Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Psych 101 refresh... without the enormous classroom... July 4, 2009
ewomack (MN USA)
Anyone who has endured the quintessential coliseum-sized university Psych 101 class and recalls more than half of its contents does not need to read this book. But newcomers to psychology and those needing a cleansing refresh will obtain a decent high-level understanding of the basics. For those in that latter category, ignore the self-deprecating and unnecessary subtitle "for dummies" and tread onwards. This book, thicker than it appears, will guide the uninitiated (or re-initiated) through intimidating hedgerows of concepts, terminology, and history. At times it's even fun, believe it or not. Each of its eight parts deals with a particular psychological theme. These parts cover everything from the brain as the foundation of mind to personality development, abnormal psychology, Freud and Jung, engaging in therapy, types of therapy, even movie recommendations. Given the girth of material covered, each topic receives a decent skimming rather than a detailed plunge. But those wanting such an overview should start here. If nothing else, this book should help readers determine if psychology indeed rings their Pavlovian bells (see chapter eight if you don't know that reference).
A basic theme throughout involves the "biopsychosocial" model. This model states that we're all products of our biology, our psychologies, and our societies and cultures. All contribute to our sense of self and others. The sections on biology delve into that elusive skull-encased wet mass known as the brain. Cool words such as "corpus callosum" and "basal ganglia" receive adequate explanation. Another section describes how our nervous system converts light, sound, mechanical and chemical energy into electrochemical energy that our brain can process. In essence, we interact with the world via transduction of various energy forms. Things start getting emotional when the book moves into psychological aspects, the book delves into Maslow's famous hierarchy of needs, optimal level of arousal theory, and opponent process theory. There's also a very touchy-feely discussion on the different types of love. Of course Freud appears. No survey of psychology can exist without him Though he remains controversial, his ideas of the subconscious, Id, Ego, and Superego still hold influence. A scintillatingly titled section "to poop or not to poop" delineates one of Freud's more messy developmental stages. Finally, our social aspects get covered in sections on social psychology, which include discussions of conformity, persuasion, and empathy. Other sections explore: chromosomes (X or Y?), what's "normal," schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, forensic psychology, and psychological testing (MMPI, etc.). Later, the book covers the different types of therapies in some detail, such as psychotherapy, cognitive, client-centered, and existential. Ultimately, these sections seem to favor an approach that doesn't categorize people into discrete theories or approaches. The sway seems more towards client-centered and existential therapies. Two final sections contain top ten lists. The first, "Ten Tips for Maintaining Psychological Health," introduces "positive psychology," a new emphasis on what's "right" rather than what's "wrong." The final section lists "Ten Great Psychological Movies." Some great movies appear, such as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" "A Clockwork Orange" and "Psycho." Many disturbing cinematic experiences await!
Though "Psychology for Dummies" provides a good overview of its subject matter for beginners, the book contains one very annoying feature: its lack of a bibliography. References to studies, books, and articles pepper the text, but they go no further than "Eron, 1987" or "Rushton et al, 1986." Usually a bibliography at the end of the book fills in the attribution, but readers will search in vain for such a thing here. This turns what could be a simple lookup into a research project. Hopefully a future edition will address this problem. Nonetheless, this won't keep readers from stuffing their skulls with the basics of psychology. If you haven't started yet, start here.
 No footnotes for a plethora of references January 18, 2009
D. Gordon (Illinois)
I found this book to be dry, superficial, and boring. The attempts at humor mentioned by other reviewers do not cut it. It ranges unevenly from being too technical in some areas to too general in others. However, my biggest complaint is that the author makes numerous references such as "research says..."and "according to..." but there are no footnotes or bibliography for follow up. No works are cited, just names of psychologists.
 It's okay January 7, 2009
Kevin Walker (Newark Valley, NY)
I read this book in hopes of a solid general understanding of Psychology. What I got instead was a mediocre book at best. The attempts at humor were more annoying than funny. I am sure that Mr. Cash could have written a better book. To me, it felt like I was reading a textbook. There is one upside to the book, there is plenty of information. If you don't mind a lot of information and an overall boring style of writing; then buy this book. I would suggest if you wanted a better overview, buy The Complete Idiot's Guide to Psychology instead.
 it's fun December 17, 2008
Katherine Dotel (Fort Drum, NY)
when it comes to basics, it defeniately covers it.. fun to learn through this book...
Awesome! October 1, 2008
Analia Ross
Arrived on time and in great condition.
Also, an awesome book to read if interested in Psychology.
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