Principles of General Psychology: By Gregory A. Kimble. New York: The Ronald Press, Co., 1956. 400 pp.

This book is modestly designated a textbook for an introductory course in psychology. Actually, it is of more ambitious scope since the definition of the encompassing term, 'general psychology' as the science of behavior, constitutes its organization. Consequently the two main pillars of the presentation are scientific methodology—in present-day psychology synonymous with statistically controlled experimentation—and the infinite variety of observable behavior. In addition, the twofold aim of the selection of subareas is to give the beginning student a solid foundation and, at the same time, to offer a clear-cut survey of the entire field to the reader for whom this may remain the only encounter with a text.

For the most part the author has succeeded admirably in what he set out to do. This is no mean accomplishment, due chiefly to his remarkable ability to formulate complicated matters with simplicity and clarity. The second chapter, Psychology as a Science, is a masterly and succinct exposition of the nature and types of psychological laws, of the role of models, theories and hypotheses, and of methods of investigation. By reducing fundamentals to common-sense principles, Dr. Kimble achieves two goals: he dispels the anxiety and confusion frequently concomitant to the first brush with a science that not only may have intense personal meaning, but is also predicated upon mastery of ancillary disciplines, and he equips the future professional psychologist in any area of specialization with a basic manner of questioning which should prove equally fruitful in practical application and in research.

Unfortunately, the last statement has to be qualified in the field of psychodynamics in which the author's bias is evident. While Dr. Kimble is securely grounded in experimental psychology and its derivatives, behavioristic and learning theories, his discussion of psychoanalytic theory is severely distorted and bristles with errors, misunderstandings, and prejudice. Ag