Psychology in Context, New Zealand Edition

Psychology in Context by Stephen Kosslyn, Robin Rosenberg and Anthony Lambert is a comprehensive textbook on psychology providing a New Zealand-focused context. Building on the third US edition of Psychology in Context by Stephen Kosslyn and Robin Rosenberg, this important adaptation has been enriched with New Zealand examples, profiles and research, and marks a significant advance in the way psychology is taught at undergraduate level in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Each chapter opens with a ‘chapter story' about well-known events (such as the Erebus disaster and the Christchurch earthquakes) or people (including John Kirwan, Whina Cooper, Oscar Kightley and Sam Hunt). This helps students anchor important concepts in a relevant context, thereby facilitating and enhancing effective learning. Interviews with leading New Zealand academic psychologists and vignettes about young psychologists working in different fields of psychology illustrate the types of research and career options available to students.

Māori approaches in psychology and the emergence of indigenous psychology are discussed in a section contributed by Erana Cooper and Shiloh Groot. The importance of cultural competence for psychologists in Aotearoa, and the Māori model of health, Te Whare Tapa Whā, are considered.

Throughout the textbook, a multilevel perspective is taken on psychological concepts, in which events at the levels of the brain, the person and the group are all examined.

About the authors

New Zealand

Anthony J. (Tony) Lambert is a graduate of the universities of Sheffield (BSc) and Leicester (PhD). After completing doctoral studies at the University of Leicester, he undertook postdoctoral research with G. Robert Hockey and John Findlay at the University of Durham, before moving to New Zealand. Currently, Tony is Associate Professor of Psychology, Deputy Head (Academic) of the School of Psychology and Programme Leader in Psychology, at The University of Auckland.

Tony has taught psychology at The University of Auckland since 1988. He has a special interest in teaching introductory psychology and estimates that, over the course of his career, he has taught Stage One psychology to about 20 000 students – approximately equivalent to the entire population of Taupo. In 2011, Tony received the Dean’s Award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching.

Tony has a vivid memory of the fascination he felt as an 18-year-old, learning about psychology as a new undergraduate; that experience was the trigger for a life-long career in psychology. The aim of this textbook is to introduce the subject in a way that will spark a similar enthusiasm in, and capture the interest of, contemporary New Zealand students encountering psychology for the first time. In addition to his teaching interests, Tony has published scientific research articles and book chapters on a variety of topics, including visual attention and perception, memory, the split-brain, effects of cellphone use on driving, dyslexia, schizophrenia and handedness. Further information about Tony’s research work can be found here.

When he is not teaching or carrying out research, Tony enjoys sailing a Laser dinghy, cycling, swimming and spending time with the family at Waitete Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula.

United States

Stephen M. Kosslyn is a professor of psychology and Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioural Sciences at Stanford University. He was formerly Chair of the Department of Psychology, Dean of Social Science and John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in Memory of William James at Harvard University as well as Associate Psychologist in the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. He received his BA from UCLA and his PhD from Stanford University, both in psychology. His research has focused primarily on the nature of visual mental imagery and visual communication and he has published nine books and over 300 papers on these topics. For 10 years, he was ‘head tutor’ at Harvard, supervising graduate students who were teaching year-long introductory psychology courses using the levels-of-analysis approach. While actively engaged with writing and academic pursuits, Dr Kosslyn is currently on the editorial boards of many professional journals. In his spare time, he takes French lessons and plays bass guitar.

Robin S. Rosenberg is a clinical psychologist in private practice and has taught psychology at Lesley University and Harvard University. She is board-certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology and has been certified in hypnosis.

She is a fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Psychology and is a member of the Academy for Eating Disorders. Robin received her BA in psychology from New York University and her MA and PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr Rosenberg did her clinical internship at Massachusetts Mental Health Center, held a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Community Health Plan and was on the staff at Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s Outpatient Services. Dr Rosenberg specialises in treating people with eating disorders, anxiety and depression

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.