1. Understanding human behavior. The need to understand human behavior -- What is behavior? -- Well-being and the consequences of behavior -- The impact of social inequality and social hierarchy on behavior -- How cultural context affects behavior -- Social group identity, status inequality, and behavior -- Motivation as a key mediator of behavior -- Personality: who we are -- Neural structure as a basis of behavior -- Cognition: how we think and what we know -- How social inequality and stressful childhood experiences impact cognition, behavior, and well-being -- Connecting the causes of early adversity to well-being over the life course: understanding the causal links and the interventions that hold promise -- 2. Behavior and well-being. Physical well-being -- Physical well-being beyond life expectancy -- Social well-being -- 3. Inequality and well-being. Racial and ethnic inequality in health in association with educational inequality -- How does inequality in access to medical care affect health inequality? -- The differing impact of low education and low income on the health of minority groups -- The origins and meanings of the concepts of race and ethnicity in the United States -- The changing demographics of the populaiton in the United States -- The disparate impact of inequality on Hispanics and blacks -- 4. Society, culture, and behavior. The impact of culture: the Cultural Cycle -- Differing perspectives on the nature of social structure -- The role of culture in influencing personality and behavior -- Other contexts in which independence and interdependence Clash! -- Acculturation: when people move across cultural boundaries -- The role of social networks in affecting behavior -- 5. Identity and behavior. Social identity: responding to the social group -- Alternative forms of capital and their impacts on social status -- Questioning one's identity in the context of cultural mismatch: The case of FirstGen students entering college -- The competition for status: group identity, bias, and stereotype threat -- Attribution theory: explaining why other people act the way they do -- Letting the behavior of others guide our own: the bystander effect -- Social impact theory and social loafing.
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6. Motivation and behavior. The marshmallow experiment: how long will kids wait for a treat? -- The role of motivation in affecting behavior -- The cognitive understanding of the self as a driver of motivation -- Time perspective and the UP Series children -- Zimbardo and time perspective -- Noncognitive aspects of motivation and Maslow's hierarchy of needs -- 7. Personality, behavior, and well-being. Sigmund Freud and the stages of psychosexual development -- Erik Erikson and the stages of psychosocial development -- Criticisms of the Freud/Piaget/Erikson perspectives on the stages of development -- Understanding adult personality traits using the "Big Five" -- Scales of personaltiy that go beyond the "Big Five" -- Mental illness and disorders of personality --8. The brain and behavior. The importance of communication between information sources: On the Internet and in the human brain -- The development of the human brain, from embryo to organ -- The molecular biology of nerve conduction and neuronal myelination -- Transmission of a nerve impulse across the synapse -- Brain systems for emotion and response to stress -- 9. Cognition, behavior, and well-being. The development of cognition -- The development of language and reading ability as examples of Piaget's stages of development -- Learning math in Piaget's next stage -- Memory and its role in cognition -- Emotional stress as another source of long-term memory -- 10. Social inequality, childhood experiences, and behavior. Socioeconomic inequaltiy and early school readiness -- The impact of social disadvantage on adolescent development -- The added impact of minority race -- Adolescent educational attainment ad reflecting parents' educational attainment -- 11. Understanding well-being and the interventions that can enhance it. Social inequalities in adult health -- The early roots of adult health behaviors -- Identifying and adopting interventions to improve adult health through the reduction of adverse childhood experiences -- The effects of ealry childhood intervention for children at risk of ACEs -- Home visitors and the Maternal/Infant/and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program -- Looking to the future.
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"Although 40 percent of premature deaths in the United States can be attributed to such dangerous behaviors as smoking, overeating, inactivity, and drug or alcohol use, medical education has generally failed to address how these behaviors are influenced by social forces. This new textbook from Dr. Donald A. Barr was designed in response to the growing recognition that physicians need to understand the biosocial sciences behind human behavior in order to be effective practitioners. 'Introduction to Biosocial Medicine' explains the determinants of human behavior and the overwhelming impact of behavior on health. Drawing on both recent and historical research, Dr. Barr combines the study of the biology of humans with the social and psychological aspects of human behavior. A sociologist as well as physician, he illustrates how the biology of neurons, the intricacies of the human mind, and the power of broad social forces all influence individual perceptions and responses. Addressing the enormous potential of interventions from medical and public health professionals to alter these patterns of human behavior over time, 'Introduction to Biosocial Medicine' brings necessary depth and perspective to medical training and education"--Page 4 of cover.