In an accessible 15-chapter format, psychological principles are used as a pedagogical system to guide and enhance the learning process, reinforced by a unique teaching theme.
Stephen Kosslyn and Robin Rosenberg introduce the field of psychology by 1) exploring how psychological principles can be applied to enhance learning and 2) integrating the field of psychology by viewing it from various perspectives (the brain, the person, the group). Offering a structured pedagogical system based on psychological research about how we best learn and remember information, students will “use psychology to learn psychology.” The unique student introduction, “Using Psychology to Learn Psychology” introduces this system and serves as a roadmap for active learning.
Through their own research and clinical work, as well as their experiences as teachers, Kosslyn and Rosenberg have found that exploring psychology from multiple perspectives further enhances learning. Examining psychological issues from the levels of the brain (physiological mechanisms), the person (beliefs, desires, and feelings) and the group (the physical and social world) and their interactions, helps students organize and integrate topics within and across chapters, and actively apply psychology to their lives.
"It is one of the most engaging texts I've seen. The chapter stories are among the best I've seen, and really flow well with the text. Kosslyn & Rosenberg do a great job threading these stories throughout the book. The writing style is solid and consistent." ― Dan Horn, University of Michigan
"Because of their complementary backgrounds in clinical psychology and cognitive neuroscience, the authors bring both a biological and psychological as well as an applied multidimensional approach to the understanding of human behavior." ― Joseph Davis, San Diego State University
"As you read the Kosslyn & Rosenberg textbook you can certainly see the combined influence of the authors, one being a cognitive neuroscientist and the other a clinical psychologist. The levels of analysis theme clearly reflects these dual influences." ― Kathy Immel, University of Wisconsin Fox Valley
"The Looking at Levels sections are a unique feature of this book. Students often struggle to understand how so many different topics can fit into one discipline. The Looking at Levels sections do a good job of explaining this." ― Marcia McKinley, Mount St. Mary's College
"The Looking at Levels sections are AWESOME― these sections will engage the student and bring them right into the topic." ― Joel Alexander, Western Oregon University
"I can say that the greatest strengths of this book, in my opinion, are its clear organization, its relevant examples, and its overall interesting look, including effective photos, tables and other features." ― Stephan Hoyer, Pittsburgh State University
"The Kosslyn & Rosenberg textbook definitely incorporates timely research and does so in a way that makes it understandable for students." ― Kathy Immel, University of Wisconsin Fox Valley
"A strength of this book is its great dedication to being current. Numerous areas are receiving updates of the latest, greatest research. This is wonderfully balanced with classical studies." ― Linda Lockwood, Metro State College
"It is a concise, well written text that has a variety of good ancillary materials." ― Sally B. King, University of Maryland Eastern Shore
"The artwork is visually interesting and different than what I usually see in textbooks." ― Melvyn King, SUNY Cortland
"This text conveys the enthusiasm I feel for the field of psychology." ― Irene Vlachos-Weber, Indiana University
"The writing style is terrific." ― Paul G. Shinkman, University of North Carolina
"The second edition has a wonderful 'feel' to it." ― Marisa B. McLeod, Santa Fe Community College
"The authors do a nice job of presenting both the historical studies and integrating them with the recent neuroscience work." ― Bennett Schwartz, Florida International University
"The level of reading, the explanations, the descriptions, the examples, the follow through, and the pedagogy, are excellent." ― Michael K. Garza, Brookhaven College
"Nice use of consistent stories that continue throughout the chapters." ― Jackie Pope-Tarrence, Western Kentucky University
