Cognition (Psychology 108, University of California, Santa Barbara, Custom Edition)

The book is reasonably organized and up-to-date. 1 It incorporates instructional design features that promote learning, is instructor-friendly, and is readable for undergraduate students.The text is organized into thirteen chapters that cover the familiar landscape of cognition. I suggest using Amazon's "Search inside this book" link to verify coverage of key topics in the detailed Table of Contents. By the author's report, the 7th edition includes "2,064 references; 806 are new to the seventh edition." The book's instructional design features are better than average. A large glossary aids study and reinforces consistency in terminology across chapters. The demonstrations throughout the book are well-crafted, allowing students to experiment with new concepts quickly as they read. Placing summaries at the end of each chapter section (rather than only at chapter end) is an excellent idea, encouraging more frequent review of smaller amounts of related material. The remaining end-of-chapter material--review questions, keywords and recommended readings--is standard, but well executed.Instructor friendly features count with me too, since they make my life easier. Matlin has been largely successful in making each chapter self-contained, allowing the instructor to shuffle the order with minimal pain for students. Her use of primary research sources enables motivated students to dive into the field's research literature for term papers or extra reading, even if their searching skills are not yet well developed. The test bank is helpful addition and is well integrated with the text itself.Maitlin is both praised and criticized for her writing style, seen as either accessible or chatty. Her style is engaging and her'personal examples helpful and interesting. This text is recommended for use in an undergraduate cognition class.