Product Description

Sternberg's text balances accessible writing, practical applications, and research scholarship, interweaving biology throughout the text. Utilizing the theme that human cognition has evolved over time as a means of adapting to our environment, Sternberg explores the basics of cognitive psychology through its coverage of cognitive neuroscience, attention and consciousness, perception, memory, knowledge representation, language, problem solving and creativity, decision making and reasoning, cognitive development, and intelligence. Sternberg provides the most comprehensive coverage of any cognitive psychology text available; a "from lab to life" approach covering theory, lab and field research, and applications to everyday life (like driving while talking on a cell phone and airport security).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #322658 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 624 pages

About the Author
Robert J. Sternberg is IBM Professor of Psychology and Education in the Department of Psychology at Yale University. Dr. Sternberg received his B.A. from Yale and his Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford University. He has received numerous awards including the James McKeen Cattell Award from the American Psychological Society; the Early Career and McCandless Awards from the APA; and the Outstanding Book, Research Review, Sylvia Scribner and Palmer O. Johnson Awards from the AERA. Last year, Dr. Sternberg served as President of APA. In addition, he has been editor of the "Psychological Bulletin" and the "APA Review of Books: Contemporary Psychology" and is a member of the Society of Experimental Psychologists. He is currently the director of the Center for the Psychology of Abilities, Competencies, and Expertise at Yale University.

Customer Reviews

Too many errors for a fourth edition.
Basically there are an unacceptable amount of erratum and misspellings in this fourth edition, so much so that I feel compelled to write my first review on Amazon. These mistakes could be overlooked I suppose, but the bigger problem is that the writing does not flow and much of the material is not explained well, specifically the different theories of attention. Granted, I've only just finished reading the third chapter, but if the rest of the text is like the first three chapters, I am in for some suffering.

Poorly written for a college level textbook
I don't know if earlier editions are better, but this one (4th) is definitely poor quality. The writing is absolutely terrible in some places--short, choppy sentences that often don't connect to the rest of the paragraph--and gives the feeling of having been cut-and-pasted. The style feels almost amateurish and is very distracting, making it hard to actually learn the subject being presented. Not at all a good choice as the main textbook for a class.

Descriptions were confusing.
I am a graduate in psychology and have read many psychology books in my student career. This book was poorly written and the organization was horrible. When Sternberg would be describing a study, often his descriptions were confusing and unorganized. If a professor was thinking about using this book for his or her class, I would strongly suggest otherwise. There are other books that are better. For example, Ronald T. Kellogg's book Cognitive Psychology would be more helpful and the descriptions are better worded.