Foundations of Psychological Thought

A History of Psychology

"Students who work with this book will emerge with an education in the best sense. They will interact on paper with the greatest thinkers on or in psychology. That does not happen often enough."
—James H. Korn, Saint Louis University

"A wonderful resource collection of 'original source material.' I appreciate the cluster of readings by topic as well as the date."
—James Uchtenberg, University of Kansas

Through carefully selected and extensively annotated original sources, Foundations of Psychological Thought: A History of Psychology deals with some of the most important issues and ideas in the history of psychological thought. Defining questions such as "How do we distinguish between normal and abnormal behavior?" and "How much of our behavior is biologically determined?" are posed throughout the book.

By providing context, background, and interpretation, the editors make the material more accessible to contemporary students. The editors' annotations, found throughout the readings, provide straightforward information about the original text–definitions, translations, underlying assumptions, important contexts, and related ideas. While the readings stretch back as far as the seventeenth century, there are also articles from the past thirty years, showing the evolution of ideas and emphasizing that these topics are still very much with us.

Key Features

• Provides meaningfully organized material: Each section of the reader addresses a fundamental question in the field of psychology.
• Helps students comprehend original sources: Introductions and extensive annotations encapsulate main ideas, provide important context, highlight significant psychological and historical points, and draw connections among sections and readings.
• Pedagogical advantages: Elements such as introductions, annotations, suggestions for further readings, discussion questions, and line numbering make it easy for instructors and students to use this book.

Intended Audience
Foundations of Psychological Thought is an ideal primary or supplemental text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in the History of Psychology and for honors-level Introductory Psychology or Capstone courses in departments of psychology.

"Through carefully selected and extensively annotated original sources, Foundations of Psychological Thought deals with some of the most important issues and ideas in the history of psychological thought."
—Savannah Jones, SirReadaLot.org

"It's clear that the authors are very familiar with their sources, and have really thought about which words, phrases, and implicit assumptions might prove troublesome for student readers."
—Roger J. Kreuz, University of Memphis