Chapter 1: Introduction Flashcards
historiography
the study of the proper way to record history.
there are often no final answers to the questions this topic raises
what is the problem with viewing psychology as a science that started in the late 19th century in Germany?
1) it ignores the vast philosophical heritage that molded psychology into the tump of science that it eventually became
2) it omits important aspects of psychology that arose outside the realm of science
historicism vs presentism
historicism is the study of the past for its own sake
presentism is interpreting and evaluating historical events in terms of contemporary knowledge and standards
zeitgeist approach
the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time
the great-person approach to historiography
empathizes the works of individuals such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Darwin, or Freud.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1841-1981) embraced the great-person approach to history, saying that history “resolves itself very easily into the biography of a few stout and earnest persons.”
historical development approach
showing how various individuals or events contributed to changes in an idea or connect through the years
for example, one could focus on how the idea of mental illness has changed throughout history
E. G. Boring (1866-1968)
president of the APA, stressed the importance of zeitgeist. clearly, ideas do not occur in a vacuum. a new idea, to be accepted or even considered, must be compatible with existing ideas
in other words, a new idea will only be tolerated if it arises within an environment that can assimilate it. an idea or viewpoint that arises before people are prepared for it will not be understood well enough to be critically evaluated
what is as important as validity in judging ideas?
psychological and sociological factors are at least as important. new ideas are always judged within the context of existing ideas
if new ideas are close enough to existing ideas, they will at least be understood; whether they are accepted, rejected, or ignored is another matter
what did E. G. Boring say about why it is important to know the history of psychology?
the experimental psychologist … needs historical sophistication within his own sphere of expertness. without such knowledge he sees the present in distorted perspective, he mistakes old facts and old views for new, and he remains unable to evaluate the significance of new movements and methods. in this matter I can hardly state my faith too strongly.
fashions of ideas in psychology
as Zeitgeists change, so does what appears fashionable in science, and psychology is not immune to this process
by studying history, we may discover ideas that were developed at an earlier time but, for whatever reason, remained dormant. the history of science offers several examples of an idea taking hold only after being rediscovered long after it had originally been proposed.
what did Paul Feyerabend say about history of theories?
the history of science is full of theories which were pronounced dead, then resurrected, then pronounced dead again only to celebrate another triumphant comeback. it makes sense to preserve faulty points of view for possible future use. the history of ideas, methods, and prejudices is an important part of the ongoing practice of science and this practice can change direction in surprising ways
how did science come into existence?
science came into existence as a way of answering questions about nature by examining nature directly rather than by depending on church dogma, past authorities, folk theories, or logical analysis alone. from science’s inception, its ultimate authority has been empirical observation (direct observation of nature), but there is more to steichen than simply observing nature
to be useful, observations must be organized or categorized in some way, and the ways in which they are similar to or different from other observations must be noted.
what is science? what are two major components of science?
science is the systematic attempt to rationally categorize or explain empirical observation. Popper described it as a way to rigorously test solutions to problems, while Kuhn emphasized the importance of paradigms that guide the research activities of science.
empirical observation
theory
rationalism
believes that the validity or invalidity of certain propositions can often best be determined by carefully applying the rules of logic
empiricism
maintains that the source of knowledge is always based on sensory observation
what are the two main functions of scientific theory?
it organizes empirical observations
it acts as a guide for future observations
confirmable propositions
a theory suggests propositions that are tested experimentally. if the propositions generated by a theory are confirmed by experimentation, the theory gains strength; if the propositions are not confirmed by experimentation, the theory loses strength
thus, scientific theories must be testable. that is, they must generate hypotheses that can be validated or invalidated empirically
scientific law
a constantly observed relationship between two or more classes of empirical events. for example, when x occurs, y also tends to occur. by stressing the lawfulness, science is proclaiming an interest in the general case rather than the particular case.
correlational laws
describe how classes of events vary together in some systematic way
for example, exercise tends to correlate positively with health. with such information, only prediction is possible. that is, if we know a person’s level of exercise, we could predict his or her health, and vice versa
causal laws
specify how events are causally related
for example, if we knew the causes of a disease, we could predict and control that disease - as preventing the casques of a disease from occurring prevents the disease from occurring
determinism
the assumption that what is being studied can be understood in terms of causal laws
the determinist assumes that everything that occurs is a function of a finite number of causes that, if these causes were known, an event could be predicted with complete accuracy
however, knowing all causes of an event is not necessary; the determinist simply assumes that they exist and that as more causes are known, predictions become more accurate
traditional view of science
involved empirical observation, theory formulation, theory testing, theory revision, prediction, control, the search for lawful relationships, and the assumption of determinism.
the principle of falsifiability
theory must be refutable
what, according to Popper, drives scientific progress?
a theory’s incorrect predictions, not its correct ones
in real scientific life theories typically contribute not by being right but by being wrong. in other words, scientific advance in theory as well as experiments tends to be built upon the successive corrections of many errors, both small and large. thus the popular notion that theory must be right to be useful is incorrect
Brett (1912-1965) made what point about Popperian science?
we tend to think of science as a “body of knowledge” which began to be accumulated when men hit upon “scientific methods.” this is a superstition. it is more in keeping with the history of thought to describe science as the myths about the role which have not yet been found to be wrong
correspondence theory of truth
the assumption that the world consists of knowable truths, and that following scientific procedure allowed scientists to systematically approximate these truths
normal science
once a paradigm is accepted, the activities of those accepting it become a matter of exploring the implications of that paradigm
paradigm
the entire constellation of beliefs, values, techniques, and so on shared by the members of a given scientific community
although normal science allows for the thorough analysis of the phenomena on which a paradigm focuses, it blinds scientists to other phenomena and perhaps better explanations for what they are studying
what do paradigms guide?
all of the researcher’s activities, both theoretical and methodological
anomalies
persistent observations that a currently accepted paradigm cannot explain
preparadigmatic stage
a time in which a number of competing viewpoints exist
during this period, a discipline is characterized by a number of rival camps or schools, a situation contrary to unification and that results in, essentially, random fact gathering. such circumstances continue to exist until one school succeeds in defeating its competitors and becomes a paradigm
the normal science generated by a paradigm continues until the paradigm is displaced by a new one, which int turn will generate its own normal science
paradigmatic stage
puzzle solving activity called normal science occurs
psychology is a multi-paradigmatic science
revolutionary stage
a paradigm is replaced by another paradigm
evolutionary epistemology
the natural selection of ideas
what is the difference between the Popperian view and the Kuhnian view?
Kuhn’s assessment of science stresses subjective and sociological factors, whereas Popper’s assessment stresses logic and creativity
Popper believed that there are truths about the physical world that science can approximate. In other words, Popper accepted the correspondence theory of truth. Kuhn, on the other hand, rejected this theory, saying instead that the paradigm accepted by a group of scientists creates the “reality” they explore
what does Feyerabend think about scientific progress?
said that whatever rules do exist must be broken in order for scientific progress to occur
biological determinism
emphasizes the importance of physiological conditions or genetic predispositions in the explanation of behavior
For example, evolutionary psychologists claim that much human behavior, as well as that of nonhuman animals, reflects dispositions inherited from our long evolutionary past
environmental determinism
stresses the importance of environmental stimuli as determinants of behavior
sociocultural determinism
is a form of environmental determinism, but rather than emphasizing the physical stimuli that cause behavior, it emphasizes the cultural or societal rules, regulations, customs, and beliefs that constrain human behavior
For example, Erikson (1977) referred to culture as “a version of human existence.” To a large extent, what is considered desirable, undesirable, normal, and abnormal is culturally determined; thus, culture acts as a powerful determinant of behavior
physical determinism
Genes, environmental stimuli, and cultural customs are all accessible and quantifiable and thus represent forms of it
psychical determinism
Among the psychologists assuming psychical determinism are those who stress the importance of mental events of which we are conscious and those, like Freud, who stress the importance of mental events of which we are not conscious
uncertainty principle
this principle says that, although human behavior is indeed determined, we can never learn some causes of behavior, because in attempting to observe them we change them. In this way, the experimental setting itself may act as a confounding variable in the search for the causes of human behavior
indeterminism
Psychologists who accept this viewpoint believe that there are specific causes of behavior but that they cannot be accurately known
non-determinism
Some psychologists completely reject science as a way of studying humans. These psychologists, usually working within either a humanistic or an existential paradigm, believe that the most important causes of behavior are self-generated. For this group, behavior is freely chosen and is thus independent of physical or psychical causes
For the nondeterminists, because the individual freely chooses courses of action, he or she alone is responsible for them.
dualists
believes that there are physical events and mental events. Once it is assumed that both a physical and a mental realm exist, the question becomes how the two are related.
interactionism
claims that the mind and body interact. That is, the mind influences the body, and the body influences the mind. According to this interactionistic conception, the mind is capable of initiating behavior. This was the position taken by Descartes. The psychoanalysts, from Freud to the present, are also interactionists. For them, many bodily ailments are psychogenic, caused by mental events such as anxiety or depression
double aspectism
The belief that bodily and mental events are inseparable because they are two aspects of every experience
reestablished harmony
The belief that bodily events and mental events are separate but correlated because both were designed to run identical courses
epiphenomenalism
The form of emergentism that states that mental events emerge from brain activity but that mental events are subsequently behaviorally irrelevant
psychosocial parallelism
The contention that experiencing something in the physical world causes bodily and mental activity simultaneously and that the two types of activities are independent of each other
emergentism
The contention that mental processes emerge from brain processes. The interactionist form of emergentism claims that once mental states emerge, they can influence subsequent brain activity and thus behavior. The epiphenomenalist form claims that emergent mental states are behaviorally irrelevant
mechanism
The belief that the behavior of organisms, including humans, can be explained entirely in terms of mechanical laws
vitalism
The belief that life cannot be explained in terms of inanimate processes. For the vitalist, life requires a force that is more than the material objects or inanimate processes in which it manifests itself. For there to be life, there must be a vital force present
naive realism
The belief that what one experiences mentally is the same as what is present physically
reification
The belief that abstractions for which we have names have an existence independent of their names
irrationalism
Any explanation of human behavior stressing determinants that are not under rational control—for example, explanations that emphasize the importance of emotions or unconscious mechanisms
nativist
Any explanation of human behavior stressing determinants that are not under rational control—for example, explanations that emphasize the importance of emotions or unconscious mechanisms.
epistemology
the study of knowledge
passive mind
A mind that simply reflects cognitively one’s experiences with the physical world. The empiricists assume a passive mind
active mind
A mind that transforms, interprets, understands, or values physical experience. The rationalists assume an active mind
how are humans related to nonhuman animals?
The school of behaviorism relied heavily on animal research and maintained that the same principles governed the behavior of both nonhumans and humans. Therefore, the results of animal research could be readily generalized to the human level
Representing the other extreme are the humanists who believe that people are qualitatively different from other animals, and therefore, nothing truly important about us can be learned by studying nonhuman animals. Humans, they say, are the only animals that freely choose their courses of action and are, therefore, morally responsible for that action
universalism
The belief that there are universal truths about ourselves and about the physical world in general that can be discovered by anyone using the proper methods of inquiry
relativism
The belief that because all experience must be filtered through individual and group perspectives, the search for universal truths that exist independently of human experience must be in vain. For the relativist, there is no one truth, only truths
what characterizes a scientific discipline?
1) determinism (everything occurs for known or knowable reasons
2) empiricism vs rationalism (experience and observation vs. thought and logic)
3) the search for scientific laws (correlational laws that allow us to predict events or causal laws that allow us to predict and control events)
4) relies on public observation (publicly verifiable knowledge, replication, replication)
the principle of falsifiability
theory must make predictions that can be shown to be false
falsifiability distinguishes scientific theories from nonscientific theories
according to popper, what is the best status of a theory?
not yet disconfirmed
risky predictions
According to Popper, predictions that run a real risk of being incorrect. Theories that do not make risky predictions or that explain phenomena after they have already occurred are, according to Popper, not scientific.
