APA DICTIONARY OF PSYCHOLOGY

A landmark dictionary of psychology that is at once erudite and accessible.

Psychology is a restless discipline with an increasing subtlety of terminology, reflecting the science’s evolving insights into the human condition. If you need the definition for Lasthenie de Ferjol syndrome, the Poetzl phenomenon, neoassociationist theory, butyrylcholinesterase, or thousands of other psychological terms, look no further. This is a magisterial reference work, with over 25,000 terms described in language that both practitioners and the general public will appreciate for its clarity. The editors offer consise explanations of concepts, processes and therapies in behavioral psychology, social and cognitive psychology, the neurosciences, sexual disorders and psychopharmacology. They introduce new terms, as well as alternative terms and foreign equivalents. Though they comprise but a scant dozen pages at the end of the volume, the appendices–which cover institutions and organizations in the field, a battery of psychological tests and assessment instruments and a listing of psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic approaches–make the work that much more informative. As in any first-class dictionary, readers will be alerted to irregular forms, sense numbers, cross references, hidden entries, synonyms, etymologies and derived words. Despite its bulk, the dictionary is user-friendly, with a handsome typographic layout, fonts that are easy on the eye and an acceptable amount of white space around the entries. The editors admit that it was "an awesome task to incorporate as many perspectives in as consistent a form and style as possible." They met that task with elegance and aplomb.

In a science that has not been known for its clarity of terms, this lexicon is not only welcome, but invaluable.