Free Online Psychology Textbooks
- Free online psychology textbooks and journals from universities, publishers, and open-access platforms make learning accessible without financial barriers.
- Open-access resources can help you build expertise, but likely won’t count toward your college credits and may lag behind in covering the latest research.
- Students and professionals can expand their knowledge using peer-reviewed open-access journals and platforms like edX, Coursera, and TED Talks.
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The cost of attending college can be steep, leaving students looking for ways to reduce costs. Finding ways to save money is crucial to making education more accessible. Some publishers and academic organizations offer open-access textbooks, journals, and other resources, so you can explore psychology topics without a financial commitment. Explore some of these free online resources in this guide.
Free Digital Psychology Textbooks
An increasing number of publishers and online platforms offer high-quality, openly licensed textbooks that cost you nothing. You can easily download them to explore the field of psychology or to use as a college resource.
It is best to seek out content from reputable sources, such as a college or university press, education department, or educational organization. Our listing of free psychology books for beginners and experts can help. These resources may not be required or accepted by your course instructors. While they help enrich your knowledge base, they may not directly help you get college credit.
Introductions to Psychology
Psychology, 2nd edition (Year of Publication: 2020)
This free psychology textbook, available as a PDF download, is designed for psychology beginners. OpenStax, a free online textbook publisher, also allows you to 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)
This modern psychology textbook is a valuable contribution to the field. It fills 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 (2018)
You can download this free psychology textbook by Matthew Crump, Danielle Navarro, and Jeffrey Suzuki. The most recent versions of the datasets and other tools are also available.
Psychology as a Biological Science (2020)
This free downloadable textbook by Robert Biswas-Diener and Ed Diener gives an introduction to psychology, with an emphasis on its biological aspects. It can be modified to add or remove modules to meet your educational needs.
Abnormal Psychology
Abnormal Psychology (2020)
This textbook by Jorden Cummings at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada includes segments of other pre-existing open-source textbooks. It provides 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.
Mental Disorders and the Criminal Justice System (2025)
Written by Anne Nichol, Kendra Harding, and Monica J. McKirdy, community colleges instructors in Oregon, this introductory textbook explores the treatment of people with mental disorders in the criminal justice system.
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 on ResearchGate, a website where academic authors make their materials 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, written by various contributors, explores the interaction between the brain and behavior, offering a comprehensive introduction to cognitive neuroscience.
The Balance of Personality (2020)
Authored by Chris Allen at Portland State University, this open-access textbook explores theories of personality and was developed for upper-division undergraduate students.
Free Online Psychology Journals
Access to peer-reviewed journals is essential for psychology majors who need reputable citations for papers and other assignments. Free online psychology journals can keep you updated on current psychology research and best practices.
Open-source publishing offers free peer-reviewed psychology journals. The Directory of Open Access Journals has a fairly comprehensive listing of such publications. Even if a journal is not open-source or free, many publishers make some articles available online for free. 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 to 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:
Expanding Your Expertise
Free and open-access or open-source textbooks and journals can greatly reduce the cost of education or continuing professional development. You can also explore free online courses from platforms like edX and Coursera. From TED Talks to library books, high-quality information about psychology is widely available at no cost. With careful planning, you can save money as you learn from some of the world’s foremost psychologists, publishing in a variety of formats.
