Hi. I was getting a bit tired of giving psychology book recommendations, so i thought I should start this thread to collate book recomendations.
I'll first note that most psychology degrees start from zero assumed knowledge, and that you don't need to do any prepatory reading for psychology. This is also because you'll often get people from other subjects (biology, history etc.) doing psychology modules so they don't assume any background knowledge.
However, if you are applying for psychology at university, reading psychology books actually demonstrates an interest in the subject, even if you do A Level psychology. In addition, if you're applying to oxbridge or for another course that interviews, being well read will be advantageous.
I thought i would make a few headers and let people recommend books below. Either way i've started it off with a few suggestions.
Also, I think its also important to include other things which aren't books, such as research articles (which aren't too difficult for sixth formers) and videos of lectures. You can get a lot of the books below used for £2-3 so its definitely worth checking some out, even if you don't like the book in the end.
Human Evolutionary Perspective *Dunbar (2014) Human Evolution: A Pelican Introduction. *Any Frans de Waal Book. He's a renowned primatologist also interested in human behavior. Our Inner Ape (2006) Chimpanzee Politics (1998) & TED TALKhttp://goo.gl/4FVyYR Laland & Brown (2011) Sense & Nonsense: Evolutionary Perspectives on human behaviour. [quite techinical at times, and not aimed for a level students, but too good to leave out] Davies, N.B. (2012) An introduction to Behavioural Ecology.
Abnormal Psychology Books Bentall, RP (2004) Madness Explained: Psychosis and Human Nature. (BPS book award winner) Ward, J (2008) The frog that croaked blue [on synaesthesia] Rose, S (2006) Explaining, Mending and Manipulating the brain. Snowden, R (2012) Basic Vision: An Introduction to Visual Perception (2nd Edition). [A Textbook, but hugely readable, and not too complex for sixth formers to read] Briathwaite, V (2010) Do Fish Feel Pain? Raine, A (2014) The Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime
Social psychology Books Aronson (2011) The Social Animal. Kahneman (2012) Thinking, Fast and Slow. Any Gigerenzer book http://goo.gl/c5rHIWhttp://goo.gl/jtRxfWhttp://goo.gl/v3YYoJ Bond (2015) The Power of Others: Peer Pressure, Groupthink, and How the People Around Us Shape Everything We Do Shalrot (2012) The Optimism Bias: Why we're wired to look on the bright side
Neuroscience and Neuropsychology Greenfield, S. (2016) A Day in the Life of the Brain: The Neuroscience of Consciousness from Dawn Till Dusk Frith, C. (2007) Making up the Mind: How the brain creates our mental world. Buzsaki, G (2011) Rhythms of the Brain
Other Psychology Hammond, C (2012) Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception. (BPS book award winner). http://goo.gl/CPeizt Wynn, T & Coolidge, F.L. (2012) How To Think Like a Neandertal. http://goo.gl/Aj9JgJ Fine, C. (2011) Delusions of Gender: The Real Science Behind Sex Difference. http://goo.gl/H1hWV1 Hines, M. (2004) Brain Gender. http://goo.gl/QySIbQ Marzluff, J & Angell, T (2013) Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans. http://goo.gl/yt1j9l Halpern (2016) Inside the Nudge Unit: How small changes can make a big difference
Radio 4 Podcast. More or Less. [Explains the statistics used in the news- and often uncovers how they are misused or just very wrong. Lots of statistics in psychology, and a lot of misuse of statistics in psychology, so its very applicable. Sometimes they also cover psychology research too.]
Research Articles Knowing the layout of a research articles may be useful preparation for university. Especially if you may be interviewed.
Shamay-Tsoory, SG et al. (2009) Two Systems for empathy: a double dissociation between emotional and cognitive empathy in inferior frontal gyrus versus ventromedial prefrontal lesions. Brain, 132, 617-627. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.490.5274 [Download pdf on link]
Slater, M. et al. (2006) A Virtual Reprise of the Stanley Milgram Obedience Experiments. PLoS One. http://goo.gl/pa004
Ahh i knew another thread existed, couldn't fine it though. It might be useful to pin that one to the front of the forum. I also included a fair few youtube things
Ahh i knew another thread existed, couldn't fine it though. It might be useful to pin that one to the front of the forum. I also included a fair few youtube things
I only know where it is cos I linked to it in the writing a psychology PS article
I am looking for a general and psychology book It would be used during summer to prepare yourself for the psychology degree and it could be also used during your time at university. Does anyone has any suggestions? Thank you!
I am looking for a general and psychology book It would be used during summer to prepare yourself for the psychology degree and it could be also used during your time at university. Does anyone has any suggestions? Thank you!
Are you looking for a textbook? There aren't many good textbooks that cover all of psychology (the Gross is an exception), you normally have separate ones for each specialization (e.g. developmental, cognitive, social). Either way, university level psychology relies less on textbooks but actually reading the studies which you can get for free at uni via pdfs.
I am looking for a general and psychology book It would be used during summer to prepare yourself for the psychology degree and it could be also used during your time at university. Does anyone has any suggestions? Thank you!
I think Oxford Dictionary of Psychology by Andrew M. Colman deserves to be mentioned too. It is valuable first point of help when one is trying to make sense of academic papers.
In terms of the university ranking and student satisfaction rankings, Essex ranks higher than Portsmouth. You can google UK university league tables to find out more about this If you wanted to get a better feel for which university is best for you I would suggest attending the Open or Visit days for the Universities because they really help you get a better understanding of what the universities are like, and you can see which one you feel suits your needs best
I am a current student at the University of Essex, I am in my third year and have loved my experience there! The campus is very friendly and there are always events and activities going on so you can never be bored. Also everything is on your doorstep, such as bars, restaurants, a club, shops, post office, hairdressers and banks all on campus. I would recommend Essex Uni as I have had a great time studying there! If you have any other questions feel free to ask ^Sam