Chapter 1: The Evolution of Psychology
1.1 Psychology's EarlyHistory
*Summarize Wundt's contributions to psychology, and describe the chief tenets of structuralism and functionalism.
In the 1870s, psychology was studied by scholars who were in the both fields of philosophy and physiology. It was Wundt who declared that psychology is an independent discipline and he did make great contributions to psychology. In1879, Wundt established the first laboratory for research in psychology. In1881, he established the first journal for publishing research. The influenceof Wundt's conception of psychology lasted for two decades and more. Accordingto Wundt, psychology is a science like physics and chemistry with consciousnessas its subject matter. Therefore, psychology became the scientific study ofconscious experience. Historians defined 1879 as the birth of psychology and weall see Wundt as the founder of psychology.
Structuralismfocuses on the basic elements of mind and structuralists devote to analyzethese elements and investigate how they are related. The method they use toinvestigate is called introspection, which provides the subject with stimuliand asks the subject to report his or her own conscious experience. This methodrequired training to guarantee that the subject is objective to and aware ofthe stimuli. Functionalism focuses on the function of consciousness.Structuralism much relies on the lab to investigate, while functionalismprefers investigate mental testing and so on.
*Articulate Freud's principal ideasand why they inspired controversy.
Freuddefined unconscious as thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below thesurface of conscious awareness but have great influence on behavior. Hispsychoanalytic theory attempts to explain personality, motivation, and mentaldisorders by focusing on the unconscious determinants of behavior.
Freud'sideas were so different from the prevailing belief at that time that was hotlydiscussed at that time. Freud pointed out that behavior was greatly influencedby unconscious forces, especially how people deal with their sexual urges,which was not comfortable for most people. Although sex was included and Freudwas scandalized by even scientists, his theory was accepted throughcontroversy.
*Trace the development of
behaviorism, and assess Watson's impact on the evolution of psychology.Summarize Skinner's key insights.
Behaviorismwas set up by John B. Watson in the early 1900s. Behaviorism is defined as atheoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology shouldstudy only observable behavior. This idea was a redefinition of scientificpsychology. Watson encouraged psychologists to put away the study ofconsciousness and focus just on the behavior. Behavior refers to any overtresponse or activity by an organism which compared to mental activity, could beverified. Watson also held firm position on the issue of nature or nurturesaying that behavior was governed entirely by the environment. The rise ofbehaviorism also attributed to the development of animal research as animalscould be subject and more productive with their easily controlled behavior.Behaviorism was challenged by psychoanalysis in 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. But in1950s B.F. Skinner ended this movement by documenting the fundamental principleof behaviorism, which says that organisms tend to repeat response that leads topositive outcomes and tend not to repeat response that leads to negativeoutcomes. Skinner didn’t deny the existence of mental activities but refused tostudy because mental activity is too private and at the same time there was noneed to study mental activity. According to Skinner, behavior is controlled ina predictable way by very lawful principles. Therefore, he concluded that freewill is just an illusion. Behaviorism flourished during 1950s and 1960s.
*Explain the emergence of humanismand its underlying philosophy.
Asbehaviorism and psychoanalytic theory were hotly debated in 1950s, manypsychologists found that both of these theoretical orientations wereunappealing. The former was criticized for its preoccupation with the study ofsimple animal behavior, the latter was blamed for its emphasis on primitive,sexual urges. Both theories suggested that people are not the masters of theirown destinies and failed to recognize the unique qualities of human behavior.Soon therefore humanism came into being at the beginning of 1950s which focuseson the unique qualities of humans, especially freedom and potential. Humaniststake an optimistic view of human nature and see human nature as a fundamentallydifferent being from animals. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow are two prominentpsychologists promoting humanism. Rogers maintained that human is governed bytheir own self, or "self-concept". Both emphasized that to fullyunderstand people's behavior, psychologists must consider human's potential todevelopment.
1.2 Psychology'sModern History
*Discuss how historical eventscontributed to the emergence of psychology as a profession.
Onecharacteristic of psychology is that it has a highly practical side. Manypsychologists offer public a variety of professional services. The firstapplied arm of psychology is clinical psychology, which deals psychologicalproblems and disorders with diagnosis and treatment. It was after World War Ⅱ(1950s) that the professionalization of psychology became a branch ofpsychology. It is imaginable that during World War Ⅱ, psychologists were forcedto serve as clinicians. Many psychologists found that this application ofpsychology was challenging and rewarding, which might be a reason whyafterwards the applied psychology could be developed. After the war, manypsychologists remained in the field of applied psychology and about half of thenew Ph.D.’s in psychology were in clinical psychology. There is no doubt thatpsychology as a science to explore human does help people to reflect and improvethemselves in everyday life. Until now the applied psychology has beendeveloped into many branches such as school psychology and the needs ofpsychology to help people will rise continuously and variously with thedevelopment of society.
*Describe two trends emerging in
the 1950s-1960s that represented a return to psychology's intellectual roots.
During1950s and 1960s, while applied psychology was developing, psychologistsironically looked back to the two areas which are the roots of psychology.Cognition was defined as a mental process involved in understandinginformation, acquiring knowledge etc. It was the new outcomes of computerscience that allow psychologists to investigate more in cognition. Researchesin the study of cognition were pushing it forwards as many new ideascontinuously came out. Herbert Simon was one of the first to look into theparallels between computer and cognition. It was believed that our behavior wasno doubt influence by our mental activity and it was proved that it was possibleto derive methods to study cognition process. Many studies at this time alsofocused on the relationship between body, mind and behavior, which stimulatedan increase in physiology. Psychologists came to agree with the idea that humanand animal behavior could somehow be explained from the brain structures andbiochemical process perspectives. Cognition and physiology are the importanttheoretical orientation in modern psychology.
*Explaining why Western psychologyhas shown an increased interest in cultural variables in recent decades.
Psychologistswere devoted to find out the fundamental principles that could be applied toall human beings. However, in history, most psychologists were from westerncountries and therefore somehow limited the verification of their researches.In recent decades, two trends are bringing psychologists to different groupsaround the world. One is the advances in communication, travel, andinternational trade, the other is the ethnic makeup of the Western world. Manypsychologists are also testing the previous conclusions to ensure that theycould be apply to different cultural groups.
*Discuss the emergence and basicideas of evolutionary psychology and positive psychology.
Evolutionarypsychology began to emerge in the middle to late 1980s. It assumes that naturalselection favors behaviors that enhance organisms' reproductive success.Evolutionary psychology examines behavioral processes in terms of theiradaptive value for members of a species over the course of many generations.Positive psychology was raised in the late 1990s due to Martin Seligman, whowas elected as president of the American Psychological Association in 1997.Seligman was scolded by his daughter for his overachieving attitude and fromthis he came to realize the negative atmosphere in the field of psychology. Hethen came to discuss this problem with a lot of psychologists that the field ofpsychology had historically devoted too much attention to pathology, weakness,and damage, and ways to heal suffering and they outlined he philosophy andgoals of positive psychology, which could be seen as the emergence of positivepsychology. Positive psychology aims to better understand the positive,adaptive, creative, and fulfilling aspects of human existence through theoryand research. The study of positive emotions, positive individual traits, andpositive institutions and communities are the three areas positive psychologyapplied to.
1.3Psychology Today: Vigorous and Diversified
*Discuss the growth of psychology,and identify the most common work settings for contemporary psychologists.
Thegrowth of psychology has been dramatic. The American Psychological Association(APA), a national organization devoted to the advancement of psychology, wasfounded by G. Stanley Hall in 1892 with just 31 members. The members of APA havegrown to over 90000 today, which is nine times as in 1950. Psychology has beenthe second most popular undergraduate major. Nearly 10% of all doctoral degreeswas awarded in the field of psychology. Over 2500 technical journals focus onpsychology. In conclusion, psychology is a healthy, growing field.
Thework settings for psychologists are very diverse. Research has been done in1976 by APA which indicated that 28% psychologists work in colleges anduniversities, 19.4% in hospitals and clinics, 33.6% in private practice, 6.3%in business and government, 4.2% in elementary and secondary schools, and 8.5%in other. Contemporary psychology is a multifaceted field.
*List and describe the majorresearch areas and professional specialties in psychology.
Thenine major research areas in modern psychology are developmental psychology,social psychology, experimental psychology, physiological psychology, cognitivepsychology, personality, psychometrics, educational psychology, healthpsychology. Developmental psychology focuses on human development across thelife span. Social psychology focuses on interpersonal behavior and the role ofsocial forces in governing behavior, including attitude formation, attitudechange, prejudice, conformity, attraction, aggression, intimate relationships,and behavior in groups. Experimental psychology focuses on encompasses thetraditional core of topics that psychology focused on heavily in its firsthalf-century as a science, namely sensation, perception learning, conditioning,motivation, and emotion. Physiological psychology examines the influence ofgenetic factors on behavior and the role of the brain, nervous system, endocrinesystem, and bodily chemicals in the regulation of behavior. Cognitivepsychology focuses on mental processes, such as memory, reasoning, informationprocessing, language, problem solving, decision making, and creativity.Personality is interested in describing and understanding individuals'consistency in behavior, which represents their personality. Psychometrics isconcerned with the measurement of behavior and capacities, involved with thedesign of tests to assess personality, intelligence, and a wide range ofabilities and the development of new techniques for statistical analysis.Educational psychology studies how people learn and the best ways to teachthem, and examines curriculum design, teacher training, achievement testing,student motivation, classroom diversity, and other aspects of the educationalprocess. Health psychology focuses on how psychological factors relate to thepromotion and maintenance of physical health and the causation, prevention, andtreatment of illness.
Thereare four main professional specialties, including clinical psychology,counseling psychology, school psychology, and industrial/organizationalpsychology. Clinical psychology is concerned with the evaluation, diagnosis,and the treatment of individuals with psychological disorders, as well astreatment of less severe behavioral and emotional problems. Counselingpsychology provide assistance to people struggling with everyday problems ofmoderate severity, which is a major different from clinical psychology as thesetwo professions overlap in similar activities. School psychology aims topromote the cognitive, emotional, and social development of children inschools. Industrial and organizational psychology perform a wide variety oftasks in business and industry.
1.4 SevenUnifying Theme
*Understanding the text's threeunifying themes relating to psychology as a field of study.
Theme1: Psychology is empirical. Empiricism is the premise that knowledge should beacquired through observation, which demands data and documentation.
Theme2: Psychology is theoretically diverse. This is because no single theory canadequately explain everything that is known about behavior. And psychologists increasinglycome to realize that theoretical diversity is a strength rather than aweakness.
Theme3: Psychology evolves in a sociohistorical context. Trends, issues, and valuesin society influence psychology's evolution and similarity, progress inpsychology affects trends, issues, and values in society.
*Understanding the text's fourunifying themes relating to psychology's subject matter.
Theme4: Behavior is determined by multiple causes. Psychologists found that behavioris governed by a complex network of interacting factors, which is also referredto as the multifactorial causation of behavior.
Theme5: Behavior is shaped by cultural heritage. Though much of our culturalheritage is invisible, our behavior is influenced considerably by culturalfactors. Culture means the widely shared customs, beliefs, values, norms, institutions,and other products of a community that are transmitted socially acrossgenerations, and because culture is widely shared, usually we don't discuss ituntil we experience different culture.
Theme6: Heredity and environment jointly influence behavior. A century of researchhas proved that individuals' intelligence, personality, ad susceptibility tomany psychological disorders are both influenced by genetics and experience.
Theme7: People's experience of the world is subjective. This conclusion was demonstratedby Hastorf and Cantril. Their study shown how people sometimes see what theywant to see. Human subjectivity is precisely what the scientific method isdesigned to counteract.
1.5Personal Application: Improving Academic Performance
*Discuss some strategies forpromoting adequate study, improving reading comprehension, and getting more outof lectures.
First,developing sound study habits. Setting up a schedule for studying, finding aplace to study where you can concentrate and rewarding your study could behelpful. People don't always know the power of habit until they could make somecomparation. There is no doubt that we get benefits from our good habits.
Second,improving your reading. Graphic organizers in the text can help us betterunderstand. It has been proved that the habit of highlighting textbooks couldbe helpful if we review them often. Attentive note taking is associated withenhanced learning and performance in college classes. And the key to get moreout of the lecture is to stay motivated, stay attentive, and expend the effortto make your notes as complete as possible. Some of the suggestions on how totake good-quality notes could be active listening, reading ahead, writing downthe ideas in your words, paying attention to what is most important, organizingyour notes accordingly, and asking questions.
Itis interesting to notice that students always come to realize that they needgood habits to ensure their study and they do read something about habits thatcould be helpful and finally they get motivated to form their new pattern ofstudy which is not so hard to accept in their imagination. But the truth isthat it is easily to insist on the good habits because forming a good habit isnot easy and it requires the ability of self-awareness to remind them of howfar they have gone. They could be so frustrated that finally give up and stoppaying attention to their study. The process of improving academic performanceis not easy but at the same time this doesn't mean that we have no way or noeasy way to improve. Step by step we could be familiar with the tasks and therequirements and get what we want.
1.6Critical Thinking Application: Developing Critical Thinking Skills: AnIntroduction
*Explain the nature of criticalthinking, and evaluate evolutionary explanations for gender differences inspatial abilities.
Criticalthinking is purposeful, reasoned, goal-directed thinking that involves solvingproblems, formulating inferences, working with probabilities, and makingcarefully thought-out decisions. Critical thinking is the use of cognitiveskills and strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome.Skills of critical thinkers could be understanding and using the principles ofscientific investigation, applying the rules of formal and informal logic,thinking effectively in terms of probabilities, carefully evaluating thequality of information, analyzing arguments for the soundness of theconclusions.
Onthe average, males tend to perform slightly better than females on mostvisual-spatial tasks, especially tasks involving mental rotation of images andnavigation in space. Evolutionary theorists maintain that these genderdifferences originated in human evolution as a result of the sex-based divisionof labor in ancient hunting-and-gathering societies. Silverman and Ealsmaintain that females ought to be superior to males on spatial skills becausefemales spent much of their time gathering. Both ideas above assume that ourdifferent spatial ability between genders is a result of adaptive pressurewhich our ancestors faced and more information is needed to draw a conclusion.There could be other explanations for gender differences in spatial skills. Andthere are data that show no significant differences of spatial ability betweenmodern gender. Critical thinking skills involve looking for alternative explanationsfor finding and events, looking for contradictory evidence.
Thischapter cover nearly all of information through the evolution of psychology,including psychology's early and modern history, professional specialties andresearch specialties in psychology today, and some applications. There is a trend that more and more peopleare paying attention to psychological phenomena and problems in everyday life.This could a challenge for psychologists because in one way some incorrect explanationscould be misleading to the public and prevent psychology from helping people,in other way with the development of psychology, more scientific methods willbe applied to clarify psychological hypothesis, which makes it harder for thepublic to understand the scientific research done to make a clear conclusion.Anyway, psychology is growing dramatically and it is really exciting that machinelearning and AI are gradually involving in psychological study. To be apsychologist is something interesting for me, as it gives me a differentperspective to observe and understand people around and at the same time a wayto see human as a specialty that nature has born.
