The Psychology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

Somewhere between a textbook and a coffee table book, The Psychology Book is a surprisingly valuable. Initially drawn to the fun cover and positive reviews of The Philosophy Book, I decided to give this a shot and ordered a copy. My initial reaction was disappointment, it seemed a too textbooky. But as I read and skimmed further (it's a book that I suspect few will read cover to cover), I started to appreciate the helpful effectiveness of what the DK editors have done, allowing one to get important, core ideas quickly. After presenting the philosophical roots of psychology (think the intersection of philosophy and phsyiology), the book is organized according to different psychological approaches or schools of thought such as behaviorism, psychotherapy, cognitive psychology, and social psychology. There is a timeline and brief history for each school followed by an encapsulated entries of key thinkers in that discipline. Here is where the design and editorial approach shines, as you can peruse the pages and find psychological thinkers who you may know little or nothing about and get the essence of what they focused on quickly. Each heading has a "capture the essence" quote which makes it easy to know whether you want to explore further. My one complaint is the book, just glancingly mention Irv Yalom, who is both a great writer and highly respected psychotherapist. If you haven't read or listened (I loved the audio version, which includes an interview with Yalom) to his master work, Love's Executioner: & Other Tales of Psychotherapy , I strongly recommend it and have given it as a gift many times. Definitely a must for anyone with a literary bent and an interest in psychology. Some quotes/outtakes I liked: >"The good life is a process, not a state of being" --Carl Rogers (p.130) >"Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds meaning." --Viktor Frankl (p. 140) >"Compulsive behavior rituals are attempts to control intrusive thoughts." --Paul Salkovskis (p.212) I especially like this last one, as it's interesting to think of our obsessive thoughts (even if we don't engage in compulsive behavior) as attempts to control or prevent uncomfortable thoughts or emotions instead of just trying to experience them directly, as they are. There are many nuggets like that in the recommended book.

This is my kind of book. I am always furthering my education beyond what I am learning at University. Because I am still in college and reading constantly I really appreciate the format of this book. It is organized by the different divisions of psychology from social to child and within are the most significant people, theories, experiments, and concepts in a short story format. This makes it easy to learn a lot of information on limited time. This book is to the point on each subject and filters though unnecessary information and gives you what you need to know right away. I can enjoy learning new things outside my coursework because this book gives information in this short story format. I have taken a couple of courses in psychology but this book does not require the reader to have previous information in psychology in order to appreciate the knowledge the book contains. After this book I bought the religions and philosophy book by this publisher and will buy the business one as well when it comes out. Overall for the learner who is limited on time this (and others by the publisher) are for you. If you want something that is more specific, get something else because this one is an overview of all.

I absolutely love this book! If you are a psychology major or just interested in human behavior, this book is for you. Its explanations, pictures, and diagrams are so easy to read and follow! It includes the history of concepts as well as current findings and thinking on the subjects. I love how the book is divided up - philosophical roots, behaviorism, psychotherapy, cognitive psych, social psych, developmental philosophy, and psych of difference (personality & intelligence). I have learned so many interesting facts from this book. For example, one of the concepts on the cover of the book is - A Man with Conviction is a Hard Man to Change. Read about cognitive dissonance and why it is so hard to change someone's opinion and thought processes when they really believe in it, no matter how insane or impractical it may be. You won't be sorry with the amount of information, ease of reading, and layout of the book.

Great book, well worth a read.

We own a number of books in this series and we really like them. The whole family enjoys reading them and whether you only want an outline to give you a bit of insight into the subject or you are looking for an exploration somewhat deeper, this book will certainly be able to pique your interest. We found that it explains the subject well and in a concise but interesting manner and both older children and adults will learn a lot on the topic. The quality of the cover, pages and print is excellent. They are fairly hefty books about 1inch thick and approximately A4 size so to have the solid, colourful cover to keep the book in good condition is very helpful. They also look very attractive and invite the reader to pick up and explore what's inside. Great for home schoolers too. I can highly recommend this book for a foray into the subject.

It’s exactly what the title says, big ideas simply put. If you’re a beginner, it’s great as a useful starting point in your research into the psychology of the human mind

The book was paperback not hardcover, and it's ok since it was already mentioned in the description. It's also original. I was sceptic at first because Amazon offered it at 180 egp only, discounted from 1500. But the book IS original. Superb deal.

I really love this book. The book is huge and cute with beautiful images, quotations and a bit of sneakpeak into the psychologists. It is fun to read. I carried this book around in the beginning days as a precious little toddler as it is really really cute. The cover is attractive(although, the corners were knocked when i got it). You don't even have to read in order, just turn a random page and there you are! Entirely dissolved into the book! I'm a psychology student and I found many interesting information which weren't taught to me in my class lol. A few times, I wished some concepts were explained indepth. The book is great! But a lot of concepts I expected to read weren't there. It has simplified my various doubts regarding conditioning with charts and all. I love the charts because they make it easy for you to understand. But every concept in here gripping. This book can't be solely relied on if you want to make a very serious study into psychology but it's definitely worthy. It hook you up and gives you a quick insight into various stuff. It's like a textbook but the cute font, the images and attention-grabbing titles gives you a different experience. I think it's a must for every psychology lovers.