Customer Reviews

Cognition

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have used Margaret Matlin's cognitive psychology textbook several times to teach an undergraduate cognition course. The book is reasonably organized and up-to-date. I am satisfied with it as an instructor because it covers the field well, incorporates instructional design features that promote learning, is instructor-friendly, and is readable for undergraduate students.

The text is organized into thirteen chapters that cover the familiar landscape of cognition. I suggest using Amazon's "Search inside this book" link to verify coverage of key topics in the detailed Table of Contents. By the author's report, the 7th edition includes "2,064 references; 806 are new to the seventh edition." I didn't look them all up, of course, but my experience with the text attests to her good judgment in the mix of current and classic studies, both referenced and discussed in the text.

The book's instructional design features are better than average. A large glossary aids study and reinforces consistency in terminology across chapters. The demonstrations throughout the book are well-crafted, allowing students to experiment with new concepts quickly as they read. Placing summaries at the end of each chapter section (rather than only at chapter end) is an excellent idea, encouraging more frequent review of smaller amounts of related material. The remaining end-of-chapter material--review questions, keywords and recommended readings--is standard, but well executed.

Instructor friendly features count with me too, since they make my life easier. Matlin has been largely successful in making each chapter self-contained, allowing the instructor to shuffle the order with minimal pain for students. Her use of primary research sources enables motivated students to dive into the field's research literature for term papers or extra reading, even if their searching skills are not yet well developed. The test bank is helpful addition and is well integrated with the text itself.

Maitlin is both praised and criticized for her writing style, seen as either accessible or excessively chatty. I personally don't enjoy such a chatty style in a professional book. But I still think she gets it right--because I am not her target audience. My students find her style engaging and her personal examples helpful and interesting. They are the audience that matters and I am glad this book connects well with most of them. This, too, makes my job easier.

This text is recommended for use in an undergraduate cognition class.

This book covers most aspects of the subject and is easy to read. I liked the way important phrases, titles etc were emphasized and highlighted in the text, almost like notes.

a little dry and lacking colorful diagrams and graphics, but very informative and thorough. i have referenced this book many times since the class i bought it for has ended... a keeper.

This is your typical text book used in college courses. It is very easy to read and make your own notes on each section. I found that at the end of each section, there was a section summary which is helpful. I used the section summaries to study for exams. Overall, I would recommended this book for Psychology majors or anyone else who was interested in cognition.

I took Dr. Matlin's Cognitive Psychology class last semester at SUNY Geneseo, and we used this book. It is excellent! Its style is very readable but the material is not watered down. The language makes the material very easy to understand. As I read it, I could almost hear her speaking! The examples are very useful in demonstrating the concepts presented. Dr. Matlin details many practical applications of cognitive psychology, such as study strategies, which would be of interest to educators, psychologists, and students alike.

I really enjoyed reading this book for my Cognitive Psychology course. Contrary to most college textbooks, I thought this one was actually thought out ahead of time before it was written. Each chapter flows from one to the next very easily. I thought the writing style was very concise and well written. The author did not go into extended explanation when it was not needed. In most textbooks I end up having to read, I can usually skip a few paragraphs and not miss anything. With Matlin's, you don't have to worry about that. The outline of every chapter allows you to digest the information very easily. I think part of this is due to the nature of Cognition itself.

I due agree with another reader that the chapter on decision making is rather poor. Apparently this is not Matlin's strong points. But never the less I definitely recommend this text to professors and students.

I am currently using this textbook in my undergraduate cognitive psychology class. As part of our weekly assignment we are to complete the chapter review questions towards the end of the book.

After reading through and completing questions in the book, I have felt nothing but frustration towards the book. The chapter summary is helpful, but as you go through the book and read the chapters, there are a lot of things left unexplained. For instance, on a chapter on memory, chunks are discussed as units of memory, and while the measurement of a "chunk" of memory varies, that was never made clear in the text.
I frequently find myself writing questions in the margins of my book that are not answered in the reading.

My mention of the chapter review questions is what spurred me to write this review in the first place.

There are several questions like: "Review the material in the section on memory strategies, identifying how almost every strategy makes use of some form of deep processing. Also explain why deep processing would be important in metacognition."

In that section there are 18 pages and eight memory strategies. We are told to identify "almost every strategy." WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

The next question in the same chapter begins: "Discuss as many of the memory-improvement techniques from this chapter as you can remember. Which techniques focus on strategies, and which focus on metacognition? In each case, tell how you can use each one to remember some information from this chapter for your next examination on cognitive psychology."

To me, this is absolutely frustrating. If you can only remember one, do you only answer one? You are, after all, doing this answer completely from memory. And by doing it from memory, unless the working memory is vividly photographic, how could we answer these questions?

Not only that, but these 10-question reviews take seven or eight pages to complete. It feels like busy work. You know, the kind that the substitute teacher would give you in high school so that you could turn in and work on when your actual teacher was out sick for the day.

When my class was first assigned these questions, the first few classes were filled with complaints about the format that the information was presented and how we were expected to answer. While we are still required to do them, the way that the information is presented and the way we are expected to review is very weak.

I was really excited about taking a cognitive psychology course, but after using this book and having a professor rely heavily on its content, I know that I will either have to retake it in the future or end up learning for myself through other channels.

I really did expect more from this textbook.

The book was exactly what I needed. it was in good condition and the price was right. It was much cheaper than any other place I searched.

I purchased this book for three reasons: (1) I Wanted an updated presentation of working memory since 1997. (2) I wanted a detailed presentation of long term memory. (3) And I wanted an un-biased presentation of connectionism. This 6th edition provided all of that. I was impressed. A great resource. Highly recommended.

Yes, it is an undergrad textbook so don't expect the depth of individual specialized volumes. But it's still valuable for your library.

I like the professional business's way of matter. I'm happy with the service I've received! I think there is no better service than I have received. There are other companies that take a whole lot longer than others, for instance, I ordered a book from Canada 1 week ago and it isn't here yet! School starts Monday!