The first edition of Psychology has been used by thousands of faculty and hundreds of thousands of students since its publication in 2015. OpenStax mined our adopters’ extensive and helpful feedback to identify the most significant revision needs while maintaining the organization that many instructors had incorporated into their courses. Specific surveys, pre-revision reviews, and customization analysis, as well as analytical data from OpenStax partners and online learning environments, all aided in planning the revision.

The result is a book that thoroughly treats psychology’s foundational concepts while adding current and meaningful coverage in specific areas. Psychology 2e retains its manageable scope and contains ample features to draw learners into the discipline.  Structurally, the textbook remains similar to the first edition, with no chapter reorganization and very targeted changes at the section level.

Content revisions for clarity, accuracy, and currency

The revision plan varied by chapter based on need. Some chapters were significantly updated for conceptual coverage, research-informed data, and clearer language. In other chapters, the revisions focused mostly on currency of examples and updates to statistics.

Over 210 new research references have been added or updated in order to improve the scholarly underpinnings of the material and broaden the perspective for students. Dozens of examples and feature boxes have been changed or added to better explain concepts and/or increase relevance for students.

Research replication and validity

To engage students in stronger critical analysis and inform them about research reproducibility, substantial coverage has been added to the research chapter and strategically throughout the textbook whenever key studies are discussed. This material is presented in a balanced way and provides instructors with ample opportunity to discuss the importance of replication in a manner that best suits their course.

Diversity, representation, and inclusion

With the help of researchers and teachers who focus on diversity- and identity-related issues, OpenStax has engaged in detailed diversity reviews to identify opportunities to improve the textbook. Reviewers were asked to follow a framework to evaluate the book’s terminology, research citations, key contributors to the field, photos and illustrations, and related aspects, commenting on the representation and consideration of diverse groups. Significant additions and revisions were made in this regard, and the review framework itself is available among the OpenStax Psychology 2e instructor resources.

Accessibility improvements

As with all OpenStax books, the first edition of Psychology was created with a focus on accessibility. We have emphasized and improved that approach in the second edition. Our goal is to ensure that all OpenStax websites and the web view versions of our learning materials follow accessible web design best practices, so that they will meet the W3C-WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 at Level AA and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The WCAG 2.0 guidelines explain ways to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities and more user-friendly for everyone.

• To accommodate users of specific assistive technologies, all alternative text was reviewed and revised for comprehensiveness and clarity.
• All illustrations were revised to improve the color contrast, which is important for some visually impaired students.
• Overall, the OpenStax platform has been continually upgraded to improve accessibility.

To learn more about our commitment and progress, please view our accessibility statement.

Pedagogical foundation

Psychology 2e engages students through inquiry, self-reflection, and investigation. Features in the second edition have been carefully updated to remain topical and relevant while deepening students’ relationship to the material. They include the following:

• Everyday Connection features tie psychological topics to everyday issues and behaviors that students encounter in their lives and the world. Topics include the validity of scores on college entrance exams, the opioid crisis, the impact of social status on stress and healthcare, and cognitive mapping.
• What Do You Think? features provide research-based information and ask students their views on controversial issues. Topics include “Brain Dead and on Life Support,” “Violent Media and Aggression,” and “Capital Punishment and Criminals with Intellectual Disabilities.”
• Dig Deeper features discuss one specific aspect of a topic in greater depth so students can dig more deeply into the concept. Examples include discussions on the distinction between evolutionary psychology and behavioral genetics, recent findings on neuroplasticity, the field of forensic psychology, and a presentation of research on strategies for coping with prejudice and discrimination.
• Connect the Concepts features revisit a concept learned in another chapter, expanding upon it within a different context. Features include “Emotional Expression and Emotional Regulation,” “Tweens, Teens, and Social Norms,” and “Conditioning and OCD.”

Art, interactives, and assessments that engage

Our art program is designed to enhance students’ understanding of psychological concepts through simple, effective graphs, diagrams, and photographs. Psychology 2e also incorporates links to relevant interactive exercises and animations that help bring topics to life. Selected assessment items touch directly on students’ lives.

• Link to Learning features direct students to online interactive exercises and animations that add a fuller context to core content and provide an opportunity for application.
• Personal Application Questions engage students in topics at a personal level to encourage reflection and promote discussion.

Art Attribution in Psychology 2e

In Psychology 2e, most art contains attribution to its title, creator or rights holder, host platform, and license within the caption. Because the art is openly licensed, anyone may reuse the art as long as they provide the same attribution to its original source.

To maximize readability and content flow, some art does not include attribution in the text. If you reuse art from Psychology 2e that does not have attribution provided, use the following attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license.

Student and Instructor Resources

We’ve compiled additional resources for both students and instructors, including Getting Started Guides, an instructor solution guide, a test bank, and PowerPoint slides. Instructor resources require a verified instructor account, which you can apply for when you log in or create your account on openstax.org. Take advantage of these resources to supplement your OpenStax book.

Contributing Authors

Mara Aruguete, Lincoln University
Laura Bryant, Eastern Gateway Community College
Barbara Chappell, Walden University
Kathryn Dumper, Bainbridge State College
Arlene Lacombe, Saint Joseph’s University
Julie Lazzara, Paradise Valley Community College
Tammy McClain, West Liberty University
Barbara B. Oswald, Miami University
Marion Perlmutter, University of Michigan
Mark D. Thomas, Albany State University

Reviewers

Patricia G. Adams, Pitt Community College
Daniel Bellack, Trident Technical College
Christopher M. Bloom, Providence College
Jerimy Blowers, Cayuga Community College
Salena Brody, Collin College
David A. Caicedo, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY
Bettina Casad, University of Missouri–St. Louis
Sharon Chacon, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
James Corpening
Frank Eyetsemitan, Roger Williams University
Tamara Ferguson, Utah State University
Kathleen Flannery, Saint Anselm College
Johnathan Forbey, Ball State University
Laura Gaudet, Chadron State College
William Goggin, University of Southern Mississippi
Jeffery K. Gray, Charleston Southern University
Heather Griffiths, Fayetteville State University
Mark Holder, University of British Columbia
Rita Houge, Des Moines Area Community College
Colette Jacquot, Strayer University
John Johanson, Winona State University
Andrew Johnson, Park University
Shaila Khan, Tougaloo College
Cynthia Kreutzer, Georgia State University Perimeter College at Clarkston Campus
Carol Laman, Houston Community College
Dana C. Leighton, Texas A&M University—Texarkana
Thomas Malloy, Rhode Island College
Jan Mendoza, Golden West College
Christopher Miller, University of Minnesota
Lisa Moeller, Beckfield College
Amy T. Nusbaum, Heritage University
Jody Resko, Queensborough Community College (CUNY)
Hugh Riley, Baylor University
Juan Salinas, University of Texas at Austin
Brittney Schrick, Southern Arkansas University
Phoebe Scotland, College of the Rockies
Christine Selby, Husson University
Sally B. Seraphin, Centre College
Brian Sexton, Kean University
Nancy Simpson, Trident Technical College
Jason M. Smith, Federal Bureau of Prisons – FCC Hazelton
Robert Stennett, University of Georgia
Jennifer Stevenson, Ursinus College
Eric Weiser, Curry College
Jay L. Wenger, Harrisburg Area Community College
Alan Whitehead, Southern Virginia University
Valjean Whitlow, American Public University
Rachel Wu, University of California, Riverside
Alexandra Zelin, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga