Unlike an encyclopedia, the volumes in this set can stand alone as state-of-the-field handbooks. Together they cover both the science and the practice of psychology broadly and in depth. Each volume has its own editor(s) and contains some two dozen articles by experts who write well for an audience intended to include graduate students in behavioral science, professional psychologists who need a refresher course in their own specialty and/or an introduction to others, and educated readers outside of psychology who want to delve into it. Organized with great care, the set has a logical integrity unified by two threads: the history and evolution of each topic and the importance of research. Accordingly, the first two volumes treat history and research methods. The next five present content areas, and the last five are devoted to applied psychology. Volume 1 treats the history of the topics in the next 11 volumes and also offers 15 articles on such issues as intelligence, emotion, personality, women and gender, undergraduate education, and ethnic minorities.

This volume:
* Includes established theories and cutting-edge developments.
* Presents the work of an international group of experts.
* Presents the nature, origin, implications, an future course of major unresolved issues in the area.