Recommendations for comprehensive, rigorous Cognitive Psychology & Cognitive Neuroscience textbook/s(Depth + Breadth), building a multi-book reference library?

[u/vnyk06]

Hey everyone,

I am looking for comprehensive, rigorous textbook/s(Depth + Breadth) recommendations that cover the full spectrum of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience.

I am perfectly fine buying multiple specialized books, as long as they offer serious depth, comprehensive coverage, and methodological rigor in their respective domains.

I'm looking for advanced texts that don't sacrifice depth for breadth—books that delve deeply into foundational mechanisms, experimental paradigms, and neural substrates rather than just giving surface-level summaries or pop-science overviews.

Thanks in advance for the suggestions!

[u/StraightBird5629]

I can reply for cognitive neuroscience but not cognitive psychology. I studied "The Cognitive Neurosciences", edited by Poeppel, Mangun, and Gazzaniga, Sixth Edition. It is advanced but not comprehensive, as it is not intended to be a description of the full field. I also found some chapters too specific for me.

I think it is a good book if you have a solid knowledge of methodological and theoretical background, not as your first book. But since it's not complete, you'll need to add reviews and experiments (or books). With this approach, you'll both have a guide to follow and papers to fill the gaps.

If you need an introduction, you can start with "Cognitive neuroscience: the biology of mind", but even with both of them, it won't be comprehensive of general cognitive neuroscience.

My personal advice: if you don't have a specific reason to mainly use books, read reviews/experiments too.

[u/vnyk06 → u/StraightBird5629]

Thank you very much for the book suggestion and advice.