This highly readable book offers comprehensive coverage of classic cognitive psychology and uptotheminute coverage of controversies in the field in an interesting, lively manner that assumes no prior knowledge of cognitive psychology. The Approach of Cognitive Psychology. Visual Perception. Attention. Sensory Memory and Primary Memory. Memory Encoding, Retrieval, and Storage. Visual Imagery. Motor Control. Decision Making and Deductive Reasoning. Problem Solving. Language. For anyone interested in introductory cognitive psychology.
Daniel Willingham earned his B.A. from Duke University in 1983 and his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Harvard University in 1990. He is currently Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, where he has taught since 1992. Until about 2000, his research focused solely on the brain basis of learning and memory. Today, all of his research concerns the application of cognitive psychology to K-12 education. He writes the “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” column for American Educator magazine, and is an Associate Editor of Mind, Brain, and Education. He is also the author of Why Don't Students Like School? (Jossey-Bass) and When Can You Trust the Experts? (Jossey-Bass). His writing on education has been translated into ten languages.
I read this book to expand my personal horizons. I thoroughly enjoyed my read and feel I have a much better understanding of the material as a result. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who would understand cognition better, but also to a wider audience who could benefit by having an appreciation of what goes on between ones ears.
I really do not like this author's writing style. I managed to get through the text and still am not overly fond of this text. He did present good jumping off points for further research, but that is probably the nicest thing I will say.