1. THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology’s Roots
Psychology traces its roots back through recorded history to the writings of many scholars who spent their lives wondering about people—in India, China, the Middle East, and Europe . In their attempt to understand human nature, they looked carefully at how our minds work and how our bodies relate to our minds.
Psychology as a science
The eventual emergence of psychology as a science hinged on advances in other sciences, particularly physiology. Physiology is a branch of biology that studies the functions and parts of living organisms, including humans.
In the 1600s, physiologists were becoming interested in the human brain and its relation to behavior. By the early 1700s, it was discovered that damage to one side of the brain produced a loss of function in the opposite side of the body. By the early 1800s, the idea that different brain areas were related to different behavioral functions was being vigorously debated.
Collectively, the early scientific discoveries made by physiologists were establishing the foundation for an idea that was to prove critical to the emergence of psychology—namely, that scientific methods could be applied to issues of human behavior and thinking.
The Influence of Philosophy and Physiology
The earliest origins of psychology can be traced back several centuries to the writingsof the great philosophers. More than two thousand years ago, the Greek philosopherAristotle wrote extensively about topics like sleep, dreams, the senses,and memory. He also described the traits and dispositions of different animals(Robinson, 1997). Many of Aristotle’s ideas remained influential until the beginningsof modern science in the seventeenth century.At that time, the French philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650) proposeda doctrine called interactive dualism—the idea that mind and brain were separateentities that interact to produce sensations, emotions, and other conscious experiences.Today, psychologists continue to debate the relationship between mental activityand the brain.Philosophers also laid the groundwork for another issue that would becomecentral to psychology—the nature–nurture issue. For centuries, philosophersdebated which was moreimportant: the inborn nature ofthe individual or the environmentalinfluences that nurture the individual. Psychologists continueto focus on this question, whichtoday is usually framed in terms ofheredity versus environment.Such philosophical discussionsinfluenced the topics that would be considered in psychology.But the early philosophers could advance the understanding of human behavior only to a certain point. Their methods were limited to intuition, observation, and logic.
With this general understanding of science, we turn to the origins of psychology. The subject matter of psychology has interested some of the greatest thinkers since classicalantiquity, but it became a formal science only recently. It emerged as a separate discipline, with its own contents and methods, approximately a century ago, and this eventwas significantly stimulated by developments in philosophy, biology, and physics.
Early Contributions
The philosophical background came first, traceable even to Aristotle, who disagreedwith Plato, his teacher. Aristotle said that all knowledge is obtained through experience; what we know depends solely on our experience in the world.
Empiricism in Philosophy This view, certainly not startling today, lay dormant forhundreds of years and was considered radical even as late as the seventeenth century.Eventually, it came to be regarded with favor, especially by nineteenth-centuryeducators, who emphasized the importance of life experiences inside and outside theclassroom. Today the word empiricism, coming from the Greek word for experience,means that we know through direct experience. Knowledge is not innate, as Plato hadsuggested, but acquired through the senses during our lifetime.
This doctrine had important implications for science. Observe the event, suchas a confrontation among three Christs, and let experience tell the story. Bringing thethree Christs together was an empirical test of Voltaire's hypothesis. Voltaire had onlyheard about the incident with the deranged man, which allegedly took place decadesearlier. Had it really happened? If so, were the details correct? Or was the report basedon what someone thought would occur? Empiricism is of central importance in allscience. The most substantial test of a hypothesis is through direct observation.
Darwinian Influence One person who made careful observations was CharlesDarwin. Just before the founding of psychology he completed a voyage around theworld and described 'what he had observed. Specifically, Darwin noted the widevariations in structure and behavior among the species and observed the struggle forexistence among all organisms. Those that survive and therefore reproduce, he decided,are those most adapted to their environment. The poorly adapted perish and produceno offspring. Through this process of natural selection, continued over millions of years,distinctly different organisms appeared.
Darwin's theory of evolution, which states that any plant or animal speciesdeveloped through modifications of preexisting species, was highly controversial, butit had a tremendous effect on the study of human behavior and experience. It promptedall sorts of speculation about a continuity from the animal to the human mind andabout the nature of animal mental life (Darwin, 1859, 1965). Furthermore, the ideaof animal instincts, which was well accepted, led to speculation about human instincts and to the study of human motivation.
It should be understood that the theory of evolution, although popularly attributed to Darwin, did not originate exclusively with him. The idea that human beingsare ultimately descended from animals is ancient, appearing in early Greek philosophy.Darwin's contribution illustrates the scientific process. He gathered more facts, madean interpretation about them, and then published a research report, The Origin of theSpecies. The result was a more empirical basis for the concept of evolution and furtherinterest in understanding human and animal behavior and experience.Experimental Methods Just one year after Darwin's book appeared, Gustav T.Fechner, a physicist, published a book written from an entirely different perspective.The basic idea occurred to him while he was lying in bed one October morning, thinkingabout how he could measure mental reactions. He would present some stimulus in a carefully measured amount, such as a tone of low intensity, and then note the listener'sexperience. Could the listener hear it? This procedure then would be repeated withanother tone. Could the new tone be perceived? Was it different from the precedingone? With methods of this sort, adapted from physics, Fechner could study the relationsbetween physical stimuli and sensory experience.
Fechner elaborated on this approach, tested it, and published his findings underthe title Elements of Psychophysics. The significance of this work lay in its exact procedures for studying human experience. It showed that mental phenomena could be quantified by using methods from physics, and today's psychophysics is the study ofrelationships between sensory experiences and the characteristics of stimuli that produce them.
Fechner's work provided an important contrast to Darwin's. Making observations in the natural environment, like Darwin did, is called the descriptive or naturalistic method. In Fechner's approach the scientist manipulates the environment whilemaking observations. The investigator causes certain events to happen and measuresthe result. This procedure of manipulating and controlling aspects of the environmentis called the experimental method, for it allows the investigator to study cause-and-effect relations.
Both approaches have assets and limitations, and both have contributed significantly to our understanding of mental life and behavior. For example, Philippe Pinel,the French physician, first removed restraints from asylum inmates after naturalisticobservation; he had observed the positive effects of freedom on emotionally disturbed people. The early work in America was more experimental, as physicians tried bloodletting, inducing "vomits," and forcing more blood into the brain by spinning peoplein a centrifugal bed, all without significant success.
Wundt and Experimentalism
The event usually considered to mark the formal beginning of psychology as a science occurred in Germany in the 1870s. Wilhelm Wundt, at the University of Leipzig, established a laboratory for research in psychology, and in 1879 a doctoral candidatecompleted the first independent research study. That year is regarded as the beginningof modern psychology, and Wundt, through his early handbook on experimental psychology and his first laboratory, is considered the father of scientific psychology.
Wundt's Laboratory As a philosopher, Wundt had noted the fruitfulness of theexperimental method in other fields and, as a physiologist, he had engaged in laboratoryresearch himself. His first investigation was an examination of the salt content of hisown urine, and the second was a paper on the vivisection of the vagus nerve. He beganin psychology by adapting apparatus from physics and physiology, but soon he wasencountering new problems and devising new apparatus to measure stimuli andresponses. What impressed Wundt most were the possibilities for discovering lawfulrelations between intensities of stimuli and the experiences that they aroused.
These early findings appeared to refute the widely held view that consciousness could not be measured. It seemed to Wundt that the mind, or conscious experience, which he regarded as synonymous, could indeed be measured. Investigators inhis laboratory studied all kinds of mental conditions, including reaction time, attention,dizziness, and fatigue.
Wundt's Psychology Psychology for Wundt was the study of immediate experience,and the goal of the new science was to develop techniques for understanding andmeasuring it. Anything that did not lead in this direction was thought to be outsidepsychology's sphere of interest. Most of Wundt's data were therefore subjective, evidentonly to the experiencing individual, and there was great difficulty in establishing verifiable, repeatable observations. His approach included no interest in children oranimals, who could not give accurate reports of their experiences, and individualdifferences among adults were ignored. He would have displayed little interest in thethree Christs, who might give unreliable reports. Also, they presented a problem ofpractical interest, rather than academic concern.
Despite these limitations, Wundt's approach attracted a large number of disciples, and his psychology was referred to as structuralism or structural psychology.
This name arose because it was believed that the structure of mental life could be disclosed in this way. Just as a chemist analyzes matter into its elements, the simplestunits or elements of mental life might be identified. Strictly speaking, Wundt was nota structuralist himself, but his efforts spawned this laboratory work, for which no comparable opportunity existed in Europe and America. Prominent psychologists weretrained in his laboratory, and his work continues to be a topic of interest.
James and Functionalism
One early visitor to the site of Wundt's work was William James, a young Americansuffering from some maladjustment himself. Bright, personable, and witty, he had received an excellent education in the United States and Europe, but he could not decidewhat he wanted to do with his life. College students today perhaps can appreciate hispredicament.
James's Writings After his short visit to Germany, when he was physically andemotionally upset with "finding himself," James accepted a modest teaching positionin physiology, beginning as an unknown except for the growing fame of his youngerbrother, Henry. Soon, however, William James shifted from physiology to psychology, and in 1875, four years before the official date associated with Wundt's laboratory, hedeveloped his own. However, it was used only for demonstrations, rather than research,and therefore the credit for founding scientific psychology generally is accorded toWundt .
More important to psychology were James's accomplishments as a writer andteacher. When his two-volume textbook entitled Principles of Psychology appeared in1890, it earned him an international reputation, not only for its science but also for itsliterary style. Afterward, James wrote the "Jimmy," a shorter version of his textbook.
Largely because of these books, William James is recognized as the father of Americanpsychology.
James's Psychology James disagreed with Wundt's psychology, advocating abroader approach. Called functionalism, or functional psychology, it emphasized thefunctions of mental life rather than the contents. Wundt had tried to measure conscioushuman experience, but James thought that consciousness should be studied from thestandpoint of how it is related to adaptation. Wundt asked, "What is mind?" Jamesasked, "What is mind for?" Wundt, if he studied the three Christs at all, would haveattempted to understand and measure their conscious experience, whereas James wouldhave been more interested in finding out how their delusional thinking apparently helpedthem adapt to their environment. In short, functionalists were more interested in whatmental life does than in what it is, a natural view for practical-minded Americans.
In 1906, the year before his retirement, William James became more involvedin the problem of mental disorders. A young man sent him a manuscript describinghis experience during a mental breakdown. James was immediately enthusiastic, agreedto write a preface, and predicted that Clifford Beers's story, The Mind That FoundItself, would be of absorbing interest to the psychologist and layperson alike. He wasright, and with James's further encouragement, Beers founded the National Committee for Mental Hygiene, beginning that movement in this country and with it a deepening interest in abnormal and clinical psychology.
Through James's work, psychology gained much of its identity and gradually broadened in scope, for he wrote on such diverse topics as habit, reasoning, instinct, emotion, education, and hypnotism, as well as mental disorders. Modern psychology is broadly functional, including all aspects of mental life and behavior, thanks in no small way to James's efforts. In turn, James found his own identity through his work in psychology. Looking backward, he once wryly remarked that the first lecture he heard in psychology was the one that he gave himself.
Wilhelm Wundt - The Founder of Psychology
By the second half of the 1800s, the stage had been set for the emergence of psychology as a distinct scientific discipline. The leading proponent of this idea was a German physiologist named Wilhelm Wundt.
Wundt used scientific methods to study fundamental psychological processes, such as mental reaction times in response to visual or auditory stimuli. For example,Wundt tried to measure precisely how long it took a person to consciously detect the sight and sound of a bell being struck.
A major turning point in psychology occurred in 1874, when Wundt published his landmark text, Principles of Physiological Psychology.
In this book, Wundt outlined the connections between physiology and psychology. He also promoted his belief that psychology should be established as a separate scientific discipline that would use experimental methods to study mental processes
A few years later, in 1879, Wundt realized that goal when he opened the first psychology research laboratory at the University of Leipzig. Many regard this event as marking the formal beginning of psychology as an experimental science.
Wundt defined psychology as the study of consciousness and emphasized the useof experimental methods to study and measure consciousness. Until he died in 1920,Wundt exerted a strong influence on the development of psychology as a science. Twohundred students from around the world, including many from the United States,traveled to Leipzig to earn doctorates in experimental psychology under Wundt’s direction(Benjamin, 1997). Over the years, some 17,000 students attended Wundt’s afternoonlectures on general psychology, which often included demonstrations ofdevices he had developed to measure mental processes (Blumenthal, 1998).
Edward B. Titchener
Structuralism
One of Wundt’s most devoted students was a young Englishman named Edward B. Titchener. After earning his psychology doctorate in Wundt’s laboratory in 1892, Titchener accepted a position at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
There he established a psychology laboratory that ultimately spanned 26 rooms. Titchener eventually departed from Wundt’s position and developed his own ideas on the nature of psychology. Titchener’s approach, called structuralism, became the first major school of thought in psychology. Structuralism held that even our most complex conscious experiences could be broken down into elemental structures, or component parts, of sensations and feelings. To identify these structures of conscious thought, Titchener trained subjects in a procedure called introspection. The subjects would view a simple stimulus, such as a book, and then try to reconstruct their sensations and feelings immediately after viewing it. (In psychology, a stimulus is anything perceptible to the senses, such as a sight, sound, smell, touch or taste. They might first report on the colors they saw, then the smells, and so on, in the attempt to create a total description of their conscious experience (Tweney, 1997). In addition to being distinguished as the first school of thought in early psychology, Titchener’s structuralism holds the dubious distinction of being the first school to disappear.With Titchener’s death in 1927, structuralism as an influential school of thought in psychology essentially ended. But even before Titchener’s death, structuralism was often criticized for relying too heavily on the method of introspection.
Titchener eventually departed from Wundt’s position and developed his own ideas on the nature of psychology. Titchener’s approach, called structuralism, became the first major school of thought in psychology.
Structuralism held that even our most complex conscious experiences could be broken down into elemental structures, or component parts, of sensations and feelings. To identify these structures of conscious thought, Titchener trained subjects in a procedure called introspection. The subjects would view a simple stimulus, such as a book, and then try to reconstruct their sensations and feelings immediately after viewing it. (In psychology, a stimulus is anything perceptible to the senses, such as a sight, sound, smell, touch or taste. They might first report on the colors they saw, then the smells, and so on, in the attempt to create a total description of their conscious experience.
Structuralism - early school of psychology that emphasized studying the most basic components, or structures, of conscious experiences.
As noted repeatedly by Wundt and others, introspection had significant limitations (Blumenthal, 1998). First, introspection was an unreliable method of investigation. Different subjects often provided very different introspective reports about the same stimulus. Even subjects well trained in introspection varied in their responses to the same stimulus from trial to trial. Second, introspection could not be used to study children or animals. Third, complex topics, such as learning, development, mental disorders, and personality, could not be investigated using introspection. In the end, the methods and goals of structuralism were simply too limited to accommodate the rapidly expanding interests of the field of psychology.
William James
Functionalism
The main proponent of American psychology was one of Harvard’s most outstanding teachers—William James.
James had first become intrigued by the emerging science of psychology after reading one of Wundt’s articles, entitled “Recent Advances in the Field of Physiological Psychology,” in the late 1860s.
In the early 1870s, James began teaching a physiology and anatomy class at Harvard University. An intense, enthusiastic teacher, James was prone to changing the subject matter of his classes as his own interests changed
Gradually, his lectures came to focus more on psychology than on physiology. By the late 1870s, James was teaching classes devoted exclusively to the topic of psychology.
James’s ideas became the basis of another early school of psychology, called functionalism, which stressed studying the adaptive and practical functions of human behavior.
Functionalism stressed the importance of how behavior functions to allow people and animals to adapt to their environments. Unlike structuralists, functionalists did not limit their methods to introspection. They expanded the scope of psychology research to include direct observation of living creatures in natural settings. They also examined how psychology could be applied to areas such as education, child rearing, and the work environment.
Both the structuralists and the functionalists thought that psychology should focus on the study of conscious experiences. But the functionalists had very different ideas about the nature of consciousness and how it should be studied. Rather than trying to identify the essential structures of consciousness at a given moment, James saw consciousness as an ongoing stream of mental activity that shifts and changes.
By the time Titchener arrived at CornellUniversity, psychology was already wellestablished in the United States. The main proponent of American psychologywas one of Harvard’s most outstanding teachers—William James. James hadfirst become intrigued by the emerging science of psychology after reading one ofWundt’s articles, entitled “Recent Advances in the Field of Physiological Psychology,”in the late 1860s.
In the early 1870s, James began teaching a physiology and anatomy classat HarvardUniversity. An intense, enthusiastic teacher, James was prone tochanging the subject matter of his classes as his own interests changed (B.Ross, 1991). Gradually, his lectures came to focus more on psychology than onphysiology. By the late 1870s, James was teaching classes devoted exclusivelyto the topic of psychology.
At about the same time, James began writing a comprehensive textbookof psychology, a task that would take him more than a decade. James’s Principlesof Psychology was finally published in two volumes in 1890. Despite itslength of more than 1,400 pages, Principles of Psychology quickly became theleading psychology textbook. In it, James discussed such diverse topics as brainfunction, habit, memory, sensation, perception, and emotion. James’s dynamicviews had an enormous impact on the development of psychology in the UnitedStates (Bjork, 1997b).
James’s ideas became the basis for a new school of psychology, called functionalism.Functionalism stressed the importance of how behavior functions toallow people and animals to adapt to their environments. Unlike structuralists,functionalists did not limit their methods to introspection. They expanded thescope of psychology research to include direct observation of living creatures innatural settings. They also examined how psychology could be applied to areassuch as education, child rearing, and the work environment.Both the structuralists and the functionalists thought that psychologyshould focus on the study of conscious experiences. But the functionalists had very different ideas about the nature of consciousness and how it should bestudied. Rather than trying to identify the essential structures of consciousnessat a given moment, James saw consciousness as an ongoing stream ofmental activity that shifts and changes. As James wrote in Talks to Teachers(1899):Now the immediate fact which psychology, the science of mind, has to studyis also the most general fact. It is the fact that in each of us, when awake(and often when asleep) some kind of consciousness, is always going on.
There is a stream, a succession of states, or waves, or fields (or whateveryou please to call them), of knowledge, of feeling, of desire, of deliberation,etc., that constantly pass and repass, and that constitute our inner life. Theexistence of this is the primal fact, [and] the nature and origin of it form the essential problem, of our science.Like structuralism, functionalism no longer exists as a distinct school ofthought in contemporary psychology. Nevertheless, functionalism’s twin themesof the importance of the adaptive role of behavior and the application of psychology to enhance human behavior continue to be evident in modern psychology(D. N. Robinson, 1993).
William James and His Students
Like Wundt, James profoundly influenced psychology through his students, manyof whom became prominent American psychologists. Two of James’s most notablestudents were G. Stanley Hall and Mary Whiton Calkins. In 1878, G. Stanley Hall received the first Ph.D. in psychology awarded in the United States. Hall founded the first psychology research laboratory in theUnited States at JohnsHopkinsUniversity in 1883. He also began publishing the American Journal of Psychology, the first U.S. journal devoted to psychology. Mostimportant, in 1892, Hall founded the American Psychological Association andwas elected its first president (Dewsbury, 2000). Today, the American PsychologicalAssociation (APA) is the world’s largest professional organization of psychologists,with more than 150,000 members.In 1890, Mary Whiton Calkins was assigned the task of teaching experimentalpsychology at a new women’s college—WellesleyCollege. Calkins studiedwith James at nearby Harvard University. She completed all therequirements for a Ph.D. in psychology.
However, Harvard refused to grant herthe Ph.D. degree because she was a woman and at the time Harvard was not a coeducational institution.Although never awarded the degree she had earned, Calkins made severalnotable contributions to psychology (Stevens & Gardner, 1982). She conducted researchin many areas, including dreams, memory, and personality. In 1891, sheestablished a psychological laboratory at WellesleyCollege. At the turn of thecentury, she wrote a well-received textbook, titled Introduction to Psychology.
In 1905, Calkins was elected president of the American Psychological Association— the first woman, but not the last, to hold that position.Just for the record, the first American woman to earn an official Ph.D. in psychology was Margaret Floy Washburn.
Washburn was Edward Titchener’s first doctoral student at CornellUniversity. She strongly advocated thescientific study of the mental processes of different animal species. In 1908,she published an influential text, titled The Animal Mind. Her book summarizedresearch on sensation, perception, learning, and other “inner experiences”of different animal species. In 1921, Washburn became the secondwoman elected president of the American Psychological Association (Carpenter,1997).
Sigmund Freud
Psychoanalysis
In Vienna, Austria, a physician named Sigmund Freud was developing an intriguing theory of personality based on uncovering causes of behavior that were unconscious, or hidden from the person’s conscious awareness.
Freud’s school of psychological thought, called psychoanalysis, emphasized the role of unconscious conflicts in determining behavior and personality. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality and behavior was based largely on his work with his patients and on insights derived from self-analysis.
Freud believed that human behavior was motivated by unconscious conflicts that were almost always sexual or aggressive in nature. Past experiences, especially childhood experiences, were thought to be critical in the formation of adult personality and behavior. According to Freud (1904), glimpses of these unconscious impulses are revealed in everyday life in dreams, memory blocks, slips of the tongue, and spontaneous humor. Freud believed that when unconscious conflicts became extreme, psychological disorders could result.
Wundt, James, and other early psychologists emphasized the study of consciousexperiences. But at the turn of the century, new approaches challenged the principlesof both structuralism and functionalism.In Vienna, Austria, a physician named Sigmund Freud was developing anintriguing theory of personality based on uncovering causes of behavior that wereunconscious, or hidden from the person’s conscious awareness. Freud’s school ofpsychological thought, called psychoanalysis, emphasized the role of unconsciousconflicts in determining behavior and personality.
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality and behavior was based largelyon his work with his patients and on insights derived from self-analysis. Freudbelieved that human behavior was motivated by unconscious conflicts that werealmost always sexual or aggressive in nature. Past experiences, especially childhoodexperiences, were thought to be critical in the formation of adult personalityand behavior. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality also provided the basis for a distinctform of psychotherapy. Many of the fundamental ideas of psychoanalysis continueto influence psychologists and other professionals in the mental health field.
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) In 1909, Freud(front left) and several other psychoanalystswere invited by G. Stanley Hall (front center) to participate at ClarkUniversity’s 20th anniversarycelebration in Worcester, Massachusetts.Freud delivered five lectures on psychoanalysis.Listening in the audience was William James,who later wrote to a friend that Freud struckhim as “a man obsessed with fixed ideas”(Rosenzweig, 1997). Carl Jung (front right),who later developed his own theory of personality,also attended this historic conference.Ernest Jones, Freud’s biographer and translator,is standing behind Hall.
John B. Watson
Behaviorism
The course of psychology changed dramatically in the early 1900s when another approach, called behaviorism, emerged as a dominating force. Behaviorism rejected the emphasis on consciousness promoted by structuralism and functionalism. It also flatly rejected Freudian notions about unconscious influences. Instead, behaviorism contended that psychology should focus its scientific investigations strictly on overt behavior—observable behaviors that could be objectively measured and verified.
Behaviorism is yet another example of the influence of physiology on psychology. Behaviorism grew out of the pioneering work of a Russian physiologist named Ivan Pavlov.
Pavlov demonstrated that dogs could learn to associate a neutral stimulus, such as the sound of a bell, with an automatic behavior, such as reflexively salivating to food. Once an association between the sound of the bell and the food was formed, the sound of the bell alone would trigger the salivation reflex in the dog. Pavlov enthusiastically believed he had discovered the mechanism by which all behaviors were learned.
In the United States, a young, dynamic psychologist named John B. Watson shared Pavlov’s enthusiasm.
Watson (1913) championed behaviorism as a new school of psychology. Structuralism was still an influential perspective, but Watson strongly objected to both its method of introspection and its focus on conscious mental processes. As Watson (1924) wrote in his classic book, Behaviorism: Behaviorism, on the contrary, holds that the subject matter of human psychology is the behavior of the human being. Behaviorism claims that consciousness is neither a definite nor a usable concept. The behaviorist, who has been trained always as an experimentalist, holds, further, that belief in the existence of consciousness goes back to the ancient days of superstition and magic.
The influence of behaviorism on American psychology was enormous. The goal of the behaviorists was to discover the fundamental principles of learning—how behavior is acquired and modified in response to environmental influences. For the most part, the behaviorists studied animal behavior under carefully controlled laboratory conditions. Although Watson left academic psychology in the early 1920s, behaviorism was later championed by an equally forceful proponent—the famous American psychologist B. F. Skinner.
Like Watson, Skinner believed that psychology should restrict itself to studying outwardly observable behaviors that could be measured and verified. In compelling experimental demonstrations, Skinner systematically used reinforcement or punishment to shape the behavior of rats and pigeons (Bjork, 1997a).
Between Watson and Skinner, behaviorism dominated American psychology for almost half a century (R. Evans, 1999a). During that time, the study of conscious experiences was largely ignored as a topic in psychology (Hilgard, 1992).
Carl Rogers
Humanistic Psychology
For several decades, behaviorism and psychoanalysis were the perspectivesthat most influenced the thinking of American psychologists. Inthe 1950s, a new school of thought emerged, called humanistic psychology.Because humanistic psychology was distinctly different fromboth psychoanalysis and behaviorism, it was sometimes referred to asthe “third force” in American psychology (Cain, 2002).
Humanistic psychology was largely founded by American psychologistCarl Rogers. Like Freud, Rogers was influenced by his experiences withhis psychotherapy clients. However, rather than emphasizing unconsciousconflicts, Rogers emphasized the conscious experiences of his patients, includingeach person’s unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction. In contrast to the behaviorists, who saw human behavior as being shaped and maintainedby external causes, Rogers emphasized self-determination, free will, and theimportance of choice in human behavior (Bozarth & others, 2002).
Abraham Maslow was another advocate of humanistic psychology. Maslowdeveloped a theory of motivation that emphasized psychological growth. Like psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology included notonly influential theories of personality but also a form of psychotherapy, whichwe’ll discuss in later chapters.
Each of the schools that we’ve described had an impact on the topics and methods of psychological research.
From the founding of Wundt’s laboratory in 1879, psychology has evolved to its current status as a dynamic and multidimensional science.
The ideas of Carl Rogers have been particularly influential in modern psychotherapy.
Abraham Maslow’s theory of motivation emphasized the importance of psychological growth.
By briefly stepping backward in time, you’ve seen how the debates among thekey thinkers in psychology’s history shaped the development of psychology as awhole. Each of the schools that we’ve described had an impact on the topics andmethods of psychological research. As you’ll see throughout this textbook, thatimpact has been a lasting one.
From the founding of Wundt’s laboratory in 1879, psychology has evolved toits current status as a dynamic and multidimensional science. In the next section,we’ll touch on some of the more recent developments in psychology’s evolution.We’ll also explore the diversity that characterizes contemporary psychology.
However, rather than emphasizing unconscious conflicts, Rogers emphasized the conscious experiences of his patients, including each person’s unique potential for psychological growth and self-direction.
In contrast to the behaviorists, who saw human behavior as being shaped and maintained by external causes, Rogers emphasized self-determination, free will, and the importance of choice in human behaviour.
Psychological Science Develops
After beginning as a “science of mental life,” psychology evolved in the 1920s into a “science of observable behavior.” After rediscovering the mind in the 1960s, psychology now views itself as a “science of behavior and mental processes.” Psychology is growing and globalizing, as psychologists in 69 countries around the world work, teach, and do research.
Contemporary Psychology
Psychology’s Big Issues
Psychologists wrestle with several recurring issues. One of these is stability and change over our lifetimes. Another is whether we are consistently rational or sporadically irrational. But the biggest and most enduring issue continues the debate of the early philosophers: the relative influences of nature (genes) and nurture (all other influences, from conception to death). In most cases, the debate is no debate: Every psychological event is simultaneously a biological event.
Psychology’s Perspectives
Psychologists view behavior and mental processes from various perspectives. These viewpoints are complementary, not contradictory, and each offers useful insights in the study of behavior and mental processes.
Psychology’s Subfields
Psychology’s subfields encompass basic research (often done by biological, developmental, cognitive, personality, and social psychologists), applied research (sometimes conducted by industrial/organizational psychologists), and clinical applications. Psychology’s methods and findings aid other disciplines, and they contribute to the growing knowledge base we apply in our everyday lives.
CURRENT PERSPECTIVES I N PSYCHOLOGY
We have examined the nature of science, noting the assumptions of orderliness and limited causality, and we have described the scientific attitude as one of demanding evidence. In addition, we have defined psychology as the scientific study of behavior and experience. Its founding was prompted by developments in philosophy, biology, and physics, and Wilhelm Wundt and William James played significant roles in this regard. We now turn to consider contemporary psychology, noting the different viewpoints in the field today.
We have seen, as well, that no significant progress was made with the three Christs through the daily discussions. Each man defended himself against the others in habitual ways.
Clyde claimed that his companions were dead. "They are not really alive. The machines in them are talking. Take the machines out of them and they won't talk anything." When asked where such a machine was located, Clyde pointed to the right side of Joseph's stomach. Joseph unbuttoned his shirt and Clyde felt for the machine. "It isn't there," he announced. "It must have slipped down where you can't feel it." According to Joseph, the others were crazy. "I'm the only God," he said. "Clyde and Rex are patients in a mental hospital and their being patients proves they are insane."
Rex, as Leon sometimes preferred to be called, defended himself in several ways, chiefly by shifting the meaning of the words Jesus Christ and by suggesting that his bunk mates were only instrumental gods. During the research project, he changed his name several times. "It so happens," he stated resolutely, "that my birth certificate says I am Dr. Domino Dominorum et Rex Rexarum, Simplis Christianus Pueris Mentalis Doktor." This Latin meant that he was Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Simple Christian Boy Psychiatrist. He added, "It also says on my birth certificate that I am the reincarnation of Jesus Christ of Nazareth."
With this resistance it seemed clear that a more direct confrontation would be necessary, and so it was arranged to shift the control of the daily meetings from the research team to the men themselves. Each man would become chairman for a day, responsible for announcing the meeting, selecting a topic, choosing a song for opening and closing the session, and signing the register. Joseph was most enthusiastic and Leon most doubtful. "Truth is the chairman," he insisted. But the rotating pattern became well established, and soon some minor alterations in identity took place (Rokeach, 1981).
"A patient in the hospital where I work believed he was G-O-D, busied himself with arrangements for a trip to the Vatican, and generally attempted to operate as a supreme being. One of the aides grew increasingly frustrated with the patient's insistence and decided to tell him that he was the ninth Christ he had met in two years. He also allowed a second patient, who had at one time believed himself to be God, to tell the new patient how crazy an idea it was. But nothing denied the delusions of this patient. With each confrontation he became increasingly angry and irrational.
Diversity of Interests
This research with the three Christs illustrates two different aims in modern psychology. For most scientists, the ultimate aim is to increase our understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live. The goal is to find out about things. But since our earliest existence human beings have also struggled to improve the conditions of life. The aim here, achieved through greater understanding, is the betterment of humankind. Through science we seek both light and fruit. "It is not cant to put truth before comfort," said Lord Adrian, "but most of us would like both if we can get them." Both aims are found in psychology, and they are referred to as basic research and applied psychology, respectively. To some degree they are expressed in the differ-
ences between structuralism, as it evolved from Wundt's efforts at understanding the mind, and James's functionalism, concerned with more practical questions.
Basic Research Psychologists who perform scientific studies for the purpose of acquiring further knowledge are said to be involved in basic research. Their purpose is to obtain and disseminate information on human and animal behavior and experience. Often found in college and university settings, these psychologists conduct most of the investigations that have led to the body of knowledge now called psychology. They also work in clinics, business, and government agencies, for the line between light and fruit is partly arbitrary. With the three Christs, the overall aim in basic research was to discover more about the nature of beliefs, especially the process by which delusional beliefs might be changed.
Psychologists' efforts in basic research emphasize the central theme of this chapter and indeed of this book as a whole. An intricate web of related influences underlies the human condition. Many different factors are usually involved in any given response, a condition which we have described as the multiple basis of behavior. Psychologists in basic research are concerned with identifying these multiple factors and showing their interdependence.
Psychology usually does not provide easy generalizations about others' behavior or simple solutions to one's problems. In behavioral science, few one-to-one relationships are observed. It might be said, for example, that Joseph became disturbed because of his cruel and quick-tempered father, who gave him a woman's name in real life and once in a rage threw him on the floor. But among Joseph's siblings there is no history of any mental disorder. Joseph's father is not the sole cause of his disorder, and he may not be involved in any significant way.
Applied Psychology The work of psychology includes more than research, writing, and teaching. Others in the field are less concerned with developing hew knowledge than with solving practical problems, and these efforts are called applied psychology. The aim is to apply, rather than discover, psychological principles, but again the question is not an either-or issue. Applied psychologists sometimes engage in research, but more often they administer mental tests, design equipment, assist with childrearing, provide therapy, develop educational methods, and consult in law, business, education, medicine, government, and so forth. The staff members who provided therapy for the three Christs generally would be regarded as applied psychologists, whereas the investigators concerned with belief systems would be engaged in basic research.
Applied psychology is sometimes misunderstood, especially in fields directly concerning the public. Clinical psychology and psychiatry, for example, are both concerned with the alleviation of mental disorders. But the former is a subspecialty within psychology, involving all forms of human behavior and experience. Psychologists are trained in research and in the administration of psychological tests. The latter is a subspecialty within medicine, concerned with physical health. Psychiatrists are especially qualified in the prescription of drugs. Professionals from these two fields often work together, providing diagnosis and remedial services, but clinical psychology and psychiatry constitute only a small overlap between two broad fields.
Numerous areas of applied psychology are considered throughout this book, including legal psychology, medical psychology, environmental psychology, and educational psychology. Psychology in the United States today is a diverse enterprise with forty different specialties, as determined by the divisions of the American Psychological Association, the major organization for psychologists in this country. Since 1920 this association has grown in membership sixty-five times faster than the general population.
Confronted with this spectrum of topics in a rapidly growing field, you perhaps have been impressed with the task of mastering them. On this basis you may wish to review the methods and study aids in this book, indicated in the prologue, and to make use of the glossary, in the back of the book.
Models of Psychology
As seen in the efforts of Wundt and James, a new science often develops competing theories and positions. Investigators use various ways of approaching the field, and at some point certain ideas tend to take a dominant position. Wundt's approach was extremely influential for a few decades, and then it disappeared rapidly from the scene. When a certain perspective becomes dominant in this field, it is often called a model or system of psychology, for it guides research and theory. A model in many respects defines the field of inquiry for certain scientists, identifying the problems to be studied and the methods for research. Science, on this basis, does not necessarily progress by the mere accumulation of facts but rather through changes in perspective brought about by new models. A particular set of ideas can attract a large, enduring group of adherents if it is sufficiently open-ended to indicate all sorts of problems for the scientists to pursue.
Psychology was developing in this way in the early decades of the twentieth century, and even today there are distinctly different perspectives, just as there are different systems in politics, economics, education, and religion. No one perspective can include all the facts, and each of us, in tutored or untutored ways, has his or her own favored view of humanity. We now turn to the most dominant views in psychology, which typically have arisen under the influence of one or a few individuals.
Model of Behaviorism One such system of psychology arose as a protest against the study of consciousness as developed by Wundt. In simplest terms, the main point
of behaviorism is that overt behavior is the only suitable topic for psychology. Psychologists must concern themselves exclusively with objectively observable phenomena; the study of consciousness is inappropriate because of its subjectivity.
As the leader of this protest movement early in this century, John B. Watson was a colorful, active personality, able to promote the new outlook in diverse ways— through research, a textbook, and the lecture platform. He argued that physicists study phenomena that any trained physicist can observe, not just privately but in common with others of this training, and biologists study what other biologists can observe.
Watson urged psychologists to look outward, like natural scientists, rather than "inside their skulls," and to study human beings as an object in nature. A behavioristic psychologist thus was restricted to observing a stimulus, which is any event that arouses behavior, and a response, which is the organism's reaction to a stimulus. This psychology is referred to as stimulus-response psychology and also as S-R psychology.
After Watson, behaviorism acquired another controversial spokesman, B. F. Skinner, known for research on rats and pigeons and misunderstood for ideas in his Utopian novel Walden Two. Skinner has continued the behavioristic emphasis on objectivity and has stressed the ways in which behavior is developed and sustained by external events, such as a smile, food, freedom, and other environmental circumstances. These events are called reinforcement because they reinforce or support the behavior that precedes them, increasing the likelihood that it will reappear.
In studying the three Christs, a behaviorist would concentrate on their overt reactions, such as Leon's habit of "shaking off," designed to dispel electronic interferences that he believed disrupted him. He did so by sitting stiffly in his chair, holding his breath, and vigorously massaging his head at the temples. When his quarrels with the others were most intense, he "shook off" almost every twenty minutes. The behaviorist would speculate that this habitual response was supported by the environment, perhaps through cessation of the quarrels, extra attention from the staff, relaxation induced by the massage, or some combination of these events. Later Leon found another method for "shaking off," introducing his head into the toilet bowl. Again, the behaviorist would look for reinforcing events in the environment that supported this response; if they ceased, this behavior presumably would disappear as well. The details of the behavioristic outlook are considered throughout this book, especially in connection with an approach to learning called conditioning. For now, it is sufficient to note that there are many behavioristic psychologists today and many opponents of this view, both within and outside the field. Behaviorism is one of the most systematic developments in the field of psychology, and applications are found in virtually all of the social sciences.
Model of Psychoanalysis Unlike behaviorism, psychoanalysis did not arise as a protest against any other system, unless we can say that Sigmund Freud's theory was a grand intellectual protest against the rigid social code of his society. A remark by his father illustrates the attitudes of the day and his son's capacities: "My Sigmund's little toe is cleverer than my head, but he would never dare to contradict me!".
Freud's basic premise was that behavior can be influenced by past events which seemingly have been forgotten. Wundt claimed that psychology should study conscious experience, but Freud described an unconscious realm, one that could be understood only by careful examination of childhood experiences. He introduced a new method for this purpose, in which the person reclined on a couch and expressed whatever thoughts came to mind. Today the term psychoanalysis refers to Freud's theory of personality and also to this method of therapy.
This revolutionary doctrine soon developed into a whole system of psychological thought, including many distinct psychological concepts. The most fundamental principle is unconscious motivation, which states that behavior is significantly influenced by past events of which the individual is no longer aware. In speculating on the origin of behavioral disorders, the psychoanalyst is concerned with thoughts and feelings, which are internal events, inside the individual. In Leon's case, for example, the emphasis would be upon long-forgotten childhood conflicts.
In the calmer atmosphere of the new rotating chairmanship, Leon changed his name from Leon to Rex, then to Dung, and then to Dr. Righteous Idealed Dung, all the while still claiming an identity as Jesus Christ. What did these names mean to him? Why did he choose them? As might be speculated in psychoanalysis, perhaps he was reenacting the classical drama of Oedipus Rex, in which a son struggles against his father over relationships with his mother. Perhaps Leon is ashamed of himself for this rivalry, referring to himself in the most derogatory terms. The name Dr. Righteous Idealed Dung may reflect this childhood conflict, suggesting that Leon's high principles, for which he was well known, had been compromised. This interpretation is highly speculative, without detailed knowledge of Leon, but it illustrates the psychoanalytic view. The adult personality, according to psychoanalysis, is significantly influenced by childhood conflict, and since Freud's time this approach to personality has received increasing recognition.
The theory of psychoanalysis is also controversial, but anyone interested in the ideas that make our modern world distinct from earlier ages must give full consideration to this doctrine. Psychoanalysis has been influential not only in psychology and psychiatry but also in all modern social sciences and in art and literature. We shall refer to Freud's theory of psychoanalysis throughout this book.
Model of Humanistic Psychology Behaviorism was not alone as a protest movement. Humanistic psychology arose in this same manner in the second half of this century, except that it was a protest against both behaviorism and psychoanalysis. The basic concern in humanistic psychology is that the other two models ignore humanity's complexity and uniqueness. Human beings do not blindly follow the reinforcement principle in all their daily behavior, and they are not exclusively controlled by deep inner forces dating to bygone years. They are instead an extraordinary species with capacities and awareness not found in other animals, especially the capacity for personal growth and choice.
According to humanistic psychology, humanity must be studied as a unique development on the evolutionary scene, emphasizing the human capacity for self-direction. Choice is at the very center of human existence, responsible for humanity's greatest achievements and its most penetrating moments of anxiety. This emphasis upon choice and free will constitutes a challenge against the presumably inevitable and deterministic influences postulated in behaviorism and psychoanalysis. A most important factor in the growth of humanistic psychology is this concern with free will and choice.
The roots of this system are lengthy and diverse. Currently led by Carl Rogers, some of its antecedents date to the work of Wilhelm Wundt, in which human consciousness was to be understood by looking inward at one's own experience. The emphasis is upon conscious experience, meaning one's feelings at the moment, not the unconscious, as in psychoanalysis. And the most important viewpoint is that of the individual, not some particular system of psychology. Many contemporary humanistic psychologists regard personal experience as the only certain reality and therefore the proper topic of study in psychology. To understand a person's response, one must understand how that individual perceives the situation.
Humanistic psychologists would stress Leon's subjective side, emphasizing his thoughts and feelings at the moment. A focus upon his habit of "shaking off" or upon the underlying significance of his names leads in the wrong direction, obscuring Leon's essential qualities as a person. Humanistic psychologists generally follow the dictum that the whole person, whole situation, or whole of consciousness is distinctly different from the sum of its parts. They would be interested instead in the anxiety that Leon experiences when he is confronted with the other Christs. Anxiety is inevitable in human existence, according to humanistic psychology, and Leon must learn to deal with it, knowing that it cannot be eliminated. The human capacity to choose is a unique endowment and a singular burden; it allows us to be free, but it also causes anxiety.
You may have noticed that humanistic psychology, while stating what ought to be done, is not so clear about how these goals should be accomplished. In this respect it is perhaps closer to philosophy than to science. Both behaviorism and psychoanalysis brought distinctly new procedures to the study of psychology, the former by adapting laboratory methods from the natural sciences and the latter through clinical procedures. Humanistic psychology, in contrast, has few special techniques. Resistance to the movement therefqre concerns its methods, not its goals, which most people accept in one form or another.
Model of Cognitive Psychology The humanistic trend has been called third-force psychology, meaning that it represents the most significant psychological model after behaviorism and psychoanalysis, but only history can confirm such a description. The delay of the impact of behaviorism has been estimated to be about 15 years, and there was an interval of approximately 30 years between the inception of psychoanalysis and its first major influence on other fields and on society at large. Despite the accelerated nature of modern life, it is too early to know the outcome of the humanistic movement.
Still another approach, the cognitive model, has been enormously influential in American psychology in recent decades. In cognitive psychology the basic concern is with mental processes; the focus is upon perceiving, remembering, and especially thinking. The term cognition means knowledge or understanding, and cognitive psychology is concerned with mental processes, by which we understand our world.
Cognitive psychology has been stimulated in part by advances in computer technology, including simulations of human thought and research opportunities. But the cognitive approach is broadly based, including the study of thought in the child, language acquisition in animals, strategies in adult memory, individual differences in perception, and investigations in countless other areas. Today all this research is said to be concerned with information processing, which refers to the way in which human beings and other species obtain and utilize information about their world. The information-processing approach stresses that human beings, in particular, actively seek information and manage it through such mental activities as analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, and so forth. One leader, among many, has been Jean Piaget.
The study of the three Christs would be approached as a problem in information processing. Leon perceives electrical interference from outer space; he remembers certain Latin phrases and many lessons from the Bible; and he thinks he is Jesus Christ. Clearly, his perception, memory, and thinking are disturbed. Yet there is also a great deal of sense in some of his speech, and certainly he is much more aware of the research aims and procedures than either Clyde or Joseph. Cognitive psychology is interested in both normal and disordered mental processes, and in recent years these psychologists have developed a computer program called PARRY, which presents itself as a paranoid individual. PARRY, responding in ways characteristic of this mental disorder, blames his problems on the Mafia, the "cops," indecent questions, and various sources of "false evidence".
Compared to humanistic psychology, cognitive psychology is more scientific and less philosophical. It seeks highly specific and detailed answers to precise questions, while humanistic psychology explores consciousness in a broader sense, emphasizing that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Cognitive psychology also differs markedly from psychoanalysis, for it is concerned with conscious mental life, not unconscious processes. And finally, cognitive psychology studies inner processes, while traditional behaviorism is restricted to directly observable phenomena, namely overt behavior.
A Pluralistic Science Psychologists, as the reader can now appreciate, have diverse interests and employ a wide variety of approaches to the study of behavior and experience. In this sense, psychology is a pluralistic science, composed of many different elements that as yet cannot be accounted for by any single system. All of these approaches have influenced modern psychology with respect to its scope, methods, and theoretical orientations. In short, the emerging field of psychology has grown with hybrid vigor.
Today, however, most systems of psychology are less distinct from one another and less prominent than they were 50 years ago. Psychological models continue to exist, but competition among them as the approach to psychology has largely disappeared. The differences instead are chiefly of theoretical interest or limited in scope, as in the practice of therapy.
There are now many varieties of behaviorists, psychoanalysts, humanistic and cognitive psychologists, as well as psychologists from other perspectives. They would approach the study of the three Christs and other topics in diverse ways. Most individuals who study psychological processes today simply call themselves psychologists.
In this respect psychology has a rather clear identity, but it is still lacking an overall model or paradigm that would unify the field.
ETHICAL ISSUES IN PSYCHOLOGY
In review, we can say that modern psychology is based on the same assumptions and attitudes that are found in all scientific inquiry, and it incorporates a variety of perspectives within the field, as well as the different goals of basic research and applied psychology. To conclude this chapter, which has emphasized the role of research in the founding of psychology, we consider some ethical issues in research and in everyday life. Models of Psychology. This simplified table is intended as a starting point for understanding the differences among these approaches.
Research and Licensure
The use of the rotating chairmanship was accompanied by some small changes in Leon's behavior, and it prompted the research team to search for additional ways of challenging the men's identities. Joseph was asked to read an item from a national news magazine, which described the Ypsilanti research. It was entitled Three Men Named Jesus, and afterward he said: "It borders on the comical. People with that in their head belong in a mental hospital." Leon became more upset by this article and went to the bathroom. Clyde, confronted with a similar article, fell into a stupor, though it was clear that he was not asleep. He roused himself sufficiently to answer a direct question.
In another effort to bring the men into interaction, they were offered a collective ground pass, allowing them free access to the grounds and institution. But all three men would haVe to use it together. "I don't want it," announced Leon. "I agree with Dung on this particular matter," said Joseph. Leon immediately showed his appreciation for this support. "Thank you, sir," he replied.
Eventually, the men received individual passes. Once outdoors, they went their separate ways. The ground passes, in this sense, were a failure. Ten days later a letter from the superintendent of the institution appointed the three Christs to membership in the Flora and Fauna Commission, which was to prepare a map of the plants and animals adjacent to the institution. The research team had requested the formation of this committee, searching for new ways to bring the three resistant men into a more obvious working relationship with one another.
Problem of Research Ethics Confronting the men with the news items and appointing them to the Flora and Fauna Commission raises an ethical question that has been implicit throughout this research. To what extent do these tactics, including the special living arrangements and rotating chairmanship, constitute infringements of patients' rights? Is it ethical to alter the lives of Clyde, Joseph, and Leon in these untested ways? These issues undoubtedly have been in your mind, and various psychologists have questioned them. Prominent attention to such matters also has appeared in the ethical guidelines for research, published by the American Psychological Association.
Such questions, of course, are not unique to psychology—they occur in all disciplines. For some people the entire field of nuclear physics is an ethical issue. In biology animals are confined to cages and subjected to surgery solely for research purposes. Ethical principles arise in legal research over the issue of clients' rights. Even research in educational intervention involves ethical considerations, for the intervention procedure imposes the researchers' values on the subjects.
The basic ethical question in such instances seems to be this: Does any possible discomfort that all subjects incur in this research collectively outweigh the potential gain in alleviation of human problems? This question at times is exceedingly difficult to answer, but for many investigators it represents the crux of the problem. The three Christs had been delusional for years, and it was anticipated that through this research there was relatively little to lose and much to gain. Also, the results might be applied to others. Earlier, these same investigators had abandoned a proposed study of identity in children on these grounds. It appeared that the children, still forming their identities, might experience significant adjustment problems.
The ethical issue also can be considered from the opposite viewpoint. Not to do certain research may leave millions of human beings to cope unaided with difficult physical, psychological, and social problems.
For these reasons an interdisciplinary ethics committee from the sponsoring institution now must evaluate all psychological research, following established guidelines. The goal is to permit continuation of the most useful and productive research without endangering the subjects or other persons in any way. The ideal solution, however, and one toward which many psychologists are working, is the development of research techniques that rely upon the subject's normal behavior and naturally occurring events rather than upon contrived situations and misleading information .
Problem of Fraud Similarly, all practicing psychologists also must demonstrate a certain degree of competence, usually by obtaining a license, certification, or the sponsorship of an accredited institution. The reason for this precaution is clear. Unqualified people sometimes take advantage of a gullible public by promoting themselves as "psychologists," studying a person's head, date of birth, handwriting, or some other characteristic, and then, in accordance with their own particular theories, telling the person how to solve his problems, whom to marry, or what he should plan for his future.
Such practices are considerably more common than one might expect. A graduate student in psychology, under the guidance of a professor of clinical psychology, visited 14 persons in New York City who listed themselves in the telephone directory as qualified to render psychological services. Posing a. series of realistic symptoms, this student had 23 consultations with 14 alleged psychologists, and it was discovered that more than half were frauds or charlatans. Six had good intentions, but they were unqualified. Only one member .of this random sample appeared fully qualified to give currently available psychological treatment, and he was the only one who did not guarantee a quick cure.
Similar problems exist in the sale of bogus psychological "tests" that promise revealing information in regard to the subject's personality. Even normally realistic business persons have accepted without criticism virtually meaningless scores that such devices provide. Today many of these "tests," not founded on scientific procedures, are sold to the general public.
Modern clinical and counseling psychologists and also psychiatrists must be certified or licensed by law. An imposter runs the risk of legal penalties, but then such persons often adopt some other professional-sounding title, such as healer, counselor, or therapist. At present, the most promising method of dealing with this problem seems to be extensive public education concerning the nature of psychology, including accepted clinical practices.
In the case of the three Christs, the research team always consulted with the psychiatric staff of the hospital before inaugurating any new procedure, thereby obtaining confirmation of their ethical judgment. This team proceeded cautiously, and at every stage the men's emotional reactions were assessed. It is noteworthy that all
the men continued to attend all the meetings regularly, despite various changes in format and rules, and that the investigators were ready at any point to abandon any procedure that evoked a significantly aversive reaction in one of the men. As the research progressed, however, the investigators became more and more impressed with the three Christs' defenses. These defenses appeared sufficiently powerful to counter almost any ethical confrontation that might have been used in this research.
Society and Social Problems
These defenses were readily evident in the results of the Flora and Fauna Commission, which required enormous support from the hospital staff and research team. Afterward, the investigators asked themselves whether that effort had been worthwhile. Clearly, it had not, for whatever cooperation took place among the men had been more illusory than real, imposed by outside authority. A similar outcome would have occurred, the researchers concluded, if one of the three Christs had been placed on the
Flora and Fauna Commission with almost any other patients in the ward.
Each of the Christs had adjusted to the various demands of the commission, just as he had learned to cope with the research team, which was almost always present. None of them discarded their delusional thinking, even after two years of exposure to all sorts of research efforts, including more letters, more discussions, and special efforts by staff members to form individual therapeutic relationships. The men developed their delusional thinking for some reasons, currently unknowable, and apart from some superficial changes in Leon's identity, probably related to his need to appear consistent in this context, these delusions were not significantly altered as a consequence of the confrontations.
Problem of Commitment Will the three Christs therefore spend the rest of their days under institutional supervision? The answer is probably affirmative, though discussion of personality disorders and the effectiveness of therapy are subjects for later chapters. We can only say here that after the research was terminated, the three men for a while could be seen in pairs or all together in the sitting room. But soon Leon reverted to eating alone. Too much time had passed, it seemed, for he had been in custodial confinement for five years. Clyde was about seventy; Joseph was close to sixty; and both had been institutionalized for almost two decades.
This issue of involuntary commitment, in which an individual is placed in a mental institution against his or her will, raises another ethical question. It is a practical matter, concerning freedom in everyday life, not a matter of research or licensure.
What should be done when someone behaves in a way that meets with disapproval from the family, society, or others? This question divides psychologists, lawyers, and also laypersons (Wanck, 1984).
Suppose that out-patient psychological or psychiatric treatment has been unsuccessful, as in the case of Clyde, Joseph, and Leon. Should the law permit someone to commit someone else to a state hospital? If so, what standard should be used in making this commitment?
Experts agree that the standard should include the presence of mental disorder, but this condition is extremely difficult to define. Leon sometimes showed highly lucid thinking, and on other occasions his thoughts were bizarre indeed. Some experts argue that the standard should include dangerousness to the self and others, but here again the decision is difficult. An angry person holding a loaded gun and claiming to be a simple Christian boy psychiatrist probably would be considered dangerous. Leon never behaved in this way, but what about a man who averts his eyes whenever a brassiere advertisement appears on the television? Suppose this same man says to a woman who innocently obtains a light from his cigarette: "Please, madame, no suggestive touching with the hand." This behavior certainly tarnishes the reputation of that individual and perhaps others, but does it constitute mental disorder? "I'm sorry," the woman replied to Leon, "I didn't intend anything."
According to one viewpoint, mental disorder alone, assuming it can be accurately identified, is sufficient to permit confinement of an individual to a mental institution. The argument here is that the individual, when improved, will be thankful for the commitment. This position, of course, assumes that some improvement will occur, which is a debatable issue. The polar opposite is that involuntary commitment is an evil that should be abolished . And between these two positions lie the views of many other experts, indicating that the question of involuntary commitment is a persistent ethical issue for psychology and for society as a whole.
Interdisciplinary Issues The relation of psychology to law, education, medicine, and other professions is of great significance to society. Just between psychology and law, for example, there is a wide variety of complex ethical and social issues: the custody of children, which becomes a legal and psychological question when each spouse seeks separate custody as a fit parent; punishment and rehabilitation, an issue in criminal law involving the psychological principles of deterrence, rehabilitation, and therapy; the insanity plea, perhaps the most controversial point of interaction between psychology and the law, raising the question of accountability; and various victimless crimes, such as gambling, drug abuse, and certain sexual behaviors, often prohibited by law but considered by many psychologists to be crimes without victims.
All of these examples suggest a highly complicated relationship between the two fields, and many questions arise. Should psychology lead? Or the law? Should they together point the way to a so-called higher morality? Various methods for resolving these questions have been suggested, including a traditional, a liberal, and also a rethinking approach, which advocates one unified system for all such cases rather than legal and mental health systems. Then there are the further questions of the most productive relations between these fields and the allied disciplines of psychiatry, sociology, economics, religion, and philosophy.
To say that a certain mental disorder is incurable, a certain custody decision impossible, or a certain rehabilitation plan inappropriate is to say more about current ignorance in these matters than about the people involved. The report of the three Christs of Ypsilanti is closed on this hope: that through this research a small portion of this ignorance had been dispelled .
Indeed it had, for the confrontation described by Voltaire and the anecdotal psychiatric report about the two Mothers of God are no longer regarded with any firm conviction. It appears instead that the technique of confrontation has no significant therapeutic value in cases of similar delusional identity. In addition, this research provided information of theoretical value, most pertinent to our understanding of primitive beliefs, which are the basic ideas that a person holds about physical, social, and psychic reality. These beliefs, lying at the core of an individual's total being, have a highly personal dimension, making them exceedingly resistent to change. The sustained attention given to Clyde, Joseph, and Leon, which was more than that given to any other resident in the history of that mental institution, shows the marked degree of this resistance, even in disturbed individuals.
One final note concerns the chief investigator's reflections in this research.
Some years later he decided that not three but four Christs had been involved in this investigation, the fourth being himself for his godlike delusion that he could change the others by omnipotently and omnisciently rearranging their daily lives. He eventually concluded that he had failed to cure them, but they had succeeded in curing him. Thanks especially to the persuasive rhetoric of Leon, he finally was able to leave them in peace.
Summary
Nature of Science
1. Psychology is defined as the scientific study of human and animal behavior and experience. The aim is to gain an increased understanding of why organisms respond as they do and, as in* all science, two assumptions are commonly made in pursuing this goal: orderliness in nature, which implies lawful relations among events, and limited causality, which means that only a finite number of events are significantly related to any other event. The central theme of this book is the multiple basis of behavior; a given response is typically influenced by several factors.
2. There is no scientific method, but the various stages in the scientific process are sometimes identified as: forming hypotheses, testing hypotheses, and verifying the results. More generally, the scientific approach is characterized by an objective collection of information, an interpretation of what has been found, and a research report, which describes in step-by-step fashion the methods, results, and interpretations of the investigation.
Emergence of Modem Psychology
3. Psychology emerged as a clearly formulated science just a century ago, stimulated by developments in three fields: empiricism in philosophy, which stated that ideas are not innate but acquired through experience; Darwinian biology, which demonstrated the value of naturalistic research and stimulated interest in human and animal behavior; and experimental methods in physics, which showed that the relations between stimuli and responses could be measured.
4. The founding of modern psychology is credited to Wilhelm Wundt, who established the first laboratory and wrote the first handbook of experimental psychology. He was interested in the study of feelings and sensations, and his students, intending to discover the structure of the mind, developed an approach to psychology called structuralism.
5. William James, the founder of American psychology, stimulated the new movement by his creative writing and teaching. He inspired a broad development of psychology, emphasizing the functions rather than the structure of mental life, and therefore his approach was called functionalism.
Current Perspectives in Psychology
6. There are two different aims in much of modern psychology. In basic research the aim is to increase our understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live. Research psychologists want to find out about things; they obtain and disseminate information on human and animal behavior and experience. Another aim in modern psychology is the betterment of humankind, to be achieved through practical applications of psychological knowledge. This approach, called applied psychology, includes many diverse specialties, one of which is clinical psychology. The field of psychology today is a highly diverse enterprise, and the growth rate in almost all specialties has been precipitous.
7. In the early decades of the twentieth century there arose different systems or models of psychology, one of which was behaviorism, which emphasizes an objective approach and focuses upon the study of overt behavior. In another system, psychoanalysis, the basic concept is unconscious motivation, which states that human behavior is influenced by past events in a person's life, of which that individual is no longer aware. Another model, humanistic psychology, arose more recently in resistance to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis, emphasizing humanity's unique capacity for growth and choice and stating that the study of subjective reality is the proper topic for psychology. Still another, cognitive psychology, focuses upon the role of conscious mental processes in human behavior, especially perceiving, remembering, and thinking.
Ethical Issues in Psychology
8. Research in psychology has raised many ethical questions, just as it has in physics, biology, chemistry, and other sciences. For this reason, an interdisciplinary ethics committee from the sponsoring institution must evaluate all research proposals. In addition, there are procedures for the certification or licensure of psychologists.
9. The wide variety of ethical issues in psychology is also reflected in society as a whole. Within psychology and law these questions include involuntary commitment to a mental hospital, the custody of children, and victimless crimes. Through basic research and applied specialties, psychology attempts to contribute to solutions of these issues.