Psychology

Reviewed by John Holden, Associate Professor, Winona State University on 1/7/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 5

The text covers all of the areas that I typically cover (and areas covered in other introductory textbooks), with the inclusion of a chapter on health psychology/stress/motivation and a added plus of a chapter on industrial/organizational psychology, which is rare for an introductory textbook (and highly welcome). References cited are a mixture of classics and new. The book includes both an index and a comprehensive list of references. Overall, I am throughly satisfied with the range of psychology subfields surveyed in this text and the depth with which each subfield is explored.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Only one notable error was discovered; in the second chapter, when discussing the statistical basis of tests, there seems to be a casual discussion of what seems to be Type II error which should actually be a discussion of Type I error. Other than that, I was unable to find much in the way of errors. Having several sets of eyes on the text during its development was probably beneficial in this respect.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

My only concern was that the chapter on personality seemed to spend a great deal of time discussing psychoanalytic/psychodynamic approaches that are less relevant now than they were in their heyday, which I supposed can be chalked up to tradition (as every introductory psychology book does this). There's little use in spending significant time discussing Freud's long out-of-favor theories on the development of personality in this day and age at the expense of more modern and valid approaches. Other than that, the book does an good job of mixing in classic, long-lived research and newer cutting edge research. References to the most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association help ensure that the book will remain relevant for several more years (at least with regards to its discussion of psychopathology.)

Clarity rating: 5

The book is clearly and engagingly written and seems wholly appropriate for all levels of college students, and could even be the basis of a AP course for high school students. Technical terms are highlighted and explained in depth. Paragraphs are kept short and concise, which is important in engaging underclassmen (especially those who are not psychology majors). The chapters on research methods and biopsychology, which are typically the hardest to understand, are well-written and easy to digest relative to other books I have seen.

Consistency rating: 5

Consistency is not a problem despite multiple authors. Chapters are structured in similar ways, beginning with a relatable story or anecdote and leading logically from point to point, spending about a page on major points and half a page on subsections. In this way the book manages to be consistent without being predictable.

Modularity rating: 5

This books could be easily rearranged as each chapter (other than the first two) can stand largely on their own. Each chapter is divided up into logical subunits so that when assigning readings, it would be easy to identify areas of a chapter to focus on and areas to be skimmed or skipped entirely. It would not be necessary to cover this book in the order in which chapters are presented, which is good for those of us who use an atypical presentation order.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This is one of the easiest-to-read textbooks I've ever read owing in large part to the organization and flow of the text. Each point leads logically to another. The authors make sure to deviate regularly from abstract and technical details to personal and relatable stories or cases of interesting research to maintain engagement (the Dig Deeper and Everyday Connection sections are very helpful in this regard.) The most difficult section for many students in introductory psychology is explaining research, but this book does a very good job of covering the material in a way that can be understood by a typical freshman.

Interface rating: 5

Charts are present in a simple fashion (mostly simple bar graphs and the like). Images are clear and colorful and add to rather than detract from the presentation. The books provides links to interesting videos on YouTube that are helpful in illustrating concepts (although as other reviewers have noted, the viability of some of the links may be questionable). The layout is not confusing or rambling but straightforward and concise. I saw no problems with display features.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find any grammatical errors. This book is better edited than most textbooks I have read.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The impact of culture and ethnicity on behavior is noted several times throughout the textbook. or example, the chapter on industrial-organizational psychology discusses the concept of immutable characteristics and discrimination in hiring. Sections on stereotyping and prejudice are included in the chapter on social psychology. Effects of culture on motor development and functional fixedness are also included. Adding more material on cross-cultural psychology would be a plus.

This book includes test banks and PowerPoint presentations, available through the OpenStax website, both of which would be highly useful for instructors who were adopting their first textbook for Introductory Psychology. Each chapter contains at its end a series of review questions, both multiple choice and short answer, as well as thought questions.

I will be adopting this book for use in my introductory psychology class. This book equals or exceeds the quality of introductory psychology books that can cost hundreds of dollars more.