Psychology: A Behavioral Overview

Psychology: A Behavioral Overview is an introductory text with an orienting per­ spective that is frankly behavioral rather than eclectic. This focus is made quite clear in the first chapter of the book, but in the remainder it also becomes clear that such a focus permits coverage of most of the topics found in the more common introductory text. Actually, the next five chapters (dealing with psy­ chology as a scienc~, methodology, evolution, physiology, and learning) are in many ways comparable to the treatments provided in more eclectic introductory texts. The behavioral focus and the departure from traditional approaches be­ come most significant in the last six chapters which deal with traditional psycho­ logical topics (e. g. , language, child development, and personality)-but deal with them systematically in terms of the concepts and principles introduced in the chapters on evolution and physiology, and especially in the chapter on learning. Using the concepts provided early in the text to interpret complex aspects of human behavior provides valuable justification for those concepts, as well as an opportunity for improved understanding of them. Although students will not make extensive contact with the variety of the­ oretical approaches found in the typical text, they will become especially compe­ tent in the use of behavioral concepts and principles to interpret and understand many of the topics of traditional importance in psychology.