Customer Reviews

Domjan and Burkhard's the Principles of Learning and Behavior

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Let me start by saying I have used this text as required reading for several classes in Theories of Learning. I feel it is an excellent presentation of the basic concepts and groundwork needed to understand more complex theories and/or higher forms of learning. The physiological tie-ins are not central to the book, and if skipped it would not be detrimental to a complete understanding of the learning theory. My understanding is that this is the reason they are presented in boxed sidebars and not incorporated into the body of the text.
Admittedly the reading can be dense, and difficult to get through, but I feel this is because the subject matter is dense and complicated. One thing I have found with basic learning theory is that it is much like formal logic, with a cursory examination, many people feel it is straightforward and simple. But once one begins to deal with the `meat' of the subject, and attempts to understand the implications, exceptions, strengths and weaknesses of the topic, then the feeling of simplicity quickly disappears. It is at this point that one will find people either love the topic and want to know more, or they are put off and either blame their dislike for the topic on the presentation or the material itself. In case it is not obvious, I am one of the former types, and continue to enjoy the broader implications of learning theory, the rigor of the arguments involved and the breadth of explanatory power I see in this filed.
This leads me to one final point. I feel the author does an excellent job of relating the basic principals he discusses to real life examples. In particular the chapter on language provides an excellent source for class discussion, informed debate and application of the theoretical mechanisms presented in the first half of the book.

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.

This is a book about learning. Psychology is not an easy subject, but the author does a good job. The concepts are a little hard to grasp but the author does a great job with a difficult subject.

This book which I read from top to bottom was very very strong. You have to have a strong sense of psychology and what it is about to understand it. It was for a Lab Psychology course for 6 credits when I had to use this book. It has so much information that will be useful to you in the future. Sit quietly and absorb all that you can chapter by chapter because there is much to read.. In experimental lab courses this book can be very beneficial to you..

The previous review "Lacks depth and application" said it all. I needed to use this textbook because of the psychology class I took in college. First off, I'd like to let you know that I like psychology and I'm good at it(4.0 GPA at psych major until I took this course and used this book), so it's not like I'm those people who barely study and complain a lot. Anyways, the book is really bad at explaining concepts, especially what the experiments or data results show. The book is really depressing and boring itself because of the lack of relevant pictures. It only has one or two pictures per 10 pages so sometimes i felt as I'm reading off some texts i printed off from the internet. Also, almost all the pictures in this book are black and white pictures of the experimenters, so the pictures don't really tell you anything about subject matter. I honestly don't think pictures matter a lot but I would say this book definitely doesn't deserve this price. Also, 1/3 of the textbook are some worksheets that are pretty much useless. So my advice to people who want to read this book for fun/enrichment: DON'T; my advice to people who need to buy this book for class: buy a used one because I'm sure you won't want to keep the book afterwards.

I used this text for a Learning Psychology course, so the text was quite relevant. Although I only have read about 1/2 to 3/4 of the book, I can attest that the information is useful as a supplement to a class of this nature. Descriptions of experiments are typically thorough, though too often excessive.

As one reviewer noted, the clinical psych focus of the text hardly seems to match the content of the book. It's a bit difficult to describe, but the focus of so many studies cited by Domjan are experimental tests with animals. However, the clinical/drug tests get a disproportionate section in all chapters where their mention is appropriate. To the contrary of the same reviewer, I enjoyed the pictures of researchers mentioned in the text. For anyone interested in the people behind the theory (and that's most of this book's content), seeing the faces behind the research is interesting.

It is also true that the book is too long. Each chapter weighs in at about 50 pages, when 30-35 could have done the job convincingly.

About 2/3 through the book, the jargon will catch up with even the most dedicated reader. It's tough to make it through the final three or four chapters. Where a helping hand was offered at the beginning of Domjan's text, the second half of the book sort of forgets you're in for the ride.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the science behind learning theory. This text does an excellent job of explaining how experiments work and why they show the results purported by their designers.

Four stars is a bit generous for the readability of this book, but superior content pulls the book up.

This book is only for those who already have a strong background in biology and psychology. However, if you are new to the subject, then this book is not for you. Students who are taking this subject as an elective will have a hard time with the research style presentation of topics. I'd much rather buy a book that explains topics as clear and concise as possible rather than have a play on words.

This book was not written in the clearest fashion. He could have done a much better job and given more examples to make the concepts more concrete.

Shipped pretty fast but did not arrive in time for my needs (no fault of seller). Easy to return to seller but did charge a 20% restocking fee + shipping.

I needed this book for school, it was very costly in the school book store however, I received it at over half the price from amazon, thanks Amazon for the wonderful prices.