Books for Prep | |
 - Adequate by itself, but consult with a Introduction to Psychology textbook as wellI took the Psychology GRE in April this year, and for the most part, I studied using only this book and no other source for about 3 months. (3 days prior to the exam, I read an entire intro psych textbook.) The book does an extremely good job of symplifying all the terms and concepts for each major area, but unfortunately, it's too concise. It leaves out major details that the GRE actually wants you to know. I know this because I took the ETS practice test a few days prior to the exam and I found that while I was familiar with everything on the test, I didn't have a solid knowledge of every topic. My recommendation: please do yourself a favor and study using a REAL psychology textbook, and when combined with this review, you should do okay. (I only scored a 710 - but I'm sure that I would have done worse had I not used the psych textbook nights before the exam!) Rating:  - Most Complete Review Book AvailableI used all three of the major books (this one, Barron's, and Princeton Review's) to study for this exam, and the Kaplan book was by far the best. First, it had more comprehensive information than the others, without unnecessary details that the test does not cover. It does a good job of putting things in context rather than just listing items that you need to know, but does not get too bogged down in doing so. Second, the practice tests were much more like the actual test than the books from the other companies. The complexity and subject matter of both the questions and the answer choices reflected that of the actual GRE and ETS's own practice GRE much better than the Barron or Princeton Review books. Finally, there were actual detailed explanations for the answers to all of the questions. This is immensely helpful in giving you feedback about why you might have gotten something wrong, and providing strategies about how to avoid such mistakes in the future. This is much more helpful than a simple statement of what the right answer is, and what subtopic of psychology the question dealt with. Get this book, and don't waste your time with the others. Rating: - Great for a review..I am working my way through reading this entire book to review...and this book has helped more than I expected. At the end of each chapter is a list of important people in each discipline of psychology, which was EXTREMELY helpful. Plus all throughout the chapters, important material is either bolded or put into a table for simple and quick review. I would HIGHLY recommend this book if you need a brush-up in psychology. Rating:  - Incomplete reviewWhile this book is full of a lot of important psychological concepts, it is not a complete review. However, I do not think that there is another review book out there that sufficiently reviews all of the concepts that could possibly appear on the GRE. Therefore, I would recommend the book, but it should be supplemented with review from specific psychology courses. Additionally, the number of typos in this book are enough to drive a person nuts. Rating:  - Educational, but helpful for the GREI am utterly disappointed in the results of my Psych GRE scores even after i INTENSELY studied the Kaplan GRE Psych book, highlighted, took notes, and memorized the relevant info. that i thought would help me for the exam. While Kaplan did a superb job reviewing my psych knowledge and giving me a better and broader understanding of the branches of intro psych., it completely FAILED in preparing me for the ACTUAL GRE exam. The exam (which was about 2 months ago), did not cover ANTHING that I studied in the Kaplan book. Names, concepts, detailed questions... I was not prepared for any of the material, even though I repeatedly scored 800s on the practice test in the KAPLAN book. Anyways, just a heads up if you're considering buying or NOT buying this book. In association with Amazon.com | |