Openstax psychology pdf

Psychology

SENIOR CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS ROSIE M. SPIELMAN, FORMERLY OF QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY

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Table of Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

1.1 What Is Psychology? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1.2 History of Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 1.3 Contemporary Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 1.4 Careers in Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Chapter 2: Psychological Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 2.1 Why Is Research Important? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 2.2 Approaches to Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 2.3 Analyzing Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 2.4 Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Chapter 3: Biopsychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 3.1 Human Genetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 3.2 Cells of the Nervous System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 3.3 Parts of the Nervous System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 3.4 The Brain and Spinal Cord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 3.5 The Endocrine System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Chapter 4: States of Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 4.1 What Is Consciousness? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 4.2 Sleep and Why We Sleep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 4.3 Stages of Sleep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 4.4 Sleep Problems and Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 4.5 Substance Use and Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 4.6 Other States of Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Chapter 5: Sensation and Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 5.1 Sensation versus Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 5.2 Waves and Wavelengths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 5.3 Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 5.4 Hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 5.5 The Other Senses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 5.6 Gestalt Principles of Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Chapter 6: Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 6.1 What Is Learning? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 6.2 Classical Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 6.3 Operant Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 6.4 Observational Learning (Modeling) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Chapter 7: Thinking and Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 7.1 What Is Cognition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 7.2 Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 7.3 Problem Solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 7.4 What Are Intelligence and Creativity? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 7.5 Measures of Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 7.6 The Source of Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Chapter 8: Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 8.1 How Memory Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 8.2 Parts of the Brain Involved with Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 8.3 Problems with Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 8.4 Ways to Enhance Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Chapter 9: Lifespan Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 9.1 What Is Lifespan Development? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

9.2 Lifespan Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 9.3 Stages of Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 9.4 Death and Dying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Chapter 10: Emotion and Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 10.1 Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 10.2 Hunger and Eating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336 10.3 Sexual Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 10.4 Emotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Chapter 11: Personality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365 11.1 What Is Personality? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366 11.2 Freud and the Psychodynamic Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369 11.3 Neo-Freudians: Adler, Erikson, Jung, and Horney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 11.4 Learning Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 11.5 Humanistic Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384 11.6 Biological Approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385 11.7 Trait Theorists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387 11.8 Cultural Understandings of Personality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392 11.9 Personality Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394

Chapter 12: Social Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405 12.1 What Is Social Psychology? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406 12.2 Self-presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 12.3 Attitudes and Persuasion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415 12.4 Conformity, Compliance, and Obedience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421 12.5 Prejudice and Discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 12.6 Aggression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435 12.7 Prosocial Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

Chapter 13: Industrial-Organizational Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 13.1 What Is Industrial and Organizational Psychology? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454 13.2 Industrial Psychology: Selecting and Evaluating Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 13.3 Organizational Psychology: The Social Dimension of Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470 13.4 Human Factors Psychology and Workplace Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Chapter 14: Stress, Lifestyle, and Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487 14.1 What Is Stress? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488 14.2 Stressors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498 14.3 Stress and Illness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504 14.4 Regulation of Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517 14.5 The Pursuit of Happiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524

Chapter 15: Psychological Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539 15.1 What Are Psychological Disorders? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540 15.2 Diagnosing and Classifying Psychological Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544 15.3 Perspectives on Psychological Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547 15.4 Anxiety Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550 15.5 Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556 15.6 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560 15.7 Mood Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 15.8 Schizophrenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572 15.9 Dissociative Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576 15.10 Personality Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578 15.11 Disorders in Childhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584

Chapter 16: Therapy and Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601 16.1 Mental Health Treatment: Past and Present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602 16.2 Types of Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608

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16.3 Treatment Modalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620 16.4 Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders: A Special Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624 16.5 The Sociocultural Model and Therapy Utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729

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Preface

Welcome to Psychology, an OpenStax resource. This textbook was written to increase student access to high-quality learning materials, maintaining highest standards of academic rigor at little to no cost.

ABOUT OPENSTAX OpenStax is a nonprofit based at Rice University, and it’s our mission to improve student access to education. Our first openly licensed college textbook was published in 2012, and our library has since scaled to over 25 books for college and AP® courses used by hundreds of thousands of students. Our adaptive learning technology, designed to improve learning outcomes through personalized educational paths, is being piloted in college courses throughout the country. Through our partnerships with philanthropic foundations and our alliance with other educational resource organizations, OpenStax is breaking down the most common barriers to learning and empowering students and instructors to succeed.

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Format You can access this textbook for free in web view or PDF through openstax.org, and in low-cost print and iBooks editions.

ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY Psychology is designed to meet scope and sequence requirements for the single-semester introduction to psychology course. The book offers a comprehensive treatment of core concepts, grounded in both classic studies and current and emerging research. The text also includes coverage of the DSM-5 in examinations of psychological disorders. Psychology incorporates discussions that reflect the diversity within the discipline, as well as the diversity of cultures and communities across the globe.

Preface 1

Coverage and Scope This book is designed to make psychology, as a discipline, interesting and accessible to students research and examples that represent and include the various sociocultural backgrounds of the many students who take this course. The result is a book that covers the breadth of psychology topics with variety and depth that promote student engagement. The organization and pedagogical features were developed and vetted with feedback from psychology educators dedicated to the project.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology

Chapter 2: Psychological Research

Chapter 3: Biopsychology

Chapter 4: States of Consciousness

Chapter 5: Sensation and Perception

Chapter 6: Learning

Chapter 7: Thinking and Intelligence

Chapter 8: Memory

Chapter 9: Lifespan Development

Chapter 10: Motivation and Emotion

Chapter 11: Personality

Chapter 12: Social Psychology

Chapter 13: Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Chapter 14: Stress, Lifestyle, and Health

Chapter 15: Psychological Disorders

Chapter 16: Therapy and Treatment

Pedagogical Foundation Throughout Psychology, you will find features that draw the students into psychological inquiry by taking selected topics a step further.

Everyday Connection features tie psychological topics to everyday issues and behaviors that students encounter in their lives and the world. Topics include the validity of scores on college entrance exams, advertising and associative learning, and cognitive mapping.

What Do You Think? features provide research-based information and ask students their views on controversial issues. Topics include “Brain Dead and on Life Support,” “Hooters and BFOQ Laws,” and “Intellectually Disabled Criminals and Capital Punishment.”

Dig Deeper features discuss one specific aspect of a topic in greater depth so students can dig more deeply into the concept. Examples include a discussion on the distinction between evolutionary psychology and behavioral genetics, an analysis of the increasing prevalence rate of ADHD, and a presentation of research on strategies for coping with prejudice and discrimination.

Connect the Concepts features revisit a concept learned in another chapter, expanding upon it within a different context. Features include “Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Expression of Emotions,” “Tweens, Teens, and Social Norms,” and “Conditioning and OCD.”

Art, Interactives, and Assessments That Engage Our art program is designed to enhance students’ understanding of psychological concepts through

2 Preface

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simple, effective graphs, diagrams, and photographs. Psychology also incorporates links to relevant interactive exercises and animations that help bring topics to life. Selected assessment items touch directly on students’ lives.

Link to Learning features direct students to online interactive exercises and animations that add a fuller context to core content and provide an opportunity for application.

Personal Application Questions engage students in topics at a personal level to encourage reflection and promote discussion.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Student and Instructor Resources We’ve compiled additional resources for both students and instructors, including Getting Started Guides, an instructor solution guide, a test bank, and PowerPoint slides. Instructor resources require a verified instructor account, which you can apply for when you log in or create your account on openstax.org. Take advantage of these resources to supplement your OpenStax book.

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THE AUTHORS Senior Contributing Authors Rose M. Spielman (Content Lead) Dr. Rose Spielman has been teaching psychology and working as a licensed clinical psychologist for 20 years. Her academic career has included positions at Quinnipiac University, Housatonic Community College, and Goodwin College. As a licensed clinical psychologist, educator, and volunteer director, Rose is able to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and facilitate treatment, advocacy, and education. In her years of work as a teacher, therapist, and administrator, she has helped thousands of students and clients and taught them to advocate for themselves and move their lives forward to become more productive citizens and family members.

Kathryn Dumper, Bainbridge State College William Jenkins, Mercer University Arlene Lacombe, Saint Joseph’s University Marilyn Lovett, Livingstone College Marion Perlmutter, University of Michigan

Reviewers Daniel Bellack, Trident Technical College Jerimy Blowers, Cayuga Community College Salena Brody, Collin College Bettina Casad, University of Missouri–St. Louis Sharon Chacon, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Barbara Chappell, Walden University James Corpening Frank Eyetsemitan, Roger Williams University Tamara Ferguson, Utah State University Kathleen Flannery, Saint Anselm College Johnathan Forbey, Ball State University

Preface 3

Laura Gaudet, Chadron State College William Goggin, University of Southern Mississippi Jeffery K. Gray, Charleston Southern University Heather Griffiths, Fayetteville State University Mark Holder, University of British Columbia Rita Houge, Des Moines Area Community College Colette Jacquot, Strayer University John Johanson, Winona State University Andrew Johnson, Park University Shaila Khan, Tougaloo College Carol Laman, Houston Community College Thomas Malloy, Rhode Island College Jan Mendoza, Golden West College Christopher Miller, University of Minnesota Lisa Moeller, Beckfield College Hugh Riley, Baylor University Juan Salinas, University of Texas at Austin Brittney Schrick, Southern Arkansas University Phoebe Scotland, College of the Rockies Christine Selby, Husson University Brian Sexton, Kean University Nancy Simpson, Trident Technical College Robert Stennett, University of Georgia Jennifer Stevenson, Ursinus College Eric Weiser, Curry College Valjean Whitlow, American Public University

4 Preface

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Chapter 1

Introduction to Psychology

Figure 1.1 Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. (credit "background": modification of work by Nattachai Noogure; credit "top left": modification of work by U.S. Navy; credit "top middle-left": modification of work by Peter Shanks; credit "top middle-right": modification of work by "devinf"/Flickr; credit "top right": modification of work by Alejandra Quintero Sinisterra; credit "bottom left": modification of work by Gabriel Rocha; credit "bottom middle- left": modification of work by Caleb Roenigk; credit "bottom middle-right": modification of work by Staffan Scherz; credit "bottom right": modification of work by Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team)

Chapter Outline 1.1 What Is Psychology? 1.2 History of Psychology 1.3 Contemporary Psychology 1.4 Careers in Psychology

Introduction Clive Wearing is an accomplished musician who lost his ability to form new memories when he became sick at the age of 46. While he can remember how to play the piano perfectly, he cannot remember what he ate for breakfast just an hour ago (Sacks, 2007). James Wannerton experiences a taste sensation that is associated with the sound of words. His former girlfriend’s name tastes like rhubarb (Mundasad, 2013). John Nash is a brilliant mathematician and Nobel Prize winner. However, while he was a professor at MIT, he would tell people that the New York Times contained coded messages from extraterrestrial beings that were intended for him. He also began to hear voices and became suspicious of the people around him. Soon thereafter, Nash was diagnosed with schizophrenia and admitted to a state-run mental institution (O’Connor & Robertson, 2002). Nash was the subject of the 2001 movie A Beautiful Mind. Why did these people have these experiences? How does the human brain work? And what is the connection between the brain’s internal processes and people’s external behaviors? This textbook will introduce you to various ways that the field of psychology has explored these questions.

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1.1 What Is Psychology?

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to: • Understand the etymology of the word “psychology” • Define psychology • Understand the merits of an education in psychology

In Greek mythology, Psyche was a mortal woman whose beauty was so great that it rivaled that of the goddess Aphrodite. Aphrodite became so jealous of Psyche that she sent her son, Eros, to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest man in the world. However, Eros accidentally pricked himself with the tip of his arrow and fell madly in love with Psyche himself. He took Psyche to his palace and showered her with gifts, yet she could never see his face. While visiting Psyche, her sisters roused suspicion in Psyche about her mysterious lover, and eventually, Psyche betrayed Eros’ wishes to remain unseen to her (Figure 1.2). Because of this betrayal, Eros abandoned Psyche. When Psyche appealed to Aphrodite to reunite her with Eros, Aphrodite gave her a series of impossible tasks to complete. Psyche managed to complete all of these trials; ultimately, her perseverance paid off as she was reunited with Eros and was ultimately transformed into a goddess herself (Ashliman, 2001; Greek Myths & Greek Mythology, 2014).

Figure 1.2 Antonio Canova's sculpture depicts Eros and Psyche.

Psyche comes to represent the human soul’s triumph over the misfortunes of life in the pursuit of true happiness (Bulfinch, 1855); in fact, the Greek word psyche means soul, and it is often represented as a butterfly. The word psychology was coined at a time when the concepts of soul and mind were not as clearly distinguished (Green, 2001). The root ology denotes scientific study of, and psychology refers to the scientific study of the mind. Since science studies only observable phenomena and the mind is not directly observable, we expand this definition to the scientific study of mind and behavior.

The scientific study of any aspect of the world uses the scientific method to acquire knowledge. To apply the scientific method, a researcher with a question about how or why something happens will propose a tentative explanation, called a hypothesis, to explain the phenomenon. A hypothesis is not just any explanation; it should fit into the context of a scientific theory. A scientific theory is a broad explanation or group of explanations for some aspect of the natural world that is consistently supported by evidence over time. A theory is the best understanding that we have of that part of the natural world. Armed with the hypothesis, the researcher then makes observations or, better still, carries out an experiment to test the validity of the hypothesis. That test and its results are then published so that others can check the results or build on them. It is necessary that any explanation in science be testable, which means that the phenomenon must be perceivable and measurable. For example, that a bird sings because it is happy is not

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a testable hypothesis, since we have no way to measure the happiness of a bird. We must ask a different question, perhaps about the brain state of the bird, since this can be measured. In general, science deals only with matter and energy, that is, those things that can be measured, and it cannot arrive at knowledge about values and morality. This is one reason why our scientific understanding of the mind is so limited, since thoughts, at least as we experience them, are neither matter nor energy. The scientific method is also a form of empiricism. An empirical method for acquiring knowledge is one based on observation, including experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of logical argument or previous authorities.

It was not until the late 1800s that psychology became accepted as its own academic discipline. Before this time, the workings of the mind were considered under the auspices of philosophy. Given that any behavior is, at its roots, biological, some areas of psychology take on aspects of a natural science like biology. No biological organism exists in isolation, and our behavior is influenced by our interactions with others. Therefore, psychology is also a social science.

MERITS OF AN EDUCATION IN PSYCHOLOGY Often, students take their first psychology course because they are interested in helping others and want to learn more about themselves and why they act the way they do. Sometimes, students take a psychology course because it either satisfies a general education requirement or is required for a program of study such as nursing or pre-med. Many of these students develop such an interest in the area that they go on to declare psychology as their major. As a result, psychology is one of the most popular majors on college campuses across the United States (Johnson & Lubin, 2011). A number of well-known individuals were psychology majors. Just a few famous names on this list are Facebook’s creator Mark Zuckerberg, television personality and political satirist Jon Stewart, actress Natalie Portman, and filmmaker Wes Craven (Halonen, 2011). About 6 percent of all bachelor degrees granted in the United States are in the discipline of psychology (U.S. Department of Education, 2013).

An education in psychology is valuable for a number of reasons. Psychology students hone critical thinking skills and are trained in the use of the scientific method. Critical thinking is the active application of a set of skills to information for the understanding and evaluation of that information. The evaluation of information—assessing its reliability and usefulness— is an important skill in a world full of competing “facts,” many of which are designed to be misleading. For example, critical thinking involves maintaining an attitude of skepticism, recognizing internal biases, making use of logical thinking, asking appropriate questions, and making observations. Psychology students also can develop better communication skills during the course of their undergraduate coursework (American Psychological Association, 2011). Together, these factors increase students’ scientific literacy and prepare students to critically evaluate the various sources of information they encounter.

In addition to these broad-based skills, psychology students come to understand the complex factors that shape one’s behavior. They appreciate the interaction of our biology, our environment, and our experiences in determining who we are and how we will behave. They learn about basic principles that guide how we think and behave, and they come to recognize the tremendous diversity that exists across individuals and across cultural boundaries (American Psychological Association, 2011).

Watch a brief video (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/psycmajor) that describes some of the questions a student should consider before deciding to major in psychology.

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http://openstaxcollege.org/l/psycmajor
1.2 History of Psychology

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to: • Understand the importance of Wundt and James in the development of psychology • Appreciate Freud’s influence on psychology • Understand the basic tenets of Gestalt psychology • Appreciate the important role that behaviorism played in psychology’s history • Understand basic tenets of humanism • Understand how the cognitive revolution shifted psychology’s focus back to the mind

Psychology is a relatively young science with its experimental roots in the 19th century, compared, for example, to human physiology, which dates much earlier. As mentioned, anyone interested in exploring issues related to the mind generally did so in a philosophical context prior to the 19th century. Two men, working in the 19th century, are generally credited as being the founders of psychology as a science and academic discipline that was distinct from philosophy. Their names were Wilhelm Wundt and William James. This section will provide an overview of the shifts in paradigms that have influenced psychology from Wundt and James through today.

WUNDT AND STRUCTURALISM Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) was a German scientist who was the first person to be referred to as a psychologist. His famous book entitled Principles of Physiological Psychology was published in 1873. Wundt viewed psychology as a scientific study of conscious experience, and he believed that the goal of psychology was to identify components of consciousness and how those components combined to result in our conscious experience. Wundt used introspection (he called it “internal perception”), a process by which someone examines their own conscious experience as objectively as possible, making the human mind like any other aspect of nature that a scientist observed. Wundt’s version of introspection used only very specific experimental conditions in which an external stimulus was designed to produce a scientifically observable (repeatable) experience of the mind (Danziger, 1980). The first stringent requirement was the use of “trained” or practiced observers, who could immediately observe and report a reaction. The second requirement was the use of repeatable stimuli that always produced the same experience in the subject and allowed the subject to expect and thus be fully attentive to the inner reaction. These experimental requirements were put in place to eliminate “interpretation” in the reporting of internal experiences and to counter the argument that there is no way to know that an individual is observing their mind or consciousness accurately, since it cannot be seen by any other person. This attempt to understand the structure or characteristics of the mind was known as structuralism. Wundt established his psychology laboratory at the University at Leipzig in 1879 (Figure 1.3). In this laboratory, Wundt and his students conducted experiments on, for example, reaction times. A subject, sometimes in a room isolated from the scientist, would receive a stimulus such as a light, image, or sound. The subject’s reaction to the stimulus would be to push a button, and an apparatus would record the time to reaction. Wundt could measure reaction time to one-thousandth of a second (Nicolas & Ferrand, 1999).

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Figure 1.3 (a) Wilhelm Wundt is credited as one of the founders of psychology. He created the first laboratory for psychological research. (b) This photo shows him seated and surrounded by fellow researchers and equipment in his laboratory in Germany.

However, despite his efforts to train individuals in the process of introspection, this process remained highly subjective, and there was very little agreement between individuals. As a result, structuralism fell out of favor with the passing of Wundt’s student, Edward Titchener, in 1927 (Gordon, 1995).

JAMES AND FUNCTIONALISM William James (1842–1910) was the first American psychologist who espoused a different perspective on how psychology should operate (Figure 1.4). James was introduced to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection and accepted it as an explanation of an organism’s characteristics. Key to that theory is the idea that natural selection leads to organisms that are adapted to their environment, including their behavior. Adaptation means that a trait of an organism has a function for the survival and reproduction of the individual, because it has been naturally selected. As James saw it, psychology’s purpose was to study the function of behavior in the world, and as such, his perspective was known as functionalism. Functionalism focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment. Functionalism has a second, more subtle meaning in that functionalists were more interested in the operation of the whole mind rather than of its individual parts, which were the focus of structuralism. Like Wundt, James believed that introspection could serve as one means by which someone might study mental activities, but James also relied on more objective measures, including the use of various recording devices, and examinations of concrete products of mental activities and of anatomy and physiology (Gordon, 1995).

Figure 1.4 William James, shown here in a self-portrait, was the first American psychologist.

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FREUD AND PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY Perhaps one of the most influential and well-known figures in psychology’s history was Sigmund Freud (Figure 1.5). Freud (1856–1939) was an Austrian neurologist who was fascinated by patients suffering from “hysteria” and neurosis. Hysteria was an ancient diagnosis for disorders, primarily of women with a wide variety of symptoms, including physical symptoms and emotional disturbances, none of which had an apparent physical cause. Freud theorized that many of his patients’ problems arose from the unconscious mind. In Freud’s view, the unconscious mind was a repository of feelings and urges of which we have no awareness. Gaining access to the unconscious, then, was crucial to the successful resolution of the patient’s problems. According to Freud, the unconscious mind could be accessed through dream analysis, by examinations of the first words that came to people’s minds, and through seemingly innocent slips of the tongue. Psychoanalytic theory focuses on the role of a person’s unconscious, as well as early childhood experiences, and this particular perspective dominated clinical psychology for several decades (Thorne & Henley, 2005).

Figure 1.5 (a) Sigmund Freud was a highly influential figure in the history of psychology. (b) One of his many books, A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis, shared his ideas about psychoanalytical therapy; it was published in 1922.

Freud’s ideas were influential, and you will learn more about them when you study lifespan development, personality, and therapy. For instance, many therapists believe strongly in the unconscious and the impact of early childhood experiences on the rest of a person’s life. The method of psychoanalysis, which involves the patient talking about their experiences and selves, while not invented by Freud, was certainly popularized by him and is still used today. Many of Freud’s other ideas, however, are controversial. Drew Westen (1998) argues that many of the criticisms of Freud’s ideas are misplaced, in that they attack his older ideas without taking into account later writings. Westen also argues that critics fail to consider the success of the broad ideas that Freud introduced or developed, such as the importance of childhood experiences in adult motivations, the role of unconscious versus conscious motivations in driving our behavior, the fact that motivations can cause conflicts that affect behavior, the effects of mental representations of ourselves and others in guiding our interactions, and the development of personality over time. Westen identifies subsequent research support for all of these ideas.

More modern iterations of Freud’s clinical approach have been empirically demonstrated to be effective (Knekt et al., 2008; Shedler, 2010). Some current practices in psychotherapy involve examining unconscious aspects of the self and relationships, often through the relationship between the therapist and the client.

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Freud’s historical significance and contributions to clinical practice merit his inclusion in a discussion of the historical movements within psychology.

WERTHEIMER, KOFFKA, KÖHLER, AND GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY Max Wertheimer (1880–1943), Kurt Koffka (1886–1941), and Wolfgang Köhler (1887–1967) were three German psychologists who immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century to escape Nazi Germany. These men are credited with introducing psychologists in the United States to various Gestalt principles. The word Gestalt roughly translates to “whole;” a major emphasis of Gestalt psychology deals with the fact that although a sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, how those parts relate to each other as a whole is often what the individual responds to in perception. For example, a song may be made up of individual notes played by different instruments, but the real nature of the song is perceived in the combinations of these notes as they form the melody, rhythm, and harmony. In many ways, this particular perspective would have directly contradicted Wundt’s ideas of structuralism (Thorne & Henley, 2005).

Unfortunately, in moving to the United States, these men were forced to abandon much of their work and were unable to continue to conduct research on a large scale. These factors along with the rise of behaviorism (described next) in the United States prevented principles of Gestalt psychology from being as influential in the United States as they had been in their native Germany (Thorne & Henley, 2005). Despite these issues, several Gestalt principles are still very influential today. Considering the human individual as a whole rather than as a sum of individually measured parts became an important foundation in humanistic theory late in the century. The ideas of Gestalt have continued to influence research on sensation and perception.

Structuralism, Freud, and the Gestalt psychologists were all concerned in one way or another with describing and understanding inner experience. But other researchers had concerns that inner experience could be a legitimate subject of scientific inquiry and chose instead to exclusively study behavior, the objectively observable outcome of mental processes.

PAVLOV, WATSON, SKINNER, AND BEHAVIORISM Early work in the field of behavior was conducted by the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936). Pavlov studied a form of learning behavior called a conditioned reflex, in which an animal or human produced a reflex (unconscious) response to a stimulus and, over time, was conditioned to produce the response to a different stimulus that the experimenter associated with the original stimulus. The reflex Pavlov worked with was salivation in response to the presence of food. The salivation reflex could be elicited using a second stimulus, such as a specific sound, that was presented in association with the initial food stimulus several times. Once the response to the second stimulus was “learned,” the food stimulus could be omitted. Pavlov’s “classical conditioning” is only one form of learning behavior studied by behaviorists.

John B. Watson (1878–1958) was an influential American psychologist whose most famous work occurred during the early 20th century at Johns Hopkins University (Figure 1.6). While Wundt and James were concerned with understanding conscious experience, Watson thought that the study of consciousness was flawed. Because he believed that objective analysis of the mind was impossible, Watson preferred to focus directly on observable behavior and try to bring that behavior under control. Watson was a major proponent of shifting the focus of psychology from the mind to behavior, and this approach of observing and controlling behavior came to be known as behaviorism. A major object of study by behaviorists was learned behavior and its interaction with inborn qualities of the organism. Behaviorism commonly used animals in experiments under the assumption that what was learned using animal models could, to some degree, be applied to human behavior. Indeed, Tolman (1938) stated, “I believe that everything important in psychology (except … such matters as involve society and words) can be investigated in essence through the continued experimental and theoretical analysis of the determiners of rat behavior at a choice-point in

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a maze.”

Figure 1.6 John B. Watson is known as the father of behaviorism within psychology.

Behaviorism dominated experimental psychology for several decades, and its influence can still be felt today (Thorne & Henley, 2005). Behaviorism is largely responsible for establishing psychology as a scientific discipline through its objective methods and especially experimentation. In addition, it is used in behavioral and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Behavior modification is commonly used in classroom settings. Behaviorism has also led to research on environmental influences on human behavior.

B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) was an American psychologist (Figure 1.7). Like Watson, Skinner was a behaviorist, and he concentrated on how behavior was affected by its consequences. Therefore, Skinner spoke of reinforcement and punishment as major factors in driving behavior. As a part of his research, Skinner developed a chamber that allowed the careful study of the principles of modifying behavior through reinforcement and punishment. This device, known as an operant conditioning chamber (or more familiarly, a Skinner box), has remained a crucial resource for researchers studying behavior (Thorne & Henley, 2005).

Figure 1.7 (a) B. F. Skinner is famous for his research on operant conditioning. (b) Modified versions of the operant conditioning chamber, or Skinner box, are still widely used in research settings today. (credit a: modification of work by "Silly rabbit"/Wikimedia Commons)

The Skinner box is a chamber that isolates the subject from the external environment and has a behavior indicator such as a lever or a button. When the animal pushes the button or lever, the box is able to deliver a positive reinforcement of the behavior (such as food) or a punishment (such as a noise) or a token conditioner (such as a light) that is correlated with either the positive reinforcement or punishment.

Skinner’s focus on positive and negative reinforcement of learned behaviors had a lasting influence in psychology that has waned somewhat since the growth of research in cognitive psychology. Despite this, conditioned learning is still used in human behavioral modification. Skinner’s two widely read and controversial popular science books about the value of operant conditioning for creating happier lives

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remain as thought-provoking arguments for his approach (Greengrass, 2004).

MASLOW, ROGERS, AND HUMANISM During the early 20th century, American psychology was dominated by behaviorism and psychoanalysis. However, some psychologists were uncomfortable with what they viewed as limited perspectives being so influential to the field. They objected to the pessimism and determinism (all actions driven by the unconscious) of Freud. They also disliked the reductionism, or simplifying nature, of behaviorism. Behaviorism is also deterministic at its core, because it sees human behavior as entirely determined by a combination of genetics and environment. Some psychologists began to form their own ideas that emphasized personal control, intentionality, and a true predisposition for “good” as important for our self- concept and our behavior. Thus, humanism emerged. Humanism is a perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans. Two of the most well-known proponents of humanistic psychology are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers (O’Hara, n.d.).

Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) was an American psychologist who is best known for proposing a hierarchy of human needs in motivating behavior (Figure 1.8). Although this concept will be discussed in more detail in a later chapter, a brief overview will be provided here. Maslow asserted that so long as basic needs necessary for survival were met (e.g., food, water, shelter), higher-level needs (e.g., social needs) would begin to motivate behavior. According to Maslow, the highest-level needs relate to self-actualization, a process by which we achieve our full potential. Obviously, the focus on the positive aspects of human nature that are characteristic of the humanistic perspective is evident (Thorne & Henley, 2005). Humanistic psychologists rejected, on principle, the research approach based on reductionist experimentation in the tradition of the physical and biological sciences, because it missed the “whole” human being. Beginning with Maslow and Rogers, there was an insistence on a humanistic research program. This program has been largely qualitative (not measurement-based), but there exist a number of quantitative research strains within humanistic psychology, including research on happiness, self-concept, meditation, and the outcomes of humanistic psychotherapy (Friedman, 2008).

Figure 1.8 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is shown.

Carl Rogers (1902–1987) was also an American psychologist who, like Maslow, emphasized the potential

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for good that exists within all people (Figure 1.9). Rogers used a therapeutic technique known as client- centered therapy in helping his clients deal with problematic issues that resulted in their seeking psychotherapy. Unlike a psychoanalytic approach in which the therapist plays an important role in interpreting what conscious behavior reveals about the unconscious mind, client-centered therapy involves the patient taking a lead role in the therapy session. Rogers believed that a therapist needed to display three features to maximize the effectiveness of this particular approach: unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy. Unconditional positive regard refers to the fact that the therapist accepts their client for who they are, no matter what he or she might say. Provided these factors, Rogers believed that people were more than capable of dealing with and working through their own issues (Thorne & Henley, 2005).

Figure 1.9 Carl Rogers, shown in this portrait, developed a client-centered therapy method that has been influential in clinical settings. (credit: "Didius"/Wikimedia Commons)

Humanism has been influential to psychology as a whole. Both Maslow and Rogers are well-known names among students of psychology (you will read more about both men later in this text), and their ideas have influenced many scholars. Furthermore, Rogers’ client-centered approach to therapy is still commonly used in psychotherapeutic settings today (O’hara, n.d.)

View a brief video (http://openstaxcollege.org/l/crogers1) of Carl Rogers describing his therapeutic approach.

THE COGNITIVE REVOLUTION Behaviorism’s emphasis on objectivity and focus on external behavior had pulled psychologists’ attention away from the mind for a prolonged period of time. The early work of the humanistic psychologists redirected attention to the individual human as a whole, and as a conscious and self-aware being. By the 1950s, new disciplinary perspectives in linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science were emerging, and these areas revived interest in the mind as a focus of scientific inquiry. This particular perspective has come to be known as the cognitive revolution (Miller, 2003). By 1967, Ulric Neisser published the first textbook entitled Cognitive Psychology, which served as a core text in cognitive psychology courses around the country (Thorne & Henley, 2005).