Research Guides: Psychology & Behavioral Sciences: E-Encyclopedias

Online Reference Materials

Online reference books such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks are all searchable by title, author, or subject in the library catalog. Many of theses resources are Rutgers restricted, so you will be asked to log in in order to read these books. In the box to the right, there is a listing of online encyclopedias.

Psychology/Behavioral Science E-Encyclopedias

All of these electronic encyclopedias and reference sources are valuable places to begin your research. They provide scholarly background readings on selected topics in psychology and behavioral sciences.

Complete list of psychology e-encyclopedias
This page gathers together all of the psychology-related online encyclopedias.
21st Century Education: A Reference Handbook
"Draws from a variety of disciplines including psychology, anthropology, education, sociology, public health, school psychology, counseling, history, and philosophy."
21st Century Psychology: A Reference Handbook
"Offers full coverage of major subthemes and subfields within the field of psychology, including social, developmental, cognitive, biological, clinical, and methodology." Electronic version of the print resource.
APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology
more...less...
use this link to access the 5 volumes of the APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology
Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology
"Coverage includes: biological psychology and neuroscience; DSM diagnoses and psychopathological conditions; psychological and psychopharmacological treatment methods; psychological tests, scales, and assessment methods; developmental processes; research methods and statistical procedures; psychological societies and organizations; psychology from around the world; and biographical entries on over 600 influential psychologists."
Encylopedia of Applied Developmental Science
Covers topics such as: adolescent, adult, child, and infant development; ads training and education; culture and diversity; developmental assessment, disorders, processes, and risks; the ecology of human development; emotional, social, and personality development; ethics; families and parenting; health; historical influences; organizations, schools and universities; religiosity and spirituality; research methodology; social issues; and more.
Encyclopedia of Behavior Modification and Cognitive Behavior Therapy
"Provides a thorough examination of the components of behavior modification, behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and applied behavior analysis for both child and adult populations in a variety of settings. Although the focus is on technical applications, entries also provide the historical context in which behavior therapists have worked, including research issues and strategies. Entries on assessment, ethical concerns, theoretical differences, and the unique contributions of key figur
Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents, and the Media
"Provides cross-disciplinary coverage from the fields of psychology, education, media studies and communication, sociology, and public policy. Includes entries covering television, film, video games, the Internet and World Wide Web, magazines, music, and more. Explores complex and difficult topics such as violence, sex, rating systems and warning labels, attention deficit disorder, body image and eating disorders, popular music lyrics, advertising, digital music downloading, parental involvement
Encyclopedia of Counseling
Electronic version of the 4 volume set providing "a comprehensive overview of the theories, models, techniques, and challenges involved in professional counseling."
Encyclopedia of Drugs - Alcohol and Addictive Behavior
"The content emphasis is on updating of both topics and statistics across a broad spectrum. Specifically addressing the new frontiers that have opened in the area of addictive studies, the volumes explore not only the biological basis for addiction, but also recent enhancements in diagnosis and treatment." Electronic version of the 4 volume 2nd edition of the print resource.
Encyclopedia of Giftedness, Creativity, and Talent
"Contains thousands of ready-to-use facts from the fields of education, psychology, sociology, and the arts. The entries cover the major facets of this field, from artistic ability, to achievement motivation, to creative personality, to emotional intelligence, gender differences, genius, intelligence testing, learning styles, minority under-representation, multiple intelligences, musical ability, prodigies, scientists, self-actualization, thinking skills, and more."
Encyclopedia of Group Processes & Intergroup Relations
Covers concepts from "intersecting disciplines such as sociology, organizational and cross-cultural psychology, and language and communication studies."
Encyclopedia of Health and Behavior
Electronic version of the 2 volume set covering all aspects of the interdisciplinary field of behavioral medicine.
Encyclopedia of Human Development
Includes information from the "fields of psychology, individual and family studies, and education." An electronic version of the 3 volume print resource, the set "covers topics as diverse as adolescence, cognitive development, education, family, gender differences, identity, longitudinal research, personality development, prenatal development, temperament, and more."
Encyclopedia of Human Relationships
Covers a wide variety of themes including communication processes, personality and individual differences, psychological processes, the social context of relationships, and theoretical approaches to studying relationships.
Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
"Presents a thorough overview of the cross-disciplinary field of industrial and organizational psychology for students, researchers, and professionals in the areas of psychology, business, management, and human resources." Electronic version of the 2 volume print resource.
Encyclopedia of Medical Decision Making
"Discusses very general issues that span many aspects of MDM, including bioethics; health policy and economics; disaster simulation modeling; medical informatics; the psychology of decision making; shared and team medical decision making; social, moral, and religious factors; end-of-life decision making; assessing patient preference and patient adherence; and more"
Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders
Includes entries for all 150 disorders classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). Also features entries for prescription, alternative, and over-the-counter drugs, as well as the various therapies used to treat mental disorders. Based on the Thomson Gale print publication of the same name.
Encyclopedia of Multicultural Psychology
"Addresses culture across a broad spectrum of psychological perspectives and includes topics that are relevant to social psychology, cognitive psychology, environmental psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and clinical psychology." Electronic version of the print resource.
Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology
"Covers recent and historical phenomena, topics, concepts, cults, personalities, organizations, and publications associated with the fields of occultism and parapsychology. Includes over 2,000 biographies of prominent individuals and personalities in these fields; country entries on the development of occultism and parapsychology; and pro and con narrative on some of the controversial topics." An electronic version of the 2 volume 5th edition.
Encyclopedia of Perception
Covers the topic from a wide variety of fields such as psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, computer science, and philosophy.
Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society
"Explores the concept of play in history and modern society in the United States and internationally. As an academic social history, it includes the perspectives of several curricular disciplines, from sociology to child psychology, from lifestyle history to social epidemiology."
Encyclopedia of Psychological Assessment
"Coverage of all areas from the most traditional, such as clinical, educational and work and organizational psychology, to the most recent applications linked to health, gerontology, neuropsychology, psychophysiology and environmental assessment." Electronic version of the 2 volume print resource.
Encyclopedia of Psychology
Includes original information generated by researchers and practitioners in various fields of psychology, and a hierarchical database of links to websites providing information about scientific psychology.
Encyclopedia of School Psychology
Authors from the fields of "psychology, education and counseling, child development, and special education address student success, behavior disorders, intelligence testing, learning disabilities, strategies to improve academic skills, and more." Electronic version of the print resource.
Encyclopedia of Social Psychology
"Provides background to each concept, explains what researchers are now doing with it, and discusses where it stands in relation to other concepts in the field." Electronic version of the print resource.
Encyclopedia of Urban Studies
"Includes important work and traditions from each of the urban disciplines, including urban anthropology, urban economics, urban geography, urban history, urban politics, urban psychology, and urban sociology."
Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace & Conflict
"Provides information about antagonism and reconciliation in all contexts of public and personal life. Covers topics such as arms control, peace movements, child abuse, folklore, terrorism and political assassinations."
Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health
"Provides detailed information on mental disorders and conditions. Also features entries for prescription, alternative and over-the-counter drugs, as well as the various therapies used to treat mental disorders." Electronic version of the 2 volume 2nd edition of the print resource.
Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology
"Covers the entire spectrum of psychology, including notable people, theories and terms, landmark case studies and experiments, applications of psychology in advertising, medicine and sports, and career information." Electronic version of the 2nd edition of the print resource.
Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained
Provides "information on topics relating to magic, witchcraft, the supernatural, and other mysterious phenomena. Covers the history, people, and practices related to each topic, as well as popular literature, television programs, and movies related to the subject." Electronic version of the 3 volume print resource. A freely accessible version is also available.
Handbook of Neuroscience for the Behavioral Sciences
Comprehensive coverage of information on "new biological bases, research tools, and implications of brain and gene research as it relates to psychology."
Handbook of Social Psychology
A "standard reference work in the field, offering historic, integrative, and penetrating surveys of the topics that constitute the discipline." Electronic version of the 5th edition of the print resource.
Hormones, Brain, and Behavior
Covers "a broad range of topics with an extensive discussion of the effects of hormones on insects, fish, amphibians, birds, rodents, and humans." Electronic version of the 2nd edition of the print resource.
International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences
An online version of the 26 volume set containing scholarly essays on a wide range of topics in the social and behavioral sciences.
SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Combines and compares "terminology in nine separate social and behavioral science disciplines: communication, economics, education, geography, media studies, political science, psychology, public administration, and sociology."

Important New Behavioral Sciences Reference Sources

These are new(er) reference resources for behavioral sciences from large scientific publishers. These are prominent reference works in psychology

Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology
"Coverage includes: biological psychology and neuroscience; DSM diagnoses and psychopathological conditions; psychological and psychopharmacological treatment methods; psychological tests, scales, and assessment methods; developmental processes; research methods and statistical procedures; psychological societies and organizations; psychology from around the world; and biographical entries on over 600 influential psychologists."
Handbook of Neuroscience for the Behavioral Sciences
Comprehensive coverage of information on "new biological bases, research tools, and implications of brain and gene research as it relates to psychology."
Hormones, Brain, and Behavior
Covers "a broad range of topics with an extensive discussion of the effects of hormones on insects, fish, amphibians, birds, rodents, and humans." Electronic version of the 2nd edition of the print resource.
International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences
An online version of the 26 volume set containing scholarly essays on a wide range of topics in the social and behavioral sciences.

Psychology Dictionaries/Glossaries

RUL will hopefully be adding more online psychology dictionaries within the coming year.

SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Combines and compares "terminology in nine separate social and behavioral science disciplines: communication, economics, education, geography, media studies, political science, psychology, public administration, and sociology."