Free Online Psychology Textbooks
Learn how you can benefit from free psychology textbooks and journals to save money on your education.
The cost of higher education has grown steadily in recent years, making it harder for students to afford a degree. The burden of buying textbooks and other supplies for the semester can be a daunting addition to tuition and fees.
According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the price of college textbooks increased by 7% in just three years, from 2020-2023. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that the average student borrower takes on $45,300 in debt for an undergraduate degree.
To help offset the cost of textbooks, some publishers and academic organizations have made online textbooks and peer-reviewed journals available for free. This makes education more accessible for all, including those who are not currently enrolled at a university but have a desire to learn.
Read on to learn more about how you can benefit from free online psychology textbooks and journals.
Free Digital Psychology Textbooks
Free online textbooks are a great option for students looking to save money, or prospective students interested in learning more about the field of psychology before enrolling in a bachelor’s program at a university. In fact, online textbooks and free college-level courses are becoming increasingly popular and more widely available. Many college instructors are assigning free online textbooks, like those listed below, as part of the core curriculum for their undergraduate psychology courses.
As with other electronic media, the safest source is typically the publisher or a reputable repository, such as a college or university library, department of education, or other organization. These free online psychology textbooks can help you save some money on your education, or give you a headstart on learning more about the field of psychology.
Introductions to Psychology
Psychology, 2nd edition (Year of Publication: 2024)
This free psychology textbook, available as a PDF download, is designed for a one-semester introductory course for beginners in psychology. Like many books from OpenStax, a free online textbook publisher, you can also download supplemental materials for teachers or students.
Psychology: The Science of Human Potential (2019)
Offered by BC Open Canada, this free online textbook explores psychology through a nature vs. nurture lens, outlining biological and social-learning aspects of human development and behavior. You can download this textbook in multiple formats.
Introduction to Psychology: Moving Towards Diversity and Inclusion (2024)
Diverse authors make this modern psychology textbook a valuable contribution to the field, filling gaps in traditional psychology textbooks for a more comprehensive overview of psychology theory and application. Co-authored by professors from several Canadian universities, this free online textbook is available to read online and download as a PDF.
Answering Questions with Data: Introductory Statistics for Psychology Students (2019)
In addition to downloading this free psychology textbook, by Matthew Crump, Danielle Navarro, and Jeffrey Suzuki, you can download the most recent versions of the datasets and other tools.
Abnormal Psychology
Abnormal Psychology (2020)
This free psychology textbook by Jorden Cummings at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada includes segments of other pre-existing open-source textbooks. It assembles an overview of various mental health disorders, including cultural considerations and an introduction to psychopharmacology.
Fundamentals of Psychological Disorders, 3rd edition (2024)
The third edition of this title by PhDs Alexis Bridley and Lee Daffin Jr. from Washington State University is based on the most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, widely considered the gold standard for identifying and cataloging mental health disorders and diagnoses. This book can be downloaded as a PDF or read online.
Behavioral Psychology
Human Behavior and the Social Environment II (2020)
Author Whitney Payne at the University of Arkansas is a licensed clinical social worker and certified drug and alcohol counselor. This free online textbook discusses social behavior in groups, families, organizations, and communities.
The Psychology of Addiction (2018)
Author Jenny Svanberg, a clinical psychologist, published this free psychology textbook to Researchgate, a website where academic authors can choose to post their materials to make them freely available. This book offers an introduction to addiction, including policy considerations, the recovery process, and how addiction impacts people’s lives.
Understanding Biological Behavior, 1st edition (2025)
This easy-to-navigate online textbook explores the interaction between the brain and behavior, offering a comprehensive introduction to cognitive neuroscience.
Developmental Psychology
Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective, 2nd Edition (2019)
You can download this free psychology textbook by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French at the College of Lake County as a PDF file.
Child Growth and Development (2019)
California’s College of the Canyons published this free psychology textbook as a PDF or a Microsoft Word document, which makes it easy to edit. It covers the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional developmental milestones from infancy through adolescence.
Human Development (2021)
Published by Portland State University Library, this free online textbook provides an overview of developmental milestones across the human lifespan.
Free Online Psychology Journals
Academic journals can cost thousands of dollars per year, straining university budgets and resulting in either fewer subscriptions, or the cost being passed on to students. Yet access to peer-reviewed journal articles is essential for most students in undergraduate psychology programs who are required to write papers and cite reputable sources. Journal articles are a key component of the required reading for many psychology courses. Even for those who have not yet earned a degree in psychology, or who graduated years ago, free online psychology journals can help you to stay abreast to current research and best practices in the field.
Open-source publishing offers high-quality free psychology journals that are peer-reviewed. The Directory of Open Access Journals has a fairly comprehensive listing. Even if a journal is not open-source or free, many publishers make some articles available online for free, so explore the publisher’s website if you want a specific article. For example, the American Psychological Association posts some of its materials at no charge.
You can also use research tools, such as the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed database or Google Scholar, and filter for full-text articles. If you want a specific article, your local public library may be able to get you a copy.
Here are some of the free online journals available in psychology:
General Psychology Journals
- Open Psychology Journal is an open-access peer-reviewed journal. You can download articles in different formats, including PDF or ePub files.
- Frontiers in Psychology is one of the most influential open access psychology journals, with a 3.8 impact factor.
- European Journal of Psychology Open is the official journal of the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA).
- PLOS ONE aims to make research widely and freely accessible to further scientific advancements around the world.
- advances.in/psychology is an international, open-access peer-reviewed journal that covers psychology’s many subfields, including clinical psychology, developmental psychology, forensic psychology, and more.
- BMC Psychology is part of Springer Nature, and focuses on research pertaining to the mind, human behavior, and a broad range of psychology topics.
- PsychOpen GOLD offers an array of psychology journals on a wide range of topics, published by the Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID) in Germany, in English.
- Psychology International is an international open-access peer-reviewed journal published by MDPI in Switzerland.
- Collabra: Psychology is an open-access journal published by the University of California Press and is the official journal for the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science.
Cognitive Psychology Journals
- Frontiers in Cognition describes its role as “bridging the gap between neuroscience and psychology.” It is part of the Frontiers’ collection of open-access journals.
- Advances in Cognitive Psychology presents new research in cognition. It is based in Poland but many articles are in English.
Clinical and Counseling Psychology Journals
- Health Psychology Open, from Sage, explores the areas where health and psychology overlap.
- Judgment and Decision Making is from Cambridge University in England and the Society for Judgment and Decision Making.
Behavioral Psychology Journals
- Open Access Journal of Addiction and Psychology is part of Iris Publishers’ family of journals, and explores topics related to the psychology of addiction.
- Journal of Addiction & Addictive Disorders covers a breadth of behavioral health topics, including the psychological factors in substance use disorders and their treatment.
- Addiction Science & Clinical Practice is published by Springer Nature as an open-access journal, particularly focused on improving the quality of care.
Expanding Your Expertise
Even as a student or alumnus, you can benefit from using open-access resources. Free online courses through platforms like edX and Coursera can offer another budget-friendly avenue to learn more about the field of psychology. From TED Talks to library books, free, high-quality information about psychology is widely available.
Free and open-access or open-source textbooks and journals can greatly reduce the cost of education or continuing professional development. If you focus your search for free online textbooks and journals on reputable, high-quality sources, you’ll be saving money and accessing peer-reviewed, expert-authored content from some of the world’s foremost psychologists.
