Open Textbooks & Core OER

Start here if you’re looking to replace or supplement a traditional textbook. These resources are openly licensed, meaning you can reuse, adapt, and remix them to better fit your course context at Trent. All links open in a new window.

Introduction to Psychology – University of Saskatchewan

• Type: Open access textbook

• License: CC BY-NC

• Best for: Introductory-level courses (PSYC-1020, PSYC-1030)

• Why consider it: An introductory, Canadian text created from original content and materials adapted from multiple open text publications.

Introduction to Psychology & Neuroscience

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY

• Best for: Introductory-level PSYC and A2 categories

• Why consider it: The foundation of this book is built upon Psychology 2e from OpenStax. In addition to the core content from Psychology 2e from OpenStax, this book is a combination of original material and resources, and selected works from Introduction to Psychology by Cummings & Sanders (University of Saskatchewan), Discovery Psychology 2.0 from Noba Project, and various upper-level Psychology courses from Lumen Learning.

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY-SA

• Best for: Introductory-level courses (PSYC-2018, PSYC-2019)

• Why consider it: This book covers the contents of an introductory statistics class, as typically taught to undergraduate psychology students, focusing on the use of the R statistical software. The book discusses how to get started in R as well as giving an introduction to data manipulation and writing scripts. From a statistical perspective, the book discusses descriptive statistics and graphing first, followed by chapters on probability theory, sampling and estimation, and null hypothesis testing. After introducing the theory, the book covers the analysis of contingency tables, t-tests, ANOVAs and regression. Bayesian statistics are covered at the end of the book.

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY-SA

• Best for: Introductory-level courses (PSYC-2018, PSYC-2019)

• Why consider it: This book of learning statistics with jamovi covers the contents of an introductory statistics class, as typically taught to undergraduate psychology students. Descriptive statistics and graphing are followed by chapters on probability theory, sampling and estimation, and null hypothesis testing. The book covers the analysis of contingency tables, correlation, t-tests, regression, ANOVA and factor analysis.

• Type: Open textbook collection

• License: CC BY-NC-SA

• Best for: Intro / upper-year / methods / interdisciplinary courses

• Why consider it: A collection of psychology open textbooks. NOBA platform allows customization of textbooks, or to build your own. Many modules include manuals, PowerPoints, and test banks.

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY-NC-SA

• Best for: Introductory-level courses (PSYC-2700)

• Why consider it: Have you ever had trouble teaching the various topics of social psychology and fitting them together to form a coherent field? Dr. Stangor felt like he was presenting a laundry list of ideas, research studies, and phenomena, rather than an integrated set of principles and knowledge. He wondered how his students could be expected to remember and understand the many phenomena that social psychologists study? How could they tell what was most important? It was then that he realized a fresh approach to a Social Psychology textbook was needed to structure and integrate student learning; thus, Principles of Social Psychology was born. This textbook is based on a critical thinking approach, and its aim is to get students thinking actively and conceptually – with a greater focus on the forest than the trees. Yes, there are right and wrong answers, but the answers are not the only thing. What is perhaps even more important is how students get to the answers – the thinking process itself.

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY-NC-SA

• Best for: Intro / upper-year / methods / interdisciplinary courses

• Why consider it: This textbook provides standard introduction to psychology course content with a specific emphasis on biological aspects of psychology. This includes more content related to neuroscience methods, the brain and the nervous system.

Always Developing: An Open Educational Resource on the Psychology of Adult Development∗ 

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

• Best for: Intro / upper-year / methods / interdisciplinary courses

• Why consider it: This textbook looks at how we change physically over time from emerging and early adulthood through aging and death. We will examine cognitive change, or how our ability to think and remember changes over time. We will consider how our concerns and psychological state are influenced by age and finally, how our social relationships change throughout life.

The Balance of Personality∗ 

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

• Best for: Intro / upper-year / methods / interdisciplinary courses

• Why consider it: This open-access textbook was developed as an upper-division undergraduate textbook for theories of personality. Its intended audience are students from Portland State University enrolled in Psychology 432 Personality course. The chapters are shorter than some personality textbooks and in this particular course Psy 432 the textbook is combined with other readings including scientific articles on personality. This open-access textbook may be of interest to other courses interested in teaching about theory and research on personality.

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

• Best for: Intro / upper-year / methods / interdisciplinary courses

• Why consider it: Culture is one of the most powerful forces in the world. It shapes how we make sense of our world, how we express ourselves and how we understand and relate to others. In this textbook we introduce cultural universals and culturally specific constructs in psychology. This textbook was created for an undergraduate course that appeals to psychology majors and non-majors because it meets several general education and transfer credit requirements.

Developmental Psychology∗

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY 4.0

• Best for: Intro / upper-year / methods / interdisciplinary courses

• Why consider it: This course is designed to provide an engaging and personally relevant overview of the discipline of Developmental Psychology. In this course you will examine the cultural, social, psychological, and physiological influences which impact human development from conception to death. You – the student – will provide much of the substantive content and teaching presence in this course.

Human Development∗

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

• Best for: Intro / upper-year / methods / interdisciplinary courses

• Why consider it: This open textbook is designed for Human Development, a core Psychology course. This course provides a bird’s eye view of major milestones and developmental tasks during each age period, starting at conception and ending with old age.

Introduction to Applied Statistics for Psychology Students∗

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

• Best for: Introductory-level courses (PSYC-2018, PSYC-2019)

• Why consider it: Introduction to Applied Statistics for Psychology Students, by Gordon E. Sarty (Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan) began as a textbook published in PDF format, in various editions between 2014-2017. The book was written to meet the needs of University of Saskatchewan psychology students at the undergraduate (PSY 233, PSY 234) level.

Introduction to Community Psychology: Becoming an Agent of Change∗

• Type: Open textbook (Includes quizzes and lecture slides)

• License: CC BY 4.0

• Best for: Intro / upper-year / methods / interdisciplinary courses

• Why consider it: This textbook will show you how to comprehensively analyze, investigate, and address escalating problems of economic inequality, violence, substance abuse, homelessness, poverty, and racism. It will provide you with perspectives and tools to partner with community members and organizations to promote a fair and equitable allocation of resources and opportunities.

Introduction to Sensation and Perception∗

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY 4.0

• Best for: Upper-year courses (PSYC-3460)

• Why consider it: This textbook will show you how to comprehensively analyze, investigate, and address escalating problems of economic inequality, violence, substance abuse, homelessness, poverty, and racism. It will provide you with perspectives and tools to partner with community members and organizations to promote a fair and equitable allocation of resources and opportunities.

Introduction to Substance Use Disorders

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0

• Best for: Upper-year courses (PSYC-3300, PSYC-3240)

• Why consider it: Introduction to Substance Use Disorders (2020) is an Open Educational Resource book designed for use in an introductory substance misuse course. These materials were developed using a variety of published sources and online materials, including resources produced by U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Routledge Handbook of Social Work and Addictive Behavior (2020), edited by A.L. Begun and M.M. Murray, and most notably Theories and Biological Basis of Substance Misuse, Part I and Part 2 by A.L. Begun.

Lifespan Development – A Psychological Perspective

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

• Best for: Introductory-level courses (PSYC-2018, PSYC-2019)

• Why consider it: Based on the original version from LibreTexts, this textbook reviews the major theoretical approaches that shape our understanding of development from conception to death. In each chapter, up-to-date research findings describe and explain biological, psychological, and social development across the life course. Supplementary materials have been added to this edition including Canadian resources and comprehension exercises.

Neuroscience: Canadian 3rd Edition

• Type: Open textbook (Includes interactive questions, flowcharts, figures)

• License: CC BY 4.0

• Best for: Upper-level courses (PSYC-4225, PSYC-5225)

• Why consider it: Canadian 3rd Edition is a comprehensive source that examines the nervous system, neurodegeneration, techniques in studying neuroscience and emerging topics in the field.

Personality Theory: A Multicultural Perspective

• Type: Open textbook

• License: CC BY 4.0

• Best for: Introductory-level courses (PSYC-2310)

• Why consider it: This text covers general personality theory, with an emphasis on cultural aspects affecting personality development. There is also a section focusing on making positive choices in the development of one’s personality from a number of different cultural/philosophical perspectives.

• Type: Open textbook with H5P

• License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

• Best for: Introductory-level courses (PSYC-2700)

• Why consider it: The first International edition of this textbook provides students with an introduction to the basic concepts and principles of social psychology from an interactionist perspective. The presentation of classic studies and theories are balanced with insights from cutting-edge, contemporary research. An emphasis on real world examples and applications is intended to guide students to critically analyze their situations and social interactions in order to put their knowledge to effective use.

Other OER: Open Modules, Units, & Learning Objects

Not ready to swap a whole textbook?

This section highlights:

• Open course modules

• Stand-alone units

• Case studies

• Interactive learning objects

Introduction to Psychology

• Type: Course

• License: CC BY-NC-SA

• Works Well for: Introductory-level courses (PSYC-1020, PSYC-1030)

• Teaching idea: Use part of/all this course for syllabi content.

• Type: Study Guide

• License: CC BY-NC

• Works Well for: Introductory-level courses (PSYC-1020, PSYC-1030)

• Teaching idea: To provide a study guide on introductory psychology.

Abnormal Psychology

• Type: Study Guide

• License: CC BY-NC-SA

• Works Well for: Intro / upper-year (PSYC-2300, PSYC-3300)

• Teaching idea: To provide a study guide on abnormal psychology.

R Psychologist

• Type: Website

• License: CC BY

• Works Well for: Introductory-level courses (PSYC-1020, PSYC-1030)

• Teaching idea: Use to introduce teaching about R, statistics, psychology, open science, and data visualization.

Psychology as a Science

• Type: Collection of Resources

• License: CC BY-SA

• Works Well for: Intro / upper-year / methods / interdisciplinary courses

• Teaching idea: Contains a collection of links to resources (textbooks, videos, activities, and more) organized by topic.

Teach Psych Science

• Type: Collection of Resources

• License: CC BY-

• Works Well for: Intro / upper-year / methods / interdisciplinary courses

• Teaching idea: Review for peer-reviewed sources, statistics, and writing for psychological science

The Brain from Top to Bottom∗

• Type: Website

• License: Copyleft

• Works well for: A-category classes

• Teaching idea: As a reading, or linked for students to explore.

The Psychology Commons

• Type: Website

• License: CC BY 4.0

• Works well for: All PSYC classes

• Teaching idea: Exploration of repository according to course needs.

Psychology – H5P Edition

• Type: Book including interactive activities.

• License: CC BY 4.0

• Works well for: All PSYC classes

• Teaching idea: Exploration of book according to course needs.

The Psychology of Human Thought: An Introduction

• Type: Collection of peer-reviewed chapters.

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0

• Works well for: PSYC-2400, PSYC-3440)

• Teaching idea: Exploration of book according to course needs.

Your Response: What Are We Missing?

Open education works best when it’s shared. We invite your contribution:

• A textbook you’ve used or adapted

• A tool that’s worked well with students

• An open assignment or activity idea

• A locally created resource that could be shared openly

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