1. Introduction to Psychology
Definition The etymology of the word psychology is from the Greek “psyche” which means “mind” and “logos” which means “knowledge or study of.” However, instead of the study of the mind, psychology is generally defined as the study of behavior and mental processes. Because of the diverse activities of the participants in this field this definition is somewhat limiting.
Is psychology science? Karl Popper divided theories or statements into two groups, scientific and everything else. He wrote that what made a theory a scientific theory is that it is falsifiable. It must be stated to predict some outcome and if such outcome does not occur than the theory is false. An example would be “all swans are white.” Thus, the highest status for any scientific theory is that to date it has not been proven false. All other theories or statements that are not falsifiable are not scientific. They may be useful or helpful, they just aren’t science. Many theories used successfully in psychology are not scientific.
The methods used by scientists attempt to minimize the influence of bias or prejudice in the experimenter. In addition, it is the task of science to describe, explain, and control the specific process that it is investigating.
Psychology is a unique field in that has two major divisions, clinical and experimental, and embraces multiple paradigms. The clinical side is rationalist and metaphysical and the experimental side that is empiricist and scientific. Because of the complexity of the subject matter both sides are necessary for a complete answer to all of the questions posed.
Research Methods Used The criteria used to determine the best research method are: cost of the research, the ability to minimize confounding variables (internal validity), and generalizibility or external validity.
The research methods are: Archival research – based upon existing data, Low cost, but must rely on existing data; Survey – use of polls to gather data, good external validity, subject bias or untruthfulness; Observation - Naturalistic observation of a natural setting without interference,
good data, little control, observer bias, causation is difficult; Observation - Direct equipment used to measure results, environment control, observer bias; Case Study or clinical method - allows accurate subjective info via subject interview, not good external validity; Experimental – test performed on subjects, can show causation, lurking variables; may not be realistic.
2. Schools of psychology
Psychodynamic School
Founders Dr. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was the founder of the psychodynamic movement. Other major contributors were several of Freud’s students, Carl Jung, Karen Horney, and Alfred Adler.
Assumptions - human nature. Freud was pessimistic about human nature and felt most people would require saving from their helplessness and insecurities. He believed childhood is a series of psychosexual stages whose outcome largely determines our adult personality
Assumptions – philosophical Freud was a determinist, that is, he assumed that all behavior had a cause. He was also a clinician so his research was directed at helping his patients. His theories were rationalist theories.
Principal Theories – Freud had a very complete and comprehensive theory of human nature. His greatest contribution was his positing of the unconscious. Because some of his patient’s disorders did not have an apparent cause he decided they must come from an unknown or unconscious source. He
He developed a tripartite theory for the psyche, most of which is located in the unconscious. The id contains the instinctual sexual drives which require satisfaction, the super-ego contains the conscience, and the ego is the conscious self.
The psychic energy or libido fuels the psyche. Anxiety or stress is caused by the ego failing to resolve a conflict between the id and superego. The id causes neurotic anxiety and the superego causes moral anxiety. The egos tool to combat these conflicts is called defense mechanisms.
Freud believed that the instincts are the principal motivating forces and that we have only two instincts. Eros (the life instinct), which covers the drive to live, prosper, and reproduce, and Thanatos (the death instinct), which covers all the instincts towards aggression, power, and cruelty.
Freud thought the mind of a child developed through a series of conflicts. Successful resolution results in a normal adult. Failure to reach resolution can result in mental illnesses. The stages are as follows: Oral Stage from 0-1 years; Mouth is focus of libido energy; Anal Stage from 1-2 years, Child goes through potty training. Anus is symbol of control; Phallic Stage from 3-6 years, Phallus is symbol of power. Two complexes emerge, Oedipus & Electra; Latency Stage from 7-12 years, Libido is latent; Genital Stage from 12 -Psyche maturity
He developed psychoanalysis or a method of clinically treating clients by talking with them about their conflicts and emotional problems.
Freud thought that dreams represented unfulfilled wishes or desires and that through dream interpretation he could discover the contents of his clients unconscious.
Dominant research method As a clinical based school with a rationalist philosophical basis the most popular research method would be case study. The reason for this is that it is very difficult to measure the validity or existence of any of Freud’s theories. Therefore any data acquired by the researcher would be from subjective statements of the sample subjects.
Discussion of a study An example is one that would demonstrate the existence of an unconscious. Such a study would be a picture interpretation test where the patient is shown a series of ambiguous pictures and is asked to provide an interpretation of each one. It is assumed that the patient’s response would reflect a repressed personality quality within the unconscious. However, as previously mentioned the internal validity of this study would be questionable.
Psychological disorder treatment Freud believed that all disorders resulted from repression of memories or conflicts involving sex or aggression. Therefore, treatment would require the resolution of the conflicts. His methodologies to do this were free association, dream analysis, resistance or blockage analysis, and analysis of transference.
Evaluation – Freud’s theory of the unconscious was one the great discoveries of all times. While some theories of this school have been discarded, many are still in use by clinical psychologists today. Jung’s followers, referred to as depth psychologists, are in practice today. Karen Horney’s work on female emotions helped start the feministic movement. On the negative side, their theories lacked scientific validation, their interpersonal skills in providing treatment was lacking, and Freud’s emphasis on sex was generally incorrect.
Behaviorist School
Founders The leading proponents of this school were Russian born Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), who discovered the conditioned reflex and classical conditioning, John Watson (1878-1958) who wrote that man and animals were emotionally equivalent and that all behavior was stimulus response based, B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) who developed operant conditioning that demonstrated behavior based upon consequences, and Edward Tolman (1886-1959) who introduced latent learning and significantly changed the direction of this school.
Assumptions - human natureThe Behaviorist believe that all human behavior results from its interaction with its environment. That learning results only from stimulus and response. Therefore, creating any desired behavior is only a matter of introducing the right stimulants.
Assumptions – philosophical This school is deterministic and empirical. They believed that if it can’t be measured then it doesn’t exist and that psychology should be studied using objective methods of physiology.
Principal Theories While narrow in scope, this school made huge strides explaining how we learn, or how our behavior is influenced by our experiences. Pavlov concluded that our response to the environment is through either conditioned or unconditioned reflexes. An unconditioned reflex is a species typical reflex generated by our physiology, such as sneezing or a knee jerk. A conditional reflex is one “learned” through continuously reacting to both a neutral and an unconditioned stimulus. His famous experiment of ringing a bell that caused a dog to salivate is the example of classical conditioning, which is based upon antecedent conditioning.
Skinner introduced operant conditioning which is learning based upon consequences. It is much broader than classical conditioning because it does not need a biological reflex. Skinner developed an experimental technique called a “skinner box” and was able to demonstrate the learning ability of animals based upon consequences to their behavior.
His major contribution was his classification and use of reinforcements to modify behavior. Reinforcements can be either positive or negative (punishment) depending upon whether the behavior was increased or decreased. Also, each could be either positive or negative depending upon whether the reinforcement was added or taken away. He also measured the effectiveness of the reinforcement by dividing its application into fixed or variable ratios and fixed or variable intervals. His lesson for today’s parents is that the aversive nature of punishment makes it a poor tool for disciplining their children.
Dominant research methods As an empiricist school, Behaviorist could use any of the methods. In Skinner’s experimental research he used mice to perform various tasks and he would measure the effect (independent variable) of the reinforcement type (dependent variable) on the performance. Because much of the research was done on animals, case study and survey would not have been applicable.
Discussion of a study An experiment that would involve both classical and operant conditioning would be to test for avoidance learning. A mouse is placed in a two compartment box. At a given time a buzzer is sounded and a short time later it receives a shock from a device on the floor. After a few times when the buzzer is sounded it quickly moves to the other compartment to avoid the shock.
Psychological disorder treatment I believe that this school is very weak on its ability to treat for disorders. They have only one tool, learning principles, to make changes in dysfunctional behaviors. To extinguish the neurotic behavior they would use operant conditioning to associate a new healthy behavior through the use of an appropriate reinforcement.
Evaluation The contributions of Pavlov and Skinner to the understanding of learning were significant. Unfortunately, Watson and Skinner moved psychology down a blind path that took it quite a while to recover from. They simply ignored the fact that the study of the behavior has a metaphysical side.
Humanist School
Founders Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and Carl Rogers (1902-1987) were the main proponents of this “third force” of psychology.
Human nature assumptions Humanist believe people are basically good and that their behavior is caused by their subjective reality. Maslow set out their two tenets: We are driven to actualization and; “self aware of self” develops with age. It is as if humans have a guidance system within them to drive them to self actualization.
Assumptions – philosophical They are nondetermanists and rationalists. They reject science as a method to explain human nature. Each human is free to choose their own direction.
Principal Theories Maslow set out his now famous hierarchy of needs where our highest goal is self actualization or reaching our full human potential.
Rogers’s theory on behavior was that many parents do not extend unconditional love and acceptance to their children, but rather withhold it until they act, think, or talk in certain ways. Because of the importance of love and acceptance, this creates behavior in the children that emphasizes these ways, which he refers to as conditions of worth. This gradually leads to incongruity between who the person really is and how they act and is manifested as a neurosis. Thus, a “good” little girl or boy may not be a happy or healthy little girl or boy.
Rogers see the psyche consisting of three entities: the person you actually are (true self), the person you would like to be (ideal self), and the person you think you are (self image). Neurosis or incongruity develops when there is a mismatch between any one of this three entities. The magnitude of the neurosis is directly proportional to the mismatch.
His theory on therapy, referred to as Rogerian therapy, was his most important contribution. Unlike the schools before him, he felt that the client was the one who was in the best position to know what was wrong with him, and be the one to find ways of improving. Unlike the medical profession, he felt the therapist is not there to inquire and diagnosis, but to work with the client as a partner to solve their issues.
Dominant research method Because of their nonscientific position, case study is the only research method available to this school.
Discussion of study Because of the School’s limited scope and nonscientific approach, studies could prove to be difficult. One study is to correlate the intensity of an individual’s neurosis with their personal incongruity. A sample of people that are currently in therapy because of emotional disorders would be questioned to determine the amount of incongruity. The results would be plotted to determine the amount of correlation. Because of the difficulty in obtaining good operational definitions for both of these variables, the findings would probably be questionable.
Psychological disorder treatment Disorders are brought about as a result of incongruity of the three entities of the psyche. Therapy would consist of determining where the incongruities were and working with the client to make them more congruent.
Evaluation While this school adds a piece to the clinical side of the psychology puzzle that had not been previously addressed, the spirit, it is limited in its application to reasonably normal clients. Rogers’s theory on client relationship, however, is important and could be applicable to all schools.
Cognitive School
Founders Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Unlike the Behavorist school, they see learning as a biological process. George Miller, who wrote the paper on “The Magical Number Seven.”
Assumptions - human nature A child’s behavior becomes more complex as it grows older and develops a more mature cognitive structure. It does not progress at a constant rate, but grows in spurts. We can study cognitive functions by looking at computer processes because in some cases they are good models.
Assumptions – philosophical They are Rationalists
Principal Theories This school focuses on human perception, thought, and memory, with special emphasis on methods of learning. It appears to have borrowed some of the theory from the early development of digital computers and information theory. The computer theory of artificial intelligence brought into play the issue of how systems learn.
Piaget’s model of learning included a schema which is a mental structure that permits the classification and organization of information. As a child uses its existing schemas to experience the outside world, if the experience is a repeated one, it is assimilated into the child's cognitive structure so that he or she maintains mental "equilibrium." If the experience is different or new, the child loses equilibrium, and alters his or her cognitive structure to accommodate the new conditions. In this way, the child modifies existing or creates new cognitive structures. Thus, learning occurs either through assimilation or accommodation.
From Piaget’s investigation of children, he noted that there were periods where assimilation dominated, periods where accommodation dominated, and periods of relative equilibrium, and that these periods were similar among all the children he looked at in their nature and their timing. And so he developed the idea of four stages of cognitive development.
In 1968 Atkinson and Shiffrin developed a functional model of the levels of the human memory system including sensory memory, short term or working memory, and long term memory.
Dominant research methods Because of their Rationalist belief case study would be the main research tool.
Discussion of study The study would attempt to show the different stages of cognitive development that Piaget formulated in different age children. To do this we would ask the sample of children of different ages the same set of questions, record the answers, and classify the answers to see if the are consistent with the Piaget’s stages.
Psychological disorder treatment They would focus on client’s unclear or irrational thinking that has resulted in dysfunctional behavior. Point out why the thinking to incorrect and recommend alternative ideas or thoughts.
Evaluation They have made a small but valuable contribution to learning and specifically education. With the use of computers as tools, the future of education may be based upon cognitive learning.
Biological School
Founders This field is too modern to have someone given credit for being its founder. However, early work was done by Karl Lashley (1890- 1958), a coworker of John Watson. He developed two theories about the workings of the brain. One of his students, Donald Hebb (1905-1984) did work on cell assemblies and phase sequences that lead to the understanding of neural networks.
Assumptions - human nature Psychobiology studies how biology impacts human behavior and mental processes. They believe that behavior results from biological processes of the nervous system and genetics.
Definition The etymology of the word psychology is from the Greek “psyche” which means “mind” and “logos” which means “knowledge or study of.” However, instead of the study of the mind, psychology is generally defined as the study of behavior and mental processes. Because of the diverse activities of the participants in this field this definition is somewhat limiting.
Is psychology science? Karl Popper divided theories or statements into two groups, scientific and everything else. He wrote that what made a theory a scientific theory is that it is falsifiable. It must be stated to predict some outcome and if such outcome does not occur than the theory is false. An example would be “all swans are white.” Thus, the highest status for any scientific theory is that to date it has not been proven false. All other theories or statements that are not falsifiable are not scientific. They may be useful or helpful, they just aren’t science. Many theories used successfully in psychology are not scientific.
The methods used by scientists attempt to minimize the influence of bias or prejudice in the experimenter. In addition, it is the task of science to describe, explain, and control the specific process that it is investigating.
Psychology is a unique field in that has two major divisions, clinical and experimental, and embraces multiple paradigms. The clinical side is rationalist and metaphysical and the experimental side that is empiricist and scientific. Because of the complexity of the subject matter both sides are necessary for a complete answer to all of the questions posed.
Research Methods Used The criteria used to determine the best research method are: cost of the research, the ability to minimize confounding variables (internal validity), and generalizibility or external validity.
The research methods are: Archival research – based upon existing data, Low cost, but must rely on existing data; Survey – use of polls to gather data, good external validity, subject bias or untruthfulness; Observation - Naturalistic observation of a natural setting without interference,
good data, little control, observer bias, causation is difficult; Observation - Direct equipment used to measure results, environment control, observer bias; Case Study or clinical method - allows accurate subjective info via subject interview, not good external validity; Experimental – test performed on subjects, can show causation, lurking variables; may not be realistic.
2. Schools of psychology
Psychodynamic School
Founders Dr. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was the founder of the psychodynamic movement. Other major contributors were several of Freud’s students, Carl Jung, Karen Horney, and Alfred Adler.
Assumptions - human nature. Freud was pessimistic about human nature and felt most people would require saving from their helplessness and insecurities. He believed childhood is a series of psychosexual stages whose outcome largely determines our adult personality
Assumptions – philosophical Freud was a determinist, that is, he assumed that all behavior had a cause. He was also a clinician so his research was directed at helping his patients. His theories were rationalist theories.
Principal Theories – Freud had a very complete and comprehensive theory of human nature. His greatest contribution was his positing of the unconscious. Because some of his patient’s disorders did not have an apparent cause he decided they must come from an unknown or unconscious source. He
He developed a tripartite theory for the psyche, most of which is located in the unconscious. The id contains the instinctual sexual drives which require satisfaction, the super-ego contains the conscience, and the ego is the conscious self.
The psychic energy or libido fuels the psyche. Anxiety or stress is caused by the ego failing to resolve a conflict between the id and superego. The id causes neurotic anxiety and the superego causes moral anxiety. The egos tool to combat these conflicts is called defense mechanisms.
Freud believed that the instincts are the principal motivating forces and that we have only two instincts. Eros (the life instinct), which covers the drive to live, prosper, and reproduce, and Thanatos (the death instinct), which covers all the instincts towards aggression, power, and cruelty.
Freud thought the mind of a child developed through a series of conflicts. Successful resolution results in a normal adult. Failure to reach resolution can result in mental illnesses. The stages are as follows: Oral Stage from 0-1 years; Mouth is focus of libido energy; Anal Stage from 1-2 years, Child goes through potty training. Anus is symbol of control; Phallic Stage from 3-6 years, Phallus is symbol of power. Two complexes emerge, Oedipus & Electra; Latency Stage from 7-12 years, Libido is latent; Genital Stage from 12 -Psyche maturity
He developed psychoanalysis or a method of clinically treating clients by talking with them about their conflicts and emotional problems.
Freud thought that dreams represented unfulfilled wishes or desires and that through dream interpretation he could discover the contents of his clients unconscious.
Dominant research method As a clinical based school with a rationalist philosophical basis the most popular research method would be case study. The reason for this is that it is very difficult to measure the validity or existence of any of Freud’s theories. Therefore any data acquired by the researcher would be from subjective statements of the sample subjects.
Discussion of a study An example is one that would demonstrate the existence of an unconscious. Such a study would be a picture interpretation test where the patient is shown a series of ambiguous pictures and is asked to provide an interpretation of each one. It is assumed that the patient’s response would reflect a repressed personality quality within the unconscious. However, as previously mentioned the internal validity of this study would be questionable.
Psychological disorder treatment Freud believed that all disorders resulted from repression of memories or conflicts involving sex or aggression. Therefore, treatment would require the resolution of the conflicts. His methodologies to do this were free association, dream analysis, resistance or blockage analysis, and analysis of transference.
Evaluation – Freud’s theory of the unconscious was one the great discoveries of all times. While some theories of this school have been discarded, many are still in use by clinical psychologists today. Jung’s followers, referred to as depth psychologists, are in practice today. Karen Horney’s work on female emotions helped start the feministic movement. On the negative side, their theories lacked scientific validation, their interpersonal skills in providing treatment was lacking, and Freud’s emphasis on sex was generally incorrect.
Behaviorist School
Founders The leading proponents of this school were Russian born Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), who discovered the conditioned reflex and classical conditioning, John Watson (1878-1958) who wrote that man and animals were emotionally equivalent and that all behavior was stimulus response based, B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) who developed operant conditioning that demonstrated behavior based upon consequences, and Edward Tolman (1886-1959) who introduced latent learning and significantly changed the direction of this school.
Assumptions - human natureThe Behaviorist believe that all human behavior results from its interaction with its environment. That learning results only from stimulus and response. Therefore, creating any desired behavior is only a matter of introducing the right stimulants.
Assumptions – philosophical This school is deterministic and empirical. They believed that if it can’t be measured then it doesn’t exist and that psychology should be studied using objective methods of physiology.
Principal Theories While narrow in scope, this school made huge strides explaining how we learn, or how our behavior is influenced by our experiences. Pavlov concluded that our response to the environment is through either conditioned or unconditioned reflexes. An unconditioned reflex is a species typical reflex generated by our physiology, such as sneezing or a knee jerk. A conditional reflex is one “learned” through continuously reacting to both a neutral and an unconditioned stimulus. His famous experiment of ringing a bell that caused a dog to salivate is the example of classical conditioning, which is based upon antecedent conditioning.
Skinner introduced operant conditioning which is learning based upon consequences. It is much broader than classical conditioning because it does not need a biological reflex. Skinner developed an experimental technique called a “skinner box” and was able to demonstrate the learning ability of animals based upon consequences to their behavior.
His major contribution was his classification and use of reinforcements to modify behavior. Reinforcements can be either positive or negative (punishment) depending upon whether the behavior was increased or decreased. Also, each could be either positive or negative depending upon whether the reinforcement was added or taken away. He also measured the effectiveness of the reinforcement by dividing its application into fixed or variable ratios and fixed or variable intervals. His lesson for today’s parents is that the aversive nature of punishment makes it a poor tool for disciplining their children.
Dominant research methods As an empiricist school, Behaviorist could use any of the methods. In Skinner’s experimental research he used mice to perform various tasks and he would measure the effect (independent variable) of the reinforcement type (dependent variable) on the performance. Because much of the research was done on animals, case study and survey would not have been applicable.
Discussion of a study An experiment that would involve both classical and operant conditioning would be to test for avoidance learning. A mouse is placed in a two compartment box. At a given time a buzzer is sounded and a short time later it receives a shock from a device on the floor. After a few times when the buzzer is sounded it quickly moves to the other compartment to avoid the shock.
Psychological disorder treatment I believe that this school is very weak on its ability to treat for disorders. They have only one tool, learning principles, to make changes in dysfunctional behaviors. To extinguish the neurotic behavior they would use operant conditioning to associate a new healthy behavior through the use of an appropriate reinforcement.
Evaluation The contributions of Pavlov and Skinner to the understanding of learning were significant. Unfortunately, Watson and Skinner moved psychology down a blind path that took it quite a while to recover from. They simply ignored the fact that the study of the behavior has a metaphysical side.
Humanist School
Founders Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and Carl Rogers (1902-1987) were the main proponents of this “third force” of psychology.
Human nature assumptions Humanist believe people are basically good and that their behavior is caused by their subjective reality. Maslow set out their two tenets: We are driven to actualization and; “self aware of self” develops with age. It is as if humans have a guidance system within them to drive them to self actualization.
Assumptions – philosophical They are nondetermanists and rationalists. They reject science as a method to explain human nature. Each human is free to choose their own direction.
Principal Theories Maslow set out his now famous hierarchy of needs where our highest goal is self actualization or reaching our full human potential.
Rogers’s theory on behavior was that many parents do not extend unconditional love and acceptance to their children, but rather withhold it until they act, think, or talk in certain ways. Because of the importance of love and acceptance, this creates behavior in the children that emphasizes these ways, which he refers to as conditions of worth. This gradually leads to incongruity between who the person really is and how they act and is manifested as a neurosis. Thus, a “good” little girl or boy may not be a happy or healthy little girl or boy.
Rogers see the psyche consisting of three entities: the person you actually are (true self), the person you would like to be (ideal self), and the person you think you are (self image). Neurosis or incongruity develops when there is a mismatch between any one of this three entities. The magnitude of the neurosis is directly proportional to the mismatch.
His theory on therapy, referred to as Rogerian therapy, was his most important contribution. Unlike the schools before him, he felt that the client was the one who was in the best position to know what was wrong with him, and be the one to find ways of improving. Unlike the medical profession, he felt the therapist is not there to inquire and diagnosis, but to work with the client as a partner to solve their issues.
Dominant research method Because of their nonscientific position, case study is the only research method available to this school.
Discussion of study Because of the School’s limited scope and nonscientific approach, studies could prove to be difficult. One study is to correlate the intensity of an individual’s neurosis with their personal incongruity. A sample of people that are currently in therapy because of emotional disorders would be questioned to determine the amount of incongruity. The results would be plotted to determine the amount of correlation. Because of the difficulty in obtaining good operational definitions for both of these variables, the findings would probably be questionable.
Psychological disorder treatment Disorders are brought about as a result of incongruity of the three entities of the psyche. Therapy would consist of determining where the incongruities were and working with the client to make them more congruent.
Evaluation While this school adds a piece to the clinical side of the psychology puzzle that had not been previously addressed, the spirit, it is limited in its application to reasonably normal clients. Rogers’s theory on client relationship, however, is important and could be applicable to all schools.
Cognitive School
Founders Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Unlike the Behavorist school, they see learning as a biological process. George Miller, who wrote the paper on “The Magical Number Seven.”
Assumptions - human nature A child’s behavior becomes more complex as it grows older and develops a more mature cognitive structure. It does not progress at a constant rate, but grows in spurts. We can study cognitive functions by looking at computer processes because in some cases they are good models.
Assumptions – philosophical They are Rationalists
Principal Theories This school focuses on human perception, thought, and memory, with special emphasis on methods of learning. It appears to have borrowed some of the theory from the early development of digital computers and information theory. The computer theory of artificial intelligence brought into play the issue of how systems learn.
Piaget’s model of learning included a schema which is a mental structure that permits the classification and organization of information. As a child uses its existing schemas to experience the outside world, if the experience is a repeated one, it is assimilated into the child's cognitive structure so that he or she maintains mental "equilibrium." If the experience is different or new, the child loses equilibrium, and alters his or her cognitive structure to accommodate the new conditions. In this way, the child modifies existing or creates new cognitive structures. Thus, learning occurs either through assimilation or accommodation.
From Piaget’s investigation of children, he noted that there were periods where assimilation dominated, periods where accommodation dominated, and periods of relative equilibrium, and that these periods were similar among all the children he looked at in their nature and their timing. And so he developed the idea of four stages of cognitive development.
In 1968 Atkinson and Shiffrin developed a functional model of the levels of the human memory system including sensory memory, short term or working memory, and long term memory.
Dominant research methods Because of their Rationalist belief case study would be the main research tool.
Discussion of study The study would attempt to show the different stages of cognitive development that Piaget formulated in different age children. To do this we would ask the sample of children of different ages the same set of questions, record the answers, and classify the answers to see if the are consistent with the Piaget’s stages.
Psychological disorder treatment They would focus on client’s unclear or irrational thinking that has resulted in dysfunctional behavior. Point out why the thinking to incorrect and recommend alternative ideas or thoughts.
Evaluation They have made a small but valuable contribution to learning and specifically education. With the use of computers as tools, the future of education may be based upon cognitive learning.
Biological School
Founders This field is too modern to have someone given credit for being its founder. However, early work was done by Karl Lashley (1890- 1958), a coworker of John Watson. He developed two theories about the workings of the brain. One of his students, Donald Hebb (1905-1984) did work on cell assemblies and phase sequences that lead to the understanding of neural networks.
Assumptions - human nature Psychobiology studies how biology impacts human behavior and mental processes. They believe that behavior results from biological processes of the nervous system and genetics.
Assumptions - philosophical They are empiricists and determinists
Principal Theories From studies in this field we currently know a great deal of the physiology of the human nervous system. An important aspect that has been studied is the communication of information along the neurons the nervous system. This is important because transmission problems have a negative effect the emotions of the person. Within the neuron transmission is electrical. The process is called the Action Potential. Between neurons the transmission is chemical and occurs as neurotransmitters move across the synapse from the sending neuron to the receiving neuron.
Three areas that were covered in class were: pharmacological applications to control neurosis, basic research to better understand the physiological impact of using illicit drugs, and basic research to better determine the effect individual neurotransmitters have on our nervous system.
Dominant research methods Since it is purely science based, experiments would be the best method of deriving information. For ethical reasons most experiments are carried out on animals.
Discussion of study One or both of the variables of the experiment could be biologically based. The sample would be divided randomly into groups, including a control group. A drug(s) and a placobo would be administered to each group and its impact on the nervous system of the organism under study would be measured. Linear regression test would be run to determine what, if any, correlation is present.
Psychological disorder treatment They would treat a disorder pharmacologically with a medication that would have the required impact on the specific behavioral disorder. An example medication would be a selective serotonin reuptake inhibiter, or SSRI, to treat depression.
Evaluation Treatment from this school can have miraculous results where no other treatment is available. However, it builds an emotional dependency unless patient works to discover the underlying reason for the neurosis.
Sociological School
Founders Derald Wing Sue was an early pioneer. Two of his books are the most frequently cited works in the field. John Berry has written on multiculturalism and, Dr. Janet Helms was a pioneer in minority identity development research.
Assumptions - human nature The cultural background of your family and friends is a very important determining factor in your behavior.
Assumptions - Philosophical As a therapy based school, it is Rationalist in its outlook
Principal Theories This movement was started in the 1960s and mirrors the zeitgeist of the period. It applies the idea that behavior must be judged within the framework of the culture, age, gender and other specific social traits of the client. It applies a theory used in anthropology and sociology, called cultural relativism, to the practice of psychology.
Dominant research methods Case study will be the best research tool, although surveys and archival research could be useful because of the large amount of data that is culturally based.
Discussion of study Develop a survey to gather data about the effect of a particular common social event such as a wedding has on various ethnic groups. The purpose is to evaluate the variations or differences between the groups on all aspects of the wedding.
Psychological disorder treatment The therapist would try to determine the ethnic and other cultural differences that are common to the client’s family and friends before determining how to treat the presenting problem. What may be dysfunctional in one group might be normal in another. After applying cultural relativism, they use the theories of other schools to address the presenting problem.
Evaluation Excellent addition for the clinically oriented psychologists that will allow them to provide more relevant treatment for their minority clients.
Principal Theories From studies in this field we currently know a great deal of the physiology of the human nervous system. An important aspect that has been studied is the communication of information along the neurons the nervous system. This is important because transmission problems have a negative effect the emotions of the person. Within the neuron transmission is electrical. The process is called the Action Potential. Between neurons the transmission is chemical and occurs as neurotransmitters move across the synapse from the sending neuron to the receiving neuron.
Three areas that were covered in class were: pharmacological applications to control neurosis, basic research to better understand the physiological impact of using illicit drugs, and basic research to better determine the effect individual neurotransmitters have on our nervous system.
Dominant research methods Since it is purely science based, experiments would be the best method of deriving information. For ethical reasons most experiments are carried out on animals.
Discussion of study One or both of the variables of the experiment could be biologically based. The sample would be divided randomly into groups, including a control group. A drug(s) and a placobo would be administered to each group and its impact on the nervous system of the organism under study would be measured. Linear regression test would be run to determine what, if any, correlation is present.
Psychological disorder treatment They would treat a disorder pharmacologically with a medication that would have the required impact on the specific behavioral disorder. An example medication would be a selective serotonin reuptake inhibiter, or SSRI, to treat depression.
Evaluation Treatment from this school can have miraculous results where no other treatment is available. However, it builds an emotional dependency unless patient works to discover the underlying reason for the neurosis.
Sociological School
Founders Derald Wing Sue was an early pioneer. Two of his books are the most frequently cited works in the field. John Berry has written on multiculturalism and, Dr. Janet Helms was a pioneer in minority identity development research.
Assumptions - human nature The cultural background of your family and friends is a very important determining factor in your behavior.
Assumptions - Philosophical As a therapy based school, it is Rationalist in its outlook
Principal Theories This movement was started in the 1960s and mirrors the zeitgeist of the period. It applies the idea that behavior must be judged within the framework of the culture, age, gender and other specific social traits of the client. It applies a theory used in anthropology and sociology, called cultural relativism, to the practice of psychology.
Dominant research methods Case study will be the best research tool, although surveys and archival research could be useful because of the large amount of data that is culturally based.
Discussion of study Develop a survey to gather data about the effect of a particular common social event such as a wedding has on various ethnic groups. The purpose is to evaluate the variations or differences between the groups on all aspects of the wedding.
Psychological disorder treatment The therapist would try to determine the ethnic and other cultural differences that are common to the client’s family and friends before determining how to treat the presenting problem. What may be dysfunctional in one group might be normal in another. After applying cultural relativism, they use the theories of other schools to address the presenting problem.
Evaluation Excellent addition for the clinically oriented psychologists that will allow them to provide more relevant treatment for their minority clients.
Resources: B. R. Hergenhahn, "An introduction to the History of Psychology" and Dennis Coon, "Introduction to Psychology"
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