This book, as its title indicates, is a short text for the first course in psychology.A short textbook can serve two purposes. It can provide all or most of the printed material for a course that is truly intended to be a survey and not go into the details covered in longer psychology texts. A short textbook can also be used to make room in a more intensive course for other study materials, such as a book of readings, which can give students a perspective that even the lengthiest textbook cannot provide.