A Dictionary of Psychology

by Andrew Colman

Book Overview

From aggression to amnesia and from schizophrenia to shock therapy, here are 10,500 alphabetically arranged entries that cover all the major topics in psychology.
Guided by an eminent team of seven consultant editors--including Robert J. Sternberg, Harvey R. Schiffman, Dr. Leonard W. Hamilton, Daniel P. Kimble, and Dr. Robert Spitzer--Andrew Colman provides in A Dictionary of Psychology clear, concise definitions of terms and concepts in such areas as sensation and perception, cognition, learning and skills, mental disorders, emotion and motivation. Colman not only covers all areas of psychology, but he also explains relevant technical words from other disciplines used by psychologists, including psychiatry, neuroanatomy, and statistics--subjects that are often excluded from single-volume dictionaries of psychology. Likewise, this is the only dictionary to offer extensive coverage of psychoanalysis, with clear explanations of terms introduced by Freud, Jung, Adler, Erikson, Kohut, Lacan, Reich, and others. There is comprehensive coverage of phobias and phobic stimuli and mental disorders, as well as a list of over 700 abbreviations and symbols commonly used in psychology. All entries are detailed and explicit, with word origins and illustrations given where necessary. Moreover, the entries are far more extensively cross-referenced than customary. For example, the entry "visual illusion" includes cross-references to every particular visual illusion described in the dictionary, and the entry for "cranial nerve" directs the reader to all twelve of the human cranial nerves, each of which has its own separate entry.
Written by a leading authority and completely up to date, the Dictionary is an ideal resource for students of psychology, professional psychologists, and the general reader.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198662114
• ISBN13: 9780198662112
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 859 Pages
• Weight: 3.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.3" x 9.1" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Really Good

I buy it to used like a reference on my internship in counseling and it's a great tool. I recommended!!

Not Too Long, Not Too Short

One aspect of this dictionary that particularly impressed me is that terms or concepts defined seem to be just the right length; they are not too short, nor needlessly long or convoluted. Speaking of convoluted, I am sometimes reading a book in the field of Psychology and become exasperated on encountering a windy discussion of a term so I head for the DofP and everything becomes crystal clear. Another interesting thing is that Dr. Coleman often describes the evolution of a term, i.e. how it became part of the psychological language. The various psychological disciplines are well represented including social psychology, statistics, testing, psychology of mind and neuroscience, clinical psychology including diagnostic nomenclature, and the obligatory Freudian terms. A smattering of medical terms is included along with words from philosophical psychology and psycho-physics. Having been educated in the field of Psychology it's hard for me to put myself in the place of someone with no exposure to Psych, but I feel that that the intelligent layman should have little difficulty understanding most of the definitions. If you can afford it this dictionary is, in my opinion, greatly superior to the Penguin Dictionary of Psychology. Another excellent book to consider is the 1000 page Oxford Companion to the Mind. While oriented toward brain-mind processes it provides the reader with a wide variety of essays in Psychology. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology is another good reference volume, but I think it is now out of print.

An Awesome Psychology Reference Tool

Ideal for professional psychologists and general readers alike. I discovered this book in the library and I was highly impressed with both the content and the presentation of the material. I have been involved with and interested in psychology for many years. With over 10,500 psychology-related entries, this new psychology dictionary is the most up-to-date reference of its kind available. It covers all areas of psychology including psychoanalysis, psychiatry, neuroanatomy and statistics. There is comprehensive coverage of phobias and phobic stimuli and mental disorders.

Great Value!

I have never seen a one-volume dictionary of psychology that comes close to this book in its exhaustive coverage of topics in the field of psychology. It seems like every time I see a book with the word "Oxford" on the cover it's a sure bet that I'm going to give it five stars. Although I haven't read the entire book (who reads a whole dictionary?) I won't rule out doing so in the future.