Psychology: A Complete Introduction

by Sandi Mann

Written by Dr Sandi Mann, Senior Lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, Psychology: A Complete Introduction is designed to give you everything you need to succeed, all in one place. It covers the key areas that students are expected to be confident in, outlining the basics in clear jargon-free English, and then providing added-value features like summaries of key experiments, and even lists of questions you might be asked in your seminar or exam.

The book uses a structure that mirrors the way Psychology is taught on many university courses. Chapters include key topics in psychology research; cognitive issues, including language, emotion, memory and perception; individual differences - intelligence, personality and gender; social psychology; mental health and psychological disorders/abnormal psychology and the treatment of such; the nervous system; and sleep.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Education, Reference, Ebooks, Mental Health

400 pages, Paperback

First published November 8, 2016

Reviews

[عبدالرحمن عقاب · Rating 4 out of 5]

سبق لي أن قرأت كتابًا مرجعيًا في علم النفس لـ"ماير"و كان كافيًا، لكنه مغرق في ‏التفاصيل. خطر لي وأنا أعدّ لمشروعٍ أعمل عليه أن أعيد قراءة أهمّ الأفكار ‏والمعلومات التي يقوم عليها علم النفس، وتنبني عليها التفرعات عليه.‏
وهداني الله إلى هذا الكتاب الصغير نسبيًا، فكان وافيًا كافيًا لمطلبي. وأظنّه يكون ‏كذلك لكلّ من أراد الولوج إلى علم النفس أو الإلمام بأسسه إن كان يبحث في العلوم ‏المتفرعة منه أو القريبة إليه. ‏
أسلوب الكتاب بسيطـ ومباشر، وترتيبه لأفكاره وترابطها جيد. ‏
والحقّ أن قدرة مثل هذا الكتاب على الإلمام بهذا الكمّ غير اليسير من أسس علم ‏النفس، وعرض أهم وأشهر دراساته وتجاربه وأفكاره، جعلني أنظر إلى علم النفس ‏بصورة أكثر تحديدًا لدوره وفائدته وما أريد منه. ‏

[Luca Frère · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general a good introduction book that gives a wide overlook of various psychological theories. It is however unfortunate that the author imposes her gender-critical views in the chapter 11, seriously undermining social-oriented theories in favour of more deterministic biological-oriented theories. She was clearly not as one-sided in the other chapters, most notably with Freud, even though his theories have been long discredited.

[Asmi Udassi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its an amazing book.. if you want to have an insight a brief introduction about psychology.. Its brilliant!!

[Myridia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good general introduction to psychology. As a beginner I initially didn't know where to start, but this book gives just enough background on basic psychological principles that it was easy to absorb and didn't feel intimidating. It also helped me narrow down the areas that would be most useful to research for my upcoming writing project, and reminded me of how mysterious and fascinating our minds remain despite how long they've been studied.

One thing I especially enjoyed in this book was the case studies, which were by turns interesting and scary, since most of the experiments back in the day would now be considered unethical; but they all point towards the human mind's simultaneous resilience and susceptibility to manipulation. As paradoxical as that is, we can still use that knowledge along with a background in psychology to get ourselves out of tough and negative situations and improve the quality of our lives. I'll probably head in more of a neuroscience tangent next, but I'll definitely be referring back to the principles in this book for a refresher. I wish I hadn't discounted psychology as a science for so long, because hindsight being 20/20, majoring in this field would have been an awesome learning experience.

[dani dani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I am sure all of this information can be easily accessed through internet browsing the book serves as a decent and compact introduction to the field of psychology. I noticed the book has some typos and some of the answers to the questions were wrong in the answer key which was confusing.

[Saif Elhendawi · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as introductory books go, this is an excellent well written one. In the beginning I was a bit disappointed that the book starts with quite simple topics, but soon I was glad to find overviews of areas of psych I was not aware of. Other than that it's a pretty typical introductory resource. Every chapter comes with questions (answers can be found at the end of the book), and suggested readings and media. This comprehensive approach that adds practice and further research to the learning experience is why I still appreciate the book.

[Nhan Do · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for beginner of psychology or for just anyone who’s interested in general psychology. Nothing too deep as each field of psychology is touched through slightly, not too deep to bore the reader but deep enough to keep the interest up. Highly recommended

[Johnny Hermens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Large parts are word for word the same as another book by this author (Cracking Psychology). Disappointing that the book is littered with typos. Even the answers to the quiz sections have mistakes. Has some interesting/entertaining content.

[Kgomotso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically simple. Great launch pad for further reading

[بلال العك · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great source of information about the different fields of psychology. One of the best choices for new psychology readers

[Jessica Liew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book delivers what is advertised: an introduction to the major areas of psychology. Each chapter provides a brief overview of an important topic in the field, but it does not dig deeply into any one area. Some aspects, such as development over the lifespan, are particularly brief. It would be a good read for someone who is curious about psychology, but I do not recommend it for those studying psychology more seriously unless you are supplementing with other, more detailed sources. It is also worth noting that the author is British, so the writing does have a strong British-focus in many places. The American statistics and studies are mentioned in some places, but the practices of other countries don't get any attention.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a genuinely warm and highly effective doorway into the study of the human mind, managing to be both comprehensive and remarkably approachable for the absolute beginner. It shines by presenting the vast landscape of psychology—from cognitive processes and memory to social dynamics and psychological disorders—in clear, jargon-free prose that truly makes the material stick and feel immediately relevant to everyday life. It avoids the intimidating density of many textbooks, instead offering a deeply engaging and well-structured overview that not only educates the reader on the foundational theories and key experiments but also successfully ignites a real passion for further psychological exploration.

[Hamish · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book felt like a great overview of psychology with quizzes at the end of each chapter to test how much information you retained. Reading this has gotten me really interested in learning more about the field. My only complaint is I wish it put more information in chapters 15 & 17. Chapter 15 only discussed a handful of psychological disorders on a very surface level and chapter 17 on the brain and nervous system left me with very little information and could have benefited from being more in depth. Overall definitely recommend if your interested in psychology.

[Kamil Fortuna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book overview description

This is a great book about psychology. It contains huge amount of information about various psychological experiments and about mental illnesses that can help you learn how to diagnose someone. I does not contain information about how to cure from mental illnesses. I do recommend this book to those interested in psychology.

[Christopher George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Primer!

The book does a fairly good job of summarizing a multitude of psychological concepts in a reasonably, and easy to digest form. References and sources are also provided to allow the reader to further research on their own. Worth reading if the material is new, and you are interested in the subject.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book to get some basic knowledge in psychology. I remember reading this my junior year of high school when Covid started and it really interested me and actually got me to take a psych class the next year. It has useful information and it’s easy to understand

[Shaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming from someone who has no background in this field, this book was easy to follow along and understand. The questions after each chapter are a fun way of checking on what you've learnt. I did enjoy this book.

[Leila Deakin-Howarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book before starting my psychology A level. It really gave me an upper hand and a great understanding of the subject! It gives great insight whist also condensing the information so that it’s not too overloading with great recall questions for every chapter.

[80a Mc0ui11an · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this the start of second year psych study and honestly such a perfect, concise yet detailed text for majority of content covered in first year. great refresher for concepts or text for storage to draw on for study

[Pang Khong Yun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to understand for any beginner who want to take a psychology course.

[Troy Bettles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intense

Worthwhile & recommended, at times intense, & the tests at the end were quite difficult.
As a night worker I found the last chapter Illuminating.
Glad I gave it a gander !

[Ryan Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little introduction to Psychology. Enjoyed it cover to cover. The quizzes at the end of each chapter added to an already great experience!

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good introduction, but the same information as most psychology intros

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author done a great job of covering a heap of different areas and remaining impartial. I also had fun completing the pop quizzes at the end of each chapter.. worth the price for sure.

[Victor Whitman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a decent overview of what the field of psychology is. It looks at all aspects of the subject in an accessible way. Good introduction to a subject I knew almost nothing about.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really thorough and interesting overview of a lot of areas of psychology. I really like this series of books and how they are structured.

[Alex Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's great if you want to understand the different areas in just one book! It also provides tons of references to deep-dive on your own if you want to learn more about a specific topic.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and understand, this seems a good introduction, an overview, on the basics of Psychology. Recommended!

[Jaime Bustos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, comprehensive introduction to anyone interested in psychology.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what it should be.
+Super Simple read.
+Not in any way complicated or over described.

-Obvious grammatical mistakes that should have been corrected before publishing.