Psychology is a young discipline. Although people have probably ‘psychologised’, in the
sense of wondering about the minds of others (‘What is she thinking?’, ‘Why did he do
that?’), since the dawn of our species, the history of psychology as a scientific, rather
than as a purely philosophical, enterprise is relatively recent. The origins of modern
psychology are often traced to developments in Germany in the late-19th century, and
the first psychological laboratory in New Zealand was established at Victoria University
of Wellington in the early-20th century.
With a life-span of little more than a century, psychology is in the first flush of youth,
compared with, for example, medicine or philosophy. On the other hand, it is surprising
that, despite its 100-year history in Aotearoa/New Zealand, a comprehensive textbook of
psychology, written specifically for students in Aotearoa, has not been available. So, I felt
both delighted and honoured when Helen Cox, Acquisitions Editor at Pearson, asked if I
would be interested in embarking upon the project that has culminated in this textbook.
Because psychology is the science of mental life, its subject matter is extremely broad –
embracing literally anything you can think of, including the ability to invent stories,
compose music or design new objects. So, although psychology is a science, its scope
includes the human capacity to imagine, to create and appreciate art, and also the
ability to construct different ways of understanding the physical, social and cultural
environment in which we live. In this sense, psychology plays a distinctive role in
bridging the intellectual gap between the physical and biological sciences on the one
hand, and the humanities and creative arts on the other.
The diverse subject matter of psychology presents a formidable challenge to the
would-be textbook author. Each chapter in this textbook surveys a vast specialist
literature and, in the pages that follow, you will find summaries of the latest research
and thinking on topics ranging from perception and memory to racial stereotyping and
moral behaviour, and to stress, anxiety and schizophrenia. Early on, I realised that getting
to grips with so many different research fields was going to test my stamina, and I began
to understand why no one before me had undertaken a project of this kind in Aotearoa/
New Zealand! Fortunately, the scale of the project was tempered to a large extent by the
fact that, rather than developing each chapter from scratch, I was adapting the superbly
written and researched work of Stephen Kosslyn and Robin Rosenberg.
I remember arriving at university in 1973, with a background in the physical sciences,
and feeling completely blown away by my first-year course in psychology. I loved it!
Four decades later, that fascination is undiminished and, in some ways, working on this
project has been like taking Stage I Psychology all over again: I have learned so much.
I hope that readers of this textbook will share some of the enthusiasm and fascination
that I felt, both as a student of introductory psychology all those years ago and, more
recently, as a teacher, researcher and co-author of this textbook.
However, textbook writing is a bit like painting the legendary Forth Bridge in
Edinburgh, Scotland – by the time it’s finished, you need to pick up your paint brush
and start again. So, as I write the final sentences for this textbook, I have two thoughts.
First, I hope that the content will be of value to students and teachers of introductory
psychology in Aotearoa/New Zealand; and, secondly, I am getting ready to pick up that
brush again, because my mind is already brimming with plans and improvements for
the next edition!