The Psychology of Women (with InfoTrac Printed Access Card) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Matlin's text no longer allows for information about women of color to be placed in a side box to possibly be discussed if the instructor chooses to find the topic important. She has keenly integrated cross-cultural research and clearly discusses the importance of women of color throughout her text.... Thank you Dr. Matlin for no longer allowing women of color to continually go invisible in most psychology textbooks and thank you for giving women of color a place and a voice in your book!!!"

"In general, the writing style is terrific. The author comes across as a person!!! The occasional insertion of comments about her own students reveals a genuine ability to listen to and learn from her students. I don't see how students can fail to respond positively to this technique. I find the level of writing to be a good one for my students in general (not too hard, not too easy, and pleasantly 'engaging')."

"One of the most wonderful features of this book is the inclusion of many demonstrations and exercises. They can be done in class in some cases, and can be done outside class in other cases. They require little preparation and can be done by anyone, regardless of how few resources or equipment a school has in hand. They are thoughtful and instructive. I love them!"

"The author has a very engaging style. The use of the first person, the use of diverse voices of women in paragraphs, and the author's use of humor and gentle satire are all very effective."

"Matlin's PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN, Fifth Edition would make an excellent choice as an adopted textbook. It is well organized, clearly written, and readily accessible in its presentation of the theoretical positions and current research in the field. The coverage is comprehensive and cross-cultural, the many vignettes, demonstrations, figures and tables are particular strengths." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

This highly respected, best-selling text offers students an enjoyable, extraordinarily well-written introduction to the Psychology of Women. Appropriate for students from a wide variety of backgrounds, this comprehensive book captures womens' own experiences through direct quotations and an emphasis on empirical research. Known for its balance of scholarship, readability, and inclusion of various kinds of women, Margaret Matlin continues to lead the way for the Psychology of Women course. Meticulously updated to reflect the most current research, PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN was written with a genuine interest in and understanding of the students for whom the book is written. Her text includes a chapter on old age as well as discussions of topics such as welfare issues, and pregnancy and women's retirement, which are central in many women's lives, but not consistently covered in other texts.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 6 edition (March 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0495091545
• ISBN-13: 978-0495091547
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #224,404 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars feminist propaganda, September 20, 2009

By	Undergrad_guy (Rockville, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Psychology of Women (Paperback)

This book is not what it says it is. "The Sociology of Women" would be more fitting. "An Introduction to Feminism" would be close to apt.

Dr. Matlin is a familiar breed -- the "I know I'm right so I'll tell others anything in order to get them to believe what I already know to be true" breed.

For instance, there is a page with a drawing of a man and a woman, and Matlin encourages you to show the drawings to a child and ask questions like which one of these people is meek and mild and which one is confident. The problem is, the man is drawn with a confident cowboy body posture and the woman with an unsteady hands-behind-the-back meek stance. The book, of course, implies that the child's response would be solely based on culturally impressed gender stereotypes.

When the book does get around to non-feminist thought, it makes no effort to give the guys a fair shake. Rather than mention any of the perfectly reasonable items on the men's movement agenda (e.g. men shouldn't have to pay more for car insurance or be denied a loan based on gender or be forced to pay child support for a child that isn't their's) Matlin quickly glosses over the idea of the men's movement and portrays it as denying the seriousness of wife-beating.

I'm sure there are many more examples and I'm sure there are much more flagrant examples. I'm not going to find them though, because the five-minute scan that revealed everything you see above was enough to convince me not to take the "Psychology of Women" class at my school.

3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars extremely biased, March 17, 2008

By	M. Slusarz "psych student" (Agoura Hills, CA, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is very clearly written by a radical feminist. She presents her opinions as facts and frequently contradicts herself. This book's title is misleading because it is predominantly a book on gender bias and sexism. Moreover, it suppresses all biological perspectives on women's behavior. I am reading this book for an undergraduate psychology class and often find it appalling and one-sided.