Rod Plotnik earned his Ph.D. as a biological psychologist from the University of Florida and a post doctorate at Yale University. Early in his career, he realized the effectiveness of teaching students through visuals to get them excited about the material, a technique he utilizes throughout INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY, now in its Tenth Edition (Cengage Learning, 2014).
When Dr. Kouyoumdjian took his first college psychology class at Diablo Valley College, He had the opportunity to use Introduction to Psychology (3rd ed.) by Rod Plotnik. He can still recall the many conversations he had with peers and family members sharing the fascinating stories he read about and his overall enthusiasm for the textbook. For the first time ever, he did the unimaginable--that is he began reading ahead because he was impatient to read the next great story and learn the next interesting concept. Plotnik's text sparked Haig's interest in psychology and he went on to pursue a Bachelor of Science at Saint Mary's College of California, a liberal arts college in the Bay Area. Dr.… Kouyoumdjian's interest in psychology continued to deepen while in college and he went on to receive a Master of Arts in psychology at San Diego State University, where he had the unique experience of working closely with Rod Plotnik, who at that time was a Professor in the department and supervisor of the graduate teaching associates training program. Under Plotnik's close supervision, Dr. Kouyoumdjian began teaching undergraduate Introduction to Psychology courses at the university using Plotnik's 4th and 5th editions. Following Dr. Kouyoumdjian's education and training at San Diego State University, he attended University of Nebraska--Lincoln, where he received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. While there, he continued to teach Introduction to Psychology courses and used Plotnik's 6th edition. Dr. Kouyoumdjian's primary areas of research focused on child maltreatment and Latino mental health, which resulted in several publications.