Chapter 1
Answers to Before You Go On Questions
1. How is behaviour different from mental processes? How are they the same? Behaviours are
observable activities of an organism in relation to environmental cues, whereas mental
processes aim to describe the activity of our brains when we are engaged with our
environment. These include complex experiences such as joy and love, which are not easily
observed but nonetheless important in how we relate too and interact with our environment.
Recent advances in brain scanning have made it possible to note connections between
behaviour and mental processes. Essentially, we are beginning to be able to see the behaviour
of the brain.
2. What are the three levels of analysis in psychology? The three levels of analysis are (1) the
brain, or how individuals differ from one another in terms of brain structure and activity and
how both change across situations; (2) the person, or how a person’s mental processes
influence his or her behaviour; and (3) the group, or how our behaviour is shaped by our
social and cultural environments.
3. What do the earliest myths have in common with today’s scientific studies? Both myths and
scientific study reflect our innate human need to understand and make sense of ourselves,
other humans, and the natural world around us. They both reflect attempts to describe,
explain, predict, and control our reality.
4. Greek philosophers who believed reasoning would uncover ideals or core ideas were focused
on which aspect of psychology? Early Greek philosophers took great steps forward in
theories focussed on our core understanding of mental states and processes, which would
eventually become the building blocks of modern psychology.
5. How did the Greek philosopher Hippocrates explain mental processes and behaviour? How
did his research methods influence today’s study of psychology? Hippocrates believed that an
individual’s psychological and physiological health were influenced by various body
humours, or vital liquids. He believed that the human body had four key fluids—blood,
phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile—which collectively determined our well-being and our
individual responses to certain situations. Hippocrates tested his theories through the use of
direct observation and dissections, rooting future academic research in the realm of similar
detailed study methods.
6. What is introspection, and which early school of psychologists relied most heavily upon it?
Introspection is a method originated by the father of experimental psychology, Wilhelm
Wundt. It literally means “looking inward.” This method involves careful observation of the
details of our mental processes and how we expand simple thoughts into complex ideas. The
school of structuralism, based in the United States and founded by one of Wundt’s students,
Edward Titchener, relied heavily upon this school of thought.
7. What is the main difference in approach between functionalism and structuralism?
Functionalism focuses on the study of mental processes and how the mind adapts to changing
environments (how it serves us functionally). Structuralism states that the mind is a
collection of sensory experiences or basic elements, and it focuses on strictly mental
processes rather than an explanation of the mechanisms underlying those processes.
8. What did the Gestalt psychologists study? The word Gestalt, of German origin, literally
means “whole” or “form,” and this school of thought aimed to study how we perceive stimuli
as whole complete forms rather than individual parts or divided components of a whole.
9. Which theorist is most closely associated with psychoanalytic theory—the theory that
unconscious conflicts, rooted in childhood, affect much of our behaviour? Sigmund Freud, a
Viennese neurologist, is the theorist most closely associated with the idea that our thoughts
and feelings exist beyond our conscious awareness, in the unconscious.
10. According to behaviourist theorists, what are the various reinforcement principles, and what
impact does each have on behaviour? The types of reinforcement are positive reinforcement
(reward), which increases the likelihood that certain behaviours will be repeated, and
negative reinforcement, which does the same things as positive reinforcement but by
removing an unpleasant stimulus (parents stop yelling at their children when they eat their
broccoli). Both of these types of reinforcement make it more likely that the behaviour
preceding it will be repeated. Punishment is the application of a negative influence, which
decreases the likelihood that a preceding behaviour will be repeated.
11. What did humanist theorist Abraham Maslow suggest is the ultimate goal of human beings?
According to Abraham Maslow, the ultimate goal of human beings is self-actualization; that
is, the need to find self-fulfillment and realize one’s full potential.
12. What are cognitions? As noted by Ulric Neisser, cognition is described as “all the processes
by which...sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, sorted, recovered, and used”
(Neisser, 1967, p. 4). He went on to define cognitive psychology as the study of information
processing—the means by which information is stored and managed internally.
13. What is the main idea of evolutionary psychology? The central idea of evolutionary
psychology is the belief that the body and brain are products of evolutionary adaptation and
that genetic inheritance plays an important role in shaping the range of thoughts and
behaviours experienced by humans.
14. What are the three major branches of psychology? The three major branches of psychology
are academic psychology, clinical and counselling psychology (which includes clinical,
counselling, and clinical neuropsychology), and applied psychology.
15. What is cultural universality, and what kinds of psychologists are interested in it? Cultural
universality involves the search for mental processes that exist across all cultures in addition
to looking for important cultural differences.
16. What is the focus of positive psychology? Positive psychology focuses on more upbeat
features of human functioning, including happiness, having meaning in our lives, and
character strengths. As well, increased attention is paid to how those features of positive
living might be developed more readily.