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RR 2007/114 APA Dictionary of Psychology Editor-in-chief Gary R. VandenBos American Psychological Association Washington, DC 2007 xvi + 1,024 pp. ISBN 978 1 59147 380 0 £35/$49.95
Keywords Dictionaries, Psychology
Review DOI 10.1108/09504120710737987
It has to be said that my usual reaction on unwrapping a parcel from the editor of Reference Reviews is "Oh god, not another dictionary of psychology. The world is getting overrun with them. Why can't psychologists declare a moratorium on dictionary-editing, and take up crochet-work or some other productive activity instead?". It has to be said however, that this does seem to be one of the better ones.
This dictionary has a slightly complex history. In 1997 the American Psychological Association (APA) acquired the rights to the 1984 Longman Dictionary of Psychology and Psychiatry. The APA had originally set up a Standing Committee on Psychological and Philosophical Terminology in 1898, so this acquisition came nearly a century after they first started thinking about the idea. They then sat on their new possession for a while, brooding as to what to do with it. The Longman dictionary was very much a child of its time, reflecting a curious American obsession with psychoanalysis to the virtual exclusion of any other form of psychological thought. The decision was eventually taken to start with all the headwords in the Longman and redefine each one as...