Psychology

by Peter O. Gray

Gray guides students into the "why" and "how" of behaviour as well as the "what". He encourages them not to be content with descriptions of behaviour, but to look for its purposes and the biological mechanisms that underlie it. He shows them how to be sceptical - to question the evidence, the interpretations and the logic behind the conclusions. "Focus questions" in the margins encourage the reader to follow developing arguments, anticipate findings and consider the impact of specific research and ideas on the issue in question. "Concluding Thoughts" emphasize connections between topics and offer students a fresh perspective for thinking about what they learned. "Looking Ahead" sections connect theories, themes and approaches just covered with those to come in the next chapter. This second edition features the new studies and developments that contribute to our understanding or that add a new dimension to what we thought we understood. Throughout the new edition there is even greater emphasis on the role of culture in psychological processes, zoological comparisons and their evolutionary implications, and the functions and ecology of behaviour.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Textbooks, Education, Reference, Science, School

684 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Dr. Peter Gray is a research professor at Boston College. He is now retired but continues to publish research and give guest lectures.

Reviews

[Amy]

Wederom niet alles gelezen maarr tentamen overleefd🙌🏼 Nu alleen nog afwachten of ik het vak daadwerkelijk gehaald heb

[jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Psychology is meant as an introductory book to the field of psychology, and is often used in psychology studies for this very purpose (as a matter of fact, I read it as part of my bachelor course Introduction of Psychology). In that sense, it seems to succeed, as it covers a varied amount of topics that are all integral parts of the field of psychology.

To name them, this book has chapters on: foundations/methods of psychology, adaptiveness of behaviour (genetic/evolutionary, and learning), physiological mechanisms of behaviour (neural control, motivation, and emotion), sensation and perception, human intellect (memory, consciousness, reasoning, and intelligence), growth of the mind and person (development of thought/language, and social development), sociology (social perception and attitudes, social influences), personality, and mental disorders (including treatment).

Though the content is varied, broad, and interesting, the writing style is not. To say that Peter O. Gray writes “engaging” and “readable”, and has made sure that his book is “comprehensive” and “thought-provoking” – as it says on the description on the back – is really stretching it.

First and foremost, Gray’s writing is far from engaging – in fact, he has a tendency to go on long, boring rants, and just as soon as you think it’s starting to get interesting, he stops. Because that’s introductory for you; not much detail, to say the least. Granted, his writing can come across as readable and comprehensive, but it surely is far too vague for a university/college textbook. There’s so much fluff surrounding the text that it’s difficult to think along with his arguments and theories, not to mention that it’s tediously boring, and horrendously annoying if you wish to look something up quickly. Using this book for exams was a hell I don’t enjoy looking back at.

Thought-provoking, then? I wouldn’t think so, except for the fact that Gray might’ve piqued my interest on some topics, leading me towards searching more material on the subjects. However, what he covers in his book is fairly general and well-known.

All that said, I suppose I could still recommend this book to those who’re looking into an introductory to psychology, whether you’re a student of it or not. Gray succeeds in giving an overview of all the different aspects of psychology (though not all), and he provides the reader with interesting experiments and some nice illustrations (the design of the book is good overall). However, he has not succeeded in making a very suitable university/college textbook, since it’s far too fluffy and vague for that, unfortunately.

[Eline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zeker interessant maar dit moeten lezen en kennen in 7 weken is onethisch

[sonixgirl77 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Followed the reading while listening to an Intro to Psych Yale Open Course lectures on iTunes U, and it was great! I took several Psychology courses back in my undergrad and it was fun to go back through and review the different theories and schools of thoughts and explanations of behavior. I still learn from these foundational principles in my life today.

[Ezra Verboom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolute banger

[Julia]

10/10 slapper, troche niefajne, że notatki z jednego tematu zajmują mi 5 godzin

[fleur romy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting.
Tentamen geslayed 🔥🔥

[robine · Rating 3 out of 5]

the amount of delusional statements regarding animal testing was embarrassing

🪂

[Dorea · Rating 1 out of 5]

godsamme zeg, dat was geen aanrader

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

in one word wonderful.
as a first year psychology student this book opened my mind to a whole new class of knowledge and made me fall in love with it and helped me decide what I wanted to work on as a psychologist.
I've also skimmed through the Atkinson textbook of psychology, but I have to say gray is the better one to read.

[Willemijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this cover to cover for my studies. Interesting read, i like the personal touches the authors made. Some chapters rely heavily on an incomplete American perspective (gender, marriage, maternal care, STD data in USA, etc.), which is a little dissapointing for the days we live in now. other than that; a good and thorough intro to psychology.

[Gerald C]

Good

[Crickets · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some theories deserve a good update, especially when it comes to gender, identity, and sexuality.

[line]

Das zählt ja mal sowas von mit ins reading goal.

[anna.]

fuck it, i dont care if it was for school, if i read it, it goes on my goodreads, ill take what i can get

[jag :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
I actually really enjoyed this book.
It was my first book of first year of Bachelor's in Psychology. Was easy to study because of all the guiding tools. Clear and interesting.

[Evelien Oskam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview. Interesting cases and experiments contribute to easy reading.

[Ismay Van Halm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een stapje dichterbij

[Eveline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting

[Jul]

Voor school moeten lezen

[Hương Lê · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and very well-structured. The very first book that everyone who wants to learn about psychology must read.

[JoJo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of the worst textbooks ever written, at least for college. I mean, the guy just drouns on and on without ever really saying anything important, and his organization is shoddy at best. Not a great contribution to education. oh, and overpriced.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Connie Varnhagen U of A Psych - wicked prof! Humble-esque :D

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

.

[Urska · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh.

[Denis Sidorenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Used as main textbook for Yale's Intro to Psychology course. I prefer this textbook over Gleitman which I find slightly harder to read and rather academic. Gleitman is more popular though.