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Thinking About Psychology (High School)
Fifth Edition| ©2025 Charles Blair-Broeker; Randal Ernst
Institutional Prices
New insights and new perspectives for today’s psychology student.
This edition includes updated research, examples, and an enhanced art program, aligning with APA TOPSS and major state psychology standards. The authors’ long-time friends Kristin Whitlock and Tina Athanasopoulos are new contributors for this edition, bringing extensive teaching experience and fresh perspectives. You’ll find revised assessment questions that reflect the new content and help students regularly check their understanding. Finally, the author’s warm, conversational tone and real-life stories present psychological science as a tool to help students understand both their inner thoughts and the world around them.
Features
- The modular structure makes for straightforward lesson planning straightforward and easier pacing.
- Positive Psychology sections help teachers support students' well-being and success.
- Psychology in the Real World sections show practical applications of psychological research, making lessons relevant and engaging.
- Thinking Like a Psychological Scientist sections help teachers promote critical thinking skills.
- Make-it-Stick questions to test understanding and identify areas for review, allowing students to test their own comprehension.
- Summative Assessments for evaluating cumulative knowledge, giving teachers a clear measure of student progress.
- A running glossary, providing students with immediate access to key terms and definitions as they read, aiding comprehension and retention of concepts.
- A glossary/glosario, offering key terms and definitions in English and Spanish, assisting diverse learners to better understand concepts.
- Finally, Key People in Psychology illustrate important contributions to the field and provide historical context.
New to This Edition
What’s new in the student edition?- An organization to follow APA TOPSS’ five-pillar structure, ensuring teachers meet educational guidelines.
- Updated content and research examples, ensuring teachers provide students with the latest information.
- A rigorously updated art program to complement the thorough research updates, enhancing student engagement and understanding with visually appealing materials.
- New contributors Kristin Whitlock and Tina Athansopoulos wrote and advised on content updates, providing teachers with even more expert-vetted material.
- New cartoon caricatures of Charlie and Randy that provide helpful tips for connecting content, remembering key ideas, and applying concepts beyond the textbook.
Dr. Elizabeth Hammer returns as the teacher edition author with:
- More differentiation activities
- New notes and activities for English Language Learners
- New Student Readiness activities
- Purpose notes
- Answers to assessment questions
- Updated TRMs, lesson plans, PD videos, and more!


Thinking About Psychology (High School)
Fifth Edition| ©2025
Charles Blair-Broeker; Randal Ernst
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Thinking About Psychology (High School)
Fifth Edition| 2025
Charles Blair-Broeker; Randal Ernst
Table of Contents
Module 1 Thinking About PsychologyModule 2 History and Perspectives
Module 3 Research Strategies
Module 4 Psychology’s Statistics
Pillar #1: Biology
Module 5 The Nervous System and the Endocrine System
Module 6 The Brain
Module 7 Sensation
Module 8 Sleep, Dreams, and Body Rhythms
Module 9 Psychoactive Drugs
Pillar #2: Development and Learning
Module 10 Prenatal and Childhood Development
Module 11 Adolescence
Module 12 Adulthood and Aging
Module 13 Language Development
Module 14 Classical Conditioning
Module 15 Operant Conditioning
Module 16 Observational Learning
Pillar #3: Cognition
Module 17 Perception
Module 18 Information Processing
Module 19 Forgetting and Memory Construction
Module 20 Thinking
Module 21 Intelligence and Intelligence Testing
Pillar #4: Social Psychology and Personality
Module 22 Social Thinking and Social Influence
Module 23 Social Relations
Module 24 Nature and Nurture in Psychology
Module 25 The Psychology of Culture
Module 26 Motivation
Module 27 Emotion
Module 28 Psychodynamic and Humanistic Perspectives on Personality
Module 29 Trait and Social-Cognitive Perspectives on Personality
Pillar #5: Mental and Physical Health
Module 30 Introduction to Psychological Disorders
Module 31 Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, and Bipolar Disorder
Module 32 Dissociative Disorders, Schizophrenia, and Personality Disorders
Module 33 Psychological Therapies
Module 34 Biomedical Therapies
Module 35 Effects of Stress
Module 36 Promoting Wellness
Appendix A Careers in Psychology
Appendix B Answers to Summative Assessment Questions
Glossary/Glosario
References
Name Index
Subject Index


Thinking About Psychology (High School)
Fifth Edition| 2025
Charles Blair-Broeker; Randal Ernst
Authors

Charles Blair-Broeker
Charles Blair-Broeker happily taught psychology for over 40 years, mostly at Cedar Falls (Iowa) High School. He has been involved in several American Psychological Association (APA) initiatives, serving as a member of the task force that authored the first set of national standards for high school psychology, as the first elected chair of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS), and as coeditor of the fourth volume of the Activities Handbook for the Teaching of Psychology. Charlie served on the steering committee for three APA national conferences, including the 2017 Summit on High School Psychology, where he also delivered a keynote address. He taught Advanced Placement Psychology for over 20 years, beginning with the first year the exam was offered in 1992, and has been a test development committee member, question leader, rubric master, and table leader for AP Psychology. Charlie has written numerous articles about teaching high school psychology, has spoken at dozens of conferences and conducted over a hundred seminars across the nation. Among Charlie's teaching awards are the Grinnell College Outstanding Teacher Award, the University of Iowa Distinguished Teacher Award, and the APA Division 2 Teaching Excellence Award. In 2014, the APA-TOPSS Award for Excellence in Teaching was renamed the Charles T. Blair-Broeker Excellence in Teaching Award in his honor. Charlie has received an APA Presidential Citation for “exemplary efforts to promote high-quality instruction of and professionalism in teaching high school psychology.”
Charlie has been married to Lynn for almost 50 joyous years. They travel extensively and keep up with the adventures of their sons Carl (married to Liz) and Eric (married to Brittany and father of Marin and Louis). Charlie and Lynn do a lot of volunteer work and are mediocre but passionate pickleball players.

Randal Ernst
Randal Ernst has a B.A. in psychology, an M.A. in historical studies, and an Ed.D. in learning and teacher education, and has benefitted from the work of those who came before him his entire life. He taught his first high school psychology class in 1986, and has been part of the high school psychology scene ever since. At the first-ever APA Summit for High School Psychology Education (which Randy originally called for and helped lead), he was awarded a Presidential Citation by APA President Antonio Puente for "pioneering leadership of modern day pedagogy of psychology" which reflected several "firsts" Randy has been a part of. For example, Randy was a member of the committee that founded TOPSS (Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools), and was an elected member of the TOPSS Executive Board for its first five years. Randy was also a member of the first AP Psychology Test Development Committee, and was the first high school teacher to be either a Question Leader or an Exam Leader. Randy was the first high school teacher to have an article published in the American Psychologist, and has also had articles published in the Journal of Teaching of Psychology and the Oxford Review of Education. To honor Randy's efforts to help teachers and improve the teaching of high school psychology, the APA started the Randal M. Ernst Lecture, which is given annually at the APA Convention. A long-time advocate of improving one's sense of well-being, Randy coined the phrase "Positive Education" while preparing a presentation on infusing positive psychology concepts into pre K-12 curriculum with Marty Seligman for the Australian Department of Education. After being name the Lincoln Public Schools Multicultural Educator of the Year, Randy co-founded the Cultural Competence Center, which runs workshops for organizations seeking to increase cultural awareness in its employees and practices. Randy has received teaching-related awards from the APA, the Center for Civic Education, the NAACP, the University of Nebraska, and other organizations. Randy's mentors include Drs. Mary Kay Reed, Thomas Christie, Cliff Fawl, and Ludy Benjamin. Influential teachers include Don Davis an Avon Crawford. He is an Emeritus Professor of Education at Nebraska Wesleyan University, the husband of Teresa Wanser-Ernst, and the father of Emily, Meredith, and Jocelyn.


Thinking About Psychology (High School)
Fifth Edition| 2025
Charles Blair-Broeker; Randal Ernst
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Thinking About Psychology (High School)
Fifth Edition| 2025
Charles Blair-Broeker; Randal Ernst
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Thinking About Psychology (High School)
Fifth Edition| 2025
Charles Blair-Broeker; Randal Ernst
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