The Principles of Psychology by Shona Saul

 The Principles of Psychology by Shona Saul is an introductory book into the topic of psychology covering a range of basic foundational areas of the discipline such as social psychology, Memory, approaches in psychology and Biopsychology. Furthermore, the book also looks at some specialist areas in Psychology, such as sports psychology, occupational psychology and forensic psychology, to name just a few.

I really liked this book because it is an interesting read for both those with experience in the subject as well as those with an interest in the topic but no in-depth experience. All the different topics are briefly explained in some detail to give the reader a very basic idea of that area in psychology. It was also useful in the book to have a list of suggested further reading, which could signpost the reader to relevant literature for a more in-depth knowledge of a given area of psychology.

One of the main weaknesses is also one of the strengths; this is the basic nature of the book. I understand this is only an introductory text for the layperson on psychology, but in some areas, the book lacked significant key details about a given area, including some key research. I could go even further to say that the writer avoids the use of specialist terminology in some cases, which, although may make the text more accessible to the reader, some of these specialist terms are not difficult for the layperson to understand. It definitely would have been nice to see more research to illustrate the psychological concepts highlighted in this book.

Altogether, I rate this book 3 stars as it was a good introductory book into the amazing topic of psychology, giving the reader a good basic understanding to the subject. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in psychology as well as those who may be studying psychology at a basic level, such as GCSE or A-Level students. This could also be a good book for those looking at studying psychology at University to give an idea of the variety of areas of this subject. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Arcturus Publishing for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book in return for an honest book review.