At most universities, introductory psychology is one of the most popular courses. This reflects the interest which most people have in understanding human behaviour – both their own, and that of others. While an introductory course should acknowledge this interest, it must also be an introduction to psychology as a discipline, providing a coherent understanding of the nature of psychology. In meeting these goals, the choice of a textbook is often crucial.

There are many possibilities in selecting course materials for introductory psychology. While using a textbook might seem to present a simple solution, there are literally dozens of introductory texts in print, and most seem to follow a formula which is less than satisfactory. With over 50 years of teaching experience between us, we have encountered many texts, and used more than a dozen in our classes. From our experiences as teachers, and the feedback from several thousand students, we have come to recognize certain factors which seem important in a textbook.

Most textbooks today tend to be rather large volumes which provide an impressive amount of factual knowledge. Unfortunately, as teaching tools, these texts tend to have several limitations. First, they are both too large and too expensive. No student can really hope to assimilate all the detail which is provided, and often they find the mass of information overwhelming. So, they end up paying for content that isn’t needed. Second, most students come to psychology with an interest in human behaviour, yet often find a large proportion of their text is devoted to research on other species. While such research clearly is part of psychology, it is often not handled in ways that help students to understand its relevance to understanding human behaviour. Third, by presenting a survey of various sub-areas such as ‘perception’, ‘development’ and ‘motivation’, texts fail to provide a coherent framework for the discipline as a whole. In the end, it becomes disjointed for students.

Out of these concerns emerged this book, which is designed to offer a relatively brief, coherent introduction to psychology which emphasizes the understanding of human behaviour. The emphasis on human behaviour was the easiest goal to meet, since much of psychological research is focused on people; animal research is included only where it clearly relates to our understanding of human behaviour. The goal of brevity was met by making a conscious decision to be selective rather than encyclopaedic. In order to define criteria for such selection, it was necessary to choose some organizing principles – which in fact related to the third goal, coherence. The organizing structure of this book is based on the historical reality that psychology has been based on several different conceptual frameworks, each with its own assumptions, methods and theories. Thus, the examination of five such frameworks (or approaches, as they are called in this text) forms the central focus of the book. Underlying this structure is a concern with the process of how we arrive at knowledge of behaviour – not just that different approaches exist, but how and why they arose. A central theme of the book is that the processes of perception are important for understanding both human behaviour and the nature of psychology as a discipline. This organizing structure has proven popular with both students and instructors in previous editions, and this edition remains faithful to those basic concepts and goals. The changes in this edition involve three goals: first, to clarify and update the material of the previous edition where necessary; second, to provide coverage of new topics where appropriate; and third, to provide more structural aids to readers. With regard to the first goal, this book includes almost 250 recent references (both research and theory), selected for both currency and significance. In terms of the second goal, this edition includes a new feature: The World Today boxes. These boxes discuss some aspect of information in the chapter in terms of issues that are interesting and relevant to students today. Specifically:

• Chapter 1 (Behaviour and Psychology): discusses how magicians exploit some psychological phenomena to work their tricks.
• Chapter 2 (The Biological Approach): examines how Ecstasy affects the brain.
• Chapter 3 (The Behaviourist Approach): describes the reinforcement values in video games.
• Chapter 4 (The Cognitive Approach): contains two boxes, one which explains how attribution theory is used in sports psychology and one which discusses terrorism as examined bycognitive dissonance theory.
• Chapter 5 (The Psychodynamic Approach): gives an analysis of the character of Harry Potter as a Jungian archetype.
• Chapter 6 (The Humanistic Approach): describes how coaching psychology may be applied to project management.
• Chapter 7 (Perspectives on Development): contains two boxes, one which discusses how hormones affect women’s preferences in men, and one which describes how parents react to their children’s gender nonconformity.
• Chapter 8 (Perspectives on Social Behaviour): briefly discusses how each of the five approaches might explain the behaviour of serial killers.
• Chapter 9 (Perspectives on Abnormal Behaviour): contains a discussion of the relationship between creativity and psychopathology.

In terms of providing guidance to readers, it was felt important to retain, and build on, existing features intended to make the book more helpful. One feature, ‘Putting it all Together’, is a linked set of discussions at the end of Chapters 1–6. Chapter 1 provides a detailed case study which has been expanded in this edition. This case study is then discussed in Chapters 2–6, illustrating how each approach can assist in understanding some aspect of the case. The purpose of these discussions is to show how the approaches can be complementary, and thereby provide both a sense of integration, and also counterweight the student’s desire to view the approaches in terms of ‘right’ vs. ‘wrong’. By expanding the scope of the case study to include a more detailed social network for the character, we increase the degree to which students can understand and identify with ‘Sam’.

In addition, discussion questions are dispersed throughout the book with the label ‘Try it Yourself ’. Some are completely new and others have been expanded from the discussion questions (‘For Further Consideration’) in the fourth edition to be more engaging to students. These questions are meant to encourage readers to apply the ideas within the text as a means of enhancing understanding. In general, they go beyond simple rote review, but are not intended to be completely open-ended. Some ask students to reflect on their own experiences, others may prove amenable to group discussions. While ‘critical thinking’ has become a much-abused buzzword in recent years, these questions are intended to provoke involvement and reflection.

In addition to an extensive end glossary, important terms are also highlighted and defined in context where they first occur, with formal definitions being provided in the margin. The fifth edition now begins each chapter with a list of Learning Objectives, and continues, as in the fourth edition, to include an overall Chapter Contents to help readers grasp the structure of what lies ahead. Each chapter concludes with a point-form Summary and list of Key Terms and Concepts. It is hoped that these features will aid students in the process of studying and reviewing, without distracting from the flow of the text itself.

A note on style: the handling of the third person singular in non-sexist ways is continuing to evolve, but this book adopts the (increasingly accepted) usage of ‘their’ rather than the awkward ‘his/her’.

This edition marks the thirtieth anniversary of this book. The first edition arose as a collaborative effort of six people, including William E. Glassman (WEG). The second and third editions saw WEG as the sole author. Marilyn Hadad (MH) was brought on board for the fourth edition, and has played a major part in this edition. The intervening years and editions have seen the book evolve, but the writers of the first edition were part of its origin: Gordon R. Emslie, Paul H. Hirschorn, Judith Kelly Waalen, John Medcof and John Roth. To all of them, we give our thanks.

A further debt must be accorded to those readers and reviewers who provided comments on the previous edition, and thereby contributed to making this book better. Making psychology accessible and enjoyable for readers has always been a key goal, and the feedback and comments from students have been useful as well as gracious – it is yet one more reason why teaching is such a worthwhile endeavour. Many reviewers, who must go unnamed, have also contributed to this book, and their comments have been both supportive and extremely useful. In addition, we want to acknowledge our colleagues at Ryerson University, who have provided thoughtful comments and valuable criticism. Their support has been much appreciated.

WEG:
I also wish to thank my family, who have sacrificed in many ways over many editions. My sons, Dave and Danny, aged 19 and 14 respectively, have been understanding of the many days, nights and weekends that this project consumed; in some ways, their lives are intertwined with the life of this text. Their interruptions have been a frequent relief when the task has grown heavy, and their curiosity and enthusiasm are constant reminders of just how remarkable our existence is. My wife, Lies Weijs, has been invaluable emotionally, intellectually and logistically. She has provided encouragement when I needed it, and bore the burdens of family demands when I could not fulfil them. Further, as a reader who is a non-expert in psychology, she provided insightful and intelligent feedback on clarity and readability. Family life and career often seem at odds in our society; in this case, my family has my gratitude and love for all that they have given to this project, and to my life.

I also wish to thank Marilyn Hadad, who has been all that one could wish for in a collaborative partner, as well as a friend and colleague for much of my career. Her energy and creativity have moved this edition forward in new ways, and it is my fond hope that she will do so in editions yet to come. I know that if she does, the book will be in good hands.

MH:
I wish to express my gratitude to my friends who supportively allowed me to ‘disappear down the rabbit hole’ for weeks at a time as I worked on this book, and brought me food and wine to sustain both the body and the spirit.

Most particularly, though, I wish to thank Bill Glassman for providing not only the superb basis for subsequent editions to this book, but also for allowing me to become part of this enterprise. Without his mentorship and constant faith and encouragement, it is unlikely that I would have the opportunities and the soul-satisfying career that I have today.

WEG and MH: Finally, we wish to thank the staff of McGraw-Hill/Open University Press. Open University Press has supported the development of this book through several editions, and their direction and encouragement have been crucial. Caroline Prodger, the head of development, has been the guiding light on the fifth edition; her enthusiasm, insight and wit have kept us on track and encouraged. To Caroline and all the staff at McGraw-Hill/Open University Press who have made this book possible, thank you.

William E. Glassman
Marilyn Hadad
Toronto, May 2008