Building on the features which have been successful characteristics of the previous editions, this revision will retain the same underlying focus and conceptual structure, but will be modified to reflect changes in the discipline as well as insights based on feedback from students and faculty using the text. The central concept of "Approaches to Psychology" is reflected in the title: that psychology is a complex discipline based on a variety of approaches to understanding human behaviour. The rationale for this structure has been, and remains, that examining the origins and central concepts of the major approaches is an effective way of presenting an introduction to the field."Approaches to Psychology" offers a compact introductory text which presents the content in a readable, understandable way, based on a structure which is both distinguishable from other texts and already 'field-tested'.
The same basic structure will be retained in the new edition. Essentially, this means an initial introductory chapter, chapters devoted to each of the five major approaches, and chapters which provide a comparative analysis of how the approaches can be applied to the same central issues (development, social behaviour, and abnormal behaviour). In addition, there will be a summary chapter, as well as an appendix which examines research methods and statistical analysis.
