History and Approaches - Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High - 5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology, 2014-2015 Edition

5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology, 2014-2015 Edition (2013)

STEP 4. Review the Knowledge You Need to Score High

Chapter 5. History and Approaches

IN THIS CHAPTER

Summary: Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Behavior is anything you do that can be observed. Mental processes are your internal experiences such as thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions. Scientific study involves systematic collection and examination of data (empirical evidence) to support or disprove hypotheses (predictions) rather than depending on common sense.

Psychology has a long past, but a short history as a science. Although people have thought about their own behavior for thousands of years, the thinking was not done in an organized and scientific manner.

This chapter looks at highlights in the development of the science of psychology and its conceptual approaches.

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Key Ideas

image Roots of psychology are in philosophy and physiology/biology.

image Structuralism and Functionalism—Schools of Psychology

image Behavioral Approach

image Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic Approach

image Humanistic Approach

image Biological Approach

image Evolutionary Approach

image Cognitive Approach

image Sociocultural Approach

image Domains of Psychology


Roots of Psychology

Roots of psychology can be traced to philosophy and physiology/biology over 2000 years ago in ancient Greece. As a result of examining organisms, physician/philosopher/physiologist Hippocrates thought the mind or soul resided in the brain, but was not composed of physical substance (mind-body dualism). Philosopher Plato (circa 350 BC), who also believed in dualism, used self-examination of inner ideas and experiences to conclude that who we are and what we know are innate (inborn). On the other hand, Plato’s student Aristotle believed that the mind/soul results from our anatomy and physiological processes (monism), that reality is best studied by observation, and that who we are and what we know are acquired from experience. About 2000 years later (circa 1650), similar ideas persisted with René Descartes and John Locke. Descartes defended mind-body dualism (Cogito ergo sum—“I think, therefore I am”) and that what we know is innate. On the other hand, empirical philosopher Locke believed that mind and body interact symmetrically (monism), knowledge comes from observation, and what we know comes from experience since we are born without knowledge, “a blank slate” (tabula rasa). The debate about the extent to which our behavior is inborn or learned through experience is called the nature-nurture controversy.

Schools of Psychology

By the late 1800s, psychology was beginning to emerge as a separate scientific discipline. Biologist Charles Darwin applied the law of natural selection to human beings, forwarding the idea that human behavior and thinking are subject to scientific inquiry. Physiologists Ernst Weber and Gustav Fechner showed how physical events are related to sensation and perception. Hermann von Helmholtz measured the speed at which nerve impulses travel. Should their studies be considered under the heading of biology or psychology?

“Knowing definitions is half the battle for a 5 [on the AP exam].”

Jen, AP student

Structuralism

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Schools of psychology aren’t schools the way we think of them, but early perspectives or approaches.

Wilhelm Wundt is generally credited as the founder of scientific psychology because in 1879 he set up a laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, specifically for research in psychology, dedicated to the scientific study of the immediate conscious experiences of sensation. Using careful methodology, he trained his associates and observers to objectively analyze their sensory experiences systematically through introspection (inward looking). He required that results be replicated, which means tested repeatedly under different conditions to produce similar results.

Wundt focused on the structure of the mind and identification of the basic elements of consciousness (sensations, feelings, and images) using trained introspection. G. Stanley Hall set up a psychology lab employing introspection at Johns Hopkins University, helped found the American Psychological Association, and became its first president. Edward Titchener brought introspection to his own lab at Cornell University, analyzed consciousness into its basic elements, and investigated how these elements are related. Wundt, Hall, and Titchener were members of the School of Structuralism.

Margaret Floy Washburn was Titchener’s first graduate student and the first woman to complete her Ph.D. in psychology.

Functionalism

American psychologist William James thought that the structuralists were asking the wrong questions. James was interested in the function or purpose of behavioral acts. He viewed humans as more actively involved in processing their sensations and actions. James and other psychologists, such as James Cattell and John Dewey, who studied mental testing, child development, and educational practices, exemplified the School of Functionalism. Functionalists focused on the application of psychological findings to practical situations and the function of mental operations in adapting to the environment (stream of consciousness) using a variety of techniques. Their goal was to explain behavior. Functionalism paved the way for behaviorism and applied subfields of psychology.

Mary Whiton Calkins, who studied psychology under James at Harvard, became the first woman president of the American Psychological Association. She viewed her psychology of selves as a reconciliation between structural and functional psychology.

Principal Approaches to Psychology

Major modern perspectives or conceptual approaches to psychology are behavioral, psycho-dynamic, humanistic, biological, evolutionary, cognitive, and sociocultural.

Behavioral Approach

The behavioral approach focuses on measuring and recording observable behavior in relation to the environment. Behaviorists think behavior results from learning. Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov trained dogs to salivate in response to the sound of a tone, demonstrating stimulus-response learning. Pavlov’s experiments at the beginning of the 20th century paved the way for behaviorism, which dominated psychology in America from the 1920s to the 1960s. Behaviorists examine the ABCs of behavior. They analyze antecedent environmental conditions that precede a behavior, look at the behavior (the action to understand, predict, and/or control), and examine the consequences that follow the behavior (its effect on the environment). Behaviorists have rejected the study of consciousness/mental processes because such private events cannot be verified or disproved. American behaviorist John B. Watson said that psychology should be the science of behavior. B. F. Skinner worked mainly with laboratory rats and pigeons, demonstrating that organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to positive consequences and not to repeat responses that lead to neutral or negative consequences. He thought that free will is an illusion. Like Aristotle and Locke before them, behaviorists such as Watson, E. L. Thorndike, and B. F. Skinner took the position that behavior is determined mainly by environment and experience rather than by genetic inheritance. In Germany, Gestalt psychologists studying perception disagreed with structuralists and behaviorists, maintaining that psychologists should study the whole conscious experience.

Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Approach

In Austria, Sigmund Freud also disagreed with behaviorists. He treated patients with mental disorders by talking with them over long periods of time to reveal unconscious conflicts, motives, and defenses in order to enhance each patient’s self-knowledge. His psychoanalytic theory focused on unconscious internal conflicts to explain mental disorders, personality, and motivation. Freud thought that the unconscious is the source of desires, thoughts, and memories below the surface of conscious awareness, and that early life experiences are important to personality development. Variations of psychoanalysis by Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen Horney, Heinz Kohut, and others are collectively known as the psychodynamic approach.

Humanistic Approach

By the middle of the 20th century, in disagreement with both behaviorists and psychoanalysts, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and other psychologists thought that humans have unique qualities of behavior different from other animals. The unique qualities of free will and potential for personal growth guide behavior and mental processes. Humanists emphasize the importance of people’s feelings and view human nature as naturally positive and growth seeking. Using interview techniques, humanists believe that people have the ability to solve their own problems.

Biological Approach

At about the same time, research on the physiological bases of behavior flourished. Technological advances enabled biologists to extend knowledge far beyond Weber’s, Fechner’s, and von Helmholtz’s work to examine how complex chemical and biological processes within the nervous and endocrine systems are related to the behavior of organisms. Many biological psychologists think that the mind is what the brain does.

Evolutionary Approach

An offshoot of the biological approach, evolutionary psychologists, returning to Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection, explain behavior patterns as adaptations naturally selected because they increase reproductive success.

Cognitive Approach

Technological advances also permitted psychologists to renew their study of consciousness (thinking and memory), currently called cognition. Cognitive psychologists emphasize the importance of receiving, storing, and processing information; of thinking and reasoning; and of language to understanding human behavior. Jean Piaget studied cognitive development in children, laying part of the foundation for preschool and primary educational approaches.

Sociocultural Approach

In the second half of the 20th century, travel and the economy became more global, greatly increasing interactions among people from different cultures. Psychologists recognized that people from different cultures interpret gestures, body language, and spoken language differently from one another. Psychologists began to study social and environmental factors that influence these cultural differences in behavior. The sociocultural approach examines cultural differences in an attempt to understand, predict, and control behavior.

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No single theoretical approach explains all aspects of behavior, although all provide a framework for studying and understanding behavior. Most psychologists adopt ideas from multiple perspectives. Psychologists who use techniques and adopt ideas from a variety of approaches are considered eclectic.

Domains of Psychology

Scientific psychology developed in universities with research laboratories where basic research was conducted, and where experimental psychologists continue to add knowledge to the field. After World War II, many opportunities for applied psychologists developed outside of these institutions. The number of clinical, counseling, and school psychologists mainly involved in treatment grew enormously. Specialties in treating children, adolescents, students, older people, and athletes emerged. Industries and organizations hired psychologists to help them prosper. The field became more fragmented and specialized.

Research and applied psychologists deal with a huge number of topics. Topics can be grouped into broad categories known as domains. Psychologists specializing in different domains identify themselves with many labels. Examples include the following:

Clinical psychologists evaluate and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.

Counseling psychologists help people adapt to change or make changes in their lifestyle.

Developmental psychologists study psychological development throughout the lifespan.

Educational psychologists focus on how effective teaching and learning take place.

Engineering psychologists and human factors psychologists promote the development and application of psychology to improve technology, consumer products, energy systems, communication and information, transportation, decision making, work settings, and living environments.

Forensic psychologists apply psychological principles to legal issues.

Health psychologists concentrate on biological, psychological, and social factors involved in health and illness.

Industrial/organizational psychologists aim to improve productivity and the quality of work life by applying psychological principles and methods to the workplace.

Neuropsychologists explore the relationships between brain/nervous systems and behavior. Neuropsychologists are also called biological psychologists or biopsychologists, behavioral geneticists, physiological psychologists, and behavioral neuroscientists.

Personality psychologists focus on aspects of the individual such as traits, attitudes, and goals.

Psychometricians, sometimes called psychometric psychologists or measurement psychologists, focus on methods for acquiring and analyzing psychological data.

Rehabilitation psychologists help clients with mental retardation, developmental disabilities, and disabilities resulting from stroke or accidents adapt to their situations.

School psychologists assess and counsel students, consult with educators and parents, and perform behavioral intervention when necessary.

Social psychologists focus on how a person’s mental life and behavior are shaped by interactions with other people.

Sports psychologists help athletes refine their focus on competition goals, increase motivation, and deal with anxiety and fear of failure.

Image Review Questions

Directions: For each item, choose the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

1. Wilhelm Wundt and the structuralists studied questions still asked today primarily by

(A) behavioral psychologists

(B) cognitive psychologists

(C) psychodynamic psychologists

(D) humanistic psychologists

(E) sociocultural psychologists

2. With which definition of psychology would John Watson and B. F. Skinner most agree?

(A) Psychology is the science of behavior.

(B) Psychology is the science of mental processes.

(C) Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes.

(D) Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes specific to contexts.

(E) Psychology is the extension of population.

3. The question, “Is intelligence more influenced by heredity or experience?” deals with a big issue in psychology known as

(A) stability vs. change

(B) mind-body dualism

(C) rationality vs. irrationality

(D) structure vs. function

(E) nature vs. nurture

4. If Aristotle and Locke, who both believed that what we know is acquired from experience, were alive today, they would best agree with the

(A) behavioral approach

(B) psychoanalytic approach

(C) humanistic approach

(D) biological approach

(E) psychodynamic approach

5. Which psychological approach is most concerned with the importance of encoding, storing, and retrieving information?

(A) information technology

(B) behavioral approach

(C) psychodynamic approach

(D) biological approach

(E) cognitive approach

6. Dr. Didden was hired by the TLC Company to help it retain its employees without lowering the firm’s profits. After TLC removed cubicles and permitted employees to decorate their workroom as recommended by Dr. Didden, the absentee rate declined and no employees left for jobs elsewhere. Dr. Didden is most likely to be

(A) a forensic psychologist

(B) an industrial/organizational psychologist

(C) a counseling psychologist

(D) a clinical psychologist

(E) an engineering psychologist

Image Answers and Explanations

1. B—Wilhelm Wundt, Hall, and Titchener studied the basic elements of consciousness. Consciousness is currently called cognition. Cognitive psychologists examine thinking, memory, etc. using different methods.

2. A—John Watson and B. F. Skinner rejected the study of consciousness/mental processes because they are private events that cannot be verified scientifically. These behaviorists focused on the antecedents of a behavior, the behavior, and the consequences of the behavior.

3. E—The nature-nurture issue deals with the relative contribution of genes and experience to the expressions of psychological traits and behaviors.

4. A—Behaviorists think that what we know is gained through learning. The other approaches accept that some of our behavior is inborn.

5. E—Cognitive psychologists focus on how we acquire, maintain, and use information.

6. B—Industrial/organizational psychologists examine and assess the conditions, methods, and procedures in the workplace and apply psychological principles to help improve the working environment to increase productivity and job satisfaction.

Image Rapid Review

Psychology—the science of behavior and mental processes

Monism—seeing mind and body as different aspects of the same thing

Dualism—seeing mind and body as two different things that interact

Nature-Nurture Controversy—the extent to which behavior results from heredity or experience

Plato and Descartes believed that behavior is inborn (nature).

Aristotle, Locke, Watson, and Skinner believed that behavior results from experience (nurture).

Schools of psychology:

School of Structuralism—early psychological perspective that emphasized units of consciousness and identification of elements of thought using introspection

Wilhelm Wundt—founder of scientific psychology in Leipzig, Germany; studied consciousness using introspection

G. Stanley Hall—brought introspection to his lab at Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.; first president of the American Psychological Association.

Edward Titchener—studied elements of consciousness at his Cornell University lab. Margaret Floy Washburn—first woman to complete her Ph.D. in psychology.

School of Functionalism—early psychological perspective concerned with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to adapt to its environment.

William James—wrote Principles of Psychology.

Mary Whiton Calkins—first woman president of the American Psychological Association.

Principal approaches to psychology:

Behavioral approach—psychological perspective concerned with behavioral reactions to stimuli; learning as a result of experience.

Ivan Pavlov—known for classical conditioning of dogs.

John Watson—known for experiments in classical aversive conditioning.

B. F. Skinner—known for experiments in operant conditioning.

Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic approach—psychological perspective concerned with how unconscious instincts, conflicts, motives, and defenses influence behavior.

Sigmund Freud—“Father of psychoanalysis.”

Jung, Adler, Horney, Kohut—psychodynamic psychologists.

Humanistic approach—psychological perspective concerned with individual potential for growth and the role of unique perceptions in growth toward one’s potential.

Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow—humanistic psychologists.

Biological approach—psychological perspective concerned with physiological and biochemical factors that determine behavior and mental processes.

Cognitive approach—psychological perspective concerned with how we receive, store, and process information; think/reason; and use language.

Jean Piaget—studied cognitive development in children.

Evolutionary approach—psychological perspective concerned with how natural selection favored behaviors that contributed to survival and spread of our ancestors’ genes; evolutionary psychologists take a Darwinian approach to the study of human behavior.

Sociocultural approach—psychological perspective concerned with how cultural differences affect behavior.

Eclectic—use of techniques and ideas from a variety of approaches.

Psychologists specialize in different domains:

Clinical psychologists evaluate and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders.

Counseling psychologists help people adapt to change or make changes in their lifestyle.

Developmental psychologists study psychological development throughout the lifespan.

Educational psychologists focus on how effective teaching and learning take place.

Engineering psychologists and human factors psychologists do research on how people function best with machines.

Experimental psychologists do research to add new knowledge to the field.

Forensic psychologists apply psychological principles to legal issues.

Health psychologists concentrate on biological, psychological, and social factors involved in health and illness.

Industrial/Organizational psychologists aim to improve productivity and the quality of work life by applying psychological principles and methods to the workplace.

Neuropsychologists explore the relationships between brain/nervous systems and behavior. Neuropsychologists are also called biological psychologists or biopsychologists, behavioral geneticists, physiological psychologists, and behavioral neuroscientists.

Personality psychologists focus on traits, attitudes, and goals of the individual.

Psychometricians (also known as psychometric or measurement psychologists) focus on methods for acquiring and analyzing psychological data.

Rehabilitation psychologists help clients with mental retardation, developmental disabilities, and disabilities resulting from stroke or accidents adapt to their situations.

School psychologists assess and counsel students, consult with educators and parents, and perform behavioral intervention when necessary.

Social psychologists focus on how a person’s mental life and behavior are shaped by interactions with other people.

Sports psychologists help athletes refine their focus on competition goals, increase motivation, and deal with anxiety and fear of failure.