology regarding a very uncomfortable time in our history. I applaud the authors for taking on this challenging topic and shining light on this dark time in the history of social science." Dr. Robert Mather, Associate Professor of Experimental Psychology, University of Central Oklahoma

In this book, clinical psychologist and professor Dr. Caleb Lack introduces readers to the class of mental health problems known as the mood disorders. Covering what we know about each of the specific disorders across eight areas (DSM-IV criteria, changes expected in DSM-5, associated features, presentation differences across the lifespan, gender and cultural differences, epidemiology, etiology, and empirically supported treatments), this text is structured in an easily digestible, but still highly informative, fashion.

In this book, clinical psychologist and professor Dr. Caleb Lack introduces readers to the class of mental health problems known as the anxiety disorders. Covering what we know about each of the specific disorders across eight areas (DSM-IV criteria, changes expected in DSM-5, associated features, presentation differences across the lifespan, gender and cultural differences, epidemiology, etiology, and empirically supported treatments), this text is structured to in an easily digestible, but still highly informative fashion. In Anxiety Disorders: An Introduction Dr. Caleb Lack artfully depicts the nature, clinical features, and empirical treatment literature associated with anxiety disorders. This volume is a must-have for any clinician or researcher given the high quality of writing, concise but thorough nature in which information is conveyed, and clinical utility. - Eric Storch, Ph.D., All Children's Hospital Guild Endowed Chair Professor, University of South Florida ... a succinct overview of anxiety disorders... an honest appraisal of the strength and weaknesses of various approaches to identification... This book is an excellent introduction or reference for students and practitioners. - B. Scott Singleton, PsyD, BCBA-D, NCSP, University of Central Oklahoma

Of the children who survive a disaster, only a small amount will come through the experience entirely unscathed. The majority of the children will show negative consequences, if only for a short amount of time. But for some, the effects of the disaster will continue to adversely impact their daily functioning for an extended period of time. This impact can be seen in symptoms such as increased worry or anxiety, social withdrawal, and difficulties in concentration. This book details two research studies designed to add to the literature concerning the effects of disasters on children. Both studies examined the roles that re-exposure to environmental cues, exposure to disaster-related media, attributions and coping style, and other factors, such as demographic variables, play in maintaining level of distress. The first study examined these factors in children one year to 18 months after a tornado, while the second compared disaster exposed and non-exposed children at six months and one year after the trauma. Primary findings include the role that attributions play in long-term distress and the high level of reported distress across the samples.