Unit 1: Study Questions

Page 1

Identify the origins of the word psychology and the two disciplines that were the intellectual parents of psychology. (p. 3)

Which of Descartes' ideas advanced the naturalistic study of psychology. (pp. 3-4)

Summarize Wundt's accomplishments and contributions to the field of psychology. (pp. 4-5)

Define structuralism and functionalism. Compare these two concepts. Specify their impact on the development of psychology. Which of these did Darwin's theory of evolution impact the most? (pp. 5-7)

Define introspection as structuralists would have used the term. (p. 6)

Comment: One of the classical problems in psychology is the separation of the worlds outside our skin, which everyone can sense, and the world within our skin, to which only we as individuals normally have access. Introspection was an early attempt to address the problem of accessing the world of private experience. The structuralists sought to train observers who, in principle, would become skilled at making self-observations and would report these to the experimenters with whom they worked. The structuralists' method of introspection never caught on as a research strategy in psychology. Even so, introspection survives in a more general form as, for example, when a person is asked how they feel or what they are thinking.

Despite the failure of introspection as a formal research method, some contemporary psychologists have pursued forms of introspection in its more general sense. For example, behavioural psychologist B. F. Skinner kept notebooks in which he would often record observations of his own thoughts and feelings (Skinner, 1980) as a way to understand his own behaviour. Many cognitive psychologists, including those who study mental imagery, observe their own actions of imagining mental images, and this influences their work. As such, introspection survives in certain forms as a kind of method, even in contemporary psychology.

Who was William James? Describe his perspective on psychology and his contributions to psychology. (p. 6)

Who was John B. Watson? Describe Watson's outlook on and contributions to psychology. (pp. 7-9)

Define Watsonian behaviourism. (p. 7)

Comment: On page 13, Weiten and McCann define behaviourism, according to J. B. Watson's version of behaviourism, and they fail to distinguish this early form of behaviourism from other modern forms of behaviourism. Other forms of behaviourism, such as that of B. F. Skinner, consider unobservable actions, such as thinking, to be forms of behaviour that are important objects of research and theory. Please avoid thinking that Watsonian behaviourism, which is now a kind of historical curiosity, represents modern forms of behaviourism. This point is important because the two surviving forms of behaviourism —Skinnerian behaviourism and J. R. Kantor's interbehaviourism—both accept the study of unobservable actions, such as thinking and feeling. Later in the chapter, Weiten and McCann grudgingly acknowledge that Skinner incorporated unobservable (private) events into his approach, but in this section they nonetheless define behaviourism in an outdated fashion.

Critical Thinking Comment: Note that the point of view in this Study Guide Guide differs from that of Weiten and McCann. One of the most valuable lessons a student can learn is that knowledge is often not as clear and concise as it appears when packaged in textbooks. Controversy and alternative interpretations underlie many definitions, concepts, and principles. While you do need to learn Weiten and McCann's interpretations well, also note the alternative interpretations presented in this Study Guide. Learning multiple interpretations is more difficult than learning a single point of view, but doing so will help you become a more effective scientific and critical thinker.

Science itself is a process in which different points of view and different interpretations conflict with one another. This process of conflict eventually yields a more effective outcome than any of the original conflicting points of view. Science is not a dogmatic enterprise in which natural phenomenon are irrevocably defined. Instead, it is a process of gradual change toward more effective means of dealing with and talking about natural phenomenon, which includes human behaviour.

Why did Watson propose that psychologists abandon the study of consciousness? (p. 7)

Comment: Weiten and McCann introduce the concept of consciousness, but they do not define it. Generally, people refer to the following when they speak of consciousness: (a) thinking verbally, as when we talk to ourselves; (b) thinking with images, as when we seem to see pictures in our mind of things that are not physically present; and (c) self-awareness, which is the ability to discriminate our bodies and our behaviour from the rest of our environment.

Describe Watson's view of psychology, with special reference to the nature-nurture issue and animal research. (pp. 7-8)

Comment: As Weiten and McCann indicate, Watson's views have often been portrayed as more extreme than they actually were. If you read Watson's books, you will certainly find a focus on the environment and its central role in influencing behaviour. However, you will also find extensive treatment of instincts, a concept that is no longer fashionable in psychology, which refers to the innate or unlearned traits that organisms acquire through heredity.

Since the 1980s, psychology has emphasized the contribution of hereditary factors in influencing behaviour. Recent indications suggest this trend may be changing. For example, a 2006 article in Scientific American (Ross, 2006) highlights the role of learning and practice in becoming adept at an activity—even playing chess, which many people assume is a hereditary gift.

Define behaviour. (p. 7)

Comment: As alluded to earlier, behaviour can be either observable (e.g., someone watching us) or unobservable (e.g., someone watching us from behind dark sunglasses). People think to themselves much of the time, and these thoughts are a form of unobservable verbal behaviour. The world would be a difficult place if others could observe our thoughts, which is a theme explored in the film What Women Want (2000).

Weiten and McCann define behaviour in a particular way, as any "overt (observable) response or activity by an organism" (p. 7). This definition includes your private (or covert) behaviours that only you can see. For example, observe yourself during the day as you think to yourself. You can observe what you think, but no one else can. "Thinking behaviour" can be considered a form of observable behaviour, though observation is limited to one person. Modern behaviourists have expanded the definition of behaviour to include private (or covert) behaviours such as thinking and imagining.

Define stimulus. According to Weiten and McCann, what school of psychology eventually came to view psychology's mission as an attempt to relate overt behaviour (responses) to experiences or stimuli in the environment? (pp. 7-8)

Comment: Note that Weiten and McCann identify “the behavioural approach” with S-R psychology, which is misleading. Although some behaviourists, including Watson, were centrally concerned with stimulus-response relationships, other behaviourists never followed this approach. Skinner, for example, emphasized the concept of contingency, not simple stimulus-response relationships, as the basic unit of analysis. Another influential behaviourist, J. R. Kantor, developed a field theory of behaviour that departed radically from simple S-R psychology.

Who was Sigmund Freud? Describe his main concepts, including the notion of the unconscious. What is psychoanalytic theory? (pp. 9-10)

Why did Freud's psychoanalytic theory encounter resistance within psychology? (pp. 9-10)

Comment: Weiten and McCann emphasize how psychoanalytic theory was resisted by psychology. However, the main problem with psychoanalytic theory is that it did not lead to an effective means of treating people for psychological disorders. Freud's concepts and principles are interesting, and they have intrigued artists and writers for decades. As a therapy, however, psychoanalysis is expensive, and its effectiveness has never been clearly documented.

Who was B. F. Skinner? Describe Skinner's viewpoint with regard to private events and free will. Describe the influence that Skinner had on psychology and more widely outside of academia. (pp. 10-11)

Comment: Skinner had a keen interest in private, unobservable events, and he devoted a considerable portion of his writing to them. As stated earlier, Skinner frequently observed his own private behaviour and made notes about it. One of Skinner's goals was to develop an approach to behaviour that would allow for the understanding of people “from within.”

Athabasca University has an online tutorial that is largely concerned with private events. The tutorial was written by Dr. Jay Moore, a former president of the Association for Behaviour Analysis and is available at http://psych.athabascau.ca/html/Behaviourism/. This material is optional and not intended for introductory students, but you may enjoy exploring the topic more closely.

When did behaviourism flourish within psychology? (p. 11)

Comment: Behaviourism continues to flourish. Several behavioural journals are published regularly, and the Association for Behaviour Analysis (ABA) serves as a focal point for those in the field. You may wish to take a look at Athabasca University's Psychology Resources (AUPR) for other web materials related to the field of behaviour analysis. The discipline of behaviourism is full of vigorous activity. Over the last 20 years, for example, it has become the treatment of choice for teaching autistic children to speak and communicate.

What is humanism? What is humanistic psychology? Who were the founders of this movement, and what were their contributions? Why did some psychologists find humanistic psychology more appealing than other psychologies? (pp. 11-13)

What are the six major contemporary theoretical perspectives within psychology? Briefly explain each one. (p. 12, Table 1.2)

Describe the development of psychology in Canada. (pp. 13-14)

Define applied psychology and clinical psychology. Describe the process of professionalization that has occurred within psychology. (pp. 15-16)

What is cognition? Which individuals were important in the development of cognitive psychology? Describe the fundamental beliefs shared by cognitive psychologists. (pp. 16-17)

Who was Donald Hebb? Describe his contributions to psychology. Define cell assembly. (p. 17)

Specify why Western psychology has not had much focus on diverse cultures in the past. Define ethnocentrism. Why has interest in cross-cultural psychology increased in contemporary psychology? (pp. 18-20)

Describe the procedure and results from the featured study titled "Bullying in Canadian Schoolyards." What research method was used? (p. 19)

Comment: Generally you are not responsible for knowing the details of specific research studies unless they are included in one of the study question/objectives. However in each of the chapters there is an interesting "featured study" that provides an example of research that is fairly easy to understand, both in terms of its content and methodology. We will ask you to know the procedure and the results of the featured studies.

Define evolutionary psychology. Explain how evolutionary psychology accounts for differences in spatial ability between men and women. Identify the criticisms made about evolutionary psychology. (pp. 20-21)

What is positive psychology, and what are the main areas of interest in this emerging field? (pp. 21-22)

Comment: Much of psychology is concerned with various behaviour disorders and pathologies. The positive psychology movement is in part an effort to move the focus of psychology from solving behaviour problems to bringing out people's behavioural strengths.

Define psychology. Describe the kinds of work psychologists do in contemporary society. (p. 23)

Specify and briefly describe the seven major research areas in modern psychology. (pp. 23-36, Figure 1.6)

Identify and briefly describe the four areas of specialization within applied psychology. Distinguish between clinical psychology and psychiatry. (pp. 23-27, Figure 1.7)

Identify and describe the three themes related to psychology as a field of study. Define empiricism. Explain how empiricism demands skepticism. (pp. 27-29)

Identify and describe the four themes related to psychology's subject matter. (pp. 29-32)

Discuss three important considerations in designing a program to encourage effective studying. (pp. 33-34)

Comment: This section contains a number of good suggestions about studying. Weiten and McCann correctly emphasize the importance of a study environment that is free of distractions. You may also find it useful to create a pleasant place to study. It should have adequate lighting and should smell good. Your books, notebooks, pens, and pencils should be within easy reach. If you are working at a computer, you will benefit from ergonomically correct placement of your desk, computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and even your chair, including arm supports. (You may also wish to investigate standing desks, which have proven health benefits.)

Describe the SQ3R method and what makes it effective. (pp. 34-35)

Comment: I (Lyle Grant) came across the SQ3R method of study as a graduate student in the 1970s and did an experiment in which I and some colleagues studied its effectiveness (Grant, Keenan, & Hursh, 1980). Although I was initially skeptical about whether the method has any usefulness, my data showed that students using the method did better on unit quizzes than when they simply read and reread the material.

Identify and describe the tips that Weiten and McCann offer for test-taking, including their general tips and their more specific tips for taking multiple-choice and essay exams. (pp. 36-37)

Define critical thinking. Describe the skills exhibited by critical thinkers. (pp. 38-39)