Chapter 1: The Evolution of Psychology

Question 1

Did researchers replicate the Milgram experiment?

Answer 1

Yes

Question 2

What does psyche mean?

Answer 2

The soul

Question 3

What does logos mean?

Answer 3

Refers to the study of a subject

Question 4

What is psychology?

Answer 4

The study of the mind;
The study of the conscious experience (Wundt);
The study of behavior (Watson);
The science that studies behavior and the physiological and cognitive processes that underlie behavior and it is the profession that applies the accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems

Question 5

What are psychology’s intellectual parents?

Answer 5

Philosophy and physiology

Question 6

When was psychology “born”?

Answer 6

1879

Question 7

Who is te founder of psychology?

Answer 7

Wilhelm Wundt

Question 8

What is the consciousness?

Answer 8

The awareness of immediate experience

Question 9

What were the two major schools of thought in psychology?

Answer 9

Structuralism and functionalism

Question 10

Who founded structuralism?

Answer 10

Edward Titchener

Question 11

What was structuralism?

Answer 11

Based on the notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and investigate how these elements are related

Question 12

What method did structuralists depend on?

Answer 12

Introspection;
Or the careful, systematic self-observation of one’s own conscious experience

Question 13

Who founded functionalism?

Answer 13

William James

Question 14

What was functionalism?

Answer 14

Based on the belief that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure

Question 15

What is James’s stream of consciousness?

Answer 15

It was his metaphorical description of mental life;
He argued consciousness consists of a continuous flow of thoughts and that structuralism only looked at static points in that flow

Question 16

Why did functionalism emerge the victor in the battle between the first of psychology’s major schools of thoughts?

Answer 16

Because of its practical orientation

Question 17

Who founded psychoanalysis?

Answer 17

Sigmund Freud

Question 18

According to Freud, what is the unconscious?

Answer 18

It contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but that nonetheless exert great influence on behavior

Question 19

What was Freud’s psychoanalytic theory?

Answer 19

It attempts to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious determinants of behavior

Question 20

What do Freud’s theories suggest?

Answer 20

That people are not the masters of their own minds

Question 21

What was controversial about Freud’s theories?

Answer 21

He emphasizes sex;
He proposed that behavior is greatly influenced by how people cope with their sexual urges

Question 22

Who were some followers of the psychoanalytic theory?

Answer 22

Carl Jung and Alfred Adler

Question 23

Who founded behaviorism?

Answer 23

John B. Watson

Question 24

What is behaviorism?

Answer 24

A theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only observable behavior

Question 25

What did Watson believe?

Answer 25

That psychology should abandon the study of the consciousness and focus instead on behaviors that could be observed directly

Question 26

Why did Watson believe this?

Answer 26

Because to him, the power of the scientific method rested on the idea of verifiability

Question 27

What is behavior?

Answer 27

Refers to any overt (observable) response or activity by an organism

Question 28

What stance did Watson maintain in the nature versus nurture debate?

Answer 28

That behavior is governed entirely by the environment

Question 29

What did behaviorism’s approach introduce/contribute to?

Answer 29

The rise of animal research;
This was so because experimental research is often more productive if experimenters can exert considerable control over their subjects

Question 30

What did B.F. Skinner believe in?

Answer 30

While he did not deny the existence of internal mental events, he insisted they could not be scientifically studied and that they didn’t need to;
He emphasized how environmental factors mold behavior

Question 31

What was a Skinner box?

Answer 31

A small chamber Skinner used to study conditioning

Question 32

What were the implications of Skinner’s work?

Answer 32

That free will is an illusion and that wer are all controlled by our environment, not by ourselves

Question 33

What was the psychoanalytic theory attacked for?

Answer 33

For its belief that behavior is dominated by primitive, sexual urges

Question 34

What was behaviorism condemned for?

Answer 34

For its preoccupation with the study of simple animal behavior

Question 35

Why were both the psychoanalytic theory and behaviorism critized?

Answer 35

Because they suggested that people are not masters of their own destinies;
They failed to recognize the unique qualities of human behavior

Question 36

What is humanism?

Answer 36

A theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and potential for personal growth

Question 37

Who were the most prominent architexts of the humanistic movement?

Answer 37

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

Question 38

How has humanism benefitted psychology?

Answer 38

It has pioneered many influential approaches to psychotherapy, including client-centered therapy, Gestalt therapy, and existential therapy

Question 39

What did Maslow create?

Answer 39

The Hierarchy of Needs

Question 40

What is clinical psychology?

Answer 40

The branch of psychology concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders

Question 41

When did clinical psychology start becoming a thing?

Answer 41

During and after World War II, when psychologists were pressed into service as clinicians to treat soliders suffering from trauma

Question 42

What is cognition?

Answer 42

Refers to the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge

Question 43

What did the cognitive theorists argue for?

Answer 43

They argued for psychology to include study of internal mental events to fully understand human behavior

Question 44

What is psychiatry?

Answer 44

A branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders

Question 45

What is positive psychology?

Answer 45

Uses theory and research to better understand the positive, adaptive, creative, and fulfilling aspects of human existence

Question 46

What is developmental psychology?

Answer 46

Looks at human development across the life span

Question 47

What is social psychology?

Answer 47

Focuses on interpersonal behavior and the role of social forces in governing behavior;
Topics include attitude formation, attitude change, conformity, attactions, etc. in groups

Question 48

What is educational psychology?

Answer 48

Studies how people learn and the best ways to teach them

Question 49

What is health psychology?

Answer 49

Focuses on how psychological factors relate to the promotion and maintenance of physical health and the treatment and analysis of illness

Question 50

What is physiological psychology?

Answer 50

Examines the influence of genetic factors on behavior and the role of the brain, nervous system, endocrine system, etc. on the regulation of behavior

Question 51

What is experimental psychology?

Answer 51

Encompasses the traditional core of topics that psychology focused on heavily in its first half-century as a science: sensation, perception, learning, conditioning, motivation, and emotion

Question 52

What is cognitive psychology?

Answer 52

Focuses on “higher” mental processes, such as memory, reasoning, information processing, etc.

Question 53

What is psychometrics?

Answer 53

Concerned with the measurement of behavior and capacities, usually through the development of psychological tests

Question 54

What is personality psychology?

Answer 54

Interested in describing and understanding individuals’ consistency in behavior, which represents their personality

Question 55

What is counseling psychology?

Answer 55

Similar to clinical psychology except it provides assistance to people struggling with everyday problems of moderate severity

Question 56

What is industrial and organizational psychology?

Answer 56

Performs a wide range of tasks in the world of business and industry by working to improve staff morale and attitudes and increasing job satisfaction, etc.

Question 57

What is school psychology?

Answer 57

Strives to promote cognitive, emotional, and social development of children in schools, usually in elementary and secondary schools