Exploring Psychology with Updates on Dsm-5

This is a great psych textbook! the author goes out of his way to use real-life examples, and get you interested in the subject. in the beginning of a chapter he uses great hooks to catch your attention, for example in the the chapter on personality, he hooks you in with a Lord of the Rings anecdote, and then goes on to describe how the hobbit character, Frodo Baggin's best friend, Sam Gamgee, is an example of personality, because Sam exhibits a set of traits and behavior that are consistent over time. Also there are lots of historical tidbits, comics, and pictures scattered around the main content, so when your having a hard time grasping some of the drier concepts, chances are there might be a Peanuts' comic strip, or historical example that will help you understand a conceptual framework . In some case s the author even uses examples from his family and homelife to explain concepts. This gives you the impression that your having a conversation with him. For example, when explaining some frameworks on memory, the author gives an tells of a time when his wife made several dozen cookies, they were gone in a day, then he asked them all to recall how many each they had eaten. This has to be one of the less dry textbooks I've read, and it gave me a great intro to psych. I'm really thankful to the author for this.

It seems that many other books in psychology do not offer information in such a broad and defined view to the wide content that creates Psychology as a science. I would recommend this book to someone instead of the For Dummies or Complete Idiots Guide series. The logic behind many concepts are shown in cartoons, pictures, and presentations. I would say this book, in many aspects, is descriptive. This book includes the following: - Diseases and disorders - Cognitive science (learning, developmental stages, etc.) - neuroscience/neurophysiology (schizo mind, neural connections) - Psychophysics, which describe how the human body interprets information through their senses. (THIS IS NOT IN A LOT OF PSYCHOLOGY BOOKS, VERY NECESSARY TO LEARN) - Psychobiology and evolutionary genetics

I approached the book with scepticism but to my surprise and to the credit of the author and the profession of psychology, they don't proclaim to know it all. The limits of science and psychology are acknowledged and talked about which I think was well needed, like the rest of us they are only human too. You can see that a lot of time and energy has gone in to making this book what it is. Psychology and all the terminology that goes with it make it appear to the laymen as being quite arcane and only for academics and those interested in university courses. This book brings it all out and explains it in a way that not only makes the subject matter interesting but easier to grasp than if presented in a book of lesser quality. The content matter helps you to see the human condition from a logical and thoroughly researched angle and is certainly of college quality as that is what the book was originally intended for. If you are considering studying psychology or would just like to know what it is all about then certainly buy this book the content is comprehensive with information and chapters to do with learning, sensation, the developing person, states of consciousness, emotion, memory, personality, psychological disorders and many more with too much to detail here. The sections of the text that explain the scientific method are interesting and could be applied to most areas of life. As I learnt we tend to make errors of judgments all of the time in relation to other countries, cultures, people, and just about everything else. That is one of this books best points and also one of it's main themes and that is that it's all about thinking smarter, thinking outside the box, avoiding assumptions and the overuse of heuristics, examining matters in a more methodical and careful way and developing the ability to see events and issues from another perspective and more objectively. In short and as is stated in the book "Don't believe everything you think". To gain a good understanding of the concepts presented in the book requires concentration and quite a lot of time spent reading because the text is so comprehensive. Just a few snippets of the information that I found interesting were; 1. Psychology had its roots in philosophy 2. Everything psychological is biological, we are a mind embodied. 3. Sleep deprivation and how our sleep debt can accumulate for up to two weeks. 4. The differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. 5. Theory X vs. Theory Y workplace managers. 6. Howard Gardner's theory that intelligence is divided into 8 categories words, music, numbers, space, self, people, body/movement, nature. 7. Self reliant individualism vs. socially connected collectivism with the pros and cons of both. 8. Operant conditioning and classical conditioning and how cognition plays it's part. 9. The different parenting styles such as Authoritative, Authoritarian, and just plain old destructive indifference. 10. The fundamental attribution e

Myers' Psychology, Seventh Edition, is smart and informative; one of the best introductions to the subject I've read. The research is up to date, and the descriptions are vivid. Well written, well thought out... and well done! Dr. Henry R. Toof Cambridge, MA

I don't want to get overly into detail, but all I can say is that I have never, in my years of school work, ever encountered a text book like this. A text book that once I began to read, I couldn't stop. The brilliance of the insight, and all backed up with actual proof. Objective understanding has never been presented in such a wonderful way. In fact the only people who didn't like this book were my friends and family. As I touted its impressive gate around reading to myself and aloud I learned that most people really do not like to view themselves and humans from an objective perspective, some even find the idea unnatural. But all I can tell you is that this book changed my life, especially the last half of it, once it got out of the mapping of the physical and got into our social behaviors and mental misunderstandings I really got into it.I only wish I could convey its power, truly the first enlightened textbook that makes it's reads not only tolerable, but highly entertaining. I emplore you, pick it up!