Biological Psychology [Hardcover]

James W. Kalat (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0495603007 | ISBN-13: 978-0495603009 | Publication Date: December 16, 2008 | Edition: 10

Dr. James W. Kalat's BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY is the best selling text in the market for good reasons--an extremely high level of scholarship, clear and occasionally humorous writing style, and precise examples. An extremely skilled teacher, Dr. Kalat has written a text that speaks to today's students as well as to professors. Throughout all ten editions, the goal has been to make biological psychology accessible to psychology students, not just to biology majors and pre-meds. The goal has also been to convey the excitement of the search for biological explanations of behavior. Kalat believes that biological psychology is "the most interesting topic in the world," and this text convinces many students. Accuracy, currency and a clear presentation style have always been the hallmarks of this text, and this Tenth Edition and its supplement package take these qualities to the next level. Sold separately and available for the first time, a media-rich, highly interactive online eBook integrates the text; a companion CD-ROM, Exploring Biological Psychology; Try It Yourself activities; Stop & Check quizzes; and new animations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 549 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 10 edition (December 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0495603007
• ISBN-13: 978-0495603009
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Internal Medicine

More About the Author

Dr. James W. Kalat received his B.A. degree from Duke University, Summa Cum Laude, and then continued his education at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving his Ph.D. in psychology under the supervision of Paul Rozin. Currently, Dr. Kalat is at North Carolina State University where he is a professor of psychology, teaching both introductory psychology and biological psychology. Besides having authored the best selling biological psychology text, Dr. Kalat is the author of INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY, 8th Edition (Wadsworth, 2008) and has published articles on a variety of diverse topics such as taste aversion learning and on the teaching of introductory psychology. With Michelle Shiota, Kalat is co-author of EMOTION (Wadsworth, 2007). A talented and frequently requested speaker, Kalat receives rave reviews wherever he presents, including the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology and the Texas Community College Teachers Association.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Description of Improvements to 10th Edition are Vague, May 11, 2009

By 

Larry Kaplan "Larry Kaplan" (PLYMOUTH, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Biological Psychology (Hardcover)

This comment is addressed to the publisher, Wadsworth, and NOT to the most excellent Dr. Kalat.

I would very much like to buy this textbook. However, the description of the 10th edition does not make clear how the book was improved from the 9th edition, that I already own.

In addition, when I looked inside the 10th edition electronically, the sample of the first chapter seemed to have changed hardly at all (except the formatting is nicer with the new edition). This did not inspire my confidence in the publisher, especially because the book is so expensive!

As a result, I would strongly suggest that the publisher allow potential buyers to find out what has changed between editions. This would allow a consumer to learn whether the book has actually been made more current. Otherwise, for me, there is little incentive to buy.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hands down, the best biological psychology text available, May 22, 2009

By 

Lucy Cat "Mandy" (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Biological Psychology (Hardcover)

WOW! This is an incredibly illustrated and beautifully laid out book. The information is fantastic. It is suitable for undergraduate level or early graduate level biological psychology--- its not so detailed that it becomes dry and boring, yet, not too simple that it does the same. Its extremely easy to learn from and very up to date. The author, Dr. Kalat, blends in a bit of humor and the most interesting current topics in neuroscience. I highly recommend this text for your course or for an interested enthusiast. You will not be disappointed!

Updates for this edition: The text layout has been revised, new studies on break-through topics (such as plasticity) have been included, graphics and artwork has been enhanced. Overall, the improvements over the previous edition are not absolutely essential. If you find the previous edition for a bargain, don't pass it up.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The material is there; the presentation could be better, December 6, 2010

By 

J. Reed (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Biological Psychology (Hardcover)

I'm sure a lot of the blame lies with the publisher, but this book tries way too hard to be "hip". It has a lot of "Go try this online!" links in the text (some of which were not reviewed very carefully). If that's your thing, then maybe this book will appeal to you, but I found it distracting and childish. It seemed like it was written for a high-school age crowd, despite being a topic more often covered in college or grad school. There were a lot of illustrations, which were very helpful, and the summaries of each chapter are a big help when studying for exams. They also do a good job of highlighting the key terms in the text.

Unless you're really in to the online thing, or unless your prof requires it, I wouldn't shell out for the "WebTutor" key code. The online quizzes and powerpoint presentations are full of typos and errors.