The Study Guide is designed to assist students

in mastering the content of the introductory

course in Psychology whether the course is

taught by conventional lecture methods or by

unit mastery methods. For students who are in

a unit mastery taught course, a separate

introduction is available prior to the first

chapter in the Study Guide. For instructors

using a unit mastery approach, a detailed

introduction, rationale, and suggested methods

are included in the related Ins~ uctor s Guide.

In our preparation of the Study Guide,

consideration was given to three major

difficulties students often encounter: First, they

may be uncertain about what to learn from each

chapter--how to distinguish crucial material

from less important details. Second, they may

fail to recognize notable figures in the field or

to learn the meanings of specific psychological

terms and concepts. Third, they may have no

satisfactory way of knowing how well they

have mastered the material until after an

egamination (which often is too late).