Psychology - Themes and Variations 2010 PDF

3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page xlii C H A P T E R 1 From Speculation to Science: How Psychology Developed...

3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page xlii C H A P T E R 1 From Speculation to Science: How Psychology Developed A New Science Is Born: The Contributions of Wundt and Hall The Battle of the “Schools” Begins: Structuralism Versus Functionalism The Evolution Freud Brings the Unconscious into the Picture Watson Alters Psychology’s Course as Behaviorism Makes Its Debut Skinner Questions Free Will as Behaviorism Flourishes The Humanists Revolt of Psychology Psychology Comes of Age as a Profession Psychology Returns to Its Roots: Renewed Interest in Cognition and Physiology Psychology Broadens Its Horizons: Increased Interest in Cultural Diversity Psychology Adapts: The Emergence of Evolutionary Psychology Psychology Moves in a Positive Direction Illustrated Overview of Psychology’s History Psychology Today: Vigorous and Diversified Research Areas in Psychology Professional Specialties in Psychology Seven Unifying Themes Themes Related to Psychology as a Field of Study Themes Related to Psychology’s Subject Matter Improving PERSONAL APPLICATION Academic Performance Developing Sound Study Habits Improving Your Reading Getting More Out of Lectures Improving Test-Taking Strategies CRITICAL THINKING APPLICATION Developing Critical Thinking Skills: An Introduction The Need to Teach Critical Thinking An Example Recap Practice Test © Caroline Schiff/zefa/Corbis COPYRIGHT © Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license 3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page 1 W hat is psychology? Your initial answer to regulated by the brain, whether chimpanzees can use this question is likely to bear little resem- language to communicate, and a multitude of other blance to the picture of psychology that topics I’d never thought to wonder about. The sec- will emerge as you work your way through this book. ond thing I didn’t expect was that I would be so com- I know that when I ambled into my introductory pletely seduced by the subject. Before long I changed psychology course more than 30 years ago, I had no majors and embarked on a career in psychology—a idea what psychology involved. I was a pre-law/po- decision I have never regretted. litical science major fulfilling a general education re- Why has psychology continued to fascinate me? quirement with what I thought would be my one and One reason is that psychology is practical. It offers a only psychology course. I encountered two things I vast store of information about issues that concern didn’t expect. The first was to learn that psychology everyone. These issues range from broad social ques- is about a great many things besides abnormal behav- tions, such as how to reduce the incidence of mental ior and ways to win friends and influence people. I was illness, to highly personal questions, such as how to surprised to discover that psychology is also about improve your self-control. In a sense, psychology is how people are able to perceive color, how hunger is about you and me. It’s about life in our modern world. © 2005 AP/Wide World Photos © Tom Rosenthal/SuperStock © 2005 AP/Wide World Photos © 2005 AP/Wide World Photos Modern psychology ranges widely in its investigations, looking at divergent topics such as work, sleep, stress, trauma, and brain function. As you progress through this book, you will see that the range and diversity of psychology’s subject matter are enormous. The Evolution of Psychology 1 COPYRIGHT © Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license 3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page 2 The practical side of psychology will be apparent ogists look at all the seasons of human life, from de- throughout this text, especially in the end-of-chapter velopment in the womb to the emotional stages that Personal Applications. These Applications focus on people go through in the process of dying. Psycholo- everyday problems, such as coping more effectively gists study observable behaviors such as eating, fight- with stress, improving memory, enhancing perfor- ing, and mating. But they also dig beneath the surface mance in school, and dealing with sleep difficulties. to investigate how hormones affect emotions and Another element of psychology’s appeal for me is how the brain registers pain. They probe the behav- that it represents a powerful way of thinking. We are all ior of any number of species, from humans to house exposed to claims about psychological issues. For in- cats, from monkeys to moths. This rich diversity is, stance, we hear assertions that men and women have for me, perhaps psychology’s most appealing aspect. different abilities or that violence on television has a Mental illness, rats running in mazes, the physi- harmful effect on children. As a science, psychology ology of hunger, the mysteries of love, creativity, and demands that researchers ask precise questions about prejudice—what ties all these subjects together in a such issues and that they test their ideas through sys- single discipline? How did psychology come to be so tematic observation. Psychology’s commitment to diverse? Why is it so different from what most people testing ideas encourages a healthy brand of critical expect? If psychology is a social science, why do psy- thinking. In the long run, this means that psychol- chologists study subjects such as brain chemistry and ogy provides a way of building knowledge that is rel- the physiological basis of vision? To answer these atively accurate and dependable. questions, we begin our introduction to psychology Of course, psychological research cannot discover by retracing its development. By seeing how psychol- an answer for every interesting question about the ogy grew and changed, you will discover why it has mind and behavior. You won’t find the meaning of the shape it does today. life or the secret of happiness in this text. But you After our journey into psychology’s past, we will will find an approach to investigating questions that examine a formal definition of psychology. We’ll also has proven to be fruitful. The more you learn about look at psychology as it is today—a sprawling, multi- psychology as a way of thinking, the better able you faceted science and profession. To help keep psychol- will be to evaluate the psychological assertions you ogy’s diversity in perspective, the chapter concludes encounter in daily life. with a discussion of seven unifying themes that will There is still another reason for my fascination serve as connecting threads in the chapters to come. with psychology. As you proceed through this text, Finally, in the chapter’s Personal Application we’ll you will find that psychologists study an enormous di- review research that gives insights on how to be an versity of subjects, from acrophobia (fear of heights) effective student, and in the Critical Thinking Appli- to zoophobia (fear of animals), from problem solving cation we’ll discuss how critical thinking skills can in apes to the symbolic language of dreams. Psychol- be enhanced. From Speculation to Science: How Psychology Developed PREVIEW QUESTIONS Psychology’s story is one of people groping toward a scholars. By that time it had acquired its literal mean- What were Wundt’s better understanding of themselves. As psychology ing, “the study of the mind.” and Hall’s key ideas and has evolved, its focus, methods, and explanatory Of course, people have always wondered about accomplishments? models have changed. In this section we’ll look at the mysteries of the mind. In that sense, psychology What were the chief how psychology has developed from philosophical is as old as the human race. But it was only a little tenets of structuralism and functionalism? speculations about the mind into a modern science. over 125 years ago that psychology emerged as a sci- What did Freud have to An Illustrated Overview of the highlights of psychol- entific discipline. say about the uncon- ogy’s history can be found on pages 16–17. scious and sexuality, The term psychology comes from two Greek words, and why were his ideas psyche, meaning the soul, and logos, referring to the A New Science Is Born: so controversial? How did Freudian the- study of a subject. These two Greek roots were first The Contributions sy k Tr ek P ory affect the main- put together to define a topic of study in the 16th of Wundt and Hall 1a stream of psychology? century, when psyche was used to refer to the soul, spirit, or mind, as distinguished from the body (Bor- Psychology’s intellectual parents were the disciplines ing, 1966). Not until the early 18th century did the of philosophy and physiology. By the 1870s a small term psychology gain more than rare usage among number of scholars in both fields were actively ex- 2 CHAPTER 1 COPYRIGHT © Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license 3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page 3 ploring questions about the mind. How are bodily of the new science? According to Wundt, psychol- sensations turned into a mental awareness of the ogy’s primary focus was consciousness—the awareness outside world? Are people’s perceptions of the world of immediate experience. Thus, psychology became the accurate reflections of reality? How do mind and scientific study of conscious experience. This orientation body interact? The philosophers and physiologists kept psychology focused on the mind and mental who were interested in the mind viewed such ques- processes. But it demanded that the methods psychol- tions as fascinating issues within their respective fields. ogists used to investigate the mind be as scientific as It was a German professor, Wilhelm Wundt (1832– those of chemists or physicists. 1920), who eventually changed this view. Wundt Wundt was a tireless, dedicated scholar who gen- mounted a campaign to make psychology an inde- erated an estimated 54,000 pages of books and arti- pendent discipline rather than a stepchild of philos- cles in his career (Bringmann & Balk, 1992). Studies WILHELM WUNDT ophy or physiology. in his laboratory focused on attention, memory, sen- 1832–1920 “Physiology informs us The time and place were right for Wundt’s appeal. sory processes, and reaction-time experiments that about those life phenom- German universities were in a healthy period of ex- provided estimates of the duration of various mental ena that we perceive by pansion, so resources were available for new disci- processes (Fuchs & Milar, 2003). Outstanding young our external senses. In plines. Furthermore, the intellectual climate favored scholars, including many Americans, came to Leipzig psychology, the person looks upon himself as from the scientific approach that Wundt advocated. Hence, to study under Wundt. Many of Wundt’s students within and tries to explain his proposals were well received by the academic then fanned out across Germany and America, estab- the interrelations of those community. In 1879 Wundt succeeded in establish- lishing the research laboratories that formed the processes that this internal observation discloses.” ing the first formal laboratory for research in psy- basis for the new, independent science of psychol- chology at the University of Leipzig. In deference to ogy. Indeed, it was in North America that Wundt’s this landmark event, historians have christened 1879 new science grew by leaps and bounds. Between 1883 as psychology’s “date of birth.” Soon afterward, in and 1893, some 23 new psychological research labo- 1881, Wundt established the first journal devoted to ratories sprang up in the United States and Canada, publishing research on psychology. All in all, Wundt’s at the schools shown in Figure 1.1 (Benjamin, 2000). campaign was so successful that today he is widely Many of the laboratories were started by Wundt’s stu- characterized as the founder of psychology. dents, or by his students’ students. Wundt’s conception of psychology was influen- G. Stanley Hall (1846–1924), who studied briefly tial for decades. Borrowing from his training in phys- with Wundt, was a particularly important contribu- iology, Wundt (1874) declared that the new psychol- tor to the rapid growth of psychology in America. ogy should be a science modeled after fields such as Toward the end of the 19th century, Hall reeled off a physics and chemistry. What was the subject matter series of “firsts” for American psychology. To begin Figure 1.1 Early research laborato- Cornell University 1891 ries in North America. University of Toronto 1890 Clark University 1889 This map highlights the Harvard University 1892 location and year of found- ing for the first 23 psycho- University of Wisconsin 1888 Wellesley College 1891 logical research labs estab- Stanford Brown University 1892 University University of Iowa 1890 lished in North American 1893 Yale University 1892 colleges and universities. University University of Nebraska of Michigan Columbia University 1890 As the color coding shows, 1889 1890 Princeton University 1893 a great many of these labs University Indiana were founded by the stu- of lllinois Trenton State College 1892 University 1887 dents of Wilhelm Wundt, 1892 University of Pennsylvania 1887 University University G. Stanley Hall, and William of Kansas of Chicago Johns Hopkins University 1883 James. (Based on Benjamin, 1889 1893 Catholic University 1891 2000) Randolph Macon Women’s College 1893 Founded by students of William James Founded by students of G. Stanley Hall Founded by students of Wilhelm Wundt Founded by others The Evolution of Psychology 3 COPYRIGHT © Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license 3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page 4 sharp. Such diversity in thought is natural and often stimulates enlightening debate. In psychology, the first two major schools of thought, structuralism and functionalism, were entangled in the field’s first great intellectual battle. Structuralism emerged through the leadership of Edward Titchener, an Englishman who emigrated to the United States in 1892 and taught for decades at Cornell University. Although Titchener earned his degree in Wundt’s Leipzig laboratory and expressed Image Not Available great admiration for Wundt’s work, he brought his own version of Wundt’s psychology to America (Hil- gard, 1987; Thorne & Henley, 1997). Structuralism was based on the notion that the task of psychol- ogy is to analyze consciousness into its basic ele- ments and investigate how these elements are re- lated. Just as physicists were studying how matter is made up of basic particles, the structuralists wanted to identify and examine the fundamental compo- nents of conscious experience, such as sensations, feelings, and images. Although the structuralists explored many ques- The establishment of the first with, he established America’s first research labora- tions, most of their work concerned sensation and research laboratory in psy- perception in vision, hearing, and touch. To exam- tory in psychology at Johns Hopkins University in chology by Wilhelm Wundt (far right) marked the birth 1883. Four years later he launched America’s first ine the contents of consciousness, the structuralists of psychology as a modern psychology journal. Furthermore, in 1892 he was the depended on the method of introspection, or the science. careful, systematic self-observation of one’s own driving force behind the establishment of the Ameri- can Psychological Association (APA) and was elected conscious experience. As practiced by the structural- its first president. Today the APA is the world’s largest ists, introspection required training to make the sub- organization devoted to the advancement of psy- ject—the person being studied—more objective and chology, with over 155,000 members and affiliates. more aware. Once trained, subjects were typically ex- Hall never envisioned such a vast membership when posed to auditory tones, optical illusions, and visual he and 26 others set up their new organization. stimuli under carefully controlled and systematically Exactly why Americans took to psychology so varied conditions and were asked to analyze what quickly is hard to say. Perhaps it was because Amer- they experienced. Web Link 1.1 ica’s relatively young universities were more open to The functionalists took a different view of psy- new disciplines than the older, more tradition-bound chology’s task. Functionalism was based on the be- Mind and Body: René Descartes to universities in Europe. In any case, although psychol- lief that psychology should investigate the function William James ogy was born in Germany, it blossomed into adoles- or purpose of consciousness, rather than its struc- Designed originally to cel- ture. The chief impetus for the emergence of function- ebrate psychology’s first cence in America. Like many adolescents, however, century as an independent the young science was about to enter a period of tur- alism was the work of William James (1842–1910), a discipline, this online exhi- bulence and turmoil. brilliant American scholar (and brother of novelist bition traces three histori- Henry James). James’s formal training was in medi- cal themes: the mind–body cine. However, he did not find medicine to be intel- problem posed in the 17th century by philoso- The Battle of the “Schools” lectually challenging and felt he was too sickly to pher René Descartes, the Begins: Structuralism sy k Tr ek pursue a medical practice (Ross, 1991), so, when an P rise of experimental psy- chology, and the begin- Versus Functionalism 1a opportunity arose in 1872, he joined the faculty of nings of psychology in Harvard University to pursue a less arduous career in America. Note: The URLs While reading about how psychology became a sci- academia. Medicine’s loss proved to be psychology’s (addresses) for the Web ence, you might have imagined that psychologists gain, as James quickly became an intellectual giant Links can be found on the website for this text became a unified group of scholars who busily added in the field. James’s landmark book, Principles of Psy- (http://psychology new discoveries to an uncontested store of “facts.” In chology (1890), became standard reading for genera-.wadsworth.com/weiten_ reality, no science works that way. Competing schools tions of psychologists and is perhaps the most influ- themes7e), or you can find them using a search of thought exist in most scientific disciplines. Some- ential text in the history of psychology (Weiten & engine such as Google. times the disagreements among these schools are Wight, 1992). 4 CHAPTER 1 COPYRIGHT © Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license 3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page 5 James’s thinking illustrates how psychology, like in that flow. James wanted to understand the flow it- any field, is deeply embedded in a network of cul- self, which he called the “stream of consciousness.” tural and intellectual influences. James had been im- Whereas structuralists naturally gravitated to the pressed with Charles Darwin’s (1859, 1871) concept laboratory, functionalists were more interested in of natural selection. According to the principle of nat- how people adapt their behavior to the demands of ural selection, heritable characteristics that provide the real world around them. This practical slant led a survival or reproductive advantage are more them to introduce new subjects into psychology. In- likely than alternative characteristics to be passed stead of focusing on sensation and perception, func- on to subsequent generations and thus come to be tionalists such as James McKeen Cattell and John “selected” over time. This cornerstone notion of Dar- Dewey began to investigate mental testing, patterns win’s evolutionary theory suggested that the typical of development in children, the effectiveness of edu- WILLIAM JAMES characteristics of a species must serve some purpose. cational practices, and behavioral differences be- 1842–1910 “It is just this free water of Applying this idea to humans, James (1890) noted tween the sexes. These new topics may have played consciousness that psychol- that consciousness obviously is an important char- a role in attracting the first women into the field of ogists resolutely overlook.” acteristic of our species. Hence, he contended that psychology (see Figure 1.2). psychology should investigate the functions rather The impassioned advocates of structuralism and than the structure of consciousness. functionalism saw themselves as fighting for high James also argued that the structuralists’ approach stakes: the definition and future direction of the new missed the real nature of conscious experience. Con- science of psychology. Their war of ideas continued sciousness, he argued, consists of a continuous flow energetically for many years. Who won? Most histo- of thoughts. In analyzing consciousness into its “ele- rians give the edge to functionalism. Although both ments,” the structuralists were looking at static points schools of thought gradually faded away, functional- Figure 1.2 Mary Whiton Calkins Margaret Floy Washburn Leta Stetter Hollingworth Women pioneers in the (1863–1930) (1871–1939) (1886–1939) history of psychology. Women have long made major contributions to the development of psychology (Milar, 2000; Russo & Den- mark, 1987), and today nearly half of all psycholo- gists are female. As in other fields, however, women have often been overlooked in histories of psychology (Furumoto & Scarborough, 1986). The three psycholo- gists profiled here demon- strate that women have been Photos courtesy of the Archives of the History of American Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio making significant contribu- Mary Calkins, who studied under Margaret Washburn was the first Leta Hollingworth did pioneering tions to psychology almost William James, founded one of the woman to receive a Ph.D. in psychol- work on adolescent development, from its beginning—despite first dozen psychology laboratories in ogy. She wrote an influential book, mental retardation, and gifted chil- formidable barriers to pursu- America at Wellesley College in 1891, The Animal Mind (1908), which served dren. Indeed, she was the first per- ing their academic careers. invented a widely used technique for as an impetus to the subsequent son to use the term gifted to refer to studying memory, and became the emergence of behaviorism and was youngsters who scored exceptionally first woman to serve as president of standard reading for several genera- high on intelligence tests. Holling- the American Psychological Associa- tions of psychologists. In 1921 she worth (1914, 1916) also played tion in 1905. Ironically, however, she became the second woman to serve a major role in debunking popular never received her Ph.D. in psychol- as president of the American Psycho- theories of her era that purported to ogy. Because she was a woman, logical Association. Washburn studied explain why women were “inferior” Harvard University only reluctantly under James McKeen Cattell at Colum- to men. For instance, she conducted allowed her to take graduate classes bia University, but like Mary Calkins, a study refuting the myth that phases as a “guest student.” When she com- she was only permitted to take gradu- of the menstrual cycle are reliably pleted the requirements for her Ph.D., ate classes unofficially, as a “hearer.” associated with performance decre- Harvard would only offer her a doc- Hence, she transferred to Cornell Uni- ments in women. Her careful collec- torate from its undergraduate sister versity, which was more hospitable tion of objective data on gender school, Radcliffe. Calkins felt that this toward women, and completed differences forced other scientists decision perpetuated unequal treat- her doctorate in 1894. Like Calkins, to subject popular, untested beliefs ment of the sexes, so she refused Washburn spent most of her career about the sexes to skeptical, empirical the Radcliffe degree. at a college for women (Vassar). inquiry. The Evolution of Psychology 5 COPYRIGHT © Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license 3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page 6 ism fostered the development of two important de- seemingly meaningless slips of the tongue (such as scendants—behaviorism and applied psychology— “I decided to take a summer school curse”) often ap- that we will discuss momentarily. peared to reveal a person’s true feelings. He also noted that his patients’ dreams often seemed to express im- portant feelings they were unaware of. Knitting these Freud Brings the Unconscious s y k T r e k and other observations together, Freud eventually P into the Picture 1a, 10a concluded that psychological disturbances are largely caused by personal conflicts existing at an uncon- Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was an Austrian physi- scious level. More generally, his psychoanalytic the- cian who early in his career dreamed of achieving ory attempts to explain personality, motivation, fame by making an important discovery. His deter- SIGMUND FREUD and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious 1856–1939 mination was such that in medical school he dis- determinants of behavior. “The unconscious is the sected 400 male eels to prove for the first time that Freud’s concept of the unconscious was not en- true psychical reality; in its they had testes. His work with eels did not make him innermost nature it is as tirely new (Rieber, 1998). However, it was a major de- famous, but his subsequent work with people did. much unknown to us as parture from the prevailing belief that people are the reality of the external Indeed, his theories made him one of the most con- fully aware of the forces affecting their behavior. In world.” troversial intellectual figures of modern times. arguing that behavior is governed by unconscious Freud’s (1900, 1933) approach to psychology grew forces, Freud made the disconcerting suggestion that out of his efforts to treat mental disorders. In his med- people are not masters of their own minds. Other ical practice, Freud treated people troubled by psycho- aspects of Freud’s theory also stirred up debate. For logical problems such as irrational fears, obsessions, instance, he proposed that behavior is greatly influ- and anxieties with an innovative procedure he called enced by how people cope with their sexual urges. psychoanalysis (described in detail in Chapter 15). At a time when people were far less comfortable dis- Decades of experience probing into his patients’ lives cussing sexual issues than they are today, even sci- provided much of the inspiration for Freud’s theory. entists were offended and scandalized by Freud’s em- He also gathered material by looking inward and ex- phasis on sex. Small wonder, then, that Freud was amining his own anxieties, conflicts, and desires. soon engulfed in controversy. His work with patients and his own self-exploration In part because of its controversial nature, Freud’s persuaded Freud of the existence of what he called theory was slow to gain influence. However, his ap- the unconscious. According to Freud, the unconscious proach gradually won acceptance within medicine, contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are attracting prominent followers such as Carl Jung and well below the surface of conscious awareness but Alfred Adler. Important public recognition from psy- that nonetheless exert great influence on behavior. chology came in 1909, when G. Stanley Hall invited Freud based his concept of the unconscious on a va- Freud to give a series of lectures at Clark University in riety of observations. For instance, he noticed that Massachusetts (see the photo at left). By 1920 psychoanalytic theory was widely known around the world, but it continued to meet with con- siderable resistance in psychology (Fancher, 2000). Most psychologists contemptuously viewed psycho- analytic theory as unscientific speculation that would eventually fade away (Hornstein, 1992). However, they turned out to be wrong. Psychoanalytic ideas steadily gained credence in the culture at large, in- fluencing thought in medicine, the arts, and litera- Image Not Available ture (Rieber, 1998). According to Hornstein (1992), by the 1940s, “Psychoanalysis was becoming so pop- ular that it threatened to eclipse psychology entirely” (p. 258). Thus, the widespread popular acceptance of psychoanalytic theory essentially forced psycholo- gists to apply their scientific methods to the topics Freud had studied: personality, motivation, and ab- normal behavior. As they turned to these topics, many of them saw merit in some of Freud’s notions A portrait taken at the famous Clark University psychology conference, September 1909. Pictured are Freud, G. Stanley Hall, and four of Freud’s students and associates. Seated, left to right: Freud, Hall, (Rosenzweig, 1985). Although psychoanalytic the- and Carl Jung; standing: Abraham Brill, Ernest Jones, and Sandor Ferenczi. ory continued to generate heated debate, it survived 6 CHAPTER 1 COPYRIGHT © Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license 3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page 7 to become an influential theoretical perspective. Today, many psychoanalytic concepts have filtered Watson Alters Psychology’s PREVIEW QUESTIONS into the mainstream of psychology (Westen, 1998). Course as Behaviorism sy k Tr ek What was the main idea underlying behaviorism? P Makes Its Debut 1a, 5b How did the emergence of behaviorism influ- REVIEW OF KEY POINTS One reason that psychoanalysis struggled to gain ac- ence the evolution of ceptance within psychology was that it conflicted in psychology? Psychology’s intellectual parents were 19th-century philos- What basic principle of many basic ways with the tenets of behaviorism, a ophy and physiology, disciplines that shared an interest behavior did Skinner in the mysteries of the mind. new school of thought that gradually became domi- emphasize? Psychology became an independent discipline when nant within psychology between 1913 and the late What did Skinner do to Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychological research 1920s. Founded by John B. Watson (1878–1958), be- stir up controversy? laboratory in 1879 at Leipzig, Germany. He defined psy- What was the impetus chology as the scientific study of consciousness. haviorism is a theoretical orientation based on the for the emergence of The new discipline grew rapidly in North America in the premise that scientific psychology should study humanism? late 19th century, as illustrated by G. Stanley Hall’s career. only observable behavior. It is important to under- Hall established America’s first research lab in psychology stand what a radical change this definition repre- and founded the American Psychological Association. sents. Watson (1913, 1919) proposed that psycholo- The structuralists, led by Edward Titchener, believed that psychology should use introspection to analyze conscious- gists abandon the study of consciousness altogether and ness into its basic elements. focus exclusively on behaviors that they could ob- The functionalists, inspired by the ideas of William James, serve directly. In essence, he was trying to redefine believed that psychology should focus on the purpose and what scientific psychology should be about. adaptive functions of consciousness. Functionalism paved the way for behaviorism and applied psychology. Why did Watson argue for such a fundamental Sigmund Freud was an Austrian physician who invented shift in direction? Because to him, the power of the psychoanalysis. His psychoanalytic theory emphasized the scientific method rested on the idea of verifiability. In unconscious determinants of behavior and the importance principle, scientific claims can always be verified (or of sexuality. Freud’s ideas were controversial, and they met with resis- disproved) by anyone who is able and willing to tance in academic psychology. However, as more psycholo- make the required observations. However, this power gists developed an interest in personality, motivation, and depends on studying things that can be observed ob- abnormal behavior, psychoanalytic concepts were incorpo- rated into mainstream psychology. jectively. Otherwise, the advantage of using the sci- entific approach—replacing vague speculation and personal opinion with reliable, exact knowledge—is lost. For Watson, men- tal processes were not a c o n c e p t c h e c k 1.1 proper subject for sci- entific study because Understanding the Implications of Major Theories: they are ultimately pri- Wundt, James, and Freud vate events. After all, Check your understanding of the implications of some of the major theories reviewed no one can see or touch in this chapter by indicating who is likely to have made each of the statements another’s thoughts. quoted below. Choose from the following theorists: (a) Wilhelm Wundt, (b) William Consequently, if psy- James, and (c) Sigmund Freud. You’ll find the answers in Appendix A in the back chology was to be a sci- of the book. ence, it would have to _______ 1. “He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no give up consciousness mortal can keep a secret. If the lips are silent, he chatters with his finger- as its subject matter and tips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore. And thus the task of mak- become instead the sci- ing conscious the most hidden recesses of the mind is one which it is quite possible to accomplish.” ence of behavior. Behavior refers to _______ 2. “The book which I present to the public is an attempt to mark out a new any overt (observable) domain of science.... The new discipline rests upon anatomical and response or activity by physiological foundations.... The experimental treatment of psycho- logical problems must be pronounced from every point of view to be in an organism. Watson its first beginnings.” asserted that psycholo- gists could study any- JOHN B. WATSON _______ 3. “Consciousness, then, does not appear to itself chopped up in bits. Such 1878–1958 thing that people do or words as ‘chain’ or ‘train’ do not describe it fitly.... It is nothing jointed; “The time seems to have it flows. A ‘river’ or ‘stream’ are the metaphors by which it is most naturally say—shopping, playing come when psychology described.” chess, eating, compli- must discard all references menting a friend—but to consciousness.” The Evolution of Psychology 7 COPYRIGHT © Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license 3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page 8 they could not study scientifically the thoughts, wishes, vestigate, so Pavlov’s discovery paved the way for Web Link 1.2 and feelings that might accompany these observable their work. The behaviorists eventually came to view History & Philosophy behaviors. Obviously, psychology’s shift away from psychology’s mission as an attempt to relate overt of Psychology Web the study of consciousness was fundamentally in- behaviors (responses) to observable events in the en- Resources compatible with psychoanalytic theory. Given that vironment (stimuli). Because the behaviorists inves- Professor Christopher Green of York University in many psychologists were becoming uncomfortable tigated stimulus-response relationships, the behav- Canada has assembled a with the study of conscious experience, you can imag- ioral approach is often referred to as stimulus-response wide range of web-based ine how they felt about trying to study unconscious (S-R) psychology. materials relating to psy- mental processes. By the 1920s Watson had become Behaviorism’s stimulus-response approach con- chology’s theoretical and historical past, including a an outspoken critic of Freud’s views (Rilling, 2000). tributed to the rise of animal research in psychology. collection of sites focused Proponents of behaviorism and psychoanalysis en- Having deleted consciousness from their scope of con- on specific individuals. gaged in many heated theoretical debates in the en- cern, behaviorists no longer needed to study human Pages devoted to key fig- ures mentioned in this suing decades. subjects who could report on their mental processes. chapter (such as Mary Watson’s radical reorientation of psychology did Many psychologists thought that animals would Whiton Calkins, William not end with his redefinition of its subject matter. make better research subjects anyway. One key reason James, B. F. Skinner, and Margaret Floy Washburn) He also staked out a rather extreme position on one was that experimental research is often more produc- can be accessed here. of psychology’s oldest and most fundamental ques- tive if experimenters can exert considerable control tions: the issue of nature versus nurture. This age-old over their subjects. Otherwise, too many complicat- debate is concerned with whether behavior is deter- ing factors enter into the picture and contaminate the mined mainly by genetic inheritance (“nature”) or experiment. Obviously, a researcher can have much by environment and experience (“nurture”). To over- more control over a laboratory rat or pigeon than over simplify, the question is this: Is a great concert pi- a human subject, who arrives at a lab with years of un- anist or a master criminal born, or made? Watson ar- controlled experience and who will probably insist on gued that each is made, not born. In other words, he going home at night. Thus, the discipline that had downplayed the importance of heredity, maintain- begun its life a few decades earlier as the study of the ing that behavior is governed primarily by the envi- mind now found itself heavily involved in the study ronment. Indeed, he boldly claimed: of simple responses made by laboratory animals. Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own special world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to Skinner Questions Free Will s y k T r e k P take any one at random and train him to become any as Behaviorism Flourishes 1a, 10b type of specialist I might select—doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes, even beggar-man and thief, re- The advocates of behaviorism and psychoanalysis tan- gardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, gled frequently during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. vocations and race of his ancestors. I am going beyond my As psychoanalytic thought slowly gained a foothold facts and I admit it, but so have the advocates of the con- within psychology, many psychologists softened their trary and they have been doing it for many thousands of stance on the acceptability of studying internal men- years. (1924, p. 82) tal events. However, this movement toward the con- sideration of internal states was vigorously opposed For obvious reasons, Watson’s tongue-in-cheek by B. F. Skinner (1904–1990), a behaviorist whose challenge was never put to a test. Although this widely work became highly influential in the 1950s. Skinner cited quote overstated and oversimplified Watson’s set out to be a writer, but he gave up his dream after views on the nature-nurture issue (Todd & Morris, a few unproductive years. “I had,” he wrote later, 1992), his writings contributed to the strong envi- “nothing important to say” (1967, p. 395). However, ronmental slant that became associated with behav- he had many important things to say about psychol- iorism (Horowitz, 1992). ogy, and he went on to become one of the most in- The gradual emergence of behaviorism was partly fluential of all American psychologists. attributable to an important discovery made around In response to the softening that had occurred in the turn of the century by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian phys- the behaviorist position, Skinner (1953) championed B. F. SKINNER iologist. As you’ll learn in Chapter 6, Pavlov (1906) a return to Watson’s strict focus on observable behav- 1904–1990 showed that dogs could be trained to salivate in re- ior. Skinner did not deny the existence of internal “I submit that what we call sponse to an auditory stimulus such as a tone. This mental events. However, he insisted that they could the behavior of the human organism is no more free deceptively simple demonstration provided insight not be studied scientifically. Moreover, there was no than its digestion.” into how stimulus-response bonds are formed. Such need to study them. According to Skinner, if the stim- bonds were exactly what behaviorists wanted to in- ulus of food is followed by the response of eating, we 8 CHAPTER 1 COPYRIGHT © Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license 3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page 9 they should study. Skinner spelled out the full impli- cations of his findings in his book Beyond Freedom Web Link 1.3 and Dignity (1971). There he asserted that all behavior Museum of the History is fully governed by external stimuli. In other words, of Psychological your behavior is determined in predictable ways by Instrumentation You can examine instru- lawful principles, just as the flight of an arrow is gov- ments and complex appa- erned by the laws of physics. Thus, if you believe that ratus used by psychologi- your actions are the result of conscious decisions, cal researchers in the discipline’s early decades you’re wrong. According to Skinner, people are con- in this “cybermuseum” trolled by their environment, not by themselves. In maintained at Montclair short, Skinner arrived at the conclusion that free will State University. Image Not Available is an illusion. As you can readily imagine, such a disconcerting view of human nature was not universally acclaimed. Like Freud, Skinner was the target of harsh criticism. Much of this criticism stemmed from misinterpreta- tions of his ideas that were disseminated in the pop- ular press (Rutherford, 2000). For example, his analy- sis of free will was often misconstrued as an attack on the concept of a free society—which it was not—and he was often mistakenly condemned for advocating an undemocratic “scientific police state” (Dinsmoor, 1992). Despite all the controversy, however, behav- B. F. Skinner created considerable controversy when he asserted iorism flourished as the dominant school of thought that free will is an illusion. in psychology during the 1950s and 1960s (Gilgen, 1982). And when 93 psychology department chair- can fully describe what is happening without making persons were surveyed in 1990 about the field’s most any guesses about whether the animal is experienc- important contributors (Estes, Coston, & Fournet, ing hunger. Like Watson, Skinner also emphasized 1990), Skinner was ranked at the top of the list (see how environmental factors mold behavior. Although Figure 1.3). he repeatedly acknowledged that an organism’s be- ek k Tr havior is influenced by its biological endowment, he sy P argued that psychology could understand and pre- The Humanists Revolt 1a, 10c dict behavior adequately without resorting to physi- ological explanations (Delprato & Midgley, 1992). By the 1950s, behaviorism and psychoanalytic theory The fundamental principle of behavior docu- had become the most influential schools of thought mented by Skinner is deceptively simple: Organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to positive outcomes, Figure 1.3 and they tend not to repeat responses that lead to neutral Important figures in the history of psychology. In a or negative outcomes. Despite its simplicity, this prin- 1990 survey, 93 chairpersons of psychology departments ranked psychology’s most important contributors (Estes, Coston, & ciple turns out to be quite powerful. Working primar- Fournet, 1990, as cited in Korn et al., 1991). As you can see, ily with laboratory rats and pigeons, Skinner showed B. F. Skinner edged out Sigmund Freud for the top ranking. that he could exert remarkable control over the be- Although these ratings of scholarly eminence are open to con- siderable debate, the data should give you some idea of the havior of animals by manipulating the outcomes of relative impact of various figures in the history of psychology. their responses. He was even able to train animals to perform unnatural behaviors. For example, he once Rank Individual Rank Points trained some pigeons to play Ping-Pong! Skinner’s 1 B. F. Skinner 508 followers eventually showed that the principles un- 2 Sigmund Freud 459 covered in their animal research could be applied to 3 William James 372 complex human behaviors as well. Behavioral prin- 4 Jean Piaget 237 5 G. Stanley Hall 216 ciples are now widely used in factories, schools, pris- 6 Wilhelm Wundt 203 ons, mental hospitals, and a variety of other settings 7 Carl Rogers 192 (see Chapter 6). 8 John B. Watson 188 9 Ivan Pavlov 152 Skinner’s ideas had repercussions that went far be- 10 E. L. Thorndike 124 yond the debate among psychologists about what The Evolution of Psychology 9 COPYRIGHT © Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license 3306_W_Weiten_Ch01 1/4/06 8:03 AM Page 10 in psychology. However, many psychologists found of human behavior. The most prominent architects these theoretical orientations unappealing. The prin- of the humanistic movement have been Carl Rogers cipal charge hurled at both schools was that they (1902–1987) and Abraham Maslow (1908–1970). were “dehumanizing.” Psychoanalytic theory was at- Rogers (1951) argued that human behavior is gov- tacked for its belief that behavior is dominated by erned primarily by each individual’s sense of self, or primitive, sexual urges. Behaviorism was criticized “self-concept”—which animals presumably lack. Both for its preoccupation with the study of simple ani- he and Maslow (1954) maintained that to fully un- mal behavior. Both theories were criticized because derstand people’s behavior, psychologists must take they suggested that people are not masters of their into account the fundamental human drive toward own destinies. Above all, many people argued, both personal growth. They asserted that people have a CARL ROGERS schools of thought failed to recognize the unique basic need to continue to evolve as human beings 1902–1987 qualities of human behavior. and to fulfill their potentials. In fact, the humanists “It seems to me that at Beginning in the 1950s, the diverse opposition to argued that many psychological disturbances are the bottom each person is asking, ‘Who am I, really? behaviorism and psychoanalytic theory blended into result of thwarting these uniquely human needs. How can I get in touch a loose alliance that eventually became a new school Fragmentation and dissent have reduced the in- with this real self, under- of thought called “humanism” (Bühler & Allen, 1972). fluence of humanism in recent decades, although lying all my surface behav- ior? How can I become In psychology, humanism is a theoretical orienta- some advocates are predicting a renaissance for the myself?’” tion that emphasizes the unique qualities of hu- humanistic movement (Taylor, 1999). To date, the mans, especially their freedom and their potential humanists’ greatest contribution to psychology has for personal growth. Some of the key differences probably been their innovative treatments for psy- among the humanistic, psychoanalytic, and behav- chological problems and disorders. More generally, ioral viewpoints are summarized in Table 1.1, which the humanists have argued eloquently for a different compares six influential contemporary theoretical picture of human nature than those implied by psy- perspectives in psychology. choanalysis and behaviorism (Wertz, 1998). Humanists take an optimistic view of human na- ture. They maintain that people are not pawns of ei- ther their animal heritage or environmental circum- REVIEW OF KEY POINTS stances. Furthermore, they say, because humans are Behaviorists, led by John B. Watson, argued that psychology fundamentally different from other animals, research should study only observable behavior. Thus, they cam- on animals has little relevance to the understanding paigned to redefine psychology as the science of behavior. Table 1.1 Overview of Six Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives in Psychology Perspective and Its Principal Influential Period Contributors Subject Matter Basic Premise Behavioral John B. Watson Effects of environment Only observable events (stimulus-response (1913–present) Ivan Pavlov on the overt behavior of relations) can be studied scientifically. B. F. Skinner humans and animals Psychoanalytic Sigmund Freud Unconscious determinants Unconscious motives and experiences in (1900–present) Carl Jung of behavior early childhood govern personality and mental Alfred Adler disorders. Humanistic Carl Rogers Unique aspects of human Humans are free, rational beings with the (1950s–present) Abraham Maslow experience potential for personal growth, and they are fundamentally different from animals. Cognitive Jean Piaget Thoughts; mental Human behavior cannot be fully understood (1950s–present) Noam Chomsky processes without examining how people acquire, store, Herbert Simon and process information. Biological James Olds Physiological bases of An organism’s functioning can be explained in (1950s–present) Roger Sperry behavior in humans and terms of the bodily structures and biochemical David Hubel anima