General psychology / by Wayland F. Vaughan.
"It is the conviction of the author that a textbook in General Psychology should acquaint the beginning student with the subject matter of psychology without burdening him with a host of technical details which are of interest primarily to advanced students. The elementary course should give th...
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| Format: | Ebook |
| Language: | English |
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Garden City, N.Y. :
Doubleday, Doran & Co.,
[1936]
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | APA PsycBooks |
| Summary: | "It is the conviction of the author that a textbook in General Psychology should acquaint the beginning student with the subject matter of psychology without burdening him with a host of technical details which are of interest primarily to advanced students. The elementary course should give the individual an accurate knowledge of the fundamental problems of psychology, and a working grasp of the terms used to describe the data involved in psychological experimentation. The student who masters this textbook should be capable of discussing psychological matters intelligently and of planning and executing experimentation in a sound fashion. He should, furthermore, appreciate what is meant by the scientific approach to the study of human nature. The author has supplied many illustrations to clarify the presentation of the subject. An effort has been made to provide an interesting textbook without sacrificing the inclusion of facts traditionally considered essential to an understanding of General Psychology. Some of the chapters are longer than the chapters appearing in many contemporary textbooks in psychology. The author feels that the arrangement of the chapters should be planned to promote comprehension of the subject rather than to facilitate convenience of assignment. For example, Attending and Perceiving are grouped into a single chapter because they belong together psychologically. In many textbooks, they are presented separately as Attention and Perception, with the possible result that the student fails to appreciate their vital connection. Due to the length of some of the chapters in the present book, assignments will obviously have to be made by pages or topics rather than by chapters--a plan that should involve no serious complications. Less space is given to the nervous system and to the topic of sensation than is given in some textbooks in the field, because the author considers that other aspects of the elementary course are more distinctly of vital concern to the student of psychology. The author has restricted himself largely to human psychology because he feels that the inclusion of extensive material from animal psychology imposes an excessive burden on the elementary student. There is only as much of the subject as can be adequately grasped in a single course. It is assumed that a thorough understanding of a limited field is more worth while than a careless perusal of a wider range of material. There are many facts that have been discovered by psychology. At the same time, there are many theories that are mistaken for facts. The author feels that it is important, on this account, to warn the student that the subject should be approached critically. It is satisfying, to be sure, to realize what is already known; but it is exciting to discover what is not yet known, for there are many unsolved problems beckoning the curious investigator. The author represents no particular school of psychology. He has no axe to grind. It is hoped the eclectic viewpoint which has been adopted will serve to orient the reader in a comprehensive manner to the sundry issues which make this science a growing enterprise. Experiments to be performed by the student are included in the body of the text. Further experiments and projects will be found at the end of the book"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved). |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xxi, 634 pages) : illustrations |
| Bibliography: | "References" under "Projects" and "Experiments.". Includes bibliographical references. |