The book doesn't necessarily cover every conceivable topic in psychology, but it covers all of the main subfields in psychology and presents at least a few of the central findings, concepts, and theories in each subfield. In some respects, the...read more
book of psychology by rakhshanda shahnaz
The book doesn't necessarily cover every conceivable topic in psychology, but it covers all of the main subfields in psychology and presents at least a few of the central findings, concepts, and theories in each subfield. In some respects, the book strikes me as more focused and less sprawling than many introductory psychology textbooks. A student who reads this book may be less likely to be overwhelmed with information, but at the same would be able to grasp a clear sense of general issues, research issues, and research findings in each topic. According to the introduction, the author has focused intentionally on presenting topics in a way that leaves students with a sense of coherence about the field rather than with a set of random facts. The critical thinking questions at the end of the sections are helpful in addressing this focus.
I'm slightly concerned that the latest edition is from 2015, as psychology changes rapidly based on new research findings. However, the book certainly covers the classic studies very well. Sometimes we can be overly concerned with giving students the latest information when the reality is that they're lacking many of the basics - so my concern about the date of publication is not a deep one. Certainly 21st century psychology is represented effectively in the book, too, so it's not just a book on the history of psych by any means. However, I do hope that the author continues to update material included in the book.
I thought that cultural presentation was one of the weaker areas of this book. While there are some references to a variety of cultures and some photos of people from a variety of backgrounds, some of the written statements about culture were simplistic (e.g., on p. 26, a sentence reads, "Psychologists have found that there is a fundamental difference in social norms between Western cultures (including those in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand) and East Asian cultures (including those in China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia)." There is no mention of nuance, of common ground, or of the variability among individuals within cultures.). In the section on intelligence, the author mentions variation among US racial and ethnic groups in IQ scores, but offers only a superficial explanation of why these differences exist. There is no mention of the role that discrimination plays in perpetuating some of these differences. In the chapter on social psychology, the material on stereotyping and prejudice was accurate, but again presented with less depth than I would prefer. While I did not see offensive material, I thought the author could have done more to present cultural variation and various cultural issues with nuance and depth.
From what I read, the textbook seems accurate as far as its content. However, it is inaccurate regarding representing an Introductory to Psychology textbook. The chapters discuss only a few topics instead of addressing a number of vital subjects that introductory psychology students need to master.
The text aligns well with APA standards for Introductory Psychology. The devil is in the details, however. I have reviewed a number of intro textbooks in developing the curriculum for a dual enrollment psychology course. I have found no one text...read more
The text aligns well with APA standards for Introductory Psychology. The devil is in the details, however. I have reviewed a number of intro textbooks in developing the curriculum for a dual enrollment psychology course. I have found no one text that covers every possible aspect of the standards. That being said, this text provides materials covering the APA standards on a level commensurate with leading introductory texts. One constructive criticism would be to add a list of key terms for each section and/or chapter. Such lists are provided in other open source texts and seem very useful.
This book cover most of the topics for the introduction to Psychology course. though the topic of stress, Coping and Health Psychology. The text and easy to understand and presented in a great manner. There are 14 chapters in total giving a complete understanding of the introductory course for psychology.
Chapter 1: Missing from the "Schools of Psychology" table: Biological, Humanistic, Positive Psychology, and Evolutionary Psychology. The text I currently use discusses Structuralism and Functionalism within the section on the history of psychology, but separates out the "origins of psychology" (where Structuralism and Functionalism are discussed) from "contemporary psychology." Also, although I realize that it would be impossible to include everyone, I feel like there are too many important psychologists missing from the timeline, and the timeline should add in what some of the early theorists did. I do like how Chapters 1 and 2 give separate attention to the history of psychology and the scientific method (my current textbook combines the two). I like how this chapter differentiates between values and facts, and discusses the potential limitations of way we collect and interpret data to understand behavior in our everyday lives.
Overall, I think the scope of this text was adequate for an introduction to psychology course, though I'm not sure how much updating has occurred since it was distributed in 2010. I would recommend updating the links to the videos within the material and updating Chapter 12 to align with the changes in the new DSM. I would also like to see supplements (PowerPoints and test bank) created for this textbook.
This book provides the content and information that many general psychology textbooks do. In comparing it with three other general psychology textbooks I have used over the years, it is equal to all of them in terms of the topics covered and the...read more
This book provides the content and information that many general psychology textbooks do. In comparing it with three other general psychology textbooks I have used over the years, it is equal to all of them in terms of the topics covered and the level of comprehensiveness.
In terms of relevance, the author does a good job with providing information, resources, and citations for the pioneering works in the field. With any general psychology textbook there is a large emphasis on the historical context of the field, theorists, physiology, and behavior. I found the sections on the brain to include some of these seminal works, but very little current information and research on this important structure.
There was not a strong emphasis on cultural relevance. On a positive note there were no issues with cultural insensitivity either. General psychology textbooks tend to be a bit culturally neutral, however there could be added cultural implications to the topics.
This textbook covers a large range of subjects within the field of psychology; however, some chapters were shortened and brief in their coverage, while others were thorough and extensive in depth of material. Some aspects of the material did not...read more
This textbook covers a large range of subjects within the field of psychology; however, some chapters were shortened and brief in their coverage, while others were thorough and extensive in depth of material. Some aspects of the material did not include most recent research and changes in our fields understanding (for example, the discussion around emotion, arousal and the fight/flight system did not include an introduction to trauma or how the growing body of research shows consistently the impact of early trauma on physical/biological and emotional/mental development). The questions for critical thinking facilitated active learning of what was discussed in the chapter. The progression of chapters followed a logical order from a learning and instructing point of view
This book covers all the chapters needed to give students an understanding of psychology. The chapters are of adequate length and relates to life situations. The concepts in each chapter are explained in a way which is easier for students to...read more
This book covers all the chapters needed to give students an understanding of psychology. The chapters are of adequate length and relates to life situations. The concepts in each chapter are explained in a way which is easier for students to understand.
The book covers in great detail all of the chapters that would appear in a typical introduction to psychology textbook, with the exception of a chapter on stress and coping. The book starts with an introductory chapter that includes the...read more
Two versions of this text were compared across formats, the open source 1.0 version as well as the updated 2.1 version, located at _2_1-introduction-to-psychology-2-1 . As a competitor comparison, I referenced the introductory text our institution currently uses (Myers & DeWall, 2015). For those who are curious, the unattributed author is Dr. Charles Stangor, who prefaces the textbook by stating that the focus of Introduction to Psychology is on behavior and empiricism. This emphasis is further supported with chapter openers that focus specifically on real-world examples in applied domains, as well as additional exercises and critical thinking activities for readers.Generally, this text compared favorably in terms of comprehensiveness to other introduction to Psychology textbooks. Research methods, biological psychology, neuroscience, sensation and perception, consciousness, human development, learning, memory, intelligence, language, emotion, motivation, social process, personality, and psychological disorders are all represented. The represented areas of psychology all align with other introductory texts (e.g., Myers & DeWall, 2015). I did not note any major areas of psychology missing; however some other users have suggested that the social processes chapter may be more appropriate as the final chapter in the text. A test-bank, instructor manual, and lecture slides are also available with version 2.0, however I did not see these materials available with version 1.0. A table of contents is available, as is a marginal glossary for each chapter. 2ff7e9595c
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