Study Guide for General Psychology Module 1

Study Guide for General Psychology Based on the Psychology Eighth Edition in Modules by David G. Myers Module 1 Objective 1 Myers explains the origin of psychology and the basis of this study, namely the inquisition of man’s thoughts, actions, and very existence, and how they influence each other to make up individual human beings. He explains that psychology is not as much about the findings or results of study but the specific way those results and answers are found. Although a relatively young branch of science, many theorists have given thought to which way psychology ought to be researched and applied. Objective 2 will explain further. Terms: Psychology: The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Applications:  When do you recall being first aware of your own ideas about your existence? How did it impact the view of the world you had at the time?  Map the process of turning a hunch or a theory into an applicable studying using the information from the text and incorporating your own examples.  Find an example online of a study whose results did not support the original theory or hypothesis. Contemplate why you think the results showed as they did and what the next step should be for the researchers behind the study. Objective 2: Myers continues to speculate where psychology originated, mentioning Buddha and his conjecture about sensations and perceptions, Confucius and his thoughts on an educated mind, and Hebrew scholars’ connection of body and emotion to the human body. Timeline:  Socrates, 469–399 B.C.— Mind and body are separable, and the mind continues after the body dies. Knowledge is innate, or within us when we are born.  Aristotle, 384–322 B.C. — Logic; The soul is not separable from the body, nor with other parts of the soul (De Anima). Knowledge is not preexisting but grows from our experiences and memories.  Rene Descartes, 1595–1650 — similar to Socrates; Mind and body are entirely distinct. Studied “animal spirits,” which he believed were contained in the brain’s cavities and flowed through nerves to the muscles. Memories and experiences are pores through which animal spirits flow as well.  Francis Bacon, 1561–1626 — Novum Organuum: “The human understanding, from its peculiar nature, easily supposes a greater degree of order and equality in things than it really finds.” Surmised that humans have a tendency to remember things that support their beliefs, or what is now known as confirmation bias.  John Locke, 1632–1704 — The mind is a blank slate at birth (tabula rasa), which is used by our experiences to form our understanding.  Terms: Empiricism: The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation. Applications:  Group these theories by similarity and compatibility.  Which theory do you think is most plausible? Which do you think is least plausible? List the effects of believing in each theory as well as not believing in each theory.  If you had unlimited resources, how would you go about studying these theories? Objective 3 Psychology as a study was more or less officially born in 1879. German Professor Wilhelm Wundt studied the consciousness of consciousness by timing a person’s response to stimuli (e.g. hearing a ball hit a table)and timing their response to awareness of what they heard (e.g. registering the fact that what they heard was a ball hitting a table).nify when they had heard the sound and registered what it was. The results of the study showed that each subject took one-tenth of a second to respond to the sound they heard, and two-tenths of a second to respond to the awareness of what the sound was. Essentially, it took the brain longer to register the meaning of the stimulus than it did to register the occurrence of the stimulus. From this experiment came the initial studies of psychology and more specifically the schools of structuralism and functionalism. Terms: Structuralism: Based on the concept of introspection, or the ability to look inward on oneself, in order to study the elements of the mind. Originated by Edward Bradford Titchener. Functionalism: Based on the functionality of human processes and thoughts, and how they enable the individual to adapt, survive and flourish. Originated by William James. Other Facts:  Edward Bradford Titchener was a student of Wilhelm Wundt, and conducted much of his study on structuralism at Cornell University. He also held correspondence with writer C.S. Lewis about his thoughts on introspection.  William James personally tutored Mary Whiton Calkins, the first female president of the APA. She was denied her Ph.D. based on her gender, despite having finished all requirements for it. Applications:  What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of these schools of psychology?  What do you think is a possible issue with relying on introspection to evaluate experiences? Objective 4 Myers mentions several of the most influential people in the world of psychology:  Ivan Pavlov — Classical Conditioning, trained dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell.  Sigmund Freud — studied personality, most known for his studies on the influence of parental attachment as children (Electra/Oedipal Complexes). See also Free Association, Freudian Slip, psychoanalysis.  Jean Piaget — social, biological and logical models of development. Focused on the education of children and how they develop based on external influences.  John B. Watson — Little Albert experiment; Studied the effect of conditioning an infant to feel distressed when presented with a neutral stimulus after pairing it with startling other stimuli.  B.F. Skinner — studied operant conditioning with rats in a box and the way they would learn how to access food. Also used pigeons in a similar study. These pioneers followed the behaviorist school of thought, which held that human processes could be best measured by behavior and response. In the 1960’s the idea of behaviorism was morphed into a different school called humanistic psychology, which focused more on environmental influence and growth potential, as well as the need for love and acceptance. Contemporary Psychology has grown exponentially since then, and although there are still many, many schools of thought, the field is generally moving steadily toward one world of thought. Important figures:  Carl Rogers — Client-centered therapy, pioneer of humanistic psychology.  Abraham Maslow — hierarchy of needs, the importance of self-actualization. Terms:  Humanistic Psychology — School that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people using personalized methods to study personality.  Cognitive Neuroscience — the study of the interaction of thought processes and brain function. An offshoot of humanistic psychology. Applications:  Research the studies of the original behaviorists. Which is the most interesting to you, and why? Which do you think was most influential?  Consider other ways you might have studied these concepts as a pioneer. Objective 5 One big argument still present in psychology today is the nature vs. nurture dispute. This argument is based on differing views of those things which influence our processing the most, particularly nature, or outside forces which occur naturally, and nurture, which is the personal conditioning within ourselves, our immediate environment and so on. This argument borrows from the works and studies of Charles Darwin, who studied the naturalistic principles of existence, and, most notably, natural selection. Other studies which have aided debate are those of twin studies, analyzing the growth and development of twins and their development together and separate. Terms:  Nature-Nurture — longstanding issue controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.  Natural Selection — The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations. Applications:  Which influence do you think is stronger in a person’s life? List examples of each.  Research longitudinal studies of twins separated at birth. Reflect on the results and what they mean to the nature v. nurture debate. Objective 7 There are many sub-fields of psychology from counseling to studying rats in a maze. Additionally, psychology can be applied to virtually any field of business, which makes the study of psychology a valuable endeavor. There are two main types of psychological research. 1) Basic Research—this includes biological psychologists, developmental psychologists, cognitive psychologists, personality psychologists and social psychologists. Their studies build upon the basis of psychological knowledge. 2) Applied Research—This includes industrial/organizational psychologists and other fields which are meant to shed light on the more practical issues of psychology, such as business psychology or workplace psychology. As mentioned, psychology can be applied to helping professions, and in the field of psychology there are three prominent fields. 1) Counseling psychologists—also called therapists. 2) Clinical Psychologists—similar to therapists, with more of a focus on testing and assessing. 3) Psychiatrists—also similar to therapists, except with a focus on medication and symptom management. Terms:  Basic research—pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.  Applied Research—scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.  Counseling psychology—a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.  Clinical psychology—a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.  Psychiatry—a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy. Applications:  Which profession is the most interesting to you?  If your intended profession is not a specific psychological profession, how can psychology be applied in your field of work?  How do you think psychological study benefits other professions?