Author Biography

Laura King did her undergraduate work at Kenyon College, where, an English
major, she declared a second major, in psychology, during the second semester of her junior year. She
completed her A.B. in English with high honors and distinction and in psychology with distinction
in 1986. Laura then did graduate work at Michigan State University and the University of California,
Davis, receiving her Ph.D. in personality psychology in 1991.
Laura began her career at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, moving to the University of
Missouri, Columbia, in 2001, where she is now a professor. In addition to seminars in the development
of character, social psychology, and personality psychology, she has taught undergraduate lecture
courses in introductory psychology, introduction to personality psychology, and social psychology. At
SMU, she received six different teaching awards, including the "M" award for "sustained excellence"
in 1999. At the University of Missouri, she received the Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Research
and Creative Activity in 2004.
Her research, which has been funded by the National Institutes for Mental Health, has focused
on a variety of topics relevant to the question of what it is that makes for a good life. She has studied
goals, life stories, happiness, well-being, and meaning in life. In general, her work reflects an enduring
interest in studying what is good and healthy in people. In 2001, her research accomplishments were
recognized by a Templeton Prize in positive psychology. Laura's research (often in collaboration
with undergraduate and graduate students) has been published in the Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Cognition and Emotion, the Journal
of Personality, and other publications . A new paper on the place of regrets in maturity is forthcoming
in the American Psychologist.
Currently editor-in-chief of the Journal of Research in Personality, Laura has also served as
associate editor of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin and the Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, as well as on numerous grant panels. She has edited or co-edited special sections
of the Journal of Personality and the American Psychologist. In "real life," Laura is an accomplished
cook and enjoys listening to music (mostly jazz vocalists and singer-songwriters), gardening, and
chasing Sam, her 3-year-old son.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: What is Psychology?

Chapter 2: Psychology's Scientific Method

Chapter 3: Biological Foundations of Behavior

Chapter 4: Sensation and Perception

Chapter 5: States of Consciousness

Chapter 6: Learning

Chapter 7: Memory

Chapter 8: Thinking, Intelligence, and Language

Chapter 9: Human Development

Chapter 10: Motivation and Emotion

Chapter 11: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality

Chapter 12: Personality

Chapter 13: Social Psychology

Chapter 14: Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Chapter 15: Psychological Disorders

Chapter 16: Therapies

Chapter 17: Health Psychology

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