History of Psychology PDF - Myers 2013

Pack: A3(i) Taken from: Myers, D. G. (2013). Psychology (10th. Ed.). New York. Worth Publishers PROLOGUE The Story of Psychology H arvard astronomer Owen Gingerich (2006)...

Pack: A3(i) Taken from: Myers, D. G. (2013). Psychology (10th. Ed.). New York. Worth Publishers PROLOGUE The Story of Psychology H arvard astronomer Owen Gingerich (2006) reports that there are more than 100 billion galaxies. One of these, our own relative speck of a galaxy, has some 200 billion stars, many of which, like our Sun-star, are circled by planets. On the scale of outer space, we are less than a single grain of sand on all the oceans’ beaches, and our lifetime but a relative nanosecond. and actions) fascinate us. Outer space staggers us with its enor- mity. But inner space enthralls us. Enter psychological science. For people whose exposure to psychology comes from popular books, magazines, TV, and the Internet, psychologists seem to analyze personality, offer counseling, and dispense child-rearing advice. Do they? Yes, and much more. Consider some of psychol- ogy’s questions that you may wonder about: Yet there is nothing more awe inspiring and absorbing than Have you ever found yourself reacting to something as one of our own inner space. Our brain, adds Gingerich, “is by far the your biological parents would—perhaps in a way you vowed most complex physical object known to us in the entire cosmos” you never would—and then wondered how much of your (p. 29). Our consciousness—our mind somehow arising from personality you inherited? To what extent do genes predispose matter—remains a profound mystery. Our thinking, emotions, our person-to-person differences in personality? To what extent and actions (and their interplay with others’ thinking, emotions, do home and community environments shape us? Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 2 8/26/11 9:12 AM  WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY? CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGY Psychology’s Roots Psychology’s Biggest Question Psychological Science Develops Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis Psychology’s Subfields Close-Up: Improve Your Retention—and Your Grades! Have you ever worried about how to act among people of a dif- gence explain why some people get richer, think more creatively, ferent culture, race, gender, or sexual orientation? In what ways or relate more sensitively? are we alike as members of the human family? How do we differ? Have you ever become depressed or anxious and wondered Have you ever awakened from a nightmare and, with a wave whether you’ll ever feel “normal”? What triggers our bad moods— of relief, wondered why you had such a crazy dream? How and our good ones? What’s the line between a normal mood swing often, and why, do we dream? and a psychological disorder for which someone should seek help? Have you ever played peekaboo with a 6-month- old and won- Have you ever wondered how the Internet, video games, and dered why the baby finds the game so delightful? The infant electronic social networks affect people? How do today’s elec- reacts as though, when you momentarily move behind a door, tronic media influence how we think and how we relate? you actually disappear—only to reappear out of thin air. What Psychology is a science that seeks to answer such questions do babies actually perceive and think? about us all—how and why we think, feel, and act as we do. Have you ever wondered what fosters school and work suc- cess? Are some people just born smarter? And does sheer intelli- 1 Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 1 9/28/11 12:48 PM  2 PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY Tim Gainey/Alamy JEWEL SAMAD/ AFP/Gettyy Images/Newscom g A smile is a smile the world around Throughout this book, you will see examples not only of our cultural and gender diversity but also of the similarities that define our shared human nature. People in different cultures vary in when and A lesson in cultural differences During Barack Obama’s how often they smile, but a naturally 2011 state dinner with China’s President Hu Jintao, both happy smile means the same thing emphasized their commonalities, yet were acutely aware of anywhere in the world. their differences. What Is Psychology? Psychology’s Roots To assist your active learning of P-1 What are some important milestones in psychology’s psychology, Learning Objectives, early development? framed as questions, appear at the Once upon a time, on a planet in this neighborhood of the universe, there came to be beginning of major sections. You can people. Soon thereafter, these creatures became intensely interested in themselves and in test your understanding by trying to one another: “Who are we? What produces our thoughts? Our feelings? Our actions? And answer the question before, and then how are we to understand and manage those around us?” again after, you read the section. Psychological Science Is Born To be human is to be curious about ourselves and the world around us. Before 300 B.C.E., the Greek naturalist and philosopher Aristotle theorized about learning and memory, moti- vation and emotion, perception and personality. Today we chuckle at some of his guesses, like his suggestion that a meal makes us sleepy by causing gas and heat to collect around the source of our personality, the heart. But credit Aristotle with asking the right questions. Philosophers’ thinking about thinking continued until the birth of psychology as we know it, on a December day in 1879, in a small, third-floor room at Germany’s Univer- Information sources are cited in sity of Leipzig. There, two young men were helping an austere, middle-aged professor, parentheses, with name and date. Wilhelm Wundt, create an experimental apparatus. Their machine measured the time Every citation can be found in the lag between people’s hearing a ball hit a platform and their pressing a telegraph key end-of-book References, with complete (Hunt, 1993). Curiously, people responded in about one-tenth of a second when asked to documentation that follows American press the key as soon as the sound occurred—and in about two -tenths of a second when Psychological Association style. asked to press the key as soon as they were consciously aware of perceiving the sound. (To be aware of one’s awareness takes a little longer.) Wundt was seeking to measure “atoms Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 2 8/26/11 9:12 AM  PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY 3 Edward Bradford Wilhelm Wundt Wundt Titchener Titchener established the first psychology used introspection to laboratory at the University of search for the mind’s Leipzig, Germany. structural elements. Archives of the History of American © Bettmann/Corbis Psychology, The University of Akron of the mind”—the fastest and simplest mental processes. So began the first psychological laboratory, staffed by Wundt and by psychology’s first graduate students. Before long, this new science of psychology became organized into different branches, or schools of thought, each promoted by pioneering thinkers. Two early schools were struc- turalism and functionalism. As physicists and chemists discerned the structure of matter, so Wundt’s student Edward Bradford Titchener aimed to discover the mind’s structure. He engaged people in self-reflective introspection (looking inward), training them to report ele- ments of their experience as they looked at a rose, listened to a metronome, smelled a scent, or tasted a substance. What were their immediate sensations, their images, their feelings? And how did these relate to one another? Alas, introspection proved somewhat unreliable. It required smart, verbal people, and its results varied from person to person and experience to experience. As introspection waned, so did structuralism. Hoping to assemble the mind’s structure from simple elements was rather like trying “You don’t know your own mind.” to understand a car by examining its disconnected parts. Philosopher-psychologist Jonathan Swift, Polite Conversation, 1738 William James thought it would be more fruitful to consider the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings. Smelling is what the nose does; thinking is what the brain does. But why do the nose and brain do these things? Under the influence of evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin, James assumed that thinking, like smelling, developed because it was adaptive—it contributed to our ancestors’ survival. Consciousness serves a function. It enables us to consider our past, adjust to our present, and plan our future. As a function- alist, James encouraged explorations of down-to - earth emotions, memories, willpower, habits, and moment-to -moment streams of consciousness. James’ legacy stems partly from his Harvard mentoring and his writing. In 1890, over the objections of Harvard’s president, he admitted Mary Whiton Calkins into his graduate semi- nar (Scarborough & Furumoto, 1987). (In those years women lacked even the right to vote.) William James and Mary Whiton Calkins James, legendary teacher- writer, mentored Calkins, who became a pioneering memory researcher and the first woman to be president of the American Psychological Association. Hemera Technologies / (left) Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy; Getty Images (right) Wellesley College Archives Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 3 8/26/11 9:12 AM  4 PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY When Calkins joined, the other students (all men) dropped out. So James tutored her alone. Later, she finished all of Harvard’s Ph.D. requirements, outscoring all the male students on the qualifying exams. Alas, Harvard denied her the degree she had earned, offering her instead a degree from Radcliffe College, its undergraduate “sister” school for women. Calkins resisted the unequal treatment and refused the degree. She nevertheless went on to become a dis- Margaret Floy Washburn The tinguished memory researcher and the American Psychological Association’s first woman to receive a psychology (APA’s) first female president in 1905. Ph.D., Washburn synthesized animal The honor of being the first female psychology Ph.D. later fell to Margaret behavior research in The Animal Mind. Floy Washburn, who also wrote an influential book, The Animal Mind, and Center for the History of Psychology Archives became the second female APA president in 1921. But Washburn’s gender of the HIstory of American Psychology, The University of Akron barred doors for her, too. Although her thesis was the first foreign study Wundt published in his journal, she could not join the all- Ewa Wali cka / Shu male organization of experimental psycholo- tters tock gists founded by Titchener, her own graduate adviser (Johnson, 1997). (What a different world from the recent past—1996 to 2012—when women were 8 of the 16 elected presidents of the science- oriented Association for Psychological Science. In the United States, Canada, and Europe, most psychology doctorates are now earned by women.) James’ writings moved the publisher Henry Holt to offer a contract for a textbook of Study Tip: Memory research reveals the new science of psychology. James agreed and began work in 1878, with an apology for a testing effect: We retain information requesting two years to finish his writing. The text proved an unexpected chore and actu- much better if we actively retrieve it ally took him 12 years. (Why am I not surprised?) More than a century later, people still by self-testing and rehearsing. (More read the resulting Principles of Psychology and marvel at the brilliance and elegance with on this in the Close-Up at the end which James introduced psychology to the educated public. of this Prologue.) To bolster your learning and memory, take advantage ✓RETRIEVAL PRACTICE of the Retrieval Practice opportunities What event defined the start of scientific psychology? you’ll find throughout this text. psychology laboratory. ANSWER: Scientific psychology began in Germany in 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt opened the first Why did introspection fail as a method for understanding how the mind works? verbal ability. ANSWER: People’s self-reports varied, depending on the experience and the person’s intelligence and ______________ used introspection to define the mind’s makeup; ______________ focused on how mental processes enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish. ANSWER: Structuralism; functionalism Psychological Science Develops P-2 How did psychology continue to develop from the behaviorism the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that 1920s through today? (2) studies behavior without reference In the field’s early days, many psychologists shared with the English essayist C. S. Lewis to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but the view that “there is one thing, and only one in the whole universe which we know not with (2). more about than we could learn from external observation.” That one thing, Lewis said, humanistic psychology historically is ourselves. “We have, so to speak, inside information” (1960, pp. 18–19). Wundt and significant perspective that emphasized Titchener focused on inner sensations, images, and feelings. James engaged in introspec- the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for per- tive examination of the stream of consciousness and of emotion. For these and other early sonal growth. pioneers, psychology was defined as “the science of mental life.” Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 4 9/28/11 12:48 PM  PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY 5 John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner Working with Rayner, Watson championed psychology as the science of behavior and dem- onstrated conditioned responses on a baby who became famous as “Little Albert.” (left) ©Underwood & Underwood/Corbis (right) Center for the History of Psychology Archives of the History of American Psychology, The University of Akron And so it continued until the 1920s, when two larger-than-life American psychologists appeared on the scene. Flamboyant and provocative John B. Watson, and later the equally provocative B. F. Skinner, dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as “the sci- entific study of observable behavior.” After all, they said, science is rooted in observation. You cannot observe a sensation, a feeling, or a thought, but you can observe and record people’s behavior as they respond to different situations. Many agreed, and the behaviorists Throughout the text, important were one of two major forces in psychology well into the 1960s. concepts are boldfaced. As you study, The other major force was Freudian psychology, which emphasized the ways our you can find these terms with their unconscious thought processes and our emotional responses to childhood experiences definitions in a nearby margin and in affect our behavior. (In chapters to come, we’ll look more closely at Sigmund Freud’s the Glossary at the end of the book. teachings, including his theory of personality, and his views on unconscious sexual con- flicts and the mind’s defenses against its own wishes and impulses.) As the behaviorists had done in the early 1900s, two other groups rejected the definition of psychology that was current in the 1960s. The first, the humanistic psychologists, led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, found both Freudian psychology and behaviorism too limiting. Rather than focusing on the meaning of early childhood memories or the learning of conditioned responses, the humanistic psychologists drew attention to ways that current environmental influences can nurture or limit our growth potential, and the importance of having our needs for love and acceptance satisfied. (More on this in Chapter 13.) The rebellion of a second group of psychologists during the 1960s is now known as the cognitive revolution, and it led the field back to its early interest in mental processes, such B. F. Skinner A leading behaviorist, Skinner rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behavior. Bachrach/Getty Images Sigmund Freud The controversial ideas of this famed personality theorist and therapist have influenced human- ity’s self-understanding. © Bettmann/Corbis Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 5 8/26/11 9:12 AM  6 PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY as the importance of how our mind processes and retains information. Cognitive psychol- ogy scientifically explores the ways we perceive, process, and remember information. Cognitive neuroscience, an interdisciplinary study, has enriched our understanding of the brain activity underlying mental activity. The cognitive approach has given us new ways to understand ourselves and to treat disorders such as depression, as we shall see in Chapters 15 and 16. To encompass psychology’s concern with observable behavior and with inner thoughts and feelings, today we define psychology as the science of behavior and mental processes. Let’s unpack this definition. Behavior is anything an organism does—any action we can observe and record. Yelling, smiling, blinking, sweating, talking, and ques- ✓ RETRIEVAL PRACTICE tionnaire marking are all observable behaviors. Mental processes are the internal, From the 1920s through the 1960s, the two major subjective experiences we infer from behavior—sensations, perceptions, dreams, forces in psychology were and thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. psychology. The key word in psychology’s definition is science. Psychology, as I will empha- size throughout this book, is less a set of findings than a way of asking and answer- ANSWERS: behaviorism; Freudian ing questions. My aim, then, is not merely to report results but also to show you How did the cognitive revolution affect the field of psychology? how psychologists play their game. You will see how researchers evaluate con- flicting opinions and ideas. And you will learn how all of us, whether scientists processes and made them legitimate topics for scientific study. ANSWER: It recaptured the field’s early interest in mentalor simply curious people, can think smarter when describing and explaining the events of our lives. Contemporary Psychology The young science of psychology developed from the more established fields of phi- losophy and biology. Wundt was both a philosopher and a physiologist. James was an American philosopher. Freud was an Austrian physician. Ivan Pavlov, who pioneered the study of learning (Chapter 7), was a Russian physiologist. Jean Piaget, the last century’s most influential observer of children (Chapter 5), was a Swiss biologist. These “Magel- lans of the mind,” as Morton Hunt (1993) has called them, illustrate psychology’s origins in many disciplines and many countries. Like those early pioneers, today’s psychologists are citizens of many lands. The Inter- national Union of Psychological Science has 71 member nations, from Albania to Zim- babwe. In China, the first university psychology department began in 1978; in 2008 there were nearly 200 (Han, 2008; Tversky, 2008). Moreover, thanks to international publi- cations, joint meetings, and the Internet, collaboration and communication now cross cognitive neuroscience the inter- borders. Psychology is growing and it is globalizing. The story of psychology—the subject disciplinary study of the brain activity of this book—continues to develop in many places, at many levels, with interests ranging linked with cognition (including percep- tion, thinking, memory, and language). from the study of nerve cell activity to the study of international conflicts. p : sychology the science of behavior and mental processes. Psychology’s Biggest Question nature– nurture issue the longstand- ing controversy over the relative P-3 What is psychology’s historic big issue? contributions that genes and experi- ence make to the development of Are our human traits present at birth, or do they develop through experience? This has psychological traits and behaviors. been psychology’s biggest and most persistent issue (and is the focus of Chapter 4). But Today’s science sees traits and behav- iors arising from the interaction of the debate over the nature–nurture issue is ancient. The Greek philosopher Plato (428– nature and nurture. 348 B.C.E.) assumed that we inherit character and intelligence and that certain ideas are natural selection the principle that, inborn. Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.) countered that there is nothing in the mind that does among the range of inherited trait not first come in from the external world through the senses. variations, those contributing to repro- duction and survival will most likely be In the 1600s, European philosophers rekindled the debate. John Locke argued passed on to succeeding generations. that the mind is a blank sheet on which experience writes. René Descartes disagreed, Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 6 9/28/11 12:49 PM  PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY 7 believing that some ideas are innate. Descartes’ views gained support from a curious naturalist two centuries later. In 1831, an indifferent student but ardent collector of beetles, mollusks, and shells set sail on a historic round-the-world journey. The 22-year-old voyager, Charles Darwin, pondered the incredible species variation he encountered, includ- ing tortoises on one island that differed from those on nearby islands. Darwin’s 1859 On the Origin of Species Charles Darwin Darwin argued that explained this diversity by proposing the evolutionary natural selection shapes behaviors as process of natural selection: From among chance varia- well as bodies. Vintage Images /Alamy tions, nature selects traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment. Darwin’s principle of natural selection—what philosopher Daniel Den- nett (1996) has called “the single best idea anyone has ever had,”—is still with us 150+ years later as biology’s organizing principle. Evolution also has become an important principle for twenty-first-century psychology. This would surely have pleased Darwin, for he believed his theory explained not only animal structures (such as a polar bear’s white coat) but also animal behaviors (such as the emotional expressions associated with human lust and rage). The nature –nurture issue recurs throughout this text as today’s psychologists explore the relative contributions of biology and experience, asking, for example, how we humans are alike (because of our common biology and evolutionary history) and diverse (because of our differing environments). Are gender differences biologically predisposed or socially constructed? Is children’s grammar mostly innate or formed by experience? How are intelligence and personality differences influenced by heredity and by environment? Are sexual behaviors more “pushed” by inner biology or “pulled” by external incentives? Should we treat psychological disorders—depression, for exam- ple—as disorders of the brain, disorders of thought, or both? A nature-made nature–nurture experiment Because identical twins have the same genes, they are ideal participants in studies designed to shed light on hereditary and environmental influences on intel- Such debates continue. Yet over and over again we will see that in contempo- ligence, personality, and other traits. Studies rary science the nature – nurture tension dissolves: Nurture works on what nature of identical and fraternal twins provide a endows. Our species is biologically endowed with an enormous capacity to learn rich array of findings—described in later and adapt. Moreover, every psychological event (every thought, every emotion) is chapters—that underscore the importance of both nature and nurture. simultaneously a biological event. Thus, depression can be both a brain disorder (top) WoodyStock /Alamy; (right) © Hola Images/agefotostock and a thought disorder. Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 7 8/26/11 9:12 AM  8 PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY levels of analysis the differing complementary views, from biological ✓RETRIEVAL PRACTICE to psychological to social-cultural, for What is natural selection? analyzing any given phenomenon. organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment. biopsychosocial approach an ANSWER: This is the process by which nature selects from chance variations the traits that best enable an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social- What is contemporary psychology’s position on the nature–nurture debate? cultural levels of analysis. them acting alone. ANSWER: Psychological events often stem from the interaction of nature and nurture, rather than from either of Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis P-4 What are psychology’s levels of analysis and related perspectives? Each of us is a complex system that is part of a larger social system. But each of us is also composed of smaller systems, such as our nervous system and body organs, which are composed of still smaller systems—cells, molecules, and atoms. These tiered systems suggest different levels of analysis, which offer complementary outlooks. It’s like explaining why grizzly bears hibernate. Is it because hibernation helped their ancestors to survive and reproduce? Because their inner physiology drives them to do so? Because cold environments hinder food gathering during winter? Such per- spectives are complementary because “everything is related to everything else” (Brewer, 1996). Together, different levels of analysis form an integrated biopsychosocial approach, which considers the influences of biological, psychological, and social-cultural factors (FIGURE 1). Each level provides a valuable vantage point for looking at a behavior or mental pro- cess, yet each by itself is incomplete. Like different academic disciplines, psychology’s varied perspectives ask different questions and have their own limits. One perspective may stress the biological, psychological, or social-cultural level more than another, but the different perspectives described in TABLE 1 complement one another. Consider, for example, how they shed light on anger. FIGURE 1 Biological influences: Psychological influences: Biopsychosocial approach This integrated viewpoint incorporates various levels of analysis and offers a more complete picture of any given behavior or mental process. Behaviorr or mental processs B Social-cultural influences: nfluences Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 8 8/26/11 9:12 AM  PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY 9 TABLE 1 Psychology’s Current Perspectives Examples of Subfields Using Perspective Focus Sample Questions This Perspective Neuroscience How the body and brain enable How do pain messages travel from the hand to the Biological; cognitive; clinical emotions, memories, and sensory brain? How is blood chemistry linked with moods experiences and motives? Evolutionary How the natural selection of traits How does evolution influence behavior tendencies? Biological; developmental; social has promoted the survival of genes Behavior genetics How our genes and our environ- To what extent are psychological traits such as intel- Personality; developmental ment influence our individual ligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulner- differences ability to depression products of our genes? Of our environment? Psychodynamic How behavior springs from uncon- How can someone’s personality traits and disorders Clinical; counseling; personality scious drives and conflicts be explained by unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas? Behavioral How we learn observable How do we learn to fear particular objects or situ- Clinical; counseling; responses ations? What is the most effective way to alter our industrial-organizational behavior, say, to lose weight or stop smoking? Cognitive How we encode, process, store, and How do we use information in remembering? Cognitive; clinical; counseling; retrieve information Reasoning? Solving problems? industrial-organizational Social-cultural How behavior and thinking vary How are we alike as members of one human family? Developmental; social; clinical; across situations and cultures How do we differ as products of our environment? counseling Someone working from a neuroscience perspective might study brain circuits that cause us to be “red in the face” and “hot under the collar.” Someone working from the evolutionary perspective might analyze how anger facili- tated the survival of our ancestors’ genes. Someone working from the behavior genetics perspective might study how heredity and experience influence our individual differences in temperament. JUERGEN SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images Someone working from the psychodynamic perspective might view an outburst as an outlet for unconscious hostility. Someone working from the behavioral perspective might attempt to determine which external stimuli trigger angry responses or aggressive acts. Someone working from the cognitive perspective might study how our interpretation of a situation affects our anger and how our anger affects our thinking. Someone working from the social- cultural perspective might explore how expressions of anger vary across cultural contexts. The point to remember: Like two-dimensional views of a three-dimensional object, each of psychology’s perspectives is helpful. But each by itself fails to reveal the whole picture. ✓RETRIEVAL PRACTICE What advantage do we gain by using the biopsychosocial approach in studying psychological events? view than any one perspective could offer. ANSWER: By incorporating different levels of analysis, the biopsychosocial approach can provide a more complete Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 9 9/28/11 12:49 PM  10 PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY Psychology’s Subfields © The New Yorker Collection, 1986, J. B. Handelsman P-5 What are psychology’s main subfields? from cartoonbank.com. All Rights Reserved. Picturing a chemist at work, you probably envision a white-coated scientist surrounded by glass- ware and high-tech equipment. Picture a psychologist at work and you would be right to envision a white- coated scientist probing a rat’s brain. an intelligence researcher measuring how quickly an infant shows boredom by looking away from a familiar picture. an executive evaluating a new “healthy lifestyles” training program for employees. someone at a computer analyzing data on whether adopted teens’ temperaments more “I’m a social scientist, Michael. That closely resemble those of their adoptive parents or their biological parents. means I can’t explain electricity or a therapist listening carefully to a client’s depressed thoughts. anything like that, but if you ever want to know about people I’m your man.” a traveler visiting another culture and collecting data on variations in human values and behaviors. a teacher or writer sharing the joy of psychology with others. The cluster of subfields we call psychology is a meeting ground for different disci- plines. “Psychology is a hub scientific discipline,” said Association for Psychological Science president John Cacioppo (2007). Thus, it’s a perfect home for those with wide- ranging interests. In its diverse activities, from biological experimentation to cultural com- parisons, the tribe of psychology is united by a common quest: describing and explaining behavior and the mind underlying it. Some psychologists conduct basic research that builds psychology’s knowledge base. In the pages that follow we will meet a wide variety of such researchers, including biologi- cal psychologists exploring the links between brain and mind; developmental psychologists studying our changing abilities from womb to tomb; cognitive psychologists experimenting with how we perceive, think, and solve problems; personality psychologists investigating our persistent traits; and social psychologists exploring how we view and affect one another. These and other psychologists also may conduct applied research, tackling practi- cal problems. Industrial-organizational psychologists, for example, use psychology’s con- cepts and methods in the workplace to help organizations and companies select and train employees, boost morale and productivity, design products, and implement systems. Psychology in court Forensic psy- chologists apply psychology’s principles and methods in the criminal justice system. They may assess witness credibility, or testify in court on a defendant’s state of mind and future risk. Ted Fitzgerald, Pool/ AP Photo Image Source/ Punchstock Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 10 8/26/11 9:12 AM  PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY 11 Although most psychology textbooks focus on psychological science, psychology is basic research pure science that also a helping profession devoted to such practical issues as how to have a happy mar- aims to increase the scientific knowl- riage, how to overcome anxiety or depression, and how to raise thriving children. As a edge base. science, psychology at its best bases such interventions on evidence of effectiveness. Coun- applied research scientific study that aims to solve practical problems. seling psychologists help people to cope with challenges and crises (including academic, counseling psychology a branch vocational, and marital issues) and to improve their personal and social functioning. of psychology that assists people Clinical psychologists assess and treat mental, emotional, and behavior disorders. Both with problems in living (often related counseling and clinical psychologists administer and interpret tests, provide counseling to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being. and therapy, and sometimes conduct basic and applied research. By contrast, psychia- trists, who also may provide psychotherapy, are medical doctors licensed to prescribe clinical psychology a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, drugs and otherwise treat physical causes of psychological disorders. and treats people with psychological To balance historic psychology’s focus on human problems, Martin Seligman and disorders. others (2002, 2005, 2011) have called for more research on human strengths and human psychiatry a branch of medicine flourishing. Their positive psychology scientifically explores “positive emotions, positive dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes character traits, and enabling institutions.” What, they ask, can psychology contribute to provide medical (for example, drug) a “good life” that engages one’s skills, and a “meaningful life” that points beyond oneself? treatments as well as psychological therapy. Rather than seeking to change people to fit their environment, community psycholo- gists work to create social and physical environments that are healthy for all (Bradshaw positive psychology the scientific study of human functioning, with the et al., 2009; Trickett, 2009). For example, if school bullying is a problem, some psy- goals of discovering and promoting chologists will seek to change the bullies. Knowing that many students struggle with strengths and virtues that help indi- the transition from elementary to middle school, they might train individual kids how to viduals and communities to thrive. cope. Community psychologists instead seek ways to adapt the school experience to early community psychology a branch of psychology that studies how people adolescent needs. To prevent bullying, they might study how the school and neighbor- interact with their social environments hood foster bullying. and how social institutions affect indi- With perspectives ranging from the biological to the social, and with settings from the viduals and groups. laboratory to the clinic, psychology relates to many fields. Psychologists teach in medical schools, law schools, and theological seminaries, and they work in hospitals, factories, and corporate offices. They engage in interdisciplinary studies, such as psychohistory (the psychological analysis of historical characters), psycholinguistics (the study of language and thinking), and psychoceramics (the study of crackpots).1 1 Confession: I wrote the last part of this sentence on April Fools’ Day. Michael Newman/Photo Edit ©2007 John Kish IV Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images Psychology: A science and a profession Psychologists experiment with, observe, test, and treat behavior. Here we see psychologists testing a child, measuring emotion-related physiology, and doing face-to-face therapy. Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 11 8/26/11 9:12 AM  12 PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY CLOSE-UP Improve Your Retention—and Your Grades! P-6 How can psychological principles Then read, actively searching for the answer to the question. At each help you learn and remember? sitting, read only as much of the chapter (usually a single main section) Do you, like most students, assume that the way to cement your new as you can absorb without tiring. Read actively and critically. Ask ques- learning is to reread? What helps even more—and what this book there- tions. Take notes. Make the ideas your own: How does what you’ve read fore encourages—is repeated self-testing and rehearsal of previously relate to your own life? Does it support or challenge your assumptions? studied material. Memory researchers Henry Roediger and Jeffrey How convincing is the evidence? Karpicke (2006) call this phenomenon the testing effect. (It is also Having read a section, retrieve its main ideas. Test yourself. This will sometimes called the retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.) not only help you figure out what you know; the testing itself will help They note that “Testing is a powerful means of improving learning, not you learn and retain the information more effectively. Even better, test just assessing it.” In one of their studies, students recalled the meaning yourself repeatedly. To facilitate this, I am offering periodic Retrieval of 40 previously learned Swahili words much better if tested repeat- Practice opportunities throughout each chapter (see, for example, the edly than if they spent the same time restudying the words (Karpicke & questions in this chapter). After answering these questions for yourself, Roediger, 2008). you can check the answers provided, and reread as needed. As you will see in Chapter 8, to master information you must actively Finally, review: Read over any notes you have taken, again with an eye process it. Your mind is not like your stomach, something to be filled on the chapter’s organization, and quickly review the whole chapter. Write passively; it is more like a muscle that grows stronger with exercise. or say what a concept is before rereading to check your understanding. Countless experiments reveal that people learn and remember best Survey, question, read, retrieve, review. I have organized this book’s when they put material in their own words, rehearse it, and then retrieve chapters to facilitate your use of the SQ3R study system. Each chap- and review it again. ter begins with a chapter outline that aids your survey. Headings and The SQ3R study method incorporates these principles (McDaniel et al., 2009; Robinson, 1970). SQ3R is an acronym for its five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve2, Review. To study a chapter, first survey, taking a bird’s-eye view. Scan the headings, and notice how the chapter is organized. Before you read each main section, try to answer its numbered Learning Objective Question (for this box: “How can psychological principles help you learn and remember?”). Roediger and Bridgid Finn (2009) have found that, “Trying and failing to retrieve the answer is actually helpful to learning.” Those who test their understanding before reading, and discover what they don’t yet know, will learn and remem- OJO Imges Ltd/Alamy ber better. 2 Also sometimes called “Recite.” Psychology also influences modern culture. Knowledge transforms us. Learning about the solar system and the germ theory of disease alters the way people think and act. Want to learn more? See Appendix A, Learning about psychology’s findings also changes people: They less often judge psycho- Subfields of Psychology, at the end logical disorders as moral failings, treatable by punishment and ostracism. They less often of this book, and go to the regularly regard and treat women as men’s mental inferiors. They less often view and rear children updated Careers in Psychology at as ignorant, willful beasts in need of taming. “In each case,” noted Morton Hunt (1990, www.yourpsychportal.com/myers10e p. 206), “knowledge has modified attitudes, and, through them, behavior.” Once aware to learn about the many interesting of psychology’s well-researched ideas—about how body and mind connect, how a child’s options available to those with mind grows, how we construct our perceptions, how we remember (and misremember) bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral our experiences, how people across the world differ (and are alike)—your mind may degrees in psychology. never again be quite the same. Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 12 9/28/11 12:49 PM  PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY 13 Learning Objective Questions suggest issues and concepts you should Overlearn. Psychology tells us that overlearning improves retention. consider as you read. The material is organized into sections of readable We are prone to overestimating how much we know. You may understand length. The Retrieval Practice questions will challenge you to retrieve a chapter as you read it, but that feeling of familiarity can be decep- what you have learned, and thus better remember it. The end-of-chapter tively comforting. Using the Retrieval Practice opportunities, devote Review provides more opportunities for active processing and self-test- extra study time to testing your knowledge. ing, focusing on the chapter’s key terms and Learning Objective Ques- Memory experts Elizabeth Bjork and Robert Bjork (2011) offer the tions. (Complete Chapter Reviews can be found in Appendix B, at the bottom line for how to improve your retention and your grades: end of this book.) Survey, question, read... Spend less time on the input side and more time on the output side, such Four additional study tips may further boost your learning: as summarizing what you have read from memory or getting together with Distribute your study time. One of psychology’s oldest findings is friends and asking each other questions. Any activities that involve test- that spaced practice promotes better retention than massed practice. ing yourself—that is, activities that require you to retrieve or generate You’ll remember material better if you space your time over several information, rather than just representing information to yourself—will study periods—perhaps one hour a day, six days a week—rather than make your learning both more durable and flexible. cram it into one long study blitz. For example, rather than trying to read an entire chapter in a single sitting, read just one main section and then turn to something else. Interleaving your study of psychology with your ✓RETRIEVAL PRACTICE study of other subjects boosts long-term retention and protects against The __________ __________ describes the enhanced memory that overconfidence (Kornell & Bjork, 2008; Taylor & Rohrer, 2010). results from repeated retrieval (as in self-testing) rather than Spacing your study sessions requires a disciplined approach to from simple rereading of new information. managing your time. (Richard O. Straub explains time management in a ANSWER: testing effect helpful preface at the beginning of this text.) Learn to think critically. Whether you are reading or in class, note What does the acronym SQ3R stand for? people’s assumptions and values. What perspective or bias underlies an ANSWER: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, and Review argument? Evaluate evidence. Is it anecdotal? Or is it based on informa- tive experiments? (More on this in Chapter 1.) Assess conclusions. Are there alternative explanations? Process class information actively. Listen for the main ideas and sub- ideas of a lecture. Write them down. Ask questions during and after class. In class, as in your private study, process the information actively and you will understand and retain it better. As psychologist William James urged testing effect enhanced memory after retrieving, rather a century ago, “No reception without reaction, no impression without... than simply reading, information. Also sometimes referred to expression.” Make the information your own. Take notes in your own words. as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning. Relate what you read to what you already know. Tell someone else about it. SQ3R a study method incorporating five steps: Survey, (As any teacher will confirm, to teach is to remember.) Question, Read, Retrieve, Review. But bear in mind psychology’s limits. Don’t expect it to answer the ultimate questions, “Once expanded to the dimensions such as those posed by Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1904): “Why should I live? Why of a larger idea, [the mind] never should I do anything? Is there in life any purpose which the inevitable death that awaits returns to its original size.” me does not undo and destroy?” Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1809–1894 Although many of life’s significant questions are beyond psychology, some very important ones are illuminated by even a first psychology course. Through painstaking research, psychologists have gained insights into brain and mind, dreams and memories, depression and joy. Even the unanswered questions can renew our sense of mystery about “things too wonderful” for us yet to understand. And, as you will see in Chapter 1, your study of psychology can help teach you how to ask and answer important questions—how to think critically as you evaluate competing ideas and claims. Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 13 8/26/11 9:12 AM  14 PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY Psychology deepens our appreciation for how we humans perceive, think, feel, and act. By so doing it can indeed enrich our lives and enlarge our vision. Through this book I hope to help guide you toward that end. As educator Charles Eliot said a century ago: “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends, and the most patient of teachers.” ✓RETRIEVAL PRACTICE Match the specialty on the left with the description on the right. 1. Clinical psychology a. Works to create social and physical environments that are 2. Psychiatry healthy for all. 3. Community psychology b. Studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders but usually does not provide medical therapy. c. Branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders. ANSWERS: 1. b, 2. c, 3. a PROLOGUE REVIEW The Story of Psychology Learning Objectives ✓ RETRIEVAL PRACTICE Take a moment to answer each of these Learning Objective Questions (repeated here from within the Prologue). Then turn to Appendix B, Complete Chapter Reviews, to check your an- swers. Research suggests that trying to answer these questions on your own will improve your long-term retention (McDaniel et al., 2009). What Is Psychology? P-1: What are some important milestones in psychology’s early development? P-2: How did psychology continue to develop from the 1920s through today? Contemporary Psychology P-3: What is psychology’s historic big issue? P-4: What are psychology’s levels of analysis and related perspectives? P-5: What are psychology’s main subfields? P-6: How can psychological principles help you learn and remember? Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 14 9/28/11 12:49 PM  PROLOGUE: THE STORY OF PSYCHOLOGY 15 Terms and Concepts to Remember ✓ RETRIEVAL PRACTICE Test yourself psychology, p. 6 counseling psychology, p. 11 on these terms by trying to write down the def- nature–nurture issue, p. 6 clinical psychology, p. 11 inition before flipping back to the referenced natural selection, p. 7 psychiatry, p. 11 page to check your answer. levels of analysis, p. 8 positive psychology, p. 11 behaviorism, p. 5 biopsychosocial approach, p. 8 community psychology, p. 11 humanistic psychology, p. 5 basic research, p. 10 testing effect, p. 12 cognitive neuroscience, p. 6 applied research, p. 110 SQ3R, p. 12 ✓ RETRIEVAL PRACTICE Gain an advantage, and benefit from immediate feedback, with the interactive self-testing resources at www.worthpublishers.com/myers. Myers10e_Prologue_B.indd 15 9/29/11 10:43 AM