Discovering Biological Psychology

There are many excellent textbooks for biological psychology. When I first saw a preview of Laura Freberg's Discovering Biological Psychology, I did not expect it would replace the text I had used for years, Foundations of Physiological Psychology by Neil R. Carlson (Allyn & Bacon, 2005). I still believe that Carlson's text is excellent in that it is extremely detailed and well-written, but Freberg has written a text that meets a need that many instructors have-a text that covers the appropriate material without leaving out important information and yet is extremely accessible to students. Instructors who teach in extremely selective institutions, where most students have very high SAT scores and strong verbal abilities, may not have felt a need for such a text. However, faculty at institutions, where some of our students are less well prepared, will likely share my need. Over the years I have examined many of the available biological and physiological psychology texts. I found many exciting texts that were unfortunately written beyond the abilities of many of my students. In contrast I find that Freberg's text is accessible to almost any student; and yet it is thorough enough to offer the challenge that well-prepared students need. I use the Freberg text in my 300-level physiological psychology class, the only such class offered at Slippery Rock University. I believe this text would also be appropriate for an introductory-level course, at a 200 level, for instance, at an institution where there are two levels of biological psychology courses taught. Discovering Biological Psychology is comprehensive in that it covers everything that one would wish to cover, without adding a level of detail more appropriate to an upper-level course, and at what I feel is an appropriate depth for institutions that offer a single biological psychology course. Several things make the Freberg text stand out from the many other texts on this topic. The first, as mentioned, is the accessibility of the material. Freberg states (personal communication) that she keeps a quote from Einstein in front of her as she writes, " Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction. " She knows that some faculty members balk at the word accessible, assuming that accessibility means that the material has been diluted. She respectfully disagrees and believes …