Psychology- Book Review Extra Credit
Last Day to Turn In:
Psychology Book Review: Extra Credit Opportunity
As an extra credit opportunity for the semester, you may read a book based on psychology and write a
book review. Your book can be fiction or non-fiction and should come from the booklist on the back. You
will have almost the entire semester to work on this, but don’t wait until the last minute! To be safe (if
you’re interested at all), you will want to start sooner than later.
Please note that some of the books on the list are in the library at school, others you may need to get
through Mid-Continent. The librarians or I can help you with a Mid-Continent library card, if you need
help.
Task: Choose 1 book from the Psychology Reading List on the back page. (See also the notes at the
bottom.) You are responsible for reading the book and writing the review. There are three parts that the
book review must include, and in total, the assignment will be 3-6 pages in length.
- Part 1: Summary of the book (1-2 pages in length)
o Include information about the setting, characters, plot, key events, etc. This does not
need to cover every plot twist, but should be detailed enough for a reader who have
never read the book before would be able to understand what the book was about.
-
Part 2: Application of the book to at least 2 aspects of psychology (2-3 pages in length)
o Using your textbook or other outside resources, determine two ways your book ties in
to psychology.
▪ Example: a character in the book has depression: discuss the character, the
symptoms, causes, and treatments of depression.
o You will need to include an APA Resources page, with citations from your book as
well as any other research you used.
-
Part 3: Provide information about the author (1-2 pages in length)
o Was the author able to convey the psychological topic effectively? Accurately? What
did you learn from this book about psychology?
Technical Requirements:
- An APA Resources page is needed. This should be attached to your book review as the LAST
PAGE. Use your citations sheet to help you!
- The Book Review should be typed, in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with 1”
margins all the way around the paper. Please keep in mind that many computers default to 1” x
1.25” margins. This should be CHANGED to get a 1” margin!
3
2
1
Sources
Source is accurately documented in APA format Source is there, but not in proper APA
on the title page.
format.
Source is not given.
Technical
Requirements
All technical requirements are met.
The technical requirements are not met.
Mechanics
No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. Several grammatical, spelling or
punctuation errors.
Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuatio
errors.
Summary
Summary is complete and detailed enough for a Summary is complete, but is difficult to
non-reader to understand the book.
understand.
Summary does not have enough informatio
fully understand the premise of the book.
Some of the technical elements are met.
Psychology- Book Review Extra Credit
Last Day to Turn In:
Psychological
Connection
The two psychological connections make sense The two psychological connections make The two psychological connections are
and are accurate Additional research was used to sense but have some inaccuracies.
incomplete and inaccurate.
help you determine the conclusion.
Additional research was not used to help
you draw conclusions.
Author's
Portrayal
You have included at least 2 reasons to back up You have included reasons to back up
your thoughts on the author’s portrayal of the
your thoughts on the author’s portrayal
book and have included evidence from the book. of the book, but have limited evidence
from the book to explain yourself.
Your assessment of the author’s portrayal o
book is lacking on evidence and informatio
Reading List
**Please note: a few of the books below do address sensitive material such as child abuse/neglect. Be sure
to read a synopsis of the book prior to purchasing/reading so that you can best find a book that meets your
interests. There are brief explanations of all of these books online, so definitely check them out. Sites like
www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com have great resources for this. Do not read a book that
does not interest you and/or may have material that you may find unpleasant to read.
1. Albom, Mitch- Tuesdays with Morrie
2. Axline, Virginia- Dibs: In Search of Self
3. Baron, Naomi- Growing Up With Language
4. Baruch, Dorothy- One Little Boy
5. Burgess,s Anthony- A Clockwork Orange
6. Berne, Eric- Games People Play
7. Burns, David- Feeling Good
8. Buscaglio, Leo- Living, Learning, and Loving
9. Capote, Truman- In Cold Blood
10. Carnegie, Dale- How to Win Friends and Influence People
11. Chase, Trudi- When Rabbit Howls
12. Clark, Mary Higgins- All Around the Town
13. Craig, Eleanor- P.S. You’re Not Listening
14. Crichton, Michael- The Terminal Man
15. D’Ambrosio, Richard- No Language But a Cry
16. Draper, Sharon- Out of My Mind
17. Dyer, Wayne- Your Erroneous Zones
18. Elkind, David- The Hurried Child
19. Fast, Julius- Body Language
20. Gardener, Howard- Creating Minds
21. Gibson, William- The Miracle Worker
22. Ginott, Haim- Between Parent and Teenager
23. Greenfeld, Josh- A Child Called Noah
24. Harris, Thomas- I’m OK, You’re OK
25. Hayden, Torey- Murphy’s Boy; One Child; Just Another Kid
26. Hines, Terence- Pseudoscience and the Paranormal
27. Jablow, Martha- Cara
28. Kellerman, Jonathan- When the Bough Breaks
29. Kesey, Ken- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
30. Kushner, Harold- When Bad Things Happen to Good People
31. Lange, Erin Jade- Butter
32. Levenkron, Steven- The Best Little Girl in the World
Psychology- Book Review Extra Credit
Last Day to Turn In:
33. Levin, Meyer- Compulsion
34. Lorenz, Konrad- King Solomon’s Ring
35. MacCracken, Mary- A Circle of Children
36. Mayer, Robert- Through Divided Minds
37. Minniger, Joan- Total Recall
38. Montessori, Maria- The Secret of Childhood
39. O’Neil, Cherry Boone- Starving for Attention
40. Peck, M. Scott- The Road Less Traveled
41. Pelzer, David- A Child Called It (sensitive material- child abuse)
42. Picoult, Jodi- Nineteen Minutes
43. Pinker, Steven- The Language Instinct
44. Pirsig, Robert- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
45. Plath, Sylvia- The Bell Jar
46. Rapoport, Judith- The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing
47. Rogers, Carl- On Becoming a Person
48. Rothernberg, Mira- Children with Emerald Eyes
49. Rymer, Russ- Genie (sensitive material- child neglect/abuse)
50. Schreiber, Flora R.- Sybil
51. Seager, Stephen- Psych Ward: A Year Behind Closed Doors
52. Seligman, Martin- The Optimistic Child
53. Shaller, Susan- A Man Without Words
54. Skinner, B.F.- Walden Two: Beyond Freedom and Dignity
55. Wurtzel, Elizabeth- Prozac Nation
56. The Outliers- Malcolm Gladwell
**Other Titles: The Man Who Thought His Wife was a Hat, Tales from a Traveling Couch, I’m Eve, Brilliant
Madness
**Feel free to check out Barnes and Noble / Borders / Mid-Continent Library. They have excellent Psychology
sections. Just ask! The librarians at school can also give you great advice too.
**If it’s not on the list: I need a description (and you need approval) before you decide to read it.