Neuroscience, Psychology and Conflict Management

Reviewed by Rachel Feldwisch, Associate Dean, College of Education & Behavioral Sciences, University of Indianapolis on 4/3/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The title of the book was an immediate draw, as it is difficult to find applied neuroscience texts on practical topics that feel approachable to a wide range of readers. The book begins with coverage of neuroscience, then applies major areas of psychology (cognitions, emotions, personality, and social psychology) to the study of conflict resolution. The table of contents is a helpful navigation tool (index and glossary were not included).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

A few minor errors exist in the text, such as referring to the APA as the "American Psychology Association." The text appears to be free from bias.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is contemporary and relevant, with inclusion of topics in recent history such as COVID-19. Coverage of neuroscience is current and could easily be updated over time given how well the book is structured and organized.

Clarity rating: 4

The author's writing is clear and accessible with an approachable tone. Some of the psychological content (for example, coverage of personality theories) could have been explained more in depth as opposed to relying on external resources.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

Based upon the title, I was expecting neuroscience to be more integrated throughout the text. However, the author's approach does lend well to utilizing the book within a classroom where topical areas are covered separately. The book could easily be utilized for a college course or for independent self-study.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Chapters are well organized with Learning Outcomes, Key Readings, bolded key terms, imbedded Extensions, and Reflection Activities.

Interface rating: 4

The images and text are easy to read. Weblinks were functional, such as the links to professional organizations. Using the PDF version, it takes several steps to access the videos (navigating out of the text and following a path through several websites). However, the videos would enhance understanding of the material and were well selected. Internal links (for example, at the beginning of Chapter 2, page 10) did not function when using the online PDF version of the text. Some images were crisp and clear, whereas some figures contained blurry text (e.g., Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, p. 141).

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Grammatical errors were not prevalent.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book opens with an Acknowledgement of Country/land acknowledgement and is respectful of cultural differences throughout. The imagery depicts people from diverse ethnicities/cultures. Section on prejudice (Chapter 4) and the "Culture and Attribution" segment (Chapter 5) were highlights.

Comments

I enjoyed reading Neuroscience, Psychology, and Conflict Management and could envision using the text for an advanced topics course at the undergraduate level, or within our graduate level neuroscience course to apply concepts to real world practice.