Author Description

Psychology, Third Edition, builds upon the experience and reputations of Phil Zimbardo and Ann Weber with the addition of a new co-author, Bob Johnson, who has a wealth of teaching experience at the community college level. This briefer, less expensive book presents psychology in a meaningful, manageable format that focuses on the key questions and core concepts of psychology. Introductory psychology covers such a wide range of topics and issues that it becomes difficult for readers to see the forest for the trees. To make key psychological concepts more meaningful, the authors found inspiration in a classic chess study. This study showed that experts did no better than novices at remembering the location of pieces on a chess board when they were placed randomly. Only when the patterns represented actual game situations did they make sense and therefore become more easily memorable for the experts. Clearly, meaningful patterns are easier to remember and understand than random arrangements, and Psychology applies this by presenting the field of psychology in meaningful patterns to enhance comprehension. These concepts are then applied to readers' own lives, study skills, and the world around them. Finally, Psychology integrates a cross-cultural and multicultural perspective to make psychology meaningful for everyone. For anyone interested in Introductory Psychology.