Psychological Science, 2 ed.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychological Science

Chapter Review

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Summarizing the Principles of Psychological Science

What Are the Themes of Psychological Science?
1. The principles of psychological science are cumulative: Psychological science relies on empirical evidence and builds on previous discoveries in a dynamic way.

2. The new biological revolution is energizing research: Discoveries in brain activity have been enhanced by the discoveries of neurotransmitters. Mapping of the human genome has furthered the role of genetics in analyzing disease and behavior. Tremendous advances in brain imaging have revealed the working brain.
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3. The mind is adaptive: The brain has evolved to solve survival problems and adapt to environments. Many modern behaviors are by-products of adaptation.

4. Psychological science crosses levels of analysis: Psychological scientists examine behavior from a variety of levels of analysis: social (culture and interpersonal behavior), individual (personality, and perception and cognition), and biological (brain systems, neurochemistry, and genetics).

What Are the Intellectual Origins of Psychology?
5. The nature-nurture debate considers the impact of biology and environment: Historically, philosophy and science have been concerned with the relative influence of biology and environment on behavior.

6. The mind-body problem has challenged philosophers and psychologists: A persistent challenge exists in reconciling the relationship of the mind to the physical activity of the brain.

7. Evolutionary theory introduces natural selection: Darwin's theory of evolution assumes that behaviors that promote reproductive success and survival are passed on and, therefore, that individual differences are the basis of evolutionary change.

How Did the Scientific Foundations of Psychology Develop?
8. Experimental psychology begins with structuralism: Using the technique of introspection, scientists attempted to understand conscious experience by reducing it to its basic elements, its structure. This brings about a strong scientific approach.

9. Functionalism addresses the purpose of behavior: Functionalists argued that the mind is best understood by examining the functions or purposes it serves, not its structure.

10. Gestalt psychology emphasizes patterns and context in learning: The assertion that the whole experience (the Gestalt) is greater than the sum of its parts led to an approach emphasizing the subjective experience of perception.

11. The unconscious influences everyday mental life: The psychoanalytic assumption that unconscious processes not readily available to our awareness influence behavior had an enormous impact on psychology.

12. Most behavior can be modified by reward and punishment: Discoveries that behavior is changed by its consequences caused behavorism to dominate psychology until the 1960s.

13. How people think affects behavior: The computer analogy of the brain and the cognitive revolution led to the information processing perspective.

14. Social situations shape behavior: Work in social psychology has highlighted how other people and situations are powerful forces in shaping behavior.

15. Psychological therapy is based on science: Scientific research over the course of the twentieth century taught psychological scientists that there is no universal treatment for psychological disorders. Instead, different treatments are effective for different disorders.

How Can We Apply Psychological Science?
16. Subdisciplines focus on different levels of analysis: Different approaches to understanding behavior are the focus of the various areas of psychology and are often combined.

17. Psychological knowledge is used in many professions: Because psychology focuses on human behavior, it is of interest to many students and professionals.

18. People are intuitive psychological scientists: Humans naturally explain and predict the behavior of others.

19. Psychological sciences require critical thinking: Skeptcism is an important element of science and requires critical thinking and the evaluation of evidence and conclusions.