Open Educational Resources and Psychology

This collection was curated by an ASCCC OERI discipline lead. A comprehensive list of current discipline leads is available.

The curated list provided here is intended to facilitate faculty selection of an OER text in lieu of a commercial text. If you are aware of additional resources that should be included, please contact us via our general OER e-mail.

Introductory Psychology (C-ID PSY 110)

• Introductory Psychology (OpenStax) – LibreTexts (CC BY 4.0)

  Psychology 2e (Spielmen, Jenkins, and Lovett, 2020) (OpenStax) (CC BY 4.0)

  Includes: Powerpoint Slides, Test Bank, and Instructor Manual (Free registration and/or login required for all). OpenStax is maintained (and supported) by Rice University.  Students have the option of accessing free digital versions or purchasing a print version. CVC-OEI has imported the OpenStax text into Canvas. Additionally, Lumen Learning made an enhanced version of the digital text with embedded multiple choices available.  There are also openly available slides, assignments, and question banks available CC-BY.

• Discover Psychology 2.0: A Brief Introductory Text (Diener and Biswas-Diener) (CC-BY-NC-SA)

  Includes: Powerpoint Slides, Test Bank (Free registration and/or login required), and Instructor Manual. Noba is “the dream project” of Ed and Carol Diener.  It has modules written by some big names in psychology  including Elizabeth Loftus, Ed Diener, Susan Fiske, David Buss, and many, many others.  There are also many links to animations and videos that are quite useful.  Students have the option of accessing free digital versions or purchasing a print version.

• Introduction to Psychology: 1st Canadian Edition (Stangor & Walinga) (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

  Includes: Powerpoint Slides and Test Bank (Free registration and/or login required for both). Introduction to Psychology: 1st Canadian Edition was adapted by Jennifer Walinga from Charles Stangor’s textbook, Introduction to Psychology.  The adaptation and development of ancillary materials were supported by the B.C. (British Columbia) Open Textbook Project.  Students have the option of accessing a free digital version or purchasing a print version (although the shipping costs can be high). A version of this book by Cummings and Sanders is also available with a glossary and slides and test bank also available after verification of instructor status.

• Psychology: The Science of Human Potential by Jeffrey Levy (CC-BY 4.0)

  The Science of Human Potential is designed to be a concise, cohesive introduction to psychology textbook. Psychology is described as a science studying how hereditary (nature) and experiential (nurture) variables interact to influence the thoughts, feelings, and behaviour of individuals. The remainder of the text is organized into sections entitled “Mostly Nature” (biological psychology; sensation and perception; motivation and emotion), “Mostly Nurture” (direct learning; indirect or observational learning; cognition), and “Nature/Nurture” (human potential, with regard to each of human development, personality, social psychology, maladaptive behaviour, and professional psychology). Includes H5P review exercises at the end of each chapter. Readable and editable versions are available, as is a hardcopy for sale. This book has good applications, but there are no chapters on sleep and consciousness, and on stress and health psychology at all.

Psychology of Personal and Social Adjustment (C-ID PSY 115)

• Psychological Adjustment Textbook (Forrester, Scott, Herrington, Olson, Bragg-Scott, 2021) – OER Commons (CC BY)

  A one-drive file containing text. The course includes an overview of topics including self-concept, perception, self-awareness, personality, values and communications in resolving interpersonal conflicts.
  Comment: The C-ID has not been updated since 2011. This book does not appear to have enough information about developmental and sex/gender aspects of adjustment.

Introduction to Abnormal Psychology (C-ID PSY 120)

• Fundamentals of Psychological DIsorders (Alexis Bridley and Lee Daffin, 2023) – Pressbooks (CC-BY-NC SA 4.0)

  Fundamentals of Psychological Disorders (formerly Abnormal Psychology) is an Open Education Resource written by Alexis Bridley, Ph.D. and Lee W. Daffin Jr., Ph.D. through Washington State University which tackles the difficult topic of mental disorders in 15 modules and is updated through the DSM-5-TR. After the first three foundational modules, a discussion of mental disorders ensues to include depressive, anxiety, personality, schizophrenic, eating, and obsessive-compulsive to name a few. Instructor resources including powerpoint slides and flashcards are available.

• Abnormal Psychology (Jorden Cummings, 2020) – Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)

  Compilation from Bridley and Daffin, Openstax, NOBA and new information as well.

• Introduction to Abnormal Psychology (Raechel Soicher, 2022) – Noba project (CC BY-NC-SA)

  Abnormal psychology Noba collection. Includes instructor resources with powerpoints and a link to request test banks.

• Abnormal Psychology (Lumen Learning) (Varied Licenses – terms of each page must be reviewed)

  Includes Videos (Requires Login) and Case Studies. The Lumen Learning textbook uses a mix of OER sources (Noba) and other sources (Wikipedia, Psychology today, etc.).  It is not a complete textbook that could be printed. 

• Ancillary materials for Abnormal Psychology (Sean Callahn, Elizabeth Ann Dose, Luba Ibrahim & Marla Means, 2022) – Open ALG Affordable Learning Georgia (CC BY-NC-SA)

  Ancillary materials for Abnormal Psych including PPTs, resource manual, case studies and test banks.

Introduction to Human Sexuality (C-ID PSY 130)

• Introduction to Human Sexuality: Spring 2023 (Goerling and Wolfe, 2022) – OpenOregon Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)

  An open textbook in two introductory volumes. Funded by Open Oregon in 2020-21 according to the author’s introduction.

Introduction to Biological Psychology (C-ID PSY 150)

The only comprehensive book for our C-ID is the OERI team written book (but still under review).  The oneby Keys is a useable adaptation of that book.

Each of the other links have good material, but none will work as a full textbook without heavy supplementing for entire topics, as well as more details within the topics included.

• Biopsychology (ASCCC OERI, 2022 Draft) – LibreTexts (License varies)

  View each page for licensing information. Chapters by different authors on all topics generally covered in biological psychology courses.

• Psyc 310: Biological Psychology (Keys)- LibreTexts (Licenses vary)

  A remix of the OERI’s Biopsychology

• Understanding Biological Behavior (First Edition) (Miguel) (Noba) (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

  These are modules – not a full text. Noba is “the dream project” of Ed and Carol Diener.  It has modules written by some big names in psychology.  Students have the option of accessing free digital versions or purchasing a print version.  It has not been confirmed that this resource is sufficient to serve as a stand-alone text.

• Psychology as a Biological Science by Peter Lindberg (CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0)

  This collection has a lot of overlap with the book above in terms of the same modules but there are a few differences and is certainly organized in a different fashion.  This resource is not sufficient to serve as a stand-alone text.

• Introduction to Biological Psychology (Hall, 2023) – Pressbooks and LibreTexts (CC BY-NC)

  The textbook is designed to be used as primary reading for undergraduate Psychology students studying core biological psychology modules. Special note: This book is not complete, it is really good and highly usable – perhaps in conjunction with noba modules

Introduction to Social Psychology (C-ID PSY 170)

• An Introduction to Social Psychology (Thomas Edison State University and Diana Sanchez, 2022) – Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)

  “This collection of modules in this book provides an overview of research and theories in social psychology and reveals the broad spectrum of behaviors, cognitions, and emotions that are influenced by the social context. In addition, this book aims to provide a selective introduction into the main themes of social psychology such as research methods and theories related to the self-concept, social cognition, attitudes, prejudice, and social influence.” – Diana Sanchez

• Principles of Social Psychology – 1st International Edition (last updated 2021) (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) 

  Principles of Social Psychology-1st International edition includes Powerpoint Slides and Test Bank (Free registration and/or login required for both).

• Together: The Science of Social Psychology (Variety of Authors) (Noba) (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

  Includes: PowerPoint Slides, Test Bank (Free registration and/or login required), and Instructor Manual (The supplementary materials are organized by module rather than by text). Noba is “the dream project” of Ed and Carol Diener.  It has modules written by some big names in psychology including Elizabeth Loftus, Ed Diener, Susan Fiske, David Buss, and many, many others.  Students have the option of accessing free digital versions or purchasing a print version.

Introduction to Lifespan Psychology (C-ID PSY 180)

The first few bullet points are textbooks and courses. The following couple are instructor resources for lifespan developmental psychology

• Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective Fourth Edition (Lally and Valentine-French, 2022) (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

  This age-based approach textbook was written by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French and was funded by a grant from the College of Lake County Foundation and supported by the Business and Social Sciences Division. Chapter narration files (Andrea Pantoja Garvey, 2022) (CC BY-NC-SA) are available in Canvas Commons.

• Human Growth and Development (Newton, 2022) – Pressbooks (CC BY)

  Students learn the stages of the human life span: prenatal, infancy, toddlerhood, middle childhood, adolescence, adulthood, late adulthood, and death/dying. For each stage of the life span, students examine cognitive, language, emotional, social, personality, and physical development. In addition, students explore the procedures used to conduct research about human development.
  Comment: This text, based on Lifespan Psychology by Laura Overstreet, includes additional material from the Noba Project, OpenStax Psychology, and Understanding the Whole Child by Jennifer Parks, Antoinette Ricardo, and Dawn Rymond, College of the Canyons. Additional noteworthy contributions by the Lumen Learning team and Sarah Carte, Margaret Clark-Plaski, Daniel Dickma, Tera Jones, Julie Lazzara, Stephanie Loalada, John R. Mather, Sonja Ann Miller, Nancee Ott, and Jessica Traylor. Modification, adaptation, and original content authored by Julie Lazzara & Ryan Newton.

• Psychology through the Lifespan (Alisa Beyer and Julie Lazzara, 2020) (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

  Downloadable and viewable at the site. Age-based approach textbook for lifespan developmental psychology course, updated summer 2020.  Google slides (CC BY-NC-SA) developed by Fernando Romero are available.

• Lifespan Development (Lumen Learning) (Varied Licenses – terms of each page must be reviewed)

  Includes: PowerPoint Slides, Test Bank, and Instructor Manual (Free registration and/or login required for all). This appears to be a complete book (although it does not appear to have a link that will facilitate download or printing). In addition to the faculty resources (which you can request access to), there are pre-recorded lectures and study guides. Finally, there are a variety of relevant videos.

• Human Growth and Development Question Library (Cotter, Fisk and Grissett, 2018) – Galileo (CC BY-SA)

  This set of questions for use with quizzes and tests was created under a Round Four ALG Textbook Transformation Grant with an accompanying PowerPoint lecture set. The course uses the free and open Human Development sections of Boundless Psychology.

• Human Development (Callahan, Dose, Wright, Pace, Earl, and Nummerdor, 2020) – Georgia Highlands College (Varied Licenses)

  Instructor resources – discussion questions, video links. Test bank available upon request

Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology (without and with lab) (C-ID PSY 200/CID PSY 205B)

• Research Methods in Psychology (Jhangiani, Chiang, Cuttler, and Leighton, 2019) – Libretexts) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  This Libretexts version is the fourth edition and includes a glossary. This text provides an overview of research design strategies used in psychological research. It covers the basic descriptive statistics and concepts within inferential statistics that are necessary for appreciation and comprehension of research findings. The course presents the student with the fundamentals of research that all psychology majors should know. Emphasis is placed on the critical evaluation of psychological research. Lecture slides are available. Ancillaries are also available at the Columbus State University library site.

• Research Methods for Psychology (T. L. Brink, 2018) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  T.L. Brink is a social scientist and author of fifteen books, two dozen encyclopedia articles, and hundreds of journal articles, reviews and conference presentations.  He has posted a few textbooks with resources that include PowerPoints, games, videos, and quizzes.  One thing to note is that all of the resources are easily available to students.

• Research Methods in Psychology (Dudley, 2024) (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

  Adapted by Michael G. Dudley from a work produced and distributed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA) in 2010 by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution. Work supported by Palomar foundation.

• Psychology Research Methods and Statistics (Pearcey, Kirsner, Randall, Willard, Williamson, and Downtain, 2017) (CC BY 4.0)

  Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

  **There is usable material here, but it is not a textbook, but rather modules/ppt etc that were developed for stat and research method classes at Kennesaw State University***

Psychological Statistics/Statistics for the Social Sciences/Introduction to Statistics (C-ID MATH 110)

Discipline-based Statistics

• Elementary Statistics for Behavioral and Social Sciences (Oja) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA/CC BY-SA)   Worksheets for each chapter are in Canvas Commons under PSYC 2200. The author, Michelle Oja, is a California Community College faculty member. The licensing for this textbook changes based on the page (sub-section).  As most of the textbook was modified from Foster et al. (2021), much of the textbook is CC BY-NC-SA.  Most of the other authors’ work is licensed as CC BY-SA.
• Introduction to Psychological Statistics by Foster, Lane, Scott, Hebl, Guerra, Osherson, Zimmer, 2018 (CC BY-NC-SA) University of Missouri – St. Louis “We are constantly bombarded by information, and finding a way to filter that information in an objective way is crucial to surviving this onslaught with your sanity intact. This is what statistics, and logic we use in it, enables us to do. Through the lens of statistics, we learn to find the signal hidden in the noise when it is there and to know when an apparent trend or pattern is really just randomness. The study of statistics involves math and relies upon calculations of numbers. But it also relies heavily on how the numbers are chosen and how the statistics are interpreted.” Authors are from Univ of Missouri, Rice and Univ of Houston
• Introduction to Statistics in the Psychological Sciences (Cote, Gordon, Randell, Schmitt and Marvin, 2023) – Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA) This work was created as part of the University Libraries’ Open Educational Resources Initiative at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. The contents of this work have been adapted from the following Open Access Resources:
  • 1.) An Introduction to Psychological Statistics (https://irl.umsl.edu/oer/4/). Garett C. Foster, University of Missouri–St. Louis.
  • 2.) Online Statistics Education: A Multimedia Course of Study (http://onlinestatbook.com/). Project Leader: David M. Lane, Rice University.https://umsystem.pressbooks.pub/isps/
• Recentering Psych Statistics (Bikos, 2023) – Open Textbook Library (CC BY-NC-SA)
  Covering basic statistics to ANCOVA with a chapter on R applications. Each chapter has research vignettes to make the material more accessible. Note: One chapter with extensive information about using R

Introduction to Statistics (C-ID MATH 110)

• OpenIntro Statistics (Diez, Barr, and Cetinkaya-Rundel) (CC BY-SA)

  OpenIntro Statistics (Diez et al) – LibreTexts (CC BY-SA)

• Statistics Using Technology (Kozak) (CC BY-SA) – Coconino Community College website

  Statistics Using Technology (Kozak) – LibreTexts (CC BY-SA)

• Introductory Statistics (OpenStax) – LibreTexts (CC BY 4.0)

  Introductory Statistics (OpenStax) (CC BY 4.0)

• Foundations in Statistical Reasoning (Kaslik) – LibreTexts (CC BY-SA-NC)

Using an OER resource that is missing from the list above? If so, please let us know.

This page was updated on April 17, 2024.