The only textbook to frame cognitive psychology in the context of our everyday lives.
Our lives are governed by cognitive processes, whether we are searching for a face in a crowd, driving to work, or learning a second language. Cognition in the Real World brings together expert contributors who explain the processes underlying everyday behaviours.
It is set apart from traditional textbooks by being organised by behaviours we are exposed to every day-such as drawing a picture, learning your way around a new city, or deciding how to invest your money. Such activities naturally involve a variety of cognitive functions; by considering these functions in an integrated way, the text provides a complete picture of how behaviours work together, rather than separately. Drawing upon important insights from areas such as developmental psychology and neuroscience, Cognition in the Real World demonstrates how cognitive psychology fits with the broader subjects around it, rather than treating it as an independent topic. With a strong foundation in cognitive theory, framed by an original and engaging real-world approach, the text makes the topics of cognition come alive.
1: Alastair D. Smith: Introduction Part 1: Perception and Attention2: Alastair D. Smith: Perception and Attention: Introduction 3: Tom Foulsham: Looking behaviour in real-world search 4: Harriet Allen: Attention and driving 5: Markus Bindemann and Matthew C. Fysh: Person identification at passport control: Matching of unfamiliar faces 6: Elizabeth Sheppard: Cultural differences in visual cognition 7: Alastair D. Smith: Perception and Attention: Summary Part 2: Movement and Action8: Alastair D. Smith: Movement and Action: Introduction 9: Alastair D. Smith: Making my mark: Using drawing behaviour to understand cognitive impairment 10: Lauren Marsh: The Principles of People Watching: Understanding the actions and intentions of others 11: Alastair D. Smith: Finding your way: Navigation and the acquisition of spatial knowledge 12: Alastair D. Smith: Movement and Action: Summary Part 3: Memory and Emotion13: Memory and Emotion: Introduction Alastair D. Smith 14: Kate Bailey and Peter Chapman: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times: Memory for Emotional Experiences 15: Chris J. A. Moulin: Been there, done that: A cognitive account of déjà vu 16: Catherine Loveday: Prokofiev makes me productive: Examining the possibility of music as a cognitive enhancer 17: Alastair D. Smith: Memory and Emotion: Summary Part 4: Speech and Language18: Alastair D. Smith: Speech and Language: Introduction 19: Anne Cutler, Janise Farrell, and Laurence Bruggeman: Passing the time of day: The cognition of chatting 20: Ruth Filik: Are you being serious? Detection of irony and sarcasm in language 21: Walter van Heuven: Learning an additional language: Consequences for language and cognitive processes 22: Alastair D. Smith: Speech and Language: Summary Part 5: Learning and Decision-Making 23: Alastair D. Smith: Learning and Decision-Making: Introduction 24: Mark Haselgrove and Nicola Byrom: Associative learning and personality 25: Fenja Ziegler: Making choices for others: The psychology of surrogate decision-making 26: Richard J. Tunney: The psychology of financial crises: How biases in individual decision-making affect the efficiency of markets 27: Alastair D. Smith: Learning and Decision-Making: Summary Part 6: Commentary 28: Vicki Bruce: Cognition in time and place
Dr Alastair D. Smith is an Associate Professor (Reader) in the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth. He received a BSc in Psychology from the University of Birmingham, and a PhD from the University of Bristol, where he then worked as a Research Fellow. He took up a lectureship at the University of Nottingham in 2008, and moved to his current role in 2017. Dr Smith runs the Spatial Behaviour Laboratory at Plymouth and is also a Lab Head in the Brain Research and Imaging Centre (BRIC). His work focuses on the cognitive and neural foundations of human spatial abilities and he has published research on typical and atypical function using a variety of empirical methods.
Reviews for Cognition in the Real World
This is the book I wish I'd had as an undergraduate. * Roger Newport, Senior Lecturer, Loughborough University * A most accessible, student friendly cognitive psychology text book; one of the best I have yet come across. * Richard Stephens, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Keele University * The approach is excellent and innovative and the focus on cognitive processes underpinning real-world problems would make the subject more popular among students. * Carlo De Lillo, Associate Professor, University of Leicester *
