Clep(r) Introductory Psychology Book + Online

This is the only source of study material I had for the Intro. Psychology CLEP exam. I received the book the day before I was scheduled to take the exam, and didn't get to spend more than 10 hours studying it. However those 10 hours were very intense. There are two practice exams in the text, and you get access to the same ones online (plus a pre-study exam to see what your background knowledge is before you start with the text). I'll explain how I studied for the CLEP with this book. Let me also say I am a Human Physiology TA, so I knew all the physiology info and know how to study effectively, but the rest was all new information to me. What worked for me may not work for you: I first took the pre-study exam (the pre-study exam is only 50 questions, I made a 31/50 = 62%, and believe I only did that well due to already knowing the physiology info). I then read through the explanations to each question in that exam, which briefly explains what each one of the multiple choice items is. It was a lot of new information I had no background with, so I made a lot of notes while doing so. I probably spent 2 hours doing this. I then read the text in about 3-4 hours and took a lot of abbreviated notes along the way. After reading the text, I re-read all of the notes I had made then took the first practice test. Again I read through the explanations for each question and got to know all the multiple choice items, not just the correct ones. The next day, I studied all my notes, and took the last practice exam. I again read the invaluable explanations to each question, then off I went to take the CLEP exam. So test score correlation: Pre-Study Practice Exam: 31/50 = 62% Practice Exam 1: 65/95 = 68% Practice Exam 2: 74/95 = 78% CLEP Score (is 95 questions, but they convert your score out of 80): 72/80 = 90% For my school, to pass you have to make a 50/80 = 62.5%. There were probably only 5 or so questions that I felt were recycled from the practice exams which was kind of disheartening during the CLEP, as each question was completely new to me. There was probably 20% on the CLEP that was new material that was not covered by this text or its practice exams. Again disheartening, and I did not feel good during the CLEP, but made a good score in the end. With the new material and questions on the CLEP, I just used process of elimination and picked out the incorrect options (since I had memorized a lot of the vocab/terms) which made the test more manageable. Again, what worked for me may not for you. Good luck, you can do this!

Excellent Book, If you study this book and have everything down you will pass this CLEP Exam. This book actually teaches you the main points of the topic. It will cut out all the "extras" of a college textbook. I have to say I was feeling very nervous after only using this resource for my exam but I passed with a 61/80. That well above what you need to get credit at any college that takes CLEP. The one thing worth noting is that it will cut out certain things that you might want to know but it will also allow you to eliminate at least 2-3 answers on the actual CLEP. This book prepared me very well I feel and will be using these books until they fail me which I don't see possible.

This study guide is a great resource but it shouldn't be the only resource you use to prepare for the psychology CLEP exam. It's missing information about several topics that were included on the exam. It does a good job of describing the different schools of thought in psychology, the types of behavioral conditioning, the various psychological disorders, and how the treatment approaches vary from one school of thought to another. The study guide explains the various stages of psychological and moral development as explained by various psychologists. (It's a good idea to become very familiar with all of them, as they're highly likely to be included on your exam.) It also mentions most (but not all) of the psychologists who were featured in various questions on the exam, describes the type of research they did and how it affected the field of psychology, and discusses their individual theories. The study guide also covers the various parts of the brain and what they do, and describes the parts of a neuron and how neurons and neurotransmitters work. It covers a handful of other topics you'll encounter on your exam (like the types of monocular and binocular vision cues, and the way the brain fills in the missing information when you see certain objects). What it does not cover is the process of hearing (including all the parts of the ear and what they do) and the process of seeing (including all the parts of the eye and what they do). It also doesn't cover anything about sexual psychology research (such as that conducted by Masters and Johnson). Those topics do show up on the exam, so be sure to supplement your studying with material from another source. There are plenty of online sources for that information, so don't waste money on a textbook for that purpose. Also, find an online list of all the major psychologists in the field and make sure you're familiar with them because this study guide didn't include every psychologist whose name turned up on my exam. (There's a good list called "Psychology Major Figures" on the SparkNotes site.) One other thing I recommend: when you're done reading the main content section of this study guide, read through the glossary too. You'll find some terms and names in the glossary that didn't show up anywhere else in the guide. The online practice tests are a great way to get accustomed to taking the actual exam.

I answered all 95 questions on the actual exam in 28 minutes.... and scored a 58 (50 is passing). That's almost 4 questions per minute. I only used the REA materials. My method: 1. Take the diagnostic test 2. Read the book cover to cover once and highlight throughout 3. Write a personal study guide and improve it with the detailed answer key to the practice exams 3. Take practice exam 1&2 OPEN BOOK until I could pass with 100% and a full understanding of the explanation for every question. This means I understood every right answer AND every wrong answer, which multiplies the utility of the practice exam 5x The actual exam is easier than the practice tests although there were about 20 questions that I had to answer purely through process of elimination because I had not seen the name/idea before. I probably missed many of those. There were 5 or so questions that were verbatim from the practice exams. I hope this helps you!

Made a 62/80 in one week of study. 1. I read this book all the way through in one day (there's honestly only about 70 pages of content), then read it all the way through again the next day. 2. Took both practice tests in the book. Search for free practice tests/quizzes online and take all you can find. 3. Watch the first 33 episodes of crash course psychology on YouTube. I watched them all at least twice. 4. If you really feel it's necessary, use Study.com's 30 day money back guarantee. Wasn't too useful for me personally. I will repeat what others have said in that this book doesn't have all the info it should. It does have enough info for you to pass, however. There is no mention of the functions of hearing, but unlike other people, I did not get any questions about hearing on my CLEP test. Other information missing from the book that I had on the test was supplimented by the extra steps I mentioned.