Principles of Learning and Behavior

I don't like to right "bad" reviews but my classmates and I are so frustrated I felt it was necessary. To begin, this book contains about the content of a semester of lecture notes. Often, the author will make a declarative statement then fail to explain (e.g., "X is/does y") or provide examples. The examples provided are often poor analogues or are too vague to clarify. The 4 or 5 questions at the end of each chapter require little or no synthesis of information (e.g., "how does theory x differ from theory y?" when 5 pages prior there is a section titled "how theory x differs from theory y"--which of course lacks content or "explain this definition" when the definition is listed on the same page). Because this is a college textbook, these questions should be meant to help students see the "bigger picture" and pull information together from the chapter not merely test rote memory. The author did a poor job applying the information to fields other than clinical psychology, when applications to cognitive, social and developmental were (often) obvious. Given the current direction of psychology, the author should have discussed potential neural mechanisms of many of the theories but these were rarely even mentioned. If you are a graduate student, you will be frustrated and occasionally confused by the lack of content. If you are an undergrad you will be confused and overwhelmed. The book reads like a term paper with a page limit--lots of filler, little content (e.g., the author includes pictures--approx. 1 on every page--of more prominent researchers, which has no purpose other than to fill space). The graphs/figures are poorly presented or simply aren't presented at all. I really don't know what the heck happened to those 400 pages. If you are an instructor, don't use this book. If you are a student, buy something better to supplement your readings. I should add that these are the conclusions that my entire class had after reading the first chapter.