A.

Check your Knowledge

C. 1. John Watson was the founder of the school of thought that became known as
__________.
a. functionalism
b. structuralism
c. behaviorism
d. humanism

C. 2. Freud's theories differed radically from the views of his predecessors because of
__________.
a. its extensive use of laboratory research to support its claims
b. the emphasis it placed on Eastern philosophies and culture
c. the emphasis it placed on unconscious processes
d. its emphasis on environmental learning as the source for most personality
characteristics

A. 3. Which of the following is NOT associated with Gestalt psychology?

a. Koffka
b. James
c. Wertheimer
d. Kohler

A. 4. Studying the elements of sensations, feelings, and images is most directly associated with
which school of psychology?
a. structuralism
b. functionalism
c. behaviorism
d. humanism

B. 5. Watson felt that psychologists should study __________.

a. consciousness
b. observable behavior
c. mental imagery
d. elements of thought

B. 6. Which school of psychology assumes that human activity cannot be broken down into
separate units for analysis but must be evaluated as wholes?
a. humanism
b. Gestalt
c. functionalism
d. behaviorism
B. 7. Naturalistic observation is ____________________.
a. re-creating natural conditions in the laboratory as closely as possible to make an
experiment more valid
b. studying behavior in its natural context
c. basically the same process as objective introspection
d. observing behavior in the lab without taking formal notes or using technological
equipment to measure the experiment findings

D. 8. Which of the following types of psychologists is most prepared to help a person who hears
voices and believes she is Joan of Arc?
a. forensic
b. counseling
c. school
d. clinical

C. 9. Humanistic psychologists believe that:

a. humans are basically destructive and must constantly fight negative impulses.
b. psychologists should study only objective events such as stimuli and behaviors.
c. people are basically good and will generally strive to achieve positive social goals.
d. none of the above

D. 10. Psychologists use techniques based on ___________.

a. cultural ethnocentrism
b. objective introspection
c. philosophical logic
d. the scientific method

B. Analysis/Application

1. How did the School of Structuralism differ from the School of Functionalism?

Structuralism and functionalism are the two approaches to psychology. They are also
the first two earliest psychological theories that aimed to describe human behavior in various
ways and to approach the study of psychology from different perspectives.

Structuralism focuses on the nature of the mind such as examining consciousness on

the components of the mind such as thoughts, perception, sensation etc. Researchers have
sought to explain the essential elements of consciousness using a process known
as introspection; the examining and become mindful of one’s own consciousness, feeling and
emotions. As a consequence, it is too subjective to lack reliability. Additionally, it places a lot of
importance on internal actions that cannot be observable and evaluated.

In the other hand, functionalism was a reaction to structuralism. It focuses in the

applications with the aid of mental research and behavioral approaches and analyzes “why and
how” the mind behaves. It tries to clarify the mental processes in a more systematic and precise
way. It places a great deal of importance on concrete problems and overlooks the subjectivity of
individual thought processes.

2. Present the basic ideas behind the seven modern approaches used in Psychology
today.

 Biopsychological Approach
It analyzes how brains, neurotransmitters, and other aspects of our biology
affects our attitudes, emotions, and feelings. It is known to be the result of our genetics
and physiology. It is the only approach in psychology that explores thoughts, feelings,
and actions from a biological and thus physical point of view.

 Behavioral Approach
It focuses on the learning process and behavior. This is the form in which the
environmental factors called stimuli have specific impact on our actions. The approach is
very concerned with the way we have learned things and how we maintain that
information. This information allows one to apply it to variety of different things, including
mental wellbeing, such as treatments and therapy.

 Humanistic Approach
This approach is a psychological viewpoint that looks at the person as a whole
person. It looks at the individual’s thinking and actions through observation as well as
how that individual view things. The concepts of self-actualization are very important
since it focuses on what drives people to grow, improve, and develop their personal
potential.

 Psychoanalytic Approach
It is the approach that brings to consciousness what occurs at an unconscious or
subconscious level. It focuses on the unconscious mind and its effect over conscious
actions and on early childhood experiences, but with less of an emphasis on sex and
sexual motivations and more emphasis on the formation of a sense of self, social and
interpersonal relationships, and the exploration of other motives behind a person’s
behavior.

 Cognitive Approach
Aims on how people think, remember, store, and use information. It focuses on
memory, intelligence, understanding, thought processes, problem solving, language, and
learning. Cognitive psychologists also use an information-processing model, compared
to the human mind to a computer, to conceptualize how information is acquired,
interpreted, stored, and utilized.

 Sociocultural Approach
It incorporates two fields of study: social psychology, which is the study of
communities, social roles, and rules of social actions and relationships; and cultural
psychology, which is the study of cultural norms, beliefs, and expectations. The
approach of sociocultural perspective reminds people of the manner in which they and
others act (or even think) is affected not only by whether they are alone, with friends, in a
 crowd, or part of a community, but also by the social norms, fads, class distinctions, and
ethnic identity of the specific culture in which they live.

 Eclecticsm
An approach that draws on a variety of theoretical orientations and techniques. It
incorporates elements of two or more distinct approaches to satisfy the client’s needs.
For example, an eclectic therapist can use methods such as psychodynamic therapy,
cognitive-behavioral therapy, and dialectal behavioral therapy, depending on what works
best for a specific person.

3. Why is Psychology considered a science, and what are the steps in using the scientific
method?

Psychology was known to be a science because it follows analytical approach.

Researchers must observe them psychological and behavioral processes in order to study
them. Whenever a human being observes someone or something, there is always a chance that
the observer may see only what he or she intends to see. Psychologists don’t want to enable
these potential prejudices to causes them to make faulty observations. They want to be
thorough, and evaluate as carefully as they can—so they use the scientific method to research
psychology. This can be accomplished by using the scientific method, a mechanism to reduce
bias and error in data measurement.

The scientific method is a way to fulfil the aims of psychology. There are five steps used
in scientific method, first is perceiving the question, the second is forming of the hypothesis, the
third is testing the hypothesis, the fourth is drawing of conclusions and lastly reporting the
results.

4. What is the difference between independent variable and dependent variable? Present
a research problem, and identify the dependent and independent variables.

The name for the variable that is controlled in every experiment is the independent
variable since it is independent of everything the participants do. The research participants are
not able to pick or vary an independent variable, and their behavior does not influence this
variable at all.

The response of the participants to the manipulation of the independent variable is a

dependent relationship, thus the response of the participants that is measured is known as the
dependent variable. Their actions, if the hypothesis is right, should rely on whether or not they
have been subjected to an independent variable. The dependent variable is often the thing
(response of subjects or consequence of any action) that is calculated to see if the independent
variable might have influenced it.

One basic example of research problem is “how does phone use before bedtime affect
sleep?” The independent variable on this problem is the amount of phone use before bed.
However, the dependent variable is the number of hours of sleep and quality of sleep.