Lahey has built a superior reputation of student success through a sound pedagogical system. A highly respected researcher, Lahey applies learning theory to his text and the result is a system that leads to student learning. Want proof? Open any chapter and you'll see each begins with an advanced organizer that tells the student what the chapter is about and gives him or her a "cognitive structure" on which to hang new information. Each main section is followed by a review to reinforce the cognitive structure, a self quiz to check the learning of facts and critical thinking questions to encourage deep processing. Each of the subsequent sections are tied together in a similar fashion and the chapter is summarized in a hierarchical outline at the chapter conclusion. In short, he tells them what he is going to tell them, then he tells them, then he tells them what he told them. This edition marks the introduction of visual reviews, increased technology utilization, and a new section on study skills. All of this adds up to a text that presents psychology in a way that instructors can trust and that students can learn. "This Essentials" edition was created for instructors who prefer a more concise text with a soft cover and is based on Lahey's successful "Psychology: An Introduction, 7th edition". The content differences between the two books are as follows: the chapters on Research Methods, Gender and Sexuality, and Psychology Applied to Business have been deleted from this edition. - from Amzon