Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Dr. Shona Saul’s “The Principles of Psychology” is an engaging and accessible guide that delves into the essential principles of psychology. Whether you’re a curious beginner or a seasoned enthusiast, this book offers a captivating exploration of the human mind.

Highlights:

Comprehensibility: Saul’s writing style simplifies complex concepts, making them accessible to a broad audience. She weaves together historical context, contemporary insights, and practical applications seamlessly.

Visual Appeal: The book is replete with full-color diagrams and illustrations. These visual aids enhance understanding, especially when grappling with intricate ideas.

Sub-Disciplines: Saul covers a range of foundational areas, including personality psychology, attachment theory, and criminal profiling. Each chapter provides a brief historical overview followed by a snapshot of the current state of the field.

Key Figures: From Sigmund Freud to Carl Jung and Ivan Pavlov, Saul introduces influential psychologists who have shaped the discipline.

Approaches: The book explores various psychological approaches, including cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, behavioral psychology, and social psychology.

Room for Improvement:

While Saul adeptly avoids overreaching, some chapters could benefit from deeper exploration. For instance, the discussion on “Health Psychology” touches on diets and diabetes causes, but a more nuanced exploration of patient behavior and coping mechanisms would enrich the content.

In Summary:

“The Principles of Psychology” provides a solid foundation for anyone intrigued by the workings of the human mind. Saul’s concise yet informative approach ensures that readers gain valuable insights without feeling overwhelmed.

📚 Recommendation: If you’re curious about psychology or seek a concise overview, this book is a worthy addition to your reading list.

Remember, understanding the mind is an ongoing journey—one that Saul invites us to embark upon with curiosity and clarity.

An interesting psychology book on the basics broken down into ten chapters. Great for those wanting to get an insight into behaviour, causes, outcomes and more.

Chapters come with a look at the history of the subject, the main theorists and their findings.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

The Principles of Psychology by Shona Saul is an introductory book into the topic of psychology covering a range of basic foundational areas of the discipline such as social psychology, Memory, approaches in psychology and Biopsychology. Furthermore, the book also looks at some specialist areas in Psychology, such as sports psychology, occupational psychology and forensic psychology, to name just a few.

I really liked this book because it is an interesting read for both those with experience in the subject as well as those with an interest in the topic but no in-depth experience. All the different topics are briefly explained in some detail to give the reader a very basic idea of that area in psychology. It was also useful in the book to have a list of suggested further reading, which could signpost the reader to relevant literature for a more in-depth knowledge of a given area of psychology.

One of the main weaknesses is also one of the strengths; this is the basic nature of the book. I understand this is only an introductory text for the layperson on psychology, but in some areas, the book lacked significant key details about a given area, including some key research. I could go even further to say that the writer avoids the use of specialist terminology in some cases, which, although may make the text more accessible to the reader, some of these specialist terms are not difficult for the layperson to understand. It definitely would have been nice to see more research to illustrate the psychological concepts highlighted in this book.

Altogether, I rate this book 3 stars as it was a good introductory book into the amazing topic of psychology, giving the reader a good basic understanding to the subject. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in psychology as well as those who may be studying psychology at a basic level, such as GCSE or A-Level students. This could also be a good book for those looking at studying psychology at University to give an idea of the variety of areas of this subject. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Arcturus Publishing for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book in return for an honest book review.

Shona Saul's book, 'The Principles of Psychology', gives a fascinating insight into human behaviour and the principles that govern our minds. The book is easy to understand and accessible to a broad audience, thanks to full-colour diagrams and illustrations that help clarify complex concepts. The book begins by discussing the different approaches to psychology, providing a comprehensive overview of the primary schools of thought and the key figures associated with each approach. Saul also covers the key concepts in various areas of psychology, such as behavioural, developmental, and social psychology. The writing style is clear and concise, avoiding technical language and presenting the material logically and organised. This book is an excellent introduction to psychology, whether you are a student, a professional, or simply someone interested in understanding the complexities of the human mind.

This introduction to psychology uses diagrams and illustrations to explain complex ideas. It explores the psychological approaches and influential figures that have shaped understanding over time. As the title suggests, it's aimed at an audience with no knowledge of the topic. Unfortunately, it includes debunked historical information and experiments from the early years of the field.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

If you’ve ever wondered what Psychology is, or what might be involved in studying one of its sub-disciplines, then this is the book for you.

Working its way through the major sub-divisions of the subject, each chapter provides a brief historical overview of an area and then an account of where the subject is at, today. One of the strengths of the book is its ability to simplify and summarize, what would otherwise be a vast amount of detail.

To some extent, everything can be depicted as involving Psychology, and so there can be a risk of over-reach in some Psychology books. This book largely avoided that problem, although Chapter 7’s ‘Health Psychology’ arguably strayed a little. Did we really need to know about diets and causes of diabetes in a book on Psychology? Although the different ways that people respond to illness definitely raise Psychological issues. For example, it has been noted in many different contexts that even when patients are told that they will die unless they change a behavior, they can still struggle to do so. It would have been good to learn a little more about those kinds of issues.

One of the problems in trying to write a general overview, is that it means raising a lot of issues and then truncating discussions to move onto the next point. Generally the book did that well, weaving different topics together so that there was a progression for readers. However there were a few places where things could have been more detailed. For example we heard about Shell Shock as a condition that affected first World War soldiers. But we heard little about its modern manifestation as PTSD, and how soldiers from different armies show different rates of incidence, even when their battlefield contexts seem similar. It raises some interesting questions about the diagnosis, classifications, and treatments, which it would have been good to learn more about.

The book ended with a chapter on workplace psychology, picking up some of the issues usually covered in Management and Leadership books. To some extent this could be viewed as Psychology straying into over-reach again, but it was done well and it became a welcome demystifying of some of the practices of the Business community. It showed that there isn’t a separate set of ‘business skills’ which it is necessary to learn to run a workplace or an organisation. People just need to understand and apply some basic principles of psychology, so that they can organize and motivate people effectively.

Overall this was an easy to read book which avoided unnecessary jargon and complexity, so that it was accessible to readers from any background.

(These are honest comments based on a free ARC version of the text).

Psychology is reportedly one of the most popular subjects that students want to study. Adults too are often fascinated by the idea of learning more about how they “tick.” This title provides a good introduction to many topics.

Some of the areas that are discussed in this title include Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Personality Psychology and Sport Psychology. Other sections cover Neuropsychology, Social Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Health Psychology, Forensic Psychology and Occupational Psychology.

Each chapter includes illustrations, charts, photos and Of course the text. Within these sections is a very good summary of each topic. The book can be read in any order.

Highly recommended for those who want an overview or review on this topic. Remember though, that readers should not try to diagnose their own psychological disorders.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Arcturus Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.