This is the perfect book for those who either want to start from scratch or build on existing knowledge in Psychology. Its really easy to dip in and out as you feel and allow time for the new knowledge to settle.

This is a really good introduction to psychology, with a summary of all the necessary terms and well-known psychologists. A great starting point if you are looking at going into psychology as a degree or further education, or simply whether you have an interest in the area and want to know more. Written in a simple enough way that the psychology beginner can easily understand, without losing any of the technicalities of the field.

I am fascinated by all that is psychology and have done some online courses so found this book a great supporter of my learning and provided a basis for reference. One that I can refer back to for the basics and a great starter or introduction to the subject.

Great introduction - an 'in a nutshell' type read with good illustrations/diagrams. Very informative.

This is a comprehensive look at the field of psychology. It is a good reference for those who want an introduction to the subject but will also provide a good review and additional information for those who have already taken some courses.

The book is divided into chapters that address different aspects of Psychology. These include:

What is Psychology

The Psychology of Learning

Cognitive Psychology

Biological Psychology

Developmental Psychology

Social Psychology

The Psychology of Intelligence

Personality Psychology

Clinical Psychology

Professional psychology

Future Directions

The chapters can be read in order or the reader can dip into just those that are of interest. Concepts and clearly explained and defined.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this good resource. The opinions expressed are my own.

A great read. Well written and easy to understand. I studied Psychology some years ago at A level and thought this would make an interesting read.

"Degree in a Book: Psychology" offers a great first introduction into psychology and its various disciplines. Each chapter focuses on a different discipline and I liked that it gave an historical overview as well as an outlook into possible future developments.

A fun and easy to understand book about Psychology. Great graphics and explanations. A good book for those interested in Psychology regardless of the depth of their exposure to it.

This book is an interesting and engaging reader. It contains a lot of facts, illustrations and stories that help to understand the principles and major points of psychology. The mindmaps/schematic illustrations in the beginning of the chapters are very useful. They help to visualize the main points to be described further. I can recommend this book for people who want to have a starting knowledge of psychology or have a general summary of this science.

Overall, Degree in a Book is an excellent introduction to the burgeoning field of psychology, a discipline much broader than many realize. Porter has gone out of his way to make the book user friendly with colorful mind maps beginning each chapter and lots of highlighted sections in different colors. I actually did wonder if there was a system to the highlighting and if so, where was it spelled out. For example, purple highlighting could be for definitions and red might indicate important people in the area (note - these colors were chosen at random and do not represent this book.

To write such succinct chapters on the various sub fields of psychology is no small task. Each one could be a year long course with its own big, fat textbook (at least one and maybe two). But with trying to summarize so much material, there will be omissions, some more significant than others. Also, the placement of certain sections may also be subject to criticism. Porter actually acknowledges in the introduction that material considered interesting or vital by some, is omitted from the book. Nevertheless, this book provides the reader with an introduction to the many disciplines within psychology and the suggested reading list in the back of the book provides additional sources or references by subfield.

Each chapter presents some historical context for that particular subdivision, illustrating its beginning and evolution. The chapters conclude with a brief review of the contents covered in that particular chapter. I loved the “mind map” on the cover, representing the field of psychology and appreciated each one introducing the individual chapters. There are lots of charts, illustrations and highlights, in many different colors, to keep it interesting (Note: reading this book on a b/w kindle will not be as much fun).

Since my area of expertise is in Personality and Social Psychology, most of this review will focus on those two chapters. Each chapter succeeds in introducing the reader to the subfield and includes key concepts with the research to substantiate it.

Discussion of bystander intervention in the Social Psychology chapter would be improved by presenting the concept of diffusion of responsibility, a theoretical construct developed by the researchers Latine’ and Darnley. Otherwise, the reader is left wondering why no one helped Kitty Genovese and furthermore, how the researchers explain their findings. In addition, the Social Psychology chapter would be more complete with a discussion of Conformity (Solomon Asch), Attribution Theory/Attribution Biases and Stereotyping.

The Personality chapter presented a good overview of the field and was up-to-date. However, I was surprised that it did not include Personality Disorders. Also, the section on Freud would be more appropriate in this chapter instead of the Clinical Psychology one. Lastly, the chapter seems incomplete without a section on Maslow and his hierarchy of needs.

The Clinical Psychology chapter seemed insufficient due to its lack of a discussion of mental health illnesses, such as bipolar, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders (including phobias), personality disorders (which could fit here or in the Personality chapter) PTSD, ADD, and the autism spectrum. A section on Neuropsychology would have made the chapter even more complete.

Finally, I would have preferred a separate chapter on Health Psychology or at least a more thorough subsection in the Professional Psychology chapter which would have included other key aspects of this important topic, such as resilient/hardy personality and stress/coping.

However, even without these changes, a reader without any or limited knowledge of Psychology, will benefit greatly from reading this book because it provides a great introduction to the field. In fact, it’s like practically getting a degree in Psychology!

Thank you to Arcturus Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a great book for those interested in studying psychology as a major and need an overview of what may be covered. It has definitions and graphs to facilitate the heavy textbook data into a more comprehensive summary of each discovery. Author does a great job making this subject comprehensive and accessible.
Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great book! I am a psychology major and found it to be full of information that is relevant. It was written in a way that y0u don't have to be a psychologist to understand the information presented.

Degree in a Book: Psychology is a well-developed book that was a pleasure to read. As a college instructor who teaches many courses, and among them, the philosophy of ethics and morals as well as psychology, I found Degree in a Book: Psychology well-written and easy to follow. The author, Alan Porter, does a good job laying out the subject matter in an easy to follow, yet interesting way.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Synopsis from the Publisher/NetGalley.com
A perfect introduction for students and laypeople alike, A Degree in a Book: Psychology provides you with all the concepts you need to understand the fundamental issues.

Filled with helpful diagrams, suggestions for further reading, and easily digestible features on the history of psychology, this book makes understanding the human mind easier than ever. Including the theories of Francis Galton, Sigmund Freud, Ivan Pavlov, and many more, it covers the whole range of psychological research.

By the time you finish reading this book, you will be able to answer questions such as:
• How do we learn?
• Do groups make better decisions than individuals?
• How do we study the living brain?
• What are the components of personality?

Psychology has always interested me, even more so after studying it and almost applying for a degree course in it, so this book was the ideal refresher but could just as well be a decent introduction to the topic for those with limited to no knowledge. Everything is written in an easy, accessible manner and any technical terms that are discussed are clearly defined, either in the text itself or as part of the glossary, to aid understanding. Some of the most important psychologists and researchers are profiled but only briefly so that the focus can remain on the ideas.

It does a good job of minimising the shortfalls, but of course, the nature of the book means that many key areas of psychology are explored with little depth. However, what that allows for is for the reader to choose which of the specialised areas they want to explore in more detail and make a purchase based on that. That being said, the structure of the book is really what lets it down. It's a little disjointed and the flow isn't that great. Overall, the information included is sound, but the way everything is organised makes it quite awkward to get through. I read the Kindle/eBook version, so the structure may well be better in physical copies. I strongly recommend sampling the book before purchasing as the structure will work for some but not so much for others.

Many thanks to Arcturus for an ARC.