About This Course

General Psychology by Dr. Pamela Morris and Olimpia Calaway licensed CC BY-SA is a 2025 rendition of the original General Psychology by the University of Central Florida licensed CC BY, which was adapted from Psychology 2e by OpenStax licensed CC BY and Introduction to Psychology by Lumen Learning, Patrick Carroll of the University of Texas at Austin, and Jessica Traylor of Gordon State College licensed CC BY.

What’s New?

General Psychology continues to be a comprehensive, ready-to-adopt course with embedded activities that facilitate student learning. The course presents topics in an over-arching approach using the American Psychological Association’s Five Pillars (domains) of Psychology: biological psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, social and personality psychology, and mental and physical health which are supported by Scientific Inquiry and Research. Also, new in this rendition is updated content and activities such as Psych in Real Life  incorporating the integrative themes recommended by the APA Introductory Psychology Initiative (IPI). The course enriches student learning with frequent application, curated videos, selected NOBA and APA-instructor developed interactive learning activities to foster practical skills in thinking critically about experimental design.

The course reflects the goals recommended in the 2023 APA’s Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major, version 3.0. These goals include

Goal 1: Content Knowledge and Applications
Goal 2: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking
Goal 3: Values in Psychological Science
Goal 4: Communication, Psychological Literacy, and Technology Skills
Goal 5: Personal and Professional Development

About the Authors

Dr. Pamela Morris, a 30+ year Psychology Professor at San Antonio College curated and infused new content and activities for the 2025 Pressbook’s General Psychology and its companion Canvas LMS – General Psychology website, available in Canvas Commons. Contact her at phill@alamo.edu.

Olimpia Calaway, Psychology Instructor at San Antonio College contributed to adding new content and activities in the ebook and Canvas Commons course. Contact her at ocalaway@alamo.edu for information about the Canvas Commons course.

Acknowledgments

The OpenStax Psychology2e textbook and material curated by Lumen Learning, Patrick Carroll of the University of Texas at Austin, and Jessica Traylor, Gordon State College serve as a foundation for this newer version of General Psychology. This book reflects the support from several Alamo Colleges administrators, staff,  and instructional designers.

Funding for this project was provided by the Alamo Colleges OER Consortium Grant through the U. S. Dept of Education’s Open Textbooks Pilot Program.

Thank you to the many psychology instructors across the U. S. who throughout the various renditions of this course have generously shared assignments.