Psychology of Learning and Behavior, Fifth Edition [Hardcover]

Steven J. Robbins (Author), Barry Schwartz (Author), Edward A. Wasserman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393975916 | ISBN-13: 978-0393975918 | Publication Date: September 2001 | Edition: Fifth Edition

Now in its Fifth Edition, Psychology of Learning and Behavior is one of the most highly regarded texts in its field.

Barry Schwartz, Steven Robbins, and new coauthor Edward Wasserman offer students an engaging introduction to the basic principles of Pavlovian conditioning, operant conditioning, and comparative cognition. The text’s critical approach exposes students to the unresolved problems and controversies surrounding behavior theory and encourages them to interpret the material and make connections between theories and real-life situations. With several hundred new references, a new emphasis on comparative cognition, and expanded treatment of neuroscience and the neural basis of learning, the Fifth Edition sets the standard in its coverage of contemporary theory and research.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steven J. Robbins is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Arcadia University. Robbins has taught everything from psychology of learning, methods, and statistics to general psychology and physiological psychology. He has published numerous journal articles and chapters on animal learning and on behavioral mechanisms involved in human drug addiction.


Barry Schwartz is Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action in the psychology department at Swarthmore College. Schwartz has published widely in scholarly journals in the field of learning and motivation. In addition, he is the author of Behaviorism, Science, and Human Nature (with Hugh Lacey), The Battle for Human Nature, and The Costs of Living.


Edward A. Wasserman is Stuit Professor of Experimental Psychology at the University Iowa. Wasserman’s research centers on learning, memory, and cognition in both humans and animals. He recently served as a Visiting Researcher at the Center for Research in Cognitive Neurosciences, Marseille, France.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Fifth Edition edition (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393975916
• ISBN-13: 978-0393975918
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #257,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The most uninspiring text-book I've personally experienced as a student, April 8, 2008

By 

Sky (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Psychology of Learning and Behavior, Fifth Edition (Hardcover)

After reading this textbook one might decide hang him/herself out of sheer despair to ever be able to follow the logic of the conclusions and assumptions presented by the authors. Nevermind mistakes, lack of explanations of seemingly incosistent statements (perceived, perhaps, but that says enough about the clarity of the writing), ostensible deficit of insight and dull presentation... Thankfully, my professor did a much better job during the lectures and hopefully managed to salvage some credibility of the field and preserve students' interest in behavioral theories.

I am not sure if there are alternatives to this textbook out there, but they are definitely needed. Considering the quality of my other textbooks on various academic subject including psychology, this was a very unpleasant surprise... quite inhibitive, CS+.