Presentation of clinical neuropsychology in introductory psychology textbooks

Over the past decade, the rapid growth of clinical neuropsychology has been staggering. Consequently, a more complete understanding of neuropsychologi cal principles will be necessary for students, in general, and psychology m ajors, in particular, as they move into professional positions following gr aduation, understanding which will in most cases be derived from a course i n general psychology. In this study, a representative sample of 22 introduc tory psychology textbooks were evaluated for their presentation of clinical neuropsychology. Criteria included definition, discussion of theory and ap plication, use of examples, total number of words, and context of presentat ion. Each criterion was assigned a number from one to five and a summation of scores derived in order to develop an overall classification into one of three categories. Analyses suggested that the topic of clinical neuropsych ology is being presented inadequately in many commonly used introductory te xtbooks, thereby limiting exposure to and understanding of the field.