Suggested Reading for Preparation for BSc Psychology

We do not indicate any specific reading which you are required to do before you begin your studies. We also suggest that you do not purchase any specific textbooks prior to starting with us. There are two main reasons for this; firstly if a number of lecturers are planning to use textbooks from the same publisher we often work with the publishers to produce a package deal which will save you money; secondly as books are published across the year and some new teaching begins after Christmas, lecturers teaching later in the year may review and change which textbook best fits their area. There is however much material out there which can help you to get back into the studying mode especially if you have had a busy or relaxing time since studying A levels, and we encourage you to explore areas which interest you before you arrive at UEA. Some areas of psychology such as evolutionary psychology and neuroscience are generating popular science titles which are well worth reading. There are also many classic books which relate to areas which underpin the public imagination about psychology. If you are in the bookshop or searching online for any books mentioned below you will see that there are many other similar popular psychology paperbacks which would be equally appropriate to get you thinking. Of course there is also a huge amount of material on the web and we have suggested a few places to get you started here. We suggest you spend some time reading around an area which you find fascinating or what to know more about. The list below is a guide to the sort of material you may like to read as a preparation for developing your knowledge about psychology as a science and nurturing your interest in understanding people.

Websites to explore
1. BPS Research Digest BlogSpot The Research Digest offers the latest hot off the press psychological research through a blog and RSS feed. You can also subscribe free to its fortnightly email alert. There is also an archives section and you can follow the Research Digest on Twitter and Facebook. 2. Psychology Today Psychology Today is a US based magazine, it is easy to read and aimed at a lay audience but its focus on well-being and everyday psychological issues will help you link research to the real world. 3. BBC Science & Nature: The Mind The BBCs Science & Nature website contains a psychological area which explores the mind, personality and thinking, and has informative interactive elements to explore. 4. Classics in the History of Psychology

A great site for searching work by the founding fathers and mothers of psychology. You have to know roughly what you are looking for to be able to use the search, but there is lots of classic material here.

Classic and well known pieces

Books by some psychologists such as Freud are widely available and very interesting to read. Many are fairly cheap or free in versions for e-readers. For example Freuds General Introduction to Psychoanalysis is freely available for kindles.

Popular Science
There are many popular science books in the psychology field such as Steven Pinker, The Blank Slate Tim Spector Identically Different: Why You Can Change Your Genes

David Eagleman Incognito: The Secret Lives of The Brain

There are also other popular psychology books which have become classics in the field such as Oliver Sacks The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. Richard J. Herrnstein & Charles Murray Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life Stephen Jay Gould The Mismeasure of Man. There are many lists out there which can help you locate areas which will ignite your interest, for example., Best Cognitive Science Books on goodreads.com is a pretty good list.

Others to search for include:

Allan Pease, Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps: How We're Different and What to Do About It Barry Schwartz, The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less Carol Tavris, Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts David Buss, Evolutionary psychology: the new science of the mind. John Colapinto, As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl Lauren Slater, Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century Lone Frank, Mindfield: How Brain Science is Changing Our World. Malcolm Gladwell, Blink; The Tipping Point
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Matt Ridley, Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science Paul Broks, Into the Silent Land: Travels in Neuropsychology Robert Wright, The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology Russ Rymer, Genie: A Scientific Tragedy Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side of Everything Steven Pinker, How the Mind Works; The Stuff of Thought Sue Gerhardt, Why Love Matters: How Affection Shapes a Baby's Brain V.S. Ramachandran, Phantoms in the Brain: Human Nature and the Architecture of the Mind Scott O. Lilienfeld and others, 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions About Human Behavior. Richard Wiseman Quirkology: The Curious Science Of Everyday Lives. Sergio Pellis and Vivien Pellis The Playful Brain: Venturing to the Limits of Neuroscience.