Exam 3

Question 1

What is the defining difference between structuralism and functionalism?

Answer 1

Structuralism is a study into the structural aspects of consciousness while functionalism focuses upon the functional aspect of consciousness

Question 2

How was functionalism an FU to European psychology?

Answer 2

Functionalism is the first uniquely American system of psycology and was a response to the utilitarian and stricy research methods of Wundy (experimentalism)and Titchener (structuralism)

Question 3

Why is Darwin recognized as the father of evolution despite there being so many earlier publications into the same subject?

Answer 3

Darwin had the most well organized and detailed evidence, so the data could no longer be ignored

Question 4

What was the argument against the theory of evolution at the time and why did Darwin wait 22 years to publish his ideas?

Answer 4

• If humans are shown to be similar to animals they will begin to behave that way.
• He would be damned as a heretic, so he gathered irrefutable evidence

Question 5

Why did Darwin finally come out with his theory of evolution?

Answer 5

Another scientist Alfred Russel Wallace wrote to him with the same theory

Question 6

What are the main ideas of Darwin’s theories?

Answer 6

1. survival of the fittest/natural selection
2. evolution

Question 7

What was Darwin’s contribution to child psychology?

Answer 7

Darwin kept a detailed report of his child and its early developmental stages

Question 8

What were Darwin’s contributions to psychology as a whole?

Answer 8

• Evolutionary psychology = focus on animal psychology and their connections to our own, aided in developing the testing side of psychology
• Functionalism = individuals wanted to create a new scientific base for psychology using the new testing methods that Darwin uncovered
• Darwin recognized different traits within animals of the same species which led to psychologists also focusing on the different traits of individuals

Question 9

Were individual differences a common area of study for psychologists before functionalism took root?

Answer 9

No, Galton led to the widespread acceptance of studying individual differences

Question 10

What is Galton’s theory?

Answer 10

• Galton believed that individual differences cannot be accounted for entirely by the environment
• Great people with talents were due to genetics
• Due to these beliefs, he strongly promoted eugenics, even going as far as to suggest intelligence tests for individuals exceptional enough to breed

Question 11

What was Galton’s contribution to experimental psychology?

Answer 11

The popularity of the normal curve, Galton found many distrubutions that followed the normal curve trend
- Correlational studies = aided in its creation, his student (Pearson) created the modern equation
- Mental tests = origin of the concept, completed sensory testing as intelligence testing

Question 12

How did Galton test people’s association of ideas?

Answer 12

Main problems: diversity of associations of ideas and reaction time
Method of testing: doing free associations himself through walks and lists of words, aka the word-association test

Question 13

How did Galton test mental imagery?

Answer 13

He asked participants to describe in detail a basic task in their life
- discovered the fact that individuals can generate mental images with differing levels of clarity
- believed this spectrum occured in a normal curve within the population

Question 14

What are George John Romanes contributions to psychology?

Answer 14

• Formalized the study of animal intelligence
• Developed the mental ladder, scale of animal intelligence based on mental functioning
• Early comparitive psychologist

Question 15

What is introspection by analogy?

Answer 15

The act of assuming an observed animal’s mental process also takes place within our own mind
- also assumes that our higher thinking processes occur within animals

Question 16

Who is Conwy Lloyd Morgan and what was his contribution to psychology?

Answer 16

• The successor of Romanes
• Proposed the law of parsimony

Question 17

Define the variability hypothesis.

Answer 17

• Suggested that men have greater variability in traits, making them superior in intelligence and ability.
• Women’s traits tended to cluster around average/mean
• Thought to prove that women would not benefit from education

Question 18

What was Spencer’s social darwinism?

Answer 18

The belief that in society on the best succeed and led large lives

Question 19

What is neurasthenia and how did the treatment of it differ between men and women?

Answer 19

• James’ theory that individuals have mental and physical exhaustion due to being overworked
• Women were advised to lie in bed, speak to no one, and get fat while men were advised to work harder

Question 20

Why is James considered to be the greatest American psychologist?

Answer 20

1. He wrote with clarity and charm
2. Opposed Wundt’s goal and pushed the analysis of consciousness
3. Promoted stream of consciousness, introspection with a purpose, and pragmatism (belief that the validity of an idea must be tested)

Question 21

Define James’ theory of emotions?

Answer 21

Stimuli - perception - emotion

Question 22

Define James’ the three-part self.

Answer 22

Our person is made up of our material self, social self, and spritual self

Question 23

Who proved that there were no functional differences between the sexes?

Answer 23

Helen Woolley and Leta Hollingworth

Question 24

How did Helen and Leta prove that there were no functional differences between the sexes?

Answer 24

Both used expirmental studies in which individual’s mental abilities were tested and compared. In both, the difference was not significant
- Leta specifically studied whether period affected a woman’s abilities, which it did not

Question 25

Define Hall's recapitulation theory.

Answer 25

Theory that an individual follows the evolutionary stages of the world - savage baby, learning child, working adult, dependent elderly

Question 26

Why was Hall significant to psychology?

Answer 26

- Founded the first american psychology journal - aided in the establishment of the APA - Studied children and led to the formalization of the child study movment - Began adolescent psychology

Question 27

Define Dewey's reflex arc.

Answer 27

Theory that a unit of behavior is due to a continuous and integrated process (functionalism) instead of multiple working components (structuralism)

Question 28

What did Dewey believe were the appropriate subjects of psychology?

Answer 28

1. Psychology should study behavior as a whole 2. Understand that the mind helps individuals adapt 3. Believed psychology should progress and apply problems

Question 29

What were Angell's three major themes of the functionalist movement?

Answer 29

1. functional Psychology is the study into mental operations 2. Functional psychology is the study into the fundamental unit of consciousness 3. Functional psychology is the study into mind-body relations

Question 30

Explain Woodworth’s dynamic psychology and his views on the appropriate subject matter for psychology.

Answer 30

- Dynamic psychology is the study into motivation - Woodworth believed in introspection and thought psychology should focus on explaining why people behave as they do

Question 31

What are some criticisms for functionalism?

Answer 31

1. Structuarlists argued that is wasn't psychology 2. Argued that applied psychology was unnecessary

Question 32

Describe the contributions of Cattell.

Answer 32

- Psychologist who worked under Wundt and Galton, so he pushed for experimentalism and statistics - Pushed for rights for professors and researchers - Coined the term mental tests

Question 33

What psychological testing came from WW1?

Answer 33

1. Sanford-Binet Test 2. Army Alpha and Army Beta 3. Personality testing

Question 34

How was intelligence testing unfair for races other than white?

Answer 34

The tests were designed by and for white people, and then applied to everyone