General Psychology: An Introduction

Reviewed by Edward Clint, Assistant Professor, Oregon Institute of Technology on 12/15/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text covers a wide range of topics that are fit for an introductory college psychology course with no major omissions.
However, some chapters provide unduly sparse or inadequate coverage. For example, the "Learning and Conditioning" chapter doesn't even mention John Watson and generally provides no historical perspective on the evolution of psychology. The "Sensation and Perception" chapter is extremely compact, barely introducing ideas before moving on.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

NOBA psychology chapters tend to be well vetted and authored by subject matter experts (though this varies with chapter). I have not noted any substantial issues of accuracy or errors. But as with any text, there are some. For example, in discussing binocular vision, that chapter describes the familiar pen (or finger) in front of your face example involving closing one eye, then they other as you see the image "jump". The text then says,

"This is how video game manufacturers create the perception of 3D without special glasses; two slightly different images are presented on top of one another."

Apparent 3D in video games not using some sort of VR or 3D glasses/headset do not make any use of binocular disparity as everything seen is on a flat screen the same distance from the player. They are an effect of monocular depth cues.

Vocabulary definitions are sometimes poor. They may be vague or inadequately representative of the concept. For example:

"Behaviorism: The study of behavior."
"Quasi-experimental design: An experiment that does not require random assignment to conditions."
These are not false statements, but may be misleading or leave quite a lot on the table!

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Far more up to date than many textbooks, especially OER textbooks. Among the best in this regard.

Clarity rating: 4

The majority of the text is highly readable and easy to understand. As each chapter has different authors, some succeed better here than others, but I have not found any of the chapters arcane, confusing, or opaque.

Consistency rating: 4

While the format is regulated (learning objectives, content, in-set boxes for examples and questions, vocabulary)... the quality and approach vary between chapters. Some chapters seem to leave off key vocabulary terms in their own vocabulary section or use curiously non-standard definitions.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is generally quite modular throughout.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The structure is logical and in accordance with most texts on this topic.

Interface rating: 5

The text is well formatted.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Cultural perspective is added in many points where it is called-for and examples/images are reasonably diverse. There may be some room for improvement here, but judged against other psychology textbooks, it does very well.

Comments

NOBA's collection provides an excellent base for a modern, up-to-date, legible psychology textbook. It is rough around the edges, though, and does require some refinement and bolstering to be a truly world-class product. Easily among the best OER books out there with the potential to be greater still in the hands of a skilled editor or team.

Reviewed by Kate Snyder, Associate Professor, Hanover College on 4/23/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

In general, a fairly comprehensive set of Noba modules that cover the range of key topics in intro psych. The notable exception is a sufficiently comprehensive coverage of gender. Within the developmental chapters, it would be nice to have some discussion of aging (although the section on Psychopharmacology and the elderly is helpful) and there is only one sentence to Vygotsky's social constructivist theory in cognitive development, an unfortunate omission of a critical topic. I wish the Conditioning & Learning chapter paid greater attention to types of operant conditioning (there's a lot of depth for classical conditioning but negative reinforcement isn't even mentioned).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Overall, the content is largely accurate. There is some oversimplification of topics - for example, the discussion of implicit beliefs about intelligence in the Intelligence chapter presents a much stronger statement of this research than has been found of late, and seems to hint at multiple intelligences.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Generally up to date and current. The majority of links I clicked through the "Outside Resources" sections were still functional with just a few exceptions that had broken links.

Clarity rating: 5

Some chapters were more digestible than others (for example, the chapter on Conditioning & Learning, while thorough, was a bit dense to navigate).

Consistency rating: 5

There's nothing overtly contradictory between chapters.

Modularity rating: 5

The selected chapters are a nice way to condense the massive Noba module option, and seem to align well. I noted once instance of the text referring to the "section on replication" but it was unclear what section this was, or if it's included within this collection.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Logically organized in a manner that begins with more micro-level processes and ending with more macro concepts.

Interface rating: 4

The "Box" sections are not accessible to readers with visual impairments; they are presented as images rather than text that can be read with screen readers.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Minor grammatical issues in some of the Discussion Questions but nothing too overt.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

Unfortunately, this is the biggest weakness. Race & ethnicity are sparsely mentioned in a few chapters, the section on sex differences in "Hormones & Behavior" ignores intersex and transgender populations, and the use of gender binary language such as "she/her" or "his or her" is common throughout the text (inconsistent with APA 7th edition language requirements on the use of the singular "they"). Chapters varied in sufficiently addressing cultural concepts.

Comments

The Discussion Question sections are a bit of a "hit and miss" throughout this collection - some chapters didn't have any, other chapters had good questions, and a few chapters had discussion questions that were really lower-level recall questions rather than prompts to spark discussion. I really wish more figures with data were provided throughout the text to facilitate students' practice in data literacy, as opposed to figures with stock images.

Reviewed by Kristen Bjork, Psychology Instructor (Adjunct), Community College of Aurora on 8/12/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Overall, the main content of Intro Psych is covered. There is no chapter on gender and sexuality though. One chapter on Hormones and Behavior touches on some sex differences, but is just focused on biology. There is a glossary for each chapter. Definition are good for the most part, though limited at times. Each chapter covers the big concepts of each topic, but lacks depth at times. I would definitely use supplemental materials if adopting this text. Each chapter also has a list of additional online resources, which is awesome! I was a little disappointed to not see the biopsychosocial model applied to content in each chapter, since that is something I work on all semester with my students. It leads to more critical thinking about content.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content was accurate and each chapter cited reputable sources. There was one minor instance of a concept being misrepresented. No bias was noted.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Research and examples were relevant and will continue to be applicable without immediate update.

Clarity rating: 4

Overall, the text is written in clear, simple language. Descriptions of concepts are concise and easy to understand. There were some sections that got a little jargon heavy for me and I think a little more context/applicable examples would have helped.

Consistency rating: 5

No inconsistencies noted.

Modularity rating: 5

Text is broken down into chapters with smaller chunks labeled with subheadings. Some chapters contained numbered subsections.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Overall, the text is logically organized. There were a few things I didn't get though. There's a separate subchapter about inattentional blindness under the memory chapter, which seems unnecessary and misplaced. There was also a separate subchapter about eyewitness memory, which also seemed unnecessary. I didn't really understand the subchapter separation in general. It would make more sense to just have section headings under one umbrella chapter, especially since the chapters are not long.

Interface rating: 4

A few minor spacing issues noted. No visuals at all in Chapter 1! Not an engaging beginning! Visuals were included in the remaining chapters, though they weren't always meaningful. I viewed the text in a downloaded PDF. Key terms are linked and if you click on them, it takes you to the definition in the glossary. However, you can't easily go back to where you were just reading if you click on it, which is a pain. You have to scroll back up through the chapter and try to find your place. One chapter referenced "an image to the left" but the image was actually on the previous page. Font was easy to read and there was minimal visual clutter on the page.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors noted. (There was one reference page though where they did not follow the APA formatting rule of italicizing the journal titles!)

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Chapter 1 has a specific objective to look at the role of women and people of color in psychology. Culture is specifically discussed in a few chapters, but not consistently in each chapter. Nothing insensitive was noted, but the majority of pictures used were of white people.

Comments

There are some descriptions of concepts that I thought were great and that would facilitate student understanding. However, I would have to use supplemental materials and articles if I were to adopt this text because there are some parts that are lacking.

Reviewed by Robin Gauthier, Adjunt Professor, North Shore Community College on 6/29/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook covers a lot of ground, but is done in a very logical and progressive manner. Each chapter builds from the other, but at the same time is not reliant on the previous or next chapter. It was well written, not complicated, but straightforward and easy to comprehend. I particularly like that each chapter has it's own bibliography, outside resources for additional information and vocabulary lists.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Overall found the book accurate, but was concerned by two figures on page 88. These were a bit offensive with the topic relayed in a more sophisticated manner. The figures also appeared a bit racial and in a negative light. This, unfortunately, may determine my use of this book. Hopefully it can be amended.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Since it covers history of psychology it has great relevance. The examples are helpful in illustrating the author's point. In our rapidly changing culture, some current associations may not be fully accurate any longer, such as how either sex responds in certain situations. It did not include transgender responses. The format of the book will lend itself well to updates in any chapter without causing distortion of the next chapter.

Clarity rating: 5

The text was very clearly written, quite straightforward, but not overly simplified. The addition of the vocabulary words is helpful for students to build their vocabulary of psychological terms.

Consistency rating: 5

As noted earlier, each chapter related well to the others, allowing for consistency of the information presented. One chapter did not contradict another. The terminology was explained well and used well throughout the text.

Modularity rating: 5

This text was extremely well sectioned, allowing not only each chapter to be stand-alone, but within the chapter, broken into flowing partitions that connected well to other aspects of the subtopics.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This text presents the material in a logical order and is well-organized. I particularly appreciated that each chapter had, not only a bibliography, but outside resources and vocabulary terminology. For learning purposes, it streamlines learning; For testing purposes, this is a wonderful assist!

Interface rating: 3

The text is easily navigated and clearly identified for the various subjects approached. Some of the images and charts could be reworked. Unfortunately some of the logic of the book becomes lost in trying to figure out what the figure is actually portraying, particularly the charts and figures attempting to relay information about how male and female behavior differ.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find grammatical errors in this text. There was a good flow in reading the material.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

As noted previously, the figures on page 88 seemed insensitive and not well considered. The text touched upon prejudice in Chapter 15, however it was not interwoven in the book in relaying general psychological outlooks. My thoughts are mixed on this, since it was not intended to be a book about ethnic or racial comparisons, however there are some realities that are important to consider, as well as socioeconomic differences in general regardless of ethnicity and race. I would like to have seen this addressed, at least in part.

Comments

Overall I liked this book very much and would consider using it for my class. I would want my concerns addressed first and look forward to the next revision.

Reviewed by Hilmar von Strunck, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Northern Essex Community College on 5/27/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book has nicely covered all topics for a typical introduction to psychology textbook.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I find the context of the book to be excellent. It is easy to read, well organized, and extremely informative.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The text seems very well researched and comprehensive. I believe that updates can be made easily advancing to a new edition if needed to.

Clarity rating: 5

The text follows typical textbook jargon for an introductory psychology text. Proper terminology is used, that should be easily understood by introduction to psychology students and/or the layman person.

Consistency rating: 5

Very well written regarding terminology used throughout the text.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is easy to follow and can be read and understood no matter which chapter one may start at.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is very well organized, and again should be easily understood by introduction to psychology students or the layman person.

Interface rating: 5

The text is easy to follow. Charts/images are appropriate and give a nice visual that explains some of the key concepts.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Text is written in a well worded fashion, as appropriate for this kind of textbook.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Based on the different topics that are covered in the text, I found that it touched appropriately on many of the different cultural and diverse topics that are included in such a text.

Comments

One thing that I wanted to point out is that in the "Psychological Disorder" chapter, the author(s) referenced to people with psychological disorders as "sufferers". I would refrain from the term "sufferer". Not everyone with a psychological disorder/ailment suffers. I think it would be more appropriate to say, "the person with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder..... and so forth.