Biological Psychology: An Introduction to Behavioral, Cognitive, and Clinical Neuroscience

by S. Marc Breedlove, Mark R. Rosenzweig, Neil V. Watson

Biological Psychology is a comprehensive survey of the biological bases of behavior that is authoritative and up-to-date. Designed for undergraduates enrolled in Biological Psychology, Physiological Psychology, or Behavioral Neuroscience, the book continues to offer an outstanding illustration program that engages students, making even complicated topics and processes clear. The book offers a broad perspective, encompassing lucid descriptions of behavior, evolutionary history, development, proximate mechanisms, and applications. The Fifth Edition has been redesigned to help students study and learn more effectively. Optional advanced topics are available on the Web as A Step Further, streamlining the printed text to emphasize the important points. Each chapter begins with a brief outline and an engaging narrative relating the topic to the human condition. Bold-faced terms are defined in margins and at the end of the book to aid students in remembering key terms. The new edition boasts hundreds of new references, including research students may have encountered in the popular media. Yet critical thinking skills are also honed as the reader is alerted to the many widely held myths about the neuroscience of behavior and educated about facts that sound unlikely to the uninformed. Thorough and reader-friendly, Biological Psychology reveals the fascinating interactions of brain and behavior.

Genres: Neuroscience, Psychology, Textbooks, Science, Nonfiction, Biology, Reference

610 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1996

About the author

Rosenberg Professor of Neuroscience, Michigan State University.

Reviews

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initially, the material seemed fairly daunting as I flipped through the pages of my newly rented Biopsych textbook. But as I actually dove into the content, it was wonderfully illustrated with fascinating images and diagrams of concepts accompanied by marvelous, in-depth explanations. I will confess that at a certain point, the details might get a tad overwhelming, but nothing a good tea/coffee break from reading will not fix. Overall, a joy to read for fun, as well as a most valuable resource for my Biopsychology course.

[Jurij Fedorov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book on the brain that will change your worldview. I could hope for a more simple version of this book as this book can get hard in some parts. All chapters start off with being very easy to understand and read and will tell you about the science on the area. Then slowly the chapter will become harder but still understandable and end off with hard statistics and studies on neurons that only biologists will get. There is something for all in this book and it's still one of my most memorable book experiences in my life. I still meet people who say that the brain is a big mystery and that psychology cannot say anything about the brain, sex differences and such - well, it can't if you refuse to look into it. It is right here, the modern science of the most positivistic psychology we have. This is psychology basics and something everyone interested in talking about psychology should read. Neuropsychology and evolutionary psychology is the 2 areas where psychology gets positivistic and the only 2 areas that discover the nature of man - it's the future of all psychology. The authors have done an excellent job. I look forward to reading it again, I can't wait. This is a treat for all interested in how the human brain works!

[Marcus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent primer on basic behavioral, cognitive, and clinical neuroscience. Particular emphasis on neuropharmacology, evolution, and hormonal/affective response.

Even a non-scientist idiot like myself can make sense of this stuff with this book.

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible textbook.

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't the best psychology textbook I've ever read, but it's still better than a lot of the linguistics textbooks. The companion site to this book is very helpful, with a series of fill in the blank/multiple choice questions for each chapter. I found this invaluable for studying. However, it was very annoying when I would spell something correctly and it would say I got the wrong answer because it only accepted American spelling. I also liked that they had definitions for the important terms right on the side, that weren't always explained well within the text. Organizationally I would prefer better colour coding for divisions within chapters, so it's clear when they begin a completely new section. Instead all of the headings were in black and would vary with size.
One of the main reasons I would only give this textbook three stars is the poor choice of gender normative language used in the chapter on sex organs and behaviour. Even though the chapter goes into extensive detail on different biological abnormalities that lead to mixed sex organs that can lead to people identifying with a gender that differs from what is societally prescribed, I feel that the authors did a poor job of using non conformist gender language to describe sexual behaviour. There was a lot of attention given to masculine and feminine behaviours, and how people either act masculine or feminine, and it was unclear whether they were making a sweeping generalization about all behaviours or meant it more in a specifici regard to certain sexual responses. I felt this ambiguity should have been addressed considering the edition I was reading was published in 2010.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

neuroscience makes people stupid. I have never wanted to kill as many people as I do in my neuroscience class. also all the pages are falling out of this book. that maybe why I think they are stupider than me.

well I've learned a lot in this class, reading too much as a child fucks up eyesight, every medical procedure that includes brains is freaking horrifying. And my teacher probably never read the textbook.