The goal of making psychology more
accessible to novices is one of those things that many attempt but only a few
achieve.  Richard Gross appears to be one of these few.  The secret of his
success is mostly dependent upon his adoption of a thematic approach instead of
the traditional domain-based approach.  Thus, in Themes, Issues and Debates
in Psychology, there are no chapters devoted to well-established, and
undoubtedly artificial, domains of psychological knowledge such as social
psychology, developmental psychology, cognition, methodology, etc.  Instead,
there are chapters dedicated to several attention-grabbing topics in which bits
and pieces of the traditional domains of psychological knowledge come together
in the form of thought-provoking puzzles.  Examples of such topics are a
discussion of the relationship between mind and brain as it applies to
consciousness, an illustration of the long standing debate on free will and
determinism, and a discussion on the role of heredity and environmental factors
in human development.

The book may help students
integrate and deepen their knowledge of the information acquired from any
introductory psychology textbook. It can also provide a tool for instructors to
sharpen students€™ critical thinking about issues that span several domains of
psychological knowledge. Of course, one may argue that students can learn to
integrate and critically process introductory psychology materials by relying
on a reasonably good textbook and, perhaps, an engaging instructor.  However,
given the amount of material usually covered in introductory psychology classes
and its novelty, the integration and critical processing of knowledge from a
multitude of psychological perspectives is not easily attained.  Thus, the
adoption of Themes, Issues and Debates in Psychology as required reading
in these classes can lead students to abandon a learning mode focused on
assimilation and encourage them to think critically about what they are
learning.

Naturally, it is not only the
author€™s thematic approach that makes Themes, Issues and Debates in
Psychology so valuable for introductory psychology courses.  Indeed, among
the most appealing features of the book, readers can find the author€™s
methodical, sharp and witty writing, and his comprehensive and candid
examination of a variety of topics.  Altogether, this is a book that students
and instructors alike should consider adding to their reading lists to
complement any of the available introductory psychology textbooks.

   © 2004 Maura Pilotti

Maura Pilotti,
Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Dowling
College, New
York.

Categories: Psychology