Customer Reviews

Psychology Today

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

If you enjoy magazines like People, that offer you a glimpse of the latest gossip or the newest thingamajig, then click the order button for Psychology Today.

As someone who was taking Psych courses as an undergraduate I bought a three-year subscription to PT. As I continued my studies, I began to just toss the magazine away as it would arrive. There is no real substance here for my interest.

The magazine offers great topics but just didn't seem to follow through. Most of the time I was able to guess what the overall article would be like after reading the title. New information was rarely offered that wasn't 'common knowledge'.

If you are looking for the quality of an APA journal, this is not one. But if you love the field of psychology as I do, it's a fun and relevant periodical. Kind of a Enquirer of Psychology. I find it a fun read when I'm relaxing, but be careful of their interpretation of research. You know how that can go. It's also got a flavor of Maxim or Cosmo type topics. Sex, relationships, dating, what do men/women like as well as diet/nutrition. Overall recommended.

I'm a long-time reader of PT--I just read Aaron Knoll's review. I must agree in many respects. Since Daniel Goleman left the editorship of PT, it seems to me to have slid continually away from sound, scientific (insofar as the Art of Psychology can go), in the direction of the trendy, dare I say, Aquarian approach to life. There isn't really a substitute for the magazine, so I'd certainly like to see it become a little less like Soap Opera Digest. (I'm about to renew my subsceiption though!)

I'm not a psychology student, and at this time, I don't plan on becoming one. For now, I'm a 25-year-old with a history of depression and OCD and I consider myself a bit of an autodidact. I have taken a few psychology classes in the past and I've also been known to read psych textbooks for "fun".

Psychology Today is certainly not a textbook and it's definitely made to appeal to Average Joe, which I think it does wonderfully. The articles are informative and interesting, but not too in depth. For me, it's a good way to find out about new ideas and then go and look up more information if I so desire.

If you're looking for a textbook, visit your local collegiate bookstore. If you're looking for an easy-reading source for good information to serve as a stepping stone to further studies, Psychology Today is a great place to start.

Psychology Today is truly a magazine for persons who want some information about psychology without going to school and studying psychology. Therefore, there are going to be two mindsets about this magazine: The psychology students and professionals will think this too fluffy and stuffed with ads; and the everyday man on the street will say, "Wow! That was a pretty good article. I learned something."

My own experience is similar to the gentleman who purchased a three year subscription to Psychology Today and then wound up tossing it away more and more as his formal studies gave him an in depth education of psychology and how it is used. I loved this magazine when I was a teenager planning to work with people to help them solve their problems. However, these days as someone who has a master's in social work I would probably not get much out of the magazine.

The ads are certainly numerous and you get the feeling that Psychology Today wedges in just enough articles to keep subscribers interested while selling ad space to make big bucks. That's a shame.

Overall, this magazine is best suited for the everyday man on the street who has not studied psychology and who does not plan on studying psychology. These people will get a lot more out of their subscriptions to this magazine. I recommend this for the layman while students of psychology at the college or postgraduate level would do well to skip this one.

Three stars.

This magazine gives the study of psychology a bad rap. The articles are usually ungrounded in any serious research rather it is on the level of Cosmo meets new age spirituality. Read Redbook & People magazine for the same info and they have better pictures and gossip.

Before buying a subscription to this magazine I would suggest reading through an issue first, just so you are aware of what you'll be getting. No, it's not anything particularly challenging or mind-provoking, and the articles aren't scholarly or journal-worthy. But.. the articles make the subject accessible to the average reader, and do include insights into human behaviors and relationships that are fun and interesting. I am always engaged reading the articles, and find them topical and very current, unlike some psychology magazines which are too `deep' and drenched in older principles. This is a very `hip' psychology magazine and would be appreciated by those who are not necessarily scholars in the subject but who have a genuine interest in learning more. My favorite part is looking through the recommended books section, because there is usually something worthwhile to read.

If you're looking for something deeper then go out and buy a text book. This is a MAGAZINE. It is meant to have many articles on many subjects, so it can't get too deeply into a single subject. It doesn't have the space. Honestly, I can't understand people who expect much depth from so few pages. Where is the logic??? Anyway, the magazine is great. If you're a naturally deep, intuitive type of person then you can use the interesting articles to make your own connections and go a lot deeper.

I had a subscription to this as a teenager and loved it. In the dark ages before the internet, I anticipated its arrival every month with enthusiasm and hungrily devoured each new issue. I'd have to credit Psychology Today with giving me a reasonably solid foundation for understanding human nature, something that I too often take for granted in adulthood.

Recently, feeling nostalgic while browsing my local library, I picked up the latest issue. Obvious fluff, every bit of it! Common sense with bright pictures! What had happened to the quality of the magazine I'd once loved?

Nothing had happened at all, I realized. I just grew up. At some point, common sense does indeed become common--if you learn it in the first place. This was a great magazine for me as a teen, but not at all interesting as an adult.

But then, I outgrew Sesame Street Magazine even earlier. Maybe I'll show PT to my own teenage children. I suspect they might love it as much as I did!

This magazine certainly excells in making big money on its advertisements. Inbetween those are some cute type articles that have near zero value to anyone versed in psychology, or even those who aren't. Rather than printing, "Why cant I get a date?" or "Why my husband is a lazy bum" articles, they should try printing something of use, something that could actually prove useful to people interetsed in psychology.