The Psychology Book Review

Late last night, UPS rang my bell and I was surprised to be handed a book from DK Publishing submitted for review simply titled — The Psychology Book — and I immediately ripped open the box, broke the book’s binding, and dug into the glossy pages.  The subtitle of the hefty, hardcover, $25,00USD tome is — “Big Ideas Simply Explained” — and really like the visual learning style of the layout.

Here’s the official PR blurp for the book from DK.com:

Clearly explaining more than 100 groundbreaking ideas in the field, The Psychology Book uses accessible text and easy-to-follow graphics and illustrations to explain the complex theoretical and experimental foundations of psychology.

From its philosophical roots through behaviorism, psychotherapy, and developmental psychology, The Psychology Book looks at all the greats from Pavlov and Skinner to Freud and Jung, and is an essential reference for students and anyone with an interest in how the mind works.

The style of the book reminds me of the “… For Beginners” series I read several decades ago.  “Lenin for Beginners” and “Freud for Beginners” are but two titles in that teaching comic book- book style of publication.

The Psychology Book takes a chronological view of the mind and personality and behavior over the last 100 years and graphically illustrates those ideas with lots of graphics and color.

Here are a couple of images I shot of the textbooks with my iPhone 4S so you can at least get a visual taste of what’s in store:

I am a visual learner.  I appreciate text, but when I see something described in drawings, supported by color and photographs and illustrations, I will never forget what I see and I can recall those images stored in my mind at will.

The Psychology Book appears to understand we learn best by seeing, and not just by reading, and that’s why this bit of study literature is a wonderful learning companion to have on hand sitting beside you when you need a quick answer or an in-depth analysis.