Study Guide Unit 1

Question 1

Front

Answer 1

Back

Question 2

1 Compare and contrast Stocking’s (1965) notions of presentism and historicism, and discuss the relative merits of each approach. What considerations are involved in deciding what to include in a history of psychology? Define a Zeitgeist, and explain its relationship to historical accounts. Define both the great-person approach to history and the historical development approach. What approach did Henley elect to use?

Answer 2

Presentism: interprets past using current standards; clarifies relevance but risks distortion.
Historicism: interprets ideas in their own historical context; greater accuracy but less immediate evaluation.
Inclusion decisions: influence, originality, context, consequences, representativeness.
Zeitgeist: “spirit of the times” shaping ideas; limits/enables thinkers.
Great-person approach: history driven by exceptional individuals.
Historical development approach: ideas emerge from broader cultural/scientific forces.
Henley: primarily historical development, with attention to individuals.

Question 3

2 Define and describe the three reasons the author cites for studying the history of psychology: (a) deeper understanding, (b) recognition of fads and fashions, (c) a source of valuable ideas. Why did Galileo and Kant claim that psychology could never be a science? What are the two major components of a science?

Answer 3

(a) Deeper understanding of current concepts.
(b) Recognize fads/fashions and avoid repetition.
(c) Recover valuable neglected ideas.
Galileo & Kant: psychology lacks quantification and experimental control; mind not measurable like physical objects.
Two components of science: empirical observation + theory.

Question 4

3 Define empirical observation and scientific theory, including its two functions, and describe their relation to rationalism and empiricism. What is public observation and why is it important? Describe the two types of scientific laws and give an original example of each. Describe the difficulties in identifying causes.
Comment: Henley treats determinism as an assumption necessary for scientific work, but other treatments have emphasized that determinism arises more as an empirical generalization than an a priori assumption. Scientists often find and document regularities in nature. (For example, in psychology we find that clear instructions, along with incentives, induce people to follow such instructions.) After successfully documenting regularities, scientists come to conclude that because they have discovered lawful and predictable patterns in nature in the past, they will similarly find such lawful and predictable patterns in the future. In other words, scientists generalize from past experiences to the current situation and to future situations they may encounter.

Answer 4

Empirical observation: systematic, measurable observation.
Scientific theory: organized explanatory system; functions—(1) explain, (2) predict.
Rationalism: knowledge via reason; Empiricism: via experience.
Public observation: replicable, observable by others; ensures objectivity.
Scientific laws: (1) Correlational—regular association (e.g., stress ↑ → errors ↑). (2) Causal—specifies cause-effect (e.g., sleep deprivation impairs memory).
Cause difficulties: multiple causation, bidirectionality, hidden variables.
Comment included: Determinism may be treated as assumption (Henley) or as empirical generalization from discovered regularities.

Question 5

4 Describe Karl Popper’s (1902–1994) objections to the traditional view of scientific activity. Define the principle of falsifiability and the concept of postdiction, describing their relevance to scientific theorizing. Describe Popper’s views on theories.

Answer 5

Popper: rejects verificationism; induction cannot prove theories.
Falsifiability: theory must be testable and refutable.
Postdiction: explaining known facts after the fact; weaker than risky prediction.
Theories: bold conjectures; never proven, only tentatively corroborated; progress via refutation.

Question 6

5 Describe Thomas Kuhn’s (1922–1996) conception of scientific activity and define his notions of normal science, puzzle solving, anomalies, and his three stages of scientific development. According to Henley, at what stage is contemporary psychology? Describe Feyerabend’s analysis of the use of rules and methods in science.

Answer 6

Kuhn: science is paradigm-driven.
Normal science: research within accepted paradigm.
Puzzle solving: refining paradigm-based problems.
Anomalies: findings inconsistent with paradigm.
Stages: (1) Pre-paradigmatic, (2) Normal science, (3) Crisis → Scientific revolution.
Henley: psychology largely pre-paradigmatic/multiparadigmatic.
Feyerabend: no fixed method (“anything goes”); rules often violated in progress.

Question 7

6 Define and describe biological, environmental, and sociocultural determinism, as well as physical and psychical determinism. What did Freud mean when he said that much behaviour is overdetermined? Define Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and describe its relevance to psychological research.

Answer 7

Biological determinism: genes/biology determine behaviour.
Environmental determinism: environment shapes behaviour.
Sociocultural determinism: culture/social forces determine behaviour.
Physical determinism: behaviour caused by physical events.
Psychical determinism: mental events caused by prior mental events.
Freud: overdetermination—behaviour has multiple causes.
Heisenberg uncertainty principle: measurement alters what is measured; limits precision—analogous caution in psychological measurement.

Question 8

7 Define indeterminism, free will and nondeterminism. Define William James’s notions of hard and soft determinism. What does Henley conclude regarding whether psychology is a science?

Answer 8

Indeterminism: not all events caused.
Free will: capacity to choose among alternatives.
Nondeterminism: some events probabilistic.
James—Hard determinism: strict causation, no freedom.
Soft determinism (compatibilism): freedom compatible with causation (freedom = acting without coercion).
Henley: psychology qualifies as a science if it uses systematic observation and theory, despite limits.

Question 9

8 Cite and describe the essential features of the eight persistent questions in psychology. Define the terms used to describe the various mind-body views (i.e., types of monism and dualism). Be sure that that following terms are reflected in your answer; nativism, empiricism, mechanism, vitalism, rationalism, naive realism, reification, universalism, and relativism.
Comment: The eight questions (plus a ninth, about free will versus determinism) are:
a How are the mind and body related?
b What is the difference between objective and subjective reality?
c Are the determinants of human behaviour rational causes or irrational ones?
d To what extent are human features inherited or due to experience?
e What is the origin of human knowledge?
f What is the nature of the self?
g How are humans related to non-human animals?
h What is the nature of universal versus relative truth?

Answer 9

Eight persistent questions: mind-body relation; objective vs subjective reality; rational vs irrational causes; heredity vs experience (nativism vs empiricism); origin of knowledge (rationalism vs empiricism); nature of self; human–animal continuity; universalism vs relativism; plus free will vs determinism.
Mind-body views: Monism (materialism/physicalism; idealism), Dualism (interactionism, parallelism).
Mechanism vs vitalism: machine-like causation vs vital force.
Naive realism: perception reflects reality directly.
Reification: treating abstract concepts as concrete.
Universalism: truths apply everywhere; Relativism: truth depends on context/culture.