Exploring the Text: In-depth reading

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Task 5. [individually]

Read the text closely. Answer the margin questions and use the hints to understand the text better. Read the text again and complete the chart above. Write psychologists’ contributions and definitions of key concepts if they are available in the text. Use ‘Looking for explanations of unfamiliar words’ strategies.

MODULE 1: THE EVOLUTION OF PSYCHOLOGY The following is an overview of the evolution of psychology. It provides a general guideline as to key terms and people. EARLY FOCUS: STRUCTURALISM VERSUS FUNCTIONALISM The first two major schools of thought, STRUCTURALISM and FUNCTIONALISM, began the “battle” of many competing₁ schools of thought about what psychologists should study. Wilhelm Wundt established the first lab in 1897 to explore the “contents” or “structure” of thought through INTROSPECTION, the systematic self-observation of one’s conscious experience. William James, the architect₂ of FUNCTIONALISM, disagreed with this approach in his landmark₃ book, Principles of Psychology in 1890, in which he asserted that consciousness is a continuous “stream of consciousness” and therefore should focus on the function or purpose of consciousness₄. His views fostered₅ the development of the modern focus on applied psychology and behaviorism. BEHAVIORAL CONTRIBUTIONS John Watson, an early radical behaviorist, assumed behavior was wholly determined by conditions of the environment and searched for environmental rather than internal₆ causes of behavior₇. Ivan Pavlov contributed laws of CLASSICAL CONDITIONING while B.F. Skinner developed OPERANT CONDITIONING theories of the learning process. The behavioral approach to psychology assumes that man is born a "TABULA RASA", a blank slate, and that behavior is determined by what one has learned. Man's behavior is shaped₈ by the ENVIRONMENT and one's behavior can be predicted from one's learning history and environmental determinants of behaviors such as REINFORCERS. Behaviorists are not concerned with inner₉ mental processes. Behaviorists consider OBSERVABLE, MEASURABLE BEHAVIOR to be the only valid₁₀ focus for scientific investigation. The main objective is to understand how environmental stimuli “control” particular behaviors. Since environmental stimuli “cause” behavior, Skinner argued that there is no “free will” and that behavior can be investigated and predicted in a “cause-effect” scientific manner by investigating stimuli and responses₁₁. SOCIAL LEARNING THEORISTS such as Albert Bandura focused on the importance of MODELING AND IMITATION in the learning processes. They argued that people may influence the environment just as the environment may influence them. PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES PSYCHOANALYSIS is Sigmund Freud's PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY that emphasizes the interplay of UNCONSCIOUS MENTAL PROCESSES in determining behavior. As these inner drives₁₂, motives and instinctual energies often clash₁₃, Freud's theory is also known as a CONFLICT APPROACH. INTRAPSYCHIC CONFLICTS between the three parts of Freud's model of the mind, the ID, EGO and SUPEREGO, create anxiety and tension, "causing" the ego to act directly or indirectly through DEFENSE MECHANISMS to reduce anxiety. PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY is also deterministic₁₄. Personality is "determined" not only by unconscious motives and drives but also by early childhood experience and INBORN DRIVES which are largely unconscious. Unconscious sexual drives were a controversial focus of Freud’s theory. Many of his own students disagreed with the focus and developed their own schools of thought as to what was the strongest motivator of human behavior. NEO-FREUDIANS studied under Freud and developed new ideas to extend the focus of psychoanalytic theory. Alfred Adler emphasized man's striving for superiority and need to compensate for perceived feelings of inferiority. He suggested power dynamics such as BIRTH ORDER often gives us feelings of power or powerlessness in our family ₁₅. Erik Erikson proposed that development occurred throughout an individual's lifespan in response to eight PSYCHOSOCIAL CRISES. Carl Jung proposed that the mind also contains a COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS, a set of memories and capacities representative of the experiences of earlier generations that are a potent₁₆ influence on human behavior. THE HUMANISTIC REVOLT₁₇ THE HUMANISTIC SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY revolted against both the behavioristic and psychoanalytic schools in the 1950’s, charging₁₈ that both schools were pessimistic, deterministic and “dehumanizing” Humanistic psychology emphasizes personal growth and the achievement of human potential. Considered the "third force" in psychology, the optimistic view of man emphasizes HEALTHY HUMAN BEHAVIOR and FREE WILL. The motivating force is the unique "SELF" that strives to "self-actualize" its inborn potential. Humanists focus on the self-concept, personal feelings, human dignity and free choice. Personal growth and self-fulfillment are natural strivings of our innate good nature, the natural unfolding₁₉ of our unique and precious self. Carl Rogers emphasized the importance of a positive SELF-CONCEPT and founded CLIENT-CENTERED THERAPY, a non-directive, person-centered relationship that enabled the person to freely explore values, feelings and goals in a climate of acceptance and positive regard provided by the therapist₂₀. Abraham Maslow spent his lifetime as a humanistic psychologist studying healthy persons who had self-actualized their potential. He identified the characteristics of persons who had fulfilled their potential so that we could understand the process of self-actualization. Humanistic psychologists focused on mental health, wellness, personal growth and “self-development”, so prevalent₂₁ in our “self-help” books that flourish today. COGNITIVE APPROACHES The GESTALT SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY focuses on principles of PERCEPTION. This school of thought emphasizes that all psychological phenomena must be studied as a whole "GESTALT" rather than in parts. The "GESTALT", the whole, or "pattern" is more than the sum of its parts. Gestaltists believe we organize stimuli in particular patterns that give them "meaning." Principles such as the relationship of the figure to the background, FIGURE-GROUND RELATIONSHIP, organize our perceptions and give them "meaning". Fritz Perls developed Gestalt therapy. His therapy focuses on integrating largely disowned₂₂ parts of the self into the "whole" person. One might act out a projection to find one's real feeling, "play" an exaggerated role to discover one's full emotion, "talk to" an empty chair that represents an unacceptable part of self to "reown" one's feelings or unacknowledged desires. Gestalt therapists encourage people to focus on the "here-and-now", to develop full awareness of their feelings and emotions, to resolve past conflicts that are draining their energy so that they can actively control their lives and fully develop their "whole" being and potential. COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY has experienced a recent resurgence₂₃ from the early approach to the study of conscious thought. Today Cognitive Psychology focuses on reasoning and mental processing of information. This currently favored approach to psychology studies processes of the mind such as memory, attention, decision-making, imagery and problem solving. Cognitive psychologists believe our thinking is the key causal factor in behavior. For instance, Albert Ellis promotes the ABC theory of emotions, that is, it is not A, the activating event that causes C, the consequences, but B, our beliefs, our thoughts about the event. It is not the event or environment that disturbs us, but our thought or beliefs about a situation that creates havoc₂₄ in our lives. NEGATIVE SELF-TALK, IRRATIONAL BELIEFS, CATASTROPHIC THINKING and RIGID THINKING are the real "causes" of our emotional turmoil₂₅, our depressions and our disturbing thoughts. COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGISTS are interested in the way people think about things, the internal mental events that influence how we behave. They believe our behavior is a product of our INTERPRETATION of environmental stimuli that are influenced by our memories from the past which lead us to form EXPECTANCIES of what will happen now₂₆. Cognitive psychologists are developing objective methods to study mental processing and decision-making. Others such as Beck are focusing on therapeutic applications to problems like depression. BIOPSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES Recently a renewed focus on the BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE has arisen from the advances of medical science and biochemistry. It has become obvious that there are strong relationships between the body, the mind and human behavior. Advances in research on the brain, nervous system, mental illness, genetics and psychopharmacology have stimulated vast research into the way our bodies affect our minds and vice versa. Advocates₂₇ of the Biopsychological Perspective argue that much of human behavior can be explained in terms of bodily processes and structures, genetics and biochemical processes. Numerous advances have been made in areas such as the treatment of mental illness through the interchange of ideas of psychology and biological sciences. These are some of the major schools of thought in the science of psychology. Each school shares major assumptions and approaches to research. Many psychologists are ECLECTIC and develop their own theories and methods of study from a mixture of viewpoints and schools. More than 50% of therapists consider themselves to be ECLECTIC. (Module 1: The evolution of psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2004, from http://inst.santafe.cc.fl.us/~mwehr/StudyGM/MOD1.htm)

1. What does ‘competing’ mean here? Hint: easy to guess if you know the word ‘competition’ + immediate context. 2. ‘Architect’ isn’t used in its literal meaning here. What does it mean? 3. ‘landmark’ literally means ‘веха , ориентир’ What does it mean here? 4. Analyze the sentence, identifying its independent and dependent clauses. 5. ’Foster’: help to happen or prevent from happening? 6. ‘Internal’ is opposed to ‘environmental’ in this context, so what does it mean? 7. Analyze the sentence, identifying its independent and dependent clauses. 8. 'shape':noun or verb? What does it mean? 9. Considering the previous paragraphs, work out the meaning of ‘inner’. 10. ‘Valid’ has two meanings: legally acceptable & based on what is logical or true. Which meaning is it used with here? 11. Analyze the sentence, identifying its independent and dependent clauses. 12. ‘drives’: noun or verb? Does it mean ‘a journey in a car’ or ‘instinct’? 13. What is ‘clash’? Hint: the word ‘conflict’ in the immediate context 14. What does ‘deterministic’ mean here? 15. Analyze the sentence, identifying its independent and dependent clauses. 16. ‘potent’: noun, verb or adjective? Is there a similar word in your mother tongue? What does it mean? 17. What is ‘revolt’? Hint: ‘revolution’ 18. ‘to charge’ has a lot of meanings. Which meaning is it used here with? - to ask an amount of money for goods or a service ; - to accuse sb publicly of doing sth wrong or bad; - to rush forward and attack sb/sth 19. What does ‘unfolding’mean? Hint: ‘to unfold’= to gradually make sth known to other people 20. Analyze the sentence, identifying its independent and dependent clauses. 21. ‘prevalent’: cognate or false friend? 22. What does ‘disowned’ mean here? Hint: contrast in the context : ‘integrate’ 23. Can you work out the meaning of ‘resurgence’ here? 24. ‘havoc’ : a lot of damage & disorder or benefit & order? 25.Consider the context and work out the meaning of ‘turmoil’. 26. Analyze the sentence, identifying its independent and dependent clauses. 27. ’advocate’: ‘lawyer’ or ‘supporter’ here? 28. What does ‘eclectic’mean? Hint: ‘эклектический’ + context: ‘mixture of viewpoints and schools’

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