First published in 1967, this seminal volume by Ulric Neisser was the first attempt at a comprehensive and accessible survey of Cognitive Psychology; as such, it provided the field with its first true textbook.

Its chapters are organized so that they began with stimulus information that came 'inward' through the organs of sense, through its many transformations and reconstructions, and finally through to its eventual use in thought and memory.

The volume inspired numerous students enter the field of cognitive psychology and some of the today's leading and most respected cognitive psychologists cite Neisser's book as the reason they embarked on their careers.