ANSWER: Both perspectives reflect the early view that consciousness is the appropriate subject matter for thenew science, but they differed in regard to how consciousness should be stud
Trang 53ANSWER:
Both perspectives reflect the early view that consciousness is the appropriate subject matter for thenew science, but they differed in regard to how consciousness should be studied. With WilhelmWundt, the structuralists believed that consciousness should be broken down into its basic elementsthrough introspection. This approach generated numerous laboratory studies of sensory and
perceptual phenomena. Structuralism eventually died out due to the inconsistent results of introspectivestudies. Along with William James, the functionalists emphasized the adaptive purposes of
consciousness, arguing that psychologists should look at the continuous flow of thought rather than itsstatic elements. Its practical and applied focus generated advances in the study of mental testing, childdevelopment, and gender differences. Functionalism, too, gradually faded away, but left appliedpsychology and behaviourism as its enduring descendants
235. Compare and contrast the psychoanalytic, behaviourist, and humanist assumptions about human nature
ANSWER:
Psychoanalysts view humans as essentially “bad” (primitive, animalistic, sexual, and irrational) andunconsciously driven to behave in certain ways. This is a pessimistic view of humanity. Behaviouristsview human nature as nonexistent. Rather, behaviour develops under the control of the environment
Since behaviour is regarded as conditioned reactions to observable stimuli, the implication is that there
is no such thing as free will. Humanists view humans as essentially “good” and unique among speciesbecause they have free will (conscious and rational), a natural potential for growth, and a basic need tofulfill this potential. This is an optimistic view of humanity
Trang 54different areas of research and two different areas of applied psychology
ANSWER:
Definition: Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and the physiological and cognitive processesthat underlie it, and it is also the profession that applies the accumulated knowledge of this science topractical problems. (This portion of the answer should probably be graded in terms of understandingthe concept, rather than a word-for-word repetition of the text’s definition.)
Three distinct areas of research: (must describe three of the seven available)Developmental: human development across the life span
Social: interpersonal behaviour and the influence of social forces on behaviourExperimental: traditional core topics, sensation, perception, learning, motivation, and emotionPhysiological: examines the role of genetics, the nervous system, and biochemistry for behaviourCognitive: focus on higher mental processes like memory, reasoning, language, and informationprocessing
Personality: consistency of behaviour across situations as a result of “personality”
Psychometrics: measurement of behaviour, mental testing, statisticsTwo areas of applied psychology: (must describe two of the four available)Clinical: evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of serious mental disorders as well as less severeproblems
Counselling: focus on assessment and treatment of people dealing with everyday problems such asdifficulties with the family, marital difficulties, or problems with careers
Educational/School: creating, assessing, and training within the educational system; may provide somecounselling for students
Industrial/Organizational: focus is on business or work environment, improving efficiency, morale, jobsatisfaction, and productivity
advertisements for treatments in magazines and on television (sociohistorical context)
Trang 55• apply the rules of formal and informal logic. (If this diet is effective, then why don’tmore people know about it?)
• carefully evaluate the quality of information. (What are the qualifications of the peoplepromoting the diet? Are they trustworthy?)
• analyze arguments for the soundness of the conclusions. (Are the claims of the dietproponents supported by the evidence?)