The fifth edition of Carlson and Buskist's Psychology: The Science of Behavior reflects a careful revision that continues to treat the discipline as an experimental and natural science. The addition of co-author William Buskist in the fifth edition has strengthened one of the book's major themes, that behavior can best be understood in the context of its adaptive significance. It continues to combine a scholarly survey of research with applications of research results to problems that confront us today. Using the discovery method to take students inside the research process, Carlson and Buskist foster a critical understanding of the logic and significance behind experimental findings. This is featured prominently in special sections, “Evaluating Scientific Issues.” The new edition also offers new and improved pedagogy, including a chapter preview and thought questions that follow each interim summary. Finally, it offers a new organization that emphasizes the biological underpinnings of behavior and continues to display a clarity of writing, level of scholarship, and quality of illustration that is unparalleled in the market.
