Psychology : Concepts and Connections (Brief Version with Study Guide, CD-ROM, and InfoTrac)

Rating:
Summary: The worst textbook I have read
Review: I am currently a college student majoring in a humanities area. Traditionally, I have been weak in areas involving scientific knowledge (and psychology is a life science as well as a social science discipline). Unfortunately, I had to use this dreadful textbook for my introductory psychology class. It is undoubtedly the worst textbook I have ever used, not because it isn't comprehensive, but because of the author's erratic and ultimately irritating writing style. Mr. Rathus insists on making annoying and unnecessary jokes every few lines or paragraphs - the subject is boring as it is, don't make our misery worse with stale jokes! In addition, he crams so much information in the paragraphs in an unsophisticated and rushed style, particularly with chapter 2 (biological psychology), that I was left with the headache of trying to sort out what exactly was important and what wasn't. Beware if your teacher uses the database of test questions that apparently come with this text - the questions test tiny, seemingly insignificant details instead of the more important, broad general concepts of psychology. I hope that other professors use other introductory psychology textbooks. I would undoubtedly *not* recommend this.