An Introduction to Cognitive Psychology, Second Edition: Processes and Disorders

by David Groome, Nicola Brace

David Groome with Nicola Brace, Hazel Dewart, Graham Edgar, Helen Edgar, Anthony Esgate, Richard Kemp, Graham Pike, and Tom Stafford. An Introduction to Cognitive Processes and Disorders is a comprehensive introductory textbook for undergraduate students. It covers all the key areas of cognition, including perception, attention, long-term memory, working memory, thinking and language. Uniquely, alongside the chapters on normal cognitive function, there are also chapters on the related clinical disorders (agnosia, amnesia, thought disorder and aphasia) which helps to provide a thorough insight into the nature of cognition. Key Written to cover all levels of ability using helpful figures and illustrations, this book has sufficient depth to appeal to the most able students while the clear and accessible text, written by experienced teachers, will help students who find the material difficult. It will appeal to any student on an undergraduate psychology degree course as well as to medical students and those studying in related clinical professions such as nursing.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

480 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1999

Reviews

[jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written comprehensively by a large number of psychology lecturers (nine in total), An Introduction to Cognitive Psychology provides its reader with a complete overview of its field. At times, the text might be a bit dry, but the content itself is highly informative, and clearly structured.

This book actually gives quite a number of details on various cognitive psychology topics for ‘just’ an introductory book, but it makes sure not to venture too far, which makes it still easily readable and useable for beginners. I thought it to be a fun and interesting read for undergraduates, and it can also serve as reference.

An Introduction to Cognitive Psychology contains chapters on the following topics: perception, attention, memory, problem-solving and reasoning, language, plus chapters with disorders on all the aforementioned subjects, and last but not least, a chapter on computational models of cognition. There’s also a glossary in the back, which can be extra useful to beginners, and an aid in preparing for exams.

As said before, this is a complete and comprehensive guide to the basics and main topics of cognitive psychology, and best suited for undergraduate students. It’s not an entirely engaging text, but still easy to read and to use thanks to its structure and informative nature.

[Joel Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually, I don't have to put too much effort into understanding a subject I'm studying. I tend to have a good grasp on philosophy, history, law, mythology, personality psychology, or other more literary subjects. Cognitive Psychology was tough. Really, really tough. I got through my course okay but not without a lot of hard work. My professor was excellent, her teaching style was engaging - and yet, I felt stupid when going through the Cognitive Psychology class. I read this textbook front to back and it saved me so many times. I'm thankful to my professor for assigning it. I think that it is very well organized: Perception, Attention, Short-term memory, Long-term memory, Problem-solving, Language, and Cognition and Emotion. The only reason this textbook doesn't get 5 stars is because I think that chapters 10 & 11, which were written by Sophie Scott, where unnecessarily verbose and complicated. I already felt stupid taking this course and I was thankful to be reading a textbook that is an introduction to Cognitive Psychology. Here's and example:

"The acquisition of written language is parasitic on speech perception and production..." (David Groome et al., Introduction to Cognitive Psychology, fourth edition, 308).

All the same, chapters 10 & 11 still have excellent insights and it was a great textbook overall.

[Jonathan Wiseman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book with lots of relevant and informative discussions throughout.

[Izarra Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great introduction to the weird and wonderful world of how our brains work. This one specialises in my area of interest, disorders, and is organised in such a way as to group the relevant topics—perception, memory, emotion, etc—with the attendant disorders that arise from that particular brain malfunction. Highly recommended for cognitive psychology/psychopathology nerds, such as myself.