Okay, so I’ve been diving into “Introduction to Psychology” by Kalat, and I wanted to share my experience with it. It’s been a bit of a journey, so buckle up!
Getting Started
First, I grabbed the book. Honestly, it was a bit intimidating at first – it’s a thick textbook! But I told myself, “Just take it one chapter at a time.” And that’s exactly what I did.
My Reading Strategy
- I started by reading the chapter summaries at the beginning. This gave me a basic idea of what the chapter was about.
- Then, I skimmed through the chapter, looking at the headings and subheadings. Just to get a feel for the structure, you know?
- Then I read carfully.
- Finally, I went back and read the chapter thoroughly, taking notes as I went. I used different colored highlighters for key terms, definitions, and important concepts.
Keeping Track of Everything
Psychology has a lot of new terms. So, I created a bunch of flashcards. I wrote the term on one side and the definition on the other. I carried these flashcards around with me and reviewed them whenever I had a few spare minutes – waiting in line, on the bus, that kind of thing.
Testing Myself
At the end of each chapter, there are review questions. I made sure to answer these without looking back at the text. It was tough sometimes, but it really helped me see what I actually understood and what I needed to review again.
Putting it All Together
After I finished a few chapters, I tried to connect the concepts. Like, how does this idea from Chapter 2 relate to that theory from Chapter 4? This was probably the hardest part, but it also made things “click” in my brain.
My progress
I read all the contents of this book and took more than 50 pages of notes.
It wasn’t always easy, and there were times I felt like I was drowning in information. But I kept going, and now I have a much better understanding of the basics of psychology. It’s pretty cool to see how it all fits together!
