Study Guide Prologue
Tripken AP Psychology
Pre-scientific Psychology
Socrates, Plato, and Descartes: Believed the mind and body were separate entities (dualism) and that some
ideas, thoughts, traits, etc., were inborn. (Nature over Nurture).
Aristotle and Locke: Believed that the mind and body were connected (monism) and that the mind was a
"blank slate" upon which experience writes (Nurture over Nature).
Psychology as a Science - Psychology's roots are in medicine and philosophy.
Psychology grew out of a field called psychophysics.
A. Structuralism: an early school of psychology that used objective introspection to explore the structural
elements of the mind.
Wilhelm Wundt (first psychological laboratory)
Edward Titchner
B. Functionalism: a school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral processes function-how they enable the organism to flourish, adapt, and survive.
William James: Wrote Principles of Psychology (the first textbook)
C. Gestalt Psychology: School of psychology that studies how people perceive and experience objects as
whole patterns. Their motto: "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts". Their focus is perception.
Wertheimer, Kohler, and Koffka
Contemporary Psychology's 3 Big Issues
1. Nature-nurture: the controversy over the relative contributions that genes (nature) and experience
(nurture) make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.
2. Stability versus Change: Do our individual traits change as we age or do they remain fairly stable? Also,
do our traits change in different situations?
3. Rationality versus Irrationality: Are we in control of our own behavior? Do we have free will or are we at
the mercy of unconscious desires or our environment? Do we really deserve to be called homo sapiens?
Psychology's Perspectives
Neuroscience: Studies how the brain (and other body systems) create emotions, memories, and sensory
experiences.
Evolutionary: Studies how natural selection of behavioral traits promotes the perpetuation of one's genes.
Behavior Genetics: Studies how much our genes and our environment influence our individual differences.
Psychodynamic: Focuses on how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts (based on Freud's
psychoanalytic theory).
Behavioral: How contingencies in the environment cause us to LEARN observable responses. (Skinner
&Watson)
Cognitive: Studies how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information.
Humanistic: Focuses on free will and reaching one's full human potential. (Maslow & Rogers)
Social-cultural: Looks at how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures.
Psychology's Subfields
Biological Ψ: Concerned with the links between the brain and nervous system and behavior.
Developmental Ψ: Study of physical, cognitive, and social changes throughout the lifespan.
Social Ψ: The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.
Cognitive Ψ: The scientific study of how we think, perceive, and solve problems.
Personality Ψ: Investigation of personality traits.
Industrial/Organizational Ψ: The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human
behavior in the workplace.
Clinical Ψ: The study, assessment, and treatment of people with mental illnesses. Clinical psychologists hold
Ph.D.'s.
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Prologue Exam Guide
Basic Research: pure experimental research that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.
Applied Research: Scientific research that aims to solve practical problems.
Psychiatry: A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians (MD's).
Current Views of PsychologyNeurobiology- Behavior viewed in terms of biological responses
Behaviorism- Behavior viewed as a product of learned responses.
Humanism- Behavior viewed as a reflection of internal growth. Free will, self-actualization, **Carl
Rogers, client-centered therapy / Humanist
Psychodynamic – Behavior viewed as a reflection of unconscious aggressive and sexual impulses
Cognitive Psychology – Behavior viewed as a product of various internal sentences or thoughts.
Sociocultural – Behavior viewed as strongly influenced by the rules and expectations of specific social groups
or cultures
TERMS ….some not all!!
Psychology- the scientific study of the behavior of living things
4 goals- describe, understand, predict and control
Theory – general framework for scientific study; smaller aspects can be tested
Charles Darwin – theories led to comparative psychology, inspired early functionalists
Wilhelm Wundt- ‘father of psychology’, first scientific lab
Introspection- the process of looking into yourself and describing what is there
Structuralism- the first theoretical school in psychology, stated that all complex substances could be
separated and analyzed into component elements
Sigmund Freud- psychodynamic approach, emphasis on the unconscious
William James- wrote ‘Principles of Psychology’, a functionalist , coined the phrase‘stream of consciousness’
Functionalist – asked what the mind does and why, believed that all behavior and mental processes help
organisms to adat to a changing environment
John. B. Watson- behaviorist, Little Albert
Gestalt psychology –emphasized the organizational processes in behavior, rather than the content of
behavior, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Eclecticism – the process of making your own system by borrowing from two or more other systems.
Neurobiological approach (medical)- viewing behavior as the result of nervous system functions and biology
Behavioral approach –view behavior as the product of learning and associations
B. F. Skinner- behaviorist, operant conditioning
Humanistic approach- believe people are basically good and capable of helping themselves.
Carl Rogers- a humanist
Psychoanalysis- a system of viewing the individual as the product of unconscious forces
Cognitive approach- emphasizing how humans use mental processes to handle problems or develop certain
personality characteristics
Sociocultural approach – behavior viewed as strongly influenced by the rules and expectations of specific
social groups or cultures
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Prologue Study Guide Questions
___ 1.
The Greek philosopher who believed that intelligence was inherited was:
A) Aristotle. B) Plato. C) Descartes. D) Simonides.
___ 2. To say that “psychology is a science” means that:
A) psychologists study only observable behaviors.
B) psychologists approach the study of thoughts and actions with careful
observation and rigorous analysis.
C) psychological research should be free of value judgments.
D) all of the above are true.
___ 3. In defining psychology, the text notes that psychology is most accurately described as a:
A) way of asking and answering questions.
B) field engaged in solving applied problems.
C) set of findings related to behavior and mental processes.
D) nonscientific approach to the study of mental disorders.
___ 4. Today, psychology is defined as the:
A) scientific study of mental phenomena.
B) scientific study of conscious and unconscious activity.
C) scientific study of behavior.
D) scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
___ 5. Which seventeenth-century philosopher believed that some ideas are innate?
A) Aristotle B) Plato C) Descartes D) Locke
___ 6. The philosophical views of John Locke are to those of René Descartes as ________ is
to ________.
A) nature; nurture
C) rationality; irrationality
B) nurture; nature
D) irrationality; rationality
___ 7. Francis Bacon's ideas led most directly to the scholarly view known as:
A) functionalism. B) structuralism. C) empiricism. D) introspection.
___ 8. The seventeenth-century philosopher who believed that the mind is blank at birth and
that most knowledge comes through sensory experience is:
A) Plato. B) Aristotle. C) Descartes. D) Locke.
___ 9. Psychology is defined as the “scientific study of behavior and mental processes.”
Wilhelm Wundt would have omitted which of the following words from this
definition?
A) scientific study
B) behavior and
C) and mental processes
D) Wundt would have agreed with the definition as stated.
___ 10. The first psychology laboratory was established by ________ in the year ________.
A) Wundt; 1879 B) James; 1890 C) Freud; 1900 D) Watson; 1913
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___ 11. Who would be most likely to agree with the statement, “Psychology is the science of
mental life”?
A) Wilhelm Wundt
B) John Watson
C) Ivan Pavlov
D) virtually any American psychologist during the 1960s
___ 12. In psychology, “behavior” is best defined as:
A) anything a person says, does, or feels.
B) any action we can observe and record.
C) any action, whether observable or not.
D) anything we can infer from a person's actions.
___ 13. Jawan believes that psychologists should go back to using introspection as a research
tool. This technique is based on:
A) survey methodology.
C) self-examination of mental processes.
B) experimentation.
D) the study of observable behavior.
___ 14. Who introduced the early school of structuralism?
A) Edward Titchener
C) William James
B) Wilhelm Wundt
D) Mary Whiton Calkins
___ 15. The psychological views of William James are to those of Edward Titchener as
________ is to ________.
A) nature; nurture
C) structuralism; functionalism
B) nurture; nature
D) functionalism; structuralism
___ 16. Two historical roots of psychology are the disciplines of:
A) philosophy and chemistry.
C) philosophy and biology.
B) physiology and chemistry.
D) philosophy and physics.
___ 17. Who wrote the early textbook Principles of Psychology?
A) Wilhelm Wundt B) Ivan Pavlov C) Jean Piaget D) William James
___ 18. Dharma's term paper on the history of American psychology notes that:
A) psychology began as the science of mental life.
B) from the 1920s into the 1960s, psychology was defined as the science of
observable behavior.
C) contemporary psychologists study both overt behavior and covert thoughts.
D) all of the above are true.
___ 19. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow are most closely associated with:
A) cognitive psychology.
C) psychodynamic theory.
B) behaviorism.
D) humanistic psychology.
___ 20. In its earliest days, psychology was defined as the:
A) science of mental life.
B) study of conscious and unconscious activity.
C) scientific study of observable behavior.
D) scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
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___ 21. Who would be most likely to agree with the statement, “Psychology should
investigate only behaviors that can be observed”?
A) Wilhelm Wundt B) Sigmund Freud C) John B. Watson D) William James
___ 22. Which of the following exemplifies the issue of the relative importance of nature and
nurture on our behavior?
A) the issue of the relative influence of biology and experience on behavior
B) the issue of the relative influence of rewards and punishments on behavior
C) the debate as to the relative importance of heredity and instinct in determining
behavior
D) the debate as to whether mental processes are a legitimate area of scientific study
___ 23. The biopsychosocial approach emphasizes the importance of:
A) different levels of analysis in exploring behavior and mental processes.
B) basic research over pure research.
C) pure research over basic research.
D) having a single academic perspective to guide research.
___ 24. Professor Gutierrez, who believes that human emotions are best understood as being
jointly determined by heredity, learning, and the individual's social and cultural
contexts, is evidently a proponent of the:
A) psychodynamic perspective.
C) evolutionary perspective.
B) biopsychosocial approach.
D) neuroscience perspective.
___ 25. In concluding her report on the “nature-nurture debate in contemporary psychology,”
Karen notes that:
A) most psychologists believe that nature is a more important influence on the
development of most human traits.
B) most psychologists believe that nurture is more influential.
C) the issue is more heatedly debated than ever before.
D) nurture works on what nature endows.
___ 26. Which perspective emphasizes the learning of observable responses?
A) behavioral B) social-cultural C) neuroscience D) cognitive
___ 27. The psychological perspective that places the most emphasis on how observable
responses are learned is the ________ perspective.
A) behavioral B) cognitive C) behavior genetics D) evolutionary
___ 28. Psychologists who study the degree to which genes influence our personality are
working from the ________ perspective.
A) behavioral B) evolutionary C) behavior genetics D) neuroscience
___ 29. Which psychological perspective emphasizes the interaction of the brain and body in
behavior?
A) neuroscience B) cognitive C) behavioral D) behavior genetics
___ 30. The way the mind encodes, processes, stores, and retrieves information is the primary
concern of the ________ perspective.
A) neuroscience B) evolutionary C) social-cultural D) cognitive
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___ 31. During a dinner conversation, a friend says that the cognitive and behavioral
perspectives are quite similar. You disagree and point out that the cognitive
perspective emphasizes ________, whereas the behavioral perspective emphasizes
________.
A) conscious processes; observable responses
B) unconscious processes; conscious processes
C) overt behaviors; covert behaviors
D) introspection; experimentation
___ 32. Dr. Aswad is studying people's enduring inner traits. Dr. Aswad is most likely a(n):
A) clinical psychologist.
C) personality psychologist.
B) psychiatrist.
D) industrial/organizational
psychologist.
___ 33. Dr. Jones' research centers on the relationship between changes in our thinking over
the life span and changes in moral reasoning. Dr. Jones is most likely a:
A) clinical psychologist.
C) psychiatrist.
B) personality psychologist.
D) developmental psychologist.
___ 34. A psychologist who explores how Asian and North American definitions of
attractiveness differ is working from the ________ perspective.
A) behavioral B) evolutionary C) cognitive D) social-cultural
___ 35. Dr. Ernst explains behavior in terms of different situations. Dr. Ernst is working from
the ________ perspective.
A) behavioral B) evolutionary C) social-cultural D) cognitive
___ 36. Dr. Waung investigates how a person's interpretation of a situation affects his or her
reaction. Evidently, Dr. Waung is working within the ________ perspective.
A) neuroscience B) behavioral C) cognitive D) social-cultural
___ 37. Concerning the major psychological perspectives on behavior, the text author
suggests that:
A) researchers should work within the framework of only one of the perspectives.
B) only those perspectives that emphasize objective measurement of behavior are
useful.
C) the different perspectives often complement one another; together, they provide a
fuller understanding of behavior than provided by any single perspective.
D) psychologists should avoid all of these traditional perspectives.
___ 38. A psychologist who conducts experiments solely intended to build psychology's
knowledge base is engaged in:
A) basic research.
C) industrial-organizational research.
B) applied research.
D) clinical research.
___ 39. Today, psychology is a discipline that:
A) connects with a diversity of other fields.
B) is largely independent of other disciplines.
C) is focused primarily on basic research.
D) is focused primarily on applied research.
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___ 40. Terrence wants to talk to a professional to help him cope with some academic
challenges he's facing. You recommend that he contact a(n):
A) industrial/organizational
C) counseling psychologist.
psychologist.
B) developmental psychologist.
D) psychiatrist.
___ 41. A psychologist who studies how worker productivity might be increased by changing
office layout is engaged in ________ research.
A) applied B) basic C) clinical D) developmental
___ 42. Which subfield is most directly concerned with studying human behavior in the
workplace?
A) clinical psychology
C) industrial/organizational psychology
B) personality psychology
D) psychiatry
___ 43. Which of the following individuals is also a physician?
A) clinical psychologist
C) psychiatrist
B) experimental psychologist
D) biological psychologist
___ 44. Psychologists who study, assess, and treat troubled people are called:
A) basic researchers.
C) clinical psychologists.
B) applied psychologists.
D) psychiatrists.
Answer Key
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