Resources/ references for psychology books

snorlax

i thought it might be a good idea to compose a sticky of all the good references for psychology and to help people out with essays/ research and for anyone interested in the subject.

just post up the title/ author, why we should read it/ domains covered (and where we can get it if you know).

also some good introduction to psychology books may be a good starting point for those who want to find out more about the subject.

John

For the interested "layman":
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat - Oliver Sacks:
A collection of interesting case studies showing how bizarre some mental disorders are.

How The Mind Works - Steven Pinker:
The first chunk of the book is a bit confusing (I study what he's trying to describe and I found it tough going due to his weird analogies) but once you get into the book it's a good read.

For the more adventurous reader/first year student:
Psychological Science: The Mind, Brain and Behavior - Michael S. Gazzaniga and Todd F. Heatherton:
An easy to read and fairly broad introductory textbook. Looks at landmark research and general concepts in psychology.

Biopsychology - John P.J. Pinel:
Neuroscience for psychology students. This doesn't go into too much detail as regards biochemistry and whatnot but covers the more biological side of psychology such as depression, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, vision, hearing, etc.

Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology - Bryan Kolb and Ian Q. Whishaw:
A more advanced text compared to Pinel's Biopsychology. As well as that it is much easier to read and nicer layout in my opinion. Goes into more detail in how the brain puts together all the stuff that goes on in and out of the body.

All of these books are available from Amazon, in Hodges and Figgis on Dawson St. and possibly other book stores that I don't frequent.

solicitous

Well a book I found really useful to work with along side my course was "Simply Psychology" by Michael W. Eysenck. If I didn't get a chance to ask about something at class I always had this to refer back too.
I think I should invest in my own copy actually, before my local library send out the - break your legs men.. I have it since the 3rd September and they are pleading with me at this point.

the dog ate it..

someone stole it from my house (left the hi-fi and tv, just took the book)..
:rolleyes:

belgravy

the man who mistook his wife for a hat is an excellent read novice/layman or 4th year psyche student. also Oliver Sacks's "Island of the colour blind" is an excellent one. Eysenck and Keane's "cognitive Psychology, a students hand book" is excellent for starting off. Anything by Steven Pinker from "the language instinct" to "the Blank slate " and "how the mind works" should be put in your christmas lists.

Eoghan-psych

This will be of rather limited appeal, but anyway - the pubmed archives now include the full text of JABA and JEAB [the main applied and basic journals in behaviour analysis]. The JABA archive goes all the way back <drool> to the first volume in 1968 with scans from the originals </drool> and JEAB goes back to about 1990, with the rest on the way.

JABA

p.pete

Psychology resource tutorial

This link seems a very good place to start if you are new to the area and not familiar with research methods, tracking down information or just looking for new links.

p.pete

Some overlap here with books mentioned above I'm sure! The following are taken from another forum, some suggested book lists people have gotten from colleges in the uk:

I've had two reading lists from my Firm and Insurance places.
The Oxford Reading List says:

Most Important Reading:

(1) Any up-to-date beginning undergraduate textbook in psychology. e.g.
Psychology; BPS Textbooks in Psychology; Blackwell Publishing (2005); Hewstone, Fincham, Foster.

(2) Susan Greenfield: The Human Brain. Phoenix, 1998.

Here are a few of the other ones they suggest:

Alan Baddeley: Your Memory: A User's Guide (2004)
Oliver Sacks: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and An Anthropologist on Mars.
Robert Winston: The Human Mind and How to Make the Most of It.

And for RHUL

ROYAL HOLLOWAY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
Department of Psychology
PRELIMINARY BOOK LIST 2006
Books that you will use in your first year courses at Royal Holloway

The books listed below are course textbooks for our year 1 B.Sc. Psychology course units, so you will use them extensively during your first year. Please note that the list below does not contain the core textbooks for all year 1 courses, as some of these are available at a discounted price at the campus bookstore and should therefore be purchased when you arrive at Royal Holloway.

Eysenck, M.W. (2001). Principles of Cognitive Psychology (2nd. Ed.). Hove: Psychology. ISBN 1841692603.
Goldstein, E.B. (2001). Sensation and Perception (6th ed.) Wadsworth-Thompson. ISBN 0534539645.
Gravetter, F.J., & Wallnau, L.B. (2003). Statistics for the behavioral sciences. West: St Paul, MN. ISBN 0534622046.
Harris, M. & Butterworth, G. (2002). Developmental psychology: A student’s handbook. Hove: Psychology Press. ISBN 1841691925.
Kendall, P. C., & Hammen, C. (2000). Abnormal Psychology, 2nd edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Stangor, C. (2003). Research methods for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Houghton-Mifflin: Boston, MA.

General introductory books
The books listed below are not core reading for any of our B.Sc. courses, but you may find them interesting to look at prior to arriving, especially if you have not studied Psychology before. Instead of purchasing them, you may wish to try to find or request them at your local library.

Aronson, E. (2003). The Social Animal, ninth edition. Freeman. ISBN 071675715X.
Atkinson, R.L., Atkinson, R.C., Smith, E.E., Bem, D.J. & Hilgard, E.R. (1999). Introduction to Psychology. Wadsworth. ISBN: 015508044X.
Eysenck, M.W. (2002). Simply Psychology. Psychology Press. ISBN 184169309X
Greenfield, S. (2004). The Human Brain: A guided tour. Phoenix. ISBN 0753801558.
Gregory, R.L. (Ed). (2004). The Oxford Companion to the Mind. OUP. ISBN 0198662246.
Sacks, O. (1986). The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat. Picador. ISBN 0330294911.

Also from Sheffield Uni:

Background Reading
Gleitman, H. (2003) Psychology (6th Edition). New York: Norton.
The Level 1 course is based around this book and it provides a good general introduction to Psychology.


Scott, P. J. & Spencer, C.P. (Eds.) (1997) Psychology: A contemporary Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.
This book provides an overview suitable for many modules in Levels 1 and 2. Many of the lecturers in the Department have contributed chapters.


Pinker, S. (1999) How the Mind Works. London: Penguin.
This book provides an indication of the topics and methods covered in Cognitive Science.

From the Holloway list, the book The Oxford Companion to the Mind, I can't say that I'd recommend borrowing it as a general introduction. It's basically a 1,000 page encyclopedia, excellent for a reference book and I have a copy myself, but I couldn't imagine sitting down with it from start to finish as an introduction!

rollie

For all those wishing to take on an ambitious thesis:

Robson, C. (2002) Real World Research (2nd Edt), Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.

Although I haven’t as yet used it for my thesis, mainly because i need to come up with an idea and then start this year (well in the next few weeks, if i saythis year it sounds further away). Its basically a good reference guide for all research methods. However, if you are a hardcore "psychology is a science" believer use it as a reference book only, the first couple of chapters made me step back and rethink my life choice, although that didn’t last long. It is comprehensive, and has tid-bits on best practices which are always handy.

(as you can see it doesn't actually cover referencing in APA format, if you want something like that you need the latest referencing guide the APA decided to chuck out to make a few quid)

also I found loves executioner and other tales of psychology by Irvin D. Yalom gave a good intro of psycho-analytical counselling in the states. Its ten case studies and you dont need to be a psychologist to read them. I found "fat lady" to give a fair introduction to transference and the necessity of emotional intelligence for any counsellors.

Rollie

p.pete

Statistics page - seems to contain a lot of useful stuff, enjoy (or whatever your level of enthusiasm is for stats...)

witchofagnesi

The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul by Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel Dennett
Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Hofstadter - both are great reads on the self and free will although the latter can require pretty intense thought.

The Thinking Ape by Richard Byrne is great if you want a general read on the evolutionary origins of intelligence.

The Ape and the Sushi Master by Frans de Waal is easy to read and discusses primate culture.

Abnormal psychology by Davison, Neale & Kring - I've found it to be a great textbook for giving general descriptions of psych disorders and examples of case studies.

The Meme Machine by Susan Blackmore is interesting although (my opinion) should be read with a pinch of salt.

Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind by Gazzaniga is a good accessible neuroscience textbook.

The Strange Case of the Spotted Mice by Peter Medawar - I'm busy reading it at the moment and finding it very enjoyable. It's a collection of essays by a Nobel laureate on philosophical issues in science.


This is a brilliant website for anyone looking for help with SPSS: http://www.statsguides.bham.ac.uk/HTG/HTG_Home_SPSS_10.htm

p.pete

If you want to visualise brain structure/functions then check out the great free piece of software from the brainvoyager site.

http://www.brainvoyager.com/BrainTutor.html

Once you install it you'll find there are some great functions which allow full rotations and simulataneous brain area locations.

Enjoy.

Taken from a diff forum.

markyedison

hi all,
i'm interested in this concept for use in a philosophy essay. can anyone recommend any authors or textbooks for an overview of constructivism.
or the schism between constructivists and behaviouralists.


Cheers, Marky.

p.pete

LilMsMelodrama wrote: »

Andy Field wrote the SPSS bible. This is the website he put together for his students and anyone else in need of statistical assistance. Hopefully you will find what you are looking for there.

Looks a pretty good site.

p.pete

Simply Psychology, seems to be aimed at A-Level but looks a fairly accessible site for anyone with a general interest in psychology.

Cinful

Dissertation Abstracts (online). ProQuest: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?RQT=302&cfc=1

JuliusCaesar

The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathon Haidt. Easy reading introduction to psychology, including social psychology, evolution etc etc

The Lovely Muffin

Does anyone know anyhing about any of these books? Are they good/bad etc?

Thanks.

Introducing Psychology
Psychology: A Very Short Introduction
Psychology AS: Student Book: The Complete Companion for WJEC
Psychology in Education
Handbook of Counselling Psychology
Introductory Psychology
Key Studies in Psychology
Psychology Uncovered
Complete Psychology
Teach Yourself Psychology
Clinical Psychology: Topics in Applied Psychology
Psychology and Education
Applied Psychology
Studying Psychology

The Lovely Muffin

^^ Can anyone help?

Thanks.

hotspur

It's a strange mixture of books. Gross's Key Studies in Psychology is the only one I've read and its random collection of studies is a bit pointless I think.

AvaKinder

Can anyone recommend a good LGBT/Sexuality Psychology book?

Odysseus

AvaKinder wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a good LGBT/Sexuality Psychology book?

Can I ask is there a particular perspective you want to the book to be based on? I think I still have a recommended reading list from a course I did a few years ago on the topic. I won't be home until the weekend, but if I still have it, [which I think I do] I will pm you the list.

I don't have the number to hand but the Gay Men’s Health Programme have a library which I think may be open to student's etc, but even if it's not they are generally very helpful and I'm sure they would have no problems with making a few recommendations. They also run a short training programme once or twice a year if you are interested in the topic.