A Dictionary of Psychology

by Andrew W. Colman

Book Overview

With over 10,500 entries, A Dictionary of Psychology is the most up-to-date dictionary of its kind with coverage of all areas of psychology, together with technical words from other disciplines used by psychologists. These include psychoanalysis, psychiatry, neuroanatomy, and statistics--subjects that are often excluded from single-volume dictionaries of psychology. The definitions are detailed, but clear and explicit, with word origins and illustrations...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019280023X
• ISBN13: 9780192800237
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 864 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 7.8" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

a very helpful reference

The Oxford Dictionary of Psychology is a very helpful desk reference for mental health professionals. As a Clinical Psychologist, I have found it useful for both documentation purposes and for interpreting information from other mental health professionals (i.e., psychiatrists)... and it was significantly less expensive than the APA Dictionary.

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.