Elementary Psychology

Although a number of textbooks on psychology are available, in Elementary Psychology the author has presented the subject in such a way that the student is able to understand the basic facts and theories in the background of real-life situations. Well before a new term or concept is introduced, the reader is prepared in advance to understand and accept it. An attempt is made in the present work to bring the topic of learning much closer to the readers’ life and endeavours and to integrate it with his day-to-day experiences of the world around him. In this treatment of motivation and personality, the author has drawn liberally upon his knowledge of psycho-pathology and the facts of social behaviour without which an understanding of the underlying dynamics of behaviour is not possible. An additional special feature of the book is a chapter on intelligence and aptitudes which prepares the student for a full-dress discourse on techniques of test construction at a later stage in his study of the subject. It also explains the elementary statistical concepts, not in a vacuum, but in the concrete context of intelligence tests so that the value of statistics in psychology is fully appreciated. Since the book assumes no previous knowledge, it is hoped it will be found useful also by a layman interested in the subject. Frequent references to familiar events and situations will enliven his interest and lend him some insight into the currents of human behaviour.