A History of Psychology

History Of Psychology- (Value Pack w/MySearchLab) was one of the texts for a graduate course in psychology I recently took through the University of Phoenix Online's program. I found this book to be very accessible, as it traced the historical roots of psychology in different philosophical schools through the centuries. The book broadens the usual search for the background making up psychology to include women, people of color, and more than just Western European and American perspectives. It is thorough, and makes the reader realize the global scope of the origins of psychology. My one criticism was the authors' decision to create separate chapters for women's and people of color's contributions to psychology. While this reflects the extreme difficulty these groups had gaining access to training and credentials in academic psychology at the turn of the 20th Century, keeping them separate reinforces the "strangeness" of their experience for me. A more accurate story of their struggle would be integrated into the narrative of the "Great White Men" who both helped and hindered their careers, instead of lauding the latter and then turning around and taking them down. The ongoing struggle for civil equality does not sit on the sidelines of history--it IS history. Most people think that psychology began with Freud's theories, a myth this book robustly busts. I recommend it to anyone who wants to see how the different theoretical perspectives in psychology have evolved in the present day.