引用 此书是一本英文原版普通心理学课程教 材，黄希庭教授在此书第六版的人民邮电出版社影印版《序》中推荐理由如下：
本书具有以下一些特点：
第一，内容全面而且具有近时性。该书不仅涵盖了心理学的基本概念、基本原理和基本理论，而且还包含应用研究的内容。从引用的文献来看，在这本教材中引用自 2000年以来的参考文献就有近一千条。
第二，结构新颖且有助于学生自主学习。作者根据自己的教学经验富有创意地在课文中设计了一系列提示性短文或专栏，如开场白、预习、关键概念、及时互动、 21世纪应用心理学、探索多元化、成为明智的心理学用户、回忆／评价／反思、浏览专业词汇表、回顾与结束语等，渗透着作者提出的P．O．W．E．R(即预 习Prepare，组织Organize，实践Work，评价Evaluate，反思Rethink)学习模式。
第三，语言简练，清新自然，生动形象且富有激情。全书基本没有生僻、拗口的语句；对事实和现象的描述多采用比较客观的陈述句和被动结构等，其他内容大多采 用与读者对话的口吻，很自然的；大量采用图片、图表甚至视频资料等配合文本，使许多看似深奥的道理跃然纸上；各种及时互动以及突显的与日常生活密切相关的 问题促人思考，有关表述富有激情。
基于上述，我乐意向读者推荐这本导论性的心理学教材。
目录
Preface
Using Essentials of Understanding Psychology
1: Introduction to Psychology
Module 1: Psychologists at Work
Module 2: A Science that Evolves: The Past, the Present, and the Future
Module 3: Research in Psychology
Module 4: Research Challenges: Exploring the Process
Mastering the Experimental Method: The Difference between Dependent and Independent Variables
2: Neuroscience and Behavior
Module 5: Neurons: The Basic Elements of Behavior
Module 6: The Nervous System and the Endocrine System: Communicating Within the Body
Module 7: The Brain
Mastering the Action Potential
3: Sensation and Perception
Module 8: Sensing the World Around Us
Module 9: Vision: Shedding Light on the Eye
Module 10: Hearing and Other Senses
Module 11: Perceptual Organization: Constructing our View of the World
Mastering the Difference between Sensation and Perception
4: States of Consciousness
Module 12: Sleep and Dreams
Module 13: Hypnosis and Meditation
Module 14: Drug Use: The Highs and Lows of Consciousness
5: Learning
Module 15: Classical Conditioning
Module 16: Operant Conditioning
Module 17: Cognitive-Social Approaches to Learning
Mastering the Distinction between Reinforcement and Punishment
6: Memory
Module 18: The Foundations of Memory
Module 19: Recalling Long-Term Memories
Module 20: Forgetting: When Memory Fails
7: Thinking, Language, and Intelligence
Module 21: Thinking
Module 22: Language
Module 23: Intelligence
8: Motivation and Emotion
Module 24: Explaining Motivation
Module 25: Human Needs and Motivation: Eat, Drink, and Be Daring
Module 26: Understanding Emotional Experiences
9: Development
Module 27: Nature, Nurture, and Prenatal Development
Module 28: Infancy and Childhood
Module 29: Adolescence: Becoming an Adult
Module 30: Adulthood
10: Personality
Module 31: Psychodynamic Approaches to Personality
Module 32: Trait, Learning, Biological, Evolutionary, and Humanistic Approaches to Personality
Module 33: Assessing Personality: Determining What Makes Us Distinctive
11: Health Psychology: Stress, Coping, and Well-Being
Module 34: Stress and Coping
Module 35: Psychological Aspects of Illness and Well-Being
Module 36: Promoting Health and Wellness
12: Psychological Disorders
Module 37: Normal versus Abnormal: Making the Distinction
Module 38: The Major Psychological Disorders
Module 39: Psychological Disorders in Perspective
13: Treatment of Psychological Disorders
Module 40: Psychotherapy: Psychodynamic, Behavioral, and Cognitive Approaches to Treatment
Module 41: Psychotherapy: Humanistic, Interpersonal, and Group Approaches to Treatment
Module 42: Biomedical Therapy: Biological Approaches to Treatment
14: Social Psychology
Module 43: Attitudes and Social Cognition
Module 44: Social Influence
Module 45: Prejudice and Discrimination
Module 46: Positive and Negative Social Behavior
Mastering Attitude Change
Glossary
References
Credits
Name Index
Subject Index
