Psychology dictionaries and thesauri...

…are excellent places to look for definitions of unfamiliar terminology. However, have you also considered their use in finding background information, and associated terms and topics, for key concepts? Take the ‘Encyclopaedic dictionary of psychology’, for example, which we have available as a reference book in Stratford Library and online as an e-book, via the library catalogue. The field of ‘cognitive psychology’ has its own section, with a definition of the field and of all the main terms associated with it. One such term is ‘amnesia’, which it defines, links to other psychological concepts and then explains the main issues which surround it (e.g. “One often overlooked problem is that memory impairment can result in marked emotional difficulties and severe disruption of everyday life” (page 125)).

The library at UEL has many psychology dictionaries and thesauri, including some new ones purchased during Summer 2011. These new additions to stock include: ‘Cambridge dictionary of psychology’, ‘Corsini encyclopedia of psychology (4^th edition)’, ‘Encyclopedia of positive psychology’, ‘Encyclopedia of educational psychology’ and the aforementioned ‘Encyclopaedic dictionary of psychology’. There are also many longstanding titles such as, ‘Penguin dictionary of psychology’, ‘Student’s dictionary of psychology’, ‘Biographical dictionary of psychology’ and Kazdin’s ‘Encyclopedia of psychology’, to name but a few. A growing number are available as e-books through the library catalogue.