If I were to home study behavioral sciences what text, publications, or books would you recommend?

Question

I have a personal passion for psychology. Money being an issue schooling down the road is an option, but I am curious for those who are doing behavioral analysis, behavioral sciences, and behaviorism what types of literature could I be reading/studying on my own. I realize there is no substitute for an accredited course, but what types of sources may I study on my own on a beginner to intermediate level for my own knowledge until I am able to attend a school?

(example) I have found a few sources of college prof. who often record their lectures and post them online for their students. Surprisingly these lectures are 1)amazingly interesting *half the class they lecture is falling asleep...while I'm eating the info up and 2)not over my head. I am a researcher and while many terms may initially be out of my comprehension level- a good week of research on those terms I am back up to speed...

Answer 1

I am a social work major and I just love the sociology/human behavior aspect of life.  I have found that almost every text book I use in my classes I want to keep at the end of the semesters just for reference in the future.  

My suggestion to you is to find a local college/university and see if you can find which text books they are using for their "Introduction to psychology/sociology/social work" classes.  

I just took a class called "Human Behavior in the Social Environment" and thought it was a great class.  Unfortunately I had to sell my book back to the University's book store because I was dead broke.  But if you do some digging into a university's behavioral science programs, you should be able to find a course listing for each major (psychology included) and which books are needed for each course.  

You may not have wanted text books to read but I think they are the perfect place to start.  They are geared for people who know little to nothing about the subject and often times come with supplemental materials such as online resource or CDs which help you to better understand the material.

I wish you the best of luck!

EDIT:

The only one good book that comes to mind.  It is called

Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Race and Ethnicity

by Richard C. Monk - Social Science - 2001 - 376 pages

It had some really good points about the way people think about minority groups in America.  I bet if you go to any Barns&Noble or any other book store they will have a Behavioral Science section.