Psychology G12

Although most psychologists are interested principles that govern behavior and mental $hflA#ffifl#it{

mainly in human behavior, some choose to processes. A principle is a basic truth or laq vs{&ffiuk&ffig

focus on animal behavior, such as that of goril- such as the assumption that you will get better morality the
las, rats, pigeons, and even sea snails. Some
psychologists believe that research findings grades if you study more. Psychological theo- concept of right or
with certain animals can be applied to human ries may include statements about behavior good conduct
beings. The biological functioning of these ani- (such as sleeping or aggression), mental pro-
mals and even their psychological responses
to some situations are often similar to those of cesses (such as memories and mental images),
people. Others, however, argue that humans and biological processes (such as the effect of
are so distinct that we can only learn about
them by studying people. The truth probably chemicals in the brain).
Iies somewhere in between. For example, by
studying the nerve cells of squid, psycholo- A useful psychological theory allows psy-
gists have been able to learn about the work- chologists to predict behavior and mental pro-
ings of human nerve cells. However, only by
studying people can psychologists learn about cesses. For example, if a theory about fatigue
uniquely human qualities such as moralit5r, is useful, psychologists can apply it to predict
when people will or will not sleep. If a theory
values, and love.
does not accurately predict behavior or men-
Psychologists rely on research to learn tal processes, psychologists consider revising
whether certain methods will work before
they use them with clients. Of course, when or replacing the theory.
the research is conducted with human beings, In psychology, as in other sciences, many

psychologists make every effort to protect the theories have been found inadequate for
explaining or predicting the things with which
research participants.
they are concerned. As a result, these theories
Psyrhoiogical Th*ories Psychologists orga- have been discarded or revised. For example,
nize their research about behavior and men-
tal processes into theories. A theory is a state- many psychologists once believed that stom-
ment that attempts to explain why things are ach contractions were the cause ofhunger. But
the way they are and why they happen the
way they do. Psychological theories discuss then it was observed that many people feel

hungry even when they do not have stomach
contractions. As a result, psychologists now

believe that stomach contractions are only

one of many factors affecting appetite.

ffiffi Compare ln what ways is psy-

chology similar to other sciences?

Reviewlng Main ldeas and Vocabulary 6. Make Judgments Using your notes, make a judgment
about the adequacy of each theory listed in the graphic
i t. Define Whatdoes theory mean?What doesprinciple
. mean? organizer below.

2. Summarize Why do psychologists believe that a little tr heory iuE{emsnt
anxiety can be a good thing?
Iflupl* funclinn h{rtt*r \,vith
Thinking Critically adequ;t* rl**p.
3. Define What is a keydifference between behaviorand
Yr:u will lose weiilltl ii y*u *xercire"
cognitive activities?
Dreams tevnal ,* !,reat d{:}fi1 itbil*i
4. Explain What characteristics of psychology differentiate it nur anxi*tiill,

from other related social sciences? 7. Persuasive Write a paragraph in which you try to convince
5. Evaluate Why is it important that psychologists allow their
your parents why you should be allowed to take psychology
clients to make their own decisions?
rather than some other course.

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY? 7

lmagine being able to peer inside a living human brain and watch it A FOtientundergge! 3D MRlbrain scanning.,
light up as it works. Neuroimaging allows scientists to do just that. Using which allqwl;!h.e,e1qm,ine1 ta view the brain :
noninvasive techniques such as positron emission topography (PET) and from everyangle.
magnetic resonance imaging (MRl), scientists can create images that
show how the brain changes as it processes mental functions.

Neuroimaging has been particularly with social anxiety disorder during measure this and other changes in
useful in cognitive research, the study public speaking. PET scans revealed the brain before patients show symp-
of mental processes and mental that blood flow increased in a part toms of the disease.
disorders. For example, during REM ofthe brain that generates the fear
response. Conversely, blood flow in While neuroimaging has provided
sleep-the stage of sleep when the brains of people without the dis- invaluable information about the
dreams are most vivid-neuroscien- order increased to an area linked with brain, some psychologists remain
tists have found that the part ofthe thinking skills (Tillfors et al., 2001). ln skeptical. They claim that the neuro-
a study on depression, researchers images tell us much about how the
brain Involved in logical reasoning found that participants' brains regis- brain behaves but little or nothing
becomes relatively inactive, while tered sharp dips and spikes in activity about how the mind, or conscious
those parts involved in visual percep- as their moods changed under the thought, works. Although the cogni-
tion and emotions become more influence of antidepressant drugs tive processes of the brain are related
stimulated. Neuroscientists have also or placebos. The study helped the to its physicalfunctioning, we don't
discovered that they can identify and researchers locate a spot in the brain really know how the two interact. ln
chart brain activity by detecting areas that may regulate neural activity dur- addition, many psychologists ques-
of increased or decreased blood flow. ing depression (Mayberg et al., 2005). tion neuroimaging research because
As neuroscientists trace the brain's they say that our brains are not all
Neuroimaging has also been used the same. ln fact, they may differ as
functioning, they can literally watch it in the study of Alzheimer's disease. much as people's personalities. After
at work. lmages of the brain have shown that all, the human brain is probably the
the hippocampus, the part that plays most complex object in all of sci-
Psychologists hope that the pic- a major role in short-term memory entific study. lt may be interesting
tures of the brain produced by neuro- retention, shrinks in patients with and usefulto see which part of the
imaging will improve their ability to Alzheimert. Researchers hope that brain lights up on a particular scan.
diagnose and cure mental disorders. PET and MRI scans will help scientists However, as one psychologist has
Research in the field has been prom- said, "lt's not at all easy to know what
ising. ln one study, scientists noted that activity might really mean."
differences in the brains of people

Thesetkeelpaneli oiahr,M l,biair::lca$showe$id€nce o{'an:r,ab.nonna!it}t, 1. Analyze Why might neuroimaging
be an important aid in the treatment
8 cnnprtR r of mental disorders?

2. Discuss Do you think neuroimaging
has much practical application in psy-
chology? Why or why not?

Wh:x*t Fsy&d&S*sts E*

BefnraYou Read Reading Focus Uocabulaty Use a graphic
1. What are some of the major psychiatrist organizer like
Main ldea this one to take notes on
Psychologists work in many fields in psychology? basic research the major fields and spe-
different fields, but they cialties in psychology.
all focus on studying and 2. How do specialists in some
explaining behavior and applied fields of psychology Fr ei rl {haracteristics
mental processes. serve people's needs?

e,n* P*rssme,l You meon l'm supposed to talk to
them? You've exchanged your likes

and dislikes in music. You've shared your

thoughts on your favorite movies. You've even discovered

that you both dream of becoming a doctor. You're best
friends. Surely it's a minor detail that you've never met. With
networking Web sites like Facebook and MySpace, people
today can make dozens of new friends with a few mouse
clicks. The trouble is that some of these people have forgot-

ten-or have never learned-how to actually talk to some-

one face-to-face.

To help students with their interpersonal skills, New York
University offered a seminar in 2007 to their Incoming fresh-
men called "Facebook in the Fleshl'The seminar provided
an interactive workshop in which students paired off and
talked for six minutes. To help them break the ice, the leader
of the seminar provided a few sample questions, such as
"What drew you to NYU?" and "What do you think of this

workshop so far?"At the conclusion of the workshop, some
ofthe students agreed that the encounter had been difficult;
Facebook, they said, was easier. How, they asked, do you let
someone know you want to talk?"Just smilei'they were told.

As virtual communication becomes the principal means
of connecting with others, more people may need semi-
nars like this one. This may be a job for social psychologists.
Helping people learn how to behave in social situations is
one of the things they do. ln this section, you will learn about
social psychology as well as the work undertaken in many

other fields. [1

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY? 9

,hfi"&mfiffi!fr Major Fields in Psychology The psychologists in this field help people
with psychological problems, such as anxiety
vffi{ABul_*Rv Many psychologists share a keen interest in or depression, or severe psychological disor-
behavior, and all believe in the value ofscien- ders, such as schizophrenia. Clinical psycholo-
;;ii;i;il; ih; - tific research. They also share the belief that gists help their clients overcome problems and
adjust to the demands of their lives. They also
branch of medlcine theories about behavior and mental processes
help people who have problems with relation-
that focuses on the should be supported by scientific evidence. ships, drug abuse, or weight control.
They accept something as true only if the evi-
diseases and prob- dence shows it is so. Clinical psychologists are trained to evalu-
ate psychological problems through the use
lems of the elderly Some psychologists are interested mainly of interviews and psychological tests. Then
in research. They investigate the factors that these psychologists try to help clients under-
stand and resolve their problems by changing
give rise to behaviors and that explain certain ineffective or harmful behavior.
mental processes. They form theories about
why people and animals do the things they The work environment for clinical psychol-
do. Then they test their theories by predicting ogists can include hospitals, prisons, univer-
sity clinics, and private practices. Some clini-
when specific behaviors will occur.
Other psychologists consult. That means cal psychologists divide their time between
clinical practice, teaching, and research.
that they apply psychological knowledge in
the form of therapy to help people change These psychologists should not be con-
their behavior so that they can better meet fused with psychiatrists. A psychiatrist is a
their own goals. Still other psychologists medical doctor who specializes in the treat-
teach, sharing their knowledge of psychology ment of psychological problems and who can
in classrooms and workshops.
prescribe medication for clients. Psychologists
(!inical PsycholoEy Clinical psychologists also specialize in the treatment of psychologi-
cal problems, but because they are not medi-
make up the largest group of psychologists.
Clinical psychologists are the people most cal doctors, they may not prescribe medication

of us think of when we hear the term "psy- for their clients. However, clinical psycholo-
chologist." Specialty areas within this field gists often work together with psychiatrists
include child mental health, adult mental to consult and determine the best course of
health, learning disabilities, geriatrics, and treatment for a complex patient problem.
general health.

$Stpaet iaqktlnicge.l..lyv 48oh Clinical

Graduate Programs in Psychology ''' f, Counseling
,,i ,'" 5 Other reseach subfields
Universities typically offer graduate programs in ffi school/Educational
many fields of psychology. As you can see from S other applied subfields
the pie graph, however, nearly half of all new doc-
toral graduates in psychology emerge from the Developmental
clinical program.
Cognitive
m TNTERPREnNG GMPHS which
m lndustrial/organizational
field is the second most popular? Which field is ! Social and Personality
least popular?
lt,lit Clinical Neuropsychology
Source: 2005 Groduote Study in Psychology.
Compiled by the APA Research Office. I Neuroscience/Physiological/

Biological

I Experimental
lil Health

10 cHRptR r

Counseling Fsychology Like clinical psy- Educational Fsychology Like school psy-
chologists, counseling psychologists use inter- chologists, educational psychologists are
views and tests to identify their clients'prob- concerned with helping students learn. But
lems. Counseling psychologists typically treat they generally focus on course planning and
people who have adjustment problems rather instructional methods for an entire school
than serious psychological disorders. For system rather than on designing a program
example, a counseling psychologist's clients of study for an individual student.
may have difficulty making decisions about
their careers, or they may find it hard to make Educational psychologists are concerned
with theoretical issues that relate to measure-
friends. They may be experiencing conflicts ment of abilities,learning, and child and ado-
lescent development. Their research interests
with family members, teachers, employers, include the ways in which learning is affected
by the following:
or colleagues. Counseling psychologists help
their clients clarify their goals, overcome their . psychological factors, such as motivation,
adjustment problems, and meet challenges.
Counseling psychologists are often employed emotions, creativity, and intelligence

in businesses and in college and university . cultural factors, such as religious beliefs

counseling and testing centers. and language

Sehool Psychology Your school district . economic factors, such as the level of
may employ one or more school psycholo-
income earned by a person's family
gists. School psychologists identify and help
students who have problems that interfere . instructional methods used in the
with learning. Typical problems that school
psychologists deal with include peer group classroom
and family problems, and learning disorders,
which are problems in learning to read, write, Some educational psychologists help pre-
or do math. pare standardized tests, such as the Scholastic
Aptitude Test (SAT). They study various tests
School psychologists identify students to determine the type of test that can most
with problems by talking with teachers, par-
ents, and the students themselves. School effectively predict success in college. They
may also examine individual test items to
psychologists may also administer tests, such
as intelligence tests and achievement tests. determine whether these items adequately
These tests, which are usually given to large test critical thinking skilis and make a use-
groups of students, help identify students with ful contribution to the test as a whole.

special abilities as well as students who need Developmental Psychology Developmental
assistance. For example, a school psychologist psychologists study the changes that occur
might notice a student's exceptional results throughout a person's life span. These changes
on the math section of an achievement test can be of the following types:
and recommend placing her in an advanced
math class. . physical (including changes in height and

School psychologists also obserwe students weight, adolescent growth, sexual matu-
rity, and the physical aspects ofaging)
in the classroom to see how they interact with
their teachers and peers. After gathering the . emotional (for example, development of
information they need, school psychologists
advise teachers, school officials, and parents self-concept and self-esteem)
about how to help certain students reach
their potential or overcome any learning dif- . cognitive (such as changes from child-
ficulties they might have.
hood to adulthood in mental images of
In addition, school psychologists make rec- the world outside or how children learn
ommendations regardingthe placement of stu- right from wrong)

dents in special classes and programs. In some . social (such as formation of bonds
school districts, student placement is the major
between parents and children, relation-
responsibility of the school psychologist. ships with peers, or intimate relation-
ships between adults)

Developmental psychologists also attempt to
sort out the relative influences of heredity
and the environment on development.

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY? 11

Some developmental psychologists are Specialized Fields \
especially interested in the challenges ofado- \
lescence. For example, how do adolescents There is an astoundingly diverse range of
handle the often contradictory messages of specialized fields in psychotogy and a wide h
peers (who pressure them to act in one way) variety of settings in which psychologists
and parents (who want them to act in another work. Here are a few examples. -Ja
way)? How can psychologists help parents and
school offrcials encourage adolescents to avoid Environmenul Psychology I1
activities that may be harmful to their physi- Does crowding in cities make people irritable?
cal and psychological well-being? What are Does smog have an effect on people's abil-
the causes of depression and suicide among ity to learn? Environmental psychologists ask
teens? How can people help prevent these such questions. They focus on the ways in
painful situations from occurring? which people influence and are influenced
by their physical environment. Environmental
Personality Psychology Personality psy- psychologists study whether buildings and
chologists identify human characteristics, or cities serve human needs. They also investi-
traits. Shyness and friendliness are examples gate the psychological effects of extremes in
oftraits. Personality psychologists look for the temperature, noise, and lighting.
many different traits people have and study
the traits' development. Personality psychol- such as the functions of the nervous system.
ogists share with clinical psychologists an Other basic processes include sensation and
interest in the origins of psychological prob- perception, Iearning and memory, and think-
lems and disorders. These psychologists are ing and motivation.
also concerned with issues such as anxiety,
Experimental psychologists explore the
aggression, and gender roles. Gender roles are biological and psychological reasons for cog-
the behavior patterns expected of women and nitive behavior. Some combine the two and
focus on the relationships between biological
men in a given culture. changes (such as the release of hormones into
the bloodstream) and psychological events
Social Psychology Social psychologists are (such as feelings ofanxiety). These psycholo-
gists are called biological psychologists.
concerned with people's behavior in social
Experimental psychologists are more likely
situations. Whereas personality psychologists than other psychologists to engage in basic
research. Basic research is research that has
tend to look within people for explanations of no immediate application and is done for its
behavior, social psychologists generally focus own sake. The findings of experimental psy-
on external influences. Social psychologists chologists are often put into practice by other
study the following issues: psychological specialists. For example, basic
research into motivation has helped clinical
. the ways in which women and men typi- and counseling psychologists develop ways
cally behave in a given setting of helping people control their eating habits.
Basic research into learning and memory has
. the physical and psychological factors helped educational psychologists enhance
Iearning conditions in schools.
that attract people to one another
ffimffi lnfer Which types of psycholo-
. the reasons people tend to conform to
gists might treat patients with eating disorders?
group standards and expectations

. how people's behavior changes when they

are members of a group

. the reasons for and the effects ofpreju-
dice and discrimination within various

groups and from one group to another

. the situations in which people are hostile

and those in which they help others

Experimental Psycheilogy Psychologists
in all specialties may conduct experimental
research. However, experimental psycholo-
gists conduct research into basic processes

12 cuRprun r

r.atlronm&ta!.,riiino1og!i,ti..',..,.., {omparmtive Psyehoiogy €serse*msr &ryrx*tw*mgry
What do bats have in common with
stu.dyrhqW:li.$htiaff eEti,:mOdd,:ih' dolphins? How does the prehistoric Have you ever noticed that in many
petientsr:withr,9Eisonarl,Aff eetrive, rhinoceros compare with the modern supermarkets, milk is shelved far away
Disorder, also known as winter rhino? Comparative psychologists study from the store entrance? lts placement
depression. animal behavior to try to answer such results from the work of consumer
questions. They also compare the simi- psychologists, who study and predict
larities and differences among different the behavior of shoppers. Milk is placed
animals-modern and ancient-to gain at the rear of the store because it is an
an understanding of evolutionary rela- item that many people buy frequently.
tionships. The work of Charles Darwin Its placement ensures that shoppers will
inspired modern research on animal
behavior. Today compa rative psychol- pass-and perhaps buy-other items
ogy is a multidisciplinary field that
includes the contributions of psycholo- on the way to the milk shelf. Consumer
gists, biologists, anthropologists, ecolo- psychologists also assist others in apply-
gists, geneticists, and many others. ing the findings of their studies. For
instance, they work with advertisers to
create effective newspaper ads and tele-
vision commercials.

&ppE*ed $&wEd* 8m Psy*$r***gy design products for people to use. These prod-
ucts include those that are used in schools, the
You have already read about sports psycholo- workplace, and the home. Human factors psy-
gists and how they can help athletes. There chologists consider the following when they
are several other specialties in psychology. become involved in the design of a product:

Ema$*strim$ aneS CIrganExatismaf FsyehCIlogy . how people will use a particular product
. how the product affects people in their
Industrial psychologists focus on people and
work. Organizational psychologists study the daily lives
behavior ofpeople in organizations, such as
business firms. Industrial psychology and . the shape, look, and feel ofthe product
. how to engineer the product so that it is
or ganiz ation al psychology are closely relate d.
Psychologists in these fields are often trained safe, comfortable to use, and durable
in both areas.
esffimq.Enlty Fsyahtr$*gy Community psy-
Industrial and organizational psycholo- chologists study and help create social sys-
tems that promote and foster individual well-
gists are employed by corporations to improve being. These social systems might include
working conditions and increase worker out- mental health centers, hospital programs, and
put. They may assist in hiring, training, and school-based programs. Community psycholo-
promoting employees. They may also devise gists focus on the following:
psychological tests forjob applicants and con-
duct research into the factors that contribute . promoting change in the social environ-

to job satisfaction. In addition, some indus- ment rather than in the individual
trial and organizational psychologists help . helping relatively powerless social

employees who have problems on the job. groups, such as children and the elderly,
develop coping strategies
Hum'lam Faet*rs Fsyelnelflogy Human factors
psychology is somewhat related to industrial . preventing threats to mental health in
and organizational psychology. Psychologists
in this field attempt to find the best ways to the social environment

WHAT 15 PSYCHOLOGY? 13

Forensic Psychology When an attorney Rehabilitation Psychology Psychologists in
wants an expert witness to testify whether a this field work with patients who are strug-
gling with the effects of a disability. A dis-
person accused of a crime is or is not compe- ability is a condition that limits physical,
tent to stand trial, the attorney might call on sensory, cognitive, or emotional functioning.
a forensic psychologist. These psychologists Rehabilitation psychologists may work with
patients who are dealing with the effects of
work within the criminal justice system. In stroke, brain disease, amputation, or vision
addition to testifying about the psychological impairment. People with disabilities mayhave
difficulty working, taking care of themselves
competence of defendants, they may explain or their families, or engaging in normal activi-
how certain kinds of psychological problems ties. Rehabilitation psychologists help their
give rise to criminal behavior. Police depart- patients develop strategies to compensate for
ments employ psychologists to do some of the the disability and live meaningful lives.
following jobs:
Cross-Cultural Psychology Traditionally,
. assist in the selection ofpolice officers psychology studies have focused on people in
. help police officers cope with job stress industrialized nations. Cross-cultural psy-
. train police officers in the handling of chologists, on the other hand, study behavior
and mental processes under different cultural
dangerous situations they may encoun- conditions. For instance, they examine such
ter, such as suicide threats, hostage cri- issues as depression and anxiety to gauge
whether these concepts are perceived differ-
ses, and family violence ently in different cultures.

Health Psychology Health psychologists Cross-cultural psychologists have been
examine the ways in which behavior and able to bring new insights to standard psycho-
mental processes are related to physical logical theories. For example, they have dis-
health. They often work with many different covered that visual perception develops differ-
health care professionals, including physi- ently in cultures as a result of the shapes and
angles people are exposed to every day.
cians, nurses, dentists, and dieticians. Health
psychologists study the effects of stress on ffiEm Summarize What do forensic
health problems such as headaches and heart
disease. Many also focus on prevention and psychologists do?
reducing the risk ofdisease. For instance, they
help people adopt healthful behaviors such as
a balanced diet and exercising.

Reviewing Main ldeas and Vocabulary 6. Categorize Using your notes and a graphic organizer like
the one below, identify the psychologists who might work in
l. Describe What are some of the typical problems that a a school setting and explain what their role would be in that
setting.
school psychologist might encounter?
2. Recall Which field of psychology focuses on the engineer- Psychologist flole

ing and design of products used in everyday life? 7. Expository lf you decided to become a psychologist, which
field would you prefer? Explain your choice in a paragraph.
Thinking Critically

3. Compareand Contrast ln whatwaydoes the roleof a
psychiatrist and that of a psychologist differ?

4. Draw Conclusions Social psychologists study group
dynamics. Why do you think people's behavior may change

when they are part of a group?
5. Evaluate What are some of the difficulties that cross-

cultural psychologists might encounter when they conduct
their research?

14 cunpruR r

ths r:*&lE,fv,k{ Wff:

aBffix*d: #'-***,.11:, $;q fi

A horrific crime is committed. Police detectives and foren- fl}" ;'i' ''t.'''';'
sic experts study the crime scene in minute detail. But in
addition to the officers, a psychological profiler examines sk
the evidence. After he inspects the body, evaluates the
footprint on the dusty floor, and scrutinizes the cryptic
message scrawled on the wall, the profiler declares that
the suspect is a young, white male who lives with his par-
ents and is uncomfortable around women. ls he right?
Probably not.

Popularized in television shows and might explain the fascination with lie- to detect lies. MRI scans show the
movies, the profiler is a celebrated detector tests. Even though experts changes in blood flow when the brain
figure in forensic psychology. Yet have concluded that the polygraph, performs mental processes. Since
some have compared profilers to which measures the physical changes lying is believed to require more cog-
psychics or astrologers because they that occur in reaction to questions, is nitive activity, the scans will reveal
often give a broad description of a unreliable, thousands of polygraph more blood flow when someone
tests are conducted every year. Many does not tell the truth. But many psy-
suspect that could fitjust about any- who support the use of polygraphs chologists remain unconvinced. They
one. ln fact, even when the descrip- claim that they are accurate 90 per- question the assumption behind all
tion almost completely misses the cent of the time. However, that also lie-detector tests:that lying is in some
mark, investigators tend to remember means that the polygraph fails one way upsetting to the liar.
the few details the profiler got right: out of ten times-unacceptable odds
He was wearing a double-breasted for innocent suspects. Not surpris- U nfortu nately, criminals-like
suit, and he does live with his mother. ingly, the results of polygraph tests everyone else-are not so easily
Unfortunately, the truly salient details are not admissible in court. profiled. As much as we would like to
about his age, ethnicity, and person- believe that their actions will unmask
ality were completely wrong. Other methods for detecting lies them or that their hearts will race
have been devised. For instance, when they tell a lie, it doesn't usu-
Perhaps people just want to some psychologists claim that liars ally work that way. ln the meantime,
believe that we possess the ability betray themselves by their behavior. psychologists will continue to explore
to see inside a criminal's mind. This Liars, they say, are likely to speak the human mind, and maybe some-
more slowly, shift in their chair, and day we'll be better able to tell who's
nervously fuss with their hair. The lying and who's not.
trouble is, this profile could also
describe the behavior of a person 1. lnfer Why do people wantto believe
who is afraid of being disbelieved.
that a reliable lie-detector test can be
One of the latest developments in developed?
criminal mind-reading lies in the use 2. Discuss Do you think a reasonable
of brain imaging. Scientists have used profile of a suspect can ever be
magnetic resonance imaging (MRl) deduced from crime scene evidence?
scans for years to identify neurologi- Why or why not?
cal disorders. Now some researchers
believe that the scans can be used

WHAT 15 PSYCHOLOGY? 15

& Hist$ru ef

Fsyihslbsy

BeforeYou Read Reading Focus Uocabulary Use a graphic
1. What were some early views introspection organizer like
Main ldea this one to take notes on
Since ancient times, philos- and beliefs about human associationism the different schools of
behavior? structuralism psychology.
ophers and scientists have functionalism
studied behavior and men- 2. Who were some of the pioneers psychoanalysis School ideas
tal processes. Psychologists of psychology? psychodynamic thinking
throughout history have behaviorism
continued to refine and 3. What modern developments Gestalt psychology
develop these studies. in psychology have dominated
much ofthe 20th century?
lll E-UJ:r ! a Je:t-
fdk hrKEArs
tYl=*16J2:.ci a6 e 1;.y+
E&ry&ian
ES.

What was the first psychological Unfortunately, Psamtikt hypothesis proved false.
study? According to Greek histo-
rian Herodotus, the first recorded When the children were about two years old, the
psychological study in history took place in Egypt in the shepherd reported that they had uttered a word that
latter half of the 600s B.C. Psamtik l, the king of Egypt at sounded like becos. No doubt the children had just been
the time, wanted to prove that the Egyptian civilization babbling, but the king was greatly encouraged. lt turned
was the oldest on earth. To test his hypothesis, Psamtik out, however, that becos was not an Egyptian word. lt
selected two babies from a lower-class family and gave was Phrygian for breod. The heartbroken king came to
them over to the care of a local shepherd. The shepherd the conclusion that the Phrygians were a more ancient
was given strict instructions to treat the children well but people than the Egyptians.
to never speak a word to them. The king believed that,
without any prompting, the children would naturally Today, of course, we know that children who are not
speak what he considered to be the original and most exposed to speech will not spontaneously speak any lan-
ancient language of humankind-Egyptian. guage at all, much less Egyptian. However, Psamtik did
question how the mind works. That would be the focus
15 cuRprcR r
of psychological studies for the next 2,600 years. E

tarly Views and Beliefs abnormalities in the brain and had a rational
explanation. This idea that biological factors
We have always been interested in the behav- can affect our thoughts, feelings, and behav-
iors of others. Thus psychology is as old as ior influenced thinking about psycholory for
human history. Written accoutrts of the inter- more than 2,000 years.

est in people's actions, motives, and thoughts The Middle Ages Greek thinking about the
can be traced as far back as the philosophers human mind was lost during the Middle Ages.
Most Europeans of this period believed that
and scientists of ancient times. problems such as agitation and confusion
were signs of possession by demons. A popu-
Ancient Greece More than 2,000 years ago, lar belief of the time was that possession was
punishment for sins or the result of deals that
Plato (428-348 or 347 B.C.), a student of those afflicted had made with the devil.
the philosopher Socrates in ancient Greece,
recorded his teacher's advice: "Know thy- Certain "tests" were used to determine
self." This phrase has remained an impor- whether a person was possessed. One of the
tant motto of psychological study ever since. most infamous tests, the water-float test, was
Socrates suggested that we can learn much based on the principle that pure metals sink
to the bottom during the smelting process
about ourselves by carefully examining our whereas impure metals float to the surface.
own thoughts and feelings. Psychologists call
this method of learning introspection, which Individuals who were suspected of being pos-
means "looking within." sessed were thrown into deep water. Suspects
who managed to keep their heads above water
One of Plato's students, Greek philoso-
pher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), raised many were assumed to be impure and in league
with the devil. They were judged to be guilty
questions about human behavior that are and were then executed for associating with
still discussed. Aristotle outlined the laws of the devil. Those who sank to the bottom,
associationism, which are still at the heart of
on the other hand, were judged to be pure.
learning theory more than 2,000 years later. Unfortunately, they met the same fate as the
He showed how experiences often remind us "guilty"-they died.
of similar experiences in the past, how the
face of a loved one makes us feel secure, and re Summarize What basic founda-
how thought leads to ideas as we dream and
as we daydream. One of Aristotle's works is tions of psychology did the ancient Greeks set
called Peri Psyches, which means "about the
forth?
mind." Aristotle's approach was scientifrc. He
argued that human behavior, like the move-
ments of the stars and the seas, is subject to
certain rules and laws. He believed one such
universal law was that people are motivated

to seek pleasure and to avoid pain-a view

still found in some modern psychological the-
ories. Peri Psyches also explores topics such
as sensation and perception, thought, intel-

ligence, needs and motives, feelings and emo-

tions, and memory.
The ancient Greeks also theorized about

various psychological problems, such as con-

fusion and bizarre behavior. Throughout
human history, many people have attributed
such disorders to supernatural forces. The
ancient Greeks generally believed that the

gods punished people for wrongdoing by caus-

ing them confusion and madness. However,
the Greek physician Hippocrates (c. 460-
c.377 B.C.) reiected these beliefs. He sug-

gested that such problems are caused by

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY? 17

Structuralism Functionalism tr

Ullilhelrn Wundt William lames _:f

. Because Wundt established . ln addition to being the father =,rtl,i

psychology as a field of study of American psychology, James

separate from philosophy and is considered one of America's

the natural sciences, Wundt is greatest philosophers.

considered one of the found- . Trained in medicine, James

ers of modern psychology. ,*ri&rl*.(r2.B1r*r'*,-,-..--.. ._,f commented that the first lec-

. The lab Wundt set up in 1879 is ture on psychology he ever

still in operation today. heard was the first one he presented

. He viewed mental processes as activities and classified as a new instructor at Harvard.

feelings as pleasant or unpleasant, tense or relaxed, . He believed that since the truth of an idea can never be

and excited or depressed. -:, proved, we should focus instead on how practical or

productive an idea is-its "cash value," as he called it.

sl,L&&gt1'*{fr Fieneers in Psychoiegy Wilhelrn Wundt and Strueturalisrn Wilhelm
Wundt (1832-1920) and his students founded
,!Ftg45,EL&ry5 People of the 1500s, 1600s, and 1700s wit- a field of psychology that came to be known as
stream of nessed great scientific and intellectual structuralism. Structuralists were concerned
consciousness advances. In the 1500s, for example, Polish with discovering the basic elements of con-
thought regarded sciousness. Wundt broke down consciousness
as a flowing series astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus challenged into objective sensations and subjective feel-
of images and ideas the widely held view that the sun revolved ings. Objective sensations were assumed to
running through around Earth, suggesting instead that Earth
the mind accurately reflect the outside world. Subjective
revolves around the sun.In the 1600s English feelings were thought to include emotional
responses and mental images.
scientist Sir Isaac Newton formulated the
laws of gravity and motion. English philos- Structuralists believed that the human
opher John Locke, building on principles of mind functioned by combining these basic
associationism, theorized that knowledge is
not inborn but is learned from experience. elements of experience. For example, a per-
In the late 1700s French scientist Antoine son can experience an apple objectively by
Lavoisier founded the science of chemistry observing its shape, color, texture, and taste.
and explained how animals and plants use
oxygen in respiration. The person can also experience the apple sub-

The scientific approach also led to the jectively by remembering how good it feels to
bite into one. Using the method of introspec-
birth of modern psychology in the 1800s.
tion, Wundt and his students carefully exam-
Psychologists argued that ideas about human ined and reported their experiences.
behavior and mental processes should be
Williant James and Functionalism A decade
supported by evidence. In the late 1800s
after Wundt established his laboratory,
psychological laboratories were established
Harvard University professor William James
in Europe and the United States. In these (1842-1910) asserted that conscious experi-
ence could notbe broken down as structuralists
laboratories, psychologists studied behavior believed. James maintained that experience
is a continuous "stream of consciousness." He
and mental processes using a series of experi- focused on the relationships between experi-
ments to test a single theory-methods simi- ence and behavior and described his views in
The Priruciples of Psychology. Many consider
Iar to those Lavoisier had used to study chem-
istry. Most historians of psychology point to this book, published in 1890, to be the first

the year 1879 as the beginning ofpsychology modern psychology textbook.

as a modern laboratory science. In that year,
German psychoiogist Wilhelm Wundt estab-
lished his laboratory in Leipzig.

8t cHnprun r

Psychoanalysis The Granqer Collection, New York

S*gmeerxd Sr**e$ Behaviorism

. Freud's declaration that people $okm ffi" Wats*at

essentially have little free will . Watson's most famous experiment

and are subject to the workings involved conditioning a small child to
fear a white rat by associating the rat
of the unconscious mind was with a loud, frightening sound.

highly revolutionary. . He believed that people have three

. dH e psychoa na lyzed h i mse lf a n "1''i'irii''ir:'r'i'rir',!ii, basic emotional reactions: fear, rage,
and love.
extensively studied his own dreams, memories, and
ffi- #" $k$msqmr
personality and concluded that he had many mental
. ln contrast with Watson, Skinner
disorders and fears.
believed that behavior depended on
. Many psychologists were initially scandalized by what happened after a stimulus-an
event or sensation-and not before.
Freud's emphasis on the sexual origins of psychological He called this "operant behavior."

disorders.

James was one of the founders of the $&gn*wmd Fr*uxd m*xd ffixy**t*mmafys*s Complete a
school of functionalism. Functionalists were Webquest at
concerned with how mental processes help Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), aViennese phy- thinkcentral.com
organisms adapt to their environment. They sician, was perhaps the most famous of the
stressed the application of their findings to on Sigmund
early psychologists. The school ofthought that Freud and
everyday situations. psychoa nalysis.
he founded, called psychoanalysis, emphasizes
Functionalism differed from structuralism
in several ways. Whereas structuralism relied the importance of unconscious motives and
only on introspection, the methods of func- internal conflicts in determining and under-
tionalism included behavioral observation in
the laboratory as well as introspection. The standing human behavior.
Freud's theory, more than the others, has
structuralists tended to ask: What are the ele-
ments (structures) of psychological processes? become a part of popular culture. You may be
familiar with several Freudian concepts. For
The functionalists, on the other hand, tended example, have you ever tried to interpret a
to ask: What are the purposes (functions) of slip of the tongue, or have you ever tried to
behavior and mental processes? What do cer- figure out the meaning of a dream you had?
The ideas that people are driven by hidden
tain behaviors and mental processes accom- impulses and that verbal slips and dreams
plish for the person (or animal)? represent unconscious wishes largely reflect
Freud's influence on popular culture.
Functionalists proposed that adaptive
Structuralists and functionalists con-
behavior patterns are learned and maintained
ducted their research in the laboratory.
because they are successful. Less-adaptive
behavior patterns are dropped or are dis- However, Freud gained his understanding of
continued. Adaptive (successful) actions are human behavior through consultations with
repeated and eventually become habits. The patients. He encouraged them to talk through

formation of habits is seen in such acts as their problems, a method that came to be

riding a bicycle. At first, this act requires our called a "talking cure." Freud was astounded

full attention. But through repetition-and at how little insight these patients had into
their own ideas and feelings. The ultimate
success-it becomes automatic. The multiple goal of his consultations was to release the
tasks involved in learning to type on a key- powerful emotional energy that he believed
board or to write in longhand also become
routine through successful repetition. Habit was locked in the unconscious mind. He came
allows us to take the mechanics of typing or to believe that unconscious processes, particu-

writing for granted and to concentrate instead larly sexual and aggressive urges, are more
on what we are typing or writing. important than conscious experience in gov-

erning people's behavior and feelings.

WHAT 15 PSYCHOLOGY? 19

Freud's theory, which is sometimes called next time-at least, when it is hungry. But
psychodynamic thinking, assumed that most of
what exists in an individual's mind is uncon- what does the rat think when it is learning to
scious and consists of conflicting impulses, turn right at that place in the maze?
urges, and wishes. According to Freud's theo-
ries, human behavior is aimed at satisfying Does it seem absurd to tryto place yourself
these desires, even though some of them in the mind of a rat? It did to John B. Watson
seem socially inappropriate or even unac-
ceptable. But at the same time, people want (1878-1958) when he was asked by examiners
to see themselves as good and decent human
beings. Freud attempted to help people gain to consider this question as a requirement for
insight into their unconscious conflicts and
find socially acceptable ways of expressing his doctoral degree in psychology.
their wishes and meeting their needs.
The question was part ofthe exam because
ffim Find the Main ldea According to functionalism was the dominant school of psy-
chology at the time. Watson agreed with the
Freud, what is the key to people's behavior? functionalist focus on the importance of learn-

Modern Developments ing, but he believed that it was unscientific

in Psychology to study a construct like consciousness-par-
ticularly the consciousness of animals. He
As the 20th century progressed, new psycho- saw consciousness as a private event that
logical theories were proposed. Like the ear- is known only to the individual. He asserted
lier pioneers, modern psychologists focused on that if psychology was to be a natural science,
behavioral and cognitive approaches.
Iike physics or chemistry, it must be limited
John B. Watson and Behaviorism Picture a to observable, measurable events-that is,
hungry rat in a maze.It moves along until
to behavior. As the founder of the school of
it reaches a place where it must turn left or
right. If the rat is consistently rewarded with behaviorism, Watson defrned psycholory as the
food for turning right at that place, it will
learn to turn right when it arrives there the scientific study of observable behavior.

Watson once famously claimed that he
could take a group ofhealthy children and
train them to become doctors or lawyers or
any other kind of specialist. With this claim,
Watson laid the foundation for the classic
behaviorist belief: Regardless ofwho we think

we really are inside, we can be totally condi-
tioned by external events. Our belief in indi-
vidual choice is just an illusion.

These drawings demonstrate the idea that the percep- ln Drawing A, are the two dark blue circles the
tion of something is affected by the context in which it same size? ln Drawing B, what is the second
occurs. Two images that are identical may appear to be symbol in each row?
different if their surroundings are different.

20 cHnptR r

B. F. Skinner and Reinforcement Harvard pattern and perceive them as a united whole.
University psychologist B. F. Skinner (1904- According to the principle of closure, people
1990) added to the behaviorist tradition by
introducing the concept of reinforcement. filI in the missing information when enough
ofthe shape ofan object is indicated.
Skinner showed that when an animal is rein-
Gestalt psychologists also reject the
forced, or rewarded, for performing an action, behaviorist notion that psychologists should
it is more likely to perform that action again in concentrate only on observable behavior. In
the future. He demonstrated that laboratory addition, Gestalt psychologists believe that
Iearning is active and purposeful. They dis-
animals, such as rats and pigeons, are capable agree with the behaviorist view that learning
of learning complex behavior patterns if they
are reinforced in the right ways. Behaviorists is mechanical.
have taught animals to push buttons, climb Kdhler and the other founders of Gestalt
Iadders, push toys across the floor, and even
shoot baskets by rewarding the animals for psychology demonstrated that much learning,
performing the desired behavior. particularly problem solving, is accomplished

According to Skinner, people learn in the by insight, not by mechanical repetition.
same way animals do. Like animals, people Insight is the reorganization ofperceptions
learn to behave in certain ways because they that enables an individual to solve a problem.
have received the positive or negative rein- In other words, insight is the sudden appear-
forcement that guides their behavior. ance of the Gestalt, or form, that enables the
individual to see the solution.
Skinner scorned the efforts of other psy-
ffi Draw Conclusions How do you
chologists to try to understand the inner
think B. F. Skinner would view introspection?
person. He believed that the effort to study
personalities and feelings was unscientific. Reviewing Main Ideas and Vocabulary
According to Skinner, all we can know are
the external causes ofbehavior and what hap- l. Recall What are the laws of associationism?
pens as a result of that behavior. "Thinking
is behaving," he claimed. "The mistake is in 2. ldentify Who established the world's first psychology lab?
Thinking Critically
allocating the behavior to the mind." 3. Draw Conclusions How did the scientific method, which began to be

The Gestalt School Gestalt psychology devel- applied in the mid-1500s, influence the development of psychology?
oped as an alternative to behaviorism and
structuralism. German psychologists Max 4. lnterpret According to Gestalt psychology, what is the relationship of

Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang something's parts to the whole?

Krihler felt that behaviorism was only con- 5. Support a Position Do you agree with John B. Watson that a child
cerned with treating a specific problem out- can be trained to become a doctor, lawyer, or other specialist? Explain
side ofits larger context. These psychologists
were fascinated by the ways in which context your answer.
influences people's interpretation of infor- 6. Compare and Contrast Using your notes and a graphic organizer
mation. They formed the core of the school
of Gestalt psychology in the early 20th cen- like the one below, describe the main differences between structural-
tury. The psychology of Gestalt, which means ism and functionalism and what they have in common.
"shape" or "form" in German, is based on the
idea that our perceptions of objects are more 7. Descriptive Describe a psychological problem that Sigmund Freud
than the sums of their parts. Rather, they are might find interesting.
wholes that give shape, or meaning, to the
parts. As such, Gestalt psychology rejects the
structuralist idea that experience can be bro-
ken down into individual parts or elements.

This theory can be demonstrated with a

few basic principles. One of the principles is
similarity. According to this principle, when
objects look similar, people tend to recognize a

WHAT 15 PSYCHOLOGY? 21

Contemporary

Persiectives

Before You Read Reading Focus Vocabulary Use a graphic
1. What is the role of biology in biological perspective organizer like
Main ldea evolutionary perspective this one to take notes on
Contemporary psycholo- behavior and survival? cognitive perspective contemporary perspec-
gists have been influenced humanistic perspective tives on psychology.
by the work of earlier pio- 2. What role does the mind play in psychoanalytic
neers. They have expanded determining behavior? l
traditional research to perspective
develop new and different 3. How does the role of experi- learning perspective
ence affect behavior? social-learning theory
approaches. sociocu ltu ral perspective
4. What factors influence the
biopsychosocia I perspective?

Smnert

What'syour EQ? Bythe 1990s, some
psychologists had begun to claim that
our EQ, or emotional quotient, is as
important-if not more so-than our lQ, or intelligence
quotient. Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to rec-
ognize and understand your own feelings as well as those of
others. Psychologists first developed a technique for mea-
suring emotional intelligence by testing how well subjects
could identify emotions in other people's facial expressions.
Some researchers believe that emotional intelligence
can be learned, They claim that people who learn how to
understand and control their emotions can live more con-
tented lives. Yet critics of emotional intelligence say that dif-
ferent emotions, like different types of intelligence, should

be examined separately. Not everyone, after all, can master
all emotions. Some people may be good at handling anger,
for example, but not fear. The critics also claim that not

every situation calls for the same emotion; a wide range of
emotional responses may be appropriate.

Emotional intelligence is just one of the theories con-
temporary psychologists are studying. ln this section, you
will learn about other avenues of research in the ever-

ilexpanding science of psychology.

Can you tell what emotions
this woman is expressing?

22 cHRprrn r

The Role of Biology British scientist Charles Darwin theorized
that in the struggle for survival, the most
Today few psychologists describe themselves
as structuralists or functionalists. Few would adaptive organisms have a greater chance of
consider themselves Gestalt psychologists, enduring. For example, people who are natu-

although the school of Gestalt psychology has rally resistant to certain diseases are more
likely to transmit their genes to future gen-
inspired current research in perception and erations. Evolutionary psychologists suggest
problem solving. The numbers of traditional
behaviorists and psychoanalysts also have that many kinds of behavior patterns, such as
aggression, are examples of adaptive behav-
been declining.
Nevertheless, the historical traditions of ior. These psychologists believe that people
Iearn to act in certain ways for their survival
psychology find expression in contemporary
and then pass this behavior down.
perspectives on psychology. Each perspective
emphasizes different topics of investigation fififlffiffi Draw Conclusions What role
and has different approaches. An important
approach focuses on the role ofbiology. does biology play in our mental processes?

The Biological Perspective The biological The tole of the Mind
perspective of psychology emphasizes the influ-
ence of biolog"y on our behavior. This perspec- For centuries, philosophers and scientists
tive has roots in associationism. Psychologists have been intrigued by the workings of the

assume that our mental processes-our mind. It is not surprising, therefore, that

thoughts, fantasies, and dreams-are made many contemporary psychologists emphasize
possible by the nervous system. They point
particularly to its key component, the brain. the role of cognition.
Biologically oriented psychologists look for the
connections between events in the brain, such Th* (ognitive perspsctive The cognitive
as the activity of brain cells, and behavior and
perspective emphasizes the role that thoughts
mental processes. They use several technolo- play in determining behavior. Cognitive psy-
gies, such as CAT scans and PET scans, to chologists study mental processes to under-
show which parts of the brain are involved in stand human nature. They investigate the
various mental processes. Biological psychol-
ogy has shown that certain parts of the brain ways in which people perceive information
are highly active when we listen to music,
other parts are active when we solve math and make mental images of the world, solve
problems, and dream and daydream. Cognitive
problems, and still other parts are involved psychologists, in short, study what we refer to
as the mind.
with certain psychological disorders. Biological
psychologists have also learned that certain The cognitive tradition has roots in
chemicals in the brain are connected with the
storage of information-that is, the formation Socrates' maxim "Know thyself" and in his
method of introspection for learning about
of memories. the self. Cognitive psychology also has roots
in structuralism, functionalism, and Gestalt
Moreover, biological psychologists are psychology. Each ofthese schools ofthought
interested in the influences of hormones and has addressed issues that are of interest to
genes. Hormones are chemicals that glands
release into the bloodstream to set in motion cognitive psychologists.
various body functions, such as growth or Another aspect of the cognitive perspective

digestion. Genes are the basic units ofheredity. involves information processing. Many cogni-
Biological psychologists study the influences tive psychologists have been influenced by
computer science. They see the computer as
of genes on personality traits, psychological a metaphor for the brain. Computers process
health, and various behavior patterns. information to solve problems. Information is

The Evolutionary Perspective Tied to biol- first fed into the computer. The information
ogy, the evolutionary perspective focuses on the is then placed in the working memory while
evolution of behavior and mental processes. the computer processes it. After processing,

the information is stored more or less perma-
nently on the computer's hard drive, a com-
pact disk, or another storage device.

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY? 23

Birth Order Humanistic psychology considers people's
personal experiences to be the most important
According to some who follow the psychoanalytic aspect of psychology. Humanistic psycholo-
perspective, the order in which one is born into a gists believe that self-awareness, experience,
family can have a major impact on personality. and choice permit us to "invent ourselves."
In other words, they enable us to fashion our
First-Born(hildren First-borns Last-BornChildren Last-born growth and our ways of relating to the world
as we go through life. Unlike the behaviorists,
tend to be high-achievers, children tend to be likeable, who assume that behavior is caused largely

responsible,andconservative. spontaneous,and persistent. by the stimuli that act upon us, humanis-
tic psychologists believe that we are free to
ftliddle fhildren Middle 0nly ftildren Only children
children tend to be even- choose our own behavior.
tend to be confident, intel- The humanistic perspective views people
tempered, loyal, and hard- Iigent, and organized.
working. as basically good and desiring to be helpful to
others. Humanistic psychologists help people
Many psychologists speak of people as explore their feelings, manage their negative
impulses, and realize their potential.
having working memories and storage facili
ties (or long-term memories). If information Critics of the humanistic perspective, par-
has been placed in computer storage or in a ticularly behaviorists, insist that psychology
person's long-term memory, it must first be should be scientific and address only observ-
retrieved before it can be worked on again. able events. They argue that people's inner
experiences are unsuited to scientifrc observa-
To retrieve information from computer stor- tion and measurement. However, humanistic
psychologists insist that inner experience is
age, people must know the name of the data vital to the understanding of human nature.
frle and the process for retrieving data frles.
The Psychoanalytic Perspective As you
Similarly, cognitive psychologists believe peo- have learned, the psychoanalytic perspective
ple need certain cues to retrieve information stresses the influence of unconscious forces
on human behavior. In the 1940s and 1950s,
from their long-term memories. Otherwise, it
psychoanalytic theory dominated the practice
is lost to them. ofpsychotherapy and greatly influenced psy-
Cognitive psychologists sometimes refer chology and the arts.Although psychoanalytic

to our strategies for solving problems as our thought no longer dominates psychology, its
"software." In this computer metaphor, our influence continues to be felt. Psychologists
brains are the "hardware" that runs our men- who follow Sigmund Freud's approach today
tal programs. In other words, our brains are focus less on the roles of unconscious sexual
our own uery personal computers. and aggressive impulses and more on con-

Cognitive psychologists believe that peo- scious choice.
p1e's behavior is influenced by their values,
Freud believed that aggressive impulses
their perceptions, and their choices. For exam- are common reactions to the frustrations
ple, an individual who interprets a casual of daily Iife and that we seek to vent these
impulses on other people. Because we fear
remark as an insult may react with hostil- rejection or retaliation, we put most aggres-
ity. But the same remark directed at another sive impulses out of our minds. But by holding
aggression in, we set the stage for future explo-
person might be perceived very differently by sions. Pent-up aggressive impulses demand
that person and thus may meet with a com- outlets. Partial outlets can be provided by
physical activity. Unfortunately, we may also
pletely different reaction. direct hostile impulses toward strangers.

The Humanistic Perspective The humanistic ffiSES Compareand Contrast How do
perspective stresses the human capacity for
self-fulfillment and the importance of con- humanistic and psychoanalytic psychologists dif-
sciousness, self-awareness, and the capacity
to make choices. Consciousness is seen by fer in their views of what drives behavior?
humanistic psychologists as the force that

shapes human personality.

24 CHAPTER 1

Tfue WmE* wf ffixp*r$emee environmental influences and focus on the
learning of habits through repetition and
Many psychologists study the impact of envi-
ronment on behavior and mental processes. reinforcement.
Environment includes all the ways in which
someone experiences the world. In contrast, social-learning theory suggests
that people can change their environments
The Learnirug Ferspeat*we The learning or create new ones. Furthermore, social-
perspective emphasizes the effects of experi- learning theory holds that people can learn
ence on behavior. In the views of many psy- intentionally by observing others. However,
chologists, learning is the essential factor in people's expectations and values influence
whether they choose to do what they have
observing, describing, explaining, predicting, learned how to do.
and controlling behavior. However, the term
learning can have different meanings in psy- Psychologists who take the learning per-
chology. For example, behaviorists and social-
learning theorists have different attitudes spective believe that behavior is learned either
toward the role of consciousness in learning.
from direct experience or by observing other
John B. Watson and other behaviorists people. For example, people will behave a cer-
found no role for consciousness. They believed tain way when they expect to be rewarded for
that people act and react because of their that behavior. Like cognitive theorists, social-
learning histories and the influence of their learning theorists believe that people act in a
situations, not because of conscious choice. particular way only when they recognize that
Behaviorists emphasize the importance of the circumstances call for that behavior. For

example, we act with friendliness when we

are treated well.

These eight broad perspectives are the most common ways
that contemporary psychologists view behavior today.

Biological Nervous system, glands and Biological processes influence behavior Associationism and
Evolutionary and mental processes.
n:'-*::n:::l'.1::::: .':-'1"':i::.::
... Adaptive organisms survive and trans-
Physical traits, social behavior mit their genes to future generations. Charles Darwin and
evolution

Cognitive lnterpretation of mental Perceptions and thoughts influence Structuralism, functional-
images, thinking, language behavior. ism, and Gestalt psychology

Self-concept People make free and conscious choices lntrospection and
free will
Psychoanalytic Unconscious processes, early oT9 ": *:l' iltr:lt_:lllill, ..
childhood experiences Sigmund Freud
Unconscious motives influence behavior.

Environmental influences, Personal experiences and reinforcement John B. Watson and
guide individual development.
!"T ?f ?::l'::::: : I 5: l"::s Social, environmental, and
Sociocultural, biological, and psychologi- cross-cultura I psychology
Ethnicity, gender, culture, reli- cal factors create individual differences.
gion, socio-economic status

Biopsychosocial Biology, psychology, social Mental processes are influenced by the Holistic health and social
factors interaction of biological, psychological, psychology
and social factors.

WHAT IS P5YCHOLOGY? 25

&{J&ffi5&qfi{ The Sociseultural Perspective Those psy- The Blopsychosodal Ferspectiue
e{*c&ffic"$8"&ffiY choiogists who adhere to the sociocultural
According to the biopsychosocial perspective,
ethni( group perspective study the influences of ethnicity, mental processes are influenced by the inter-
action of biological processes, psychological
a group of people gender, culture, and socio-economic status dispositions, and social factors. This holistic
who share a com- on behavior and mental processes. By taking approach is actually very old, dating back to
mon culture, race, the time of the ancient Greeks.
or national origin these factors into account, psychologists can
better understand how people act and think. The modern model for the approach was
developed by American physician George
One kind of diversity involves ethnic- Engel in relation to the treatment of heart
disease. Engel suggested that the biological
ity. Members of an ethnic group are united progress ofheart disease should not be stud-
by their cultural heritage, race, Ianguage, or ied in isolation. The impact on the patient of
common history. The sociocultural perspective cultural, social, and psychological factors also
needs to be considered. Genetic predisposi-
helps people appreciate the cultural heritages tions to the disease, for instance, as well as
the patient's diet, exercise, stress levels, and
and historical issues ofvarious ethnic groups. financial status should be taken into account.
Some of the psychological issues related to According to Engel, a physician's ability to
ethnicity are the following: the inclusion of treat the disease would be severely limited
people from various ethnic minority gtoups in without an understanding ofthe psychosocial
psychological studies, bilingualism, ethnic dif- interactions with the cardiovascular system.

ferences in intelligence test scores, ethnic dif- In recent years, biopsychosocial psycholo-
gists have taken the approach a step further.
ferences in vulnerability to health problems Some psychologists now claim that our social
ranging from obesity to high blood pressure relationships from birth have a direct impact
on our biological development.
and cancer, and prejudice.
ffi Make Generalizations what
Sociocultural theorists also study gen-
der, which is the state of being male or being generalization can you make about the relation
female. Gender is not simply a matter of ofthe biopsychosocial approach to other psycho-

anatomy. It involves a complex web of cu1- logical perspectives?

tural expectations and social roles that affect
people's self-concepts and aspirations as well

as their behavior.

ffiffi Find the Main Idea How can eth-

nicity and gender affect cultural expectations and

social roles?

Reviewing Main ldeas and Vocabulary 6. ldentify Cause and Effect Select one of the perspectives
1. ldentify What metaphor do cognitive psychologists use to
you have read about.Then, using your notes and a graphic
describe the functioning ofthe brain? organizer like the one below, list what the theorists of this
perspective believe are the causes and effects of behavior or
2. Describe How do humanistic psychologists view people?
mental processes.
Thinking Critically
(auses Effe(ts
3. Explain According to the biological perspective, what
occurs during our activities and mental processes? 7. Persuasive Wrlte an e-mail in which you encourage a friend
to seek help from a psychologist who specializes in one of
4. Contrast How do learning theorists differ from social- the approaches you have learned about in this section.
learning theorists in their ideas on behavior?

5. Develop What are some questions that a psychologist who
is following the biopsychosocial approach might ask of a
new cancer patient?

26 cHRprrR t

&

srq

Like many other academic fields, psychology was dominated
in the past,by white men. Not only were the psychologists
themselves mostly white men, but most of.their research used
white male participants and tended to explore issues that were
relevant primarily to white men. ln recent decades, however,
that has changed.

Many psychologists today are women University in Washington, on the effects of discrimination on
and members of traditionally under- the personality development of both
represented ethnic groups. ln fact, D.C., where he majored in African American and white children.
white men now obtain fewer than ln his book, Prejudice and Your Child,
half of the doctoral degrees in psy- psychology and married published in 1955, Clark described
chology. African Americans make up the effects of segregation on white
6 percent to 7 percent ofthe first-year Mamie Phipps. The Clarks children as well as those on African
students in doctoral departments in then attended Columbia American children.
psychology, and Hispanics make uP University, where they both
5 percent. Two thirds of the doctoral earned Ph.D. degrees in psychology. Clark's later work examined the
degrees in psychology are awarded quality of education and the prob-
to women. ln1946 the Clarks founded lems of juvenile delinquency and
the Northside Center for Child crime. He was among the first experts
Not only are psychologists as a Development. Kenneth and Mamie to recommend preschool classes,
group more diverse now than they Clark's clinical work led to several after-school programs, and commu-
used to be, so is their research. A studies showing the negative effect nity participation. His efforts encour-
great deal of current PsYchologi- of segregation on the self-esteem aged society to re-evaluate and rede-
cal research deals with questions of of African American children. ln one fine racial identity in America.
gender, culture, prejudice, and stereo- well-known study from 1947, African
types. The work of African American American children were asked to 1. Elaborate What do you think might
psychologist Kenneth Bancroft Clark choose between white and black have been the effects of segregation
dolls after being given instructions on white children?
exemplifies such research. such as "Give me the pretty doll" or
Clark was born in the Panama "Give me the doll that looks bad." The 2. Discuss Why is it important for psy-
Clarks reported that most children
Canal Zone in 1914, the son of West preferred the white dolls over the chologists of different genders and
lndian parents. Miriam Clark, his black ones and concluded that the cultural backgrounds to carry out
mother, brought her children to the children were demonstrating their research on behavior and mental pro-
United States for their education. feelings that society as a whole pre-
They settled in the Harlem section of ferred white people. cesses?

New York City. ln the early 1950s Kenneth Clark
Although most African American began working with the National '
Association for the Advancement
children at the time were advised to of Colored People (NAACP) to end
attend vocational high schools, where school segregation. ln 1954, when
they could learn specific job skills, the Supreme Court overturned the
Kenneth Clark attended an academic "separate but equal" doctrine, it
high school. He went on to Howard cited Clark's ground-breaking work

WHAT I5 PSYCHOLOGY? 27

*.,

Public Perceptions Use the workbook to
of Psychology complete this lab.

What perceptions-and misperceptions-do people have

about the field of psychology?

1. Introduction 2. Conducting the Survey

As psychology continues to evolve and expand, many people As a class, discuss possible responses for the eight questions
have questions and misconceptions about what it really below. Use the chapter and your class notes during the
involves. This lab will help you understand how psychology, discussion. Then come to a consensus on the best answer for
as a field of study, is perceived by the general public. You each question. Appoint a recorder to write down the answers
will conduct a survey, asking some basic questions about you agree upon. Here are the questions you will pose in your
psychology. You and your classmates will have decided on survey:
the best answer for each question before you begin. Then, in
a class discussion, you will compare your survey answers with What is psychology?
those of your classmates. You will also compare the answers
you receive from survey respondents with the answers your What do psychologists do?
class compiles. ln this lab, you will:
What are some of the fields in psychology?
Select five people outside of your class to take the survey.
Make sure the five participants you choose have not been Where do psychologists work?
selected by your classmates. (Each student in the class will
be choosing five different participants.) You may ask your How long has psychology been a recognized field of study?
friends, but be sure to include at least two adults (perhaps a
teacher, a parent or other older relative, a neighbor, a store Who is Sigmund Freud?
clerk, or a close family friend).
Who are some other well-known psychologists?
Conduct the survey and record the responses. Note that"l
don't know" is an acceptable response. From what sources have you derived your information about
psychology?
Compare your survey with those of your classmates and
discuss the responses you receive. Before you conduct your survey, prepare your
questionnaire. Write or type each question on a piece of
Write what you have learned about psychology from paper, leaving plenty of room for each response. At the
conducting the survey. top of the page, write "Name" on one line and ?ge" on
the line below.This information will help you keep track
When you are done with the lab, you may find that you of your participants. Finally, make four more copies of the
have a greater appreciation for psychology-and even for questionnaire. You will use one copy for each participant.
your psychology class!
When you conduct your survey, remember to maintain
a courteous and professional manner-even with your
friends. Keep in mind that a survey is a scientific method
for collecting data. You will obtain serious responses-and

thus useful and valid information-if you treat the exercise

seriously.

28 cHnprrR r

f €$ f,lrr' -* u}P!

rnQ' 4. Discussion and Writing

-- Now get together with a small group of classmates.
Compare your survey answers with those of the group
3. Evaluating the ResPonses and with the agreed-upon answers. Discuss the surveys,
focusing on the following questions:
Study the survey responses you received. Note any
patterns in the survey. For example: :::. How do the answers from your participants compare with
the answers your class compiled?
, Are there any questions that most of your participants got
,' Are people generally knowledgeable about psychology?
right or wrong?
, Are there some common misconceptions or misunder-
', Are there some unusual answers?
,' How many people out of the five you surveyed correctly standings about psychology? Why do you believe this is
the case?
identified Sigmund Freud?
How did answers from adults compare with those of your
', How many of your participants rely on television and
peers?
movies for information about psychology?
,,. Where do people tend to get their information? Do you
Summarize your survey results. Be sure to record any think these sources are useful or reliable?
unusual answers too. Then write a paragraph in which
you reflect on what the results reveal about people's ,, Did your participants tend to confuse the science of
perceptions of PsychologY.
psychology with so-called popular psychology?

Why is it important to study psychology scientifically?
Finally, write a paragraph in which you summarize your
own views on some or all of the discussion questions.
ln addition, address the following: How do you think
people can become better educated about the science
of psychology? How might they benefit from a better
understanding of the field?

When you are done writing, you might want to share
your thoughts and ideas with your survey participants.
That might be a good first step in clearing up their mis-
conceptions and helping them learn what psychology
really entails.

. i#aFi'l;t€r#'f Reviewing Vocabulary
Comprehension and CriticalThinking
Mflatch the terms below with their correct definitions.
fu SECTIoN 1 (pp.4-z)
5. psychology 10. psychoanalysis
1. a.ldentify What are some examples of cognitive
5. cognitive activities 11. behaviorism
activities?
7. associationism 12. Gestalt psycholory
b. Summarize How do psychologists help their
patients control feelings of anxiety? 8. structuralism 13. social-learning theory

c. Support a Position Do you think it is worth- 9. functionalism 14. ethnic group
while for psychologists to conduct their research
using animal subjects? Why or why not? A. school of psychology concerned with how mental
processes help organisms adapt to environments
SECTION 2 (pp. e-14)
B. the study ofbehavior and mental processes
2. a. Recall To which field of psychology does the
largest number of psychologists belong? C. school ofpsychology based on the idea that our
perceptions of objects are more than the sums of
b. Draw Conclusions How does the work of experi- their parts
mental psychologists benefit psychologists in
other fields? D. mental processes

c. Evaluate Why do you think there are so many E. school ofpsychology concerned with discovering
specialties in psychology? the basic elements of consciousness

SECTION ? (pp. 16-21) F. the theory that people can change their environ-
3. a. ldentify Main ldeas What phrase, dating back ments or create new ones

to ancient Greece, has remained a motto of psy- G. a group of people who share a common culture,
chological study? race, or national origin

b. ldentify Cause and Effect According to psychol- H. school of psychology concerned with the scientific
ogist B. F. Skinner, what happens as a result of study of observable actions

positive reinforcement? l. the theory that experiences often remind us of
similar experiences in the past
c. Make Judgments Judge the impact of Freud
on psychological study. Do you think he's had J. school of psychology that emphasizes the impor-
a largely positive impact or a negative one? tance of unconscious motives in human behavior
Explain your ideas.
15. Choose a field in psychology that interests you
SECTION 4 (pp.22-2G) and research the following questions: What ser-
4. a. Describe According to cognitive psychologists, vices do psychologists in this field provide? How
much money do they make? What important
what influences people's behavior? studies are currently being conducted in this
field? Present your frndings in an oral report.
b. Compare In what way are the biological and
the biopsychosocial perspectives alike? Psychology in Your Life

c. Support a Position Which perspective do you 16. Watch one of your favorite programs on televi-
think reflects the most positive approach to sion-drama or situation comedy-and observe
human behavior? Which reflects the most nega- the characters' behaviors. Consider these ques-
tive approach? Explain your answers. tions as you watch: What behaviors do you
observe? How are the characters'thoughts (or
other cognitive activities) and emotions revealed?
Choose the character that interests you the most.
Then, in a paragraph or two, explain the charac-
ter's behavior in terms of his or her emotions.

30 cunprgR r

SKILIS ACTIVITY: INTERPRETING GRAPHS Visit th in kcentral.com for
review and enrichment
Study the bar graph below. Then use the information to help you answer activities related to this chapter.
the questions that follow
oNLtNE QUTZZES
300,000 1986 1996 2006 Take a practice quiz for each
250,000 section in this chapter.
200,000 Years
1 50,000 WEBQUE5T
100,000 Complete a structured
lnternet activity for this
50,000 chapter.
0
QU|CK LAB
Source: U.S. Census Bureau Reinforce a key concept
with a short lab activity.
17. Compare What percentage of employed psychologists in 2006 were
female? How does that number compare with the percentage of male APPTYING WHAT
YOU'UE TEARNED
psychologists? Review and apply your
knowledge by completing a
18. Analyze What trends does the graph show? project-based assessment.

19. Make Judgments What factors may have encouraged more women EAffIUITIES
to become psychologists in recent years? Complete chapter lnternet
activities for enrichment.
Use your knowledge of psycholory theorists to answer the question
below. Do not simply list facts. Present a clear argument based on your INTERACTIUE FEATURE
critical analysis ofthe question, using the appropriate psychology Explore an interactive version
terminology. of a key feature in this chapter.

20. Briefly identify each psycholory theorist below. For each one, provide KEEP IT CURRENT
a general description ofthe theoretical approach he developed and Link to current news and
his impact on psychology. research in psychology.

. Sigmund Freud Learn more
. John B. Watson about key topics
. B. F. Skinner in this chapter.

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY? 31

LE Ar"i,If, FWM ffiPERilMEM

ln 1927, researchers began a study in the that, with more rest, workers returned to
theirjobs refreshed and therefore were able
Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric to produce more. To check their findings,
Company in Cicero, Illinois. They had
been called in by the factory's managers the researchers slowly returned to the orig-
to find out what conditions in the factory inal schedule-with shorter rest periods, a
might be changed to boost productivity. The longer workday, and a longer work week.
researchers designed a study to understand
the effect ofrest periods, workdays, and To the surprise ofthe researchers, pro-
work weeks on productivity. ductivity remained higher than it had been
at the beginning of the study. How could
The researchers selected five women that be? The research team concluded that
as participants in the study. The women the increase in output was caused not by
the length ofrest periods, workdays, and
were to work as a team in a room where work weeks, but by the participants' aware-
ness that they were being observed. They
they could be observed. The researchers felt special because ofthe attention and
introduced rest pauses ofvarying lengths
throughout the workday. They observed the they worked harder.
women to see how their productivity was This phenomenon came to be known
affected. The researchers began to shorten
the workday and the work week while they as the "Hawthorne effect." It was a valu-
observed changes in productivity. able finding, and led to the theory that one
effective way to increase worker productiv-
At first, the researchers observed that ity was simply to pay more attention to the
as they increased rest periods and short- workers. However, the finding was a result
ened the workday and work week, the wom- of a flawed study design.
en's overall output increased. It appeared

32 cHRpruR z

Watch the Uideo Hffi$X&effiX€ffiX.

ri Explore topics on psychological research ffiEYxilG*3*$

and methods. jChapter at a Glance

To measure the variables they wanted StCIlOl{ 1: Conducting Research
to test, the researchers could have con-
ducted what is called a blind study. In such r Scientific research consists 0ffive basic steps: forming a research
a study, at least some of the participants
would not have known they were being question, forming a hypothesis, te$ing the hypothesis, analyzing
observed. Or, the researchers could have the results, and drawing conclusions.

established a control group-a group of r After the five steps are completed, scientists attempt to replicate

participants who knew they were being the results and often ask new questions based on those results.
observed but did not receive any ofthe
treatments that the members of the experi- SE$lOil 2: Surveys, Samples, and Populations
mental group received.
r Scientists use the survey method by interviewing people or dis-
The design of the Hawthorne study had
some other flaws as well. For one thing, tributing questionnaires.
the experimental group was very small.
A sample size of five is not large enough r Scientists must carefully choose which groups of people they
for drawing conclusions about the larger
population. Furthermore, the sample did wish to study.
not remain constant over the course of the
whole experiment. Two of the women in the SECTl0il 3: Using Observation for Research
group were replaced in the middle of the
study, for various reasons. Their removal r There are a number ofother methods ofobservation besides the
may have biased the results.
survey method: the testing method, the case-study method, the
Moreover, the researchers may have longitudinal and cross-sectional methods, the naturalistic-obser-
misinterpreted the results of the study. vation method, and the laborat0ry-observati0n method.
The conclusion that productivity remained
high even after the women returned to the r (orrelation describes relationships but does not reveal cause and
original schedule was not completely cor-
rect. Total output stayed about the same, effect. ln analyzing the results ofobservations, conelation is an
important technique.
but it was achieved in more hours. In
other words, hourly productivity actually SECIl0l{ 4: Experimental and Ethical lssues
dropped. In addition, the researchers never
considered that the longer one does ajob, r Researchers use experiments to answer questions about cause
the more skilled one becomes. That in itself
and effect. When conducting experiments, researchers must
may increase productivity. consider such things as independent and dependent variables,
The flaws that were exposed in the control groups, and the placebo effect.

Hawthorne plant study make a critical r Psychologists follow ethical practices and standards when work-
point about the methods of psychological
research. Research methods must be sound ing with people or animals.
if the results of the study are to be reliable.
PSYCHOLOGICALMETHODS 33
l. What flaws did the Hawthorne study have, and how did

these flaws affect the study's out(ome?

2. What is the Hawthorne effect, and why d0 some people
question its existence?

Cnnduetixrg Research

BeforaYou Read Reading Focus Uocabulary Use a graphic
1. What are the five basic steps in constructs organizer
Main ldea hypothesis like this one to record
The steps that scientists scientific research? replicated the steps of scientific
follow in conducting research.
research are fundamental 2. What are two further steps
to reaching reliable conclu- involved in scientific research? Steps of Screntifir Rerearch
sions. Psychologists follow
similar steps in conducting
their research.

xlffisfiAKrre$,

MINO,EEETMATTER

How can a scientific mistake
lead to a scientific truth?
Ren6 Descartes, a French thinker of
the 17th century, wrote a book titled Meditations on
First Philosophy (1641).ln it, he helped to develop the
scientific method. For Descartes, the body was matter
but the mind was spirit. The question was, how did the
two interact? He argued that the mind and body influ-
enced one another through the pineal gland, a small
organ in the brain. Descartes thought that all sensa-
tions that needed to be combined to be processed-
such as the separate images from each eye-come
together in the pineal gland.Thus, the pineal gland
was a kind of third eye in the brain.
Many years later, the very scientific method that
Descartes helped to create provided the means to dis-
prove his theory about the pineal gland.The steps that
scientists follow in conducting research are fundamen-
tal in reaching solid conclusions. Those same steps are
used in psychological research. So, in spite of his faulty
pineal gland theory, Descartes can be credited with
helping psychology become a real science. EI

This illustration from a book by Descartes shows how an image is
relayed from the eyes to the pineal gland.

34 cHeptrR z

Thc Steps of Scientific Hesearch Psychologists may word a hypothesis rn
the form of an if-then statement. If-then rea-
Psychology, like chemistry and biology, is an soning is an example of social scientific rea-
soning. For example, scientists who study fish
experimental science. Therefore, assumptions
(such as about the behavior of chemical com- would be engaging in if-then reasoning if they
pounds, cells, or people) must be supported
made the following statemerrt: If Siamese
by evidence. It is not enough to argue that
fighting fish are put togethe4 then they will
something is true just because someone says
it is. Psychologists and other scientists make attack one another. This is not only social sci-
it their business to be skeptical of claims that
entifrc reasoning, but also an educated guess.
lack actual scientifrc evidence. The guess is based on the fact that the fish
Psychologists use a variety of research
are nicknamed "fighting fish." Because it is
methods to study behavior and mental pro-
cesses. These methods differ, but psycholo- only an educated guess, a hypothesis must be
gists tend to follow the same general proce- tested. That is what researchers and scien-
dure when conducting their research. This
procedure consists of five steps: forming a tists do in their experiments.
research question, forming a hypothesis, test-
ing the hypothesis, analyzing the results, and Testing the Hypothesis Because psychology
is a science, psychological knowledge rests
drawing conclusions. on carefully examined human experience. No
matter how good a hypothesis sounds and no
Forming a *eseareh Question Psychologists matter how many people believe it, a hypoth-
begin a study by forming a research question. esis cannot be considered to be correct until
Many research questions arise from daily it has been scientifically tested and proved to
experience. Aggressiveness, for example, or be right. Psychologists do not rely on people's
anxiety are experienced by everyone but they
are psychological constructs. It can be assumed opinions. Instead, they examine the evidence
they are present, but they cannot be seen or and draw their own conclusions based upon
measured directly. Therefore, research ques-
that evidence.
tions are best directed toward behavior.
Scientists, for example, might decide to Psychologists, like the scientists who

observe the behavior of fighting frsh in order study fighting fish, answer research ques-
to study aggression. By creating the right con- tions or test hypotheses through a variety of
ditions, such scientists are able to observe fish methods. For example, to test the hypothesis
and how they react to changes in their envi-
ronment. Similarly, psychologists bring ani- that two fighting frsh would attack each other,
mals or people into laboratory environments the most efficient method would probably be
where they can observe them under carefully to put two real fish in the same tank. A sec-
controlled conditions. At other times, psychol- ond method might be to use a mirror to create
ogists study the behavior of organisms in the
field-that is, where the organisms live natu- the illusion of another fighting fish. Scientists
rally. In addition, psychologists sometimes get might hope that the fish would react to its
information by conducting experiments.
reflection in the same way it would react to
Other questions arise out ofpsychological
theory. According to social-learning theorists, a real fish. In that way they would be able to
for example, people learn by observing others.
These theorists might ask, what effects does find out whether it is true that fighting fish
television violence have on viewers? do attack each other. Thus, holding a mirror in

ForminE a tr'lypothesis After psychologists front of the fish is another reasonable method
ask a research question, they form a hypoth- to test the hypothesis that two fighting fish
esis about the answer. A hypothesis is an edu-
would attack each other.
cated guess. The accuracy ofa hypothesis can
Analyzing the Results After psychologists
be tested by research. have tested their hypothesis, they analyze
their results. In other words, they ask what
their frndings mean. If scientists saw a fight-
ing fish fan out its fins and puff up its cheeks
apparently in reaction to seeing the image of
another fish, they would have to figure out
how to interpret that reaction. Some might
interpret the fish's actions as going into an

attack position.

PSYCHOLOGICALMETHODS 35

Question In the fish example, once the scientists had
Hypothesis seen how the frghting fish reacted to the image
Experiment ofanother frsh and had interpreted that reac-

Results tion as an attack reaction, they might have
Conclusions concluded that, yes, fighting fish do fight each
other. Then they would be satisfied that their
Theory
hypothesis was correct.
If the frghting fish had not had such a reac-

tion, they would not have been able to con-
clude that the hypothesis was correct, They
would not necessarily have been able to prove
that the hypothesis was incorrect, however.

Maybe the fighting fish realized that it was

only looking at a reflection and not at a real
fish. Thus, the scientists would have had to do
more research.

fiftrffi Find the Main ldea Where does

a hypothesis occur in the steps of research?

For research to be valid, proper scientific procedures must be used. Furtirer Steps in ScEsntifie Hesear*h
Above are the steps that researchers generally follow.
The five steps in scientific research are not
@lNTERPRETlNGvl5UAtsWhathappensiftheconclu- the end of the story, however. There are two
additional steps that scientists must take,
sions of an experiment do not support a hypothesis? whether they are studying animals such as

sfij\tt}trts5c(, In most psychological studies, psycholo- fish or people.
Yffifl.e:$ff"$tr.hffiY gists collect a great deal of information, or
data. They might spend weeks, months, or Replication Even when a study carefully fol-
validation the act even years in that step of the process. The lows proper procedures, its findings might just
represent a random occurrence. Maybe the
of establishing the more information collected, the more complex scientists just had a weird fish; maybe other
soundness of an fighting fish would react differently. For the
idea or theory; cor- a task it is to analyze it. findings of a study to be confrrmed, the study
roboration must be replicated. That is, the study must
Often, psychologists look for patterns and
be repeated-and it must produce the same
relationships in the data. They must decide results as before. Ifa study does not produce
which data support their hypothesis and
the same results more than once, the results
which data do not. may not have been accurate.

Drawing Conclusions Once psychologists When scientists replicate a study but
have analyzed their research observations, obtain different results than were obtained
they draw conclusions about their questions the frrst time, the findings of the first study
and their hypotheses. These conclusions are are questioned. This is one reason that most
useful in the development and validation of
theories in psychology. psychologists do not believe that extrasensory
perception (ESP) is a valid scientific phenom-
When their observations do not support
their hypotheses, they often must change the enon, even though some isolated studies have
supported the existence ofESP. These stud-
theories or beliefs from which the hypotheses ies have not yielded the same results when
were derived. Therefore, psychologists need
to keep open minds. They must be willing to replicated.

adjust or modify their hypotheses if their frnd- Sometimes scientists repeat a study under

ings make it necessary to do so. different circumstances than those in the

original study. In the fish example, to confirm
the hypothesis that frghting frsh attack each

other, it would probably be most accurate to

36 cHnprrR z

replicate the experiment by using two or more why do frghting fish attack each other? Does
fish rather than one frsh and its reflection.
it have to do with mating, with territory, or
Sometimes researchers repeat a study with something else entirely? Is it a reaction
using a different set of participants. The sci- they have at birth, or do they learn it as they
entists who study fish could have tried the
same experiment with a few other fighting mature? Are there any circumstances under
fish. If these fish acted differently than the which frghting fish do not attack each other?
first frsh did, this would indicate that the first Do people ever act like that? These are some
fish was somehow unusual. The scientists examples of new questions that can arise.
might even try the experiment with different
types of fighting fish to see if all the {ish have Once new questions have been asked, the
the same reaction. They might also try the process begins all over again. The research-
experiment with both male and female fight-
ers must propose a new hypothesis about the
ing frsh. In many animal species, males have answer to the new question. And once again,

different behavior patterns than females. the hypothesis must be tested.
In a study in which people are the partici- The rest of this chapter explores the dif-

pants, researchers might want to replicate the ferent types of research methods that psy-
study using participants who differ not only in chologists use to test hypotheses. These

gender but also in such characteristics as age, methods include the survey method, various
ethnicity, social and economic background, observational methods, and the experimental
level ofeducation, and also in geographic set-
ting. For example, if a study was done for the method.
Each ofthese methods has advantages and
frrst time onlywith teenagers, the researchers
might include other age groups the next time. disadvantages, and some methods are better
That way, the researchers could be sure that suited to certain kinds of research studies
the findings were consistent among a variety
than are other methods of research. It would
of age groups.
be convenient if there were one perfect method
New Questions Whether the findings of
a research study support or contradict the that could be used in all circumstances.
hypothesis of that study, they are likely to But human beings are complex, and the

lead to new research questions. For example, human experience has many dimensions.
Thus, several different research methods are
needed to study it.

ffi Summarize Why must a study be

replicated? Give three reasons.

Reviewing Main ldeas and Vocabulary 7. Analyze Using your notes and a graphic organizer like
the one below, explain each of the five steps in scientific
1. Summarize What are the five steps of scientific research?
research.
2. Define What does replicated mean?
1
Thinking Critically
2
3. Explain What two distinct paths can flow from the conclu- 3.
sions of scientific research? 4.
5_
4. Infer What do psychologists do once they have analyzed
their research observations? 8. Expository ln a paragraph, explain some of the similarities
between the ways in which scientists might study fish and
5. Draw Conclusions What happens when scientists get dif- psychologists might study people.

ferent results the second time they conduct a study?

6. lnfer Why might it be important to have a variety of partici-

pants in a psychological studY?

PSYCHOLOGICALMETHODS 37

I 'r; Sqfveys, Sam$es,
and Poputdtions'
ffi Use a graphic
*w€*rs Y*ae ffim*d Reading Focus Vocabulary organizer
1. What is the survey method? like this one to take notes
Main ldea s u rvey on surveys, samples, and
One way to gather informa- 2. How do populations and sam- target population populations.
tion is by asking people ples affect research? sample
directly. Psychologists random sample l' i'-iiii!c;: :
use this method to study 3. How do psychologists select stratified sample .r' '
peoplet attitudes and samples? bias
volunteer bias '' ;!*r::i-*ie-. a
behaviors. tl. Why must researchers be care- -:'
ful in generalizing results?

5. What is volunteer bias?

ffismffim{ffi&& Whot happened to your fovorite
show? Do you know how your favorite
,ffiM:Wffi%ffiffi&***f&fi#ffi -
shows are cancelled or renewed? Usually
=&. it's based on information gathered through samples taken
by Nielsen Media Research, which provides the Nielsen rat-
ings for television shows by sampling the U.5. population.

The Nielsen Company samples television viewing in 25,000
homes.These households receive a fee for allowing theirTV-
watching to be monitored. A meter is attached to the televi-
sion set. This meter records the channel being watched; the
information is retrieved by a Nielsen computer. Each person
in a household has an individual button to record which
program he or she is watching. A rating of 15 means that 15
percent of U.S. homes with televisions watched a particular
show. Television networks use the ratings to decide which

programs to renew and which to cancel.
The Nielsen ratings also provide the networks and

advertisers with demographic data about the viewing
audience. This information is important to advertisers who
hope to reach a particular demographic, such as young
people or adult women. Networks typically cancel a show
that receives low ratings and renew a show with high rat-
ings. For these reasons, it is very important that the 25,000
households chosen for sampling accurately reflect the
viewing habits of the entire country. Likewise, accurate
sampling is important in psychology. is*

38 cHnprrR z

The Survey Method and used the amount of toothpaste they said
they used, three times as much toothpaste
When the scientists who study fish wanted
to know what fighting frsh would do to each would have been sold in the United States
as was actually sold at that time. The survey
other, it would have been convenient if they respondents might not have wanted the inter-
viewers to know that they did not brush their
could havejust asked the fish. But, ofcourse, teeth as often as their dentists advised, and
fish cannot talk. People, on the other hand, for this reason the survey did not accurately
can talk. Thus, when psychologists want to
find out about people's attitudes and behav- report reality.

iors, one possible way to gather information is EEEIMIffi summarize How do psychologists

to ask people directly. conduct surveys?
Gathering information by asking people
Populations and Samples A(AI}Hfi'II(
directly is usually accomplished by means
of a survey. In a survey, people are asked to When researchers conduct any type of study, V*EAB#N-ARV
respond to a series ofquestions about a par- they must consider what group or groups of questionnaire a
people they wish to examine and how respon- form containing a
ticular subject. dents will be selected. This is particularly true set of questions
Psychologists D. L. DuBois and B. J. Hirsch, addressed to a sta-
with surveys. tistically significant
for example, used the survey method to exam- Imagine that your town or city is about to number of subjects

ine mixed-race friendships amonghigh school hold a referendum on whether to institute a
students. The survey asked high school stu- 10:00 p.nn. curfew for people under the age of
18. How might you most accurately predict
dents to identify the races of their friends. the outcome of the referendum? You might
More than 80 percent of white and African conduct a poll by asking people how they are
American students reported having a friend planning to vote. But whom would you select
of the other race in school. However, far fewer
to be in the poll?
students reported seeing these friends outside Suppose you only polled the students

of school. DuBois and Hirsch concluded that in your psychology class. Do you think you
the reason may be that even though many of would be able to make an accurate predic-
the respondents attended integrated schools,
the neighborhoods they lived in may have tion? Probably not. Many of the people in your
psychology class are probably under the age
been segregated. of 18 and thus might be particularly likely
Psychologists conduct surveys by asking
to oppose the curfew, because they believe it
people to fiIl out written questionnaires or
would restrict their freedom. However, these
by interviewing people orally. By distributing students are too young to vote. The voters in
questionnaires or by conducting interviews the actual referendum would all be at least 18.

over the telephone or in person, research- Since the curfew would not restrict them, they
ers can rapidly suryey thousands ofpeople. might be more inclined to vote for it. Thus, a
Computers often aid in the analysis of the poil of your psychology class would probably

information collected. not be very useful for predicting the outcome

The findings of interviews and ques- of this particular referendum.
tionnaires may not be completely accurate. To accurately predict an outcome, it is nec-

People may not be honest, for whatever rea- essary to study a group that represents the
target population. A target population is the
sons, about their attitudes or behavior. Some whole group you want to study or describe.
people may fear that their responses will not In the curfew example, the target population
be kept confidential. Thus, they answer only consists of all possible voters on the refer-
what they are willing to reveal to the world
at large. Other respondents may try to please endum. It does not consist of nonvoters. The
the interviewers by saying what they think question is not whom the referendum will
affect if passed, but whether the referendum
the interviewers want to hear. will be passed or not. Thus, only voters are

The significant risk of obtaining inaccurate relevant to the survey.
data through interviews and questionnaires
became clear from the results of a 1960s sur-
vey about tooth-brushing habits. Ifpeople had
brushed their teeth as often as they claimed,

PSYCHOLOGICALMETHODS 39

The Survey Method r "_a***:*"*I*ls

ln the survey method, people respond to questions about a particu- W
lar subject. This enables the researcher to gather information about
many people. For example, what are your classmates'favorite television w
shows? Use two survey methods to learn their favorite shows.

PROCEDURE ANALYSIS

O Divide the class in half. 1. Compare the results about preferred shows between the two
O Have three or four students interview half of the class. halves ofthe class.

The surveyors should divide up this half so that each is 2. Compile lists of the shows that people who were interviewed
claimed to watch and another list of the shows that people
interviewing a roughly equal number of students. who wrote their responses claimed to watch.

O Have the other half of the class write down their preferred 3. Are people more willing to admit watching certain shows if
their responses are anonymous? Why might this be? Discuss
television shows and submit them anonymously to the
the survey findings.
surveyorS.

It would be costly and difficult to inter- One way that scientists obtain a sample
that they hope represents the target popula-
view or question every member of a target tion is by using a random sample. In a random
population (in this case, all voters in the area). sample, individuals are selected by chance
Instead, researchers study a sample, which is from the target population. Each member of
only part ofthe target population. the population has an equal chance ofbeing
chosen. If the random sample is big enough,
ffi Summarize What is a target chances are that it will accurately represent

population? the whole population.
Researchers can also use a stratified sam-
Selecting Samples
ple. In a stratified sample, subgroups in the
Psychologists select samples scientifically population are represented proportionally in
to ensure that the samples accurately rep-
resent the populations they are supposed to the sample. For instance, about 12 percent of
represent. A sample should be as similar as
possible to the target population. Otherwise, the American population is African American.
researchers will be unable to use the sample
to make accurate predictions about the popu- A stratified sample of the population would
lation from which the sample is drawn. thus be about 12 percent African American.

A high school class does not represent all Alarge random sample is likely to be accu-
the people in the town or city where a school rately stratified even ifresearchers take no
is located, particularly in terms of opinions on
an issue that pertains to age (such as a cur- special steps to ensure that it is. A random
few for people under 18). Thus, the answers of sample of 1,000 to 1,500 people will usually
people in a high school class might be biased
(and of course most high school students are represent the general American population
not old enough to vote). In this case, they reasonably well. A sample of 5 million motor-
would probably be biased against the cur-
few. On the other hand, researchers probably cycle owners, however, would not.
could predict the outcome of the referendum A large sample size by itself does not nec-
by interviewing as a sample a large number
of people who represent all voters in the same essarily guarantee that a sample represents
town or city. a target population, particularly if the sample

is not a random sample. Motorcycle owners

do not represent all people in the United

States.

mffi* summarize what is the differ-

ence between random and stratified samples?

40 cnnprrn z

ffiemerafifixing Results Woilarmt*er ffiras
Researchers often have little control over who
Sometimes, for one reason or another, responds to surveys. Although the research-
ers may choose to whom they give a question-
researchers do not use a sample that repre- naire, they cannot force people to complete it.
sents an entire population. In some cases, Another factor psychologists must take into
the researchers want to know about only one account is bias, a predisposition to a certain
group within the population. Therefore, they point of view despite what the facts suggest.
have no reason to study other groups. In other
S$tp,&et}a. kaitnicg,&...}1y'
cases, it may be impractical or impossible to
Ethnic Diversity in the United States
obtain a random or stratified sample; thus,
they work with a sample that does not repre- Figures show that Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic group in
the United States. The pie graph below shows the U.5. population by
sent the whole population. race/ethnicity. The percentages below that show the percentage by
which each group grew between 2000 and 2007.
In such cases, researchers are cautious
about generalizing their findings to groups 27.6/" Hispanic
other than those from which their samples 25.L/, Asian
L7.o/" 0ther
were drawn. For example, some scientists
study the ability of chimpanzees to use sign '7la 6% African American
language. They work with a particular group
I. 7{" lllhite
of chimpanzees in their research. Some chim-
mtNTERPRETlNGGRAPHslnastratif|edsamplecon-
panzees in the group are more adept than
sisting of 100 people, how many African Americans would you expect
others at using sign ianguage. But whatever to find in the sample?
results the scientists come up with in obserw-
ing their group of chimpanzees, they could
not know for sure if they would get the same

results with other animals.

The same is true with people. Researchers
cannot learn about the preferences ofall peo-

ple by studying only one group ofpeople, such

as men. In a study about car preferences, for
example, psychologists would avoid general-
izing from a sample that was made up only of
men because men's preferences for cars might
not be the same as women's. In other words,
if researchers found that men prefer certain
types of cars, the researchers could not con-
clude that women prefer those same types
of cars if the study did not include women.
The results ofsuch a study on car preference
might be used by researchers to choose car
names that might appeal to a particular age
and gender group within a population.

The gender of the individuals in the sample
is not the only characteristic that research-

ers must take into account. For instance,

researchers cannot learn about the attitudes

of Americans in general if they limit their
observations to people who live in one part

of the country (for example, the Midwest) or

to people from one socioeconomic background
(for example, wealthy people).

ffiffi Draw Conclusions What are

some limitations on generalizing results?

PSYCHOLOGICALMETHODS 41

People who volunteer to participate in population of the United States? Probably
studies may bring with them a volunteer not. In a magazine survey, a disproportion-
bias-that is, they may have a different out-
look from people who do not volunteer for ate number ofresponses to the question about
leisure time posed above would probably be
research studies. Volunteers are usually more "read magazines." After all, the questionnaire
itself comes from a magazine. People who do
willing than other people to disclose personal
not like to read magazines probably would
information. Volunteers may also be more not fill out the questionnaire. They would not
have seen it in the first place. Also, readers
interested in research than people who do not who have enough time to fill out the question-
naire may have different leisure preferences
volunteer. Furthermore, they may have more from people who are too busy to fiIl out the
questionnaire. Such magazine surveys are
spare time to participate in research studies
than other people. Depending on what the affected by volunteer bias. This volunteer bias
study is about, any or all of these factors-as might influence the research frndings.
well as others-cou1d skew the results. That
is, these factors could slant the results in a In addition, many magazines are so-called
particular direction. niche publications. That is, they are meant to
appeal to a particular target demographic,
Have you ever filled out and returned a whether it be homemakers, teenagers, young
questionnaire printed in a magazine? Popular adult men, young adult women, middle-aged
men, and so forth. In addition to target audi-
magazines such as Glamour, Seuenteen, and ences based on age, there are also audiences
Psychology Today often survey readers' atti-
tudes about various topics and behaviors in that are targeted because of their specific
certain circumstances. Such a questionnaire interests, such as model railroads, interior
might, for instance, ask readers how they like
to spend their leisure time. Do they prefer to design, baseball cards, racing cars, dolls, and
go to the movies, visit with friends, read mag-
azines, listen to music, or play video games? so on. These are some of the reasons that
Or the questionnaire might ask readers their
opinions on politics, clothes, celebrities, and researchers must be on guard against volun-
a number of other popular topics on which teer bias in analyzing their research.
people tend to have a variety ofopinions.
ffi Draw Conclusions what is the
Thousands of readers complete these
questionnaires and send them in. But do basic problem with volunteer bias in terms of
the respondents really represent the general
research results?

Assessment 5. Analyze Using your notes and a graphic organizer like the
one below, explain the importance of surveys, populations,
Reviewing Main ldeas and Vocabulary and samples in psychological research.

1. Summarize What is the main reason that interviews and lmportanee in Psychologital Research
questionnaires are not completely accurate?
6. Expository Review the information on questionnaires and
2. Describe What random sample size is likely to be accurately
stratified even ifthe researcher takes no special steps to interviews in the discussion of the survey method. Then
ensure that it is? choose a topic that you would like to investigate. Write a
series of questions for your questionnaire or survey.
Thinking Critically

3. Explain What should a sample be similar to in order to
ensure that it accurately represents the population that it is
supposed to represent?

4. Categorize What are some of the factors that researchers
must take into account in generalizing their findings?

42 CHAPTER 2

M, domestic violence has beyond the
victim of the physicalassault. Children
Most psychologists today appreciate the need to allow for the wider in particular suffer emotionally in a
diversity of members of society in their research. This has not always household where violence occurs.
been the case. For example, men have been included as research study
participants more often than women. This led psychologists to mistak- ffi{verxiltrg amd S{dsr Fmpulat*mm*
enly generalize theirfindings beyond men. Recent research has also focused
on issues significant to members of
Siwersity amd &erexreh Fmmls Many disease than men, they are at greater the older population. Studies have
research participants were originally risk of dying from the condition. shed light on topics of concern to the
drawn from the armed services and Researchers are studying whether elderly, such as the way older people
universities (for example, in the 1940s this increased risk exists because of cope with the changes in their health
during World War ll). The majority of differences in the treatment women and in social relationships.
people in the armed services were receive from health care providers.
male. And only in recent years has &frwersity effid fh* &P& The American
the number of women in colleges ffiiwerxity mred Ktkrx{q Siffer*me*s Psychological Association (APA)
and universities grown equalto and Research results have also revealed recommends that the write-up of a
differences among ethnic groups as study's results include a clear descrip-
exceeded that of men. Because of the pool ofstudy participants has tion of the research sample in terms
this, researchers tended to conclude broadened. Researchers have learned of ethnicity, gender, and any other
that what was true for white men that African Americans of both gen- potentially relevant characteristics.
was true for all of society. When this ders are more likely to suffer from For example, if a sample uses only
sort of overgeneralization occu rred, heart disease than white Americans. male participants, the report should
important distinctions between This higher risk arises, in part, from include this information. When such
groups tended to be ignored. correspondingly higher rates of descriptions are included, the reader
hypertension in the African American is less likely to assume that a study's
Siw*rslty xmd ***alth Health has population. findings apply equally to all groups.
been an area where cultural, ethnic,
and gender differences have not Slv*rsity xmd &mrmest&c lff; *r*mmcc 1. Analyze What might be some ways
always been taken into account. This is another area of study that has to increase the number of participants
Some surprising results have been benefited from studies with more from traditionally underrepresented
obtained as studies have broadened diversified groups of participants. groups in psychological studies?
their scope beyond white men. For Much research has been performed
on the prevalence of violence against 2. Discuss How might you and your
example, researchers have discovered women. But more recent research has classmates respond to a question
si gnificant differences between revealed that men, too, are victims about the effect of after-school jobs
how men and women are affected of domestic violence. Psychologists on your education? How might stu-
by heart disease. Although women have also studied the effects that dents respond differently in a school
receive less treatment for heart with a different ethnic make-up?

Usimg 0hservati&m
tur REseareh

Sefore You Read Reading Focus Uocabulary Use a graphic
1. What are some of the methods case study organizer like
Main ldea longitudinal method this one to take notes on
Psychologists use many of observation in psychological cross-sectional method methods of observation.
different methods of obser- research? naturalistic observation
vation in conducting their laboratory observation Methods of Observation
research. Then they use 2. How do researchers analyze correlation I
correlation to analyze and their observations? positive correlation
interpret their resu lts. negative correlation )

3
4

5
6.

Wouldyou put a baby in o "baby crib." His daughter Deborah spent part of her first two years
box"? B. F. Skinner was an important in a baby box or air crib. The air crib was soundproof, germ-
free, and air-conditioned. lt was meant to work as a positive,
American psychologist. He became ideal environment for the first two years of life.
famous in the field of behavioral psychology for his study
of the observable behavior of animals and humans. For the Skinner boxes for the study of animals are examples
study of animals, he developed the "Skinner box," in which of laboratories created for the purpose of observation.
animals were kept under continuous observation. During Laboratories allow psychologists to control the environment
World War ll, he created the first "baby box," a controlled of a study. However, such controlled experiments call for
environmental chamber for infants. lt was also called an "air
great care in analyzing the results of the study, E

44 cHRprrR z

Methods of 0hseruation interview others who know them, and frnd out A(A0Ufif,t(
more about their backgrounds and personal VO(ASUIA*Y
Almost everyone, at one time or another, histories. Psychologists use what they learn
aptitude an inher-
observes other people. We observe people as in a case study to generalize broader princi-
ples that apply to the larger population. ent ability; a talent
they talk, eat, work, play, and interact with
others and with us. Based on our observations Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalytic
theory largely on the basis of case studies.
of other people (and also of ourselves), we tend
to make generalizations about human behav- Freud carefully studied the people who sought
ior and human nature.
his help. He interviewed some of them for
Our observations and generalizations usu-
ally serve us fairly well in our daily lives. But many years, developing as complete a record
of their childhoods as he could. He also looked
no matter how many experiences we have
had, most of our personal observations are for the factors that seemed to contribute to
fleeting and haphazard. We sift through expe- their problems.
rience for things that interest us, but we often
ignore the obvious because it does not fit our Some case studies focus on rare cir-
ideas about how things ought to be. Thus, we
cannot draw scientific conclusions based only cumstances or events. One such case study
on our own unstructured observations. involved a girl named Genie. When she was
only 20 months old, her father locked her in a
Even the most respected psychologists may small room. She was kept there until she was
use their personal observations as a starting rescued at the age of 13. Her social contacts
were limited to her mother, who fed her, and
point for their research and as the basis for her father, who often beat her. No one spoke
their hypotheses. Once they have begun their to her. And in all those years, she herself did

investigations, however, psychologists use more not say a word.

careful methods of observation. The survey After her rescue, Genie's language acquisi-
method, discussed earlier, is one such method
of observation. Other methods of observation tion followed the normal sequence of language
include the testing, case-study, longitudinal, development. Genie never learned to use lan-
cross-sectional, naturalistic-observation, and
guage as well as most people, however. This case
laboratory-observation methods.
study suggests that there is a special period
The Testing Method Psychologists some- in early childhood when it is easiest for people
times use psychological tests to learn about
human behavior. There are several types of to learn language.
Although case studies sometimes offer
psychological tests. Intelligence tests measure
general learning ability. Aptitude tests mea- great insights, psychologists are cautious
sure specific abilities and special talents, such about generalizing from case studies. This is
particularly true ofcase studies that cannot
as musical ability and mechanical skills. Stiil be replicated, such as Genie's. Because of the
other tests measure vocational interests. rarity and cruelty of Genie's experience, scien-

Personality tests are another type oftest tists would never repeat this study. Thus they
psychologists use. Personality tests measure cannot know for sure, on the basis of Genie's
people's character traits and temperament. experience alone, whether the theory about a
For example, personality tests might be used special language-learning period in childhood
is correct. Perhaps other unknown factors
to assess whether people are socially outgoing were responsible for Genie's apparent inabil-
or aggressive. Personality tests might also be ity to achieve full language competence.
used to diagnose such psychological problems
Furthermore, case studies lend themselves
as anxiety and depression.
to some of the same pitfalls that surveys do,
The Case-Study Method Another research particularly when the case studies are based
method psychologists use is the case-study on interviews with people about their past
method. A case study is an in-depth investi- experiences. Most people's memories are
gation of an individual or a small group. To filled with a great many gaps and inaccura-

Iearn about the people who are being studied, cies. Some of these inaccuracies occur because
researchers may observe or speak with them, people tend not to remember the details of
events clearly. Some people even intentionally
distort their pasts to impress the researcher.

PSYCHOLOGICALMETHODS 45

And sometimes without meaning to, research- the researchers might observe the children
to find out how their language skills are
ers encourage people to answer in certain
ways to fulfill the researchers'expectations. changing over time. By the time the children

For example, some psychoanalysts have been are three or four years old, they are no longer
learning language at such a rapid pace. The
criticized for encouraging people to interpret psychologists might then observe them only
their behavior according to Freud's psycho-
once or twice a year.
analytic theory.
Needless to say, longitudinal studies are
The L*ngit*d8r,*$ fuleth*vd Just as Freud extremely time-consuming. Imagine how
studied some of his patients over a matter much patience you would need knowing that

of years, so too do some psychological stud- even if you started a study right now, you
ies observe participants over a long period of
would not get conclusive results for another 5,
time. Some research topics, such as those con-
cerned with development during the life span, 10, or 15 years. Moreover, longitudinal studies
deal with how people change over time.
tend to be expensive, and they are risky. There
To study such topics, psychologists often
is often no guarantee that participants will
use the longitudinal method. In this method, remain available over the long time period
researchers select a group ofparticipants and
that they are to be studied.
then observe those participants over a period
of time, often years or even decades. By using Y['te Crmss-$**t;*metr Fvtetksd To avoid some
this method, psychologists can observe the
ways in which individuals change over time' of the problems with longitudinal studies,
psychologists may use the cross-sectional
UsuaIIy the observations are conducted method to track changes over time. In the
at intervals, perhaps once a year. For exam- cross-sectional method, instead of following
ple, if psychologists wanted to find out more a set of individuals over a number of years,
about how people learn language, they might researchers select a sample that includes
select a group of six-month-o1ds who are people ofdifferent ages. The researchers then
not yet using language. Then once a month, compare the behavior of the participants in
the different age groups. For example, in a

Testing Method Case-Study Method : Longitudinal Method

S*rerip*i*tt Several tyPes of ffiex*rlpti*xt Researchers conduct Swser$pti*rn A grouP of Partici-
pants are observed at intervals over
tests measure various elements of in-depth investigations of individu- an extended period of time.
human behavior such as abilities, als or small groups.
interests, and personality. &dv*mtmg*x Enables researchers
&dvmmtm6*s Provides insight into to see how individuals change over
&dvmrxt*gex Convenient method specific cases. time.
for researchers to gain insight into
certain aspects of an individual's &*smdrymmtmffi*$ MaY focus on iso- ffiismdvgxatmffi ffi$ Time-consu ming
abilities or behavior. lated circumstances or events that and expensive. Participants may
cannot be replicated. People inter- not be available for the duration of
ffiisxdvantagmr Does not always viewed in case studies may distort the study.
provide a complete representation their past experiences. Researchers
of an individual's true abilities or may unintentionallY encourage
personality. people to answer questions a cer-
tain way.

.:l

,ririjir.,i:r.,iit*i.i:lt.{.}i:.iartstf:'4,.i*,1.l|ri:it!1irrr:1rr:i!di,$i$rr:;$$r.s{1f -l *ra:rrs.i!i:*.tjrglarr:lld:isiiirrtrla:i j:si:rii! 1i..,:,,:,.:ri..rrrri,ir:.:9*rr,:i:rriili3,1i;ri:.1-a$f 1.i9i!

46 cHRpmn z

Ianguage-learning study, psychologists might This method is called naturalistic observation,
or field study. People often use naturalistic
select 12-month-olds, 14-month-olds, and 16- observation in their dailv lives without even
knowing it. That is, they observe other people
month-olds. They would then observe the lan-
or animals in the "field"-in their natural
guage skills of members of each age group and
compare the groups with one another in order habitats. In the case of people, field settings
to make generalizations about how children include homes, schools, restaurants-any

learn language over time. place where people spend time.

Information gained in cross-sectional If scientists want to use naturalistic obser-

studies is less reliable than information from vation to observe chimpanzees, they have to
go to a rain forest or jungle-someplace where
longitudinal studies. When psychologists chimpanzees exist naturally. But without real-
study one individual over a period of time, as izing it, we use naturalistic observation all
in a longitudinal study, they know that any the time to watch people. For example, while
changes they observe in that individual are working at a restaurant, a waiter can not
avoid noticing the different ways that custom-
due to her or his experiences or development. ers eat their food. Some people gobble down
their meals quickly, almost without pausing.
But when they compare groups of people of Others eat delicately, carefully chewing each
different ages at the same time, as in a cross- bite. A waiter might wonder what accounts
sectional study, psychologists cannot be cer- for these differences in eating habits among
tain what factors are responsible for differ-
ences among the participants. Perhaps the the customers.
Psychologists also wonder about such
differences are due to developmental changes,
but perhaps the participants were simply dif- questions. They have used the naturalistic
ferent from the beginning.
observation method to study how people eat.
TFne f{at**raIist&E-&bservatiem iffi ethsd One They have watched people in restaurants to
learn, for example, whether slender people
waythat psychologists find out about children's and heavy people eat their meals differently.
language skills is to observe children as they
use language naturally, such as while they

interact with other children in play groups.

Cross-Sectional ',, Naturalistic- [aboratory' '.r:
Method 0bseruation Method
Obseruation Method
&escriptiom Researchers compare *escr*pti*ct Researchers observe
differences and similarities among S*xeript**rx Participants are
people in different age groups at a the behavior of people or animals in observed in a Iaboratory setting.
given time. their natural habits.
&dwam€*g*s Enables researchers
&dvan*ages Less time-consuming &dvxmtxg*s Enables researchers to precisely control certain aspects
than the longitudinal method for to witness the behavior of people of the study.
studying changes over time. or animals in settings that are not
artificial. **s*dvantag*x Laboratories
*isadryantms*$ Differences ll
between the members of the sam- Si*sdqramtxg*s Researchers have cannot duplicate real-life environ-
ple cannot necessarily be attributed :, no control over the setting or the ments.
to age or development. ll events that occur.
,l4i:,,
:bhiira!.rlsx!riiiil*r*r*t*r.tit*s&veq*4*!sg{i}srqlqS$ li !
.i,i' t:
t:i.
lilr
I
a
,&
i:i

l:

sje!i!*ra*trer!tr!a!t*.ir!i:iiilr:si:a:rii:ilaal:rai!l*?&i!{rr5!}tlrlrli!:

PSYCHOLOGICALMETHODS 47

Such field research has shown that heavy the amount of light in a room affects how
people tend to eat somewhat more rapidly much people eat, they would need to be
than slender people. Heavy people also chew able to control the lighting in the room
less often and leave less food on their plates.
where people were eating. Similarly, a fish
This type ofstudy has led to suggestions
about how heavy people might diet more effec- tank is a place where a scientist can observe

tively. For example, they might take less food the behavior of the fish while he or she con-
and eat more slowly so that when they clean trols what happens in the environment. The
their plates, they have eaten less.
scientist could, for instance, observe how the
In naturalistic observation, psychologists
try not to interfere with the organisms they fish respond if he or she changes the tem-
are observing. In the restaurant example, psy-
chologists would not ask the diners questions perature of the water or the type of food he
or encourage them to eat a particular food.
They would simply observe people eating. feeds them.

The Laboratory-Observation Method ffim* Describe How does the cross-
Sometimes it is more useful for a psychologist
sectional method fix the longitudinal method?
to observe behavior in a laboratory rather than
in the field. This method is called laboratory Analyzing the 0hservations
observation. Laboratories are not necessarily
Once psychologists have made their observa-
sterile rooms tended by people in white coats; tions, they must analyze and interpret them.
One method they use is correlation, which is a
a laboratory is any place that provides the measure of how closely one thing is related to
opportunity for observation or experimenta-
tion. As such, many laboratories are quite another. The stronger the correlation between
informal. A workplace can be a laboratory
for observing certain kinds ofbehavior. two things, the more closely those two things
are related. For example, there is a strong cor-
For scientists who study chimpanzees, an relation between height and ability to reach
enclosure that simulates their natural habi-
tat is a type of laboratory. To make the envi- items that are located on the top shelf of a
ronment suitable for the chimpanzees, scien- cabinet. The taller the person, the greater
tists have to do many things, such as monitor that person's ability to reach the top shelf.
the temperature and the food. Once they have
set up the laboratory, they are able to observe In psychology, researchers often look for
the behavior of the chimps. They observe them
run and climb, create and defend their terri- correlations between various characteristics
tory, attract mates, and breed. or traits. For instance, are people who feel a
stronger need for achievement more likely to
Psychologists often study animals by advance in their jobs? What is the relation-
ship between stress and health? What is the
using the laboratory-observation method. B. connection between students' grades and
F. Skinner created special enclosed environ- extracurricular involvement?
ments, which became known as Skinner boxes,
Positive and Negative Correlation To deter-
to study the behavior of animals such as rats. mine whether there is a correlation between
In one of these miniature laboratories, a food achievement and occupational success, a
pellet drops into the box when the rat in the researcher might compare need for achieve-
box presses a lever. Rats quickly learn to press ment as measured by a personality test with
the levers, especially when they are hungry. the salaries ofthe test takers. There is, in fact,
Other psychologists have built mazes to see a correlation between the need for achieve-
how effectively rats learn routes through the
ment and salaries; it is a positive correlation.
mazes. Both the Skinner box and the maze are
That is, as one goes up, so does the other.
examples of laboratories. Generally speaking, people who feel a greater
Psychologists sometimes use a labora- need to achieve earn more money.

tory to control the environment of a study. There are, of course, some exceptions.
For example, if they wanted to see whether Some people are highly motivated to achieve,
but they do not have high-paying jobs. Others
are average in their need for achievement
but earn very high incomes. Therefore, fac-
tors other than a need for achievement also

48 cnRptn z

contribute to high salaries. One such factor is ment in extracurricular activities couses stu-
the type ofjob one has; people in some kinds
ofjobs earn more than people in other kinds dents to earn high grades? Not necessarily. It
ofjobs. In addition, for people to succeed, they
might be that there are other factors-such as
also have to know how to interact with oth- a general desire to succeed-that encourage
or cause bothhigh grades and extracurricular
ers, how to manage people, and how to man- involvement. Thus, we cannot conclude on the
age multiple tasks at one time. Thus, there is basis ofthe correlation alone that one causes
a positive correlation between success and a the other.As you will see, experiments allow us
variety offactors. to draw conclusions about cause and effect.

In contrast, there is a negative correlation ffi Define What are some of the
between stress and health. As one goes up,
limits of correlation?
the other goes down. As the amount of stress
on people increases, their immune systems

become less capable of fighting off illness-

thus, the greater the stress, the poorer the
health. This is why students under stress are
more likely than other students to get colds.

Limits of Correlation Correlation describes

relationships. It does not, however, reveal

cause and effect. Just because two things are
related does not necessarily mean that one

causes the other.

For example, suppose you were conducting
a study in your school and discovered a posi-
tive correlation between students'grades and

their level of involvement in extracurricular
activities. In other words, you found that stu-
dents who earn high grades in their classes
also participate heavily in extracurricular
activities. Does this mean that earning high
grades causes students to become involved
in extracurricular activities or that involve-

Reviewing Main ldeas and Vocabulary 6. Analyze Using your notes and a graphic organizer like the
1. Recall What is the longitudinal method? one below explain the various aspects of correlation.

2. Summarize What are some of the drawbacks to the case- Corretation
study method? Positive c0rreiaticrl
Negative ccrrelation
3. Summarize What are the advantages of each of the six Limits oI correlation
methods of observation?
7. Descriptive Choose some topic that you would like to learn
Thinking Critically about using the naturalistic-observation method. Spend
4. Support a Position Suppose you want to find out if there
15 minutes observing your chosen topic. Then write a para-
is a correlation between age and preferred volume level for graph in which you describe what you have observed.
listening to music for people between the ages of l5 and 55.
Which observational method might you use? Explain your
choice.

5. Compare What is the difference between the naturalistic-
observation method and the laboratory-observation method?

PSYCHOLOGICALMETHODS 49

Effi P*S€Mhgy t\- fi*-, r ,I
I
c ? *'..
=t&- f,./ c\ o:{nl;!1, ff
U,=
ffiffi

Environmental psychology is a relatively new field that focuses on the ',Eaton Centre in Toronto;',Ca,nada ,
interaction between people and their surroundings. lt draws on anthro-
pology, geography, urban design, and architecture. Researchers in this Many environmental psycholo-
field observe people in real-life settings. By using this method, they can gists believe that density and crowd-
make recommendations about shaping the environment. ing can cause stress and negative
moods. Therefore, they advise plan-
The beginnings of the environmental takes a multidisciplinary approach ners and designers to reduce the
psychology movement can be found to the interaction of people with effects of crowding in the design
in the work of Roger Barker, who ran a the urban environment. Among the and planning of urban space. They
research facility in Oskaloosa, Kansas. issues dealt with are homelessness, recommend windows, high ceilings,
Barkerfounded the center in 1948. conflicts in urban planning, neighbor- doors to provide crowd control, and
He carefully observed life in the small hood participation, community hous- creating smaller spaces within an
Kansas town. He observed that peo- ing, the design of public institutions,
ple in stores behaved like customers, and transportation (Chapin, Hart, open office plan-allto reduce the
people in schools behaved like stu-
dents, and people in church behaved Katz, 1ow,2007). impression of crowding. Noise is
like congregants. That is, behavior Today, environmental psycholo- another factor that planners attempt
appropriate to a place seems to be to to reduce in order to lower stress
some extent encoded in the setting. gists attempt to influence the work of (Gifford et al., 2007).
Barker called this idea that people are architects, engineers, designers, and
unconsciously controlled by the rules urban planners in order to improve Most of the research that is done
of the setting "behavior setting." the interaction of people and place. in environmental psychology is
Environmental psychology has had done not in the lab but in the field.
lf Barker represents the early a big impact on one particular set- Environmental psychologists meet
days of the environmental psychol- ting-commercial venues where the with many different groups, includ-
ogy movement, the Graduate center idea is to design the setting so that ing architects, residents, urban
of the City University of New York people are encouraged to spend their planners, politicians, and so forth in
(CUNY) represents more recent money. Such settings include stores, order to get input for new projects
developments. lt was among the first malls, stadiums, casinos, and airports. and plans. For example, in a neigh-
academic institutions in the United lncreasingly, the retail sector relies on borhood about to undergo urban
States to offer a Ph.D. in environmen- research, focus groups, and observa- renewal, researchers might meet with
tal psychology. The CUNY program tions provided by environmental psy- residents to find out what they want
chology (Gifford et al., 2007). and how they would like to see their
space take shape.

Grand Century Plaza in Hon,g l6ng, China 1. Analyze Who do you think would be
likely to support research undertaken
50 cHnpruR z by environmental psychologists?

2. Discuss What are the circumstances
in which shoppers are more likely to

act as eager rather than skeptical or
reluctant consumers?

HxmerfrTffitt*t*l sl,d

Ethical Issues

fiefereYeu &eed Reading Focus Uocabulary Use a graphic
1. How would you describe the primary organizer like
Main ldea variables this one to take notes on
The experimental purpose of the experimental method? independent variable the experimental method
method is used by dependent variable and ethical issues.
researchers to answer 2. What is the purpose of single- and experimental group
questions about cause double-blind studies? control group Exper. Method
and effect. ln addition, placebo t"
psychologists must 3. Why do researchers measure central single-blind study 2.
consider the ethical tendency and dispersion? double-blind study
issues involved in their standard deviation 1.
experiments. 4. What are three overriding ethical ethics Ethical lssues
issues in psychology?
t.
5. Why do scientists sometimes conduct
research with animals? 2.
3.

ffiffi ffim&ffi #ffi Alrs &ffigxsx&r- exffiEffitrffi

Are the rights of animols considered A researcher conducts a sign-recognition
in research experiments? A recent experiment with a chimpanzee.
court case in Alamogordo, New Mexico,
involved the treatment of three chimpanzees-Rex, Ashley,
and Topsy-in laboratory research. Veterinarians at the
Charles River Laboratories routinely oversaw anlmal experi-

ments mainly involving chimpanzees. Defendants in the
case abandoned critically ill or injured chimpanzees to
security guards who had no training in how to care for the
animals. Some animals died of neglect.

The central issue was whether or not veterinarians are
exempt from prosecution under the New Mexico cruelty
statute if the vets are engaged in animal research experi-
ments. Many observers believe that vets should be pros-
ecuted for cruelty to animals in laboratory research. Among
those who attempted to file friend of the court briefs with
the New Mexico Supreme Court were Albuquerque Mayor
Martin Chavez and Jane Goodall, the field scientist who rev-
olutionized primate research. The abuse of these animals led
the New Mexico legislature to amend the state's cruelty statute
and remove the blanket exemption for research labs, maklng
them prosecutable for animal cruelty.

There are many ethical issues involved in the treatment of
both animals and people in research, including psychological
research. Besides cruelty to animals, these issues include the

fltreatment of people, informed consent, and deception.

PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS 51

COlllrlECllOll The Experimental Method F

Ihe llawthorne The method researchers use to answer ques- I thing else. One of the fundamental flaws of
Plant Study I the Hawthorne plant study was the lack of a
There were a number tions about cause and effect is the experiment.
of flaws in the Haw- In an experiment, participants receive what is l- control group.
thorne plant study. called a treatment, such as a change in room Researchers randomly assign participants
temperature or a new drug. Researchers then
Not only was there no carefully observe the participants to deter- to one group or the other. For example, in an
rontrol group but in
addition there was no mine how the treatment influences their experiment about students'grades and extra-
blind study. behavior (if at all).
curricular involvement, some students would
As with other research methods, the be randomly assigned to participate in extra-

experimental method has some limitations. curricular activities. These students would

For example, the conditions created in an make up the experimental group.

experiment may not accurately reflect condi- Others would be randomly assigned not to
tions in real life.
participate in extracurricular activities. These
Almost by their very nature, experiments
students would be the control group.
must simplify things somewhat in order to
yield useful information about cause and Once researchers ensured that ail other

effect. Nevertheless, experiments do yield factors-such as ethnic group or educational
useful information much of the time, and for
that reason, psychologists frequently turn background-were the same for the two
to the experimental method as they conduct
groups, they could then compare the groups
their research. to see whether involvement in extracurricu-
lar activities makes a difference in the grades
participants earn.

When an experiment uses control groups

as well as experimental groups, it is called a

controlled experiment. An example of a study

lndependent and Dependent Variables in which it is useful to have a control group
Experiments contain variables, which are fac- concerns a key question for psychologists:
tors that can vary, or change. In an experi- Does psychotherapy work? In other words, do
ment, the independent variable is the factot peopie who undergo therapy feel better? Does

that researchers manipulate so that they can their behavior change?
Millions of people seek help from psycholo-
determine its effect. gists. Many patients believe their therapists

Suppose researchers are testing the
hypothesis that warm temperatures cause have helped them. For example, a former
aggression in humans. In that experiment, patient might say, "I was in terrible shape
temperature is the independent variable before therapy, but I feel much better now."
Yet we do not know what would have hap-
because that is what researchers are manipu-
Iating to observe its effect. pened if this person had not sought help.

In the same experiment, Ievel of aggression Perhaps they would have improved on their

is the dependent variable. As you might guess own, without professional intervention.
Many people feel better about their prob-
from its name, a dependent variable depends
lems as time goes on, with or without therapy.
on something-the independent variable. The In other words, an individual's involvement in
researchers want to find out whether level of
aggression depends on temperature. therapy is not part of a controlled experiment.

Experimental and Control Groups Ideal There is no control group-an identical per-
experiments use experimental and control
groups. Members of an experimental grouP son who has not gone to a therapist. Of course,
receive the treatment. Members of a control
we could never find such a person because no
group do not. Every effort is made to ensure
that all other conditions are held constant for two people are exactly the same.
both the experimental group and the control However, researchers can make up for this
group.
by conducting an experiment on the effects
This method makes it possible for research- of therapy using a large number of people.
ers to conclude that the experiment's results
are caused by the treatment, not by some- In such an experiment, some people would
be randomly assigned to an experimental
group and would receive therapy. Others
with the same problems as those in the first

group would be assigned to a control group

52 cHRpruR z

and would not receive therapy. Even though Single- and Douhle-Blind Studies A€AtrffiiWEd
the people in the experimental group would rr*s&ffi1rtu&KY
not be identical to the people in the control Expectations can create bias toward certain
group, individual differences would average preconceptions
out as long as the groups were large enough. points ofview. Ifa person expects that a drug opinions formed in
Thus, researchers could determine whether may have certain effects, he or she will be advance of adequate
peopie who receive therapy fare better than knowledge or
those who do not receive therapy through the biased toward paying close attention to any experience
use of a controlled experiment such as the one sensations that are similar to the effects of

described above. the drugs.
How, then, can researchers deal with the
The Placebo Effect The question of whether
psychotherapy works is further complicated effects ofexpectations? How can they learn
by the fact that people who seek psychother- whether the participants' preconceptions
about a new drug are biasing their percep-
apy usually expect it to work. Imagine that tions ofits effects?

a person who has a problem is about to see Single-Blind Studies One way that research-
ers can avoid the influence ofexpectations is
a therapist about it. Chances are, the per- by keeping participants unaware of, or blind
son is expecting that the visit will be helpful.
to, the treatment they are receiving. In a
Otherwise, why would the person choose to
visit a therapist? single-blind study, participants do not know
whether they are in the experimental group
In research studies and in our daily lives, or the control group.
our expectations affect what happens to us.
Feeling better simply because we expect to For example, in a single-blind drug study
feel better-and for no other reason-is an participants are divided into four groups.
People in one group receive the drug and are
example of the placebo (pluh-SEE-boh) effect.
A placebo is a substance or treatment that has told that they are receiving the drug. Members
ofthe second group receive the drug and are
no effect apart from a person's belief in its
told that they are receiving a placebo. The
effect. third group receives a placebo but is told that
For example, one type of placebo is a tablet it is receiving the drug. People in the fourth

that appears to contain a real drug but actu- group receive a placebo and are told that they
ally has no medicinal value. Someone who
has a headache and takes the tablet to feel are receiving a placebo.
better might start to feel better even though
the tablet does not contain any medicine-as What does it mean if the people taking the
long as the person thinks that it does indeed new drug improve faster, regardless of what
they have been told, but people who take the
contain medicine.
placebo do not? It means the drug is effec-
ffi Define ln an experiment, what
tive. What does it mean if all the people who
are variables? are told they are taking the drug get better
faster, regardless ofwhether they are taking

the drug or the placebo?

ln both single-blind and double-blind experiments, research-
ers must guard against bias in favor of certain points of view
by keeping participants unaware of their treatment.

PSYCHOLOGICALMETHODS 53

It means that theyimprove because oftheir determines, on the basis ofthe measurements
expectations-because of a belief that they ofthe unbiased observers, whether the effects
are taking a helpful drug-and not because of the drug differed from the effects of the
of the drug itself. In this case, the drug in and placebo.

of itself has few if any benefits and is thus ffi compare what is the difference

similar to the placebo. between a single-blind and double-blind study?

Double-Blind Studies Participants may not Central Tendency and 0isper$ion
be the only people involved in an experiment
who have expectations. Researchers may also Researchers organize data to generalize
have expectations, such as a beliefabout the
about it. Teachers do this when they analyze
effectiveness of a particular treatment. It is test scores. A common technique is to measure
therefore useful if the researchers are also central tendency, a number that describes
the average score of a distribution. When the
unaware of who has had the treatment and teacher adds all scores and divides the sum by
the number of students who took the test, he
who has had the placebo. or she frnds the mean, or average score, which
is most often used as the central tendency.
A study in which both participants and
researchers are unaware of who receives Other methods of arriving at the central
the treatment is called a double-blind study. tendency include finding the median and the

However, the experiment organizer remains mode. If scores are otganized from lowest
aware of who has had the treatment and who
has had the placebo. The organizer is, in fact, to highest, or highest to lowest, the median
often a safety committee that oversees such score is the middle score. Half of the grades
are below this score and halfare above. The
studies. mode is the most frequent score.
Double-blind studies are required by the
To understand the distribution or disper-
Food and Drug Administration before new sion of data, researchers must document the
drugs can be sold. People in these studies are range ofscores, or how variable the scores are.
assigned at random to take the real drug or The two most frequently used measures of
the placebo. Neither the participants nor the variability are range and standard deviation.
To frnd the range, the lowest score in the data
people who measure the results know who is is subtracted from the highest. This simple
technique gives a crude measure of range.
taking what.
Standard deviation is a measure of dis-
Thus, the people who measure effects
in double-blind studies can remain unbi- tance of every score to the mean. The larger
ased. After the measurements are made, an the standard deviation the more spread out
impartial panel (made up of people who do the scores are. Iffive students got 7 out of 10
know who had the drug and who did not) questions correct on a test, two students got
10 correct, and one got 5 correct, the mode is
2.15o/o 2.15o/o 7, the median is 7, and the mean is 7.5.

-3-2-10123 To compute the standard deviation, sub-
tract the mean from each score. For exam-
Scores in standard deviation units ple, 10 minus 7.5 equals 2.5. This is a posi-
tive deviation because the score is above the
INTERPRETITTIG GRAPHS WhAt mean. However, 7 minus 7.5 is negative .5,
score represents the mean in the curve above? and 5 minus 7.5 is negative 2.5. Test scores
that have a large range have a relatively
higher standard deviation while test scores
bunched together, as in this case, have a rela-
tively small standard deviation.

ffimffiS Recatl What is the relationship

between the standard deviation and the mean?

54 cHnpruR z

tthiral Issues .&..rL4..

Ethics are standards for proper and respon- Resolving Ethical lssues
sible behavior. Psychologists follow ethical
standards to promote the dignity of the indi- The American Psychological Association (APA) has a
vidual, foster human welfare, and maintain detailed statement of principles and code of conduct. The
scientific integrity. An important aspect of principles are divided into ten major categories. Listed
psychologists'work is to lessen human suf- below are eight ways to resolve ethical issues from the first
fering. Along these lines, ethical standards category on ethical standards. For the complete Ethical
Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, see the
prevent scientists from undertaking research reference section at the back of the book.
or treatments that will be harmful to human
participants. $&iru*s o$ axork Psychologists take reasonable
steps to correct misuse of their work.
Specific ethical guidelines have been
established by the American Psychological B"*ga* and etki*a$ {snfliffs Psychologists take steps

Association (APA). You can frnd these guide- to resolve conflicts between their professional ethical
responsibilities on the one hand and official laws and
lines in the back of the book. Psychologists are regulations on the other.
required to be familiar with these guidelines.
frthieal {esfli*$ wlth *rgan$xatiom Psycholog ists
The APA is a scientific and professional orga-
nization of psychologists. clarify any conflict between the APA ethics code and
the demands of any other organization with which
Researeh with Pecple Ethical standards they are affiliated or for whom they happen to be
limit the type of research that psycholo- working.
gists may conduct. Imagine trying to study
whether early separation of children from infermai r*ssl[f$6m of violatios?r Psycholog ists
their mothers impairs the children's social attempt to resolve an ethical violation by another
development. Scientifically, such a study psychologist by first bringing it to the attention of
might collect important psychological data. that person in an attempt to informally resolve the
But it would be unethical to purposely sepa- problem.
rate infants from their mothers to study the
Keportimg ri**ations Psych ol o g ists ta ke fu rther
effects ofsuch a separation. Such a separation
would violate the ethical principle that study action if an ethicalviolation has harmed or is likely
to harm a person or organization and does not lend
participants must not be harmed. Thus, psy- itself to an informal resolution of the problem.
chologists would not seriously consider run-
ning an experiment that involves intentional (aop*ratlon Psychologists cooperate in ethics

separation because of the harm it would be investigations.

like1y to inflict. (onmpiaints Psychologists do not file or encourage
the filing of reckless ethics complaints. Rather, they
One alternative research approach to such carefully consider the circumstances of the situation.
a study might be to observe the development
of children who have already been sepa- llnfair discrimlimction Psychologists do not deny
rated from their mothers since an early age.
others professional advancement based solely upon
However, it could be diffrcult to draw specific their having been the subject of an ethics complaint
conclusions from this type of research for a if the complaint is unjustified or unsubstantiated.

number of reasons. What do you think might be the purpose of these
The same factors that led to the separa- sta ndards?

tion-such as the death of the parents-may
have influenced a child's development as

much as (or perhaps more than) the separa-

tion itself. Even if there were a positive cor-

relation between separation from the mother
and the child's impaired social development,
psychologists could not prove cause and effect.

That is, they could not prove that one was

caused by the other.

PSYCHOLOGICALMETHODS 55

What are the ethical standards research- short-term negative effects. To help avoid situ-
ers adhere to? The APA guidelines provide ations in which people volunteer to participate
a number of provisions that detail what is in research without knowing that such effects
needed to make a study ethical. These guide- are possible, the APA generally requires that
Iines include two important principles: confr- the participants provide informed consent.
dentiality and informed consent.
Informed consentmeans that people agree,
ecnfidentiality Psychologists treat the or consent, to participate in a research study
only after they have been given a general over-
records ofresearch participants and clients as view ofthe research and have been given the
choice of whether or not to participate. The
confidential. In other words, the records are provision of information and the opportunity

private. This is because psychologists respect to choose give people some degree of control
people's right to privacy. In addition, people are and make participation less stressful.
more likely to disclose true information and
feelings when they know that what they say Deeeption On the other hand, some psy-
will remain confidential. chological experiments cannot be run with-
out deceiving people. For instance, new drug
In certain very rare circumstances, such as experiments and other blind studies cannot
when a client reveals plans to harm someone, be conducted without keeping participants
a psychologist may disregard confidentiality unaware of the treatment they are receiving
in order to protect the well-being of the client or ofthe nature ofthe study. In order for the
or of other people. Such situations, however, study to be valid, some participants must be
are defrnitely the exception rather than the deceived. In drug experiments, many partici-
rule. Even when they do arise, psychologists pants might be told they are taking a real drug
must carefully consider whether breaking when they are actually taking a placebo.
confidentiality is the appropriate thing to do.
Psychologists have debated the ethics of
lnformed Consent The APA has distinct deceiving participants in research. According
restrictions against research studies that to the APA's statement of ethical principles,
could pose a serious threat to the physical or psychologists may use deception only when
psychological health of participants or that they believe that the benefits ofthe research
might have long-term, irreversible effects on outweigh the harm, that individuals would
them. However, the APA acknowledges that have been willing to participate if they under-
some worthwhile studies may cause partici- stood the research benefits, and when par-
ticipants receive an explanation ofthe study
pants to experience some discomfort or other after it's over.

Explaining what happened in the study
once it is over helps avoid misunderstandings

about the research. Explanations also reduce

participants'anxieties and let the partici-
pants maintain their dignity.

Etl':les in Using *ata Another area in which

psychologists follow strict rules about ethics is
in how they produce, store, and present their
data. When researchers conduct a study, they
need to be as objective as possible in planning
the study, in collecting the data, and in ana-
lyzing the data. Without this objectivity, the
researchers may bias the study, perhaps unin-
tentionally, in favor of their hypothesis.

Even more importantly, when informa-
tion collected by researchers contradicts
their hypothesis, they must be willing to dis-
card their hypothesis in light ofthe evidence.

56 cHRpruR z