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THE
PSYCHOLOGY
BOOK
THE
PSYCHOLOGY
BOOK
LONDON, NEW YORK, MELBOURNE,

MUNICH, AND DELHI
DK LONDON DK DELHI First American Edition 2012
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CONTRIBUTORS
CATHERINE COLLIN VOULA GRAND
A clinical psychologist, our consultant Catherine As a business psychologist, Voula Grand consults for
Collin is an Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer in international corporations on leadership and executive
Psychological Therapies) at the University of Plymouth performance. Her first novel is Honor’s Shadow. She is
in England. Catherine’s interests lie in primary care currently writing the sequel, Honor’s Ghost.
mental health and cognitive behavior therapy.
NIGEL BENSON MERRIN LAZYAN

A lecturer in philosophy and psychology, Nigel Benson A writer, editor, and classical singer, Merrin Lazyan
has written several bestselling books on the subject of studied psychology at Harvard University and has
psychology, including Psychology for Beginners and worked on several fiction and nonfiction books,
Introducing Psychiatry. spanning a broad range of topics.
JOANNAH GINSBURG MARCUS WEEKS

A clinical psychologist and journalist, Joannah A writer and musician, Marcus Weeks studied
Ginsburg works in community treatment centers in philosophy and worked as a teacher before embarking
New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and Dallas, and on a career as an author. He has contributed to many
regularly contributes to psychology publications. She books on the arts and popular sciences.
is joint author of This Book has Issues: Adventures in
Popular Psychology.
CONTENTS
10 INTRODUCTION 38 We know the meaning
of “consciousness” so BEHAVIORISM
long as no one asks us
RESPONDING TO OUR
PHILOSOPHICAL to define it
ENVIRONMENT
ROOTS
William James
PSYCHOLOGY IN THE MAKING 46 Adolescence is 60 The sight of tasty food

a new birth makes a hungry man’s
G. Stanley Hall mouth water Ivan Pavlov
18 The four temperaments
of personality 48 24 hours after learning 62 Profitless acts are
Galen something, we forget stamped out
two-thirds of it Edward Thorndike
20 There is a reasoning Hermann Ebbinghaus
soul in this machine 66 Anyone, regardless of
Descartes 50 The intelligence of their nature, can be
an individual is not trained to be anything
22 Dormez! Abbé Faria a fixed quantity John B. Watson
Alfred Binet
24 Concepts become forces 72 That great God-given
when they resist one 54 The unconscious sees the maze which is our human
another men behind the curtains world Edward Tolman
Johann Friedrich Herbart Pierre Janet
74 Once a rat has visited our
26 Be that self which one grain sack we can plan on
truly is Søren Kierkegaard its return Edwin Guthrie
28 Personality is composed 75 Nothing is more natural

of nature and nurture than for the cat to “love”
Francis Galton the rat Zing-Yang Kuo
30 The laws of hysteria 76 Learning is just not

are universal possible Karl Lashley
Jean-Martin Charcot
77 Imprinting cannot be
31 A peculiar destruction of forgotten! Konrad Lorenz
the internal connections
of the psyche 78 Behavior is shaped by
Emil Kraepelin positive and negative
reinforcement B.F. Skinner
32 The beginnings of the
mental life date from 86 Stop imagining the scene
the beginnings of life and relax
Wilhelm Wundt Joseph Wolpe
130 The good life is a process

PSYCHOTHERAPY not a state of being COGNITIVE
THE UNCONSCIOUS PSYCHOLOGY
Carl Rogers
DETERMIINES BEHAVIOR 138 What a man can be, THE CALCULATING BRAIN
he must be
92 The unconscious is the Abraham Maslow
true psychical reality 160 Instinct is a dynamic
Sigmund Freud 140 Suffering ceases to be pattern Wolfgang Köhler
suffering at the moment
100 The neurotic carries a it finds a meaning 162 Interruption of a task
feeling of inferiority with Viktor Frankl greatly improves its
him constantly chances of being
Alfred Adler 141 One does not become fully remembered
human painlessly Bluma Zeigarnik
102 The collective unconscious Rollo May
is made up of archetypes 163 When a baby hears
Carl Jung 142 Rational beliefs create footsteps, an assembly
healthy emotional is excited
108 The struggle between the consequences Donald Hebb
life and death instincts Albert Ellis
persists throughout life 164 Knowing is a process
Melanie Klein 146 The family is the not a product
“factory” where people Jerome Bruner
110 The tyranny of the are made
“shoulds” Karen Horney Virginia Satir 166 A man with conviction
is a hard man to change
111 The superego becomes 148 Turn on, tune in, drop out Leon Festinger
clear only when it Timothy Leary
confronts the ego with 168 The magical number 7,
hostility Anna Freud 149 Insight may cause plus or minus 2
blindness George Armitage Miller
112 Truth can be tolerated Paul Watzlawick
only if you discover it 174 There’s more to the
yourself Fritz Perls 150 Madness need not be all surface than meets
breakdown. It may also be the eye
118 It is notoriously break-through Aaron Beck
inadequate to take an R.D. Laing
adopted child into one’s 178 We can listen to only one
home and love him 152 Our history does not voice at once
Donald Winnicott determine our destiny Donald Broadbent
Boris Cyrulnik
122 The unconscious is the 186 Time’s arrow is bent
discourse of the Other 154 Only good people get into a loop
Jacques Lacan depressed Dorothy Rowe Endel Tulving
124 Man’s main task is to 155 Fathers are subject to 192 Perception is externally
give birth to himself a rule of silence guided hallucination
Erich Fromm Guy Corneau Roger N. Shepard
SOCIAL
PSYCHOLOGY
BEING IN A WORLD
OF OTHERS
218 You cannot understand

193 We are constantly on a system until you try
the lookout for causal to change it
connections Kurt Lewin
Daniel Kahneman
224 How strong is the
194 Events and emotion are urge toward social
stored in memory together conformity?
Gordon H. Bower Solomon Asch
196 Emotions are a runaway 228 Life is a dramatically 238 The goal is not to advance
train Paul Ekman enacted thing knowledge, but to be
Erving Goffman in the know Serge Moscovici
198 Ecstasy is a step into
an alternative reality 230 The more you see it, 240 We are, by nature, social
Mihály Csíkszentmihályi the more you like it beings William Glasser
Robert Zajonc
200 Happy people are 242 We believe people get
extremely social 236 Who likes competent what they deserve
Martin Seligman women? Melvin Lerner
Janet Taylor Spence
202 What we believe with 244 People who do crazy
all our hearts is not 237 Flashbulb memories things are not
necessarily the truth are fired by events necessarily crazy
Elizabeth Loftus of high emotionality Elliot Aronson
Roger Brown
208 The seven sins of memory 246 People do what they
Daniel Schacter are told to do
Stanley Milgram
210 One is not one’s thoughts
Jon Kabat-Zinn 254 What happens when
you put good people
211 The fear is that biology in an evil place?
will debunk all that we Philip Zimbardo
hold sacred
Steven Pinker 256 Trauma must be
understood in terms
212 Compulsive behavior of the relationship
rituals are attempts to between the individual
control intrusive thoughts and society
Paul Salkovskis Ignacio Martín-Baró
286 Most human behavior 324 Emotion is an essentially

DEVELOPMENTAL is learned through unconscious process
PHILOSOPHY
modeling Nico Frijda
Albert Bandura
FROM INFANT TO ADULT 326 Behavior without
292 Morality develops in environmental cues
six stages would be absurdly chaotic
262 The goal of education is to Lawrence Kohlberg Walter Mischel
create men and women
who are capable of doing 294 The language organ 328 We cannot distinguish
new things Jean Piaget grows like any other the sane from the insane
body organ in psychiatric hospitals
270 We become ourselves Noam Chomsky David Rosenhan
through others
Lev Vygotsky 298 Autism is an extreme 330 The three faces of Eve
form of the male brain Thigpen & Cleckley
271 A child is not beholden to Simon Baron-Cohen
any particular parent
Bruno Bettelheim
272 Anything that grows PSYCHOLOGY OF 332 DIRECTORY

has a ground plan
Erik Erikson DIFFERENCE
PERSONALITY AND 340 GLOSSARY
274 Early emotional bonds are INTELLIGENCE
an integral part of human
nature John Bowlby 344 INDEX
304 Name as many uses
278 Contact comfort
is overwhelmingly
as you can think of
for a toothpick
351 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
important Harry Harlow J.P. Guilford
279 We prepare children for 306 Did Robinson Crusoe lack

a life about whose course personality traits before
we know nothing the advent of Friday?
Françoise Dolto Gordon Allport
280 A sensitive mother 314 General intelligence

creates a secure consists of both fluid and
attachment Mary Ainsworth crystallized intelligence
Raymond Cattell
282 Who teaches a child to
hate and fear a member 316 There is an association
of another race? between insanity and
Kenneth Clark genius Hans J. Eysenck
284 Girls get better 322 Three key motivations

grades than boys drive performance
Eleanor E. Maccoby David C. McClelland
10 INTRODUCTION
A
mong all the sciences, subject, but today the word most but the intangible nature of
psychology is perhaps the accurately describes “the science subjects such as consciousness,
most mysterious to the of mind and behavior.” perception, and memory meant that
general public, and the most prone psychology was slow in making
to misconceptions. Even though its The new science the transition from philosophical
language and ideas have infiltrated Psychology can also be seen as a speculation to scientific practice.
everyday culture, most people have bridge between philosophy and In some universities, particularly in
only a hazy idea of what the subject physiology. Where physiology the US, psychology departments
is about, and what psychologists describes and explains the physical started out as branches of the
actually do. For some, psychology make-up of the brain and nervous philosophy department, while in
conjures up images of people in system, psychology examines the others, notably those in Germany,
white coats, either staffing an mental processes that take place they were established in the science
institution for mental disorders or within them and how these are faculties. But it was not until the
conducting laboratory experiments manifested in our thoughts, speech, late 19th century that psychology
on rats. Others may imagine a man and behavior. Where philosophy is became established as a scientific
with a middle-European accent concerned with thoughts and ideas, discipline in its own right.
psychoanalyzing a patient on a psychology studies how we come The founding of the world’s
couch or, if film scripts are to be to have them and what they tell us first laboratory of experimental
believed, plotting to exercise some about the workings of our minds. psychology by Wilhelm Wundt
form of mind control. All the sciences evolved from at the University of Leipzig in
Although these stereotypes philosophy, by applying scientific 1879 marked the recognition of
are an exaggeration, some truth methods to philosophical questions, psychology as a truly scientific
lies beneath them. It is perhaps subject, and as one that was
the huge range of subjects that fall breaking new ground in previously
under the umbrella of psychology unexplored areas of research.
(and the bewildering array of terms In the course of the 20th century,
beginning with the prefix “psych-”) psychology blossomed; all of its
that creates confusion over what major branches and movements
psychology entails; psychologists Psychology has a long past, evolved. As with all sciences, its
themselves are unlikely to agree but only a short history. history is built upon the theories
on a single definition of the word. Hermann Ebbinghaus and discoveries of successive
“Psychology” comes from the generations, with many of the older
ancient Greek psyche, meaning theories remaining relevant to
“soul” or “mind,” and logia, a contemporary psychologists. Some
“study” or “account,” which seems areas of research have been the
to sum up the broad scope of the subject of study from psychology’s
INTRODUCTION 11
earliest days, undergoing different oriented psychologists was limited The behaviorists’ studies
interpretations by the various by the introspective nature of their concentrated almost exclusively
schools of thought, while others methods: pioneers such as Hermann on how behavior is shaped by
have fallen in and out of favor, Ebbinghaus became the subject of interaction with the environment;
but each time they have exerted their own investigations, effectively this “stimulus–response” theory
a significant influence on restricting the range of topics to became well known through the
subsequent thinking, and have those that could be observed in work of John Watson. New learning
occasionally spawned completely themselves. Although they used theories began to spring up in
new fields for exploration. scientific methods and their Europe and the US, and attracted
The simplest way to approach theories laid the foundations for the interest of the general public.
the vast subject of psychology for the new science, many in the next However, at much the same time
the first time is to take a look at generation of psychologists found as behaviorism began to emerge in
some of its main movements, as their processes too subjective, and the US, a young neurologist
we do in this book. These occurred began to look for a more objective in Vienna started to develop a
in roughly chronological order, from methodology. theory of mind that was to overturn
its roots in philosophy, through In the 1890s, the Russian contemporary thinking and inspire
behaviorism, psychotherapy, and physiologist Ivan Pavlov conducted a very different approach. Based
the study of cognitive, social, and experiments that were to prove on observation of patients and case
developmental psychology, to the critical to the development of histories rather than laboratory
psychology of difference. psychology in both Europe and experiments, Sigmund Freud’s
the US. He proved that animals psychoanalytic theory marked ❯❯
Two approaches could be conditioned to produce
Even in its earliest days, psychology a response, an idea that developed
meant different things to different into a new movement known as
people. In the US, its roots lay in behaviorism. The behaviorists felt
philosophy, so the approach taken that it was impossible to study
was speculative and theoretical, mental processes objectively, but
dealing with concepts such as found it relatively easy to observe The first fact for us then, as
consciousness and the self. In and measure behavior: a psychologists, is that thinking
Europe, the study was rooted in the manifestation of those processes. of some sort goes on.
sciences, so the emphasis was on They began to design experiments William James
examining mental processes such that could be conducted under
as sensory perception and memory controlled conditions, at first on
under controlled laboratory animals, to gain an insight into
conditions. However, even the human psychology, and later on
research of these more scientifically humans.
12 INTRODUCTION
a return to the study of subjective forgetting, language and language conformity, and our reasons for
experience. He was interested in acquisition, problem-solving and aggression or altruism, all of which
memories, childhood development, decision-making, and motivation. were increasingly relevant in the
and interpersonal relationships, Even psychotherapy, which modern world of urban life and
and emphasized the importance mushroomed in myriad forms ever-improving communications.
of the unconscious in determining from the original “talking cure,” Freud’s continuing influence
behavior. Although his ideas were was influenced by the cognitive was felt mainly through the new
revolutionary at the time, they approach. Cognitive therapy and field of developmental psychology.
were quickly and widely adopted, cognitive-behavioral therapy Initially concerned only with
and the notion of a “talking cure” emerged as alternatives to childhood development, study in
continues within the various forms psychoanalysis, leading to this area expanded to include
of psychotherapy today. movements such as humanist change throughout life, from
psychology, which focused on the infancy to old age. Researchers
New fields of study qualities unique to human life. charted methods of social, cultural,
In the mid-20th century, both These therapists turned their and moral learning, and the ways in
behaviorism and psychoanalysis attention from healing the sick to which we form attachments. The
fell out of favor, with a return to the guiding healthy people toward contribution of developmental
scientific study of mental living more meaningful lives. psychology to education and
processes. This marked the While psychology in its early training has been significant but,
beginning of cognitive psychology, stages had concentrated largely less obviously, it has influenced
a movement with its roots in the on the mind and behavior of
holistic approach of the Gestalt individuals, there was now an
psychologists, who were interested increasing interest in the way we
in studying perception. Their work interact with our environment and
began to emerge in the US in the other people; this became the field
years following World War II; by the of social psychology. Like cognitive
late 1950s, cognitive psychology psychology, it owed much to the If the 19th century was
had become the predominant Gestalt psychologists, especially the age of the editorial chair,
approach. The rapidly growing Kurt Lewin, who had fled from Nazi ours is the century of the
fields of communications and Germany to the US in the 1930s. psychiatrist’s couch.
computer science provided Social psychology gathered pace Marshall McLuhan
psychologists with a useful during the latter half of the 20th
analogy; they used the model of century, when research revealed
information processing to develop intriguing new facts about our
theories to explain our methods of attitudes and prejudices, our
attention, perception, memory and tendencies toward obedience and
INTRODUCTION 13
thinking about the relationship such as neuroscience and genetics. societies are or might be structured
between childhood development In particular, the nature versus as it does to diagnosing and
and attitudes to race and gender. nurture argument that dates back treating mental disorders.
Almost every psychological to Francis Galton’s ideas of the The ideas and theories of
school has touched upon the subject 1920s continues to this day; psychologists have become part of
of human uniqueness, but in the recently, evolutionary psychology our everyday culture, to the extent
late 20th century this area was has contributed to the debate by that many of their findings about
recognized as a field in its own exploring psychological traits as behavior and mental processes are
right in the psychology of difference. innate and biological phenomena, now viewed simply as “common
As well as attempting to identify which are subject to the laws of sense.” However, while some of the
and measure personality traits and genetics and natural selection. ideas explored in psychology
the various factors that make up Psychology is a huge subject, confirm our instinctive feelings,
intelligence, psychologists in this and its findings concern every one just as many make us think again;
growing field examine definitions of us. In one form or another it psychologists have often shocked
and measures of normality and informs many decisions made in and outraged the public when their
abnormality, and look at how much government, business and industry, findings have shaken conventional,
our individual differences are a advertising, and the mass media. long-standing beliefs.
product of our environment or the It affects us as groups and as In its short history, psychology
result of genetic inheritance. individuals, contributing as much has given us many ideas that have
to public debate about the ways our changed our ways of thinking,
An influential science and that have also helped us to
The many branches of psychology understand ourselves, other people,
that exist today cover the whole and the world we live in. It has
spectrum of mental life and human questioned deeply held beliefs,
and animal behavior. The overall unearthed unsettling truths, and
scope has extended to overlap with provided startling insights and
many other disciplines, including The purpose of psychology solutions to complex questions.
medicine, physiology, neuroscience, is to give us a completely Its increasing popularity as a
computer science, education, different idea of the university course is a sign not
sociology, anthropology, and even things we know best. only of psychology’s relevance in
politics, economics, and the law. Paul Valéry the modern world, but also of the
Psychology has become perhaps enjoyment and stimulation that can
the most diverse of sciences. be had from exploring the richness
Psychology continues to and diversity of a subject that
influence and be influenced by the continues to examine the mysterious
other sciences, especially in areas world of the human mind.
PHILOSO
ROOTS
PSYCHOLOGY
IN THE MAKING
PHICAL
16 INTRODUCTION
René Descartes Francis Galton’s

publishes The Charles Darwin research suggests
Passions of the Soul, Abbé Faria publishes On the that nurture is
claiming that the investigates hypnosis Origin of the Species, more important
body and soul are in his book On the proposing that all our than nature, in
separate. Cause of Lucid Sleep. traits are inherited. Hereditary Genius.
1649 1819 1859 1869
1816 1849 1861 1874
Johann Friedrich Herbart Søren Kierkegaard’s book Neurosurgeon Pierre Carl Wernicke
describes a dynamic mind The Sickness Unto Death Paul Broca discovers provides evidence
with a conscious and an marks the beginning of that the left and right that damage to a
unconscious in A Text-book existentialism. hemispheres of the brain specific area of the
in Psychology. have separate functions. brain causes the loss
of specific skills.
M
any of the issues that many of the questions about the among them Johann Friedrich
are examined in modern world we live in, they were still Herbart, were to extend the
psychology had been not capable of explaining the machine analogy to include
the subject of philosophical debate workings of our minds. Science and the brain as well, describing
long before the development of technology did, however, provide the processes of the mind as the
science as we know it today. The models from which we could start working of the brain-machine.
very earliest philosophers of ancient asking the right questions, and The degree to which mind and
Greece sought answers to questions begin to test theories through the body are separate became a topic
about the world around us, and the collection of relevant data. for debate. Scientists wondered
way we think and behave. Since how much the mind is formed by
then we have wrestled with ideas Separating mind and body physical factors, and how much is
of consciousness and self, mind and One of the key figures in the shaped by our environment. The
body, knowledge and perception, scientific revolution of the 17th “nature versus nurture” debate,
how to structure society, and how century, the philosopher and fueled by British naturalist
to live a “good life.” mathematician René Descartes, Charles Darwin’s evolutionary
The various branches of science outlined a distinction between mind theory and taken up by Francis
evolved from philosophy, gaining and body that was to prove critical Galton, brought subjects such
momentum from the 16th century to the development of psychology. as free will, personality,
onward, until finally exploding He claimed that all human beings development, and learning to the
into a “scientific revolution,” which have a dualistic existence—with fore. These areas had not yet been
ushered in the Age of Reason in the a separate machinelike body and fully described by philosophical
18th century. While these advances a nonmaterial, thinking mind, or inquiry, and were now ripe
in scientific knowledge answered soul. Later psychological thinkers, for scientific study.
PHILOSOPHICAL ROOTS 17
Wilhelm Wundt
founds the first Hermann Ebbinghaus
laboratory of details his experiments G. Stanley Hall William James, the
experimental learning nonsense publishes the first “father of psychology”
psychology in syllables in his book edition of the American publishes Principles
Leipzig, Germany. Memory. Journal of Psychology. of Psychology.
1879 1885 1887 1890
1883 1877 1889 1895
Emil Kraepelin Jean-Martin Charcot Pierre Janet Alfred Binet opens the
publishes the Textbook produces Lectures on the suggests that first laboratory of
of Psychiatry. Diseases of the Nervous hysteria involves psychodiagnosis.
System. dissociation and
splitting of the
personality.
Meanwhile, the mysterious nature developed in distinct ways in establishment of a scientific

of the mind was popularized by the the different centers: in Germany, methodology for studying the
discovery of hypnosis, prompting psychologists such as Wundt, mind, in much the same way that
more serious scientists to consider Hermann Ebbinghaus, and Emil physiology and related disciplines
that there was more to the mental Kraepelin took a strictly scientific studied the body. For the first time,
life than immediately apparent and experimental approach to the the scientific method was applied
conscious thought. These scientists subject; while in the US, William to questions concerning perception,
set out to examine the nature of the James and his followers at Harvard consciousness, memory, learning,
“unconscious,” and its influence on adopted a more theoretical and and intelligence, and its practices
our thinking and behavior. philosophical approach. Alongside of observation and experimentation
these areas of study, an influential produced a wealth of new theories.
The birth of psychology school of thought was growing in Although these ideas often
Against this background, the Paris around the work of neurologist came from the introspective study
modern science of psychology Jean-Martin Charcot, who had used of the mind by the researcher, or
emerged. In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt hypnosis on sufferers of hysteria. from highly subjective accounts by
founded the very first laboratory The school attracted psychologists the subjects of their studies, the
of experimental psychology at such as Pierre Janet, whose ideas foundations were laid for the next
Leipzig University in Germany, of the unconscious anticipated generation of psychologists at the
and departments of psychology Freud’s psychoanalytic theories. turn of the century to develop a
also began to appear in universities The final two decades of the truly objective study of mind and
across Europe and the US. Just as 19th century saw a rapid rise in behavior, and to apply their own
philosophy had taken on certain the importance of the new science new theories to the treatment of
regional characteristics, psychology of psychology, as well as the mental disorders. ■
18
THE FOUR
TEMPERAMENTS
OF PERSONALITY
GALEN (C.129–C.201 CE)
T
he Roman philosopher and
IN CONTEXT physician Claudius Galen
All things are combinations
of four basic elements: formulated a concept of
APPROACH
earth, air, fire, and water. personality types based on the
Humorism
ancient Greek theory of humorism,
BEFORE which attempted to explain the
c.400 BCE Greek physician workings of the human body.
Hippocrates says that the The roots of humorism go back
qualities of the four elements The qualities of these to Empedocles (c.495–435 BCE), a
are reflected in body fluids. elements can be found in four Greek philosopher who suggested
corresponding humors that different qualities of the four
c.325 BCE Greek philosopher (fluids) that affect the basic elements—earth (cold and
Aristotle names four sources functioning of our bodies. dry), air (warm and wet), fire (warm
of happiness: sensual (hedone), and dry), and water (cold and
material (propraietari), ethical wet)—could explain the existence of
(ethikos), and logical (dialogike). all known substances. Hippocrates
These humors also affect our (460–370 BCE), the “Father of
AFTER
emotions and behavior—our Medicine,” developed a medical
1543 Anatomist Andreas model based on these elements,
“temperaments.”
Vesalius publishes On the attributing their qualities to four
Fabric of the Human Body in fluids within the body. These fluids
Italy. It illustrates Galen’s errors were called “humors” (from the
and he is accused of heresy. Latin umor, meaning body fluid).
Temperamental problems are
1879 Wilhelm Wundt says Two hundred years later, Galen
caused by an imbalance in
that temperaments develop our humors… expanded the theory of humorism
in different proportions along into one of personality; he saw a
two axes: “changeability” direct connection between the
and “emotionality.” levels of the humors in the body
and emotional and behavioral
1947 In Dimensions of …so by restoring the balance inclinations—or “temperaments”.
Personality, Hans Eysenck of our humors a physician can Galen’s four temperaments—
suggests personality is based cure our emotional and sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric,
on two dimensions. behavioral problems. and melancholic—are based on the
balance of humors in the body.
See also: ■ René Descartes 20–21 ■ Gordon Allport 306–09 ■ Hans J. Eysenck
316–21 Walter Mischel 326–27
Phlegmatic: slow, quiet,

Melancholic: sad, shy, rational, and consistent.
fearful, depressed,
poetic, and artistic.
Choleric: fiery,
energetic,
and passionate.
Imbalances
Galen
in the
humors Claudius Galenus, better
determine Sanguine: warm-hearted, known as “Galen of Pergamon”
personality cheerful, optimistic, and (now Bergama in Turkey) was
type as well as confident. a Roman physician, surgeon,
inclinations toward and philosopher. His father,
certain illnesses. Aelius Nicon, was a wealthy
Greek architect who provided
him with a good education
If one of the humors develops cases, cures may include purging and opportunities to travel.
excessively, the corresponding and blood-letting. For example, a Galen settled in Rome and
personality type begins to dominate. person acting selfishly is overly served emperors, including
A sanguine person has too much sanguine, and has too much blood; Marcus Aurelius, as principal
blood (sanguis in Latin) and is this is remedied by cutting down physician. He learned about
warm-hearted, cheerful, optimistic, on meat, or by making small cuts trauma care while treating
and confident, but can be selfish. A into the veins to release blood. professional gladiators, and
phlegmatic person, suffering from Galen’s doctrines dominated wrote more than 500 books
excess phlegm (phlegmatikós in medicine until the Renaissance, on medicine. He believed the
Greek), is quiet, kind, cool, rational, when they began to decline in the best way to learn was through
and consistent, but can be slow and light of better research. In 1543, dissecting animals and
studying anatomy. However,
shy. The choleric (from the Greek the physician Andreas Vesalius
although Galen discovered
kholé, meaning bile) personality is (1514–1564), practicing in Italy,
the functions of many internal
fiery, suffering from excess yellow found more than 200 errors in organs, he made mistakes
bile. Lastly, the melancholic (from Galen’s descriptions of anatomy, because he assumed that
the Greek melas kholé), who suffers but although Galen’s medical ideas the bodies of animals (such
from an excess of black bile, is were discredited, he later influenced as monkeys and pigs) were
recognized by poetic and artistic 20th-century psychologists. In 1947, exactly like those of humans.
leanings, which are often also Hans Eysenck concluded that There is debate over the date
accompanied by sadness and fear. temperament is biologically based, of his death, but Galen was at
and noted that the two personality least 70 when he died.
Imbalance in the humors traits he identified—neuroticism
According to Galen, some people and extraversion—echoed the Key works
are born predisposed to certain ancient temperaments.
temperaments. However, since Although humorism is no longer c.190 CE The Temperaments
temperamental problems are caused part of psychology, Galen’s idea c.190 CE The Natural Faculties
by imbalances of the humors, he that many physical and mental c.190 CE Three Treatises on the
claimed they can be cured by diet illnesses are connected forms the Nature of Science
and exercise. In more extreme basis of some modern therapies. ■
20
THERE IS A
REASONING SOUL
IN THIS MACHINE
RENE DESCARTES (1596–1650)
IN CONTEXT
The mind and the body
APPROACH
are separate.
Mind/body dualism
BEFORE
4th century BCE Greek
philosopher Plato claims that
the body is from the material The mind (or “soul”) is The body is a material,
world, but the soul, or mind, immaterial, but seated in the mechanical machine.
is from the immortal world pineal gland of the brain.
of ideas.
4th century BCE Greek
philosopher Aristotle says The mind can control
that the soul and body are the physical body by
inseparable: the soul is the causing “animal
actuality of the body. spirits” to flow through
the nervous system.
AFTER
1710 In A Treatise Concerning
the Principles of Human
Knowledge, Anglo-Irish
T
he idea that the mind and seated in the brain’s pineal gland
philosopher George Berkeley body are separate and doing the thinking, while the body
claims that the body is merely different dates back to Plato is like a machine that operates by
the perception of the mind. and the ancient Greeks, but it was “animal spirits,” or fluids, flowing
1904 In Does Consciousness the 17th-century philosopher René through the nervous system to
Exist? William James asserts Descartes who first described in cause movement. This idea had
detail the mind-body relationship. been popularized in the 2nd century
that consciousness is not a
Descartes wrote De Homine (“Man”), by Galen, who attached it to his
separate entity but a function
his first philosophical book, in 1633, theory of the humors; but Descartes
of particular experiences.
in which he describes the dualism was the first to describe it in detail,
of mind and body: the nonmaterial and to emphasize the separation
mind, or “soul,” Descartes says, is of mind and body.
See also: Galen 18–19 ■ William James 38–45 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99
In a letter to the French philosopher

Marin Mersenne, Descartes
explains that the pineal gland is
the “seat of thought,” and so must
be the home of the soul, “because
the one cannot be separated from There is a great
the other.” This was important, difference between
because otherwise the soul would mind and body.
not be connected to any solid part René Descartes
of the body, he said, but only to the
psychic spirits. René Descartes
Descartes imagined the mind
and body interacting through an René Descartes was born in
awareness of the animal spirits La Haye en Touraine (now
called Descartes), France. He
that were said to flow through the
contracted tuberculosis from
body. The mind, or soul, residing An analogy for the mind his mother, who died a few
in the pineal gland, located deep Taking his inspiration from the days after he was born, and
within the brain, was thought to French formal gardens of Versailles, remained weak his entire life.
sometimes become aware of the with their hydraulic systems that From the age of eight, he was
moving spirits, which then caused supply water to the gardens and educated at the Jesuit college
conscious sensation. In this way, their elaborate fountains, Descartes of La Flèche, Anjou, where he
the body could affect the mind. describes the spirits of the body began the habit of spending
Likewise, the mind could affect operating the nerves and muscles each morning in bed, due
the body by causing an outflow of like the force of water, and “by this to his poor health, doing
animal spirits to a particular region means to cause motion in all the “systematic meditation”—
of the body, initiating action. parts.” The fountains were controlled about philosophy, science,
by a fountaineer, and here Descartes and mathematics. From 1612
found an analogy for the mind. He to 1628, he contemplated,
traveled, and wrote. In 1649,
explained: “There is a reasoning
he was invited to teach Queen
soul in this machine; it has its
Christina of Sweden, but her
principal site in the brain, where it early-morning demands on his
is like the fountaineer who must be time, combined with a harsh
at the reservoir, whither all the climate, worsened his health;
pipes of the machine are extended, he died on February 11, 1650.
when he wishes to start, stop, or in Officially, the cause of death
some way alter their actions.” was pneumonia, but some
While philosophers still argue as historians believe that he
to whether the mind and brain are was poisoned to stop
somehow different entities, most the Protestant Christina
psychologists equate the mind converting to Catholicism.
with the workings of the brain.
However, in practical terms, the Key works
distinction between mental and
1637 Discourse on the Method
physical health is a complex one:
Descartes illustrated the pineal 1662 De Homine (written 1633)
gland, a single organ in the brain the two being closely linked when 1647 The Description of the
ideally placed to unite the sights and mental stress is said to cause Human Body
sounds of the two eyes and the two physical illness, or when chemical 1649 The Passions of the Soul
ears into one impression. imbalances affect the brain. ■
22
DORMEZ!
ABBE FARIA (1756–1819)
T
he practice of inducing state, but its use as a healing
IN CONTEXT trance states to promote therapy was largely abandoned until
healing is not new. Several the German doctor Franz Mesmer
APPROACH
ancient cultures, including those of reintroduced it in the 18th century.
Hypnosis
Egypt and Greece, saw nothing Mesmer’s treatment involved
BEFORE strange about taking their sick to manipulating the body’s natural, or
1027 Persian philosopher and “sleep temples” so they could be “animal,” magnetism, through the
physician Avicenna (Ibn Sina) cured, while in a sleeplike state, by use of magnets and suggestion.
writes about trances in The suggestions from specially trained After being “mesmerized,” or
Book of Healing. priests. In 1027, the Persian “magnetized,” some people suffered
physician Avicenna documented a convulsion, after which they
1779 German physician Franz the characteristics of the trance claimed to feel better.
Mesmer publishes A Memoir
on the Discovery of Animal
Magnetism.
AFTER
1843 Scottish surgeon James …combines with the
Braid coins the term “neuro- A gentle request or highly concentrated
hypnotism” in Neurypnology. commanding order… mind of a subject…
1880S French psychologist
Emile Coué discovers the
placebo effect and publishes
Self-Mastery Through
Conscious Autosuggestion.
1880S Sigmund Freud
investigates hypnosis and its In this state
apparent power to control the subject becomes …to induce a state of
unconscious symptoms. more susceptible “lucid sleep”
to the power of (hypnotic trance).
suggestion.
See also: Jean-Martin Charcot 30 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Carl Jung 102–07 ■ Milton Erickson 336
A few years later, Abbé Faria, a

Portugese-Goan monk, studied
Mesmer’s work and concluded that
it was “entirely absurd” to think
that magnets were a vital part of the
process. The truth was even more Nothing comes from the
extraordinary: the power to fall into magnetizer; everything comes
trance or “lucid sleep” lay entirely from the subject and takes
with the individuals concerned. place in his imagination.
No special forces were necessary, Abbé Faria
because the phenomena relied only
upon the power of suggestion.
Lucid sleep
Faria saw his role as a “concentrator,”
helping his subject get into the right
Franz Mesmer induced trance
state of mind. In On The Cause through the application of magnets,
of Lucid Sleep, he describes his often to the stomach. These were said
method: “After selecting subjects to bring the body’s “animal” magnetism
with the right aptitude, I ask them back into a harmonious state.
to relax in a chair, shut their eyes,
concentrate their attention, and surgeon James Braid, from the Jean-Martin Charcot began to use
think about sleep. As they quietly Greek hypnos, meaning “sleep” hypnotism systematically in the
await further instructions, and osis meaning “condition.” Braid treatment of traumatic hysteria.
I gently or commandingly say: concluded that hypnosis is not a This brought hypnosis to the
‘Dormez!’ (Sleep!) and they fall type of sleep but a concentration attention of Josef Breuer and
into lucid sleep”. on a single idea, resulting in Sigmund Freud, who were to
It was from Faria’s lucid sleep heightened suggestibility. After his question the drive behind the
that the term “hypnosis” was death, interest in hypnosis largely hypnotic self, and discover the
coined in 1843 by the Scottish waned until the French neurologist power of the unconscious. ■
Abbé Faria Born in Portuguese Goa, José could so quickly alter his state
Custódio de Faria was the son of of mind. He moved to France,
a wealthy heiress, but his parents where he played a prominent
separated when he was 15. part in the French Revolution
Armed with introductions to the and refined his techniques of
Portuguese court, Faria and his self-suggestion while imprisoned.
father traveled to Portugal where Faria became a professor of
both trained as priests. On one philosophy, but his theater
occasion, the young Faria was shows demonstrating “lucid
asked by the queen to preach in sleep” undercut his reputation;
her private chapel. During the when he died of a stroke in 1819
sermon, he panicked, but his he was buried in an unmarked
father whispered, “They are all grave in Montmartre, Paris.
men of straw—cut the straw!”
Faria immediately lost his fear and Key work
preached fluently; he later
wondered how a simple phrase 1819 On the Cause of Lucid Sleep
24
CONCEPTS BECOME
FORCES WHEN THEY
RESIST ONE ANOTHER
JOHANN FRIEDRICH HERBART (1776–1841)
IN CONTEXT
Experiences and sensations
APPROACH combine to form ideas.
Structuralism
BEFORE
1704 German philosopher
Gottfried Leibniz discusses Dissimilar ideas resist
petites perceptions (perceptions Similar ideas can
coexist or combine.
one another and become
without consciousness) in his forces in conflict.
New Essays on Human
Understanding.
One idea is forced
Eduard von Hartmann to become favored
publishes his widely read over another.
Philosophy of the Unconscious.
AFTER
1895 Sigmund Freud and
The unfavored idea leaves
Josef Breuer publish Studies The favored idea stays
consciousness; it becomes
on Hysteria, introducing in consciousness.
an unconscious idea.
psychoanalysis and its
theories of the unconscious.
1912 Carl Jung writes The
J
Psychology of the Unconscious, ohann Herbart was a German the mind must use some kind of
suggesting that all people have philosopher who wanted to system for differentiating and
a culturally specific collective investigate how the mind storing ideas. He also wanted to
works—in particular, how it account for the fact that although
unconscious.
manages ideas or concepts. Given ideas exist forever (Herbart thought
that we each have a huge number of them incapable of being destroyed),
ideas over the course of our lifetime, some seem to exist beyond our
how do we not become increasingly conscious awareness. The 18th-
confused? It seemed to Herbart that century German philosopher
See also: Wilhelm Wundt 32–37 ■ Sigmund Freud 92– 99 ■ Carl Jung 102– 07 ■
Anna Freud 111 ■ Leon Festinger 166 – 67
Thoughts and feelings contain

energy, according to Herbart, acting
on each other like magnets to attract
Two ideas that
or repel like or unlike ideas.
cannot coexist
comfortably repel
each other...
+ –
Ideas that do
not contradict + –
each other are
drawn together and ...and one of Johann Friedrich
can coexist in – + + – them may even be Herbart
consciousness. pushed out of
consciousness. Johann Herbart was born in
Oldenburg, Germany. He was
tutored at home by his mother
until he was 12, after which
he attended the local school
before entering the University
Gottfried Leibniz was the first However, if two ideas are unalike, of Jena to study philosophy.
to explore the existence of ideas they may continue to exist without He spent three years as a
beyond awareness, calling them association. This causes them to private tutor before gaining
petite (“small”) perceptions. As weaken over time, so that they a doctorate at Göttingen
an example, he pointed out that eventually sink below the “threshold University, where he lectured
we often recall having perceived of consciousness.” Should two ideas in philosophy. In 1806,
something—such as the detail in directly contradict one another, Napoleon defeated Prussia,
a scene—even though we are not “resistance occurs” and “concepts and in 1809, Herbart was
aware of noticing it at the time. This become forces when they resist one offered Immanuel Kant’s chair
means that we perceive things and another.” They repel one another of philosophy at Königsberg,
store a memory of them despite the with an energy that propels one of where the Prussian king and
his court were exiled. While
fact that we are unaware of doing so. them beyond consciousness, into
moving within these
a place that Herbart referred to as aristocratic circles, Herbart
Dynamic ideas “a state of tendency;” and we now met and married Mary Drake,
According to Herbart, ideas form know as “the unconscious.” an English woman half his
as information from the senses Herbart saw the unconscious age. In 1833, he returned
combines. The term he used for as simply a kind of storage place for to Göttingen University,
ideas—Vorsfellung—encompasses weak or opposed ideas. In positing following disputes with the
thoughts, mental images, and even a two-part consciousness, split by a Prussian government, and
emotional states. These make up distinct threshold, he was attempting remained there as Professor
the entire content of the mind, and to deliver a structural solution for the of Philosophy until his death
Herbart saw them not as static management of ideas in a healthy from a stroke, aged 65.
but dynamic elements, able to move mind. But Sigmund Freud was to
and interact with one another. see it as a much more complex and Key works
Ideas, he said, can attract and revealing mechanism. He combined
1808 General Practical
combine with other ideas or feelings, Herbart’s concepts with his own
Philosophy
or repulse them, rather like magnets. theories of unconscious drives to 1816 A Text-book in
Similar ideas, such as a color and form the basis of the 20th-century’s Psychology
tone, attract each other and combine most important therapeutic 1824 Psychology as Science
to form a more complex idea. approach: psychoanalysis. ■
26
BE THAT SELF
WHICH ONE
TRULY IS
SØREN KIERKEGAARD (1813–1855)
T
he fundamental question, understanding oneself, famously
IN CONTEXT “Who am I?” has been saying: “The unexamined life is not
studied since the time worth living.” Søren Kierkegaard’s
APPROACH
of the ancient Greeks. Socrates book The Sickness Unto Death
Existentialism
(470–399 BCE) believed the main (1849) offers self-analysis as a
BEFORE purpose of philosophy is to increase means to understanding the
5th century BCE Socrates happiness through analyzing and problem of “despair,” which he
states the key to happiness is
discovering the “true self.”
AFTER I wish to be other than I am: to have a different self.
1879 Wilhelm Wundt uses
self-analysis as an approach
to psychological research.
So I try to make myself into someone different.
1913 John B. Watson
denounces self-analysis in
psychology, stating that
“introspection forms no I fail and despise myself I succeed and abandon
essential part of its methods.” for failing. my true self.
1951 Carl Rogers publishes
Client-centered Therapy, and
in 1961 On Becoming a Person. Either way, I despair of my true self.
1960 R.D. Laing’s The Divided
Self redefines “madness,”
offering existential analysis
of inner conflict as therapy. To escape despair I must accept my true self.
1996 Rollo May bases his

book, The Meaning of Anxiety,
on Kierkegaard’s The Concept To be that self which one truly is, is indeed the
of Anxiety. opposite of despair.
See also: Wilhelm Wundt 32–37 ■ William James 38–45 ■ Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ Rollo May 141 ■ R.D. Laing 150–51
Napoleon’s overreaching ambition his old self. In both his desire and
for power, as depicted in this painting accomplishment, he wants to “be
of him as a student, led him to lose rid of” his self. This disavowal of
sight of his true self and all-too-human
the self is painful: despair is
limitations, and ultimately to despair.
overwhelming when a man wants
to shun himself—when he “does not
from an acute consciousness of the possess himself; he is not himself.”
self, coupled with a profound dislike However, Kierkegaard did offer a
of it. When something goes wrong, solution. He concluded that a man
such as failing an exam to qualify can find peace and inner harmony
as a doctor, a person may seem by finding the courage to be his
to be despairing over something true self, rather than wanting to be
that has been lost. But on closer someone else. “To will to be that
inspection, according to Kierkegaard, self which one truly is, is indeed the
considered to stem not from it becomes obvious that the man is opposite of despair,” he said. He
depression, but rather from the not really despairing of the thing believed that despair evaporates
alienation of the self. (failing an exam) but of himself. when we stop denying who we
Kierkegaard described several The self that failed to achieve a really are and attempt to uncover
levels of despair. The lowest, and goal has become intolerable. The and accept our true nature.
most common, stems from ignorance: man wanted to become a different Kierkegaard’s emphasis on
a person has the wrong idea about self (a doctor), but he is now stuck individual responsibility, and the
what “self” is, and is unaware of with a failed self and in despair. need to find one’s true essence
the existence or nature of his and purpose in life, is frequently
potential self. Such ignorance is Abandoning the real self regarded as the beginning of
close to bliss, and so inconsequential Kierkegaard took the example of existentialist philosophy. His
that Kierkegaard was not even sure a man who wanted to become ideas led directly to R.D. Laing’s
it could be counted as despair. Real an emperor, and pointed out that use of existential therapy, and
desperation arises, he suggested, ironically, even if this man did have influenced the humanistic
with growing self-awareness, and somehow achieve his aim, he therapies practiced by clinical
the deeper levels of despair stem would have effectively abandoned psychologists such as Carl Rogers. ■
Søren Kierkegaard Søren Kierkegaard was born to an on his life. A solitary figure, his
affluent Danish family, and raised main recreational activities
as a strict Lutheran. He studied included walking the streets to
theology and philosophy at chat with strangers, and taking
Copenhagen University. When he long carriage rides alone into
came into a sizeable inheritance, the countryside.
he decided to devote his life to Kierkegaard collapsed in
philosophy, but ultimately this left the street on October 2, 1855,
him dissatisfied. “What I really and died on November 11 in
need to do,” he said, “is to get Friedrich’s Hospital, Copenhagen.
clear about what I am to do, not
what I must know.” In 1840, he Key works
became engaged to Regine Olsen,
but broke off the engagement, 1843 Fear and Trembling
saying that he was unsuited to 1843 Either/Or
marriage. His general state of 1844 The Concept of Anxiety
melancholy had a profound effect 1849 The Sickness Unto Death
28
PERSONALITY
IS COMPOSED
OF NATURE
AND NURTURE
FRANCIS GALTON (1822–1911)
IN CONTEXT Personality is composed of elements from

two different sources.
APPROACH
Bio-psychology
BEFORE
Nurture is that which is experienced
1690 British philosopher John from birth onward.
Locke proposes that the mind
of every child is a tabula rasa, Nature is that
or blank slate, and hence we which is inborn and
are all born equal. inherited, and… We can improve our skills and
1859 Biologist Charles Darwin abilities through training and
suggests that all human learning, but…
development is the result of
adaptation to the environment.
1890 William James claims …nature sets the limits to how far we
that people have genetically can develop our talents.
inherited individual
tendencies, or “instincts.”
AFTER Nature and nurture both play a part, but nature is the
1925 Behaviorist John B. determining factor.
Watson says there is “no
such thing as inheritance of
capacity, talent, temperament,
F
rancis Galton counted many to identify “nature” and “nurture”
or mental constitution”. gifted individuals among as two separate influences whose
1940s Nazi Germany seeks to his relatives, including the effects could be measured and
create a “master Aryan race” evolutionary biologist Charles compared, maintaining that these
through eugenics. Darwin. So it’s not surprising that two elements alone were responsible
Galton was interested in the extent for determining personality. In 1869,
to which abilities are either inborn he used his own family tree, as well
or learned. He was the first person as those of “judges, statesmen,
See also: John B. Watson 66–71 ■ Zing-Yang Kuo 75 ■ G. Stanley Hall 46–47 ■
Eleanor E. Maccoby 284–85 ■ Raymond Cattell 314–15
defective nurture.” Intelligence, he

says, is inherited, but must be
fostered through education.
In 1875, Galton undertook a
study of 159 pairs of twins. He
Characteristics cling found that they did not follow the
to families. “normal” distribution of similarity
Francis Galton between siblings, in which they are
moderately alike, but were always
extremely similar or extremely
dissimilar. What really surprised Francis Galton
him was that the degree of similarity
never changed over time. He had Sir Francis Galton was a
anticipated that a shared upbringing polymath who wrote prolifically
on many subjects, including
commanders, scientists, literary would lessen dissimilarity between
anthropology, criminology
men… diviners, oarsmen, and twins as they grew up, but found (classifying fingerprints),
wrestlers,” to research inherited that this was not the case. Nurture geography, meteorology,
traits for his book Hereditary seemed to play no role at all. biology, and psychology. Born
Genius. As predicted, he found The “nature–nurture debate” in Birmingham, England, into a
more highly talented individuals in continues to this day. Some people wealthy Quaker family, he was
certain families than among the have favored Galton’s theories, a child prodigy, able to read
general population. However, he including his notion—now known from the age of two. He
could not safely attribute this to as eugenics—that people could studied medicine in London
nature alone, as there were also be “bred” like horses to promote and Birmingham, then
conferred benefits from growing up certain characteristics. Others have mathematics at Cambridge,
in a privileged home environment. preferred to believe that every baby but his study was cut short by
Galton himself grew up in a wealthy is a tabula rasa, or “blank slate,” a mental breakdown, worsened
household with access to unusually and we are all born equal. Most by his father’s death in 1844.
Galton turned to traveling
good educational resources. psychologists today recognize that
and inventing. His marriage
nature and nurture are both crucially
in 1853 to Louisa Jane Butler
A necessary balance important in human development, lasted 43 years, but was
Galton proposed a number of other and interact in complex ways. ■ childless. He devoted his life
studies, including the first large to measuring physical and
survey by questionnaire, which was psychological characteristics,
sent out to members of the Royal devising mental tests, and
Society to inquire about their writing. He received many
interests and affiliations. Publishing awards and honors in
his results in English Men of Science, recognition of his numerous
he claimed that where nature and achievements, including
nurture are forced to compete, nature several honorary degrees
triumphs. External influences can and a knighthood.
make an impression, he says, but
nothing can “efface the deeper marks Key works
of individual character.” However, he
Galton’s study of twins looked for 1869 Hereditary Genius
insists that both nature and nurture resemblances in many ways, including 1874 English Men of Science:
are essential in forming personality, height, weight, hair and eye color, and Their Nature and Nurture
since even the highest natural disposition. Handwriting was the only 1875 The History of Twins
endowments may be “starved by aspect in which twins always differed.
30
THE LAWS OF
HYSTERIA ARE
UNIVERSAL
JEAN-MARTIN CHARCOT (1825–1893)
K
nown as the founder of Charcot suggested that hysteria’s
IN CONTEXT modern neurology, French similarity to a physical disease
physician Jean-Martin warranted a search for a biological
APPROACH
Charcot was interested in the cause, but his contemporaries
Neurological science relationship between psychology dismissed his ideas. Some even
BEFORE and physiology. During the 1860s believed that Charcot’s “hysterics”
1900 BCE The Egyptian Kahun and 1870s, he studied “hysteria,” a were merely acting out behavior
Papyrus recounts behaviorial term then used to describe extreme that Charcot had suggested to
disturbances in women caused emotional behavior in women, them. But one student of Charcot,
by a “wandering uterus.” thought to be caused by problems Sigmund Freud, was convinced
with the uterus (hystera in Greek). of hysteria’s status as a physical
c.400 BCE Greek physician Symptoms included excessive illness, and was intrigued by it. It is
Hippocrates invents the term laughing or crying, wild bodily the first disease Freud describes
“hysteria” for certain women’s movements and contortions, in his theory of psychoanalysis. ■
illnesses in his book, On the fainting, paralysis, convulsions, and
Diseases of Women. temporary blindness and deafness.
From observing thousands of
1662 English physician cases of hysteria at the Salpêtrière
Thomas Willis performs Hospital in Paris, Charcot defined
autopsies on “hysterical” “The Laws of Hysteria,” believing
women, and finds no sign that he understood the disease
of uterine pathology. completely. He claimed that hysteria
AFTER was a lifelong, inherited condition
1883 Alfred Binet joins and its symptoms were triggered
by shock. In 1882, Charcot stated:
Charcot at the Salpêtrière
“In the [hysterical] fit… everything
Hospital in Paris, and later Charcot gave lectures on hysteria
unfolds according to the rules, which at the Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris.
writes about Charcot’s use of are always the same; they are valid
hypnotism to treat hysteria. He believed hysteria always followed
for all countries, for all epochs, for all ordered, clearly structured phases, and
1895 Sigmund Freud, a races, and are, in short, universal.” could be cured by hypnotism.
former student of Charcot,
publishes Studies on Hysteria. See also: Alfred Binet 50–53 ■ Pierre Janet 54–55 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99
A PECULIAR
DESTRUCTION OF THE
INTERNAL CONNECTIONS
OF THE PSYCHE
EMIL KRAEPELIN (1856–1926)
G
erman physician Emil second, paranoia, manifests in
IN CONTEXT Kraepelin believed that patients as a state of fear and
the origins of most mental persecution; they report being
APPROACH
illnesses are biological, and he is “spied upon” or “talked about.” The
Medical psychiatry often regarded as the founder of third, hebephrenia, is marked by
BEFORE modern medical psychiatry. In his incoherent speech, and often by
C.50 BCE Roman poet and Textbook of Psychiatry, published inappropriate emotional reactions
philosopher Lucretius uses in 1883, Kraepelin offered a detailed and behavior, such as laughing
the term “dementia” to mean classification of mental illnesses, loudly at a sad situation. The fourth
“being out of one’s mind.” including “dementia praecox,” category, catatonia, is marked by
meaning “early dementia,” to extremely limited movement and
1874 Wilhelm Wundt, distinguish it from late-onset expression, often in the form of
Kraepelin’s tutor, publishes dementia, such as Alzheimer’s. either rigidness, such as sitting in
Principles of Physiological the same position for hours, or
Psychology. Schizophrenia excessive activity, such as rocking
In 1893, Kraepelin described backward and forward repeatedly.
AFTER dementia praecox, now called Kraepelin’s classification still
1908 Swiss psychiatrist schizophrenia, as consisting forms the basis of schizophrenia
Eugen Bleuler coins the term “of a series of clinical states diagnosis. In addition, postmortem
“schizophrenia,” from the which hold as their common a investigations have shown that
Greek words skhizein (to split) peculiar destruction of the internal there are biochemical and structural
and phren (the mind). connections of the psychic brain abnormalities, as well as
1948 The World Health personality.” He observed that the impairments of brain function, in
Authority (WHO) includes illness, characterized by confusion schizophrenia sufferers. Kraepelin’s
and antisocial behavior, often starts belief that a great number of mental
Kraepelin’s classifications
in the late teens or early adulthood. illnesses are strictly biological in
of mental illnesses in its
Kraepelin later divided it into four origin exerted a lasting influence
International Classification subcategories. The first, “simple” on the field of psychiatry, and many
of Diseases (ICD). dementia, is marked by slow mental disorders are still managed
1950s Chlorpromazine, the decline and withdrawal. The with medication today. ■
first antipsychotic drug, is
used to treat schizophrenia. See also: Wilhelm Wundt 32–37 ■ R.D. Laing 150–51
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE

MENTAL LIFE DATE FROM THE
BEGINNINGS
OF LIFE
WILHELM WUNDT (1832–1920)
34 WILHELM WUNDT
IN CONTEXT
So all psychology
APPROACH Consciousness is
must begin with
“inner experience.”
Experimental psychology self-observation…
BEFORE
5th century Ancient Greek
philosophers Aristotle and
Plato claim that animals have
a low level, distinctly …recorded through
nonhuman consciousness. Every living being has experimentation
this inner experience. designed to expose
1630s René Descartes says involuntary reactions.
that animals are automata
without feeling.
1859 British biologist Charles
Darwin links humans to
animal ancestors.
Every living being must This yields
AFTER always have had quantitative data
1949 Konrad Lorenz changes this inner experience. about consciousness.
the way people see animals by
showing their similarities to
humans in King Solomon’s Ring.
2001 American zoologist
Donald Griffin argues in
Animal Minds that animals The beginnings
of the mental life Psychology is
have a sense of the future, the scientific study
complex memory, and perhaps date from the of the mental life.
consciousness itself. beginnings of life.
T
he idea that nonhuman The similarity of humans to animals on animals might be revealing.
animals have minds and was a critical issue for philosophers, This was the position held by the
are capable of some form of but even more so for psychologists. German physician, philosopher,
thought dates back to the ancient In the 15th century, the French and psychologist Wilhelm Wundt,
Greek philosophers. Aristotle philosopher René Descartes claimed who described a continuum of life
believed that there are three kinds that animals are no more than from even the smallest animals to
of mind: plant, animal, and human. reflex-driven, complex machines. ourselves. In his book Principles of
The plant mind is concerned only If Descartes was correct, observing Physiological Psychology, he claimed
with nutrition and growth. The animals could tell us nothing about that consciousness is a universal
animal mind has these functions, our own behavior. However, when possession of all living organisms,
but can also experience sensations, Charles Darwin asserted some 200 and has been since the evolutionary
such as pain, pleasure, and desire, years later that humans are linked process began.
as well as initiating motion. The to other animals genetically, and To Wundt, the very definition of
human mind can do all this and that consciousness operates from life includes having some kind of
reason; Aristotle claims that only the creatures at the very lowest end mind. He declared: “From the
humans have self-awareness and of the evolutionary scale to ourselves, standpoint of observation, then, we
are capable of higher-level cognition. it became clear that experiments must regard it as a highly probable
See also: René Descartes 20–21 ■ William James 38–45 ■ Edward Thorndike 62–65 ■ John B. Watson 66–71 ■
B.F. Skinner 78–85
physical bodies—for example,

in stimulus and response
experiments. If a nerve fiber in
a dead frog is given a small electric
shock, the connecting muscles
twitch, causing the legs to move.
The beginnings of a
The fact that this happens even in
differentiation of mental a dead animal illustrates that such
function can be found movements can occur without any
even in the protozoa. consciousness. In living creatures,
Wilhelm Wundt such actions are the basis of the
automatic behavior that we call
Even single-celled organisms have
some form of consciousness, according “reflexes,” such as immediately
to Wundt. He suggested the amoeba’s moving your hand when you touch
ability to devour food items indicates something hot.
a continuity of mental processes. Wundt’s second type of
observation, termed “introspection”
hypothesis that the beginnings of which were modeled on his or “self-observation,” is internal
of the mental life date from as far original laboratory and were led by observation. This involves noticing
back as the beginnings of life at pupils such as Edward Titchener and recording internal events such
large. The question of the origin and James Cattell. as thoughts and feelings. It is
of mental development thus crucial in research because it
resolves itself into the question Observing behavior provides information about how
of the origin of life.” Wundt went on Wundt believed that “the exact the mind is working. Wundt was
to say that even simple organisms description of consciousness interested in the relationship
such as protozoa have some form of is the sole aim of experimental between the inner and outer
mind. This last claim is surprising psychology.” Although he worlds, which he did not
today, when few people would understood consciousness as an see as mutually exclusive, but
expect a single-celled animal to “inner experience,” he was only as interactive, describing it as ❯❯
demonstrate even simple mental interested in the “immediately
abilities, but it was even more real” or apparent form of this
surprising when first stated more experience. This ultimately led
than 100 years ago. him to the study of behavior, which
Wundt was keen to test out his could be studied and quantified by
theories, and he is often called “the “direct observation.”
father of experimental psychology” Wundt said that there are two
because he set up the world’s first types of observation: external and
formal laboratory of experimental internal. External observation
psychology in Leipzig University, is used to record events that are
Germany, in 1879. He wanted visible in the external world, and
to carry out systematic research on is useful in assessing relationships
the mind and behavior of humans, such as cause and effect on
initially through subjecting the
basic sensory processes to close
Wundt’s laboratory set the style
examination. His laboratory for psychology departments around
inspired other universities in the world. His experiments moved
the US and Europe to set up psychology out of the domain of
psychology departments, many philosophy and into science.
36 WILHELM WUNDT
“physical and psychical.” He began
to concentrate on the study of
human sensations, such as the
visual sensation of light, because
these are the agencies that link
the external physical world and
the internal mental world.
In one experiment, Wundt
asked individuals to report on their
sensations when shown a light
signal—which was standardized
Our sensations provide details of
to a specific color and a certain level shape, size, color, smell, and texture,
of brightness, and shone for a fixed but when these are internalized, Wundt
length of time. This ensured that says, they are compounded into complex
each participant experienced representations, such as a face.
exactly the same stimulus, enabling
responses of different participants
to be compared and the experiment and he used various instruments of actions—representation, willing,
to be repeated at a later date, if to measure this response exactly. and feeling—which together form
required. In insisting upon this He was also just as interested to an impression of a unitary flow of
possibility for replication, Wundt hear what his participants reported events. Representations are either
set the standard for all future in common as he was in apparent “perceptions,” if they represent an
psychological experiments. individual differences. image in the mind of an object
In his sensory experiments, Pure sensations, Wundt perceived in the external world
Wundt set out to explore human suggested, have three components: (such as a tree within eyesight),
consciousness in a measurable quality, intensity, and “feeling-tone.” or “intuitions” if they represent a
way. He refused to see it as an For example, a certain perfume may subjective activity (such as
unknowable, subjective experience have a sweet odor (quality) that is remembering a tree, or imagining
that is unique to each individual. distinct but faint (intensity) and is a unicorn). He named the process
In the light-response experiments, pleasant to smell (feeling-tone), through which a perception or
he was particularly interested in the while a dead rat might give off a intuition becomes clear in
amount of time between a person nauseating (quality), strong consciousness “apperception.”
receiving some form of stimulus and (intensity) stench (feeling-tone). All So, for example, you may perceive
making a voluntary reaction to it consciousness originates in a sudden loud noise and then
(rather than an involuntary one), sensations, he said, but these are apperceive that it is a warning sign,
not internalized as “pure” sensory meaning that you are about to be
data; they are perceived as already hit by a car if you don’t get out of
collected or compounded into the way quickly enough.
representations, such as a dead rat. The willing category of
Wundt called these “images of an consciousness is characterized
object or of a process in the external by the way it intervenes in the
The exact description world.” So, for example, if we see a external world; it expresses our
of consciousness is the face with certain features—mouth volition, or “will,” from raising
sole aim of experimental shape, eye color, nose size, and so an arm to choosing to wear red.
psychology. on—we may recognize the face as This form of consciousness is
Wilhelm Wundt a person we know. beyond experimental control or
measurement. However, Wundt
Categories of consciousness found that the third category of
Based on his sensory experiments, consciousness, feeling, could be
Wundt claimed that consciousness measured through subjective
consists of three major categories reports from experimental
participants, or through measuring considered by many psychologists
levels of behavior such as tension to be a key difference between
and relaxation or excitement. human beings and the rest of the
animal kingdom. There may be
Cultural psychology a few exceptions, including
For Wundt, the psychological In the course of normal nonhuman primates such as
development of a person is speaking… the will is chimpanzees, but language is
determined not only by sensations continuously directed to generally considered to be a
but also by complex social and bringing the course of ideas human ability that is very
cultural influences, which cannot and the articulatory important in consciousness.
be replicated or controlled in an movements into harmony
experimental situation. He included with each other. Consciousness and species
religion, language, myths, history, Wilhelm Wundt The definition of consciousness
art, laws, and customs among continues to be debated, but it has
these influences, discussing them not fundamentally changed since
in a ten-volume work, Cultural Wundt. The level of consciousness
Psychology, which he wrote during within animals has not yet been
the last 20 years of his life. established, and this has led to the
Wundt saw language as an formation of special Codes of Ethics
especially important part of culture’s understand the meaning that the for animal experiments, intensive
contribution to consciousness. Any speaker is trying to convey, but farming, and blood sports such as
verbal communication begins with the actual words may not be as fox hunting and bull fighting. Of
a “general impression,” or unified important as the general impression, particular concern is whether
idea of something we wish to say. especially if strong emotions are animals experience discomfort,
Having “apperceived” this general involved. As evidence of the fact that fear, and pain in ways that
starting point, we then choose we use this process, Wundt points resemble the form in which we feel
words and sentences to express it. out that we often remember the them ourselves. The fundamental
While speaking, we monitor the general meaning of what a person question of which animals have
accuracy of the intended meaning. has said long after we’ve forgotten self-awareness or consciousness
We might say, “No, that’s not right, I the specific words that were used. remains unanswered, although few
mean…,” and then choose a different The ability to use true language, psychologists today would assume,
word or phrase to express ourselves as opposed to just exchanging as Wundt did, that it applies even
better. Whoever is listening has to limited signs and signals, is today to the microscopic protozoa. ■
Wilhelm Wundt Born in Baden (now Mannheim) for his work on visual perception.
Germany, Wilhelm Wundt was While at Heidelberg, Wundt
the fourth child in a family with started teaching the world’s first
a long history of intellectual course in experimental
achievement. His father was a psychology, and in 1879 opened
Lutheran minister. The young the first psychology laboratory.
Wundt was allowed little time for Wundt wrote over 490 works
play, as he was pushed through and was probably the world’s
a rigorous educational regime, most prolific scientific writer.
attending a strict Catholic school
from the age of 13. He went on to Key works
study at the universities of Berlin,
Tübingen, and Heidelberg, 1863 Lectures on the Mind
graduating in medicine in 1856. of Humans and Animals
Two years later, Wundt became 1896 Outline of Psychology
assistant to the physician Hermann 1873 Principles of Physiological
von Helmholtz, who was famous Psychology
WE KNOW
THE MEANING OF
“CONSCIOUSNESS”
SO LONG AS NO ONE ASKS US
TO DEFINE IT
WILLIAM JAMES (1842–1910)
40 WILLIAM JAMES
T
he term “consciousness” is
IN CONTEXT generally used to refer to
an individual’s awareness
APPROACH
of his or her own thoughts, including
Analysis of consciousness
sensations, feelings, and memories.
BEFORE We usually take this awareness
Consciousness…
1641 René Descartes defines for granted, except when we are
having difficulties—such as trying
does not appear to itself
consciousness of self in terms chopped up in bits… It is
of the ability to think. to do something when we are
very tired. But if you focus your nothing jointed; it flows.
1690 English philosopher thoughts on your consciousness, William James
and physician John Locke you soon become aware that your
defines consciousness as conscious experiences are constantly
“the perception of what changing. While reading this book,
passes in a man’s own mind.” for example, you may be reminded
1781 German philosopher of past experiences or present
Immanuel Kant states that discomforts that interrupt your
simultaneous events are concentration; plans for the future naturally described. In talking of it
experienced as a “unity may spontaneously spring to mind. hereafter, let us call it the stream of
of consciousness.” Thinking about your conscious thought, of consciousness….”
experiences makes you realize James’s famous description
AFTER just how much your thoughts are of the “stream... of consciousness”
1923 Max Wertheimer in changing, and yet they seem to is one that almost everyone can
Laws of Organization in come together, merging and identify with, because we all
Perceptual Forms shows carrying on smoothly as a whole. experience it. Yet, at the same
how the mind actively American psychologist William time, James points out that it is
interprets images. James compared these everyday very hard to actually define: “When
experiences of consciousness to I say every thought is part of a
1925 John B. Watson
a stream that continuously flows, personal consciousness, ‘personal
dismisses consciousness
despite the odd interruption and consciousness’ is one of the terms
as “neither a definite nor a
change of direction. He declared: in question… to give an accurate
usable concept.”
“A ‘river’ or a ‘stream’ are the account of it is the most difficult
metaphors by which it is most of philosophic tasks.”
William James William James was born in 1842 In 1873, James returned to
to a wealthy and influential New Harvard, where he became a
York family, and traveled widely professor of both philosophy
as a child, attending schools in and psychology. He set up the
both Europe and the US. James first experimental psychology
showed early artistic ability and courses in the US, playing a key
initially pursued a career as a role in establishing psychology
painter, but his growing interest as a truly scientific discipline.
in science eventually led to him He retired in 1907, and died
to enrol at Harvard University in peacefully at his home in New
1861. By 1864, he had moved to Hampshire in 1910.
Harvard Medical School, although
his studies were interrupted by Key works
bouts of physical illness and
depression. He finally qualified 1890 The Principles of Psychology
as a physician in 1869, but never 1892 Psychology
practiced medicine. 1897 The Will to Believe
See also: René Descartes 20–21 ■ Wilhelm Wundt 32–37 ■ John B. Watson 66–71 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■
Fritz Perls 112–17 ■ Wolfgang Köhler 160–61 ■ Max Wertheimer 335
This “most difficult of philosophic

tasks” has a long history. The
ancient Greeks discussed the Consciousness seems to be a
mind, but did not use the term stream of thoughts.
“consciousness” or any equivalent.
However, there was debate as
to whether something separate
from the body exists at all. In the
fourth century BCE, Plato made a
distinction between the soul and These thoughts are Each thought follows
body, but Aristotle argued that entirely separate one after another…
even if there is a distinction, the from each other…
two cannot be separated.
Early definitions
René Descartes, in the mid-17th
century, was one of the first
philosophers to attempt to describe …and yet somehow they
combine to give us a sense of
consciousness, proposing that it
unified consciousness.
resides in an immaterial domain
he called “the realm of thought,” in
contrast to the physical domain of
material things, which he called
“the realm of extension.” However,
the first person accredited with the
modern concept of consciousness This is because thoughts that enter our
as an ongoing passage of individual awareness at the same time form a “pulse”
perceptions is the 17th-century within the stream of consciousness.
English philosopher John Locke.
James was drawn to Locke’s idea of
passing perceptions and also to the
work of the 18th-century German
philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant
was impressed by the way our These pulses jolt us from ...but continue to
experiences come together, noting one conclusion (or “resting stream onward.
that if we hear a noise and feel pain place”) to another...
at the same time, we typically
experience these as one event.
He called this the “unity of
consciousness,” a concept that
influenced many later philosophers,
including William James. We know the
James felt the most important meaning of Our consciousness is
point about consciousness is that “consciousness” so constantly evolving.
it is not a “thing” but a process—it long as no one asks
is what the brain does to “steer a us to define it.
nervous system grown too complex
to regulate itself.” It allows us to ❯❯
42 WILLIAM JAMES
words, take twelve men, and to thoughts, or sensations, he believed,
each give one word. Then stand the are unavoidably connected, like
men in a row or jam, and let each Kant’s example of hearing a noise
think of his word as intently as he and feeling pain at precisely the
will; nowhere will there be a same time, because any thoughts
No-one ever had a simple consciousness of the whole that enter our awareness during the
sentence.” If consciousness is a same moment of time combine to
sensation by itself:
stream of distinct thoughts, James form a pulse, or current, within the
consciousness… struggled to see how these combine. stream. We may have many of
is of a teeming As he said, “The idea of a plus the these currents flowing through our
multiplicity of idea of b is not identical with the consciousness, some fast and some
objects and relations. idea of (a + b).” Two thoughts added slow. James stated that there are
William James together cannot be made into one even resting points, where we
idea. They are more likely to form pause to form pictures in our
an entirely new idea. For example, minds, which can be held and
if thought a is “it’s nine o’clock,” contemplated at length. He called
and thought b is “the train leaves the resting places “substantive
at 9:02,” thought c—“I’m going to parts,” and the moving currents
miss my train!”—might follow. the “transitive parts,” claiming that
reflect upon the past, present, our thinking is constantly being
and future, to plan and adapt to Combining thoughts dislodged from one substantive
circumstances and so fulfill what James concluded that the simplest part toward another, propelled by
he believed was the prime purpose way to understand how thoughts the transitive parts, or current. We
of consciousness—to stay alive. within the stream of consciousness are, therefore, effectively “bumped”
But James found it hard to might combine to make sense is from one conclusion to another by
imagine the structure of a unified to suppose “that things that are the constant stream of thoughts,
consciousness. He likened it to a known together are known in whose purpose is to pull us ever
group of 12 men: “Take a dozen single pulses of that stream.” Some forward in this way. There is no
can one but the sentence

think
only of word not whole
I
The 12-word sentence problem was used by James to

illustrate his difficulty in grasping how a unified consciousness
stems from separate thoughts. If each man is aware of just one
word, how can there be a consciousness of the whole sentence?
Dots of pure color make up this work
by the French Post-Impressionist
painter Georges Seurat. Yet our brain
combines these separate elements so
that what we see is a human figure.
final conclusion; consciousness is

not a thing but a process, which
is constantly evolving.
James also drew attention to the
personal nature of consciousness,
stating that thoughts do not exist
independently of a thinker—they
are your thoughts or mine. Each one
is “owned” by someone, and never
“comes into direct sight of a thought
in another personal consciousness
than its own.” And it is these
thoughts “connected as we feel
them to be connected” that form
the self. As thoughts cannot be
divided from the self, James said
that investigating this self should
be the starting point of psychology.
Experimental psychologists did not
agree, because “the self” cannot be
offered up for experimentation, but
James thought it was enough to
work with our understanding of a
self that does certain things and
feels in certain ways. He called this
the “empirical self,” which
manifests itself through its
behavior, and suggested that it
consists of several parts—the
material self, spiritual self, and physiological condition. To illustrate Another example, according to his
social self—each of which can be this theory, James used the example theory, would be that you feel happy
studied through introspection. of seeing a bear, then running away. because you are conscious that you
It is not the case that you see the are smiling; it is not that you feel
Theory of emotion bear, feel afraid, and then run away happy first, and then smile.
In the early stages of his research because of the fear. What is really
into consciousness, James realized happening is that you see the bear Pragmatism
that the emotions play an important and run away, and the conscious Related to James’s theories about
role in our daily lives, and went on to feeling of fear is caused by the consciousness is his approach to the
develop, with his colleague Carl action of running. This contradicts way we believe things to be true or
Lange, a theory about how they what most people might think, but not. He stated that “truths emerge
relate to our actions and behavior. James’s view was that the mind’s from facts... but... the ‘facts’
What was to become known as the perception of the physical effects of themselves are not true; they simply
James–Lange Theory of Emotion running—rapid breathing, increased are. Truth is the function of the
states that emotions arise from your heartbeat, and perspiring heavily— beliefs that start and terminate
conscious mind’s perception of your is translated into the emotion of fear. among them.” ❯❯
44 WILLIAM JAMES
Curies’ scientific knowledge had assessing consciousness as
been questioned and modified, but objectively as possible, and
its core truths remained intact. to understand its underlying
mechanisms—both physical
Further studies and psychological.
The period following James’s death Modern neuroscience has
There is but one
saw the rise of the behaviorist demonstrated that there are
indefectibly certain movement, and a decline of interest mechanisms of consciousness.
truth… the truth that the in consciousness. Consequently, By the closing years of the 20th
present phenomenon of little theorizing on the subject century, the British molecular
consciousness exists. happened from around the start of biologist and biophysicist
William James the 1920s up until the 1950s. One Francis Crick was claiming that
important exception was the consciousness is related to a
German-based Gestalt movement, specific part of the brain—the
which emphasized that the brain prefrontal cortex area, which is
operates in a holistic way, taking involved in thought processes
account of whole conscious such as planning, problem-solving,
experiences, rather than separate and the control of behavior.
James defined “true beliefs” as events—just as when we look at a Research carried out by the
those that the believer finds useful. picture, we see not just separate Colombian neuroscientist Rodolfo
This emphasis on the usefulness of dots, lines, and shapes, but a Linas links consciousness to
beliefs lies at the heart of the meaningful whole. This concept the activities of the thalamus in
American philosophical tradition of is behind the now famous Gestalt conjunction with the cerebral
pragmatism, which was central to phrase: “The whole is greater than cortex. The thalamus, a structure
James’s thinking. the sum of the parts.” embedded deep in the center of the
In the course of our lives, James Since the 1980s, however, brain, is responsible for regulating
claimed that we are continually psychologists and neuroscientists vibrations inside the brain at
testing “truths” against each have developed a new field of certain frequencies; if these regular
other, and our conscious beliefs research called “consciousness rhythms are disrupted—by an
keep changing, as “old truths” studies,” focusing on two main infection or genetic causes—then
are modified, and sometimes areas of interest: the content of an individual may experience
replaced by “new truths.” This consciousness, as reported by neurological disorders, such as
theory is particularly relevant to people who are considered to be epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease,
the way that all scientific research, normal and healthy; and the as well as psychological conditions,
including psychology, progresses. consciousness of people whose such as depression.
James cited the discovery of the state of awareness has been
radioactive element radium by impaired in some way. The latter
Pierre and Marie Curie in 1902 group includes cases, such as
as an example. In the course of when the subject is in a “persistent
their investigations, the Curies vegetative state” (PVS)—in which
found that radium appeared to patients in a coma are awake and
give off unlimited amounts of breathing independently, but have
energy, which “seemed for a apparently lost all higher brain
moment to contradict our ideas of functions. The goal with both paths
the whole order of nature.” of research is to try to find ways of
However, after conscious
consideration of this revelation,
Pierre and Marie Curie’s research,
they concluded that “although it like most scientific work, modified, rather
extends our old ideas of energy, it than totally contradicted, earlier theories.
causes a minimum of alteration in New “truths,” James claimed, constantly
their nature.” In this instance, the modify our basic beliefs in a similar way.
MRI scans of the brain have
helped to identify structures such
as the thalamus, seen in the center
of this scan, that appear to have
links to consciousness.
But when it comes to definitions

of consciousness, modern attempts
still remain vague and difficult to
apply. For example, the American
neuroscientist Antonio Damasio
calls consciousness “the feeling
of what happens,” and defines it
as “an organism’s awareness of
its own self and its surroundings.”
As William James suggested,
more than 100 years earlier,
consciousness is hard to define.
Lasting legacy
An edited version of James’s 1890
book, The Principles of Psychology,
is still in print, and his ideas have
been a major influence on many Before James started teaching the vastly beneficial discipline owes
psychologists, as well as other subject at Harvard in 1875, there much to his work. In 1977, in a
scientists and thinkers. The were no independent psychology speech celebrating the 75th
application of his pragmatic courses available in any American anniversary of the formation of
philosophy to facts—concentrating university. But within 20 years, the American Psychological
not on what is “true” but on what it around 24 colleges and universities Association, David Krech, then
is “useful to believe”—has helped in the US had recognized Professor Emeritus in psychology
psychology move on from the psychology as a distinct academic at the University of California at
question of whether the mind and discipline, and were offering Berkeley, referred to James as
body are separate or not to a more degrees in the subject. Three the “father of psychology.” ■
useful study of mental processes, specialist psychology journals
such as attention, memory, were also founded in that time,
reasoning, imagination, and and a professional organization—
intention. James claimed his the American Psychological
approach helped to move Association—was formed.
philosophers and psychologists James introduced experimental
“away from abstraction, fixed psychology to America, despite All these consciousnesses
principles, closed systems, and claiming to “hate experimental melt into each other
pretended absolutes and origins, work.” He did so because he had like dissolving views.
towards facts, action, and power.” come to realize that it was the best Properly they are but one
His insistence on focusing on the way to prove or disprove a theory. protracted consciousness,
wholeness of events, including the But he continued to value the use of one unbroken stream.
effects of different environments introspection as a tool of discovery, William James
on our actions—in contrast to the especially of mental processes.
introspective, structuralist approach The shift in the perception of
of breaking down our experiences psychology and its concerns from
into small details—has also shaped being considered, “a nasty little
our understanding of behavior. subject” (in James’s words) into a
46
ADOLESCENCE
IS A NEW BIRTH
G. STANLEY HALL (1844–1924)
IN CONTEXT Human development is determined by

APPROACH nature: it is a repetition of our “ancestral record.”
Human development
BEFORE
1905 Sigmund Freud, in
Three Essays on the Theory of A child has animallike dispositions
Sexuality, claims the teenage and goes through several growth stages.
years are the “genital stage.”
AFTER
1928 American anthropologist
Margaret Mead, in Coming At adolescence, the evolutionary momentum
of Age in Samoa, declares subsides; this is a time for individual change.
that adolescence is only
recognized as a distinct
stage of human development
in Western society.
During this wild, lawless time,
1950 Erik Erikson, in teenagers are increasingly sensitive, reckless,
Childhood and Society, self-conscious, and prone to depression.
describes adolescence as
the stage of “Identity vs.
Role Confusion,” coining
the term “identity crisis.”
The child then emerges as an adult: a more civilized,
1983 In Margaret Mead “higher-order” being.
and Samoa, New Zealand
anthropologist Derek Freeman
disputes Mead’s claim that
adolescence is merely a
socially constructed concept. Adolescence is a new birth.
See also: Francis Galton 28–29 ■ Wilhelm Wundt 32–37 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■
Erik Erikson 272–73
T
he word “adolescence” “curve of despondency” that starts
literally means “growing at the age of 11, peaks at 15, then
up” (from the Latin falls steadily until the age of 23.
adolescere). In theory, it describes Modern research acknowledges
a distinct stage between childhood a similar pattern. The causes of
and adulthood, but in practice often depression that Hall identified are
simply defines the “teenage” years. startlingly familiar: suspicion of
In most Western societies, the idea being disliked and having seemingly
of adolescence was not recognized insuperable character faults, and
until the 20th century; childhood “the fancy of hopeless love.” He
ended and adulthood began at a believed the self-consciousness of G. Stanley Hall
certain age—typically at 18. adolescence leads to self-criticism
Pioneering psychologist and and censoriousness of self and Born into a farming family
educator, G. Stanley Hall, in his others. This view mirrors later in Ashfield, Massachusetts,
Granville Stanley Hall
1904 book Adolescence, was the studies, which argue that teenagers’
graduated from Williams
first academic to explore the subject. advanced reasoning skills allow College, Massachusetts in
Hall was influenced by Darwin’s them to “read between the lines,” 1867. His plans to travel were
theory of evolution, believing that while also magnifying their thwarted through lack of
all childhoods, especially with sensitivity to situations. Even Hall’s funds, so he followed his
regard to behavior and early claim that criminal activity is more mother’s wish and studied
physical development, reflect the prevalent in the teenage years, theology for a year in New
course of evolutionary change, and peaking around 18, still holds true. York, before moving to
that we each develop in accordance But Hall was not totally negative Germany. On Hall’s return to
with our “ancestral record.” about adolescence. As he wrote in America in 1870, he studied
One key influence on Hall Youth: Its Education, Regiment, with William James for four
was the 18th-century Sturm and Hygiene, “Adolescence is a years at Harvard, gaining the
und Drang (“Storm and Stress”) new birth, for the higher and more first psychology PhD in the
movement of German writers completely human traits are now US. He then returned to
Germany for two years to
and musicians, which promoted born.” So, for Hall, adolescence
work with Wilhelm Wundt
total freedom of expression. Hall was in fact a necessary beginning
in his Leipzig laboratory.
referred to adolescence as “Sturm of something much better. ■ In 1882, Hall became a
und Drang;” he considered it a stage professor at Johns Hopkins
of emotional turmoil and rebellion, University, Baltimore, where he
with behavior ranging from quiet set up the first US laboratory
moodiness to wild risk-taking. specifically for psychology. He
Adolescence, he stated, “craves also launched the American
strong feelings and new sensations… Journal of Psychology in 1887,
monotony, routine, and detail are Adolescence is when the and became the first president
intolerable.” Awareness of self and very worst and best impulses of the American Psychological
the environment greatly increases; in the human soul Association in 1892.
everything is more keenly felt, and struggle against each
sensation is sought for its own sake. other for possession. Key works
G. Stanley Hall
1904 Adolescence
Modern echoes 1906 Youth: Its Education,
Many of Hall’s findings are echoed Regiment, and Hygiene
in research today. Hall believed that 1911 Educational Problems
adolescents are highly susceptible 1922 Senescence
to depression, and described a
48
24 HOURS AFTER
LEARNING SOMETHING,
WE FORGET
TWO-THIRDS OF IT
HERMANN EBBINGHAUS (1850–1909)
IN CONTEXT
APPROACH
…forgetting is …items forgotten can be
Memory studies
most rapid within the relearned faster than new
BEFORE first nine hours. ones learned for the first time.
5th century BCE The
ancient Greeks make use of
“mnemonics”—techniques,
such as key words or rhymes,
that aid memory.
1582 Italian philosopher
Giordano Bruno in The Art …meaningful
of Memory gives methods for …material that
things are
is studied
memorizing, using diagrams Ebbinghaus’s remembered
beyond
of knowledge and experience. memory for about ten
mastery
experiments times longer
AFTER (over-learned) is
showed that… than random,
remembered
1932 Frederick Bartlett says longer.
meaningless
that every memory is a blend things.
of knowledge and inference.
1949 Donald Hebb, in The
Organization of Behavior,
describes how learning results
from stimulated brain cells
linking up into “assemblies.”
…items toward the …repeated learning sessions
1960 US psychologist Leo beginning and end of over a longer interval of
Postman finds that new a series are most easily time improves memory
learning can interfere with remembered. retention on any subject.
previous learning, causing
“retroactive interference.”
See also: Donald Hebb 163 ■ Bluma Zeigarnik 162 ■ George Armitage Miller 168–73 ■ Endel Tulving 186–91 ■ Gordon H.
Bower 194–95 ■ Daniel Schacter 208–09 ■ Frederic Bartlett 335–36
I
n 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus recite a series correctly at speed.
became the first psychologist He tested different list lengths and
to systematically study different learning intervals, noting
learning and memory by carrying the speed of learning and forgetting.
out a long, exhausting experiment Ebbinghaus found that he could
on himself. Philosophers such as remember meaningful material,
John Locke and David Hume had such as a poem, ten times more
argued that remembering involves easily than his nonsense lists. He
association—linking things or also noted that the more times the
ideas by shared characteristics, stimuli (the nonsense syllables)
such as time, place, cause, or were repeated, the less time was
effect. Ebbinghaus tested the effect needed to reproduce the memorized
of association on memory, recording information. Also, the first few
the results mathematically to see if repetitions proved the most
Learning material and committing
memory follows verifiable patterns. effective in memorizing a list. it to memory within an hour of hearing
When looking at his results for it, Ebbinghaus showed, will mean that
Memory experiments evidence of forgetting, Ebbinghaus we remember it for longer and can
Ebbinghaus started by memorizing found, unsurprisingly, that he recall it more easily.
lists of words and testing how tended to forget less quickly the
many he could recall. To avoid the lists that he had spent the most two-thirds of anything memorized
use of association, he then created time memorizing, and that recall is is forgotten. Plotted on a graph, this
2,300 “nonsense syllables,” all three best performed immediately after shows a distinct “forgetting curve”
letters long and using the standard learning. Ebbinghaus also uncovered that starts with a sharp drop,
word format of consonant–vowel– an unexpected pattern in memory followed by a shallow slope.
consonant: for example, “ZUC” and retention. He found that there is Ebbinghaus’s research launched
“QAX.” Grouping these into lists, typically a very rapid loss of recall a new field of enquiry, and helped
he looked at each syllable for a in the first hour, followed by a establish psychology as a scientific
fraction of a second, pausing for 15 slightly slower loss, so that after discipline. His meticulous methods
seconds before going through a list nine hours, about 60 percent is remain the basis of all psychological
again. He did this until he could forgotten. After 24 hours, about experimentation to this day. ■
Hermann Ebbinghaus Hermann Ebbinghaus was born in two psychology laboratories

Barmen, Germany, to a family of and founded an academic
Lutheran merchants. At 17, he journal. Ebbinghaus later moved
began to study philosophy at to Breslau University, where he
Bonn University, but his academic also established a laboratory,
career was disrupted in 1870 by and finally to Halle, where he
the Franco-Prussian War. In 1873, taught until his death from
he completed his studies and pneumonia at the age of 59.
moved to Berlin, later traveling to
France and England, where he Key works
carried out research on the power
of his own memory, starting in 1885 Memory: A Contribution
1879. He published Memory in to Experimental Psychology
1885, detailing the “nonsense 1897–1908 Fundamentals
syllable” research, and in the of Psychology (2 volumes)
same year became a professor at 1908 Psychology: An
Berlin University, where he set up Elementary Textbook
50
IN CONTEXT
THE INTELLIGENCE APPROACH

Intelligence theory
OF AN INDIVIDUAL
BEFORE
1859 English naturalist
Charles Darwin proposes
IS NOT A FIXED
that intelligence is inherited
in On the Origin of Species.
QUANTITY
From 1879 Wilhelm Wundt
applies scientific methods to
psychology, seeking objective
ways of measuring mental
ALFRED BINET (1857–1911) abilities such as intelligence.

1890 US psychologist James
Cattell devises tests to
measure differences in
individual mental abilities.
AFTER
1920s English educational
psychologist Cyril Burt claims
intelligence is mainly genetic.
1940s Raymond Cattell defines
two types of intelligence: fluid
(inborn) and crystallized
(shaped by experience).
I
n 1859, Charles Darwin set
out his theory of evolution
in On the Origin of Species,
providing a framework for the
debate over whether intelligence
was fixed by genetic inheritance, or
could be modified by circumstances.
His cousin, Francis Galton, carried
out tests on the cognitive abilities
of around 9,000 people in London
in the early 1880s, and concluded
that basic intelligence was fixed
at birth. Around the same time,
Wilhelm Wundt proposed the idea
of an intelligence quotient (IQ),
and made attempts to measure it.
Wundt’s work inspired studies into
the measurement of mental abilities
by the American psychologist
See also: Francis Galton 28–29 ■ Jean-Martin Charcot 30 ■ Wilhelm
Wundt 32–37 ■ Raymond Cattell 314–15
Intelligence testing can only measure…
…an individual’s mental abilities at a particular time

and in a particular context.
Alfred Binet
Alfred Binet was born in Nice,
Abilities change within short periods of time; France, but moved to Paris at
they also change over the long-term as part a young age after his parents
of the developmental process. separated. He gained a law
degree in 1878, then studied
sciences at the Sorbonne, in
preparation for taking up
medicine. But Binet decided
Intelligence will alter during a person’s lifetime. that his real interest lay in
psychology, and although he
was largely self-taught, in
1883 he was offered a post at
Paris’s Salpêtrière Hospital by
The intelligence of an individual Jean-Martin Charcot. After his
is not a fixed quantity. marriage the following year,
and the birth of two daughters,
he began to take an interest in
intelligence and learning. In
1891, Binet was appointed
James Cattell, and were also to his children absorbed new
associate director of the
form the basis of Alfred Binet’s information varied according Sorbonne’s Laboratory of
research into human intelligence. to how much they were paying Experimental Psychology,
attention. Context, and the child’s becoming director in 1894.
Fascination with learning frame of mind, seemed to be Many honors have been
Binet studied law and natural critical to learning. heaped upon Binet since his
science before psychology captured On hearing of Francis Galton’s untimely death in 1911. These
his interest. He was largely self- testing in London, Binet decided include changing the name of
taught, although working with to carry out his own large-scale La Société Libre pour l’Etude
Jean-Martin Charcot at Paris’s research on assessing differences Psychologique de l’Enfant to
Salpêtrière Hospital for more than in individual abilities between La Société Alfred Binet in 1917.
seven years gave him a firm grasp various special-interest groups,
of experimental procedures, with such as mathematicians, chess Key works
their need for precision and careful players, writers, and artists. At the
1903 Experimental Study
planning. His desire to study same time, he continued his study
of Intelligence
human intelligence grew out of his of the functional intelligence of 1905 The Mind and Brain
fascination with the development children, noting that they became 1911 A Method of Measuring
of his own two daughters. He noted capable of certain skills at specific the Development of Intelligence
that the speed and ease with which ages. For example, very young ❯❯
52 ALFRED BINET
children were not capable of and intellectually challenged
abstract thought—this seemed children, and to find a way of
to be a hallmark of an increased measuring these differences.
level of intelligence that was
directly attributable to age. The Binet–Simon Scale
In 1899, Binet was invited to Binet was joined in his task by There is in intelligence…
join a new organization dedicated Théodore Simon, a research scientist
a fundamental agency,
to educational research, La Société at the Sorbonne’s Laboratory of
Libre pour L’Etude Psychologique Experimental Psychology, where
the lack or alteration
de l’Enfant (The Free Society for Binet had been director since
of which has the greatest
the Psychological Study of the 1894. It was to be the beginning importance for practical
Child). Within a short time, he of a long and fruitful collaboration life: that is judgment.
became the group’s leader, and between the two scientists. Alfred Binet
began to publish articles and By 1905, Binet and Simon had
information useful to teachers created their first test, labeled
and education officials. Around the “New Methods for Diagnosing
same time, it became mandatory Idiocy, Imbecility, and Moron
for all children in France to attend Status.” Soon after, they introduced
school between the ages of six and a revised version, for children aged
12, and Binet was asked to consider three to 13, which was simply strange visitors. He has received
how to develop a test that would called the Binet–Simon Scale. It in turn a doctor, a lawyer, and then
identify children who might have was revised once more in 1908, a priest. What is taking place?”
learning disabilities, so that they and then again in 1911. Binet and Simon tested their
could receive schooling that was Based on their many years Scale on a sample of 50 children,
appropriate to their needs. In 1904, of observing children, Binet and divided equally between five age
this work led to Binet being asked Simon put together 30 tests of groups. These children had been
to join a government commission increasing difficulty, using a range selected by their school teachers
to devise a method of assessing of tasks that reflected the average as being average for their age,
learning potential in infants, and abilities of children at different providing a baseline measure of
he made it his mission to establish ages. The easiest tasks included normality against which children
the differences between normal following a beam of light, or of all abilities could be measured.
engaging in basic conversation Binet and Simon’s 30 tasks,
with the person who was testing arranged in order of difficulty,
them. Slightly more difficult tasks were to be carried out under
included pointing to various carefully controlled conditions.
named body parts, repeating a Binet had learned from observing
series of two digits, repeating his daughters that children are
simple sentences, and defining easily distracted, and that their
basic words such as “house” or level of attention plays a critical role
“fork.” In the more difficult tests, in their ability to perform. He saw
children were asked to describe intelligence as a mixture of
the difference between pairs of multifaceted mental faculties
similar objects, to reproduce that operate within a real world of
drawings from memory, and to ever-changing circumstances, and
construct sentences around three are controlled by practical judgment.
given words. The very hardest
tasks included repeating seven Intelligence is not fixed
Taking intelligence tests, which are
still largely based on the Binet–Simon random digits, finding three rhymes Binet was always frank about the
Scale, has become an almost standard for the French word “obéisance;” limitations of the Binet–Simon
way of predicting a child’s potential and answering questions such as Scale. He was keen to point out
to be successful at school. “My neighbor has been receiving that the scale simply ordered
children from their performance Binet–Simon tests generate an IQ (intelligence
of intellectual tasks in relation to quotient) number, representing an overall level of
other children of a similar age. performance. This can be plotted on a graph to
reveal IQ variations across groups or populations.
The tests of 1908 and 1911 placed
greater emphasis on tests for
different age groups, and it was
this that eventually led to the 34 .13
.13% %
concept of “mental age.” 34
Binet also stressed that mental
Population
development progressed at different
13
rates and could be influenced by
.59
.5
9%
environmental factors. He preferred
13
to think of his tests as a way of
assessing mental level at a
particular point in time, because 2.
4% 14
%
this allowed for an individual’s level 2.1
0.13%
to change as their circumstances 0.13%
changed. This was in opposition
to the views of the influential IQ 52 68 84 100 116 132 148
English psychologist Charles
Spearman, who later proposed
that intelligence was based on saw the Binet–Simon Scale as a his work. When he eventually
biological factors alone. way of rooting out “feebleminded became aware of the “foreign ideas
Binet maintained that a people” for compulsory sterilization. being grafted on his instrument” he
child’s “intelligence is not a fixed In 1916, yet another American strongly condemned those who with
quantity,” but grows just as the psychologist, Lewis Terman, “brutal pessimism” and “deplorable
child does, and that even though he modified the Binet–Simon Scale. verdicts” promoted the concept of
had devised a way of quantifying Using test results from a large intelligence as a single constant.
it, no number could ever give an sample of American children, he Binet’s concept of the “IQ test”
accurate measure of a person’s renamed it the Stanford–Binet remains the basis of intelligence
intelligence. A complete picture, Scale. It was no longer used solely testing today. Despite its
Binet thought, could only be formed to identify children with special shortcomings, it has generated
from an accompanying case study. needs, but to pick out those who research that has advanced our
Ultimately, Binet did not believe might be suitable for streaming knowledge of human intelligence. ■
that it was possible to measure off into more vocational, or job-
intellectual aptitude as if it were oriented, education, effectively
a length or a capacity; it was only condemning them to a lifetime of
possible to classify it. menial work. Terman, like Goddard,
believed that intelligence was
Uses and abuses inherited and unchangeable, so no
In 1908, the American psychologist amount of schooling could alter it. I have not sought
Henry H. Goddard traveled to Binet was probably unaware of to sketch a method
Europe, where he discovered the these uses of his work for quite some of measuring… but only
Binet–Simon tests. He translated time. He was an isolated figure, a method of classification
them, distributing around 22,000 who rarely concerned himself with of individuals.
copies across the US to be used for professional developments outside Alfred Binet
testing in schools. Unfortunately, his immediate sphere. He never
while Binet had been careful not to traveled outside France, where the
attribute intelligence to hereditary Binet–Simon Scale was not adopted
factors, Goddard thought that it during his lifetime, so he was never
was genetically determined. He confronted by any modifications of
54
THE UNCONSCIOUS
SEES THE MEN BEHIND
THE CURTAINS
PIERRE JANET (1859–1947)
B
etween around 1880 and
IN CONTEXT 1910, there was a great deal
If someone shows of interest in the condition
APPROACH physiological signs of “dissociation”—the separation of
Neurological science of terror or distress for some mental processes from
no apparent reason…
BEFORE a person's conscious mind, or
1878 Jean-Martin Charcot normal everyday personality. Mild
in Diseases of the Nervous dissociation, in which the world
System describes the seems “dreamlike” and “unreal,” is
symptoms of hysteria, then common, and affects most people
considered to be a distinct, at some time or other. It is often
biological illness. caused by illnesses, such as flu, or
…they may be caused
by a subconscious idea… drugs, including alcohol, and may
AFTER lead to a partial or complete loss of
1895 Sigmund Freud suggests memory during and after the period
that dissociation is one of the of dissociation. In rare cases of
mind’s defense mechanisms. what was then described as
multiple personality disorder, a
1900s American neurologist person appears to have two or
Morton Prince suggests more distinct personalities. Such
that there is a spectrum of …that therapy reveals
to be related to an earlier extreme examples are now classified
dissociative disorders. as “dissociative identity disorder.”
traumatic incident.
1913 French naturalist J.P.F. The French philosopher and
Deleuze describes dissociation physician Pierre Janet is credited
as being like the formation of with being the first person to study
two distinct people—one of and describe dissociation as a
them fully awake, and the psychiatric condition. In the late
other in a trancelike state. 1880s and early 1890s, he worked
at the Salpêtrière hospital in Paris,
This may in severe cases
1977 Ernest R. Hilgard's lead to dissociation—the where he treated patients who
Divided Consciousness existence of two were suffering from “hysteria.” He
discusses the splitting up of separate consciousnesses. published case studies of several
consciousness by hypnosis. women who showed extreme
symptoms. A patient called
See also: Jean-Martin Charcot 30 ■ Alfred Binet 50–53 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Thigpen & Cleckley 330–31 ■
Ernest R. Hilgard 337
Significantly, Lucie 3 could recall a behavior as “the subconscious.” But

traumatic experience, while on Sigmund Freud thought this term
vacation at the age of seven, when was too vague, and instead labeled
she was terrified by two men who the source of his patients' mental
were hiding behind a curtain. traumas as the “unconscious.” Freud
also developed Janet's ideas,
These people are
Subconscious trauma stating that dissociation was a
persecuted by something, Lucie's childhood trauma, Janet universal “defense mechanism.”
and you must investigate concluded, was the cause of her Janet’s work was neglected for
carefully to get to the root. dissociation. As he wrote in decades, as the use of hypnotism to
Pierre Janet Psychological Automatism: “To investigate and treat mental illness
have one’s body in the posture of was discredited. However, since
terror is to feel the emotion of terror; the late 20th century, it has again
and if this posture is determined by attracted interest from psychologists
a subconscious idea, the patient studying dissociative disorders. ■
will have the emotion alone in his
consciousness without knowing
“Lucie,” for example, would usually why he feels this way.” As her terror
be calm, but then suddenly became took hold, Lucie would say, “I'm
agitated, crying and looking afraid and I don't know why.” “The
terrified for no apparent reason. unconscious,” said Janet, “is having
She seemed to have three distinct its dream; it sees the men behind
personalities, which Janet named the curtains, and puts the body in a
“Lucie 1,” “Lucie 2,” and “Lucie 3,” posture of terror.” Janet added that
and would change between them he believed traumatic events and
unexpectedly, especially when stress could cause dissociation in
Childhood traumas may appear to
hypnotized. Lucie 1 had only “her anyone with that predisposition. be forgotten, but according to Pierre
own” memories, as did Lucie 2, but Janet described the part of the Janet, they can often remain in the
Lucie 3 could remember events mind that he believed was behind “subconscious” part of the mind, giving
relating to all three personalities. uncharacteristic and disturbed rise to mental problems in later life.
Pierre Janet Pierre Janet was born into a Influenced by Jean-Martin

cultured, middle-class family in Charcot, Janet extended his
Paris, France. As a child he loved studies to include “hysteria,”
the natural sciences, and began becoming director of Charcot's
collecting and cataloging plants. laboratory at Paris's Salpêtrière
His philosopher uncle, Paul Janet, Hospital in 1898. He also taught
encouraged him to study both at the Sorbonne, and was made
medicine and philosophy, and Professor of Psychology at the
after attending the elite École Collège de France in 1902.
Normale Supérieure in Paris,
he went on to receive a master’s Key works
degree in philosophy from the
Sorbonne. Aged just 22, Janet was 1893 The Mental State of
appointed Professor of Philosophy Hystericals
at the Lycée in Le Havre, where 1902 Neuroses
he launched his research into 1907 The Major Symptoms
hypnotically induced states. of Hysteria
BEHAVIO
RESPONDING TO
OUR ENVIRONMENT
RISM
58 INTRODUCTION
Charles Darwin John B. Watson

publishes The Expression publishes Psychology As Zing-Yang Kuo’s
of the Emotions in Men The Behaviorist Views It, Ivan Pavlov experiments with cats
and Animals arguing which becomes the demonstrates classical and rats attempt to show
that behaviors are unofficial behaviorist conditioning in his that there is no such
evolutionary adaptations. manifesto. experiments on dogs. thing as instinct.
1872 1913 1927 1930
1898 1920 1929 1930
Edward Thorndike’s John B. Watson Karl Lashley’s B.F. Skinner

Law of Effect states experiments on “Little experiments in brain demonstrates the
that responses which Albert,” teaching the dissection show that the effects of “operant
produce satisfying baby a conditioned whole brain is involved conditioning” in
effects are more likely emotional response. in learning. experiments on rats.
to be repeated.
B
y the 1890s, psychology the mind—behavior—under strictly physical processes, and it was a
was accepted as a scientific controlled laboratory conditions. Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov,
subject separate from its As John B. Watson put it, who unwittingly provided a basis
philosophical origins. Laboratories psychology is “that division of for the emergent behaviorist
and university departments had Natural Science which takes psychology. In his now famous
been established in Europe and human behavior—the doings study of salivation in dogs, Pavlov
the US, and a second generation of and sayings, both learned and described how an animal responds
psychologists was emerging. unlearned—as its subject matter.” to a stimulus in the process of
In the US, psychologists anxious Early “behaviorists,” including conditioning, and gave psychologists
to put the new discipline on an Edward Thorndike, Edward the foundation on which to build
objective, scientific footing reacted Tolman, and Edwin Guthrie, the central idea of behaviorism. The
against the introspective, designed experiments to observe notion of conditioning, often
philosophical approach taken the behavior of animals in carefully referred to as “stimulus–response”
by William James and others. devised situations, and from these (S–R) psychology, shaped the form
Introspection, they felt, was by tests inferred theories about how behaviorism was to take.
definition subjective, and theories humans interact with their The behaviorist approach
based on it could be neither proved environment, as well as about concentrated on observing
nor disproved; if psychology was learning, memory, and conditioning. responses to external stimuli,
to be treated as a science, it would ignoring inner mental states and
have to be based on observable Conditioning responses processes, which were thought
and measurable phenomena. Behaviorist experiments were to be impossible to examine
Their solution was to study the influenced by similar experiments scientifically and therefore could
manifestation of the workings of devised by physiologists studying not be included in any analysis of
BEHAVIORISM 59
Karl Lorenz discovers

the phenomenon of Clark L. Hull states B.F. Skinner publishes Noam Chomsky
imprinting, where baby that drive reduction Verbal Behavior, in which writes a critical
animals assume a parent (satisfying our basic he claims that speech is review of Verbal
because of sensory human needs) is the a product of past Behavior that helps
information received only true basis of behavioral and spark the cognitive
at a critical time. reinforcement. genetic history. revolution.
1935 1943 1957 1959
1938 1948 1958 1960S
Edwin Guthrie suggests Cognitive Maps in Rats Joseph Wolpe conducts Neal Miller’s
that “single-trial and Men by Edward desensitization experiments lead
learning” is adequate; Tolman suggests that techniques on war to the discovery
conditioning need not we develop cognitive veterans suffering from of biofeedback
rely on repetition. maps while we go “war neurosis.” techniques.
about our daily lives.
behavior. The shift from “mind” to consequences, not by a preceding this time was Edward Tolman,
“behavior” as a basis for the study of stimulus. Although the concept a behaviorist whose theories
psychology was revolutionary, and was similar to ideas proposed by had not dismissed the importance
was even accompanied by a William James, it radically altered of perception and cognition, due
“behaviorist manifesto”—the paper the course of behaviorism, taking to his interest in German-based
Psychology as the Behaviorist Views into account genetic factors and Gestalt psychology. Advances in
It, delivered in 1913 by Watson. explaining mental states as a result neuroscience, explored by another
In the US, which was leading the (rather than as a cause) of behavior. behaviorist, Karl Lashley, also
field in psychology, behaviorism played a part in shifting the
became the dominant approach for The cognitive revolution emphasis from behavior to
the next 40 years. Evolving from By the mid-20th century, however, the brain and its workings.
the idea of Pavlovian or classical psychologists were questioning the Behaviorism had now run its
conditioning came Watson’s behaviorist approach. Ethology, the course, and was superseded by the
assertion that environmental study of animal behavior, showed various branches of cognitive
stimuli alone shape behavior; the importance of instinctive as well psychology. However, its legacy,
innate or inherited factors are not as learned behavior—a finding that particularly in establishing a
involved. The next generation sat uncomfortably with strict ideas scientific methodology for the
included the “radical behaviorist” of conditioning. A reaction to subject, and in providing models
B.F. Skinner, who proposed a Skinner’s ideas also sparked the that could be used in psychological
rethink of the stimulus–response “cognitive revolution,” which experimentation, was a lasting one.
notion in his theory of “operant turned attention once again from Behavioral therapy is also still in
conditioning”—which stated that behavior back to the mind and use today, as an essential part of
behavior was shaped by mental processes. A key figure at cognitive-behavioral therapy. ■
60
THE SIGHT OF
TASTY FOOD MAKES
A HUNGRY MAN’S
MOUTH WATER
IVAN PAVLOV (1849–1936)
M
any of the key discoveries
IN CONTEXT An unconditioned made when modern
stimulus (such as being psychology was still in its
APPROACH
presented with food)… infancy were the result of research
Classical conditioning
by scientists working in other fields.
BEFORE Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist,
Early 12th century Arab is one of the best known of these
…can provoke an early pioneers, whose investigations
physician Avenzoar (Ibn Zuhr)
unconditioned response into the secretion of saliva during
performs experiments on (such as beginning to salivate).
animals in order to test digestion in dogs led him to some
surgical procedures. unexpected conclusions.
During the 1890s, Pavlov carried
1890 In Principles of out a series of experiments on dogs,
Psychology, William James If an unconditioned
stimulus is accompanied using various surgically implanted
states that in animals “the by a neutral stimulus devices to measure the flow of
feeling of having executed (such as a ringing bell)… saliva when these animals were
one impulsive step is an being fed. He noted that the dogs
indispensable part of the salivated not only when they were
stimulus of the next one.” actually eating, but also whenever
…a conditioned response they could just smell or see some
AFTER begins to develop. appetizing food. The dogs would
1920 John B. Watson’s even salivate, in anticipation of
“Little Albert” experiment food being produced, when they
demonstrates classical were simply being approached by
conditioning in humans. one of their keepers.
After repeated episodes,
1930s B.F. Skinner shows the conditioned stimulus Pavlov’s observations led him
that rats can be “conditioned” alone (the ringing bell)… to investigate the links between
to behave in a specific way. various stimuli and the responses
they elicited. In one experiment,
1950s Psychotherapists he set off a clicking metronome
employ “conditioning” as …will provoke a just before offering food to the
part of behavior therapy. conditioned response dogs, repeating this process until
(beginning to salivate). the animals always associated the
sound with a good meal. This
BEHAVIORISM 61
See also: William James 38–45 ■ John B. Watson 66–71 ■ B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■ Stanley Schachter 338
stimulus (bell, buzzer, or light) with pain or some form of threat

and food had been established, and began to elicit a conditioned
the dogs would respond to the response of fear or anxiety.
stimulus by salivating. The principle of what is now
known as classical or Pavlovian
Conditioned response conditioning, as well as Pavlov’s
Pavlov concluded that the food experimental method, marked a
offered to the dogs was an groundbreaking step in the
“unconditioned stimulus” (US), emergence of psychology as
because it led to an unlearned, or a truly scientific, rather than
“unconditioned” response (UR)—in philosophical, discipline. Pavlov’s
this case, salivation. The click of work was to be hugely influential,
the metronome, however, only particularly on US behaviorist
Pavlov’s dogs would salivate simply became a stimulus to salivation psychologists, such as John B.
at the sight of someone in a white lab after its association with food had Watson and B.F. Skinner. ■
coat. They had become “conditioned” been learned. Pavlov then called
to associate the coat with eating, as
this a “conditioned stimulus” (CS).
whoever fed them always wore one.
The salivation in response to the
metronome was also learned, so
“conditioning” eventually resulted was a “conditioned response” (CR).
in the dogs salivating in response In later experiments, Pavlov
to the click of the metronome alone. showed that conditioned responses Facts are the air of science.
In further experiments, Pavlov could be repressed, or “unlearned,” if Without them a man of
replaced the metronome with a the conditioned stimulus was given science can never rise.
bell or buzzer, a flashing light, and repeatedly without being followed Ivan Pavlov
whistles of different pitches. by food. He also demonstrated that
However, regardless of the nature a conditioned response could be
of the stimulus used, the result mental as well as physical, by
was the always same: once an carrying out experiments in which
association between the neutral various stimuli were associated
Ivan Pavlov Ivan Pavlov, the eldest son of a here that he carried out his
village priest in Ryazan, Russia, famous research into the
was initially destined to follow in digestive secretions of dogs,
his father’s footsteps. However, he which won him the Nobel Prize
quickly abandoned his training at in 1904. Pavlov retired officially
a local seminary, transferring in 1925, but continued his
to the University of St. Petersburg experiments until his death from
to study natural science. After pneumonia in February 1936.
graduation in 1875, he enrolled at
the Academy of Medical Surgery, Key works
where he gained a doctorate and
later a fellowship. In 1890, Pavlov 1897 Lectures on the Work of
became a professor at the Military the Principal Digestive Glands
Medical Academy, and was also 1928 Lectures on Conditioned
made director of the physiology Reflexes
department at the Institute of 1941 Conditioned Reflexes
Experimental Medicine. It was and Psychiatry
62
IN CONTEXT
PROFITLESS
APPROACH
Connectionism
BEFORE
ACTS ARE
1885 In his book On Memory,
Hermann Ebbinghaus
describes the “forgetting
curve”—the rate at which
human memories fade.
STAMPED OUT
1890s Ivan Pavlov establishes
the principle of classical
conditioning.
AFTER
EDWARD THORNDIKE (1874–1949) 1918 John B. Watson’s “Little

Albert” experiments apply
conditioning to a human baby.
1923 English psychologist
Charles Spearman proposes
a single general factor—the
“g factor”—in measurements
of human intelligence.
1930s B.F. Skinner develops
a theory of conditioning from
consequences—“operant
conditioning”.
A
t much the same time as
Pavlov was conducting his
experiments on dogs in
Russia, Edward Thorndike began
researching animal behavior for
his doctoral thesis in the US.
He was perhaps the first true
“behaviorist” psychologist,
although his research took place
long before the term was adopted.
Scientific psychology was
emerging as a fresh field of study
in universities when Thorndike
graduated in the 1890s, and he
was attracted by the prospect of
applying this new science to his
interest in education and learning.
Thorndike’s original intention had
been to study learning in humans,
BEHAVIORISM 63
See also: Hermann Ebbinghaus 48–49 ■ Ivan Pavlov 60–61 ■ John B. Watson 66–71 ■ Edward Tolman 72–73 ■
B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■ Donald Hebb 163 ■ Hans Eysenck 316–21
When an
animal responds
to a stimulus…
Psychology helps to
measure the probability
that an aim is attainable.
Edward Thorndike
…the outcome may …the outcome may
be rewarding be profitless
(such as escaping from (such as still being
a cage). trapped in a cage).
but when he was unable to obtain

a suitable subject for his research,
he turned his attention to animals,
with the aim of examining the
The connection between The connection between
processes of intelligence and
the action and the event the action and the event
learning through observation in is weakened.
is strengthened.
a series of controlled experiments.
Thorndike’s results went much
further than this, however,
laying down the foundations
of behaviorist psychology.
Learning environments
Thorndike’s first studies were Rewarded responses are
of chicks learning to negotiate “stamped in,” while profitless
mazes that he designed and built acts are “stamped out.”
specifically for his experiments.
This later became a hallmark
of behaviorist experimental
technique—the use of a specially
created environment in which a
subject is given specific stimuli or various devices, such as a loop of box each time; this indicated how
tasks, now known as “instrumental string, or a ring, or a button or quickly the animal was learning
conditioning” or “instrumental panel to be pressed, only one of about its environment.
learning.” As his research which would be connected to the The experiment was carried out
progressed, Thorndike turned his latch that would open the door of using several different cats, placing
attention to cats, inventing “puzzle the box. In time, the cat would each one in a series of puzzle boxes
boxes” to observe their ability to discover the device, which would that were opened by different
learn mechanisms for escape. allow it to escape and receive a devices. What Thorndike noticed
A hungry cat was locked inside reward of food. The process was was that although the cats had all
a puzzle box, and by exploring its repeated and it was noted how long discovered the escape mechanism
environment would come across it took for the cat to open the puzzle by trial and error in their first ❯❯
64 EDWARD THORNDIKE
as a neural connection. When
stimulus-response sequences
are followed by an annoying or
unpleasant state of affairs (such
as continued imprisonment or
punishment), the neural connections
between the situation and response
are weakened, until eventually
“profitless acts are stamped out.”
This focus on the outcome of a
stimulus and its response, and the
idea that the outcome could work
back to strengthen the stimulus-
response connection, is an example
of what would later be called a
reinforcement theory of learning.
Reinforcement, and the importance
of outcomes, was virtually ignored
by psychologists in the next
generation of behaviorists, such
The Law of Effect, proposed by Thorndike, forms
the foundation of all behaviorist psychology. He as John B. Watson, but the Law of
demonstrated that animals learn by forging links Effect brilliantly anticipated the
between actions and results, remembering more work of B.F. Skinner and his theory
positive outcomes and forgetting negative ones. of “operant conditioning.”
In later research, Thorndike
refined the Law of Effect to take
attempt, on successive occasions between a stimulus (S) and a into account other variables, such
the amount of trial and error response (R), a corresponding as the delay between response and
gradually decreased as the cats neural connection is made in the reward, the effect of repetition of a
learned which actions were going brain. He referred to his brand of task, and how quickly a task was
to be fruitless and which would S-R learning as “connectionism,” forgotten when it was not repeated.
lead to a reward. asserting that the connections From this, he derived his Law
made during learning are “stamped of Exercise, which states that
The Law of Effect in” the circuitry of the brain.
As a result of these experiments What Thorndike proposed was
Thorndike proposed his Law of that it is the outcome of an action
Effect, which states that a response that determines how strongly or
to a situation that results in a weakly the stimulus-response
satisfying outcome is more likely connection is stamped in; in the
to occur again in the future; and case of the puzzle boxes, whether The intellect, character, and
conversely, that a response to pulling a string or pushing a panel skill possessed by any man
a situation that results in an resulted in escape or frustration. are the product of certain
unsatisfying outcome is less likely In other words, when particular original tendencies and
to occur again. This was the first stimulus-response sequences are the training which they
formal statement of an idea that lies followed by a satisfying or pleasant have received.
behind all behavorist psychology, state of affairs (such as escape or a Edward Thorndike
the connection between stimulus reward), those responses tend to
and response and its relevance become “more firmly connected
to the process of learning and with the situation, so that, when it
behavior. Thorndike proposed recurs, they will be more likely to
that when a connection is made recur.” They become “stamped in”
BEHAVIORISM 65
intelligence, never about animal
stupidity,” he wrote. The fact that
his cats in puzzle boxes learned
gradually, rather than suddenly
gaining an insight into how to
escape, confirmed his theories.
The animals were forced to learn
by trial and error, because they
were unable to use reason to work
out the link between the door and
the operating handle.
Human intelligence
After the publication of Animal Edward Thorndike
Adult learners were once thought to Intelligence, Thorndike turned his
be less capable of retaining information attention to human intelligence. The son of a Methodist
than children. Thorndike showed that In his opinion, the most basic minister, Edward Thorndike
the only significant difference was in was born in Williamsburg,
intelligence is characterized by
speed of learning, not memory. Massachusetts, USA, in 1874.
simple stimulus and response He graduated in sciences from
association, resulting in a neural Wesleyan University in 1895,
stimulus-response connections connection. The more intelligent proceeding to Harvard to
that are repeated are strengthened, an animal, the more capable it will study psychology under
while those that are not used again be of making such connections. William James. In 1897,
are weakened. Moreover, the rate Therefore, intelligence can be Thorndike moved to Columbia
at which connections strengthen defined in terms of the ability to University in New York City,
or weaken can vary. According form neural bonds, which is where he completed his
to Thorndike, “the greater the dependent not only on genetic doctorate thesis in 1898.
satisfaction or discomfort, the factors, but also on experience. Thorndike’s interest in
greater the strengthening or To find a measurement of educational psychology led
weakening of the bond.” human intelligence, Thorndike to a teaching post at the
Interestingly, although devised his CAVD (Completion, College for Women of Case
Western Reserve in Cleveland,
Thorndike was studying animal Arithmetic, Vocabulary, and
Ohio, but he returned to
behavior using what were to Directions) test. It became the
Columbia just a year later, in
become standard behaviorist model for all modern intelligence 1899, teaching there until his
methods—and authoring a book, tests, and assessed mechanical retirement in 1939. In 1912, his
Animal Intelligence (1911), which intelligence (understanding of how peers elected him President
was to become a classic of early things work), as well as abstract of the American Psychological
behaviorism—he considered intelligence (creative ability) and Association. Thorndike
himself primarily an educational social intelligence (interpersonal continued to research and
psychologist. He had originally skills). Thorndike was especially write until his death, aged 74,
intended to examine animal interested in how age might affect in Montrose, New York.
intelligence, not behavior. He learning, and also proposed a
wanted to show, for example, that theory of learning that remains at Key works
animals learned by simple trial the heart of educational psychology
and error rather than by using a to this day, a contribution that is 1905 The Elements of
faculty of insight, an idea that was perhaps what Thorndike would Psychology
1910 The Contribution of
prevalent in psychology at the time: have wished more than anything
Psychology to Education
“In the first place, most of the books else to be remembered for. However, 1911 Animal Intelligence
do not give us a psychology, but it is for his enormous influence on 1927 The Measurement of
rather a eulogy of animals. They the behaviorist movement that Intelligence
have all been about animal Thorndike is most often lauded. ■
ANYONE
REGARDLESS OF THEIR NATURE
CAN BE TRAINED TO BE
ANYTHING
JOHN B. WATSON (1878–1958)
68 JOHN B. WATSON
IN CONTEXT
APPROACH Pavlov demonstrated that
Classical behaviorism The fundamental (unlearned)
animals can be taught
human emotions are fear,
behavioral responses
BEFORE rage, and love.
through conditioning.
1890s German-born biologist
Jacques Loeb (one of Watson’s
professors) explains animal
behavior in purely physical-
chemical terms.
1890s The principle of
classical conditioning is
established by Ivan Pavlov
using experiments on dogs. These feelings can be Humans, too, can be
attached to objects through conditioned to produce
1905 Edward Thorndike stimulus–response physical responses to
shows that animals learn conditioning. objects and events.
through achieving successful
outcomes from their behavior.
AFTER
1932 Edward Tolman adds
cognition into behaviorism in
his theory of latent learning.
1950s Cognitive psychologists
Anyone, regardless
focus on understanding the People can be conditioned
to produce emotional
of their nature,
mental processes that both
responses to objects. can be trained
lie behind and produce
to be anything.
human behavior.
B
y the beginning of the 20th psychologists of the 20th century. Before Watson’s research at Johns
century, many psychologists Through his work on the stimulus– Hopkins University, in Baltimore,
had concluded that the response learning theory that had Maryland, the majority of
human mind could not be adequately been pioneered by Thorndike, he experiments on behavior had
studied through introspective became regarded as the “founding concentrated on animal behavior,
methods, and were advocating a father” of behaviorism, and he did with the results extrapolated to
switch to the study of the mind much to popularize the use of the human behavior. Watson himself
through the evidence of behavior in term. His 1913 lecture, Psychology studied rats and monkeys for his
controlled laboratory experiments. as the Behaviorist Views It, put doctorate but (perhaps influenced
John Watson was not the first forward the revolutionary idea that by his experience working with the
advocate of this thoroughgoing “a truly scientific psychology would military during World War I) was
behaviorist approach, but he was abandon talk of mental states… and keen to conduct experiments using
certainly the most conspicuous. instead focus on prediction and human subjects. He wanted to
In a career cut short by his marital control of behavior.” This lecture study the stimulus–response model
infidelity, he became one of the became known to later psychologists of classical conditioning and how it
most influential and controversial as the “behaviorist manifesto.” applied to the prediction and
BEHAVIORISM 69
See also: Ivan Pavlov 60–61 ■ Edward Thorndike 62–65 ■ Edward Tolman 72–73 ■ B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■
Joseph Wolpe 86–87 ■ Kenneth Clark 282–83 ■ Albert Bandura 286–91
a local children’s hospital. The tests On a separate occasion, while

were designed to see whether it is Albert was sitting on the mattress,
possible to teach an infant to fear an Watson struck a metal bar with a
animal by repeatedly presenting it at hammer to make a sudden loud
the same time as a loud, frightening noise; unsurprisingly, Albert became
noise. Watson also wanted to find frightened and distressed, bursting
Psychology, as the
out whether such a fear would into tears. Watson now had an
behaviorist views it, is a purely transfer to other animals or objects; unconditioned stimulus (the loud
objective experimental branch and how long this fear would noise) that he knew elicited a
of natural science. persist. Today, his methods would response of fear in the child. By
John B. Watson be considered unethical and even pairing this with the sight of the
cruel, but at the time they were seen rat, he hypothesized that he would
as a logical and natural progression be able to condition little Albert to
from previous animal studies. become afraid of the animal.
In the now famous “Little Albert When Albert was just over 11
experiment,” Watson placed the months old, Watson carried out the
healthy but “on the whole stolid experiment. The white rat was
control of human behavior. He and unemotional” baby Albert on placed on the mattress with Albert,
believed that people have three a mattress and then observed his then Watson hit the hammer on the
fundamental emotions—fear, rage, reactions when introduced to a dog, steel bar when the child touched
and love—and he wanted to find a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, and the rat. The child burst into tears.
out whether a person could be some inanimate objects, including This procedure was repeated seven
conditioned into feeling these in human masks and burning paper. times over two sessions, one week
response to a stimulus. Albert showed no fear of any of apart, after which Albert became
these animals or objects and even distressed as soon as the rat was
Little Albert reached out to touch them. In this brought into the room, even when it
With his research assistant, Rosalie way, Watson established a baseline was not accompanied by the noise.
Rayner, Watson began a series of from which he could measure any By repeatedly pairing the rat
experiments involving “Albert B,” change in the child’s behavior with the loud noise, Watson was
a nine-month-old baby chosen from toward the objects. applying the same kind of classical ❯❯
John B. Watson Born into a poor family in South during World War I, then
Carolina, John Broadus Watson’s returned to Johns Hopkins.
childhood was unhappy; his father Forced to resign after an affair
was an alcoholic womanizer who with his research assistant,
left when Watson was 13, and his Rosalie Rayner, he turned to a
mother was devoutly religious. career in advertising while still
Watson became a rebellious and publishing books on psychology.
violent teenager, but was a brilliant After Rayner’s death in 1935
scholar, attending nearby Furman aged 37, he became a recluse.
University at the age of 16.
After gaining a PhD from the Key works
University of Chicago, he became
associate professor at Johns 1913 Psychology as the
Hopkins University, where his Behaviorist Views It
1913 lecture became known as 1920 Conditioned Emotional
the “behaviorist manifesto.” He Reactions (with Rosalie Rayner)
worked briefly for the military 1924 Behaviorism
70 JOHN B. WATSON
conditioning as Pavlov had in his conditioning. This was a new mother’s distress, but according to
experiments with dogs. The child’s finding, because previous stimulus– Watson and Rayner’s own account,
natural response to the noise—fear response experiments had focused it occurred on a prearranged date.
and distress—had now become on testing the learning of physical
associated with the rat. The child behaviors. Watson had discovered Infinitely malleable
had become conditioned to respond that not only can human behavior Watson’s career was abruptly
to the rat with fear. In terms of be predicted—given certain stimuli brought to an end shortly after the
classical conditioning, the rat was and conditions—it can also be Little Albert experiments when he
initially a neutral stimulus eliciting controlled and modified. A further was forced to resign his professorship
no particular response; the loud check of Albert’s reactions to the amid the scandal of his affair with
noise was an “unconditioned rat, rabbit, and dog one month later his researcher, Rosalie Rayner.
stimulus” (US) that elicited an suggested that the effects of this Despite the incompleteness of his
“unconditioned response” (UR) of conditioning were long-lasting, but research, Watson felt vindicated in
fear. After conditioning, the rat had this could not be proven as Albert his belief in behaviorism, and more
become a “conditioned stimulus” was soon after removed from the particularly the application
(CS), eliciting the “conditioned hospital by his mother. It has been of classical stimulus–response
response” (CR) of fear. suggested that this was a sign of the conditioning to humans. Perhaps
However, this conditioning
seemed to go deeper than simply a
fear of the white rat, and appeared
to be far from temporary. In order Doctor
to test whether Albert’s fear had
“generalized,” or spread to other,
similar objects, he was reintroduced
to white furry things—including
a rabbit, a dog, and a sheepskin
coat—five days after the original
Judge
conditioning. Albert showed the
same distressed and fearful
response to these as to the rat.
In these experiments, Watson
demonstrated that human emotions
are susceptible to classical
I shall never be
satisfied until I have
a laboratory in which Artist
I can bring up
children… under
constant observation. Writer
Watson saw the child
John B. Watson as the ultimate “blank
slate.” He claimed that
behaviorist principles
could be used to mold
children into any kind of
specialist, from artist to
doctor, regardless of nature.
BEHAVIORISM 71
because of his forced ejection from The popularity of his books as
the academic world (into advertising, childcare “bibles” meant that a
where he was hugely successful) he whole generation was affected by
developed a tendency to overstate what can now be seen as a
the scope of his findings, and with dysfunctional upbringing. Even
a natural gift for self-publicity Watson’s own family suffered:
Watsonism has become
continued to publish books on Rosalie eventually saw the flaws
the subject of psychology.
gospel and catechism in the in her husband’s child-rearing
Not content, for example, to
nurseries and drawing theories and wrote a critical article
claim that it is possible to condition rooms of America. for Parents’ Magazine entitled “I
emotional responses, he boasted Mortimer Adler Am the Mother of a Behaviorist’s
that on the same principle it would Sons,” and Watson’s granddaughter,
be possible to control or modify the actor Mariette Hartley, gave an
almost any aspect of human account of her disturbed family
behavior, no matter how complex. background in her autobiographical
Just as Little Albert had been book Breaking the Silence.
conditioned to fear certain white Alternative approaches to
furry objects against his natural it is easy to see that his approach, childcare soon appeared, even
inclination, Watson believed that based on extreme emotional among committed behaviorists.
“Anyone, regardless of their nature, detachment, was at best misguided While accepting the basic principle
can be trained to be anything.” and potentially damaging, but his of conditioning established by
He even boasted in his 1924 book methods were adopted by millions Watson (despite the dubious ethics
Behaviorism: “Give me a dozen of parents, including Watson and of the Little Albert experiment),
healthy infants, well-formed, and my Rosalie Rayner themselves. and using that as a starting point
own specified world to bring them The child, Watson believed, is for his own “radical behaviorism,”
up in and I’ll guarantee to take any shaped by its environment, and the psychologist B.F. Skinner was
one at random and train him to that environment is controlled by to apply behaviorism to the
become any type of specialist I the parents. In essence, he saw business of childcare in a much
might select—doctor, lawyer, artist, child-raising as an objective exercise more benign (if eccentric) manner. ■
merchant-chief, and, yes, even in behavior modification, especially
beggar-man and thief, regardless of of the emotions of fear, rage, and
his talents, penchants, tendencies, love. Perhaps understandably, given
abilities, vocations, and race of his his own unhappy childhood, he
ancestors.” In the “nature versus dismissed affection as sentimental,
nurture” debate, Watson was firmly leading to over-dependence of the
on the side of nurture. child on the parent. But he also
advised against the opposite
Unemotional parenting emotional extreme and was an
Unable to continue his university opponent of physical punishment.
research, Watson popularized his Watson’s questionable application
ideas on behaviorism by turning of stimulus–response conditioning
his attention to the business of to childcare eventually drew
childcare. It was in this that his criticism. Later generations viewed
views proved to be most publicly the approach as manipulative and
influential, and eventually most uncaring, with an emphasis on
controversial. Predictably, he efficiency and results rather than
advocated a strictly behaviorist on the wellbeing of the child. The
Watson applied his understanding
approach to bringing up children, long-term damage to children of human behavior to advertising in the
and throughout the 1920s and 30s brought up according to Watson’s 1920s, demonstrating that people can
his many books on childcare became behaviorist model became apparent be influenced into buying products
immensely popular. In retrospect, only gradually, but was significant. through their image, not content.
72
THAT GREAT
GOD-GIVEN MAZE
WHICH IS OUR
HUMAN WORLD
EDWARD TOLMAN (1886–1959)
A
lthough considered one of mental processes, including
IN CONTEXT the leading figures of US perception, cognition, and
behaviorist psychology, motivation, which he had
APPROACH
Edward Tolman took a very encountered while studying
Cognitive (“purposive”)
different approach from that of Gestalt psychology in Germany.
behaviorism
Thorndike and Watson. He agreed By bridging these two previously
BEFORE with the basic methodology of separate approaches, he developed
1890s Ivan Pavlov’s behaviorism—that psychology a new theory about the role of
experiments with dogs could only be studied by objective, conditioning, and created what he
establish the theory of scientific experiments—but was called “purposive behaviorism,”
classical conditioning. also interested in ideas about now called cognitive behaviorism.
1920 John B. Watson conducts

behaviorist experiments on
humans, notably “Little Albert.”
As a rat explores a …it builds up a
AFTER maze… “cognitive map” of
1938 B.F. Skinner’s research the area…
into operant conditioning uses
pigeons in place of rats, and
becomes more sophisticated.
Humans create a
1950s Cognitive psychology cognitive map of
replaces behaviorism as the their environment,
dominant movement in which is like a
psychology. “God-given maze.”
1980s Joseph Wolpe’s
behavioral therapy and
Aaron Beck’s cognitive
therapy merge into cognitive
behavioral therapy. Humans think in a …which can be used
similar way to rats. to reach a goal.
BEHAVIORISM 73
See also: Ivan Pavlov 60 – 61 ■ Edward Thorndike 62– 65 ■ John B. Watson 66 –71 ■ B.F. Skinner 78 –85 ■ Joseph Wolpe
86 – 87 ■ Wolfgang Köhler 160 – 61 ■ Daniel Kahneman 193
were only rewarded after six days, route. Further experiments showed
and a third group rewarded after that the rats learned a sense of
two days, Tolman’s ideas were location rather than merely the turns
confirmed. The second and third required to reach a particular place.
groups made fewer errors when In Purposive Behavior in Animals
There is more than one running the maze the day after and Men, Tolman outlined his theory
kind of learning. they had been rewarded with food, of latent learning and cognitive
Edward Tolman demonstrating that they already maps, bringing together the
“knew” their way around the maze, methodology of behaviorism with
having learned it prior to receiving Gestalt psychology, and introducing
rewards. Once rewards were on the element of cognition. ■
offer, they were able to use the
“cognitive map” they had built in
order to negotiate the maze faster.
Tolman questioned the basic
premise of conditioned learning Latent learning
(that behavior was learned simply Tolman referred to the rats’ initial
by an automatic response to a learning period, where there was no
stimulus). He believed that animals obvious reward, as “latent learning.”
could learn about the world around He believed that as all animals,
them without the reinforcement including humans, go about their
of a reward, and later use that daily lives, they build up a cognitive
knowledge in decision-making. map of the world around them—the
He designed a series of “God-given maze”—which they can
experiments using rats in mazes to apply to locate specific goals. He
examine the role of reinforcement gave the example of how we learn
A cognitive map of our surroundings
in learning. Comparing a group of the locations of various landmarks develops in the course of our daily
rats that were rewarded with food on our daily journeys, but only realize lives. We may not be aware of this
daily for successfully negotiating what we have learned when we until we need to find somewhere that
the maze, with another group who need to find somewhere along the we have passed without noticing.
Edward Tolman Edward Chace Tolman was born here that he experimented
into a well-to-do family in West with rats in mazes. During
Newton, Massachusetts. the McCarthy period, he was
He studied at the Massachusetts threatened with dismissal for
Institute of Technology, graduating not signing a loyalty oath that
in electrochemistry in 1911, but he felt restricted academic
after reading works by William freedom. The case was
James opted for a postgraduate overturned in 1955. He died in
degree at Harvard in philosophy Berkeley, aged 73, in 1959.
and psychology. While studying,
he traveled to Germany and was Key works
introduced to Gestalt psychology.
After gaining his doctorate, he 1932 Purposive Behavior in
taught at Northwestern University, Animals and Men
but his pacifist views lost him his 1942 Drives Toward War
job, and he moved to the University 1948 Cognitive Maps in Rats
of California at Berkeley. It was and Men
74
ONCE A RAT HAS VISITED

OUR GRAIN SACK
WE CAN PLAN
ON ITS RETURN
EDWIN GUTHRIE (1886–1959)
B
y the 1920s, when American way, Guthrie said, once a rat has
IN CONTEXT philosopher Edwin Guthrie discovered a source of food, it knows
turned his attention to where to come when it is hungry.
APPROACH
psychology, the stimulus–response Guthrie expanded his idea into
Learning theory
model of learning formed the basis a theory of “contiguity,” stating that
BEFORE of almost all behaviorist theories. “a combination of stimuli, which
1890s Ivan Pavlov shows Derived from Ivan Pavlov’s idea of has accompanied a movement, will
“classical conditioning” in dogs. “classical conditioning,” it claimed on its reoccurrence tend to be
that repeatedly exposing subjects followed by that movement.”
1890S Edward Thorndike to particular stimuli combinations A movement, not behavior, is
designs the “puzzle box” for (such as being given food and learned from stimulus–response
his experiments on cats. ringing a bell) could eventually association. Related movements
1920S Edward Tolman queries provoke conditioned responses (such combine to form an act; repetition
the role of reinforcement in as salivating when a bell is rung). does not reinforce the association
Although Guthrie was a strict but leads to the formation of acts,
conditioning.
behaviorist, he did not agree that which combine to form behavior. ■
AFTER conditioning needed reinforcement
1938 B.F. Skinner’s The to be successful. He believed that a
Behavior of Organisms presents full association between a specific
the idea of operant conditioning, stimulus and response is made in
emphasizing the role of their very first pairing. Guthrie’s
consequences in behavior. theory of one-trial learning was
based on a study in which he We expect one quarrel
1940s Jean Piaget develops a observed cats trapped in “puzzle to change attitudes.
theory of learning that claims boxes.” The cats, once they had Edwin Guthrie
children are naturally driven to discovered the mechanism for
explore and acquire knowledge. escape, made the association
1977 Albert Bandura’s Social between escape and their action,
Learning Theory states that which they would then repeat on
subsequent occasions. In the same
behavior is learned from
observing and copying the
See also: Ivan Pavlov 60–61 ■ Edward Thorndike 62–65 ■ Edward Tolman 72–73 ■
behavior of others. B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■ Jean Piaget 262–69 ■ Albert Bandura 286–91
BEHAVIORISM 75
NOTHING IS MORE
NATURAL THAN
FOR THE CAT TO
“LOVE” THE RAT
ZING-YANG KUO (1898–1970)
I
n the 1920s, behaviorist John
IN CONTEXT B. Watson was claiming that
even innate behavior could be
APPROACH
altered by conditioning. But it was
Behavioral epigenetics
the Chinese psychologist
BEFORE Zing-Yang Kuo who took the
1874 Francis Galton addresses behaviorist idea to its extreme,
the nature–nurture controversy denying the existence of instinct
in English Men of Science: as an explanation for behavior.
Their Nature and Nurture. Kuo felt that instinct was just
a convenient way for psychologists
1924 John B. Watson makes to explain behavior that did not
his famous “dozen infants” fit current theory: “Our behavior Harmonious relationships, Kuo
boast that anyone, regardless researches in the past have been proved, can exist between animals that
of their basic nature, can be in the wrong direction, because, are traditionally regarded as enemies.
trained to be anything. instead of finding how we could He concluded that there is no “innate
mechanism” driving them to fight.
build nature into the animal, we
AFTER have tried to find nature in the
1938 B.F. Skinner in The animal.” Kuo’s most well-known Kuo’s work was cut short by political
Behavior of Organisms explains experiments involved rearing events in China, which forced him
his radical behaviorist ideas, kittens—some raised from birth in to flee first to the US, then Hong
claiming that circumstances, cages with rats, others introduced Kong. His ideas only became known
not instinct, govern behavior. to rats at later stages. He found that in the West as behaviorism was
1942 Edward Tolman “if a kitten was raised in the same beginning to wane and cognitive
publishes Drives Toward War, cage with a rat since it was very psychology was in the ascendant.
which examines whether young, it, when grown-up, became However, his theory of ongoing
aggression is conditioned tolerant of rats: not only would it development without innate
or instinctive. never attack a rat, but it adopted mechanisms was influential as
the rat as its ‘mate’, played with it, a counter to the instinct-based
1966 Konrad Lorenz publishes and even became attached to it.” psychology of Konrad Lorenz. ■
On Aggression, explaining
aggressive behavior as an See also: Francis Galton 28–29 ■ John B. Watson 66–71 ■ Edward Tolman 72–73 ■
innate response. Konrad Lorenz 77 ■ B.F. Skinner 78–85

76
LEARNING
IS JUST NOT
POSSIBLE
KARL LASHLEY (1890–1958)
A
merican physiologist- mazes as the basis of a learning
IN CONTEXT turned-psychologist Karl experiment. First, the rats learned
Lashley was interested in to find their way through the maze
APPROACH
what happens physically in the to reach a food reward. Then,
Neuropsychology
brain during the learning process. Lashley performed surgery on them
BEFORE Pavlov and other behaviorists had to remove specific but different
1861 French anatomist Paul suggested that conditioning causes parts of the cerebral cortex from
Broca locates the area of the chemical or electrical changes in each one. After this, the rats were
brain responsible for speech. the brain, and Lashley wanted to replaced in the maze to test their
pinpoint exactly what these were. memory and learning abilities.
1880s Spanish pathologist In particular, Lashley wanted to
and neuroscientist Santiago locate the memory trace, or No place for memory
Ramón y Cajal develops the “engram,” the specific place in the What Lashley found was that no
theory that the body’s nervous brain responsible for memory. Like matter which part of the brain he
system is made up of cells, many behaviorists, he used rats in removed, the rats’ memory of the
which German anatomist task remained. Their learning and
Heinrich Waldeyer-Hartz later retention of new tasks was impaired,
calls “neurons.” but the amount of impairment
depended on the extent, not the
AFTER location, of the damage. He came
1949 Donald Hebb describes to the conclusion that the memory
the formation of cell assemblies There is no great excess of trace is not localized in a particular
and phase sequences in the cells which can be reserved as place, but distributed evenly
process of associative learning. the seat of special memories. throughout the cerebral cortex; each
From 1980 Modern brain- Karl Lashley part of the brain is therefore equally
imaging techniques such as important, or equipotential. Decades
CT, fMRI (functional magnetic later, he said that his experiment
resonance imaging) and PET had led him to “sometimes feel…
that the necessary conclusion is
(positron emission tomography)
that learning is just not possible.” ■
scanning allow neuroscientists
to map specific brain functions.
See also: John B. Watson 66–71 ■ Donald Hebb 163 ■ George Armitage
Miller 168–73 ■ Daniel Schacter 208–09 ■ Roger Brown 237
BEHAVIORISM 77
IMPRINTING
CANNOT BE
FORGOTTEN!
KONRAD LORENZ (1903–1989)
T
he Austrian zoologist and Lorenz went on to observe many
IN CONTEXT doctor Konrad Lorenz was other stage-linked, instinctive
one of the founding fathers behaviors, such as courtship
APPROACH
of ethology—the comparative study behavior, and described them
Ethology
of animal behavior in the natural as ”fixed-action patterns.” These
BEFORE environment. He began his work remain dormant until triggered by
1859 English biologist Charles observing geese and ducks at his a specific stimulus at a particular
Darwin publishes On the family’s summer house in Altenberg, critical period. Fixed-action
Origin of Species, describing Austria. He noticed that the young patterns, he emphasized, are not
the theory of natural selection. birds rapidly made a bond with learned but genetically programed,
their mother after hatching, but and as such have evolved through
1898 Lorenz’s mentor, German could also form the same attachment the process of natural selection. ■
biologist Oskar Heinroth, to a foster parent if the mother was
begins his study of duck absent. This phenomenon, which
and goose behavior, and Lorenz called “imprinting,” had
describes the phenomenon been observed before, but he was
of imprinting. the first to study it systematically.
Famously, he even persuaded
AFTER young geese and ducks to accept
1959 Experiments by the him (by imprinting his Wellington
German psychologist Eckhard boots) as a foster parent.
Hess show that in imprinting, What distinguishes imprinting
what has been learned first is from learning, Lorenz discovered, is
remembered best; whereas in that it happens only at a specific
association learning, recent stage in an animal’s development,
learning is remembered best. which he called the “critical period.”
Lorenz discovered that geese
1969 John Bowlby argues that Unlike learning, it is rapid, operates and other birds follow and become
the attachment of newborn independently of behavior, and attached to the first moving object they
appears to be irreversible; imprinting encounter after emerging from their
babies to their mothers is a
cannot be forgotten. eggs—in this case, his boots.
genetic predisposition.
See also: Francis Galton 28–29 ■ Ivan Pavlov 60–61 ■ Edward
Thorndike 62–65 ■ Karl Lashley 76 ■ John Bowlby 274–77
BEHAVIOR
IS SHAPED BY
POSITIVE
AND NEGATIVE
REINFORCEMENT
B.F. SKINNER (1904–1990)
80 B.F. SKINNER
B
urrhus Frederic Skinner,
IN CONTEXT better known as B.F.
Skinner, is possibly the
APPROACH
most widely known and influential
Radical behaviorism
behaviorist psychologist. He
BEFORE was not, however, a pioneer in the
The ideal of behaviorism is
1890 William James outlines field, but developed the ideas of his
predecessors, such as Ivan Pavlov
to eliminate coercion, to
the theories of behaviorism in apply controls by changing
The Principles of Psychology. and John B. Watson, by subjecting
theories of behaviorism to rigorous the environment.
1890s Ivan Pavlov develops experimental scrutiny in order to B.F. Skinner
the concept of conditioned arrive at his controversial stance
stimulus and response. of “radical behaviorism.”
Skinner proved to be an ideal
1924 John B. Watson lays the advocate of behaviorism. Not only
foundations for the modern were his arguments based on the
behaviorist movement. results of scrupulous scientific
1930s Zing-Yang Kuo claims methodology (so they could be theorizing of many of the early
that behavior is continually proved), but his experiments psychologists. Works by Pavlov
being modified throughout life, tended to involve the use of novel and Watson were his main
and that even so-called innate contraptions that the general public influence; he saw psychology as
behavior is influenced by found fascinating. Skinner was an following in the scientific tradition,
inveterate “gadget man” and a and anything that could not been
“experiences” as an embryo.
provocative self-publicist. But seen, measured, and repeated in a
AFTER behind the showman image was rigorously controlled experiment
1950s Joseph Wolpe pioneers a serious scientist, whose work was of no interest to him.
systematic desensitization as helped to finally sever psychology Processes purely of the mind,
part of behavior therapy. from its introspective philosophical therefore, were outside Skinner’s
roots and establish it as a scientific interest and scope. In fact, he
1960s Albert Bandura’s social discipline in its own right. reached the conclusion that they
learning theory is influenced Skinner had once contemplated must be utterly subjective, and
by radical behaviorism. a career as an author, but he had did not exist at all separately from
little time for the philosophical the body. In Skinner’s opinion,
B.F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner was the rest of his life. He was
born in 1904 in Susquehanna, diagnosed with leukemia in
Pennsylvania. He studied English the 1980s, but continued to
at Hamilton College, New York, work, finishing an article from
intending to be a writer, but soon his final lecture on the day he
realized that the literary life was died, August 18, 1990.
not for him. Influenced by the
works of Ivan Pavlov and John B. Key works
Watson, he studied psychology at
Harvard, gaining his doctorate in 1938 The Behavior of Organisms:
1931 and becoming a junior fellow. An Experimental Analysis
He moved to the University of 1948 Walden Two
Minnesota in 1936, and from 1953 Science and Human
1946 to 1947 ran the psychology Behavior
department at Indiana University. 1957 Verbal Behavior
In 1948, Skinner returned to 1971 Beyond Freedom and
Harvard, where he remained for Dignity
BEHAVIORISM 81
See also: William James 38–45 ■ Ivan Pavlov 60–61 ■ John B. Watson 66–71 ■ Zing-Yang Kuo 75 ■
Joseph Wolpe 86–87 ■ Albert Bandura 286–91 ■ Noam Chomsky 294–97
press the bar accidentally, or

simply out of curiosity, and as a
An action, consequence receive some food.
such as a rat Over time, the rat learned that food
pressing a appeared whenever the bar was
button… pressed, and began to press it
purposefully in order to be fed.
Comparing results from rats given
the “positive reinforcement” of food
for their bar-pressing behavior with
those that were not, or were
presented with food at different
rates, it became clear that when
food appeared as a consequence
…leading to an …has a of the rat’s actions, this influenced
increased probability consequence, its future behavior.
of that behavior such as the Skinner concluded that animals
and encouraging a delivery of food… are conditioned by the responses
repeat of the action. they receive from their actions
and environment. As the rats
explored the world around them,
some of their actions had a positive
consequence (Skinner was careful
the way to carry out psychological from the results of actions. As with to avoid the word “reward” with its
research was through observable so many great insights, this may connotations of being given for
behavior, rather than through appear to be self-evident, but it “good” behavior), which in turn
unobservable thoughts. marked a major turning point in encouraged them to repeat that
Although a strict behaviorist behaviorist psychology. behavior. In Skinner’s terms,
from the outset of his career, an “organism" operates on its
Skinner differed from earlier Skinner boxes environment, and encounters a ❯❯
behaviorists in his interpretation of While working as a research fellow
conditioning, in particular, the at Harvard, Skinner carried out a
principle of “classical conditioning” series of experiments on rats, using
as described by Pavlov. While not an invention that later became
disagreeing that a conditioned known as a “Skinner box.” A rat
response could be elicited by was placed in one of these boxes,
repeated training, Skinner felt that which had a special bar fitted on
this was something of a special the inside. Every time the rat
case, involving the deliberate, pressed this bar, it was presented
artificial introduction of a with a food pellet. The rate of
conditioning stimulus. bar-pressing was automatically
To Skinner, it seemed that recorded. Initially, the rat might
the consequences of an action
were more important in shaping
Skinner boxes were one of many
behavior than any stimulus that ingenious devices that the psychologist
had preceded or coincided with it. created, giving him total control over
He concluded from his experiments the environment of the animals whose
that behavior is primarily learned behavior he was observing.
82 B.F. SKINNER
Positive reinforcement can stimulate particular patterns
of behavior, as Skinner demonstrated by placing a rat in
one of his specially designed boxes, fitted with a lever or bar.
Pellets of food appeared every time the animal pressed the
bar, encouraging it to perform this action again and again.
stimulus (a food pellet), which occurring, if the reinforcing shock as “punishment,” a distinction
reinforces its operant behavior stimulus was then stopped, there that became increasingly important
(pressing on the bar). In order to was a decrease in the likelihood of as he examined the implications of
distinguish this from classical that behavior occurring. his research.
conditioning, he coined the term Skinner continued making his Negative reinforcement was not
“operant conditioning;” the major experiments ever more varied and a new concept in psychology. As
distinction being that operant sophisticated, including changes of early as 1890, William James had
conditioning depends not on a schedule to establish whether the written in Principles of Psychology:
preceding stimulus, but on what rats could distinguish and respond “Animals, for example, awaken in
follows as a consequence of a to differences in the rate of delivery a child the opposite impulses of
particular type of behavior. It is also of food pellets. As he suspected, fearing and fondling. But if a child,
different in that it represents the rats adapted very quickly to in his first attempts to pat a dog,
a two-way process, in which an the new schedules. gets snapped at or bitten, so that
action, or behavior, is operating the impulse of fear is strongly
on the environment just as much Negative reinforcement aroused, it may be that for years to
as the environment is shaping In later experiments, the floors of come no dog will excite in him the
that behavior. the Skinner boxes were each fitted
In the course of his experiments, with an electric grid, which would
Skinner began to run short of food give the rats an unpleasant shock
pellets, forcing him to reschedule whenever they were activated. This
the rate at which they were being allowed for the investigation of the
given to the rats. Some rats now effect of negative reinforcement on
received a food pellet only after behavior. Again, just as Skinner
they had pressed the bar a number avoided the word “reward,” he was
of times repeatedly, either at fixed careful not to describe the electric
intervals or randomly. The results of
this variation reinforced Skinner’s
Winning at gambling often boosts
original findings, but they also led the compulsion to try again, while
to a further discovery: that while losing lessens it, just as changes in the
a reinforcing stimulus led to a rate at which Skinner’s rats were fed
greater probability of a behavior made them modify their behavior.
BEHAVIORISM 83
impulse to fondle again.” Skinner
was to provide the experimental
evidence for this idea.
Positive reinforcement
As expected, Skinner found that
whenever a behavior resulted in the
negative consequence of an electric
shock, there was a decrease in that
behavior. He went on to redesign
the Skinner boxes used in the
experiment, so that the rats inside
were able to switch off the
electrified grid by pressing a bar,
which provided a form of positive
reinforcement arising from the
removal of a negative stimulus. The
results that followed confirmed
Skinner’s theory—if a behavior
leads to the removal of a negative likely to avoid doing so when adults Skinner’s pigeon experiments proved
stimulus, that behavior increases. are around. The child may modify that the positive reinforcement of being
However, the results also his behavior, but only so far as it fed on the achievement of a task helped
to speed up and reinforce the learning
revealed an interesting distinction enables him to avoid punishment.
of new behavior patterns.
between behavior learned by Skinner himself believed that
positive reinforcement and behavior ultimately all forms of punishment
elicited by negative stimuli. The were unsuitable for controlling further in his article The Selection
rats responded better and more children’s behavior. by Consequences, written for the
quickly to the positive stimuli (as journal Science in 1981.
well as the removal of negative Genetic predisposition In 1936, Skinner took up a post
stimuli), than when their behavior The “shaping” of behavior by at the University of Minnesota,
resulted in a negative response. operant conditioning has striking where he continued to refine his
While still careful to avoid the parallels with Charles Darwin’s experimental research in operant
notions of “reward” and theory of natural selection—in conditioning and to explore
“punishment,” Skinner concluded essence, that only organisms practical applications for his ideas,
that behavior was shaped much suited by their genetic make-up this time using pigeons instead of
more efficiently by a program to a particular environment will rats. With the pigeons, Skinner
of positive reinforcement. In fact, survive to reproduce, ensuring found that he was able to devise
he came to believe that negative the “success” of their species. more subtle experiments. Using
reinforcement could even be The likelihood of a rat behaving what he described as a “method of
counter-productive, with the in a way that will result in a successive approximations,” he
subject continuing to seek positive reinforcing stimulus, triggering could elicit and investigate more
responses for a specific behavior, the process of operant conditioning, complex patterns of behavior.
despite this leading to a negative is dependent on the level of its Skinner gave the pigeons
response in the majority of cases. curiosity and intelligence, both of positive reinforcement for any
This has implications in various which are determined by genetic behavior that was similar to that he
areas of human behavior too; for make-up. It was this combination was trying to elicit. For example, if
example, in the use of disciplinary of predisposition and conditioning he was trying to train a pigeon to
measures to teach children. If a that led Skinner to conclude that fly in a circle clockwise, food would
boy is continually being punished “a person’s behavior is controlled by be given for any movement the
for something he finds enjoyable, his genetic and environmental pigeon made to the right, however
such as picking his nose, he is histories”—an idea that he explored small. Once this behavior had ❯❯
84 B.F. SKINNER
been established, the food was only the end. Although it only achieved
given for longer flights to the right, limited approval at the time, the
and the process was repeated until principles embodied in Skinner’s
the pigeon had to fly a full circle in teaching machine resurfaced
order to receive some food. decades later in self-education
computer programs.
The objection to inner
Teaching program It has to be said that many of
Skinner’s research led him to Skinner’s inventions were
states is not that they do
question teaching methods used misunderstood at the time, and
not exist, but that they are
in schools. In the 1950s, when his gained him a reputation as an not relevant in a
own children were involved in eccentric. His “baby tender,” functional analysis.
formal education, students were for example, was designed as a B.F. Skinner
often given long tasks that involved crib alternative to keep his infant
several stages, and usually had to daughter in a controlled, warm, and
wait until the teacher had graded draft-free environment. However,
work carried out over the entire the public confused it with a
project before finding out how well Skinner box, and it was dubbed
they had done. This approach ran the “heir conditioner” by the press,
contrary to Skinner’s findings about amid rumors that Skinner was guidance systems were yet to be
the process of learning and, in his experimenting on his own children. invented, so Skinner devised a nose
opinion, was holding back progress. Nevertheless, the baby tender cone that could be attached to a
In response, Skinner developed a attracted publicity, and Skinner bomb and steered by three pigeons
teaching program that gave was never shy of the limelight. placed inside it. The birds had been
incremental feedback at every trained, using operant conditioning,
stage of a project—a process that War effort to peck at an image of the bomb’s
was later incorporated into a Yet another famous experiment target, which was projected into
number of educational systems. He called “Project Pigeon” was met the nose cone via a lens at the front.
also invented a “teaching machine” with skepticism and some derision. This pecking controlled the flight-
that gave a student encouraging This practical application of path of the missile. The National
feedback for correct answers given Skinner’s work with pigeons was Defense Research Committee
at every stage of a long series of intended as a serious contribution helped fund the project, but it was
test questions, rather than just at to the war effort in 1944. Missile never used in combat, because it
was considered too eccentric and
impractical. The suspicion was
that Skinner, with his passion for
gadgets, was more interested in the
invention than in its application.
When asked if he thought it right
to involve animals in warfare, he
replied that he thought it was
wrong to involve humans.
In later life as an academic at
Harvard, Skinner also expanded
on the implications of his findings
in numerous articles and books.
Praise or encouragement given at

frequent intervals during the progress
of a piece of work, rather than one large
reward at the end, has been shown to
boost the rate at which children learn.
BEHAVIORISM 85
Walden Two (1948) describes a falls from heaven, he ends in hell.
utopian society based on behavior And what does he say to reassure
learned with operant conditioning. himself? ‘Here, at least, we shall
The book’s vision of social control be free.’ And that, I think, is the
achieved by positive reinforcement fate of the old-fashioned liberal.
caused controversy, and despite He’s going to be free, but he’s
Skinner has an
its benign intent was criticized by going to find himself in hell.”
many as totalitarian. This was not Views such as these gained
unbounded love for the
a surprising reaction, given the him notoriety, and prompted some
idea that there are no
political climate in the aftermath of his fiercest critics. In particular, individuals, no agents—
of World War II. the application of his behaviorist there are only organisms.
ideas to the learning of language Thomas Szasz
Radical behaviorism in Verbal Behavior in 1957 received
Skinner remained true to his a scathing review from Noam
behaviorist approach, coining Chomsky, which is often credited
the term “radical behaviorism” as launching the movement known
for the branch of psychology he as cognitive psychology.
espoused. Although he did not Some criticism of Skinner’s
deny the existence of thought work, however, has been based on was a two-way process, in which
processes and mental states, he misunderstanding the principles an organism operates on its
believed that psychology should of operant conditioning. Radical environment and that environment
be concerned solely with the study behaviorism has often been responds, with the consequence
of physical responses to prevailing linked erroneously to the European often shaping future behavior.
conditions or situations. philosophical movement of logical In the 1960s, the focus in
In his book, Beyond Freedom positivism, which holds the view psychology swung away from
and Dignity, Skinner took the that statements or ideas are only the study of behavior to the
concept of shaping behavior meaningful if they can be verified study of mental processes, and
even further, resurrecting the by actual experience. But it has in for a time Skinner’s ideas were
philosophical debate between fact much more in common with discredited, or at least ignored.
free will and determinism. For the American pragmatism, which A reappraisal of behaviorism soon
radical behaviorist Skinner, free measures the importance or value followed, however, and his work
will is an illusion; selection by of actions according to their found an appreciative audience in
consequences controls all of our consequences. It has also been many areas of applied psychology,
behavior, and hence our lives. misinterpreted as presenting all especially among educationalists
Attempts to escape this notion living beings as the passive and clinical psychologists—the
are doomed to failure and chaos. subjects of conditioning, whereas approach of cognitive behavioral
As he put it: “When Milton’s Satan to Skinner operant conditioning therapy owes much to his ideas. ■
Classical conditioning creates an

+ = automatic behavioral response to a
neutral stimulus, such as salivating in
expectation of food when a bell is rung.
Operant conditioning creates a

+ = higher probability of repeated behavior
through positive reinforcement, such as
releasing food by pulling a lever.
86
STOP IMAGINING
THE SCENE
AND RELAX
JOSEPH WOLPE (1915–1997)
IN CONTEXT
According to Pavlov and
APPROACH Watson, it is possible to People cannot feel
Reciprocal inhibition learn an emotional two opposing emotions
response to a particular at the same time.
BEFORE stimulus.
1906 Ivan Pavlov publishes
the first studies on stimulus-
response techniques, showing
that behavior can be learned
through conditioning. So it must also be possible
to unlearn a response to If someone is relaxed, they
1913 John B. Watson cannot also be anxious.
a stimulus.
publishes Psychology as
a Behaviorist Views It,
establishing the basic tenets
of behavioral psychology.
1920 John B. Watson’s If deep relaxation is taught as a conditioned
Little Albert experiments response to a feared object, anxiety cannot be
demonstrate that emotions felt at the same time.
can be classically conditioned.
1953 B.F. Skinner publishes
The Behavior of Organisms,
F
presenting his theories on how or most of the first half of the thoughts, including their formative
20th century, psychotherapy experiences. But South African-
human behavior relates to
was dominated by Freudian born psychiatrist Joseph Wolpe had
biology and the environment.
psychoanalysis, which assumes treated soldiers for anxiety brought
AFTER that anxiety results from conflicting on by post-traumatic stress
1961 Wolpe introduces the forces deep within the psyche. disorder (then known as “war
concept of systematic This conflict can only be alleviated neurosis”) during World War II, and
desensitization. through a lengthy, introspective had found these psychotherapeutic
analysis of both the individual’s practices ineffective in helping his
conscious and subconscious patients. Talking to these men
BEHAVIORISM 87
See also: Ivan Pavlov 60–61 ■ John B. Watson 66–71 ■ B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■ Aaron Beck 174–77 ■ W.H.R. Rivers 334
deep-muscle relaxation techniques,

which he went on to pair with
simultaneous exposure to
some form of anxiety-inducing
stimuli—a technique that became
known as reciprocal inhibition.
Behavior depends upon Wolpe’s patients were asked
the paths that neural to imagine the thing or event that
excitation takes. they found disturbing. If they
Joseph Wolpe started to become anxious, they
would be encouraged to “stop
imagining the scene and relax.”
This approach gradually blocked
out a patient’s feelings of fear. Just
as the patient had previously been
conditioned by his experiences to
about their experiences did not become anxious when recalling
stop their flashbacks to the original certain particularly harrowing Phobias such as fear of mice have
trauma, nor did it end their anxiety. memories, he now became been treated successfully using methods
conditioned—within a very short developed from Wolpe’s idea of reciprocal
Unlearning fear time—to block out his anxiety inhibition: the pairing of deep relaxation
with exposure to the feared object.
Wolpe believed that there must be response, by focusing on the
a simpler and quicker way than directly contradictory feeling of
psychoanalysis to address the being totally relaxed. results, and led to many important
problem of deep anxiety. He was Wolpe’s reciprocal inhibition new techniques in the field of
aware of the work of behaviorists succeeded in reconditioning the behavioral therapy. Wolpe himself
such as Ivan Pavlov and John brain by focusing solely on symptoms used it to develop a systematic
Watson, who had successfully and current behavior, without any desensitization program to cure
taught animals and children new analysis of a patient’s past. It was phobias, such as fear of mice or
behavioral patterns through also effective and brought fast flying, which is still widely used. ■
stimulus-response training, or
classical conditioning. They had Joseph Wolpe he taught at the University
been able to make a previously of Virginia, then became a
unfelt emotional response to an Joseph Wolpe was born in professor of psychiatry at
object or event become automatic. Johannesburg, South Africa. Temple University, Philadelphia,
Wolpe reasoned that if behavior He studied medicine at the where he set up a respected
could be learned in this way, University of Witwatersrand, behavioral therapy institute.
it could also be unlearned, and he then served in the South African Renowned as a brilliant teacher,
proposed to find a method of using Army, where he treated people Wolpe continued to teach until
this to help disturbed war veterans. for “war neurosis.” Returning he died of lung cancer, aged 82.
Wolpe had discovered that a to the university to develop his
human being is not capable of desensitization technique, he was Key works
ridiculed by the psychoanalytic
experiencing two contradictory
establishment for attempting to 1958 Psychotherapy by
states of emotion at the same time. treat neuroses without first Reciprocal Inhibition
It is not possible, for example, to identifying their cause. Wolpe 1969 Practice of Behavioral
feel great anxiety of any kind, when relocated to the US in 1960, Therapy
you are feeling very relaxed. This taking US citizenship. Initially, 1988 Life Without Fear
inspired him to teach his patients
PSYCHOT
THE UNCONSCIOUS
DETERMINES
BEHAVIOR
HERAPY
90 INTRODUCTION
In his book Karen Horney’s

Sigmund Freud Psychological Types, differences with Freud
and Josef Breuer Carl Jung introduces Anna Freud publishes lead her to establish the
publish Studies on the terms “introvert” The Ego and the American Institute for
Hysteria. and “extrovert.” Mechanisms of Defense. Psychoanalysis.
1895 1921 1936 1941
1900 1927 1937 1941
Sigmund Freud introduces Alfred Adler is Jacques Lacan delivers Erich Fromm writes
the key concepts of recognized as the founder his paper The Mirror one of the seminal
psychoanalysis in The of individual psychology Stage to the 14th works of sociopolitical
Interpretation of Dreams. following the publication of International psychology, The Fear
The Practice and Theory of Psychoanalytical of Freedom.
Individual Psychology. Congress.
A
t the turn of the 20th that he felt was key to our behavior. Despite these differences of
century, behaviorism was Freud believed that accessing the opinion, however, Freud’s basic
becoming the dominant unconscious by talking to his ideas were modified rather than
approach to psychology in the US; patients would bring painful, rejected by the next generation of
psychologists in Europe, however, hidden memories into conscious psychoanalysts, and subsequent
were taking a different direction. awareness where the patient could theories place the emphasis on
This was largely due to the work make sense of them, and so gain different areas. Erik Erikson, for
of Sigmund Freud, whose theories relief from their symptoms. example, took a more social and
focused on psychopathology and developmental approach, while
treatment rather than the study New psychotherapies Jung was to formulate the idea
of mental processes and behavior. Freud’s ideas spread across Europe of a collective unconscious.
Unlike behaviorism, his ideas were and the US. He attracted a circle at For the first half of the 20th
based on observation and case his Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, century, psychoanalysis in its
histories rather than experimental which included Alfred Adler and various forms remained the main
evidence. Carl Jung. However, both these alternative to behaviorism, and it
Freud had worked with the men came to disagree with faced no serious challenges until
French neurologist Jean Martin elements of Freud’s theories, going after World War II. In the 1950s,
Charcot, and was much influenced on to develop their own distinct Freudian psychotherapy was still
by the latter’s use of hypnosis for psychodynamic approaches based practiced by therapists, especially
the treatment of hysteria. From his on Freud’s groundwork. Well-known in France by Jacques Lacan and
time with Charcot, Freud realized therapists Melanie Klein and Karen his followers, but new therapies
the importance of the unconscious, Horney, and even Freud’s daughter appeared that sought to bring
an area of nonconscious thought Anna, also broke away from Freud. about genuine change in patients’
PSYCHOTHERAPY 91
Carl Rogers develops

client-centered Melanie Klein presents a Albert Ellis outlines
therapy, outlining controversial paper on Envy Rational Emotive American existential
his theories in and Gratitude, affirming the Behavior Therapy psychology emerges
Counseling and innate presence of the in A Guide to with the publication of
Psychotherapy. “death instinct.” Rational Living. Rollo May’s Existence.
1942 1955 1961 1967
1946 1959 1964 1970
After his release from R.D. Laing attempts to Virginia Satir, the Abraham Maslow
Auschwitz, Viktor Frankl describe the structure of “mother of family defines the concept of
writes Man’s Search for the schizophrenic system therapy,” self-actualization
Meaning, outlining the experience in The publishes Conjoint in Motivation and
necessity of finding Divided Self. Family Therapy. Personality.
meaning in suffering.
lives. The somewhat eclectic Perhaps the most significant threat such as Albert Ellis’s Rational
Gestalt therapy was developed to psychoanalysis at this time Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
by Fritz and Laura Perls and Paul came from cognitive psychology, and Aaron Beck’s cognitive therapy.
Goodman, while existential which criticized psychoanalysis Freud’s emphasis on childhood
philosophy inspired psychologists for its lack of objective evidence— development and personal history
such as Viktor Frankl and Erich either for its theories or its efficacy inspired much developmental and
Fromm, who gave therapy a as treatment. In contrast, cognitive social psychology, and in the late
more sociopolitical agenda. psychology provided scientifically 20th century psychotherapists such
Most importantly, a group of proven theories and, later, clinically as Guy Corneau, Virginia Satir, and
psychologists keen to explore a more effective therapeutic practices. Donald Winnicott turned their
humanistic approach held a series attention to the family environment;
of meetings in the US in the late Cognitive psychotherapy while others, including Timothy
1950s, setting out a framework for Cognitive psychologists dismissed Leary and Dorothy Rowe, focused
an association known as “the third psychoanalysis as unscientific and on social pressures.
force,” which was dedicated to its theories as unprovable. One of Though Freud’s original ideas
exploring themes such as self- the key concepts of Freudian have often been questioned over the
actualization, creativity, and analysis—repressed memory—was years, the evolution from Freudian
personal freedom. Its founders— questioned by Paul Watzlawick, psychoanalysis to cognitive therapy
including Abraham Maslow, Carl and the validity of all forms of and humanistic psychotherapy has
Rogers, and Rollo May—stressed memory was shown to be unstable led to huge improvements in mental
the importance of mental health by Elizabeth Loftus. Cognitive health treatments; and has provided
as much as the treatment of psychology instead offered a model for the unconscious, our
mental disorders. evidence-based psychotherapies drives, and behavior. ■
THE UNCONSCIOUS
IS THE TRUE
PSYCHICAL
REALITY
SIGMUND FREUD (1856–1939)
94 SIGMUND FREUD
activity that was too powerful, too
IN CONTEXT frightening, or too incomprehensible
for our conscious mind to be able
APPROACH
to incorporate. Freud’s work on
Psychoanalysis
the subject was pioneering. He
BEFORE described the structure of the mind
2500–600 BCE The Hindu as formed of the conscious, the
Vedas describe consciousness unconscious, and the preconscious,
as “an abstract, silent, and he popularized the idea of the
completely unified field unconscious, introducing the
of consciousness.” notion that it is the part of the
mind that defines and explains
1567 Swiss physician the workings behind our ability
Paracelsus provides the to think and experience.
first medical description
of the unconscious. Hypnosis and hysteria
Freud’s introduction to the world Anna O, actually Bertha Pappenheim,
1880s French neurologist of the unconscious came in 1885 was diagnosed with paralysis and
Jean-Martin Charcot uses when he came across the work hysteria. She was treated successfully,
hypnotism to treat hysteria of the French neurologist Jean- with what she described as a “talking
and other abnormal cure,” by physician Josef Breuer.
Martin Charcot, who seemed to be
mental conditions. successfully treating patients for
AFTER symptoms of mental illness using the case of Anna O, and is the first
1913 John B. Watson hypnosis. Charcot’s view was instance of intensive psychotherapy
criticizes Freud’s ideas of the that hysteria was a neurological as a treatment for mental illness.
disorder caused by abnormalities Breuer became Freud’s friend
unconscious as unscientific
of the nervous system, and this and colleague, and together the
and not provable.
idea provided important new two developed and popularized a
1944 Carl Jung claims that possibilities for treatments. Freud method of psychological treatment
the presence of universal returned to Vienna, eager to use based on the idea that many forms
archetypes proves the this new knowledge, but struggled of mental illness (irrational fears,
existence of the unconscious. to find a workable technique. anxiety, hysteria, imagined
He then encountered Joseph paralyses and pains, and certain
Breuer, a well-respected physician, types of paranoia) were the results
T
he unconscious is one who had found that he could greatly of traumatic experiences that had
of the most intriguing reduce the severity of one of his occurred in the patient’s past
concepts in psychology. patient’s symptoms of mental illness and were now hidden away from
It seems to contain all of our simply by asking her to describe consciousness. Through Freud and
experience of reality, although her fantasies and hallucinations. Breuer’s technique, outlined in the
it appears to be beyond our Breuer began using hypnosis to jointly published Studies in
awareness or control. It is the place facilitate her access to memories of Hysteria (1895), they claimed to
where we retain all our memories, a traumatic event, and after twice- have found a way to release the
thoughts, and feelings. The notion weekly hypnosis sessions all her repressed memory from the
fascinated Austrian neurologist and symptoms had been alleviated. unconscious, allowing the patient
psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, who Breuer concluded that her to consciously recall the memory
wanted to find out if it was possible symptoms had been the result and confront the experience, both
to explain things that seemed to lie of disturbing memories buried in emotionally and intellectually. The
beyond the confines of psychology her unconscious mind, and that process set free the trapped
at the time. Those who had begun voicing the thoughts brought them emotion, and the symptoms
to examine the unconscious feared to consciousness, allowing the disappeared. Breuer disagreed with
that it might be filled with psychic symptoms to disappear. This is what he felt was Freud’s eventual
PSYCHOTHERAPY 95
See also: Johann Friedrich Herbart 24–25 ■ Jean-Martin Charcot 30 ■ Carl Jung 102–07 ■ Melanie Klein 108–09 ■
Anna Freud 111 ■ Jacques Lacan 122–23 ■ Paul Watzlawick 149 ■ Aaron Beck 174–75 ■ Elizabeth Loftus 202–07
overemphasis on the sexual origins powerful dimensions of the

and content of neuroses (problems unconscious, the warehouse
caused by psychological conflicts), from which our active cognitive
and the two parted; Freud to state and behavior are dictated.
continue developing the ideas and The conscious is effectively the
techniques of psychoanalysis. puppet in the hands of the The poets and philosophers
unconscious. The conscious
before me discovered the
Our everyday mind mind is merely the surface of
It is easy to take for granted the a complex psychic realm.
unconscious; what
reality of the conscious, and Since the unconscious is all-
I discovered was the
naively believe that what we think, encompassing, Freud says, it scientific method by
feel, remember, and experience contains within it the smaller which it could be studied.
make up the entirety of the human spheres of the conscious and an Sigmund Freud
mind. But Freud says that the area called the “preconscious.”
active state of consciousness— Everything that is conscious—that
that is, the operational mind of we actively know—has at one
which we are directly aware in time been unconscious
our everyday experience—is just a before rising to consciousness.
fraction of the total psychological However, not everything becomes
forces at work in our psychical consciously known; much of what reside in a part of the conscious
reality. The conscious exists at is unconscious remains there. mind that Freud called the
the superficial level, to which we Memories that are not in our preconscious. We are able to bring
have easy and immediate access. everyday working memory, but these memories into conscious
Beneath the conscious lies the which have not been repressed, awareness at any time. ❯❯
When ideas, memories, or …and stored in the unconscious

impulses are too overwhelming or alongside our instinctual drives,
inappropriate for the conscious mind where they are not accessible by
to withstand, they are repressed… immediate consciousness.
The difference between our The unconscious silently

unconscious and conscious thoughts directs the thoughts and
creates psychic tension… behavior of the individual.
…that can only be released when

repressed memories are allowed into
consciousness through psychoanalysis.
96 SIGMUND FREUD
CONSCIOUS
The mind is like

an iceberg; it floats EGO PRECONSCIOUS
with one-seventh
of its bulk above water.
Sigmund Freud
SU
PE
RE
ID UNCONSCIOUS
GO
Our psyche, according to Freud,
resembles an iceberg, with the area of
primitive drives, the id, lying hidden in
the unconscious. The ego deals with
conscious thoughts and regulates
both the id and the superego—our
critical, judging voice.
The unconscious acts as a energy in a system stays constant our behavior, directing us
receptacle for ideas or memories over time; it cannot be destroyed, toward choices that promise to
that are too powerful, too painful, only moved or transformed. Freud satisfy our basic needs. The drives
or otherwise too much for the applied this thinking to mental ensure our survival: the need for
conscious mind to process. Freud processes, resulting in the idea of food and water; the desire for
believed that when certain ideas “psychic energy.” This energy, he sex to ensure the continuation
or memories (and their associated said, can undergo modification, of our species; and the necessity
emotions) threaten to overwhelm transmission, and conversion, but to find warmth, shelter, and
the psyche, they are split apart from cannot be destroyed. So if we have a companionship. But Freud claims
a memory that can be accessed by thought that the conscious mind the unconscious also holds a
the conscious mind, and stored in finds unacceptable, the mind contrasting drive, the death drive,
the unconscious instead. redirects it away from conscious which is present from birth. This
thought into the unconscious, in a drive is self-destructive and impels
Dynamic thought process Freud called “repression.” us forward, though as we do so we
Freud was also influenced by the We may repress the memory of a are moving closer to our death.
physiologist Ernst Brücke, who was childhood trauma (such as abuse In his later works, Freud moved
one of the founders of the 19th- or witnessing an accident), a desire away from the idea that the mind
century’s “new physiology,” which we have judged as unacceptable was structured by the conscious,
looked for mechanistic explanations (perhaps for your best friend’s unconscious, and preconscious to
for all organic phenomena. Brücke partner), or ideas that otherwise propose a new controlling structure:
claimed that like every other living threaten our well-being or way of life. the id, ego, and superego. The id
organism, the human being is (formed of primitive impulses)
essentially an energy system, and so Motivating drives obeys the Pleasure Principle, which
must abide by the Principle of the The unconscious is also the place says that every wishful impulse
Conservation of Energy. This law where our instinctual biological must be immediately gratified: it
states that the total amount of drives reside. The drives govern wants everything now. However,
PSYCHOTHERAPY 97
another part of the mental structure, wonder that humans exist in states
the ego, recognizes the Reality of anxiety, depression, neurosis,
Principle, which says we can’t have and other forms of discontent?
everything we desire, but must
take account of the world we live Psychoanalytical treatment
in. The ego negotiates with the id, Since the unconscious remains A man should not
trying to find reasonable ways to inaccessible, the only way the
strive to eliminate his
help it get what it wants, without conflicts can be recognized is
resulting in damage or other through the symptoms that are
complexes, but to get into
terrible consequences. The ego present in the conscious. Emotional
accord with them; they are
itself is controlled by the suffering, Freud claims, is the result legitimately what directs his
superego—the internalized voice of unconscious conflict. We cannot conduct in the world.
of parents and society’s moral continually fight against ourselves, Sigmund Freud
codes. The superego is a judging against the uprising of repressed
force, and the source of our material, and against the force of
conscience, guilt, and shame. death, without emotional turmoil.
In fact, Freud proposes, the Freud’s unique approach to the
unconscious holds a vast amount treatment of psychological ailments
of conflicting forces. In addition involved working with the conflicts
to the drives of the life and that existed in the unconscious. that encourages a patient to lie on
death forces, it encompasses the He sought to free the patient a couch and talk. From Freud’s first
intensity of repressed memories from repressed memories and so treatments, psychoanalysis has
and emotions, as well as the alleviate their mental pain. His been practiced in sessions that
contradictions inherent in our approach to treatment is called can sometimes last for hours, take
views of conscious reality alongside psychoanalytic psychotherapy, or place several times per week, and
our repressed reality. According psychoanalysis. This process is continue for many years.
to Freud, the conflict that arises not easy or quick. Psychoanalysis While unconscious thoughts
from these contrasting forces is is only performed by a therapist cannot be retrieved through normal
the psychological conflict that trained in Freud’s specific introspection, the unconscious can
underlies human suffering. Is it any approach, and it is his therapy communicate with the conscious in
some ways. It quietly communicates
via our preferences, the frames of
reference in which we tend to
understand things, and the symbols
that we are drawn to or create.
During analysis, the analyst
acts as a mediator, trying to allow
unspoken thoughts or unbearable
feelings to come to light. Messages
arising from a conflict between the
conscious and the unconscious are
likely to be disguised, or encoded,
and it is the psychoanalyst’s job to
interpret the messages using the
tools of psychoanalysis. ❯❯
Freud’s patients would recline on

this couch in his treatment room while
they talked. Freud would sit out of sight
while he listened for clues to the source
of the patient’s internal conflicts.
98 SIGMUND FREUD
There are several techniques that childhood, when nakedness was
allow the unconscious to emerge. not frowned upon and there was
One of the first to be discussed no sense of shame. In dreams
by Freud at length was dream where the dreamer feels
analysis; he famously studied embarrassment, the other people
his own dreams in his book, The in the dream generally seem
The interpretation of
Interpretation of Dreams. He oblivious, lending support to a
claimed that every dream enacts wish-fulfilment interpretation
dreams is the royal road to
a wish fulfilment, and the more where the dreamer wants to leave
knowledge of the unconscious
unpalatable the wish is to our behind shame and restriction. activities of the mind.
conscious mind, the more hidden Even buildings and structures Sigmund Freud
or distorted the desire becomes in have coded meanings; stairwells,
our dreams. So the unconscious, mine shafts, locked doors, or a
he says, sends messages to our small building in a narrow recess
conscious mind in code. For all represent repressed sexual
instance, Freud discusses dreams feelings, according to Freud.
where the dreamer is naked—the
primary source for these dreams in Accessing the unconscious or emotion. It is an involuntary
most people is memories from early Other well-known ways in which substitution of one word for
the unconscious reveals itself are another that sounds similar but
through Freudian slips and the inadvertently reveals something the
Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of
Memory (1931) is a surrealist vision process of free association. A person really feels. For instance, a
of time passing, leading to decay and Freudian slip is a verbal error, or man might thank a woman he finds
death. Its fantastical quality suggests “slip of the tongue,” and it is said to desirable for making “the breast
the Freudian process of dream analysis. reveal a repressed belief, thought, dinner ever,” the slip revealing his
PSYCHOTHERAPY 99
true thoughts. Freud used the free- describes the act of releasing
association technique (developed and feeling the deep emotions
by Carl Jung), whereby patients associated with repressed
heard a word and were then invited memories. If the significant
to say the first word that came into event—such as the death of a
their mind. He believed that this parent—was not fully experienced
process allowed the unconscious at the time because it was too
to break through because our mind overwhelming, the difficulty and
uses automatic associations, so the energy remain, to be released
“hidden” thoughts are voiced at the moment of catharsis.
before the conscious mind has
a chance to interrupt. School of psychoanalysis
In order to help an individual Freud founded the prominent
emerge from a repressed state and Psychoanalytic Society in Vienna, Sigmund Freud
begin to consciously deal with the from which he exerted his
real issues that are affecting him powerful influence on the mental Born Sigismund Schlomo
or her, Freud believed that it is health community of the time, Freud in Freiberg, Moravia,
Freud was openly his mother’s
necessary to access repressed training others in his methods and
favorite child; she called
feelings. For example, if a man finds acting as the authority on what him “Golden Siggie.” When
it difficult to confront others, he will was acceptable practice. Over Freud was four years old, the
choose to repress his feelings rather time, his students and other family moved to Vienna and
than deal with the confrontation. professionals modified his ideas, Sigismund became Sigmund.
Over time, however, these eventually splitting the Society Sigmund completed a medical
repressed emotions build up and into three: the Freudians (who degree and in 1886 he opened
reveal themselves in other ways. remained true to Freud’s original a medical practice specializing
Anger, anxiety, depression, drug thoughts), the Kleinians (who in neurology, and married
and alcohol abuse, or eating followed the ideas of Melanie Martha Bernays. Eventually,
disorders may all be the result of Klein), and the Neo-Freudians he developed the “talking
struggling to fend off feelings that (a later group who incorporated cure” that was to become an
have been repressed instead of Freud’s ideas into their broader entirely new psychological
being addressed. Unprocessed practice). Modern psychoanalysis approach: psychoanalysis.
In 1908, Freud established
emotions, Freud asserts, are encompasses at least 22 different
the Psychoanalytic Society,
constantly threatening to break schools of thought, though Freud’s
which ensured the future of
through, generating an increasingly ideas continue to remain influential his school of thought. During
uncomfortable tension and inciting for all contemporary practitioners. ■ World War II, the Nazis
more and more extreme measures publicly burned his work, and
to keep them down. Freud moved to London. He
Analysis allows trapped died by assisted suicide, after
memories and feelings to emerge, enduring mouth cancer.
and the patient is often surprised
to feel the emotion that has been Key works
buried. It is not uncommon for Like the physical,
patients to find themselves moved the psychical is not 1900 The Interpretation
to tears by an issue from many necessarily in reality of Dreams
years ago that they felt they had what it appears to be. 1904 The Psychopathology
long since “got over.” This response Sigmund Freud of Everyday Life
1905 Three Essays on the
demonstrates that the event and the
Theory of Sexuality
emotion are still alive—still holding 1930 Civilization and Its
emotional energy—and have been Discontents
repressed rather than dealt with.
In Freudian terms, “catharsis”
100
THE NEUROTIC CARRIES

A FEELING OF INFERIORITY
WITH HIM CONSTANTLY
ALFRED ADLER (1870–1937)
F
reudian thinking dominated psychology was also influenced
IN CONTEXT psychotherapy in the late by present and conscious forces,
19th century, but Freud’s and that the influence of the social
APPROACH
approach was limited to addressing realm and environment was
Individual psychology
unconscious drives and the legacy equally vital. Adler founded
BEFORE of an individual’s past. Alfred Adler his own approach, individual
1896 William James says that was the first psychoanalyst to psychology, based on these ideas.
self-esteem is about a ratio of expand psychological theory Adler’s particular interest in
“goals satisfied” to “goals beyond the Freudian viewpoint, inferiority and the positive and
unmet” and can be raised suggesting that a person’s negative effects of self-esteem
by lowering expectations as
well as through achievements.
1902 Charles Horton Cooley Every child feels inferior because stronger,
describes the “looking glass smarter people surround them.
self;” the way we view
ourselves is based on how we
imagine other people view us.
AFTER Inferiority motivates them to try to do and achieve things.
1943 Abraham Maslow says
that to feel both necessary
and good about ourselves we
need achievements as well
as respect from others. In a balanced psyche, In an imbalanced psyche,
success relieves feelings success doesn’t relieve
1960s British psychologist of inferiority… feelings of inferiority…
Michael Argyle states that
comparison shapes self-esteem;
we feel better when we feel
more successful than others,
and worse when we feel less … and confidence …and an inferiority
successful than others. develops. complex develops.
PSYCHOTHERAPY 101
See also: Karen Horney 110 ■ Eric Fromm 124–29 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39 ■
Rollo May 141 ■ Albert Ellis 142–45
because they are constantly

surrounded by stronger, more
powerful people with greater
abilities. A child generally seeks
to emulate and achieve the abilities
of its elders, motivated by the
surrounding forces that propel him
toward his own development and
accomplishments.
Children and adults with a
healthy and balanced personality Alfred Adler
gain confidence each time they
realize that they are capable of After coming close to death
meeting external goals. Feelings of from pneumonia at the age of
five, Alfred Adler expressed a
inferiority dissipate until the next
wish to become a physician.
challenge presents itself and is Growing up in Vienna, he
overcome; this process of psychic went on to study medicine,
A paralympic athlete may be driven growth is continual. However, an branching into ophthalmology
by a powerful desire to overcome her individual with a physical inferiority before finally settling with
disabilities and reach greater levels of may develop more generalized psychology. In 1897, he married
physical achievement. Adler described feelings of inferiority—leading to
this trait as “compensation.” Raissa Epstein, a Russian
an unbalanced personality and intellectual and social activist,
what Adler termed an “inferiority and they had four children.
began early in his career, when complex,” where the feelings of Adler was one of the original
he worked with patients who had inferiority are never relieved. members of the Freudian-
physical disabilities. Looking at Adler also recognized the based Vienna Psychoanalytical
the effects that disability had on equally unbalanced “superiority Society and the first to depart
achievement and sense of self, he complex,” manifested in a constant from it, asserting that
individuals are affected by
found huge differences between need to strive toward goals. When
social factors as well as the
his patients. Some people with attained, these goals do not instil
unconscious drives that Freud
disabilities were able to reach high confidence in the individual, but identified. After this split in
levels of athletic success, and Adler merely prompt him to continually 1911, Adler flourished
noted that in these personalities, seek further external recognition professionally, establishing his
the disability served as a strong and achievements. ■ own school of psychotherapy
motivational force. At the other and developing many of
extreme, he witnessed patients psychology’s prominent
who felt defeated by their disability concepts. He left Austria in
and who made little effort to improve 1932 for the US. He died of a
their situation. Adler realized that heart attack while lecturing at
the differences came down to how Aberdeen University, Scotland.
these individuals viewed themselves: To be human is to
in other words, their self-esteem. feel inferior. Key works
Alfred Adler
1912 The Neurotic Character
The inferiority complex 1927 The Practice and Theory
According to Adler, feeling inferior of Individual Psychology
is a universal human experience 1927 Understanding Human
that is rooted in childhood. Nature
Children naturally feel inferior
THE COLLECTIVE
UNCONSCIOUS
IS MADE UP OF
ARCHETYPES
CARL JUNG (1875–1961)
104 CARL JUNG
IN CONTEXT
Myths and symbols are strikingly similar in cultures around
APPROACH the world and across the centuries.
Psychoanalysis
BEFORE
1899 Sigmund Freud explores
the nature of the unconscious
and dream symbolism in The Therefore, they must be a result of the knowledge and
Interpretation of Dreams. experiences we share as a species.
1903 Pierre Janet suggests
that traumatic incidents
generate emotionally charged
beliefs, which influence an The memory of this shared experience is held…
individual’s emotions and
behaviors for many years.
AFTER
1949 Jungian scholar Joseph
Campbell publishes Hero With
a Thousand Faces, detailing …in the form of archetypes—
…in the collective
symbols that act as
archetypal themes in literature unconscious, which is part
organizing forms for
from many different cultures of each and every person.
behavioral patterns.
throughout history.
1969 British psychologist
John Bowlby states that
human instinct is expressed
as patterned action and Each of us is born with the innate tendency to use
thought in social exchanges. these archetypes to understand the world.
S
igmund Freud introduced the despite being culturally very unconscious exists within each of
idea that rather than being different. They share an uncanny us, which is not based on any of our
guided by forces outside commonality in their myths and own individual experiences—this
ourselves, such as God or fate, we symbols, and have for thousands of is the “collective unconscious.”
are motivated and controlled by the years. He thought that this must be The commonly found myths and
inner workings of our own minds, due to something larger than the symbols are, for Jung, part of this
specifically, the unconscious. He individual experience of man; the universally shared collective
claimed that our experiences are symbols, he decided, must exist as unconscious. He believed that the
affected by primal drives contained part of the human psyche. symbols exist as part of hereditary
in the unconscious. His protégé, It seemed to Jung that the memories that are passed on from
the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, existence of these shared myths generation to generation, changing
took this idea further, delving into proved that part of the human only slightly in their attributes
the elements that make up the psyche contains ideas that are held across different cultures and time
unconscious and its workings. in a timeless structure, which acts periods. These inherited memories
Jung was fascinated by the way as a form of “collective memory.” emerge within the psyche in the
that societies around the world Jung introduced the notion that one language of symbols, which Jung
share certain striking similarities, distinct and separate part of the calls “archetypes.”
PSYCHOTHERAPY 105
See also: Pierre Janet 54–55 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Jaques Lacan 122–23 ■ Steven Pinker 211
and the collective unconscious. Jung believes that the self has
The ego, he says, represents the both masculine and feminine
conscious mind or self, while the parts, and is molded into
personal unconscious contains becoming fully male or female by
the individual’s own memories, society as much as biology. When
including those that have been we become wholly male or female
The personal
suppressed. The collective we turn our backs on half of our
unconscious rests upon a unconscious is the part of the potential, though we can still
deeper layer… I call the psyche that houses the archetypes. access this part of the self through
collective unconscious. an archetype. The Animus exists
Carl Jung The archetypes as the masculine component of the
There are many archetypes, and female personality, and the Anima
though they can blend and mold as the feminine attributes of the
into each other in different cultures, male psyche. This is the “other
each of us contains within us the half,” the half that was taken from
model of each archetype. Since we us as we grew into a girl or boy.
use these symbolic forms to make These archetypes help us to
Ancient memories sense of the world and our understand the nature of the
Jung believes that the archetypes experiences, they appear in all opposite sex, and because they
are layers of inherited memory, and human forms of expression, such contain “deposits of all the
they constitute the entirety of the as art, literature, and drama. impressions ever made” by a man
human experience. The Latin word The nature of an archetype is or woman, so they necessarily
archetypum translates as “first- such that we recognize it instantly reflect the traditional ideas of
molded,” and Jung believed that and are able to attach to it a specific, masculine and feminine. ❯❯
archetypes are memories from the emotional meaning. Archetypes
experiences of our first ancestors. can be associated with many kinds
They act as templates within the of behavioral and emotional
psyche that we use unconsciously patterns, but there are certain
to organize and understand our own prominent ones that are highly
experience. We may fill out the gaps recognizable, such as The Wise Old
with details from our individual Man, The Goddess, The Madonna,
lives, but it is this preexisting the Great Mother, and The Hero.
substructure in the unconscious The Persona is one of the most
that is the framework that allows important archetypes described by
us to make sense of our experience. Jung. He recognized early in his
Archetypes can be thought of as own life that he had a tendency to
inherited emotional or behavioral share only a certain part of his
patterns. They allow us to recognize personality with the outside world.
a particular set of behaviors or He also recognized this trait in
emotional expressions as a unified other people, and noted that human
pattern that has meaning. It seems beings divide their personalities
that we do this instinctively, but into components, selectively
Jung says that what seems to be sharing only certain components
instinct is actually the unconscious of their selves according to the
Eve is one representation of the
use of archetypes. environment and situation. The self Anima, the female part of a man’s
Jung suggests that the psyche that we present to the world—our unconscious. Jung says she is “full
is composed of three components: public image—is an archetype, of snares and traps, in order that man
the ego, the personal unconscious, which Jung calls the “Persona.” should fall… and life should be lived.”
106 CARL JUNG

moods and reactions, and can True Self. When fully realized, this
manifest themselves as prophetic archetype is the source of wisdom
statements (Anima) or unbending and truth, and is able to connect
rationality (Animus). the self to the spiritual. Jung
Jung defines one archetype as stressed that self-realization does
representing the part of ourselves not happen automatically, it must
All the most powerful we do not want the world to see. He be consciously sought.
ideas in history go back calls it the Shadow, and it is the
to archetypes. opposite of the Persona, representing Archetypes in dreams
Carl Jung all our secret or repressed thoughts The archetypes are of significant
and the shameful aspects of our importance in the interpretation
character. It appears in the Bible of dreams. Jung believed that
as the devil, and in literature as dreams are a dialogue between the
Dr. Jekyll’s Mr. Hyde. The Shadow is conscious self and the eternal (the
the “bad” side of ourselves that we ego and the collective unconscious),
project onto others, and yet it is not and that the archetypes operate
The Animus is represented in our entirely negative; it may represent as symbols within the dream,
culture as the “real man;” he is the aspects that we choose to suppress facilitating the dialogue.
muscle man, the commander of only because they are unacceptable The archetypes have specific
soldiers, the cool logician, and in a particular situation. meanings in the context of dreams.
the romantic seducer. The Anima Of all the archetypes, the most For instance, the archetype of The
appears as a wood nymph, a virgin, important is the True Self. This is a Wise Old Man or Woman may be
a seductress. She can be close to central, organizing archetype that represented in a dream by a
nature, intuitive, and spontaneous. attempts to harmonize all other spiritual leader, parent, teacher, or
She appears in paintings and aspects into a unified, whole self. doctor—it indicates those who offer
stories as Eve, or Helen of Troy, According to Jung, the real goal of guidance, direction, and wisdom.
or a personality such as Marilyn human existence is to achieve an The Great Mother, an archetype
Monroe, bewitching men or advanced, enlightened psychological who might appear as the dreamer’s
sucking the life from them. As state of being that he refers to as own mother or grandmother,
these archetypes exist in our “self-realization,” and the route to represents the nurturer. She
unconscious, they can affect our this lies in the archetype of the provides reassurance, comfort, and
validation. The Divine Child, the
archetype that represents your True
Self in its purest form, symbolizing
innocence or vulnerability, would
appear as a baby or child in
dreams, suggesting openness or
potential. And lest the ego grow
too large, it is kept in check by the
appearance of the Trickster, a
playful archetype that exposes the
dreamer’s vulnerabilities and plays
jokes, preventing the individual
from taking himself and his desires
too seriously. The Trickster also
Dr. Jekyll transforms into the evil

Mr. Hyde in a story by Robert Louis
Stevenson that explores the idea of the
“darker self,” through a character that
embodies Jung’s Shadow archetype.
PSYCHOTHERAPY 107
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was born
in a small Swiss village to an
educated family with a fair
share of eccentrics. He was
close to his mother, though she
suffered from bouts of
appears as the Norse half-god Loki, The tale of Snow White can be depression. A talented
the Greek god Pan, the African found all over the world with minor linguist, Jung mastered many
spider god Anansi, or simply a variations. Jung attributed the universal
European languages as well
popularity of fairy tales and myths
magician or clown. as several ancient ones,
to their use of archetypal characters.
including Sanskrit. He married
Using the archetypes Emma Rauschenbach in 1903
The archetypes exist in our minds collective unconscious and its and they had five children.
before conscious thought, and can contents affect the conscious state. Jung trained in psychiatry,
therefore have an immensely According to Jung, much of what but after meeting Sigmund
powerful impact on our perception we generally attribute to deliberate, Freud in 1907, he became a
of experience. Whatever we may reasoned, conscious thinking is psychoanalyst and Freud’s
heir apparent. However, the
consciously think is happening, actually already being guided by
pair grew estranged over
what we choose to perceive—and unconscious activity, especially the
theoretical differences and
therefore experience—is governed organizing forms of the archetypes. never met again. In the years
by these preformed ideas within In addition to his ideas of the following World War I, Jung
the unconscious. In this way, the collective unconscious and the traveled widely through Africa,
archetypes, Jung was the first to America, and India, studying
explore the practice of word native people and taking
association, and he also introduced part in anthropological and
the concepts of the extrovert and archaeological expeditions.
introvert personality types. These He became a professor at the
ultimately inspired widely used University of Zurich in 1935,
By understanding the personality tests such as the but gave up teaching to
unconscious we free ourselves Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). concentrate on research.
from its domination. Jung’s work was influential in the
Carl Jung fields of psychology, anthropology, Key works
and spirituality, and his archetypes
1912 Symbols of Transformation
are so widespread that they can 1934 The Archetypes and the
easily be identified in film, literature, Collective Unconscious
and other cultural forms that attempt 1945 On the Nature of Dreams
to portray universal characters. ■
108
THE STRUGGLE
BETWEEN THE LIFE AND
DEATH INSTINCTS PERSISTS
THROUGHOUT LIFE
MELANIE KLEIN (1882–1960)
T
he theme of opposing
IN CONTEXT forces has always intrigued
writers, philosophers, and
APPROACH
scientists. Literature, religion, and
Psychoanalysis
art are filled with tales of good and
BEFORE evil, of friend and foe. Newtonian
1818 German philosopher physics states that stability or
Arthur Schopenhauer states balance is achieved through one
that existence is driven by the force being countered by an equal
will to live, which is constantly and opposite force. Such opposing
being opposed by an equally forces appear to be an essential
forceful death drive. part of existence, and perhaps
the most powerful of them are
1910 Psychoanalyst Wilhelm Drama’s power lies in its reflection of
the instinctive drives we have real emotions and feelings. Great plays,
Stekel suggests that social for life and death. such as Shakespeare’s Romeo and
suppression of the sexual Sigmund Freud said that to Juliet, show not only love’s life-affirming
instinct is paralleled by the avoid being destroyed by our own force, but also its deadly, toxic aspects.
growth of a death instinct. death instinct, we employ our
narcissistic or self-regarding life procreation to creativity—are
1932 Sigmund Freud claims
instinct (libido) to force the death forced to run constantly against an
that the most basic drive instinct outward, directing it equally powerful and destructive
for satisfaction is in fact a against other objects. Melanie Klein force, and that this ongoing psychic
striving toward death. expanded on this, saying that even tension underlies all suffering.
AFTER as we redirect the death force Klein also stated that this
2002 American psychologist outward, we still sense the danger psychic tension explains our innate
Julie K. Norem introduces the of being destroyed by “this instinct tendency toward aggression and
idea of “defensive pessimism,” of aggression;” we acknowledge the violence. It creates a related
suggesting that being huge task of “mobilizing the libido” struggle between love and hate,
against it. Living with these present even in a newborn baby.
pessimistic may in fact
opposing forces is an inherent This constant battle between our
better prepare people to
psychological conflict that is life and death instincts—between
cope with the demands central to human experience. pleasure and pain, renewal and
and stresses of modern life. Klein claimed that our tendencies destruction—results in confusion
toward growth and creation—from within our psyches. Anger or
PSYCHOTHERAPY 109
See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Anna Freud 111 ■ Jacques Lacan 122–23
“bad” feelings may then become

directed toward every situation,
whether they are good or bad. The human unconscious contains…
Constant conflict
Klein believed that we never shed
these primitive impulses. We
maintain them throughout life,
never reaching a safe, mature state, …the life instinct, which …the death instinct, which
but living with an unconscious drives us toward growth drives us toward destruction
and creation. and disintegration.
that simmers with “primitive
fantasies” of violence. Given the
permeating influence of such a
psychic conflict, Klein thought
that traditional notions of happiness
are impossible to attain, and that Life itself is the striving against a drive toward death.
living is about finding a way to
tolerate the conflict; it is not about
achieving nirvana.
As this state of tolerance is the
best that we can hope for, Klein
found it unsurprising that life falls This creates a constant psychic tension in which…
short of what people desire or
believe they deserve, resulting in
depression and disappointment.
Human experience, to Klein, is
inevitably filled with anxiety, pain, …the struggle between the life and death
loss, and destruction. People must, instincts persists throughout life.
therefore, learn to work within the
extremes of life and death. ■
Melanie Klein One of four children, Melanie Although Klein did not have any
Klein was born in Austria. Her formal academic qualifications,
parents, who later divorced, were she was a major influence in the
cold and unaffectionate. At 17, she field of psychoanalysis, and is
became engaged to Arthur Klein, particularly revered for her work
an industrial chemist, casting with children, and for her use of
aside her plans to study medicine. play as a form of therapy.
Klein decided to become a
psychoanalyst after reading a Key works
book by Sigmund Freud in 1910.
She suffered from depression 1932 The Psychoanalysis of
herself, and was haunted by Children
death: her adored elder sister 1935 A Contribution to The
died when Klein was four; her Psychogenesis of Manic
older brother died in a suspected Depressive States
suicide; and her son was killed in 1961 Narrative of a Child
a climbing accident in 1933. Analysis
110
THE TYRANNY
OF THE
“SHOULDS”
KAREN HORNEY (1885–1952)
S
ocial environments—from the beliefs, but from those internalized
IN CONTEXT family to schools, workplaces, from a toxic environment. These
and the wider community— play out as internalized messages,
APPROACH
develop cultural “norms” upheld by especially in the form of “shoulds,”
Psychoanalysis
certain beliefs. The German-born such as “I should be recognized and
BEFORE psychoanalyst Karen Horney said powerful” or “I should be thin.” She
1889 In L’Automatism that unhealthy, or “toxic,” social taught her patients to become aware
Psychologique, Pierre Janet environments are likely to create of two influences in their psyche: the
describes “splitting,” where unhealthy belief systems in “real self” with authentic desires,
a personality branches into individuals, hindering people from and the “ideal self” that strives to
distinct, separate parts. realizing their highest potential. fulfill all the demands of the
Horney said that it is essential to “shoulds.” The ideal self fills the
AFTER recognize when we are not mind with ideas that are unrealistic
1950s Melanie Klein says that operating from self-determined and inappropriate to the journey of
people split off parts of their the real self, and generates negative
personalities to cope with feedback based on the “failures” of
otherwise unmanageable, the real self to achieve the
conflicting feelings. expectations of the ideal self. This
leads to the development of a third,
1970s Austrian psychoanalyst unhappy self—the “despised self.”
Heinz Kohut claims that when Forget about the Horney says the “shoulds” are the
a child’s needs are not met, disgraceful creature basis of our “bargain with fate;” if
a fragmented self emerges, you actually are; this is we obey them, we believe we can
consisting of the narcissistic how you should be. magically control external realities,
self and the grandiose self. Karen Horney though in reality they lead to deep
1970s Albert Ellis develops unhappiness and neurosis. Horney’s
Rational Emotive Behavioral views were particularly relevant in
Therapy to free people from her own social environment, early
20th-century Germany, which
internalized “musts.”
leaned heavily toward conformity. ■
See also: Pierre Janet 54–55 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Melanie Klein 108–09 ■
Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39 ■ Albert Ellis 142–45

PSYCHOTHERAPY 111
THE SUPEREGO
BECOMES CLEAR ONLY
WHEN IT CONFRONTS
THE EGO WITH HOSTILITY
ANNA FREUD (1895–1982)
A
ccording to the Bible, effects upon the ego. The ego
IN CONTEXT Adam and Eve in the takes account of the realities of the
Garden of Eden are world, and is also simultaneously
APPROACH
decision-makers, faced with the engaged with the id and relegated
Psychoanalysis
choice between temptation and to an inferior position by the
BEFORE righteousness. In his structural superego. The superego speaks
1920 Sigmund Freud first model of the psyche, Sigmund Freud through the language of guilt and
uses the concepts of the ego, describes a similar model within the shame, like a kind of internalized
id, and superego in his essay human unconscious, proposing a critical parent. We hear the superego
Beyond the Pleasure Principle. psychic apparatus of three parts: the when we berate ourselves for
id, the superego, and the ego. thinking or acting a certain way;
AFTER The id, like a sneaky serpent, the superego becomes clear (or
1950s Melanie Klein disagrees whispers to us to do what feels “speaks out”) only when it confronts
that actual parental influence good. It is driven entirely by desire, the ego with hostility.
is involved in the formation of seeking pleasure and the fulfilment
the superego. of basic drives (such as food, comfort, Ego defense mechanisms
warmth, and sex). The superego, like The critical voice of the superego
1961 Eric Berne presents
a righteous presence, calls us to leads to anxiety, and this is when,
the idea that we retain child, follow the higher path. It imposes according to Anna Freud, we bring
adult, and parental ego states parental and societal values and tells ego defenses into play. These are
throughout our lives, and says us what we should and should not the myriad methods that the
that these can be explored do. Lastly, the ego—like a decision- mind uses to prevent anxiety from
through analysis. making adult—controls impulses becoming overwhelming. Freud
1976 American psychologist and forms judgments on how to act; described the many and creative
Jane Loevinger says that it is the moderator, suspended defense mechanisms we employ,
the ego develops in stages between the id and the superego. from humor and sublimation to
throughout a person’s life, Austrian psychoanalyst Anna denial and displacement. Her theory
as a result of an interaction Freud expanded upon her father’s of ego defenses was to prove a rich
ideas, drawing attention to the seam of thought within the humanist
between the inner self and
formation of the superego and its therapies of the 20th century. ■
the outer environment.
See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Melanie Klein 108–109 ■ Eric Berne 337
TRUTH
CAN BE TOLERATED
ONLY IF YOU DISCOVER IT
YOURSELF
FRITZ PERLS (1893–1970)
114 FRITZ PERLS
IN CONTEXT People believe that their viewpoint

of the world is the objective truth.
APPROACH
Gestalt therapy
BEFORE
1920s Carl Jung says that But human experience is colored by the
personal “lenses” through which we view it.
people need to connect with
their inner selves.
1943 Max Wertheimer explains
the Gestalt idea of “productive Because it is our perception that
thinking,” which is distinctive shapes our experience…
for using personal insight.
1950 In Neurosis and Human
Growth, Karen Horney
identifies the need to reject the …it is possible to change …we must discard the
“shoulds” imposed by others. our inner realities, “given” values of society
and ultimately our and family, and discover our
AFTER external realities. own, true values.
1961 Carl Rogers says that it
is the client, not the therapist,
who knows what form and
direction therapy should take.
We become aware that we are
1973 American self-help building our own world, or “truth.”
author Richard Bandler, one of
the founders of Neurolinguistic
Programming (NLP), uses
many of the Gestalt therapy
Truth can only be tolerated
techniques in his new therapy.
if you discover it yourself.
I
n the 18th century, the German range of possibilities—is coded rather than acknowledging the role
philosopher Immanuel Kant by the individual “lenses” through of perception and its influence in
revolutionized our thinking which we view it. We do not creating our perspective, together
about the world by pointing out that automatically absorb all the sounds, with all the ideas, actions, and
we can never really know what feelings, and pictures of the world; beliefs that stem from it. For Perls,
is “out there” beyond ourselves, we scan and select just a few. the only truth one can ever have is
because our knowledge is limited Fritz Perls, one of the founders one’s own personal truth.
to the constraints of our minds and of Gestalt therapy, pointed out that
senses. We don’t know how things this means our personal sense Accepting responsibility
are “in themselves,” but only as we of reality is created through our Perls developed his theories in
experience them. This view forms perception; through the ways in the 1940s, when the dominant
the basis of Gestalt therapy, which which we view our experiences, not psychoanalytical view was that the
says that it is vitally important to the events themselves. However, it human mind could be reduced to a
remember that the complexity of is easy to forget this, or even fail to series of biological drives seeking
the human experience—with its recognize it. He says we tend to fulfilment. This approach was far
tragedies and traumas, inspirations mistake our viewpoint of the world too rigid, structured, simplified,
and passions, and its nearly infinite for the absolute, objective truth, and generalized for Perls; it did not
PSYCHOTHERAPY 115
See also: Søren Kierkegaard 26–27 ■ Carl Jung 102–107 ■ Karen Horney 110 ■ Erich Fromm 124–29 ■
Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39 ■ Roger Shepard 192 ■ Jon Kabat-Zinn 210 ■ Max Wertheimer 335
allow for individual experience, The Gestalt prayer was written by Fritz Perls
which Perls held paramount. Nor to encapsulate Gestalt therapy. It emphasizes the
did its analysts enable their patients importance of living according to our own needs,
and not seeking fulfilment through others.
to recognize and take responsibility
for the creation of their experience.
The psychoanalytical model operates
on the understanding that patients
are at the mercy of their unconscious
conflicts until an analyst enters to
save them from their unconscious I do my thing and
drives. Perls, on the other hand, you do your thing. You are you, and I
feels it is essential for people to I am not in this am I, and if by
understand the power of their world to live up to chance we find each
own roles in creation. He wants your expectations, other, it’s beautiful.
to make us aware that we can And you are not in If not, it can’t
change our realities, and in fact this world to live up be helped.
are responsible for doing so. No to mine.
one else can do it for us. Once
we realize that perception is the
backbone of reality, each of us
is forced to take responsibility
for the life we create and the way
we choose to view the world.
Acknowledging power
Gestalt theory uses the tenets of our external environment. Once to maintain emotional stability
individual experience, perception, we understand that our perception regardless of the environment as
and responsibility—both for one’s shapes our experience, we can “homeostasis,” using a biological
thoughts and feelings—to encourage see how the roles we play and the term normally used to describe the
personal growth by establishing actions we take are tools, which maintenance of a stable physical
a sense of internal control. Perls we can then use consciously for environment within the body. It
insists that we can learn to control changing reality. Control of our own implies a fine balancing of many
our inner experience, regardless of inner psychic environment gives us systems, and this is how Gestalt
power through two layers of choice: therapy views the mind. It looks for
in how to interpret the environment, ways of balancing the mind through
and how to react to it. The adage, the many thoughts, feelings, and
“no one can make you angry other perceptions that make up the whole
than yourself,” perfectly exemplifies human experience. It views a person
this philosophy, and its truth can holistically and places the focus
Learning is be seen played out in the different firmly on the whole, not the parts.
the discovery that ways that people react to traffic Perls saw his task as helping his
something is possible. jams, bad news, or personal patients to cultivate an awareness
Fritz Perls criticism, for example. of the power of their perceptions,
In Gestalt therapy, a person is and how they shape reality (or what
forced to take direct responsibility we describe as “reality”). In this
for how he or she acts and reacts, way, his patients became able
regardless of what may seem to be to take control of shaping their
happening. Perls refers to this ability interior landscape. In taking ❯❯
116 FRITZ PERLS

perceived reality in the present patient, who work together as
moment. This ability, to “be here partners toward the goal. The
now” is critical to the Gestalt therapist is dynamic but does not
process; it is an acute emotional lead the patient; the Gestalt
awareness, and one that forms the approach of Perls would later form
foundation for understanding how the basis of Carl Rogers’ humanistic,
each of us creates and reacts to our person-centered approach.
own environment. It also offers a
pathway for learning how to change A denial of fate
the ways we experience ourselves Another component in the Gestalt
and our environment. method involves the use of language.
As a tool for personal growth, One critical tool patients are given
the ability to get in touch with for increasing self-awareness is the
authentic feelings—true thoughts instruction to notice and change the
and emotions—is more important use of the word “I” within speech.
Like Buddhism, Gestalt therapy to Perls than the psychological Perls says that to take responsibility
encourages the development of mindful explanations or analytic feedback for our reality, we must recognize
awareness and the acceptance of change of other forms of therapy. The how we use language to give the
as inevitable. Perls called change “the
“why” behind behavior holds illusion that we have no control
study of creative adjustments.”
little significance for Perls; what when this is not the case. By simply
is important is the “how” and rephrasing “I can’t do that” to “I
responsibility for their perceived “what.” This devaluing of the need won’t do that,” it becomes clear that
sense of reality, they could create to find out “why” and the shift of I am making a choice. This also
the reality they wanted. responsibility for meaning from helps to establish ownership of
Perls helped his patients achieve analyst to patient brought with it a feeling; emotions arise in and belong
this through teaching them the profound change in the therapist– to me; I cannot blame someone or
integral processes of Gestalt therapy. patient hierarchy. Where previous something else for my feelings.
The first and most important process approaches in therapy generally Other examples of language
is learning to cultivate awareness involved a therapist manipulating change include replacing the word
and to focus that awareness on the the patient toward the therapeutic “should” with “want,” changing, for
feelings of the present moment. goal, the Gestalt approach is example, ”I should leave now” to “I
This allows the individual to directly characterized by a warm, empathic want to leave now.” This also acts
experience his or her feelings and relationship between therapist and to reveal the element of choice. As
Fritz Perls Frederick “Fritz” Salomon Perls thought. In the late 1960s, they
was born in Berlin at the end of separated, and Perls moved to
the 19th century. He studied California, where he continued
medicine, and after a short time in to change the landscape of
the German army during World psychotherapy. He left the US
War I, graduated as a doctor. He to start a therapy center in
then trained as a psychiatrist, and Canada in 1969, but died one
after marrying the psychologist year later of heart failure while
Laura Posner in 1930, emigrated conducting a workshop.
to South Africa, where he and
Laura set up a psychoanalytic Key works
institute. Becoming disenchanted
with the over-intellectualism of 1946 Ego Hunger and
the psychoanalytic approach, they Aggression
moved to New York City in the 1969 Gestalt Therapy Verbatim
late 1940s and became immersed 1973 The Gestalt Approach and
in a thriving culture of progressive Eye Witness to Therapy
PSYCHOTHERAPY 117
Lose your mind and

come to your senses.
Fritz Perls
The 1960s hippie culture chimed

with the Gestalt idea of finding oneself,
but Perls warned against the “peddlers
of instant joy” and the “so-called easy
road of sensory liberation.”
we learn to take responsibility for With this personal responsibility counter-culture revolution of the
our experience, Perls says, we comes the obligation to refuse to Western world. But this focus on
develop authentic selves that are experience events, relationships, individualism was seen by some
free from society’s influence. We or circumstances that we know psychologists and analysts as
also experience self-empowerment to be wrong for our authentic a weakness within the therapy,
as we realize that we are not at selves. Gestalt theory also asks us especially by those who view
the mercy of things that “just to look closely at what we choose human beings as, above all, social
happen.” Feelings of victimization to accept among our society’s beings. They claim that a life lived
dissolve once we understand that norms. We may have acted under along Gestalt principles would
what we accept for ourselves in our the assumption of their truth for so exclude the possibility of intimacy
lives—what we selectively perceive long that we automatically accept with another, and that it focuses
and experience—is a choice; we them. Perls says we need instead to too much on the individual at the
are not powerless. adopt beliefs that best inspire and expense of the community. In
develop our authentic self. The response, supporters of Gestalt
ability to write our own personal therapy have claimed that without
rules, determine our own opinions, the development of an authentic
philosophies, desires, and interests self, it would not be possible to
is of the essence. As we increase develop an authentic relationship
our awareness of self-accountability, with another.
If you need encouragement, self-reliance, and self-insight, we In 1964, Perls became a regular
praise, pats on the back understand that we are building our lecturer at the Esalen Institute in
from everybody, then own world, or truth. The lives we California, becoming a lasting
you make everybody are living become easier to bear, influence on this renowned center
your judge. because “truth can be tolerated for spiritual and psychological
only if you discover it yourself.” development. After an explosion of
Fritz Perls
popularity in the 1970s, Gestalt
The possibility of intimacy therapy fell out of favor, but its
Gestalt therapy’s emphasis on tenets were accepted into the roots
“being in the present” and finding of other forms of therapy. Gestalt is
one’s own path and one’s own ideas today recognized as one of many
fitted perfectly within the 1960s “standard” approaches to therapy. ■
118
IN CONTEXT
IT IS NOTORIOUSLY APPROACH
Psychoanalysis
INADEQUATE TO
BEFORE
1900s Sigmund Freud
suggests that neurotic
TAKE AN ADOPTED
conflicts (and the superego)
arise in the Oedipal period—
between ages three and six.
CHILD INTO ONE’S

1930s Melanie Klein claims
that a primitive form of the
HOME AND LOVE HIM

superego develops during the
first year of life, and that love
and hate are inherently linked.
AFTER
DONALD WINNICOTT (1896–1971) 1947 Psychologist and play
therapist Virginia Axline
develops her eight principles
of play therapy, which
include: “Accept the child
as she or he is.”
1979 Swiss psychoanalyst
Alice Miller says in The Drama
of the Gifted Child that we are
encouraged to “develop the art
of not experiencing feelings.”
M
any people believe that
if a child has suffered
an upbringing that was
lacking in love and support, he or
she will be able to settle and
flourish with a new family that
provides what is needed. However,
while stability and acceptance
help to give a foundation in which
a child can grow and find a healthy
state of being, these qualities
make up only one part of what
is required.
As the first pediatrician in
England to train as a psychoanalyst,
Donald Winnicott had a unique
insight into the mother-infant
relationship and the developmental
process of children. He was
PSYCHOTHERAPY 119
See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Melanie Klein 108–09 ■ Virginia Satir 146–47 ■
John Bowlby 274–77
Children originally
…so in defense, they
from neglectful or abusive
act out in hatred, even
homes are afraid that they
when placed with
will not be loved by
good parents.
their adoptive family…
Donald Winnicott
If parents
This naturally evokes The English pediatrician and
acknowledge their
feelings of hatred in psychoanalyst Donald Woods
hatred and tolerate
the parents. Winnicott was the youngest
these feelings…
child and only son born to a
prominent, prosperous family
living in Plymouth, England.
His father, Sir John Frederick
Winnicott, was an encouraging
influence, although his mother
...the adopted child suffered from depression.
knows that he or Winnicott first trained as a
The child will
she is loved and physician and pediatrician,
be able to form
lovable even when child completing psychoanalytic
strong attachments.
and adult are both training later, in the 1930s.
experiencing hatred. Winnicott married twice,
meeting his second wife Clare
Britton, a psychiatric social
worker, while working with
disturbed children who had
strongly influenced by Sigmund believe he or she is loved only after
been evacuated during World
Freud but also by the writings being hated; he stresses that the War II. He continued to work
of Melanie Klein, particularly role that “tolerance of hate” plays in as a pediatrician for more than
regarding the unconscious feelings healing cannot be underestimated. 40 years and this gave his
of the mother or carer for the infant. Winnicott explains that when ideas a unique perspective. He
Winnicott began his career by a child has been deprived of twice served as president of
working with children displaced by proper parental nurturing, and is the British Psychoanalytical
World War II and he examined the then granted a chance of this in Society, and sought to widen
difficulties faced by children who a healthy family environment, public knowledge through his
are trying to adapt to a new home. such as with an adoptive or many lectures and broadcasts.
As Winnicott notes in his paper, foster family, the child begins
Hate in the Countertransference: to develop unconscious hope. Key works
“It is notoriously inadequate to But fear is associated with this
take an adopted child into one’s hope. When a child has been so 1947 Hate in the
Countertransference
home and love him.” In fact, the devastatingly disappointed in the
1951 Transitional Objects and
parents must be able to take the past, with even basic emotional Transitional Phenomena
adopted child into their home and or physical needs unsatisfied, 1960 The Theory of the
be able to tolerate hating him. defenses arise. These are Parent–Infant Relationship
Winnicott states that a child can unconscious forces that protect ❯❯
120 DONALD WINNICOTT

toward the parent, projecting past Dealing with the hatred
experiences of being neglected and The emotions that the child’s
ignored onto present-day reality. hatred invokes in the parents, as
The child of a broken home or well as in the child’s teachers and
without parents, Winnicott says, other authority figures, are very
“spends his time unconsciously real. Winnicott believes that it is
It seems that an
looking for his parents” and so essential that adults acknowledge
adopted child can feelings from past relationships these feelings, rather than deny
believe in being loved only are displaced onto another adult. them, which might seem easier.
after reaching being hated. The child has internalized the They also need to understand
Donald Winnicott hate, and sees it even when it is that the child’s hatred is not
no longer present. In his new personal; the child is expressing
situation, the child needs to see anxiety about his previous unhappy
what happens when hatred is in situation with the person who
the air. Winnicott explains: “What is now at hand.
happens is that after a while a What the authority figure does
child so adopted gains hope, and with their own hatred, of course, is
the child against the hope that then he starts to test out the of critical importance. The child’s
may lead to disappointment. The environment he has found, and to belief that he or she is “bad” and
defenses, maintains Winnicott, seek proof of his guardian’s ability unworthy of being loved must not
explain the presence of hatred. to hate objectively.” be reinforced by the response from
The child will “act out” in an There are many ways for a the adult; the adult must simply
outburst of anger against the new child to express hatred and prove tolerate the feelings of hatred and
parental figure, expressing hatred that he or she is indeed not worthy realize that these feelings are part
and, in turn, invoking hatred from of being loved. This worthlessness of the relationship. This is the only
the carer. He termed the behavior is the message that was imparted way the child will feel secure and
an “antisocial tendency.” by earlier, negative parental be able to form an attachment.
According to Winnicott, for a experiences. From the child’s point No matter how loving a new
child who has suffered, the need to of view, he is attempting to protect environment may be, it does not
hate and be hated is deeper even himself from the risk of ever having erase the past for the child; there
than the need for rebellion, and the to feel love or to be loved because of will still be residual feelings as a
importance of the carer tolerating the potential disappointment that result of their past experience.
the hate is an essential factor in the accompanies that state of being. Winnicott sees no short cuts to a
healing of the child. Winnicott says
that the child must be allowed to
express the hatred, and the parent
must be able to tolerate both the
child’s and their own hatred as well.
The idea may be shocking, and
people may struggle with the
notion that they feel hatred rising
within them. They may feel guilty,
because the child has been through
such difficulties already. Yet the
child is actively behaving hatefully
The “antisocial tendency” in

children is a way they express
anxieties about their world, testing out
their caregivers who must continue to
provide a supportive and caring home.
PSYCHOTHERAPY 121
Despite feeling the unconscious and
natural negative feelings provoked by
the child, a parent must provide an
environment that “holds” the child,
making him or her feel secure.
resolution. The child is expecting

that the adult’s feelings of hatred
will lead to rejection, because that
is what has happened before; when
the hatred does not lead to rejection
and is tolerated instead, it can
begin to dissipate.
Healthy hatred
Even in psychologically healthy
families with children who have not
been displaced, Winnicott believes
unconscious hatred is a natural, Therapeutic relationship generated by the patient as a
essential part of the parenting Winnicott also used the necessary part of testing that the
experience and speaks of “hating relationship between the parent therapist can bear it. The patient
appropriately.” Melanie Klein had and child as an analogy for the needs to know that the therapist
suggested that a baby feels hatred therapeutic relationship between is strong and reliable enough to
for its mother, but Winnicott therapist and client. The feelings withstand this onslaught.
proposes that this is preceded by that arise in a therapist during
the mother hating the baby—and analysis are part of a phenomenon A realistic approach
that even before this, there is an known as “countertransference.” While some of Winnicott’s ideas
extraordinary primitive or Feelings that are aroused in the may appear shocking, he believes
“ruthless” love. The baby’s client during therapy—usually we should be realistic about
existence places huge demands feelings about parents or siblings— bringing up children, avoiding
on the mother psychologically and are transferred onto the therapist. sentimentality in favor of honesty.
physically and these evoke feelings In his paper, Winnicott described This enables us as children, and
of hatred in the mother. Winnicott’s how as part of the analysis, the later as adults, to acknowledge
list of 18 reasons why the mother therapist feels hate toward the and deal with natural, unavoidable
hates the baby include: that the client, though this hate was negative feelings. Winnicott is a
pregnancy and birth have realist and pragmatist; he refuses
endangered her life; that the baby to believe in the mythical idea of
is an interference with her private “the perfect family” or in a world
life; that the baby hurts her when where a few kind words wipe
nursing, even biting her; and that away all of the horrors that may
the baby “treats her as scum, an have preceded it. He prefers to
unpaid servant, a slave.” Despite all Sentimentality in a see the real environment and
of this she also loves him, “excretions mother is no good mental states of our experience,
and all,” says Winnicott, with a at all from the infant’s and asks us to do likewise, with
hugely powerful, primitive love, and point of view. courageous honesty. His ideas
has to learn how to tolerate hating Donald Winnicott did not fit neatly into one school
her baby without in any way acting of thought, though they were
on it. If she cannot hate appropriately, hugely influential, and continue to
he claims, she turns the feelings of impact on social work, education,
hatred toward herself, in a way that developmental psychology, and
is masochistic and unhealthy. psychoanalysis around the world. ■
122
THE UNCONSCIOUS
IS THE DISCOURSE
OF THE OTHER
JACQUES LACAN (1901–1981)
P
sychoanalysts explain the
IN CONTEXT unconscious as the place
The Other is everything that where all the memories that
APPROACH lies beyond the boundaries
of ourselves. we wish to push aside are stored,
Psychoanalysis
and cannot be retrieved consciously.
BEFORE The unconscious sometimes speaks
1807 German philosopher to the conscious self in limited
Georg Hegel states that ways: Carl Jung believed that the
consciousness of self depends unconscious presents itself to
We define and redefine the waking self through dreams,
on the presence of the Other. ourselves through the symbols, and in the language of
1818 German philosopher existence of the Other. archetypes, while Freud saw it
Arthur Schopenhauer claims as expressing itself through
that there can be no object motivational behavior and
without a subject to observe it, accidental “slips of the tongue.”
and that perception of the The one thing that the various
object is limited by personal psychoanalytical schools do agree
vision and experience. We understand the world on is that the unconscious holds
through the language
a bigger picture than that retained
1890 William James in (discourse) of the Other.
by the conscious self. For French
The Principles of Psychology psychiatrist Jacques Lacan,
distinguishes between the self however, the language of the
as the knower, or “I,” and the unconscious is not that of the
self as the known, or “me.” self, but of the “Other.”
AFTER We also use that language for
1943 French philosopher
our innermost thoughts. A sense of self
We easily take for granted the
Jean-Paul Sartre states that
notion of the self—that each of us
our perception of the world
exists as a separate, individual
around us, or the Other, alters being, who views the world through
when another person appears; The unconscious our own eyes, is familiar with the
we absorb his or her concept is the discourse of boundaries that separate us from
of the Other into our own. the Other. others and from the world around
us, and assumes a separateness
PSYCHOTHERAPY 123
See also: William James 38–45 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Carl Jung 102–07 ■ Donald Hebb 163
of determining that as individuals

we are distinct from the world all
around us is our ability to recognize
the separateness of ourselves from
our environment, or from the Other,
which allows us to become the The I is always
subject “I.” Lacan therefore in the field of the Other.
concluded that each of us is a Jacques Lacan
“self” only because we have a
concept of the Other.
For Lacan, the Other is the
absolute otherness that lies beyond
the self; it is the environment into
which we are born, and which we
Our sense of self is shaped by our have to “translate” or make sense We are only able to think or to
awareness of the “Other,” or the world of, in order to survive and thrive. express our ideas and emotions
outside ourselves. However, Lacan An infant must learn to assemble through language, and the only
stated, it is the language of the Other
sensations into concepts and language we have, according to
that forms our deepest thoughts.
categories in order to function in Lacan, is that of the Other. The
the world, and he or she does this sensations and images that
in thinking and in the way we through gradually acquiring an translate into the thoughts of
interact with our environment. awareness and understanding our unconscious must therefore be
But what if there was nothing out of a series of signifiers—signs or constructed from this language of
there that we could recognize as codes. But these signifiers can the Other, or, as Lacan stated, “the
being separate from ourselves? only come to us from the external unconscious is the discourse of
We would then be unable to world that lies beyond the self, the Other.” This idea has had a
conceptualize our sense of self, therefore they must have been wide influence on the practice of
because there would be no formed from the language—or psychoanalysis, leading to a more
delineated being to think what Lacan prefers to call the objective and open interpretation
about. The only way we have “discourse”—of the Other. of the unconscious. ■
Jacques Lacan Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was Lacan’s writings extend into
born in Paris, where he was philosophy, art, literature, and
educated at the Collège Stanlias. linguistics, and he gave weekly
He went on to study medicine, seminars that were attended by
specializing in psychiatry. Lacan eminent thinkers such as Roland
remained in occupied Paris during Barthes and Claude Lévi-Strauss.
World War II, working at the A keen Freudian, Lacan formed
Val-de-Grâce military hospital. the École Freudienne de Paris in
After the war, psychoanalysis 1963, and the École de la Cause
became the key tool in Lacan’s Freudienne in 1981.
work. However, he was expelled by
the International Psychoanalytical Key works
Association in 1953, after an
argument over his “deviant” use 1966 Écrits
of shorter length therapy sessions. 1968 The Language of the Self
Lacan then set up La Société 1954–80 The Seminars
Française de Psychanalytique. (27 volumes)
MAN’S MAIN TASK

IS TO GIVE
BIRTH
TO HIMSELF
ERICH FROMM (1900–1980)
126 ERICH FROMM
T
he ability to find meaning of this separation and think about
IN CONTEXT in our lives is the defining our isolation. Man, gifted with
characteristic of humankind. reason, is life being aware of itself.
APPROACH
According to the German-American Fromm suggests that our
Humanistic psychoanalysis
psychoanalyst Erich Fromm, it also separation from nature originated
BEFORE determines whether we follow a with the growth of intellect,
1258–61 The Sufi mystic path of joy and fulfilment or tread which has made us aware of our
Rumi says that the longing a road of dissatisfaction and strife. separateness. It is our ability to
of the human soul comes from Fromm believed that although life reason and relate that lets us
separation from its source. is inherently painful, we can make transcend nature. It provides the
it bearable by giving it meaning, capabilities for productive living and
1950s Rollo May says that through pursuing and constructing affords us intellectual superiority,
the “true religion” consists of an authentic self. The ultimate but it also makes us realize that
facing life’s challenges with aim of a human life is to develop we exist alone in this world.
purpose and meaning, through what Fromm described as “the Reason makes us aware of our own
accepting responsibility most precious quality man is mortality and the mortality of our
and making choices. endowed with—the love of life.”
Life is inherently fraught with
AFTER emotional frustration, according to
1950 Karen Horney says Fromm, because man lives in a
that the neurotic self is split state of struggle. He is constantly
between an idealized and trying to balance his individual
a real self. nature—his existence as a separate It seems that nothing is
1960s Abraham Maslow being—with his need for more difficult for the average
defines creativity and thinking connection. There is a part of man’s man to bear than the feeling of
of others as characteristics of inherent self that only knows how not being identified
self-actualized people. to exist in a united state with with a larger group.
others; it lives at one with nature Erich Fromm
1970s Fritz Perls says that we and at one with other people. Yet
must find ourselves in order to we see ourselves as separated from
achieve self-actualization. nature, and isolated from one
another. Worse still, we have the
unique capacity to ponder the fact
…searching out and devoting ourselves

to the discovery of our own
ideas and abilities.
Life is fraught with

anxiety and powerlessness These feelings
because of our separation can be overcome
from nature and from through… …embracing our personal uniqueness.
one another.
…developing our capacity to love.

PSYCHOTHERAPY 127
See also: Alfred Adler 100–01 ■ Karen Horney 110 ■ Fritz Perls 112–17 ■ Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39
■ Rollo May 141
The creativity of artists encourages

them to interpret the world around
them in new ways. The world’s most
highly acclaimed artists have always
essentially been nonconformist.
loved ones. This understanding

creates a chronic source of tension
and an unbearable loneliness that
we are always seeking to overcome;
man’s inherent state of being is one
of anxiety and hopelessness. But
there is hope, Fromm insists,
because man can overcome his
sense of isolation and alienation
through finding his purpose.
However, as we strive to become
free, unique individuals, we still
feel the need for unity with others,
and in trying to balance these
needs we may seek out the comfort
of conforming to a group or an
authority. This is a misguided We can achieve this by following is only possible through respecting
approach, says Fromm; it is our own ideas and passions, and the separateness and uniqueness
imperative to discover one’s own through creative purpose, because of ourselves and of another;
independent sense of self, and one’s “creativity requires the courage to paradoxically, this is how we develop
own personal views and value let go of certainties.” the ability to create connectedness.
systems, rather than adhering to One of the critical ways in Love demands a great amount of
conventional or authoritarian norms. which man delivers himself from respect for the other person as an
If we try to hand responsibility for isolation is through his capacity individual, and it is based on
our choices to other people or to love. Fromm’s concept of love autonomy, not a blending of
institutions we become alienated is vastly different from popular personalities. In our overwhelming
from ourselves, when the very understandings of the word. To desire to connect and unify, we try
purpose of our lives is to define Fromm, love is not an emotion, nor to love but our relationships often
ourselves through embracing our is it dependent on finding an object result in an unloving imbalance.
personal uniqueness, discovering to love. It is an interpersonal We think we are loving, but in
our own ideas and abilities, and creative capacity that one must reality we may be seeking another
embracing that which differentiates actively develop as part of one’s form of conformity. We say “I love
each of us from other people. Man’s personality. He says “it is an you” when really we mean “I see
main task is to give birth to himself. attitude, an ordination of character me in you,” “I will become you,” or
In doing so, he frees himself from which determines the relatedness “I will possess you.” In loving, we
confusion, loneliness, and apathy. of the person to the whole world.” try to lose our uniqueness, or steal
In terms of personal love for it from the other person. Our
Creativity and love another, Fromm says that the main yearning to exist “as one” makes
Paradoxically, Fromm believes that tenets are care, responsibility, us want to see ourselves reflected
the only way we can find the sense respect, and knowledge—an in other people, which in turn leads
of wholeness we seek is through objective knowledge of what other us to artificially impose our own
the discovery of our individuality. people truly want and need. Love traits onto someone else. ❯❯
128 ERICH FROMM

The Four Nonproductive Personality Types
Receptive types have no Exploitative types are Hoarding types fight Marketing types
choice but to accept their aggressive and self-centered, to retain what they have, “sell” everything,
roles, and never fight for and typically engage in acts and are always seeking especially their
change or betterment. of coercion and plagiarism. to acquire more. own image.
The only way to love, says Fromm, most worthy of acceptance, and unremittingly negative, and a sixth
is to love freely, granting the other most likely to result in being loved type—the productive personality—
person their full individuality; to or desired. This is futile, because is Fromm’s ideal. In reality, our
respect the other person’s differing only a person who has a strong personalities are generally drawn
opinions, preferences, and belief sense of self, and can stand firmly from a mix of the four main types.
systems. Love is not found by within their own understanding of A person with a “receptive”
fitting one person into another’s the world, is able to give freely to orientation is said to live passively
mold, and it is not a question of others and love in an authentic way. in the status quo, accepting the
finding the perfect “match.” It is, Those who tend to orient themselves lot handed to them. These people
he says, “union with somebody, toward receiving love instead of follow rather than lead; they have
or something, outside oneself, being loving will fail; they will also things done to them. In extremes,
under the condition of retaining seek to establish a receiving this is the stance of the victim, but
the separateness and integrity of relationship in other ways, always on the positive side, it is rich in
one’s own self.” wanting to be given things— devotion and acceptance. Fromm
Many people spend vast amounts material or immaterial—rather than compares this type to the peasants
of time and money attempting to to give. These people believe the and migrant workers of history.
cultivate the self that they feel is source of all good things lies The “exploitative” orientation
outside themselves, and they thrives on taking from others;
constantly feel the need to acquire, exploitative people take what they
though this brings no relief. need instead of earning or creating.
However, they show extreme self-
Personality types confidence and strong initiative.
Fromm identified several personality This type is typified by historical
‘Know thyself’ is one of types that he called “nonproductive,” aristocracies who took power and
the fundamental commands because they enable people to wealth from indigenous populations
that aim at human strength avoid assuming true responsibility to line their own pockets.
and happiness. for their actions and prevent “Hoarders” are always seeking
Erich Fromm productive, personal growth. Each friends in high places and rank even
of the four main nonproductive loved ones in terms of their value,
types—receptive, exploitative, seeing them as something owned.
hoarding, and marketing—have Power-hungry and ungenerous,
both positive and negative sides. at best they are pragmatic and
A fifth type, necrophilous, is economical. Historically, these are
PSYCHOTHERAPY 129
the middle classes, or bourgeoisie,
that rise in great numbers during
economic depressions.
The last of the main types is
the “marketing” orientation. These
people are obsessed with image
Life has an
and with how to successfully
advertise and sell themselves.
inner dynamism
Every choice is evaluated in terms
of its own; it
of reflected status, from the clothes, tends to grow, to be
cars, and vacations they buy to expressed, to be lived.
marriage into the “right” family. Erich Fromm
At worst, they are opportunistic,
tactless, and shallow; at best, they Erich Fromm
are highly motivated, purposeful,
and energetic. This type is most Erich Fromm was the only
representative of modern society, in child of his orthodox Jewish
parents, and grew up in
its ever-growing acquisitiveness
Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
and self-consciousness. Fromm’s last personality type, the A thoughtful young man, he
The most negative personality productive orientation, genuinely was initially influenced by his
type—necrophilous—seeks only seeks and finds a legitimate solution Talmudic studies, but later
to destroy. Deeply afraid of the to life through flexibility, learning, turned toward Karl Marx and
disorderly and uncontrollable and sociability. Aiming to “become socialist theory, together with
nature of life, necrophilous types one” with the world and so escape Freud’s psychoanalysis. Driven
love to talk about sickness and the loneliness of separation, by the need to understand the
death, and are obsessed with the productive people respond to hostility he witnessed during
need to impose “law and order.” the world with rationality and an World War I, he studied
They prefer mechanical objects to open mind, willing to change their jurisprudence, then sociology
other people. In moderation, these beliefs in the light of new evidence. (to PhD level), before training
people are pessimistic nay-sayers A productive person can truly love in psychoanalysis. After the
whose glasses are perpetually another for who they are, not as a Nazis took power in Germany
in 1933, Fromm moved to
half empty, never half full. trophy or safeguard against the
Switzerland and then New
world. Fromm calls this brave
York, where he established a
person “the man without a mask.” psychoanalytic practice and
Fromm’s work has a unique taught at Columbia University.
perspective, drawing on psychology, Fromm married three times
sociology, and political thinking, and had a well-documented
especially the writings of Karl Marx. affair with Karen Horney
His writing, aimed at a mainstream during the 1930s. In 1951,
audience, influenced the general he left the US to teach in
public more than academia—mainly Mexico, returning 11 years
because of his insistence on the later to become professor
freedom of ideas. He is nonetheless of psychiatry at New York
recognized as a leading contributor University. He died in
to humanistic psychology. ■ Switzerland at the age of 79.
Key works
Hitler’s fascination with death
and destruction marks him out as 1941 The Fear of Freedom
an example of Fromm’s necrophilous 1947 Man for Himself
personality type, which is obsessed 1956 The Art of Loving
with control and the imposition of order.
THE GOOD LIFE IS A

PROCESS
NOT A STATE OF
BEING
CARL ROGERS (1902–1987)
132 CARL ROGERS
D
uring the 19th and into mental health is not something
IN CONTEXT the early 20th century, that is suddenly achieved at the
much of the approach to end of a series of steps. Nor is it
APPROACH
psychological treatment was based attained because an individual’s
Person-centered therapy
on the idea that mental illness previously neurotic state of
BEFORE was a fixed pathological malady tension has been reduced by the
1920s Austrian psychoanalyst that needed to be cured. Popular satisfaction of biological drives and
Otto Rank proposes that psychoanalytic theory, for example, impulses, as the psychoanalysts
separation from outdated defined people struggling with their insisted. Neither is it cultivated
thoughts, emotions, and mental health as “neurotic.” Mental by following a specific program
behaviors is essential for illness was seen in a negative light designed to develop and preserve
psychological growth and and most psychological practices a state of inner impermeable
development. and theories of the time offered homeostasis, or balance, reducing
strict definitions with structured the effect of the world’s external
1950s Abraham Maslow explanations of the underlying chaos on the self, as the
says that people must not causes of the mental illness, and behaviorists recommended.
be viewed as a collection fixed methods to cure it. Rogers does not believe that
of symptoms but first and American psychologist Carl anyone exists in a defective state
foremost as people. Rogers took a much more esoteric that needs to be fixed in order to
route to mental health, and in so provide them with a better state,
AFTER doing expanded the approach of preferring to view human
1960s Fritz Perls popularizes psychotherapy forever. He felt that experience, and our minds and
the concept of externalizing the philosophies of the time were environment, as alive and growing.
other people’s expectations too structured and rigid to account He talks about the “ongoing process
to find one’s truest self. for something as dynamic as the of organismic experience”—seeing
2004 American humanistic human experience, and that life as instantaneous and ongoing;
psychologist Clark Moustakas humanity is much too diverse to be life exists in the experience of
explores the uniquely human fitted into delineated categories. every moment.
For Rogers, a healthy self-
components of life: hope, love,
Achieving mental health concept is not a fixed identity
self, creativity, individuality,
Rogers takes the view that it is but a fluid and changing entity,
and becoming. absurd to view mental well-being open to possibilities. Rogers
as a specific fixed state; good embraces an authentic,
The good life is a process, not a state of being.
In order to enjoy the good life, we need to…
…take …treat ourselves

…be fully …live in the responsibility and others with
…trust
open to present for our unconditional
ourselves.
experience. moment. choices. positive regard.
PSYCHOTHERAPY 133
See also: Fritz Perls 112–17 ■ Erich Fromm 124–29 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39 ■ Rollo May 141 ■ Dorothy Rowe 154 ■
Martin Seligman 200–01
Unlike a maze with only one route across, Rogers

asserts that life is full of possibilities and offers multiple
routes—but individuals are often unable or unwilling
to see them. To experience “the good life” we need
to stay flexible and open to what life brings, by
experiencing it fully moment by moment.
unprescribed, free-flowing definition essential ingredient is the ability to the limits of our world and reduce
of healthy human experience, with stay wholly present in the moment. our ability to stay present and open
limitless possibilities. Humans are Since self and personality emerge to experience. In living the good
not traveling a road where the out of experience, it is of the utmost life and remaining open to
destination is to become “adjusted” importance to stay fully open to experience, Rogers believes we
or “actualized,” as fellow humanistic the possibilities offered by each adopt a way of being that prevents
psychologist Abraham Maslow moment, and to let experience us feeling trapped and stuck. The
had suggested. Indeed, the purpose shape the self. The individual aim, as Rogers sees it, is for ❯❯
of existence is not about reaching lives in an environment of constant
any kind of destination, Rogers change, yet frequently and all too
claims, because existence is less easily, people deny this fluidity
a journey toward an endpoint and instead create constructs of
and more an ongoing process of how they think things should be.
growth and discovery that does They then try to mold themselves
not stop until we die. and their idea of reality to fit the What I will be in the next
constructs they have made. This moment, and what I will do,
Living “the good life” way of being is the very opposite grows out of the moment,
Rogers uses the phrase living of the fluid, flowing, and changing and cannot be predicted.
“the good life,” to refer to the range organization of self that Rogers Carl Rogers
of characteristics, attitudes, and believes the nature of our
behaviors displayed by people who existence requires.
have embraced the foundations of Our preconceptions about
his approach—people who are how the world is, or should be,
“fully in the stream of life.” One and our own role within it, define
134 CARL ROGERS

range of options as wrong or
inappropriate. The defensive
feelings and thoughts that rise
up in us when reality conflicts
with our preconceptions create
a limited, artificial interpretation
Self and personality
of experience. In order to really
participate in what Rogers calls
emerge from experience,
the “ongoing process of organismic
rather than experience
experience,” we need to be fully being translated… to fit
open to new experience, and be preconceived self-structure.
completely without defensiveness. Carl Rogers
A full range of emotions

By tuning in to our full range of
emotions, Rogers argues, we
allow ourselves a deeper, richer
Spending time working in a experience in every part of our
developing country can be a rewarding lives. We may think we can more comfortable with our
way to open up to new experiences, selectively block emotion, and emotions, including those we have
challenge fixed ideas about the world,
dampen down disturbing or deemed to be negative, the flow
and find out more about ourselves.
uncomfortable feelings, but when of positive feelings emerges more
we repress some of our emotions, strongly; it is as if by permitting
is for experience to be the starting we inevitably turn down the ourselves to feel pain, we allow for
point for the construction of our volume of all our emotions, a more intense experience of joy.
personalities, rather than trying denying ourselves access to the By always remaining open to
to fit our experiences into a whole of our nature. If on the other everything that occurs, Rogers
preconceived notion of our sense hand, we allow ourselves to be says that we allow our fullest
of self. If we hold on to our ideas of
how things should be, rather than
A fixed view of the world
accepting how they really are, we often leads to unhappiness;
are likely to perceive our needs as we can feel like “a square peg
“incongruent” or mismatched to in a round hole,” constantly
what is available. frustrated that our life is not
When the world does not “do how we expected it to be.
what we want,” and we feel unable Rogers urges us to abandon
our preconceived ideas and
to change our ideas, conflict arises
see the world as it really is.
in the form of defensiveness.
Rogers explains defensiveness
as the tendency to unconsciously
apply strategies to prevent a
troubling stimulus from entering
consciousness. We either deny
(block out) or distort (reinterpret)
what is really happening,
essentially refusing to accept
reality in order to stick with our
preconceived ideas. In so doing,
we deny ourselves the full range
of potential reactions, feelings,
and ideas, and we dismiss a wide
PSYCHOTHERAPY 135
abilities to function, and in turn
we can get the greatest satisfaction
from our experiences. We have not
raised our defenses to shut off any
part of the self, so we are able to
experience everything fully. Once
we escape from the rut of the
preconceptions of the mind, we can
allow ourselves to soar. Rather than
organizing our experience to suit
our idea of the world, we “discover
structure in experience.”
This openness is not for the
faint-hearted, Rogers states; it
requires a level of bravery on the
part of the individual. We don’t
need to fear any type of feeling, he
says—we need only to allow the
full flow of cognition and individual, is famously termed Love that is conditional on an action
experience. With true access to a “unconditional positive regard.” or situation—for example, on achieving
fuller range of processing Rogers believed that all people, A grades at school or eating the right
foods—can leave children feeling
experience, each of us is more able not just his patients, needed to be
unworthy and unaccepted.
to find the path that truly suits our able to view themselves in this
authentic self—this is the fully way, as well as those around them
functioning individual that Rogers and their environment. self-worth and regard for others
urges us to become. We are always Unconditional self-acceptance on achievements or appearance,
growing, and Rogers emphasizes and unconditional acceptance of rather than accepting people
that the direction in which people others are vital, and when these as they are.
move—when there is freedom to are lacking, people fail to remain Parents may inadvertently
move in any direction—is generally open to experience. Rogers teach children that they are
the direction they are best suited maintained that many of worthy of affection only if certain
for, and that is best suited for them. us have very strong, strident, requirements are met, offering
specific conditions that must be them rewards and praise when
Unconditional acceptance met before we will grant approval they eat their vegetables or get
In contrast to the views of many or acceptance. We also base an A grade in physics, but fail
of his predecessors in the field of to love them openly just for
psychotherapy, Rogers believed themselves. Rogers calls these
that people are, in their essence, requirements “conditions of worth,”
healthy and good; and that mental believing that the tendency of
and emotional well-being is the humankind to demand that
natural progression for human people and things match our
nature. These beliefs are the No other person’s ideas, arbitrary expectations does
foundation of an approach that and none of my own ideas, all of us a great disservice.
regards patients in an entirely are as authoritative Achievements are to be
positive light, one of absolute, as my experience. respected, he says, but they are
unconditional acceptance. Rogers Carl Rogers both separate and secondary
asked that his patients learn to do to acceptance, which is a basic
the same for themselves and for human need, and does not have
others. This perspective, grounded to be “earned” through deeds
in compassion and the recognition or action. Rogers says that the
of the potential of each and every value of an individual is ❯❯
136 CARL ROGERS

realize that each of us is a continual needs. No longer at the mercy of
work-in-progress; that we are in a what he thinks he should be doing,
process of change, as Rogers says nor of what society or parents may
in his seminal work, On Becoming have conditioned him to think he
A Person—we are all in a constant wants, he can much more easily
The subjective human “state of becoming.” The irony simply exist in the moment and
is that with greater self- be truly aware of what he actually
being has an important
acceptance, and with less wants. And now he can trust
value… that no matter unhealthy pressure and constant himself, “not because he is
how he may be labeled criticism, we can actually become infallible, but because he can be
and evaluated he is a much more productive. fully open to the consequences of
human person first of all. each of his actions and correct
Carl Rogers Trusting oneself them if they prove to be less than
To live “the good life,” as Rogers satisfying,” Rogers explains.
sees it, is to learn to trust ourselves. In living “the good life” we also
As an individual moves toward have a sense of owning our lives
openness, he finds that he and taking responsibility for
simultaneously makes progress in ourselves—this is another tenet of
his ability to trust himself and his Rogers’ philosophy and comes from
inherently granted merely by the instincts, and begins to rely more an existential viewpoint. What we
miracle of existence. Acceptance comfortably on his decision-making choose to think or do is down to
must never be thought of as capabilities. With no need to us; there can be no residual
conditional; unconditional positive repress any part of himself, he has resentments when we have truly
regard is key to how we might all a greater ability to tune in to all the identified for ourselves what we
live “the good life.” parts of himself. This gives him want and need, and taken the steps
As people become more access to a variety of perspectives to create it. At the same time, there
accepting of themselves, they and feelings, and in turn he is is greater accountability and an
also become more patient with better able to evaluate choices that increased tendency to truly invest
themselves. Acceptance alleviates will truly realize his potential. He in our lives. It is not uncommon to
the pressure to do, see, and acquire, is able to see more clearly what hear about a doctor who hates
which builds when we live with the direction his authentic self wishes medicine but practices because his
mistaken idea that these activities to take, and can make choices that parents said that being a doctor
define our worth. We can begin to are truly in congruence with his was the way to earn respect and
Carl Rogers Carl Rogers was born in Oak Organizations (USO), offering
Park, Illinois, to a strictly therapy to returning army
Protestant family, and apparently personnel during World War II.
had few friends outside the family In 1964, he was awarded
before going to college. Initially, “Humanist of the Year” by the
Rogers majored in agriculture, American Humanist Association,
but after marrying his childhood and devoted the last ten years
sweetheart, Helen Elliott, in of his life to working for world
1924, he enrolled at a theological peace. He was nominated for
seminary, before withdrawing a Nobel Peace Prize in 1987.
to pursue a course in psychology.
Rogers worked at the universities Key works
of Ohio, Chicago, and Wisconsin,
developing his client-centered 1942 Counseling and
therapy based on humanistic Psychotherapy
psychology. He also spent 1951 Client-centered Therapy
time with the United Service 1961 On Becoming a Person
PSYCHOTHERAPY 137
Teaching a child to ride a bicycle
requires encouragement and support
but ultimately the child must be brave
and trust himself. Rogers likened his
person-centered therapy to this process.
him find what sort of role he would

really like to take. Rogers describes
the process as “supportive, not
reconstructive;” the client must
not come to rely on the therapist
for support, but instead needs to
learn how to become sufficiently
self-aware and self-trusting to
be independent and able to live
“the good life.”
Rogers’ legacy
Rogers was one of the most
influential psychotherapists of the
20th century, and his new client-
centered, non-directive therapy
marked a turning point in the
approval—both from them and from healthy and capable of growing development of psychotherapy.
society. In direct contrast, the rates and realizing its potential. This He was instrumental in the
of students who drop out or fail approach was in contrast to the encounter-group philosophy of
university courses are strikingly other main psychological therapies the 1960s, which encouraged
low among those who have have of the time—psychoanalysis and open communication between
received little support but worked behaviorism—both of which individuals. He was responsible
to pay for their own tuition. focus on the pathology of the for the spread of professional
The ways in which people can individual and how to fix it. counseling into areas such as
influence our desires and how we Rogers initially called his education and social work, and was
define ourselves can be intensely approach “client-centered,” and then a pioneer in attempting to resolve
complex. Resentment can be changed it to “person-centered,” and international conflict through more
buried deep within us when we it has since been hugely influential effective communication. ■
act in accordance with someone in education, parenting, business,
else’s wishes rather than our own. and other areas as well as in clinical
If our actions are free of external work. In person-centered therapy,
influences, we feel more authentic, which Rogers described as “non-
more solidly in control of creating directive therapy,” the therapist
our own destiny, and more satisfied takes the role of a facilitator who
with the results. helps the client find his or her own The process of the
answers, based on the belief that good life… means
Person-centered approach the client knows himself best. In launching oneself fully
Rogers’ philosophy became the person-centered therapy, the client into the stream of life.
cornerstone of a new approach identifies his problems and what Carl Rogers
called humanistic psychology, direction the therapy should take.
which he founded in the 1950s For example, the client may not
with Abraham Maslow and Rollo wish to focus on his childhood but
May. It was based on a positive rather deal with issues he is facing
view of humanity as basically at work and the therapist may help
138
WHAT A MAN
CAN BE, HE
MUST BE
ABRAHAM MASLOW (1908–1970)
T
hroughout recorded history, an individual must discover his
IN CONTEXT questions have been posed true purpose in life and pursue it.
about why we are here, Maslow refers to this ultimate state
APPROACH
and what the purpose is of our lives. of being as self-actualization.
Humanist psychology
Underlying these questions is a need
BEFORE to identify what will make us truly Toward self-actualization
1920s Alfred Adler claims satisfied, and a confusion about Maslow created a highly structured
there is only one motivating how to find it. Psychoanalysts plan to explain the path of human
force behind all our behavior would claim that the fulfilment motivation, defining the steps that
and experience: the striving of innate biological drives leads humans need to follow as they
for perfection. toward satisfaction, and move toward self-actualization. His
behaviorists would describe famous Hierarchy of Needs, which
1935 Henry Murray develops the importance of meeting is often drawn as a pyramid,
the Thematic Apperception physiological needs with food, positions the most basic needs at
Test, which measures sleep, and sex, but the new wave the base and each of the other
personality and motivation. of psychotherapeutic thought in essential requirements for a
the early to mid-20th century fulfilled life in groups on top.
AFTER
believed that the path to inner Maslow’s hierarchy is split
1950s Kurt Goldstein defines fulfillment was much more complex. into two distinct sections: at the
self-actualization as the One of the main proponents beginning are the four stages that
tendency to actualize, as much of this new approach to the make up the “deficiency needs” and
as possible, the organism’s problem was Abraham Maslow, a all of these must be met before a
individual capacities, and psychotherapist who is considered person is able to reach for greater
proclaims that the drive to one of the founders of the humanist intellectual satisfaction through
self-actualize is the only movement in psychology. He the “growth needs.” The deficiency
drive that determines the examined human experience by needs are simple and basic; they
life of an individual. looking at the things that are most include physiological necessities
important to us: love, hope, faith, (such as food, water, and sleep), the
1974 Fritz Perls says that
spirituality, individuality, and need for safety (to be safe and out
every living thing “has existence. One of the most crucial of danger), love and belongingness
only one inborn goal—to aspects of his theories was that in needs (our need to be close to and
actualize itself as it is.” order to reach the most highly accepted by others), and self-esteem
developed state of consciousness requirements (our need to achieve
and realize the greatest potential, in our lives and be recognized).
PSYCHOTHERAPY 139
See also: Alfred Adler 100–01 ■ Erich Fromm 124–29 ■ Carl Rogers 130–37 ■
Rollo May 141 ■ Martin Seligman 200–01
The Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs lists the
qualities he observed in
successful individuals
who aimed high but kept
their feet on the ground. Self-transcendence
Helping
others,
connecting with
something outside Abraham Maslow
ourselves
Self-actualization Abraham Maslow was born
Fulfilling personal potential the eldest of seven children
in Brooklyn, New York.
s
ed
Aesthetic His parents were Jewish

ne
Order, beauty, symmetry immigrants who had left

Russia for the US to escape
th
ow
Cognitive the tumultuous political

Knowing, understanding situation there. They had
Gr
high expectations of Maslow,

De
and forced him to study

Self-esteem
fic
law—a parental dominance

Achievement, recognition, respect, competence
ie n
that continued until 1928

cy
when Maslow decided to take

Love and Belongingness control of his life and pursue
ne
Acceptance, friendship, intimacy, relationships

ed
psychology instead. In the

s
same year he disobeyed his

Safety
parents by marrying his cousin,
Security, stability, health, shelter, money, employment
Bertha Goodman, with whom
he had two children.
Physiological
Air, food, drink, sleep, warmth, exercise Maslow moved to the
University of Wisconsin and
worked under Harry Harlow,
the behavioral psychologist
At the higher level, the growth Maslow also proposes that each famous for his work with
needs are cognitive (a need to one of us has an individual purpose primates. Later, at Columbia
know and understand), aesthetic to which we are uniquely suited, University, Maslow found a
(a desire for order and beauty), and and part of the path to fulfillment mentor in psychoanalyst
lastly, two requirements that define is to identify and pursue that and former colleague of
the purpose of life, and lead to purpose. If someone is not doing Freud’s, Alfred Adler.
intense spiritual and psychological what they are best suited to do in
fulfillment: self-actualization life, it will not matter if all their Key works
and self-transcendence. Self- other needs are fulfilled, he or she
actualization is the desire for self- will be perpetually restless and 1943 A Theory of Human
Motivation
fulfillment, and self-transcendence unsatisfied. Each of us must
1954 Motivation and
is the need to move beyond the self, discover our potential, and seek out Personality
and connect to something higher experiences that will allow us to 1962 Toward a Psychology
than ourselves—such as God—or fulfil it—“What a man can be, of Being
to help others realize their potential. he must be,” proclaims Maslow. ■
140
SUFFERING CEASES
TO BE SUFFERING
AT THE MOMENT
IT FINDS A MEANING
VIKTOR FRANKL (1905–1997)
V
iennese psychiatrist Viktor painful and possibly devastating
IN CONTEXT Frankl had already begun situations and to move forward;
to specialize in suicide these are the capacity for decision,
APPROACH
prevention and the treatment of and freedom of attitude. Frankl
Logotherapy
depression when, in 1942, he and stresses that we are not at the
BEFORE his wife, brother, and parents were mercy of our environment or events,
600–500 BCE In India, taken to a concentration camp. He because we dictate how we allow
Gautama Buddha teaches that spent three years there and endured them to shape us. Even suffering
suffering is caused by desire, many horrors and losses before can be seen differently, depending
and can be alleviated by emerging as the only survivor of the on our interpretation of events.
releasing desire. group. In his book Man’s Search for Frankl cites the case of one of
Meaning (1946), written after these his patients who suffered because
458 BCE Ancient Greek experiences, Frankl explains that he missed his dead wife. Frankl
dramatist Aeschylus explores humans have two psychological asked how it would have been if
the idea that “wisdom comes strengths that allow us to bear the patient had died first, and he
alone through suffering.” replied that his wife would have
found it very difficult. Frankl pointed
AFTER
out that the patient has spared her
1950s French existentialist this grief, but must now suffer the
philosophers, such as Jean- grief himself. In giving meaning to
Paul Sartre, say our lives do not the suffering it becomes endurable;
have a God-given purpose; we A man who has nothing else “suffering ceases to be suffering at
must find it for ourselves. in this world may still the moment it finds a meaning.”
2003 Martin Seligman says know bliss. Meaning is something we
a “full life” encompasses Viktor Frankl “discover rather than invent,”
pleasure, engagement (flow), according to Frankl, and we must
and meaning. find it for ourselves. We find it
through living, and specifically
2007 US psychologist through love, creating things, and
Dan Gilbert explains that the way we choose to see things. ■
people are unhappy because
of the way they think See also: Rollo May 141 ■ Boris Cyrulnik 152–53 ■
about happiness. Martin Seligman 200–01

PSYCHOTHERAPY 141
ONE DOES NOT

BECOME FULLY
HUMAN PAINLESSLY
ROLLO MAY (1909–1994)
I
n the mid-19th century, enjoy our familiar environments,
IN CONTEXT philosophers such as Martin and favor experiences that keep
Heidegger, Frederick Nietzsche, the mental and physical senses
APPROACH
and Søren Kierkegaard challenged in a state of balance and ease.
Existential psychotherapy
social dogma and demanded that This tendency, however, leads
BEFORE people expand their ways of us to judge and label experiences
1841 Søren Kierkegaard thinking to incorporate a fuller as “good” or “bad,” depending
claims that people misinterpret understanding of human experience, only on the levels of pleasure or
Christian ideology and misuse in a movement now known as discomfort they may bring. May
science to falsely defend existentialism. The notions of free says that in doing so, we do
against the anxiety inherent will, personal responsibility, and how ourselves a disservice, since we
in existence. we interpret our experience were are fighting against processes that
all of interest to the existentialists, lead to immense growth and
1942 Swiss physician Ludwig who wanted to ask what it means, development if we can accept
Binswanger combines fundamentally, for a human to exist. them as a natural part of life.
existential philosophy with Psychologist Rollo May’s The May proposes an approach to
psychotherapy in his Basic Meaning of Anxiety (1950) brought life that echoes Buddhist thought,
Forms and the Realization of this human-centered philosophical where we accept all forms of
Human “Being-in-the-World.” approach into psychology for the first experience equally, rather than
time, and May is often referred to as shunning or denying those we
1942 Carl Rogers, a pioneer the father of existential psychology. judge to be uncomfortable or
of humanistic psychology, unpleasant. We also need to accept
publishes Counseling and An existential approach our “negative” feelings, rather than
Psychotherapy. May viewed life as a spectrum avoid or repress them. Suffering
AFTER of human experience, including and sadness are not pathological
1980 Irvin Yalom discusses in suffering as a normal part of life, issues to be “fixed,” he says; they
Existential Psychotherapy the not as a sign of pathology. It is are natural and essential parts of
four ultimate concerns of life: self-evident that as human beings, living a human life, and are also
we tend to seek experiences that important because they lead
death, freedom, existential
allow us to be comfortable. We to psychological growth. ■
isolation, and meaninglessness.
See also: Søren Kierkegaard 26–27 ■ Alfred Adler 100-01 ■ Carl Rogers 130–37 ■
Abraham Maslow 138–39 ■ Viktor Frankl 140 ■ Boris Cyrulnik 140

IN CONTEXT
RATIONAL BELIEFS APPROACH

Rational Emotive
CREATE HEALTHY
Behavior Therapy
BEFORE
1927 Alfred Adler says that a
EMOTIONAL
person’s behavior springs from
his or her ideas.
CONSEQUENCES
1940s The role of perception
in creating reality is
popularized by the Gestalt
Therapy movement.
ALBERT ELLIS (1913–2007) 1950 Karen Horney suggests
we escape from the “tyranny
of the shoulds.”
AFTER
1960s Aaron Beck says that
depression is a result of
unrealistic negative views
about the world.
1980 American psychiatrist
David Burns gives labels to
cognitive distortions such as:
Jumping to Conclusions,
All or Nothing Thinking,
Always Being Right, Over
Generalizing, and
Catastrophizing.
E
pictetus, an ancient Greek
philosopher, proclaimed in
80 CE, that “men are
disturbed not by events, but by the
views which they take of them.”
This principle is the foundation of
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
(REBT), devised by Dr. Albert Ellis
in 1955, which asserts that
experiences do not cause any
specific emotional reaction; instead
it is the individual’s belief system
that produces the reaction.
Practicing as a psychoanalyst in
the 1940s and 50s, Ellis began to
realize that while many of his
patients gained an insight into
PSYCHOTHERAPY 143
See also: Alfred Adler 100–101 ■ Karen Horney 110 ■ Erich Fromm 124–29 ■ Carl Rogers 130–137 ■ Aaron Beck 174–177 ■
When negative things happen,

we can…
…react “automatically” and irrationally… …take time to consider a response…
…which reinforces habitual ways …and think about new, rational ways
of thinking that may be to respond that may be useful
unhelpful and not beneficial to us. and beneficial to us.
We become even more convinced that We realize that our negative opinions
our poor opinions of ourselves are unjustified and the world holds
and the world are justified. infinite possibilities for us.
themselves and their childhood, especially negative ones, about This is not to say one turns a blind
their symptoms unfortunately events. For example, if a man who eye to negative factors in favor of
remained. It seemed that when one is an irrational thinker loses his job, naïve, positive beliefs—rational
problem was resolved, the patient to him it is not merely unfortunate, thinking does acknowledge
would put another in its place. but awful. He believes that he is reasonable feelings of sorrow, guilt,
The issue, Ellis decided, lay in the worthless because he was fired, and frustration. The rational thinker
way the person was thinking (their and that he will never find another may lose her job; it may have even
cognition), and it required more job. Ellis describes irrational been her fault that she lost the job,
than insight to change it. beliefs as illogical, extreme, but she knows she is not worthless.
damaging, and self-sabotaging She may be upset with herself, but
Irrational thinking because they cause unhealthy she knows that rationally there is
Ellis began to describe his way emotional consequences. the possibility of another job.
of working as Rational Therapy Rational thinking creates the Rational thinking is balanced and
because he believed that the opposite effect. Ellis defines always allows room for optimism
majority of long-standing emotional rational thinking as helpful to the and possibilities; it creates healthy
problems are almost always due to self. It is based on tolerance and emotional consequences.
irrational thinking. One of the most the ability to bear distress without Ellis’s notion of irrational
common ways in which irrationality assuming catastrophic negative thinking is influenced by Karen
occurs, he says, is the tendency to conclusions, and is rooted in a Horney’s idea of the “tyranny of
draw extreme conclusions, belief in positive human potential. the shoulds”—a preoccupation ❯❯
144 ALBERT ELLIS

reaction becomes inextricably
linked to the event itself. However,
Ellis aimed to teach people to
recognize how an event may
contribute to a feeling, but it does
not directly cause that feeling. Our
People and things do
emotional response depends on
not upset us. Rather, we the meaning we put on what took
upset ourselves by place, which in turn is governed
believing that they by rational or irrational thinking.
can upset us. As the name implies, Rational
Albert Ellis Emotive Behavior Therapy
examines both the emotional
If someone has been unlucky
response (a cognitive process) and in love they may feel sad and rejected.
the behavior. The links between However, there is a difference between
these two flow in both directions: feeling these emotions and allowing
it is possible to change your them to become a belief system.
thinking through changing your
with the idea that something behavior, and to change your to irrational responses. This
should (magically) be different from behavior through changing your process is known as “disputing.”
how it is. The struggle to reconcile thinking. Ellis suggests that the For instance, some people hold the
these thoughts with reality is a way to change one’s thinking belief that “I am the only really
painful and unending one. Rational involves being able to recognize dependable person I know” or “I am
thinking, on the other hand, focuses and then dispute irrational destined to be always alone in this
on acceptance; it maintains the beliefs, challenging them with world.” In therapy, the individual is
balanced sense that sometimes rational thoughts. encouraged to search their personal
things happen that we would prefer history to find rationalizations for
not to, but they are a part of life. Challenging beliefs these belief systems. Someone who
During REBT, an individual is has been through the break-up of
Conditioned response asked to consider whether they several relationships may have the
We become so used to our responses have several overriding beliefs delusion that it is their “destiny to
to people and events that they about themselves and their be alone” or that they are somehow
appear to be almost automatic; our position in life as these contribute “unlovable.” REBT encourages
Albert Ellis Albert Ellis was born in Pittsburgh, considered to have led the shift
Pennsylvania. His father was toward cognitive behavioral
often away on business and his therapy. He is recognized as
mother suffered from bipolar one of the most influential
disease; Ellis frequently took psychologists in the US. He
care of his three younger siblings. wrote more than 70 books,
Ellis began a career in business continuing to write and teach
and then became an author, until his death at the age of 93.
before his writing on sexuality
led him to start studying clinical Key works
psychology at Columbia University
in 1942. Initially, Ellis practiced 1957 How to Live with a
psychoanalysis and was influenced Neurotic
by Sigmund Freud, Albert Adler, 1961 A Guide to Rational Living
and Erich Fromm. However, his 1962 Reason and Emotion in
Rational Therapy broke away from Psychotherapy
psychoanalytic theory and is 1998 Optimal Aging
PSYCHOTHERAPY 145
people to allow for the pain of loss choose healthier pathways; and
or loneliness, and to logically how to internalize and habituate
evaluate factors that led to the loss; new, more beneficial beliefs. In
but discourages the practice of so doing, the therapist becomes
believing that one or two instances obsolete—once the client grasps
mean that something will always the idea of becoming self-aware
The best years of your life are
happen, and therefore being happy in decision-making, and choosing
is impossible. deliberately (and often differently),
the ones in which you decide
One of the difficulties inherent the therapist is no longer needed.
your problems are your own…
in irrational thinking is that it tends You realize that you control
to perpetuate itself, because in An active therapy your own destiny.
thinking, for instance, “nothing Albert Ellis’s theories challenged Albert Ellis
good ever happens to me,” there the slow-moving methodology of
is little or no motivation to seek psychoanalysis and created the
opportunities where good things first form of cognitive behavioral
might happen. The irrational therapy, an approach that is popular
thinker sees the possibilities of today. He was an active and
having a good experience as so directive therapist and in place of
unlikely that he gives up searching long-term, passive psychoanalysis, action, action,” he said. REBT
for them. It also makes him blind he put the work and power squarely became one of the most popular
to the good things that do happen. in the hands of the client—an therapies of the 1970s and 80s, and
Many people express the self- approach that prefigured Carl was highly influential on the work
perpetuating belief: “Yes, I have Rogers. He also emphasized that of Aaron Beck, who described Ellis
tried, and I know that good things theorizing was not enough—“you as an “explorer, revolutionary,
never happen,” which rationalizes have to back it up with action, therapist, theorist, and teacher.” ■
and reinforces their belief system.
Irrational thinking is “black and
REBT identifies the Adversity: An event that
white;” it stops an individual from patterns of irrational may cause mental distress.
recognizing the full spectrum of thinking that lead to
possible experiences. If a faulty unhealthy and entrenched
belief system leads us to always beliefs, and describes I’ve lost my job!
interpret situations negatively, how to challenge them.
then it prevents the possibility
of alternate positive experiences. Beliefs: The initial
Though it often appears that “seeing (irrational) thoughts Consequences: The feelings
is believing,” the reality is that about the event. caused by these beliefs.
what we believe is what we see.
I’m worthless. I’m depressed
Constructivist theory I’ll never get and anxious.
REBT is a constructivist theory, another job!
suggesting that although our
preferences are influenced by
our upbringing and culture, we
construct our own beliefs and Disputation: Taking Effect: Revised and rational
reality. As a therapy, it attempts a rational look at beliefs. beliefs about the event.
to reveal people’s inflexible and
absolutist thoughts, feelings, and I’ll be able to get
actions; and helps them see how Hang on, I’m looking
at this all wrong! another job—it’s not
they are choosing to “disturb that bad.
themselves,” as Ellis puts it. It
suggests how to think of and
146
THE FAMILY
IS THE “FACTORY”
WHERE PEOPLE
ARE MADE
VIRGINIA SATIR (1916–1988)
T
he role that a person
IN CONTEXT assumes in their “family
We learn to react in of origin” (the family they
APPROACH
certain ways to the grew up in) tends to be the seed
Family therapy
members of our family. from which the adult will grow.
BEFORE American psychologist Virginia
1942 Carl Rogers publishes Satir recognized the importance
Counseling and Psychotherapy, that the original family plays in
emphasizing the role of respect shaping personality, and looked
and a nonjudgmental approach at differences between a healthy,
in mental health treatment. functioning family and one that
These reactions shape was dysfunctional. She was
AFTER a role that we adopt, especially interested in the roles
1953 US psychiatrist Harry especially when under stress. that people tend to adopt in order
Stack Sullivan publishes to compensate when healthy
The Interpersonal Theory dynamics are lacking between
of Psychiatry, which states family members.
that people are products A healthy family life involves
of their environment. open and reciprocated displays
of affection, and expressions of
1965 Argentinian-born This role may positive regard and love for one
psychiatrist Salvador overwhelm our authentic another. More than any previous
Minuchin brings family self and be taken with us therapist, Satir emphasized the
therapy to prominence at into adulthood. power that compassionate,
the Philadelphia Child nurturing relationships have in
Guidance Clinic. developing well-adjusted psyches.
1980 Italian psychiatrist Mara
Selvini Palazzoli and her Role playing
When family members lack the
colleagues publish articles
The family is the ability to openly express emotion
about their “Milan systems”
“factory” where and affection, Satir suggested that
approach to family therapy.
people are made. personality “roles” tend to emerge
in place of authentic identities. She
noted five commonly played roles
PSYCHOTHERAPY 147
See also: Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ Lev Vygotsky 270 ■ Bruno Bettelheim 271
The Five Family Roles
Five distinct
personality roles,
according to Satir,
are commonly
played out by
individual family
members in order
to cover up difficult
emotional issues.
Distractor Computer Leveler Blamer Placator
that individual family members are believed that in order to cast aside
likely to adopt, especially in times these false identities, whether as Virginia Satir
of stress. These are: the family children or as adults, we must
member who constantly finds accept self-worth as a birthright. Virginia Satir was born on
fault and criticizes (“the blamer”); Only then will it be possible to start a farm in Wisconsin and
the non-affectionate intellectual moving toward a truly fulfilling is said to have decided she
(“the computer”); the person who existence. This begins with a wanted to be a “detective of
stirs things up in order to shift the commitment to straightforward, people’s parents” at the age
of six. Losing her hearing for
focus away from emotional issues open, and honest communication.
two years due to an illness
(“the distractor”); the apologetic The need for basic, positive, helped to make her acutely
people-pleaser (“the placator”); emotional connections lies at the observant of nonverbal
and the open, honest, and direct root of Satir’s pioneering work. She communication, and gave her
communicator (“the leveler”). believed that love and acceptance a sensitive insight into human
Only levelers maintain a are the most potent healing forces behavior. Her father was an
healthy, congruent position, with for any dysfunctional family. By alcoholic, and she was well
their inner feelings matching their fostering close, compassionate aware of the dynamics of
communications with the rest of relationships with her patients, caretaking, blaming, and
the family. Others adopt their she mimicked the dynamic she pleasing that went on around
various roles because low self- was encouraging them to adopt. ■ her during her own childhood.
esteem makes them afraid to Satir trained as a teacher,
show or share their true feelings. but her interest in problems of
Placators are afraid of disapproval; self-esteem in children led her
blamers attack others to hide to take a master’s degree in
social work. She set up the first
feelings of unworthiness;
formal family therapy training
computers rely on their intellect program in the US and the
to stop them acknowledging their By knowing how to heal
“Satir Model” is still hugely
feelings; and distracters—often the the family, I know how to influential in personal and
youngest in the family—believe heal the world. organizational psychology.
they will only be loved if they are Virginia Satir
seen as cute and harmless. Key works
These adopted roles may allow
the family to function, but they can 1964 Conjoint Family Therapy
overwhelm each individual’s ability 1972 Peoplemaking
to be his or her authentic self. Satir
148
TURN ON,
TUNE IN,
DROP OUT
TIMOTHY LEARY (1920–1996)
T
imothy Leary was an thought we should do is “Drop Out,”
IN CONTEXT American psychologist by which he meant that we should
who became an iconic detach ourselves from artificial
APPROACH
figure of the 1960s counterculture, attachments and become self-reliant
Experimental psychology
coining possibly the most widely in thought and deed. Unfortunately,
BEFORE used catchphrase linked with that “Drop Out” has been misinterpreted
1890s William James says era: “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.” as urging people to halt productivity,
that the self has four layers: However, the order in which which was never his intention.
the biological, the material, Leary wished us to do these three Next, Leary tells us to “Turn
the social, and the spiritual. things is slightly different. He felt On,” or delve into our unconscious,
that society was polluted by politics, and “find a sacrament which
1956 Abraham Maslow and made up of sterile, generic returns you to the temple of God,
stresses the importance of communities that do not allow the your own body.” This is a command
“peak experiences” in the depth of meaning needed by true to explore deeper layers of reality, as
route to self-actualization. individuals. The first thing he well as the many levels of experience
and consciousness. Drugs were one
AFTER way to do this, and Leary, a Harvard
1960s British psychiatrist professor, began experimenting
Humphry Osmond coins the with the hallucinogenic drug LSD.
term “psychedelic” to describe To “Tune In,” Leary asks us to
the emotional effects of the return to society with a new vision,
drugs LSD and mescaline. seeking fresh patterns of behavior
1962 In his “Good Friday that reflect our transformation, and
Experiment,” US psychiatrist to teach others our newfound ways. ■
and theologian Walter Pahnke
tests if psychedelic drugs can The psychedelic movement of the
deepen religious experience. 1960s was heavily influenced by Leary’s
call to create a better, more satisfying
1972 US psychologist Robert society by exploring the unconscious to
E. Ornstein argues in The uncover our true emotions and needs.
Psychology of Consciousness
that only personal experience See also: William James 38–45 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39
can unlock the unconscious.
PSYCHOTHERAPY 149
INSIGHT MAY
CAUSE BLINDNESS
PAUL WATZLAWICK (1921–2007)
P
sychotherapy often relies of cause and effect. Watzlawick
IN CONTEXT heavily on patients gaining was drawn to the idea of circular
an understanding of causality of human behavior, which
APPROACH
themselves, their history, and their shows people tend to return to the
Brief therapy
behavior. This is based on the same actions again and again.
BEFORE belief that to counter emotional pain Insight, Watzlawick suggested,
1880s Psychodynamic and change behavior, we need to may even cause blindness, both to
therapy, also known as insight- understand where our emotional the real problem and its potential
oriented therapy, emerges. patterns are rooted. Austrian- solution. He supported the brief
It focuses on unconscious American psychologist Paul therapy approach, which targets
processes as manifested in Watzlawick described this process and tackles specific problems more
a person’s present behavior. as “insight.” For example, a man directly in order to achieve quicker
who grieves for an abnormally long results. But he also felt that for any
1938 B.F. Skinner introduces time after his partner leaves him therapy to succeed, it must offer the
“radical” behaviorism, which might come to realize that he has patient a supportive relationship. ■
does not accept that thinking, deep issues with abandonment,
perception, or any other kind because his mother left him when
of unobservable emotional he was a child. But a number of
activity can trigger a particular therapists have concluded that
pattern of behavior. insight may be unnecessary to
counter emotional pain, and some,
AFTER including Watzlawick, have claimed Anybody can be happy, but
1958 American psychiatrist that it can make a patient worse. to make oneself unhappy
Leopold Bellak sets up a brief Watzlawick famously stated he needs to be learned.
therapy clinic, where therapy could not think of a single case in Paul Watzlawick
is limited to a maximum of which someone changed as a result
five sessions. of a deepening understanding of self.
1974 US psychotherapist The belief that understanding past
events helps to shed light on present
Jay Haley publishes
problems is based on a “linear” view
Uncommon Therapy,
describing Milton Erickson’s See also: B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■ Elizabeth Loftus 202–07 ■ Milton Erickson 336
brief therapy techniques.
150
MADNESS NEED NOT

BE ALL BREAKDOWN
IT MAY ALSO BE
BREAK-THROUGH
R.D. LAING (1927–1989)
IN CONTEXT
Mental illness is not
biological; it is developed Psychosis is a valid
APPROACH and understandable
Anti-psychiatry through difficult
social interactions. expression of distress.
BEFORE
1908 Swiss psychiatrist
Eugen Bleuler coins the term
“schizophrenia” to refer to the
splitting of mental functions.
1911 Sigmund Freud proposes Psychiatry wrongly
Mental illness should be
that schizophrenia is purely stigmatizes mental illness
valued as a cathartic and
because it does not
psychological, though it transformative experience.
conform to social norms.
cannot be treated with
psychoanalysis.
1943 French philosopher
Jean-Paul Sartre introduces Madness need not be all
the distinction between the breakdown. It may also be
true self and the false self. break-through.
1956 Gregory Bateson, British
social scientist, defines a
A
“double bind” as an emotionally t the end of the 19th in dire circumstances. It was from
distressing dilemma in which century, the notion that this context that R.D. Laing emerged
all the potential resolutions mental illness was as the preeminent icon of a new
lead to negative consequences. different in degree—rather than cultural trend.
in kind—from the psychological
AFTER suffering of normal people began Biology and behavior
1978 CT brain scans reveal to gain acceptance. Sigmund Freud Like Freud, Laing challenged the
physical differences between suggested that neurosis and fundamental values of psychiatry,
chronic schizophrenics and normality are part of the same rejecting its focus on mental illness
non-schizophrenics. scale, and that anyone is capable of as a biological phenomenon and
succumbing to mental disturbance highlighting the significance of the
PSYCHOTHERAPY 151
See also: Emil Kraepelin 31 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ David Rosenhan 328–29
social, cultural, and familial also hinder the ability to think, and
influences that shape personal as a result interfere with the natural
experience. Although he never process of true recovery.
denied the grim reality of mental
illness, his views were in stark Approach to schizophrenia
contrast to the accepted medical Laing’s main work centers on the
basis and practice of psychiatry. understanding and treatment of
Laing’s work calls into question schizophrenia—a serious mental
the validity of psychiatric diagnosis disorder characterized by severe
on the grounds that the accepted disruptions in psychological
process of diagnosing mental functioning—and on explaining it R.D. Laing
disorders does not follow the to ordinary people. Schizophrenia,
traditional medical model. Doctors he says, is not inherited, but is Ronald David Laing was born
perform examinations and tests to an understandable reaction to in Glasgow, Scotland. After
studying medicine at Glasgow
diagnose physical illness, whereas unlivable situations. He applies
University, he became a
psychiatric diagnosis is based on social scientist Gregory Bateson’s psychiatrist in the British
behavior. According to Laing, there theory of the “double bind,” in Army, developing an interest
is also an inherent problem in which a person is put into situations in working with the mentally
diagnosing mental illness based on where he or she faces conflicting distressed. He later trained at
conduct, but treating it biologically expectations, and every action the Tavistock Clinic, London,
with drugs. If a diagnosis is based leads to negative consequences, England. In 1965, Laing and a
on behavior, then so too should be resulting in extreme mental distress. group of colleagues created the
the treatment. He argues that drugs Philadelphia Association and
Illness as breakthrough started a radical psychiatric
Laing was revolutionary in viewing project at Kingsley Hall,
the abnormal behavior and London, where patients and
confused speech of schizophrenics therapists lived together.
as valid expressions of distress. For Laing’s erratic behavior
and spiritual preoccupations
him, psychotic episodes represent
in later life led to a decline in
attempts to communicate concerns,
his reputation. As he was
and should be seen as cathartic unable to develop a workable
and transformative experiences alternative to conventional
that could lead to important medical treatment, his ideas
personal insights. Laing accepts are not generally accepted by
that these expressions are difficult the psychiatric establishment.
to comprehend, but he explains Yet his contributions to the
that this is merely because they anti-psychiatry movement,
are wrapped in the language of particularly in family therapy,
personal symbolism, which is only have had a lasting impact. He
meaningful from within. Laing’s died of a heart attack in 1989.
drug-free psychotherapy tries
to make sense of a patient’s Key works
symbolism by listening in an
1960 The Divided Self
attentive and empathetic spirit.
Shakespeare’s King Lear is an 1961 The Self and Others
iconic example of a man driven mad This is based on the belief that 1964 Sanity, Madness and
by difficult circumstances. In Laing’s people are healthy in their natural the Family
view, Lear’s madness is an attempt to state, and that so-called mental 1967 The Politics of Experience
return to his natural, healthy, state. illness is an attempt to return to it. ■
152
OUR HISTORY
DOES NOT DETERMINE
OUR DESTINY
BORIS CYRULNIK (1937– )
IN CONTEXT
APPROACH You can feel ...and
Positive psychology crushed and continue to
inadequate... suffer.
BEFORE
1920s Freud says that early Bad things
trauma negatively impacts happen.
an infant’s brain and can
override any genetic, social, or
psychological resilience factor. You can ...and move
accept the forward with
1955–95 A longitudinal study challenge... your life.
by psychologist Emmy Werner
following traumatized children
into adulthood suggests that
one-third of the population
W
tends toward resilience. hen tragedy strikes, unable to cope, somehow they
some people are are able to deal with painful
1988 John Bowlby asks for
devastated. Unable to circumstances and move on.
a study of resilience.
summon their coping mechanisms, Boris Cyrulnik is interested
AFTER they fall into deep depression or in this difference of reaction. To
2007 The UK government despondency, sometimes losing find out why some people are so
starts the UK Resilience hope and even the will to carry deeply affected, while others are
Programme in schools. on. They may become entirely seemingly able to “bounce back,”
preoccupied with the disaster he has devoted his career to the
2012 The American and suffer nightmares, flashbacks, study of psychological resilience.
Psychological Association and anxiety attacks. Other people, Resilience is not a quality
forms a task force on however, react differently. They inherent within a person, Cyrulnik
psychological resilience. seem to manage not only the normal found, but one that builds through a
ups and downs of their lives, but natural process. He says that “alone,
also potentially overwhelming a child has no resilience… it is an
losses and traumas. Instead interaction, a relationship.” We build
of becoming depressed and resilience from developing
PSYCHOTHERAPY 153
See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ John Bowlby 274–77 ■ Charlotte
Bühler 336 ■ George Kelly 337 ■ Jerome Kagan 339
After disasters such as tsunamis

psychologists have witnessed the
formation of resilient communities,
characterized by the residents’
determination to overcome adversity.
has happened, to find strength in

the experience instead of letting it
defeat them, and to use the strength
to move defiantly forward. Given
the right support, children are Boris Cyrulnik
especially capable of complete
recovery from trauma. Cyrulnik has Boris Cyrulnik was born to
shown that the human brain is Jewish parents in Bordeaux,
France, shortly before the
relationships. We are constantly malleable and will recover if
outbreak of World War II. In
“knitting” ourselves from people allowed. The brain of a traumatized 1944, when the Vichy regime
and situations that we encounter, child shows shrinkage of the controlled unoccupied southern
through the words we exchange ventricles and cortex, but where the France by arrangement with
and the feelings that arise. We child is well supported and loved Germany, his home was raided
might feel that if one “stitch” is after the trauma, brain scans have and his parents were taken to
dropped, our lives will unravel. In shown the brain to be capable of Auschwitz concentration
fact, “if just one stitch holds, we returning to normal within a year. camp. His parents had placed
can start all over again.” Cyrulnik stresses the importance him with a foster family for
Positive emotions and humor are of not labeling children who have safety, but within days they
key factors in resilience. Cyrulnik’s suffered a trauma, thereby sidelining turned him over to the
research has shown that people who them to a seemingly hopeless future. authorities for a small reward.
are better able to cope with life’s Trauma consists of the injury and He escaped while awaiting
difficulties or traumas are able to the representation of that injury. transfer to a concentration
camp and worked on farms
find meaning in hardship, seeing it Enduring humiliating adult
until the age of ten, when he
as a useful and enlightening interpretations of events can be the
was taken into care. He grew
experience, and even to find ways most traumatic experience. Labels, up in France, without any
to laugh. Resilient people always he says, can be more damaging and relatives. Largely self-taught,
remain able to see how things may damning than the experience. ■ Cyrulnik eventually studied
turn out for the better in future, even medicine at the University of
if the present is painful. Paris. Realizing he wanted to
reevaluate his own life, he
Meeting the challenge began to study psychoanalysis
It had previously been thought that and later neuropsychiatry.
people who show more resilience He has devoted his career
are less emotional in general, but Resilience is a person’s to working with traumatized
Cyrulnik believed that the pain is ability to grow in the face children.
no less for resilient people than it is of terrible problems.
for others; it is a matter of how they Boris Cyrulnik Key works
choose to use it. The pain may
1992 The Dawn of Meaning
continue, even over a whole lifetime, 2004 The Whispering
but for these people it raises a of Ghosts
challenge that they decide to meet. 2009 Resilience
The challenge is to overcome what
154
ONLY GOOD
PEOPLE GET
DEPRESSED
DOROTHY ROWE (1930– )
I
f people could stop blaming the idea of a Just World and think
IN CONTEXT themselves for things that more rationally about negative
have happened in their lives, experiences. We might suffer from
APPROACH
the rate of depression would bad parenting, job loss, or even a
Personal construct theory
decrease dramatically. This premise devastating tornado, but these
BEFORE is the foundation of Dorothy Rowe’s things did not happen because we
1940s Gestalt therapy is success in treating the problem. are doomed to misfortune, nor do
founded, introducing the We are generally brought up to we deserve to be treated badly.
notion that perception believe that the world is a fair and To recover from these setbacks,
influences meaning. rational place; that if we are good, we need to stop personalizing
good things will happen to us. But events, start externalizing them,
1955 George Kelly publishes if things go well when we are good, and realize that sometimes bad
The Psychology of Personal what does that say about us when things just happen. ■
Constructs, outlining the things go wrong? Our belief in a
theory that everyone has a set “Just World”—where the good are
of constructs (beliefs) about rewarded and the bad punished—
the world and the people in it. makes us blame ourselves for the
bad things that happen to us.
1960 Psychologist and When we are wronged or hurt in
statistician Max Hamilton some way, there is a tendency to ask, To turn natural
constructs the Hamilton “Why did this happen to me?” People sadness into depression,
Depression Rating Scale look back to see what they did to all you have to do is blame
(HAM-D), a tool used to cause the situation, even in the case yourself for the disaster
measure clinical depression. of a natural disaster. Self-blame, guilt, that has befallen you.
AFTER helplessness, and shame irrationally Dorothy Rowe
arise when bad things happen, and
1980 Psychologist Melvin
these can lead to depression.
Lerner publishes The Belief in
Rowe explained that we create
a Just World: A Fundamental
and choose our beliefs. Once we
Delusion, explaining how we understand this, we can let go of
wrongly believe that people
get what they deserve. See also: Fritz Perls 112–17 ■ Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ Albert Ellis 142–45 ■
Melvin Lerner 242–43 ■ George Kelly 337

PSYCHOTHERAPY 155
FATHERS ARE
SUBJECT TO A
RULE OF SILENCE
GUY CORNEAU (1951– )
B
efore French-Canadian
IN CONTEXT analyst Guy Corneau
published Absent Fathers,
APPROACH
Lost Sons in 1991, psychology had
Masculine psychology
given little attention to emotional
BEFORE communication between men.
1900s Freudian analysts Corneau’s book examined the
describe the Oedipus complex, difficulties of intimate conversations
which states that sons feel between the male generations. He
naturally competitive with recounts his attempts to make an Communication between fathers and
emotional connection with his sons is often characterized by silences.
their father. While sons long for recognition and
own father: reaching out, seeking
1950s French psychoanalyst approval from their fathers, fathers are
approval, but receiving only silence.
reluctant to give this approval freely.
Jacques Lacan argues that
the son sees the father as Withholding approval
embodying the law. Corneau recognizes that this compromising his own power,
sequence of events is a familiar making it less valuable. From the
AFTER pattern in men, who are often son’s point of view, if approval is
1991 In Iron John: A Book unable to shower their sons with given too easily, without some
About Men, American author the praise, affection, or recognition degree of withholding, the father is
Robert Bly says that fathers craved by their offspring. When the then no longer worthy of impressing.
fail to give their sons what son experiences this silence, he It appears that in most forms of
they need to become men, may try harder to impress, or he society there is a belief that men
and suggests that they might withdraw, but the silence cannot be both strong and open.
need to reawaken the remains irrevocably imprinted in Corneau says that this behavior
“Wild Man” within. his mind, according to Corneau. does a disservice to men. They are
The phenomenon may stem from denied the opportunity to express
1990s American writers
a competitive interplay of male affection toward their sons—and
Douglas Gillette and Robert egos; a man who showers his son the sons are forced to go without
L. Moore publish five books with praise would somehow be that affection. ■
exploring Jungian archetypes
and the male psyche. See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Carl Jung 102–07 ■ Jacques Lacan 122–23
COGNITIV
PSYCHO
THE CALCULATING
L
BRAIN
E
OGY
158 INTRODUCTION
Jerome Bruner and Cecile Alan Turing publishes

Goodman publish Value Computing Machinery
Hermann Ebbinghaus’s and Need as Organizing and Intelligence, in which Leon Festinger’s A
“nonsense syllables” Factors in Perception, he describes the human Theory of Cognitive
experiments show a arguing that motivated brain as an “organized Dissonance suggests
method for studying reasoning affects machine” that learns there is a human drive for
cognitive processes. perception. through experience. consistency of beliefs.
1885 1947 1950 1957
1932 1949 1956 1958
Frederic Bartlett studies Donald Hebb explains George Armitage Donald Broadbent
reconstructive learning in terms of Miller argues that the publishes Perception and
memory in The War of connections between human brain can only Communication,
the Ghosts. stimuli and neurons. hold seven chunks introducing the
of information information-processing
at once. model of cognition.
T
he first half of the 20th psychology—a German school of to work from. At the same time,
century was dominated by thought that concentrated on advances in neuroscience led to a
two strands of thinking in perception and perceptual greater understanding of the
psychology: behaviorism (which organization—and was also a functions of the brain and nervous
concentrated on learning theory) precursor of cognitive psychology. system. This allowed psychologists,
and psychoanalysis (which focused notably Donald Hebb, to examine
on the unconscious and development The cognitive revolution mental processes directly, rather
in early childhood). The mental What eventually swung the balance than merely inferring them from
processes that had preoccupied from interest in behavior to the observations of behavior.
psychologists in the previous study of mental processes came from One of the first to apply the
century, such as perception, outside psychology. Improvements information-processing analogy to
consciousness, and memory, in communications and computer psychology was a student of Frederic
were largely neglected. technology, and possibilities opened Bartlett’s at Cambridge, Donald
There were inevitably some up by artificial intelligence—then Broadbent, who had been inspired
exceptions. Psychologists Frederic a growing field thanks to advances by the work of computer scientist
Bartlett of the UK and Bluma made during World War II—led to Alan Turing and communications
Zeigarnik of Russia were both a new way of thinking about the expert Colin Cherry in the 1940s
studying the process of memory in brain: as an information processor. and 50s. But the turning point came
the 1920s and 30s, anticipating the The mental processes, referred to in the US, where behaviorism
work of later cognitive psychologists. as “cognitive processes” or began to be criticized for its
In Germany, Wolfgang Köhler’s “cognition,” which behaviorism limitations, leading to a so-called
work on problem-solving and would not or could not examine, “cognitive revolution” in the late
decision-making drew on Gestalt now had a model for psychologists 1950s. In the vanguard of this
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 159
Endel Tulving Aaron Beck outlines Gordon H. Bower Elizabeth Loftus’s book
produces a series cognitive behavior reports experiments Eyewitness Testimony
of seminal papers therapy (CBT) in that suggest memory exposes the fallibility
on memory and Depression: Causes retrieval is of eyewitness
retrieval processes. and Treatment. mood-dependent. memory as evidence.
1960S 1967 1978 1996
1967 1971 1992 2001
Ulric Neisser coins Roger Shepard and In Facial Expressions of In The Seven Sins
the term “cognitive Jacqueline Metzler Emotion, Paul Ekman of Memory, Daniel
psychology” in his publish research suggests that certain facial Schacter details
book of the same title. showing that people are expressions are universal ways our
able to mentally rotate a and therefore biological. memories can
3-D object. be erroneous.
dramatic shift of approach were the Loftus, Daniel Schacter, and behavioral therapy and meditation
Americans George Armitage Miller Gordon H. Bower. There was also a techniques, soon became standard
and Jerome Bruner, who in 1960 reappraisal of Gestalt psychology: treatment for disorders such as
co-founded the Center for Cognitive Roger Shepard reexamined ideas of depression and anxiety, and led to
Studies at Harvard University. perception, and Wolfgang Köhler’s a movement of positive psychology
work on problem-solving and advocating mental wellbeing rather
A new direction decision-making resurfaced in the than just treating mental illness.
Miller and Bruner’s ground-breaking theories of Daniel Kahneman and At the beginning of the 21st
work led to a fundamental change Amos Tversky. And, perhaps for the century, cognitive psychology is
of direction in psychology. Areas first time, cognitive psychologists, still the dominant approach to the
that had been neglected by including Bower and Paul Ekman, subject, and has had an effect on
behaviorists, such as memory, made a scientific study of emotion. neuroscience, education, and
perception, and emotions, became But it wasn’t only the theories of economics. It has even influenced
the central focus. While Bruner behaviorists that were overturned; the nature–nurture debate; in the
incorporated the concepts of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and light of recent discoveries in
cognition into existing theories its followers were also criticized for genetics and neuroscience,
of learning and developmental being unscientific. Aaron Beck evolutionary psychologists such
psychology, Miller’s application of found that cognitive psychology as Steven Pinker have argued
the information-processing model could provide a more effective that our thoughts and actions are
to memory opened up the field, therapy—and that it was more determined by the make-up of our
making memory an important area amenable to objective scrutiny. The brains, and that they are like other
of study for cognitive psychologists, cognitive therapy he advocated, inherited characteristics: subject
including Endel Tulving, Elizabeth later incorporating elements of to the laws of natural selection. ■
160
INSTINCT IS
A DYNAMIC
PATTERN
WOLFGANG KOHLER (1887–1967)
IN CONTEXT
If a chimp tries to solve …it pauses and
APPROACH considers the problem,
a problem using trial and
Gestalt psychology error, but fails… taking into account
everything around it…
BEFORE
1890 Austrian philosopher
Christian von Ehrenfels
introduces the concept
of Gestalt in his book, It then applies this solution … until it reaches an
On the Qualities of Form. to similar problems insight that leads
in the future. to a solution.
1912 Max Wertheimer
publishes Experimental
Studies of the Perception
of Movement, a landmark
in Gestalt psychology. This pattern of insight-
learning is active, Instinct is a
AFTER dynamic pattern.
1920s Edward Tolman brings not passive.
together ideas from Gestalt
and behaviorist psychology in
his purposive behaviorism
I
n the late 19th century, a group Gestalt psychology (not to be
(now cognitive behaviorism). of German psychologists who confused with Gestalt therapy,
1935 Psychology of disagreed with the prevailing a much later development) took
Productive Thinking by Karl schools of thought developed a new, as its starting point the idea that
Duncker—a German Gestalt scientific, and distinctly holistic concepts such as perception,
approach, which they called Gestalt. learning, and cognition should be
psychologist—describes
Wolfgang Köhler, who founded the considered as wholes, not studied
experiments in problem-
new movement along with Max by investigating their various parts.
solving and mental
Wertheimer and Kurt Koffka, Köhler thought the dominant
restructuring. explained that the word means branch of psychology, behaviorism,
both “pattern” and, when applied to was too simplistic and overlooked
their theory, “organized whole.” the dynamic nature of perception.

See also: Ivan Pavlov 60–61 ■ Edward Thorndike 62–65 ■ Edward
Tolman 72–73 ■ Max Wertheimer 335
behavior showed a cognitive trial-

and-error process rather than an
actual one; they were solving the
problem in their minds first, and
only after an insight (the “aha”
moment) tried out their solution.
This is contrary to the behaviorist
view that learning is conditioned
by response to a stimulus, and
reinforced by reward. The chimps
learned by perceiving the problem, Wolfgang Köhler
Köhler studied chimpanzees solving not by receiving rewards.
task-related problems. He realized they This was a demonstration Wolfgang Köhler was born in
could actively perceive several possible of Köhler’s dynamic model of Estonia, but his family returned
solutions before finding the answer to their native Germany soon
behavior, involving organization
through a moment of insight. after his birth. He studied at
within perception, rather than various colleges before
passive learning through response completing a PhD in Berlin.
Pavlov and Thorndike claimed that to rewards. The pattern (Gestalt) In 1909, he and Kurt Koffka
animals learn by trial and error of learning by insight—failure, worked with Max Wertheimer
through simple stimulus–response pause, perception, insight, and at the Frankfurt Academy on
conditioning, but Köhler believed attempt—is an active one; but his perception experiments;
they were capable of insight and this is not necessarily apparent to these formed the basis of
intelligence. He was able to put this someone watching the chimps’ Gestalt psychology.
to the test when he became director separate attempts to solve the In 1913, Köhler became
of an anthropoid research center on problem, mainly because it is not director of the Prussian
Tenerife from 1913–20, where he possible to see the organization of Academy of Sciences research
studied chimpanzees tackling a perception in the chimp’s mind. station in Tenerife, where he
number of problem-solving tasks. What we call instinct, the became stranded at the start
of World War I, remaining
apparently automatic response to
there until 1920. On his return
Insightful learning solving a problem, is affected by this
to Berlin, he served as director
What Köhler observed confirmed his process of insight learning, and is of the Psychological Institute
belief, and also demonstrated that itself an active, dynamic pattern. ■ until 1935, when he emigrated
problem-solving and learning could to the US to escape the Nazi
be explained in terms of Gestalt. regime. He taught at several
When faced with a problem, such as US colleges, and was elected
how to reach food in an inaccessible president of the American
place, the chimpanzees were Psychological Association for
frustrated in their initial attempts, 1959. Ulric Neisser described
but would then pause and apparently Insight has the appearance him as “a genuinely creative
take stock of the situation before of a complete solution with thinker as well as a person of
attempting some kind of solution. reference to the whole great dignity and honor.”
This often involved using tools— layout of the field.
such as sticks or crates that were Wolfgang Köhler Key works
lying around in their play area—to
1917 The Mentality of Apes
reach the food. When subsequently 1929 Gestalt Psychology
faced with the same problem, they 1938 The Place of Values in
instantly applied the same solution. a World of Facts
Köhler concluded that the chimps’
162
INTERRUPTION OF A TASK
GREATLY IMPROVES
ITS CHANCES OF
BEING REMEMBERED
BLUMA ZEIGARNIK (1901–1988)
W
hile researching for her experiment in which participants
IN CONTEXT doctorate in Berlin, were given simple puzzles or tasks
Russian psychologist to do. They were interrupted during
APPROACH
Bluma Zeigarnik was told by her about half these tasks. Later, when
Memory studies
professor, Kurt Lewin, that he had asked how well they could remember
BEFORE noticed waiters could recall details the activities, it became clear that
1885 Hermann Ebbinghaus of orders that were still not paid for they were twice as likely to recall
publishes his pioneering book, better than details of orders they details of the interrupted tasks,
Memory: A Contribution to had completed. This led Zeigarnik whether these were ultimately
Experimental Psychology. to wonder whether unfinished tasks completed or not. Zeigarnik
have a different status in memory, reasoned that this could be due to
1890 William James in The and are remembered better, than the task lacking closure, leading
Principles of Psychology makes finished ones. She devised an to the memory being stored
the distinction between differently, and more effectively.
primary (short-term) and This phenomenon, which
secondary (long-term) memory. became known as the “Zeigarnik
effect,” had important implications.
AFTER Zeigarnik proposed that students,
1956 George Armitage Miller’s especially children, retained more
The Magical Number Seven, if they had frequent breaks while
Plus or Minus Two revives studying. But little notice was
interest in the study of memory. taken of her ideas until memory
1966 Jerome Bruner stresses once again became a key subject
the importance of organization for research in the 1950s. Since
and categorization in the then, Zeigarnik’s theory has been
learning process. accepted as a major step in the
The “Zeigarnik effect” can be
demonstrated by the fact that a waiter understanding of memory, and
1972 Endel Tulving is more likely to remember details of has found practical application
distinguishes between an order that has not yet been paid for, not only in education but also in
episodic memory (of specific than one that has been completed. advertising and the media. ■
events) and semantic memory
(of factual information unrelated See also: Hermann Ebbinghaus 48–49 ■ Jerome Bruner 164–65 ■ George
to an event or situation). Armitage Miller 168–73 ■ Endel Tulving 186–91 ■ Daniel Schacter 208–09
WHEN A BABY
HEARS FOOTSTEPS,
AN ASSEMBLY
IS EXCITED
DONALD HEBB (1904–1985)
I
n the 1920s, a number of assemblies and phase sequences
IN CONTEXT psychologists turned to are being formed. In his book, The
neuroscience for answers Organization of Behavior (1949), he
APPROACH
to questions about learning and gave the example of a baby hearing
Neuropsychology
memory. Prominent among these footsteps, which stimulates a
BEFORE was Karl Lashley, who led the way number of neurons in its brain;
1890 William James puts in examining the role played by if the experience is repeated, a
forward a theory about neural neural connections, but it was his cell assembly forms. Subsequently,
networks in the brain. student, the Canadian psychologist “when the baby hears footsteps…
Donald Hebb, who formulated a an assembly is excited; while this
1911 Edward Thorndike’s theory to explain what actually is still active he sees a face and
Law of Effect proposes that happens during the process of feels hands picking him up, which
connections between stimulus associative learning. excites other assemblies—so the
and response are “stamped in,” Hebb argued that nerve cells ‘footsteps assembly’ becomes
creating a neural link, or become associated when they are connected with the ‘face assembly’
association. simultaneously and repeatedly and with the ‘being-picked-up
1917 Wolfgang Köhler’s study active; the synapses, or links, that assembly.’ After this has happened,
connect them become stronger. when the baby hears footsteps only,
of chimps shows that learning
Repeated experiences lead to the all three assemblies are excited.”
by insight is longer-lasting
formation of “cell assemblies,” or In adults, however, learning tends
than learning by trial and error. groups of connected neurons, in the to involve the rearrangement
1929 Karl Lashley publishes brain—a theory often summed up of existing cell assemblies and
Brain Mechanisms and as “cells that fire together, wire phase sequences, rather than the
Intelligence. together.” Similarly, separate cell formation of new ones.
assemblies can also become linked, Hebb’s theory of cell assembly
AFTER forming a “phase sequence,” which was a cornerstone of modern
1970s George Armitage Miller we recognize as a thought process. neuroscience, and his explanation
coins the term “cognitive This associative process, Hebb of neural learning, which became
neuroscience.” found, is especially noticeable in known as Hebbian learning,
childhood learning, when new cell remains the accepted model. ■
1980s Neuroscientists devise
imaging techniques, allowing
See also: Edward Thorndike 62–65 ■ Karl Lashley 76 ■ Wolfgang Köhler 160–61 ■
them to map brain functions. George Armitage Miller 168–73 ■ Daniel Schacter 208–09
164
KNOWING
IS A PROCESS
NOT A PRODUCT
JEROME BRUNER (1915– )
IN CONTEXT
Instructing someone is not
APPROACH We learn things by just telling them something
Cognitive development active experience. but encouraging them
to participate.
BEFORE
1920s Lev Vygotsky develops
his theory that cognitive
development is a both a
We acquire knowledge through the use of reasoning, by
social and a cultural process.
constructing meaning from the information.
1936 Jean Piaget publishes
his developmental theories
in his book, Origins of
Intelligence in the Child. This is a form of information processing.
AFTER
1960s The teaching program
“Man: A Course of Study
(MACOS),” based on Bruner’s Knowing is a process, not a product.
theories, is adopted in
schools in the US, the
UK, and Australia.
T
he field of developmental widened the meaning of the word
1977 Albert Bandura psychology was dominated “experience” to encompass cultural
publishes Social Learning throughout much of the and social experience. Children,
Theory, which looks at 20th century by Jean Piaget, who he said, learn mainly through
development through a explained how a child’s thinking interaction with other people.
mixture of behavioral develops and matures in stages, At this point in the 1960s, the
as a result of a natural curiosity “cognitive revolution” was gaining
and cognitive aspects.
to explore the environment. Lev momentum; mental processes were
Vygotsky’s theory, which appeared increasingly being explained by
in English shortly after Piaget’s, the analogy of the brain as an
also claimed that a child finds “information processor.” Jerome
meaning through experience, but Bruner was a key figure in this new

See also: Jean Piaget 262–69 ■ Lev Vygotsky 270 ■ Albert Bandura 286–91
Ideas are first presented in a

simple and intuitive way.
They are continuously

revisited and
reconstructed in an Jerome Bruner
increasingly formal way...
The son of Polish immigrants
in New York City, Jerome
Seymour Bruner was born
...and are finally blind, but regained his sight
connected to other after cataract operations at
A spiral curriculum would work knowledge for the age of two. His father died
best in schools, Bruner suggested. This comprehensive mastery of cancer when Bruner was 12,
involves a constant revisiting of ideas, and his grief stricken mother
of the subject.
building incrementally until the child
moved the family frequently
reaches a high level of understanding.
during his subsequent school
years. He studied psychology
approach, having previously development, but “to instruct at Duke University, then at
studied the ways that our needs someone... is not a matter of getting Harvard, where he attained a
and motivations influence him to commit results to mind. PhD in 1941 alongside Gordon
perception—and concluding that Rather, it is to teach him to Allport and Karl Lashley.
we see what we need to see. He participate in the process.” When Bruner served in the US
became interested in how cognition we acquire knowledge, we need to army’s Office for Strategic
Studies (an intelligence unit)
develops, and so began to study actively participate and reason,
during World War II, then
cognitive processes in children. rather than passively absorb
returned to Harvard, where he
information, because this is what collaborated with Leo Postman
The mind as processor gives knowledge meaning. In terms and George Armitage Miller. In
Bruner began his investigations of cognitive psychology, reasoning 1960, he cofounded the Center
by applying cognitive models to is seen as “processing information,” for Cognitive Studies with
Piaget and Vygotsky’s ideas, so the acquisition of knowledge Miller at Harvard, remaining
shifting the emphasis in the study should be seen as a process, not until it closed in 1972. He spent
of cognitive development from the a product or end result. We need the next ten years teaching at
construction of meaning to the encouragement and guidance in Oxford University in England,
processing of information: the that process, and for Bruner, that before returning to the US.
means by which we acquire and is the role of a teacher. Bruner continued to teach
store knowledge. Like Piaget, he In The Process of Education into his nineties.
believes that acquiring knowledge (1960), Bruner presented the idea
is an experiential process; but like that children should be active Key works
Vygotsky, sees this as a social participants in the process of
1960 The Process of Education
occupation, not a solitary one. He education. The book became a 1966 Studies in Cognitive
maintains that learning cannot be landmark text, altering educational Growth
conducted unassisted: some form of policy in the US at governmental 1990 Acts of Meaning
instruction is essential to a child’s and schoolteacher level. ■
166
A MAN WITH
CONVICTION
IS A HARD MAN
TO CHANGE
LEON FESTINGER (1919–1989)
IN CONTEXT
If we hold strong beliefs that are undermined
BRANCH by evidence to the contrary…
Cognitive psychology
APPROACH
Learning theory
BEFORE
1933 Gestalt psychologist Kurt …we find ourselves in an uncomfortable state of
“cognitive dissonance.”
Lewin leaves the Berlin School
of Experimental Psychology
and emigrates to the US.
AFTER
1963 Stanley Milgram If we accept the contradiction, this
publishes his experiments on causes further inconsistency between our
willingness to obey authority past and present beliefs.
figures, even when orders
conflict with one’s conscience.
1971 Philip Zimbardo’s
Stanford prison study shows
how people adapt to the roles
they are assigned. So instead we may find ways to make the new
evidence consistent with our beliefs.
1972 US social psychologist
Daryl Bem proposes the
alternative self-perception
theory of attitude change.
1980s Elliot Aronson defends
Festinger’s theory, conducting A man with conviction is a hard man
experiments into initiation rites. to change.

See also: Kurt Lewin 218–23 ■ Solomon Asch 224–27 ■ Elliot Aronson 244–45 ■ Stanley Milgram 246–53 ■
Philip Zimbardo 254–55 ■ Stanley Schachter 338
B
y the end of World War II, “cognitive dissonance.” He reasoned their prediction and consequent
social pscychology had that the only way to overcome this cognitive dissonance would cause
become an important field discomfort is to somehow make the cult members to abandon their
of research, spearheaded in the US belief and the evidence consistent. beliefs, the opposite occurred. As
by Kurt Lewin, the founder of the the day of reckoning drew near,
Research Center for Group Dynamics Unshakeable conviction another “message” came through,
at the Massachusetts Institute of After reading a report in a local declaring that, due to the group’s
Technology in 1945. newspaper in 1954, Festinger dedication, the world was to be
On the staff at the center was saw an opportunity to study the spared. Cult members became even
one of Lewin’s former students, Leon reaction to just such a cognitive more fervent believers. Festinger
Festinger. Originally attracted by dissonance. A cult claimed to have had anticipated this; to accept the
Lewin’s work in Gestalt psychology, received messages from aliens contradictory evidence would set
he later took an interest in social warning of a flood that would end up an even greater dissonance
psychology. In the course of his the world on December 21; only between past belief and present
research, Festinger observed that true believers would be rescued by denial, he argued. This effect was
people continually seek to bring flying saucers. Festinger and some compounded if a great deal
order to their world, and a key part of his colleagues at the University (reputation, jobs, and money) had
of that order is consistency. To of Minnesota gained access to the been invested in the original belief.
achieve this, they develop routines group, interviewing them before Festinger concluded that
and habits, such as establishing the designated apocalyptic date cognitive dissonance, or at least
regular mealtimes and choosing and again afterward, when the the avoidance of it, makes a man
favorite seats on their daily events had failed to transpire. of strong conviction unlikely to
commute to work. When these The now-famous Oak Park change his opinion in the face of
routines are disrupted, people feel study of this group, written up by contradiction; he is immune to
very uneasy. The same is true, he Festinger, Henry Riecken, and evidence and rational argument. As
found, of habitual thought patterns Stanley Schachter in When Festinger explains: “Tell him you
or beliefs. If a very strong opinion is Prophecy Fails, describes the disagree and he turns away. Show
met with contradictory evidence, it reaction of the cult members. him facts or figures and he questions
creates an uncomfortable internal Where common sense might lead your sources. Appeal to logic and
inconsistency; Festinger called this us to expect that the failure of he fails to see your point.” ■
Leon Festinger Leon Festinger was born in cult predicting the end of the
Brooklyn, New York, to a Russian world. He moved to Stanford
immigrant family. He graduated University in 1955, continuing
from City College of New York in his work in social psychology,
1939, then studied at the University but in the 1960s he turned to
of Iowa under Kurt Lewin, finishing research into perception. He
his PhD in Child Psychology in later focused on history and
1942. After spending the later archaeology at the New School
years of World War II in military for Social Research in New York.
training, he rejoined Lewin in 1945 He died of liver cancer, aged 69.
at the Research Center for Group
Dynamics at the Massachusetts Key works
Institute of Technology (MIT).
It was during his appointment 1956 When Prophecy Fails
as professor at the University of 1962 A Theory of Cognitive
Minnesota that Festinger made Dissonance
his famous Oak Park study of a 1983 The Human Legacy
THE MAGICAL
NUMBER 7
PLUS OR MINUS 2
GEORGE ARMITAGE MILLER (1920– )
170 GEORGE ARMITAGE MILLER
IN CONTEXT
APPROACH Before information is
Memory studies stored in long-term memory,
it is processed by
BEFORE working memory.
1885 Hermann Ebbinghaus
publishes his pioneering book
Memory: A Contribution to
Experimental Psychology.
1890 William James makes Working memory has a
the distinction between limited capacity—about
primary (short-term) and seven (plus or minus two) elements.
secondary (long-term) memory
in The Principles of Psychology.
1950 Mathematician Alan
Turing’s test suggests that a
computer can be considered If individual “bits” of information
a thinking machine. are organized into “chunks”
(meaningful patterns) of information
AFTER they are easier to store.
1972 Endel Tulving makes the
distinction between semantic
and episodic memory.
2001 Daniel Schacter proposes
a list of the different ways we Working memory
misremember in The Seven can then hold seven (plus
Sins of Memory. or minus two) of these larger
chunks of information.
G
eorge Armitage Miller and introduction, Miller had a advances in computer science
once famously complained: serious intent, and the article was had brought the idea of artificial
“My problem is that I have to become a landmark of cognitive intelligence closer to reality, and
been persecuted by an integer. psychology and the study of working while mathematicians, such as Alan
For seven years this number has memory (the ability to remember Turing, were comparing computer
followed me around.” So begins his and use pieces of information for processing with the human brain,
now famous article The Magical a limited amount of time). cognitive psychologists were
Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Miller’s paper was published in engaged in the converse: they
Some Limits on our Capacity for The Psychological Review in 1956, looked to the computer as a
Processing Information. He goes on: when behaviorism was being possible model for explaining the
“There is… some pattern governing superseded by the new cognitive workings of the human brain. Mental
its appearances. Either there really psychology. This fresh approach— processes were being described in
is something unusual about the which Miller wholeheartedly terms of information processing.
number or I am suffering from embraced—focused on the study of Miller’s main interest was in the
delusions of persecution.” Despite mental processes, such as memory field of psycholinguistics, stemming
the whimsical nature of his title and attention. At the same time, from his work during World War II on

See also: Hermann Ebbinghaus 48–49 ■ Bluma Zeigarnik 162 ■ Donald Broadbent 178–85 ■ Endel Tulving 186–91 ■
Gordon H. Bower 194–95 ■ Daniel Schacter 208–09 ■ Noam Chomsky 294–97 ■ Frederic Bartlett 335–36
by the recurrence and possible accurately assigning numbers to

significance of the number seven; each of them, but above seven
“sometimes a little larger and (give or take one or two), the
sometimes a little smaller than results deteriorated dramatically.
usual, but never changing so much In another experiment, by
as to be unrecognizable.” Kaufman, Lord, et al, in 1949,
The persistence with
The first instance of the researchers flashed varying numbers
which this number “magical” number came from of colored dots on to a screen in
plagues me is far more experiments to determine the front of participants. When there
than a random accident. span of absolute judgment—how were fewer than seven dots,
George Armitage Miller accurately we can distinguish a participants could accurately
number of different stimuli. In one number them; when there were
experiment cited in Miller’s paper, more than seven, participants were
the physicist and acoustic only able to estimate the number
specialist Irwin Pollack played a of dots. This suggests that the
number of different musical tones span of attention is limited to
to participants, who were then around six, and caused Miller to
speech perception, which formed the asked to assign a number to each wonder whether the same basic
basis for his doctoral thesis. This tone. When up to around seven process might be involved in both
led him to take an interest in the different tones were played, the the span of absolute judgment
growing field of communications, subjects had no difficulty in and the span of attention. ❯❯
which in turn introduced him
to information theory. He was
particularly inspired by Claude
Shannon, a leading figure in
communications, who was
investigating effective ways of
turning messages into electronic
signals. Shannon’s communication
model, which involved translating
ideas into codes made up of “bits,”
underpins all digital communication.
Miller was inspired to look at mental
processes in a similar way, and to
establish the ground rules for the
modern field of psycholinguistics
in his 1951 book, Language and
Communication.
Seven categories
Miller took Shannon’s method of
measuring information and his idea
of “channel capacity” (the amount
of information that can be processed
by a system) and applied it to the An experiment into the span of attention presented
model of short-term memory as an participants with random patterns of dots flashed on a
information processor. This was screen for a fraction of a second. Participants instantly
when he began to be “persecuted” recognized the number if there were fewer than seven.
172 GEORGE ARMITAGE MILLER

The tones and dots in these took this idea of channel capacity
experiments are what Miller calls a stage further, applying it to the
“unidimensional stimuli” (objects model of short-term memory.
that differ from one another in only William James first proposed the
one respect); but what interested notion of short-term memory, and
Miller is the amount of information it had long been an accepted part The process of memorizing
in speech and language we can of the model of the brain as an
may be simply the
effectively process, and items such information processor, coming
as words are “multidimensional between the sensory input of
formation of chunks…
stimuli.” He looks to later studies by information and long-term memory.
until there are few enough
Pollack in which the simple tones Hermann Ebbinghaus and Wilhelm chunks so that we can
were replaced by tones that varied Wundt had even suggested that recall all the items.
in six ways (such as pitch, duration, short-term memory had a capacity George Armitage Miller
volume, and location). Surprisingly, limited to around seven items
despite the apparently larger amount (seven, again). Miller believed that
of information, the results still what he called working memory
pointed to a differential limit of had a capacity that corresponded
seven, plus or minus two. The to the limits of absolute judgment
difference is that as more variables and span of attention.
are added, accuracy slightly that by the same principle,
decreases. Miller claims this allows Bits and chunks working memory organizes “bits”
us to make “relatively crude In terms of our ability to process of information into “chunks,” to
judgments of several things information, if working memory is overcome the informational
simultaneously.” It may explain how limited to about seven elements, bottleneck caused by our limited
we are able to recognize and there is a potential bottleneck spans of absolute judgment and
distinguish such complex things as restricting the amount that can be short-term memory. A chunk is not,
spoken words and people’s faces, put into long-term memory. But however, just an arbitrary grouping,
without having to process the Miller suggested that there was but an encoding of bits into a
individual sounds or features. more to the correspondence than meaningful unit; for example, a
Miller sees the human mind as just the number seven, no matter string of 21 letters represents 21
a communication system: as the how magical it appeared. The bits of information, but if this can
input information increases, the multidimensional stimuli of be broken down into a sequence
amount transmitted to the brain previous experiments could be of three-letter words, it becomes
also increases initially, before seen as composed of several “bits” seven chunks. Chunking is
leveling off at an individual’s of related information, but treated dependent on our ability to find
“channel capacity.” Miller then as a single item. Miller believed patterns and relationships in the
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Super cali fragi listic expi ali docious
Miller’s theory of chunking says that by building

up or breaking down long streams of numbers or letters
into memorable chunks, we increase the amount of
information we can hold in working memory.

Binary code is a way of recoding
information into ever-more tightly
packed parcels (through multibase
arithmetic). Miller claims our chunking
process operates in a similar way.
powerful weapon for increasing the

amount of information we can deal
with.” It effectively stretches the
informational bottleneck.
The study of memory

Miller himself moved away from
the subject of memory in his later George Armitage Miller
research, but his theory prompted
others to examine it in more detail. George Armitage Miller was
Donald Broadbent argued that the born in Charleston, WV. After
graduating from the University
real figure for working memory is
of Alabama in 1941 with an
probably less than seven, and this MA in speech pathology, he
bits of information. To someone was later confirmed in experiments earned a PhD at Harvard in
who does not speak the same by Nelson Cowan, who found it to psychology, working in Stanley
language, the seven words might be around four chunks, depending Smith Stevens’ Psychoacoustic
be meaningless, and would not on the length and complexity of the Laboratory, with Jerome
constitute seven chunks, but 21 bits. chunks, and the age of the subject. Bruner and Gordon Allport.
Miller’s theory was backed up In the conclusion to his paper, During World War II the
by earlier experiments by other Miller is dismissive of the laboratory was asked to help
psychologists. In 1954, Sidney significance of the number with military tasks such as
Smith conducted experiments in that originally prompted it. He radio jamming.
memorizing a sequence of binary concludes by saying: “Perhaps there In 1951, Miller left Harvard
digits—a meaningless string of is something deep and profound for Massachusetts Institute
ones and zeroes to anyone behind all these sevens… but I of Technology (MIT), then
returned to Harvard in 1955,
unfamiliar with the binary system. suspect that it is only a pernicious,
where he worked closely with
Smith broke the series down into Pythagorean coincidence.” ■
Noam Chomsky. In 1960, he
chunks, at first into pairs of digits, cofounded the Harvard Center
and then in groups of three, four, for Cognitive Studies. He later
and five, and then “recoded” them worked as a professor of
by translating the binary chunks psychology at Rockefeller
into decimal numbers: 01 became University, New York, and
1, 10 became 2, and so on. He found Princeton University. In 1991,
that by using this system it was The kind of he was awarded the National
possible to memorize and accurately linguistic recoding Medal of Science.
reproduce a string of 40 digits or that people do
more, as long as the number of seems to me to be Key works
chunks was limited to the span the very lifeblood of
of working memory. the thought processes. 1951 Language and
As an aid to memorizing large George Armitage Miller Communication
1956 The Magical Number
amounts of information, chunking
Seven, Plus or Minus Two
and recoding is an obvious boon, 1960 Plans and the Structure
but it is more than a mnemonic of Behavior (with Eugene
trick. Miller pointed out that this Galanter and Karl Pribram)
form of recoding is an “extremely
174
IN CONTEXT
THERE’S MORE
APPROACH
Cognitive therapy
TO THE SURFACE
BEFORE
1890s Sigmund Freud
proposes an analytic approach
to psychotherapy.
THAN MEETS
1940s and 1950s Fritz Perls,
with Laura Perls and Paul
Goodman, develops Gestalt
THE EYE
therapy—a cognitive approach
to psychotherapy.
1955 Albert Ellis introduces
Rational Emotive Behavior
AARON BECK (1921– )

Therapy (REBT), breaking with
the tradition of analysis.
AFTER
1975 Martin Seligman defines
“learned helplessness” in
Helplessness: On Depression,
Development, and Death.
1980s A blend of Beck’s ideas
and the behavior therapies of
Joseph Wolpe give rise to new
cognitive behavioral therapies.
A
fter psychology had
become established as
a distinct field of study,
around the turn of the 20th century,
two main schools, or approaches,
emerged. These were experimental
psychology, which was dominated
by the behaviorism originating
from Ivan Pavlov’s experiments,
and which was enthusiastically
championed in the US; and clinical
psychology, which was largely
based on the psychoanalytical
approach of Sigmund Freud and
his followers. The two had little in
common. Behaviorists rejected the
introspective, philosophical
approach of earlier psychologists,
and strove to put the subject on a

See also: Joseph Wolpe 86–87 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Fritz Perls 112–17 ■
Albert Ellis 142–45 ■ Martin Seligman 200–01 ■ Paul Salkovskis 212–13
Psychoanalytic therapy Cognitive therapy

places an emphasis on places an emphasis on
delving into the patient’s examining people’s
unconscious to solve perceptions of their
current disorders. experiences.
Aaron Beck
The evidence for the
success of psychoanalytic There is strong
empirical evidence for Born in Providence, Rhode
therapy is based on Island, Aaron Temkin Beck
personal accounts rather the success of cognitive
therapy. was the son of Russian Jewish
than facts or research. immigrants. Athletic and
outgoing as a young child, he
became far more studious and
introspective after suffering a
serious illness at the age of
The key to effective treatment lies not in the unconscious, eight. He also acquired a fear
but in the examination of how a disorder manifests itself of all things medical and,
in a patient’s perceptions. determined to overcome this,
decided to train as a doctor,
graduating from Yale in 1946.
Beck then worked at Rhode
Island Hospital, before
There’s more to the surface than meets the eye. qualifying as a psychiatrist in
1953. Disillusioned with the
psychoanalytical approach
to clinical psychology, he
more scientific, evidence-based to all of them. Some psychologists instigated cognitive therapy
footing. The psychoanalysts were beginning to question the and later established the
explored those very introspections, validity of this kind of therapy, and Beck Institute for Cognitive
with theories, rather than proof, Aaron Beck was among them. Therapy and Research in
to support their case. When Beck qualified as a Philadelphia, now run by his
psychiatrist in 1953, experimental daughter, Dr. Judith Beck.
Cognitive revolution psychology was focused on the
By the mid-20th century, both study of mental processes—it Key works
approaches to psychology were was the dawn of the “cognitive
being critically examined. But revolution.” However, the practical 1972 Depression: Causes and
Treatment
although behaviorism was being approach of cognitive psychologists
1975 Cognitive Therapy and
overtaken by cognitive psychology remained much the same as that of
the Emotional Disorders
in experimental work, the clinical the behaviorists. If anything, they 1980 Depression: Clinical,
sphere was offering no alternative were frequently even more rigorous Experimental, and Theoretical
to the psychoanalytical model. in establishing evidence for their 1999 Prisoners of Hate: The
Psychotherapy had evolved into theories. Beck was no exception Cognitive Basis of Anger,
many forms, but the basic idea of to this. He had trained in and Hostility, and Violence
psychoanalysis and exploration practiced psychoanalysis, but grew
of the unconscious was common skeptical of its effectiveness as a ❯❯
176 AARON BECK

Psychoanalytic Institute on the and evaluate how realistic or
grounds that his “desire to conduct distorted their perceptions were
scientific studies signaled that he’d was the first step in overcoming
been improperly analyzed.” Those depression. This flew in the face of
who found fault with the idea of conventional psychoanalysis, which
analysis did so, some analysts sought and examined underlying
I concluded that argued, because of insufficient drives, emotions, and repressions.
psychoanalysis was a analysis of themselves. Beck’s “cognitive therapy” saw
faith-based therapy. Beck was suspicious of both this as unnecessary or even
Aaron Beck the circularity of these arguments, counterproductive. The patient’s
and the link with the therapist’s perception could be taken at face
own personality. Coupled with his value because, as he was fond of
personal experience as a practicing putting it, “there’s more to the
psychoanalyst, this led him to surface than meets the eye.”
examine thoroughly every aspect of What Beck meant by this was
therapy, looking for ways in which that the immediate manifestations
therapy. He could find no reliable it could be improved. He carried out of depression—the negative
studies of the success rates of a series of experiments designed to “automatic thoughts”—provide all
psychoanalysis—only anecdotal evaluate the basis and treatment of the information needed for therapy.
evidence of case reports. In his depression, one of the most common If these thoughts are examined
experience, only a minority of reasons for seeking psychotherapy, and compared with an objective,
patients showed improvement and found that far from confirming rational view of the same situation,
under analysis, and the general the idea that this condition could the patient can recognize how
consensus among therapists was be treated by examination of his perception is distorted. For
that some got better, some got unconscious emotions and drives, example, a patient who has been
worse, and some stayed about the his results pointed to a very offered a promotion at work might
same, in almost equal numbers. different interpretation. express negative thoughts such as
Of particular concern was the “I’ll find the new job too difficult,
resistance of many psychoanalysts Changing perceptions and fail,” a perception of the
to objective scientific examination. In describing their depression,
Compared with experimental Beck’s patients often expressed
psychology, or with medicine, negative ideas about themselves,
psychoanalysis seemed largely their future, and society in general,
faith-based, with widely different which came to them involuntarily.
results between individual These “automatic thoughts,” as Beck
practitioners. Reputation was called them, led him to conclude
frequently based solely on the that the way the patients perceived
charisma of a particular analyst. their experiences—their cognition
Beck concluded that “the of them—was not just a symptom
psychoanalytic mystique was of their depression, but also the key
overwhelming… It was a little bit to finding an effective therapy.
like the evangelical movement.” This idea, which came to him in
Many psychoanalysts regarded the 1960s, chimed with concurrent
criticism of their theories as a developments in experimental
personal attack, and Beck soon psychology, which had established
discovered that any questioning the dominance of cognitive
of the validity of psychoanalysis psychology by studying mental
A distorting mirror creates a view
was likely to be countered with processes such as perception. of the world that can seem terrifying
universal denouncement. At one When Beck applied a cognitive and ugly. Similarly, depression tends
time, he was turned down for model to treatment, he found that to cast a negative perspective on life,
membership of the American helping his patients to recognize making sufferers feel more hopeless.
Some people For others, who view their

would view this situation in a more negative light,
glass as half full. the glass is half empty.
By correcting erroneous
beliefs, we can lower
excessive reactions.
Aaron Beck
How people assess the same
situation varies with temperament.
Beck’s cognitive therapy can help
patients question their perceptions,
leading to a more positive outlook.
situation that leads to anxiety and pains to demonstrate that it was his treatments, as did many other
unhappiness. A more rational way the therapy that was successful, psychotherapists in the 1980s. This
of looking at the promotion would and not the therapist. has resulted in the varied forms of
be to see it as a reward, or even a Beck was not the only, or cognitive behavioral therapy that
challenge. It is not the situation even the first, psychologist to are used by psychologists today.
that is causing the depression, find traditional psychoanalysis Beck’s pioneering work marked
but the patient’s perception of it. unsatisfactory, but his use of a a turning point for psychotherapy,
Cognitive therapy could help him to cognitive model was innovatory. and his influence is considerable.
recognize how distorted it is, and He had been influenced in his As well as bringing a cognitive
find a more realistic and positive reaction against psychoanalysis approach into clinical psychology,
way of thinking about the situation. by the work of Albert Ellis, who Beck subjected it to scientific
had developed Rational Emotive scrutiny, exposing the weaknesses
Empirical evidence Behavior Therapy (REBT) in the of psychoanalysis. In the process,
Beck’s cognitive therapy worked. mid-1950s, and he was no doubt he introduced several methods for
for a large number of his patients. aware of the work of behaviorists assessing the nature and severity
What is more, he was able to elsewhere in the world, including of depression that are still used:
demonstrate that it worked, as the South Africans Joseph Wolpe the Beck Depression Inventory
he applied scientific methods and Arnold A. Lazarus. Although (BDI), the Beck Hopelessness Scale,
to ensure that he had empirical different in approach, their the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation
evidence for his findings. He therapies shared with Beck’s a (BSS), and the Beck Anxiety
designed special assessments thoroughly scientific methodology Inventory (BAI). ■
for his patients, so that he could and a rejection of the importance
monitor their progress closely. of unconscious causes of mental
The results showed that cognitive and emotional disorders.
therapy was making his patients Once the success of cognitive
feel better, and feel better more therapy had been established, it
quickly, than was the case under was used increasingly for treating
traditional psychoanalysis. Beck’s depression, and later Beck found Don’t trust me,
insistence on providing evidence that it could also be helpful for other test me.
for any claims he made for his conditions, such as personality Aaron Beck
therapy opened it up to objective disorders and even schizophrenia.
scrutiny. Above all, he was most Always open to new ideas—as long
anxious to avoid acquiring the as it could be shown that they were
guru-like status of many successful effective—Beck also incorporated
psychoanalysts, and was at great elements of behavior therapy into
WE CAN LISTEN
TO ONLY
ONE VOICE
AT ONCE
DONALD BROADBENT (1926–1993)
180 DONALD BROADBENT
I
n Britain prior to World War II, psychology and the kind of
IN CONTEXT psychology as an academic problems it addresses, which led
discipline lagged behind him to look at some of the problems
APPROACH
Europe and the US. Britain’s encountered by pilots in a different
Attention theory
psychologists had tended to follow way. He thought these problems
BEFORE in the footsteps of the behaviorist might have psychological causes
1640s René Descartes says and psychotherapeutic schools of and answers, rather than simply
the human body is a kind of thought that had evolved elsewhere. mechanical ones, so after leaving
machine with a mind, or soul. In the few university psychology the RAF, he went to Cambridge
departments that existed, the University to study psychology.
1940s British psychologist approach followed that of the Broadbent’s mentor at Cambridge,
and APU director Kenneth natural sciences: the emphasis was Frederic Bartlett, was a kindred
Craik prepares flow diagrams on practical applications rather spirit: a thoroughgoing scientist,
comparing human and artificial than theoretical speculations. and England’s first professor of
information processing. It was in this unpromising experimental psychology. Bartlett
academic environment that Donald believed that the most important
AFTER
Broadbent, who went on to become theoretical discoveries are often
1959 George Armitage Miller’s one of the most influential of the made while attempting to find
studies suggest that short-term early cognitive psychologists, found solutions to practical problems. This
memory can hold a maximum himself when he left the Royal Air idea appealed to Broadbent, and
of seven pieces of information. Force after the war and decided to prompted him to continue working
1964 British psychologist study psychology. However, the under Bartlett at the new Applied
Anne Treisman suggests that practical approach proved ideal Psychology Unit (APU) after it
less important information is for Broadbent, who was able to opened in 1944. It was during his
not eliminated at the filter make perfect use of his wartime time there that Broadbent was to
stage but attenuated (like experience as an aeronautical do his most groundbreaking work.
turning down the volume) engineer and pilot. He chose to ignore the then-
so it can still be “shadowed” dominant behaviorist approach to
by the mind.
Practical psychology psychology and to concentrate on
Broadbent had enlisted in the RAF the practical problems he had come
when he was 17, and he was sent across in his time in the RAF. For
to the US as part of his training. example, pilots sometimes confused
Here he first became aware of similar-looking controls; in some
Information from the senses… …is briefly held in the

short-term memory store…
…so that only one piece of information is

selected for attention. …then passed through a filter…

See also: René Descartes 20–21 ■ George Armitage Miller 168–73 ■
Daniel Schacter 208–09 ■ Frederic Bartlett 335–36
Donald Broadbent
Born in Birmingham, England,
Donald Broadbent considered
himself to be Welsh, since he
spent his teenage years
in Wales after his parents’
divorce. He won a scholarship
to the prestigious Winchester
A World War II plane incorporates a Broadbent was influenced in his College, then joined the Royal
dazzling display of informational data; thinking about how we process Air Force aged 17, where he
Broadbent was interested in discovering information by another product of trained as a pilot and studied
how pilots prioritized information and
wartime research: the development aeronautical engineering.
what design changes would aid this.
of computers and the idea of After leaving the RAF in
“artificial intelligence.” The first 1947, he studied psychology
planes, the lever for pulling up the director of the APU, Kenneth under Frederic Bartlett at
wheels was identical to the one for Craik, had left the unit important Cambridge, then joined the
pulling up the flaps, and the two manuscripts and flow diagrams newly founded Applied
were situated together under the comparing human and artificial Psychology Unit (APU),
becoming its director in 1958.
seat; this led to frequent accidents. information processing, which
Married twice, he was a shy,
Broadbent thought these incidents Broadbent clearly studied.
famously generous man whose
could be avoided if the capacities At the same time, code breakers “puritanical streak” led him
and limitations of the pilots were such as the mathematician Alan to believe that his work was
taken into consideration during Turing had been tackling the notion a privilege and should always
the design process, rather than of information processing, and in be of real use. In 1974, he
surfacing at the point of use. the postwar period he applied this was awarded the CBE and
Broadbent was interested in to the idea of a “thinking machine.” appointed a fellow of Wolfson
using psychology not only to design The comparison of a machine to College, Oxford, where he
better equipment, but also to reach the workings of the brain was a remained until his retirement
a better understanding of what powerful analogy, but it was in 1991. He died two years
affected the pilots’ capabilities. Broadbent who turned the idea later of a heart attack, aged 66.
They clearly had to cope with large around, considering the human
amounts of incoming information, brain as a kind of information- Key works
and then had to select the relevant processing machine. This, in
1958 Perception and
data they needed to make good essence, is what distinguishes
Communication
decisions. It seemed to him that cognitive psychology from 1971 Decision and Stress
mistakes were often made when behaviorism: it is the study of 1993 The Simulation of Human
there were too many sources of mental processes, rather than their Intelligence
incoming information. manifestation in behavior. ❯❯

To study how our attention works, use to “filter out” the irrelevant
Broadbent needed to design information from the masses of
experiments that would back up data we receive through our senses
his hunches. His background in all the time. Following the air traffic
engineering meant that he would control model, he chose to present
not be satisfied until he had aural (sound-based) information
evidence on which to base a theory,
Our mind can be conceived through headphones to the subjects
and he also wanted that research
as a radio receiving many of his experiment. The system was
to have a practical application. channels at once. set up so that he could relay two
The APU was dedicated to applied Donald Broadbent different streams of information at
psychology, which for Broadbent the same time—one to the left ear
referred not only to therapeutic and one to the right—and then test
applications, but also to applications the subjects on their retention of
that benefited society as a whole; that information.
he was always very conscious that As Broadbent had suspected, the
his research was publicly funded. subjects were unable to reproduce
could only effectively deal with one all the information from both
One voice at a time message at a time. What interested channels of input. His feeling that
One of Broadbent’s most important him was the mental process that we can only listen to one voice at
experiments was suggested by his must take place in order for them to once had been confirmed, but still
experience with air traffic control. select the most important message the question remained as to exactly
Ground crew often had to deal with from the various sources of incoming how the subject had chosen to retain
several streams of incoming information. He felt that there must some of the incoming information
information simultaneously, sent be some kind of mechanism in the and effectively disregard the rest.
from planes arriving and departing, brain that processes the information Thinking back to his initial
which was relayed to the operators and makes that selection. training as an engineer, Broadbent
by radio and received through The experiment that Broadbent suggested a mechanical model to
headphones. The air traffic devised, now known as the dichotic explain what he felt was happening
controllers then had to make quick listening experiment, was one of in the brain. He believed that when
decisions based on that information, the first in the field of selective there are multiple sources of input,
and Broadbent had noticed that they attention—the process our brains they may reach a “bottleneck” if the
brain is unable to continue to process
all the incoming information; at this
point, there must be some kind of
“filter” that lets through only one
channel of input. The analogy he
uses to explain this is typically
practical: he describes a Y-shaped
tube, into which two flows of ping
pong balls are channeled. At the
junction of the two branches of the
tube, there is a flap that acts to
block one flow of balls or the other;
this allows balls from the unblocked
channel into the stem of the tube.
Air traffic controllers have to deal

with a multitude of simultaneous
signals. By re-creating this problem in
listening experiments, Broadbent was
able to identify attention processes.

A question still remained, however:
at what stage does this filter come
into operation? In a series of
Our short-term Information from all
experiments that were variations memories are like the senses is fed in...
on his original dichotic listening a Y-shaped tube.
tasks, Broadbent established that
information is received by the
senses and then passed on in
its entirety to some kind of store,
which he called the short-term
memory store. It is at this stage, he
believes, that the filtering occurs. ...which creates a
His description of how and when “bottleneck” where
information is selected for attention information must be
filtered...
is known as the “Broadbent Filter
Model,” and it demonstrated a
completely new approach to
experimental psychology, not only
in combining the theoretical with
the practical, but also in considering
the workings of the brain as a form ...so that only one stream
of information processing. of information is
processed.
The cocktail party problem
Broadbent was not the only person
to address the problem of selective
attention. Another British scientist,
Colin Cherry, also investigated the many conversations to give our important implications when
subject during the 1950s. Working attention to, and which to ignore? applied to air traffic control, for
in communication rather than And how is it possible to be example, where decisions could
psychology, Cherry posed what he distracted from our focused be made on possibly irrelevant or
called the “cocktail party problem:” attention on conversation “A” inaccurate information, rather than
how, at a party where lots of people by conversations “B” or “C”? being prioritized according to
are talking, do we select which of To help answer these questions, meaning and importance.
Broadbent turned his attention to Broadbent and Cherry worked
the nature of the filter in his model. together on many dichotic listening
Precisely what information does experiments to test the filtering
it filter out, and what does it allow process. They realized that filtering
through? Following another process is also affected by expectation. In
of rigorous experimenting, he found one experiment, participants were
One of the two voices is that the selection is made not on asked to listen to different sets of
selected for response without the content of the information (what numbers presented simultaneously
reference to its correctness, is being said), but on the physical to each ear. In some cases they
and the other is ignored. characteristics of any message, were instructed which ear (the
Donald Broadbent such as clarity or tone of voice. information channel) they would
This suggests that even though be asked about first; in others no
information is stored, albeit very instructions were given. The
briefly, in short-term memory, it results showed that when people
is only after filtering that it is know which ear is receiving the
processed for meaning and actually stream of information they will
understood. This finding had be asked for first, they switch ❯❯

attention to that ear, and the comprehension, and memory. problem, and in particular one
information that enters the other The timing was significant, as phenomenon Cherry had identified
ear is not always accurately it coincided with a divergence of concerning the nature of information
retrieved from memory. In all cases opinion about the importance that is selected for attention. When
the information that people chose of behaviorism in the US, and the an overheard conversation includes
or were asked to remember first book slowly became known information that has some kind of
seemed to be processed more as one of the landmarks in the special significance for a person—
accurately than the later material; development of the new cognitive such as a personal name—the
it was thought this might be due to psychology. As a result, Broadbent attention is switched toward that
parts of the information being lost was recognized, by his peers if conversation, and away from the
from the short-term memory store not the public, as the first major one previously attended to.
before the participant tried to psychologist Britain had produced, Further dichotic listening
retrieve it. In 1957, Broadbent and was rewarded the same year experiments at the APU bore out
wrote: “We can listen to only one by being appointed director of the Cherry’s findings: attention is
voice at once, and the first words APU to succeed Bartlett. filtered by physical characteristics
we hear are the best recalled.” Not one to rest on his laurels, but also by meaning, using feedback
however, Broadbent saw his new from memory stores, prior experience,
Modifying the model appointment as an opportunity to and expectations. The sound of a
In 1958, Broadbent published the continue his work on attention, siren, for instance, would divert
results of his research in a book, widening the scope of his research attention on to that stream of sound.
Perception and Communication, and refining the theory. From the This suggests that information is in
which effectively outlined a starting point of his filter model, some way understood before being
framework for studying attention, he returned to the cocktail party selected for attention.
Sarah
Sarah?
People at a cocktail
party may be listening
to one conversation,
but then become aware
of (and switch attention
to) another, if it includes
personally significant
information.
The test of a psychological

theory, as well as its moral
justification, lies in its
application to concrete
practical considerations.
Donald Broadbent
Complex industrial processes could

be transformed in efficiency, Broadbent
thought, through the application of
psychology. He was committed to
producing genuinely useful research.
Broadbent realized that his filter and their causes. In each case the shape the development of cognitive
model needed modification, but results of his experiments led to science. His work also established
was pleased rather than dismayed refinements of his theories. In 1971, applied psychology as an important
to have to make the changes. As a he published a second book, approach for problem-solving,
scientist, he felt that all scientific Decision and Stress, which detailed increasing its impact well beyond
theories are temporary, derived an extended version of his filter the confines of the laboratory. A key
from the evidence available at the theory. Like its predecessor, this figure in the founding of cognitive
time, and so susceptible to change book became a classic textbook of psychology, his research into
in the light of new evidence; this is cognitive psychology. attention laid the groundwork for a
how science progresses. new field of enquiry that continues
The work of the APU centered The cognitive approach to yield rich results today. ■
around Broadbent’s research into Broadbent’s books did not reach
attention, but this allowed for a the general public, but were widely
constantly widening range of read by scientists from other
applications. Broadbent worked disciplines. His comparison of the
tirelessly to ensure that his work workings of the human brain with
was practically useful, examining electronic machines became more
the effects of noise, heat, and stress and more relevant as interest in His psychology was intended
on attention in work environments, computing increased. His model for society and its problems,
and he constantly reviewed his of the various stages of human not merely for the dwellers
ideas as he worked. In the process, information processing—acquisition, in ivory towers.
he gained government support for storage, retrieval, and use—echoed Fergus Craik and
his ideas, and the respect of many the work on artificial intelligence Alan Baddely
industries whose practices were at that time.
improved by his work. This led to Broadbent was instrumental in
yet more research into areas such setting up a Joint Council Initiative
as differences of attention between on Cognitive Science and Human-
individuals, and lapses of attention Computer Interaction, which helped
TIME’S ARROW
IS BENT
INTO A LOOP
ENDEL TULVING (1927– )
188 ENDEL TULVING
IN CONTEXT
Episodic memory is made up of events and
APPROACH experiences that are stored in long-term memory.
Memory studies
BEFORE
1878 Hermann Ebbinghaus
conducts the first scientific
study of human memory. Memories of our
It is distinct from semantic experiences are associated
1927 Bluma Zeigarnik memory, which is our
describes how interrupted with particular times and
long-term memory store for places and can be triggered
tasks are better remembered facts and knowledge. by these cues.
than uninterrupted ones.
1960s Jerome Bruner stresses
the importance of organization
and categorization in the
learning process. Associated sensory cues such as a particular
AFTER song or scent can also help us recall seemingly
1979 Elizabeth Loftus looks at complete memories of past events.
distortions of memory in her
book Eyewitness Testimony.
1981 Gordon H. Bower makes
the link between events and Only humans can “travel back in time” to
emotions in memory. reflect on their experiences in this way…
2001 Daniel Schacter
publishes The Seven Sins of
Memory: How the Mind
Forgets and Remembers. …as if time’s arrow is bent into a loop.
M
emory was one of the studies, notably by Bluma Zeigarnik area of study. Forced to abandon
first fields of study for and Frederic Bartlett in the 1920s the study of visual perception due
psychologists in the and 30s, memory was largely ignored to a lack of facilities, Tulving turned
19th century, as it was closely as a topic until the “cognitive his attention to memory. The
connected with the concept of revolution” took place following funding deficit also shaped his
consciousness, which had formed World War II. Cognitive psychologists approach to the subject, designing
the bridge between philosophy and began to explore the idea of the experiments that used no more
psychology. Hermann Ebbinghaus brain as an information processor, than a pen, some paper, and a
in particular devoted much of his and this provided a model for the supply of index cards.
research to the scientific study of storage of memory: it was seen as
memory and learning, but the next a process, whereby some items The free-recall method
generation of psychologists turned passed from short-term or working Learning about the subject as he
their attention to a behaviorist memory into long-term memory. went along, Tulving worked in a
study of learning, and “conditioning” By the time Endel Tulving rather unorthodox way, which
replaced memory as the focus of finished his doctorate in 1957, occasionally earned him criticism
research. Apart from a few isolated memory was once more a central from his peers, and was to make

See also: Hermann Ebbinghaus 48–49 ■ Bluma Zeigarnik 162 ■ George Armitage Miller 168–73 ■ Gordon H. Bower
194–95 ■ Elizabeth Loftus 202–07 ■ Daniel Schacter 208–09 ■ Roger Brown 237 ■ Frederic Bartlett 335
publishing his results difficult. His the better they organize the In the course of his research,
maverick instincts did, however, information, the better they are Tulving was struck by the fact
lead to some truly innovative able to remember it. His subjects that there seemed to be different
research. One hurriedly designed, were also able to recall a word kinds of memory. The distinction
ad hoc demonstration to a class of when given a cue in the form of between long-term memory and
students in the early 1960s was to the category (such as “animals”) short-term memory had already
provide him with the model for in which they had mentally filed been established, but Tulving felt
many later experiments. He read that word. Tulving concluded that there was more than one kind of
out a random list of 20 everyday although all the words memorized long-term memory. He saw a
words to the students, and then from the list were actually available difference between memories
asked them to write down as many for remembering, the ones that that are knowledge-based (facts
as they could recall, in any order. were organized by subject were and data), and those that are
As he expected, most of them more readily accessible to memory, experience-based (events and
managed to remember around especially when the appropriate conversations). He proposed a
half of the list. He then asked them cue was given. division of long-term memory into
about the words that they had not two distinct types: semantic
remembered, giving hints such as Memory types memory, the store of facts; and
“Wasn’t there a color on the list?,” Where previous psychologists episodic memory, the repository
after which the student could often had concentrated on the process of our personal history and events.
provide the correct answer. of storing information, and the Tulving’s experiments had
Tulving developed a series of failings of that process, Tulving demonstrated that organization of
experiments on this “free recall” made a distinction between two semantic information, such as lists
method, during which he noticed different processes—storage and of words, helps efficient recollection,
that people tend to group words retrieval of information—and and the same appeared to be true
together into meaningful categories; showed how the two were linked. of episodic memory. But where ❯❯
ANIMALS FOOD
TRANSPORTATION TOOLS
In Tulving’s free recall experiments, people were asked

to remember as many words as possible from a random list.
“Forgotten” words were often recalled using category cues.
They were stored in memory but temporarily inaccessible.
190 ENDEL TULVING

memorable event—such as the 9/11
terrorist attacks—occurs, are an
extreme example of this.
Tulving described recollection
from episodic memory as “mental
time travel,” involving us in a
Remembering is revisiting of the past to access
mental time travel. the memory. In his later work he
Endel Tulving pointed out that episodic memory
is unique in featuring a subjective
sense of time. Specific to humans,
it involves not merely awareness of
what has been, but also of what
may come about. This unique
ability allows us to reflect on our
lives, worry about future events,
Emotional events such as weddings
give rise to episodic memories. These and make plans. It is what enables
are stored in such a way that the humankind to “take full advantage
person remembering relives the event, of its awareness of its continued
in a form of “time travel.” existence in time” and has allowed
us to transform the natural world
semantic memories are organized provide a retrieval cue for the into one of numerous civilizations
into meaningful categories of subject semantic memory “Beijing,” the and cultures. Through this facility,
matter, episodic memories are mention of “40th birthday” might “time’s arrow is bent into a loop.”
organized by relation to the specific act as a cue for the retrieval of
time or circumstances in which what had been said over that Encoding information
they were originally stored. For dinner. The more strongly these Tulving realized that organization
example, a particular conversation autobiographical memories are is the key to efficient recall for both
may have taken place during a associated with the time and semantic and episodic memory, and
birthday dinner, and the memory circumstances of their occurrence, that the brain somehow organizes
of what was said would be stored the greater their accessibility is information so that specific facts
in association with that occasion. likely to be. “Flashbulb memories,” and events are “pigeonholed” with
Just as the category of “city” might which are stored when a highly related items. Recalling that specific
Endel Tulving Born the son of a judge in Tartu, University of Toronto, where
Estonia, Endel Tulving was he graduated in psychology in
educated at a private school for 1953, and took his MA degree in
boys, and although a model 1954. He then moved to Harvard
student, he was more interested where he gained a PhD for his
in sports than academic subjects. thesis on visual perception.
When Russia invaded in 1944, In 1956, Tulving returned to the
he and his brother escaped to University of Toronto, where he
Germany to finish their studies continues to teach to this day.
and did not see their parents again
until the death of Stalin 25 years Key works
later. After World War II, Tulving
worked as a translator for the 1972 Organization of Memory
American army and briefly 1983 Elements of Episodic
attended medical school before Memory
emigrating to Canada in 1949. He 1999 Memory, Consciousness,
was accepted as a student at the and the Brain

information is then made easier Different types of memory are
by direction to the appropriate physically distinct, according to
pigeonhole—the brain “knows Tulving, because each behaves and Semantic memory
functions in a significantly stores facts and
where to look” for the memory it
different way. knowledge.
wants and can narrow down the
search. The implication, he
believed, is that the brain encodes
each memory for storage in long-term
memory, so that specific memories
can be located for recollection by a Episodic memory
stores events and
more general retrieval cue. The
recollections.
cues that prompt episodic memory
are usually sensory. A specific sound,
such as a piece of music, or a scent
can trigger a complete memory.
Tulvings’s theory of the Procedural memory
“encoding specificity principle” stores methods and
was especially applicable to techniques.
episodic memory. Memories of
specific past events are encoded
according to the time of their
occurrence, along with other recollection, even though the are active during encoding and
memories of the same time. He information is stored and available retrieval of memory, and establish
found that the most effective cue in long-term memory. that episodic memory is associated
for retrieving any specific episodic Unlike previous theories of with the medial temporal lobe and,
memory is the one which overlaps memory, Tulving’s encoding principle specifically, the hippocampus.
with it most, since this is stored made a distinction between memory Partly due to his unorthodox
together with the memory to be that is available and that which is and untutored approach, Tulving
retrieved. Retrieval cues are accessible. When someone is unable made innovative insights that
necessary to access episodic to recall a piece of information, it proved inspirational to other
memory, but not always sufficient, does not mean that it is “forgotten” psychologists, including some of
because sometimes the relationship in the sense that it has faded or his former students such as Daniel
is not close enough to allow simply disappeared from long-term Schacter. Tulving’s focus on storage
memory; it may still be stored, and and retrieval provided a new way of
therefore be available—the problem thinking about memory, but it was
is one of retrieval. perhaps his distinction between
semantic and episodic memory that
Scanning for memory was his breakthrough contribution.
Tulving’s research into the storage It allowed subsequent psychologists
Relating what we know and retrieval of memory opened up to increase the complexity of the
about the behavior of memory a whole new area for psychological model to include such concepts as
to the underlying neural study. The publication of his procedural memory (remembering
structures is not findings in the 1970s coincided how to do something), and the
at all obvious. That’s with a new determination by many difference between explicit memory
real science. cognitive psychologists to find (of which we are consciously aware)
Endel Tulving confirmation of their theories in and implicit memory (of which we
neuroscience, using brain-imaging have no conscious awareness,
techniques that had just become but which nonetheless continues
available. In conjunction with to affect us). These topics remain
neuroscientists, Tulving was able of great interest to cognitive
to map the areas of the brain that psychologists today. ■
192
PERCEPTION IS
EXTERNALLY GUIDED
HALLUCINATION
ROGER N. SHEPARD (1929– )
H
ow the mind makes use
IN CONTEXT of information gathered
from the external world
APPROACH
has been a major concern for
Perception
philosophers and psychologists
BEFORE throughout history. Exactly how
1637 René Descartes in his do we use the information gained
treatise Discourse on the through our senses? In the early
Method suggests that though 1970s, cognitive and mathematical
our senses can be deceived, psychologist Roger Shepard
we are thinking beings with proposed new theories of how An optical illusion creates confusion
the brain processes “sense data.” in the viewer, demonstrating that we are
innate knowledge. not just perceiving, but also attempting
Shepard argued that our brains
1920s Gestalt theorists study to fit the sensory data to what we
not only process sense data, but also
already understand in the mind’s eye.
visual perception, finding that make inferences from it, based on an
people tend to view objects internal model of the physical world
comprising composite parts where we can visualize objects in world and mental visualization.
as a unified whole. three dimensions. The experiment Perception, Shepard said, is
he used to prove this, in which “externally guided hallucination,”
1958 Donald Broadbent’s book
subjects tried to ascertain whether and he described the processes
Perception and Communication
two tables—each drawn from a of dreaming and hallucination as
introduces a truly cognitive different angle—were the same, “internally simulated perception.”
approach to the psychology showed that we are able to perform Shepard’s research introduced
of perception. what Shepard called “mental revolutionary techniques for
AFTER rotation:” turning one of the tables identifying the hidden structure
1986 American experimental in our mind’s eye for comparison. of mental representations and
psychologist Michael Kubovy Shepard used a series of optical processes. His work in visual and
publishes The Psychology (and aural) illusions to demonstrate auditory perception, mental imagery,
that our brains interpret sense data and representation has influenced
of Perspective and
using both knowledge of the external generations of psychologists. ■
Renaissance Art.
See also: René Descartes 20–21 ■ Wolfgang Köhler 160–61 ■
Jerome Bruner 164–65 ■ Donald Broadbent 178–85 ■ Max Wertheimer 335
WE ARE CONSTANTLY
ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
CAUSAL CONNECTIONS
DANIEL KAHNEMAN (1934– )
U
ntil very recently, our Israeli-American Daniel Kahneman,
IN CONTEXT perception of risk and with Amos Tversky, reexamined
the way that we make theories of how we make decisions
APPROACH
our decisions was considered to when faced with uncertainty, in
Prospect theory be more a matter of probability Judgment under Uncertainty:
BEFORE and statistics than psychology. Heuristics and Biases (1974). They
1738 The Dutch-Swiss However, cognitive psychology, found the general belief that people
mathematician Daniel with its emphasis on mental made decisions based on statistics
Bernoulli proposes the processes, brought the concepts and probability was not true in
expected utility hypothesis of perception and judgment to practice. Instead, people base their
to explain decision-making the field of problem-solving, with decisions on “rule of thumb”—on
preferences in situations some surprising results. specific examples or small samples.
Consequently, judgments can
involving risk.
frequently be wrong, because they
1917 Wolfgang Köhler publishes are based on information that
The Mentality of Apes—his comes easily to mind, rather than
study of problem-solving that has actual probability.
in chimpanzees. Kahneman and Tversky noticed
After observing a long this experience-based method of
1940s Edward Tolman’s run of red on the roulette problem-solving has a pattern: we
studies on animal behavior wheel, most people tend to overestimate the likelihood
open up a new area of erroneously believe that of things with low probability (such
research into motivation black is now due. as a plane crash), and underestimate
and decision-making. Daniel Kahneman & those with a higher probability (such
AFTER
Amos Tversky as crashing while driving drunk).
These findings formed the basis
1980 US economist Richard
of Kahneman and Tversky’s prospect
Thaler publishes the first theory, proposed in 1979, and led to
paper on the subject of the collaborative field of psychology
behavioral economics: known as behavioral economics. ■
Toward a Positive Theory
of Consumer Choice. See also: Edward Tolman 72–73 ■ Wolfgang Köhler 160–61
194
EVENTS AND EMOTION

ARE STORED IN
MEMORY TOGETHER
GORDON H. BOWER (1932– )
IN CONTEXT
When we are in a When we are in an
APPROACH
happy mood, we tend unhappy mood, we tend
Memory studies to store in memory the to store in memory the
BEFORE positive things negative things
1927 Bluma Zeigarnik that happen... that happen...
describes the “Zeigarnik
effect” of interrupted tasks
being better remembered
than uninterrupted ones.
1956 George Armitage ...because we pay more attention
Miller’s The Magical Number to the information that agrees with
7, Plus or Minus 2 provides a our mood.
cognitive model for storage
in short-term memory.
1972 Endel Tulving makes a
distinction between semantic
and episodic memory.
Events and emotion are stored
AFTER in memory together.
1977 Roger Brown coins the
term “flashbulb memory” for
autobiographical memory
connected with highly
emotional events.
2001 Daniel Schacter When we are happy, When we are unhappy,
publishes The Seven Sins of we find it easier to we find it easier to
Memory, which categorizes recall memories from recall memories from
the ways that memory can fail. a happy time. an unhappy time.

See also: Bluma Zeigarnik 162 ■ George Armitage Miller 168–73 ■ Endel Tulving 186–91 ■ Paul Ekman 196–97 ■
Daniel Schacter 208–09 ■ Roger Brown 237
T
he 1950s saw a revival of that we form an association between
interest in the study of our emotional state and what is
memory. Increasingly going on around us, and the emotion
sophisticated models of short- and and the information are stored in
long-term memory were developed, memory together. It is then easier to
in order to explain how information recall facts that we learned when
is selected, organized, stored, and we were in the same mood as we
retrieved. The ways in which are when recollecting them.
memories could be forgotten or Bower also discovered that
distorted were also identified. emotion plays a part in the type of
information that the brain stores.
Memory and mood When we are happy, he observed
By the 1970s, the focus in learning that we tend to notice—and
theory and memory had moved to therefore remember—positive
An idyllic vacation, according to
investigating why some memories things; when we are sad, negative Bower, is more easily recalled when we
are better stored or more easily things attract our attention and are are in a happy mood. Bad memories of
retrieved than others. One of the committed to memory more easily. the trip are likely to be forgotten, or
foremost psychologists in the field, For example, Bower found that only remembered when we are unhappy.
Gordon H. Bower, had noticed that unhappy people recalled details of
emotion appeared to impact on a sad story better than those who Bower’s findings led him to study
memory. Bower carried out studies were happy when they read it. He people in various emotional states,
in which people learned lists of called this “mood-congruent retrospectively observing their
words while in different moods, and processing,” and concluded that videotaped interactions with others.
later had to recall them, again when episodic memory—of events, not Memory and judgement of past
in varying emotional states. He just words or facts—is especially behavior varied with current mood.
uncovered what he called “mood- linked to emotions. The events and This research helped Bower to
dependent retrieval:” whatever a emotions are stored together, and refine his ideas about emotion and
person has learned when unhappy we remember best the events that memory, and inspired further
is easier to recall when they are match our mood, both when they psychological examination of the
again unhappy. Bower concluded occurred, and when recalling them. role emotions play in our lives. ■
Gordon H. Bower Stanford University, California,

where he taught until his
Gordon H. Bower was brought retirement in 2005. His research
up in Scio, Ohio. At high school, there helped to develop the field
he was more interested in of cognitive science, and in 2005
baseball and playing jazz than Bower was awarded the US People who are happy
studying, until a teacher National Medal of Science for during the initial experience
introduced him to the works of his contributions to cognitive
Sigmund Freud. He went on to and mathematical psychology.
learn the happy events better;
graduate in psychology at Case angry people learn anger-
Western Reserve University, Key works provoking events better.
Cleveland, switching to Yale Gordon H. Bower
for his PhD in learning theory, 1966, 1975 Theories of Learning
which he completed in 1959. (with Ernest Hilgard)
From Yale, Bower moved on 1981 Mood and Memory
to the internationally acclaimed 1991 Psychology of Learning
psychology department of and Motivation (Volume 27)
196
EMOTIONS ARE A
RUNAWAY TRAIN
PAUL EKMAN (1934– )
E
motions, and more When Ekman began his research
IN CONTEXT especially emotional in the 1970s, it was assumed that
disorders, played a large we learn to physically express
APPROACH
part in psychotherapy from its emotions according to a set of
Psychology of emotions
beginnings, but they were seen social conventions, which differ
BEFORE more as symptoms to be treated from culture to culture. Ekman
1960s The study of isolated than as something to be examined traveled widely to all corners of the
tribal communities by in their own right. One of the first world, first photographing people in
American anthropologist to realize that emotions deserved the “developed countries,” such as
Margaret Mead suggests as much attention as thought Japan and Brazil, and then people
that facial expressions are processes, drives, and behavior in far-flung, cut-off places without
culture-specific. was Paul Ekman, who came to access to radio or television, such
the subject through his research as the jungles of Papua New
1960s American psychologist into nonverbal behavior and Guinea. He found tribespeople
Silvan Tomkins (Ekman’s facial expressions. could interpret facial expressions as
mentor) proposes his Affect
Theory of Emotions, distinct
from the basic Freudian drives
of sex, fear, and the will to live. Emotions can
Emotions can and override some of our
1970s Gordon H. Bower often do start before
uncovers and defines the most fundamental
our conscious mind is drives (disgust can
links between emotional aware of them. override hunger).
states and memory.
AFTER
2000s The findings of
Ekman’s work on facial
expressions and deception
are incorporated into security It is therefore Emotions are
procedures used by public difficult to control powerful and difficult
transport systems. what we become to hold back, like a
emotional about. runaway train.

See also: William James 38–45 ■ Gordon H. Bower 194–95 ■ Nico Frijda 324–25 ■ Charlotte Bühler 336 ■ René Diatkine
338 ■ Stanley Schachter 338
The Six Basic Emotions
Anger Disgust Fear Happiness Sadness Surprise
well as anyone in more globally- mind has time to register the Ekman that a better understanding
aware countries, which suggests causes of that emotion. Ekman of emotions would help to overcome
that facial expressions are universal inferred not only that our faces can some mental disorders. We may be
products of human evolution. reveal our inner emotional state, unable to control our emotions, but
but that the emotions responsible we may be able to make changes to
Basic emotions for these involuntary expressions are the things that trigger them and
Ekman came up with six basic more powerful than psychologists the behavior they lead to.
emotions—anger, disgust, fear, had previously thought. Running parallel to his work
happiness, sadness, and surprise— In Emotions Revealed, Ekman on emotions, Ekman pioneered
and because of their ubiquity, states that emotions can be more research into deception and the
concluded they must be important powerful than the Freudian drives ways we try to hide our feelings.
to psychological make-up. He noted of sex, hunger, and even the will to He identified small tell-tale signs,
that facial expressions linked to live. For example, embarassment or which he called “microexpressions,”
these emotions are involuntary— fear can override libido, preventing detectable when someone is either
we react automatically to things a satisfactory sex life. Extreme consciously or unconsciously
that trigger these emotional unhappiness can override the will concealing something. This has
responses—and that this reaction to live. The power of the “runaway proved useful in devising security
often happens before our conscious train” of emotions convinced measures to counter terrorism. ■
Paul Ekman Paul Ekman was born and spent nonverbal behavior and facial
his early childhood in Newark, expressions. This work led to his
New Jersey. At the outbreak of studies of the concealment of
World War II, his family moved emotions in facial expressions,
west to Washington, then Oregon, which in turn took Ekman deep
and eventually southern California. into the then-unexplored field of
Aged just 15, Ekman took up a the psychology of emotions. He
place at the University of Chicago, was appointed Professor of
where he became interested in Psychology at UCSF in 1972,
Freud and psychotherapy, and and remained there until his
went on to study for his doctorate retirement in 2004.
in clinical psychology at Adelphi
University, New York. After a brief Key works
spell working for the US Army,
he moved to the University of 1985 Telling Lies
California, San Francisco (UCSF), 2003 Emotions Revealed
where he began his research into 2008 Emotional Awareness
198
ECSTASY IS
A STEP INTO AN
ALTERNATIVE REALITY
MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI (1934– )
D
uring the “cognitive Carl Rogers were beginning to
IN CONTEXT revolution,” there was a think about what constituted a
growing movement in good and happy life, rather than
APPROACH
clinical psychology away from merely alleviating the misery of
Positive psychology
seeing patients solely in terms depression and anxiety. From this
BEFORE of their disorders, toward a more grew a movement of “positive
1943 Abraham Maslow’s A holistic, humanistic approach. psychology,” which concentrated
Theory of Human Motivation Psychologists such as Erich on finding ways to achieve this
lays the foundations for a Fromm, Abraham Maslow, and good and happy life.
humanistic psychology.
1951 Carl Rogers publishes
When we engage in an activity that we enjoy and that gives
Client-Centered Therapy, a
enough challenge to our skills…
humanistic approach to
psychotherapy.
1960s Aaron Beck introduces …we become absorbed in that activity and reach
cognitive therapy as an a state of “flow” in which…
alternative to psychoanalysis.
1990s Martin Seligman
switches from “learned
helplessness” and depression …we are …we feel a …we feel a …we have a
to “positive psychology.” totally sense of sense of feeling of
focused. serenity. timelessness. inner clarity.
AFTER
1997 Csíkszentmihályi works
on The GoodWork Project with
William Damon and Howard Above all, we are not conscious of ourselves or the
Gardner, publishing Good Work: world around us.
When Excellence and Ethics
Meet and Good Business:
Leadership, Flow, and the
Making of Meaning in 2002. Flow is similar to a state of ecstasy.

See also: Erich Fromm 124–29 ■ Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39 ■ Aaron Beck 174–77 ■
Martin Seligman 200–01 ■ Jon Kabat-Zinn 210
Csíkszentmihályi found that all reality, totally separated from the

these people described a similar cares and worries of ordinary life.
sensation when they were totally Flow, Csíkszentmihályi felt, is key
engaged in an activity they enjoyed to optimal enjoyment of any activity,
and could do well. They all reported and consequently to a fulfilling life.
achieving a state of mind with no But how can flow be achieved?
sense of self, in which things came Csíkszentmihályi studied cases of
to them automatically—a feeling people who regularly reached this
of “flow.” It starts, he said, with “ecstatic” state, and realized that
A good jazz musician will pass into “a narrowing of attention on a it always occurred when the
an almost trancelike state when he is clearly defined goal. We feel challenge of an activity matched a
playing. Engulfed by the ecstatic feeling involved, concentrated, absorbed. person’s skills; the task was doable,
of “flow,” he becomes totally absorbed
We know what must be done, and but also extended their capabilities
by his music and performance.
we get immediate feedback as to and demanded total concentration.
Central to the new psychology was how well we are doing.” A musician Only a reasonable balance of ability
the concept of “flow,” devised by knows instantly if the notes he and difficulty could lead to flow. If
Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in the plays sound as they should; a someone’s skills were not up to the
1970s, and fully explained in his tennis player knows the ball he task, this led to anxiety, and if the
book Flow: The Psychology of hits will reach its destination. task was too easily done, it led to
Optimal Experience in 1990. The boredom or apathy.
idea came to him from interviewing State of ecstasy Csíkszentmihályi’s concept of
people who appeared to get a lot People experiencing flow also flow was eagerly picked up by other
out of life, either in their work or describe feelings of timelessness, advocates of positive psychology,
their leisure activities—not only clarity, and serenity, which led and became an integral part of
creative professionals such as Csíkszentmihályi to liken it to a this new, optimistic approach.
artists and musicians, but people state of ecstasy (in its truest sense, Csíkszentmihályi himself saw flow
from all walks of life, including from the Greek ekstasis, meaning as a vital element in activity of all
surgeons and business leaders, and “being outside oneself”). A major kinds, and thought it especially
those who found satisfaction in part of the enjoyment of flow is the important in making work more
pursuits such as sports and games. sense of being outside everyday rewarding and meaningful. ■
Mihály Mihály Csíkszentmihályi was Csíkszentmihályi remained

Csíkszentmihályi born in Fiume, Italy (now Rijeka, at the University of Chicago,
Croatia), where his father was teaching and developing his
posted as a Hungarian diplomat. ideas on “flow,” from 1969 to
The family became exiles in Rome 2000, when he was appointed
when Hungary was taken over by Professor of Psychology and
the Communists in 1948. Management at Claremont
As a teenager, Csíkszentmihályi Graduate University, California.
attended a talk given by Carl Jung
in Switzerland, which inspired him Key works
to study psychology. A scholarship
brought him to the University of 1975 Beyond Boredom and
Chicago; he graduated in 1959, Anxiety
and received his PhD in 1965. 1990 Flow: The Psychology
While still a student, he married of Optimal Experience
the writer Isabella Selenga, and in 1994 The Evolving Self
1968 became a US citizen. 1996 Creativity
200
HAPPY PEOPLE
ARE EXTREMELY
SOCIAL
MARTIN SELIGMAN (1942– )
IN CONTEXT There are three kinds of happy life.

APPROACH
Positive psychology
BEFORE
1950s Carl Rogers develops
the concept and practice of The Good The Meaningful The Pleasant
“client-centered” therapy. Life—pursuing Life—acting Life—socializing
personal growth and in the service of and seeking
1954 Abraham Maslow uses achieving “flow.” something greater pleasure.
the term “positive psychology” than yourself.
for the first time, in his book
Motivation and Personality.
1960s Aaron Beck exposes
the weaknesses of traditional
psychoanalytical therapy, and
proposes cognitive therapy. These bring lasting Social relationships
happiness, but this do not guarantee
AFTER happiness cannot be high happiness,
1990 Mihály Csíkszentmihályi achieved without but it does not appear
publishes Flow: The Psychology social relationships. to occur without them.
of Optimal Experience, based
on his research into the links
between meaningful, engaging
activity and happiness.
W
hile experimental cognitive therapies still focused
1994 Jon Kabat-Zinn’s psychology after World largely on alleviating unhappy
Wherever You Go, There You War II became deeply conditions rather than on creating
Are introduces the idea of concerned with the cognitive and promoting happier ones.
“mindfulness meditation” to processes of the brain, clinical Martin Seligman, whose theory of
cope with stress, anxiety, psychology continued to examine “learned helplessness” (the spiral of
pain, and illness. ways to treat disorders such as acquiring pessimistic attitudes in
depression and anxiety. The new illnesses such as depression) had

See also: Erich Fromm 124–29 ■ Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39 ■
Aaron Beck 174–77 ■ Mihály Csíkszentmihályi 198–99 ■ Jon Kabat-Zinn 210
much pleasure as possible,

appeared to bring happiness,
though Seligman found this was
often short-lived. Less obviously,
the good life, or being successfully
engaged in relationships, work,
Good social relationships
and play, gave a deeper, more
are, like food and lasting happiness. Similarly, the
thermoregulation, meaningful life, or acting in the
universally important service of others or something
to human mood. bigger than oneself, led to great Martin Seligman
Martin Seligman satisfaction and fulfilment.
Seligman also observed that Born in Albany, New York,
good and meaningful lifestyles Martin Seligman took his
first degree in philosophy at
both involve activities that his
Princeton University in 1964.
colleague Mihály Csíkszentmihályi He then turned his attention
had described as generating “flow,” to psychology, gaining a
or deep mental engagement. The doctorate from the University
led to more successful treatments pleasant life clearly does not involve of Pennsylvania in 1967. He
in the 1980s, believed that what “flow,” but Seligman did find that all taught at Cornell University,
psychology offered was good, but the “extremely happy people” he New York, for three years,
it could offer more. He felt that studied were also very sociable, before returning in 1970 to
therapy should be “as concerned and in a relationship. He concluded Pennsylvania, where he has
with strength as with weakness; that “social relationships do not been Professor of Psychology
as interested in building the best guarantee high happiness, but it since 1976.
things in life as repairing the does not appear to occur without Seligman’s research into
worst.” Having studied philosophy, them.” A good and meaningful life depression during the 1970s
he likened the task of his “positive may bring eudaemonia, but having led to a theory of “learned
helplessness,” and a method
psychology” to that of Aristotle a pleasant life as well will intensify
of countering the pervasive
seeking eudaemonia—“the happy whatever happiness you achieve. ■
pessimism associated with it.
life.” Like his philosophical But after an incident with his
forebears, Seligman found this was daughter that highlighed his
not a matter of relieving or removing own innate negativity, he was
things that make us unhappy, but persuaded that focusing on
of encouraging those things that positive strengths, rather than
might make us happy—and first he negative weaknesses, was key
had to discover what they were. to happiness. Regarded as one
of the founding fathers of
“Happy” lives modern positive psychology,
Seligman noticed that extremely Seligman instigated the
happy, fulfilled people tend to get Positive Psychology Center at
on with others, and enjoy company. the University of Pennsylvania.
They seemed to lead what he called
Key works
“the pleasant life,” one of the three
Enjoying social events and the
distinct types of “happy” life that company of others may not offer deep 1975 Helplessness
he identified, the others being “the intellectual or emotional satisfaction, 1991 Learned Optimism
good life” and “the meaningful life.” but Seligman observed that it was an 2002 Authentic Happiness
The pleasant life, or seeking as essential part of being truly happy.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
WITH ALL OUR HEARTS
IS NOT NECESSARILY
THE TRUTH
ELIZABETH LOFTUS (1944– )
204 ELIZABETH LOFTUS
T
oward the end of the
IN CONTEXT 19th century, Sigmund
Freud claimed that the
APPROACH
mind has a way of defending itself
Memory
against unacceptable or painful
BEFORE thoughts and impulses, by using an
Human remembering
1896 Sigmund Freud proposes unconscious mechanism that he
called “repression” to keep them
does not work like
the notion of repressed memory. a videotape recorder
hidden from awareness. Freud later
1932 Frederic Bartlett claims modified his thinking to a more or a movie camera.
that memory is subject to general theory of repressed desires Elizabeth Loftus
elaboration, omission, and and emotions. However, the idea
distortion in Remembering. that the memory of a traumatic
1947 Gordon Allport and Leo event could be repressed and stored
beyond conscious recall became
Postman conduct experiments
accepted by many psychologists.
that demonstrate various types
The rise of various forms of
of nondeliberate misreporting. psychotherapy in the 20th century particular was an attractive area
AFTER focused attention on repression, and for research, and repressed and
1988 The self-help book for the possibility of retrieving repressed recovered memory was about to
sexual abuse survivors, The memories became associated with become a hot topic, as a number
Courage to Heal, by Ellen Bass psychoanalysis so strongly that even of high-profile child abuse cases
and Laura Davis, is influential Hollywood dramas began to explore reached the courts in the 1980s.
in popularizing recovered the link. Memory in general was a
memory therapy in the 1990s. popular subject among experimental Suggestible memory
psychologists too, particularly as During the course of her research,
2001 In The Seven Sins of behaviorism began to wane after Loftus grew skeptical about the idea
Memory, Daniel Schacter World War II, and the “cognitive of recovering repressed memories.
describes the seven different revolution” was suggesting new Previous research by Frederic
ways in which our memories models for how the brain processed Bartlett, Gordon Allport, and Leo
can malfunction. information into memory. By the Postman had already shown that
time Elizabeth Loftus began her even in the normal working of the
studies, long-term memory in human brain, our ability to retrieve
Elizabeth Loftus Born Elizabeth Fishman in Los and adjunct professor of law. She
Angeles in 1944, Loftus received was appointed distinguished
her first degree at the University of professor at the University of
California with the intention of California in 2002, and was the
becoming a high school math highest-ranked woman in a
teacher. While at UCLA, however, scientifically quantified ranking
she started classes in psychology, of the 20th century’s most
and in 1970 received a PhD in important psychologists.
psychology at Stanford University.
It was here that she first became Key works
interested in the subject of long-
term memory, and met and married 1979 Eyewitness Testimony
fellow psychology student Geoffrey 1991 Witness for the Defense
Loftus, whom she later divorced. (with Katherine Ketcham)
She taught at the University of 1994 The Myth of Repressed
Washington, Seattle, for 29 years, Memory (with Katherine
becoming professor of psychology Ketcham)

See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Bluma Zeigarnik 162 ■ George Armitage Miller 168–73 ■ Endel Tulving 186–91 ■
Gordon H. Bower 194–95 ■ Daniel Schacter 208–09 ■ Roger Brown 237 ■ Frederic Bartlett 335–36
information from memory can be seen. Loftus found that the phrasing later versions of the experiment,
unreliable; Loftus believed that this of questions had a significant participants were verbally given
must also be true of the recollection influence on how people reported false information about some
of events that are so traumatic events. For example, when asked details of the accident (such as
that they are repressed—perhaps to estimate the speed of the cars road signs around the scene), and
even more so, given the emotive involved, the answers varied these appeared as recollections in
nature of the events. widely, depending on whether many of the participants’ reports.
Loftus began her research into the questioner had used the
the fallibility of recollection in the words “bumped,” “collided,” or Legal implications
early 1970s, with a series of simple “smashed,” to describe the It became clear to Loftus that
experiments designed to test the collision. They were also asked if recollection can be distorted by
veracity of eyewitness testimony. there was any broken glass after suggestions and leading questions,
Participants were shown film clips the accident, and the answers made after the event in question.
of traffic accidents and then asked again correlated to the wording Misinformation can be “planted”
questions about what they had of the question of speed. In into the recollection of an observer. ❯❯
We believe that our

recollection of a traumatic
event is accurate, but…
…it may have been …it may have been

shaped by a …it may have been …it may have been altered by our
leading question suggested to us by altered by subsequent current emotions
or false information. someone we trust. experiences. or ideas.
But because of its emotional

importance we appear to
“remember” it vividly.
What we believe with

all our hearts is not
necessarily the truth.
206 ELIZABETH LOFTUS

false, and had evolved because
Eileen had witnessed her father
commit other cruel actions, and
“one brutal image overlapped
A another.” Loftus successfully argued
in court that a combination of
suggestion during hypnosis, existing
frightening memories, and Eileen’s
rage and grief had created a
completely false “repressed memory.”
The case of Paul Ingram (which
B Loftus was not involved in) also
pointed toward the possibility of
implanting false memories. Arrested
in 1988 for sexually abusing his
daughters, Ingram initially denied
the charges, but after several
C months of questioning confessed to
them along with a number of other
cases of rape and even murder. A
psychologist involved in the case,
In a 1974 experiment Loftus showed a group of people Richard Ofshe, grew suspicious
a film of cars colliding, then asked them how fast the cars
“bumped,” “collided,” or “smashed” into each other. Her and suggested to Ingram he was
choice of verb determined their estimate of car speeds. guilty of another sexual offence—
but this time, one that was provably
fabricated. Ingram again initially
The title of her 1979 book describing totally false. Among the many denied the allegation, but later
her experiments, Eyewitness cases in which she was involved, made a detailed confession.
Testimony, shows that Loftus was that of George Franklin perfectly
well aware of the implications of illustrates the different aspects of Lost in the mall
this “misinformation effect,” not what came to be known as “false The evidence for the implantation of
only for the psychological theory memory syndrome.” Franklin was false memories was still anecdotal,
of memory, but also for the legal convicted in 1990 for the murder however, and far from conclusive;
process. Anticipating the of a child who was best friends Loftus suffered harsh criticism for
controversy that was to follow, with his daughter, Eileen. Her what were then considered to be
she wrote that “the unreliability of eyewitness testimony, 20 years controversial opinions. So she
eyewitness identification evidence after the murder, was crucial to the decided to collect irrefutable
poses one of the most serious conviction. Loftus found numerous evidence through an experiment
problems in the administration of discrepancies in Eileen’s evidence, that aimed to deliberately implant
criminal justice and civil litigation.” and proved her memories to be false memories. This was her 1995
incorrect and unreliable in several “Lost in the Mall” experiment.
False memory syndrome respects, but the jury nonetheless Loftus presented each of the
Loftus was soon to be increasingly found Franklin guilty. participants with four stories from
involved in forensic psychology, In 1995, the conviction was their own childhood that had
as an expert witness in the spate overturned because the court had apparently been remembered
of child abuse cases of the 1980s. been deprived of “crucial evidence:” and supplied by members of the
What she realized then was that the fact that Eileen had “recovered” participant’s family. In fact, only
memories could not only be the memory during hypnotherapy. three of the four stories were true;
distorted by subsequent suggestion Loftus believed that Eileen’s memory the fourth, about getting lost in a
and incorrect details introduced by of seeing her father commit the shopping mall, was concocted for
misinformation, but may even be murder was sincerely believed, but the experiment. Plausible details,

such as a description of the mall, disturbing dream is more vividly
were worked out in collaboration recalled and even mistaken for
with the relatives. Interviewed reality. It was this idea that
about these stories one week later prompted her to say, “what we
and then again two weeks later, the believe with all our hearts is not
participants were asked to rate how necessarily the truth.”
In real life, as well as in
well they remembered the events in However, in 1986, psychologists
the four stories. At both interviews, John Yuille and Judith Cutshall
experiments, people can
25% of the participants claimed to did manage to conduct a study of
come to believe things that
have some memory of the mall memory following a traumatic never really happened.
incident. After the experiment, situation. They found that witnesses Elizabeth Loftus
participants were debriefed and to an actual incident of gun shooting
told that one of the stories was had remarkably accurate memories,
false—did they know which it was? even six months after the event, and
Of the 24 participants, 19 correctly resisted attempts by the researchers
chose the mall as the false memory; to distort their memories though
but five participants had grown to misleading questions.
sincerely believe in a false memory used to recover memory, including
of a mildly traumatic event. Questionable therapy psychotherapeutic techniques such
Loftus had provided an insight Loftus points out that her findings as regression, dream work, and
into how false memories might form do not deny that crimes such as hypnosis. Consequently, it raised
in real, everyday settings. For ethical abuse may have taken place, nor can the possibility that false memories
reasons Loftus could not devise an she prove that repressed memories can be implanted during the
experiment to test whether a truly do not exist; she merely stresses the therapeutic process by suggestion,
traumatic false memory (such as unreliability of recovered memory, and in the 1990s several US
child abuse) would be even more and insists that courts must seek patients who claimed they were
vividly recalled and sincerely evidence beyond this. Her work victims of “false memory syndrome”
believed, but she suggested that it has also called into question the successfully sued their therapists.
would, in the same way that a more validity of the various methods Unsurprisingly, this apparent attack
on the very idea of repressed
Despite the unreliability of
eyewitness testimony, Loftus found memory earned an adverse reaction
that jurors tend to give more weight from some psychotherapists, and
to it than any other form of evidence split opinion among psychologists
when reaching a verdict. working in the field of memory.
Reaction from the legal world was
also divided, but after the hysteria
surrounding a series of child abuse
scandals in the 1990s had died
down, guidelines incorporating
Loftus’s theories on the reliability
of eyewitness testimony were
Do you swear to tell adopted by many legal systems.
the truth, the whole truth, Today, Loftus is acknowledged
or whatever it is you as an authority on the subject of
think you remember? false memory. Her theories have
Elizabeth Loftus become accepted by mainstream
psychology and have inspired
further research into the fallibility
of memory in general, notably
by Steven Schacter in his book,
The Seven Sins of Memory. ■
208
THE SEVEN SINS

OF MEMORY
DANIEL SCHACTER (1952– )
F
orgetting, Daniel Schacter The first three Schacter calls “sins
IN CONTEXT believes, is an essential of omission,” or forgetting, and the
function of human memory, last four are “sins of commission,”
APPROACH
allowing it to work efficiently. Some or remembering. Each sin can
Memory studies
of the experiences we go through lead to a particular type of error
BEFORE and the information we learn may in recollecting information.
1885 Hermann Ebbinghaus need to be remembered, but much The first of the sins, transience,
describes the “forgetting is irrelevant and would take up involves the deterioration of memory,
curve” in Memory. valuable “storage space” in our especially of episodic memory (the
memory, so is “deleted,” to use an memory of events), over time. This
1932 Frederic Bartlett lists analogy with computers that is is due to two factors: we can recall
seven ways in which a story often made in cognitive psychology. more of a recent event than one in
may be misremembered in Sometimes, however, the process the distant past; and each time we
his book Remembering. of selection fails. What should have remember the event (retrieve the
1956 George Armitage Miller been tagged as useful information memory), it is reprocessed in the
publishes his paper The and stored for future use is removed brain, altering it slightly.
Magical Number Seven, from memory and therefore forgotten;
or—conversely—trivial or unwanted
Plus or Minus Two.
information that should have been
1972 Endel Tulving makes the removed is kept in our memory.
distinction between semantic Storage is not the only area of
and episodic memory. memory functioning with potential
problems. The process of retrieval We don’t want a
AFTER can cause confusion of information, memory that is going
1995 Elizabeth Loftus studies giving us distorted recollections. to store every bit of every
retroactive memory in The Schacter lists seven ways in which experience. We would
Formation of False Memories. memory can let us down: transience, be overwhelmed with
2005 US psychologist Susan absent-mindedness, blocking, clutter of useless trivia.
Clancy studies apparent misattribution, suggestibility, bias, Daniel Schacter
memories of alien abduction. and persistence. In a reference to
the Seven Deadly Sins, and with a
nod to George Armitage Miller’s
“magical number seven,” he calls
these the “seven sins of memory.”

See also: Hermann Ebbinghaus 48–49 ■ Bluma Zeigarnik 162 ■ George Armitage Miller 168–73 ■ Endel Tulving 186–91 ■
Gordon H. Bower 194–95 ■ Elizabeth Loftus 202–07 ■ Frederic Bartlett 335–36
Absent-mindedness, the sin that

manifests itself in mislaid keys and
The Seven Sins of Memory
missed appointments, is not so
much an error of recollection but
of selection for storage. Sometimes …transience.
we do not pay enough attention at Sometimes we forget
the time we do things (such as important things
when we put down keys), so the because of…
…absent-mindedness.
information is treated by the brain
as trivial and not stored for later
use. In contrast to this is the sin of
blocking, where a stored memory …blocking.
cannot be retrieved, often because
another memory is getting in its
way. An example of this is the
“tip-of-the-tongue” syndrome, And sometimes our
memories become …misattribution.
where we can nearly—but not
confused through…
quite—grasp a word from memory
that we know very well.
...suggestibility.
Sins of commission
The “sins of commission” are
slightly more complex, but no less
common. In misattribution, the …bias.
information is recalled correctly,
And sometimes we
but the source of that information
remember things we want
is wrongly recalled. It is similar in to forget through…
its effect to suggestibility, where …persistence.
recollections are influenced by the
way in which they are recalled, for
example, in response to a leading
question. The sin of bias also Daniel Schacter whose work on episodic versus
involves the distortion of recollection: semantic memory was causing
this is when a person’s opinions Daniel Schacter was born in lively debate at the time. In
and feelings at the time of recalling New York in 1952. A high-school 1981, he established a unit for
an event color its remembrance. course sparked his interest in memory disorders at Toronto,
Finally, the sin of persistence is psychology, which he went on to with Tulving and Morris
an example of the memory working study at the University of North Moscovitch. Ten years later, he
too well. This is when disturbing or Carolina. After graduation, he became Professor of Psychology
upsetting information that has worked for two years in at Harvard, where he set up the
been stored in memory becomes the perception and memory Schacter Memory Laboratory.
intrusively and persistently recalled, laboratory of Durham Veterans
Hospital, observing and testing Key works
from minor embarrassments to
patients with organic memory
extremely distressing memories. disorders. He then began 1982 Stranger Behind the
However, the sins aren’t flaws, postgraduate studies at Toronto Engram
Schacter insists, but the costs we University, Canada, under the 1996 Searching for Memory
pay for a complex system that works supervision of Endel Tulving, 2001 The Seven Sins of Memory
exceptionally well most of the time. ■
210
ONE IS NOT
ONE’S THOUGHTS
JON KABAT-ZINN (1944– )
F
ollowing World War II, there Based Stress Reduction (MBSR),
IN CONTEXT was an increased interest which integrates meditation into
in Eastern philosophies the framework of cognitive therapy.
APPROACH
throughout Europe and the US,
Mindfulness meditation
bringing ideas such as meditation Practicing mindfulness
BEFORE into mainstream culture. The Central to Kabat-Zinn’s approach
c.500 BCE Siddhartha medical benefits of meditation is “mindfulness.” In this form of
Gautama (the Buddha) attracted the interest of American meditation, the object is to observe
includes right mindfulness biologist and psychologist Jon Kabat- thoughts and mental processes (as
as the seventh step of the Zinn, who went on to pioneer an well as body or physical processes)
Eightfold Path to end suffering. approach known as Mindfulness- in a detached, decentered, and
nonjudgemental way; “to stay in the
1960s Vietnamese Buddhist body, and to watch what’s going on
monk Thich Nhat Hanh in the mind, learning neither to reject
popularizes mindful things nor to pursue things, but
meditation in the US. just to let them be and let them go.”
In mindfulness meditation, we
AFTER
learn to observe thought processes
1990s Mindfulness-Based calmly, without identifying with
Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) them, and realize that our minds
is developed by Zindel Segal, have a life of their own. A thought
Mark Williams, and John of failure, for instance, is seen as
Teasdale for the treatment simply an event in the mind, not as
of depression, and is based a springboard to the conclusion “I
on Kabat-Zinn’s MBSR. am a failure.” With practice we can
1993 Dialectical Behavior learn to see mind and body as one
Buddhist meditation has encouraged
Therapy uses mindfulness the practice of mindfulness for more than
thing: a “wholeness.” Each of us is
without meditation for people 2,000 years, but its mental and physical more than just a body, says Kabat-
health benefits were not clinically tested Zinn, and more than the thoughts
too disturbed to achieve the
and proven until the early 1990s. that go through our minds. ■
necessary state of mind.
See also: Joseph Wolpe 86–87 ■ Fritz Perls 112–17 ■ Erich Fromm 124–29 ■
Aaron Beck 174–77 ■ Neal Miller 337 ■ John D. Teasdale 339

THE FEAR IS THAT

BIOLOGY WILL
DEBUNK ALL THAT
WE HOLD SACRED
STEVEN PINKER (1954– )
T
he debate over how much futile. The third fear is that if our
IN CONTEXT of our behavior is innate behavior is determined by genes,
(inborn) and how much can we can abdicate responsibility for
APPROACH
be attributed to our environment our misdemeanors, and blame them
Evolutionary psychology
dates back thousands of years. Some on our genetic make-up. The final
BEFORE cognitive psychologists have claimed fear, Pinker says, is the most
1859 Biologist Charles Darwin that not only do we inherit certain fundamental. This is the fear that
says that emotion, perception, psychological characteristics they if we accept that we are shaped by
and cognition are evolutionary are also subject to the same sort of evolutionary psychology, our “finer
adaptations. natural selection as our physical feelings”—our perceptions, motives,
characteristics. They point out that and emotions—will be reduced to
1960s Noam Chomsky claims the mind is a product of the brain, mere processes of our genetic
that the capacity for language and the brain is shaped by genetics. evolution, and so biology will
is an innate ability. This new field of evolutionary “debunk all that we hold sacred.” ■
1969 John Bowlby argues that psychology has met with strong
the attachment of newborn opposition, but one of its champions
babies to their mothers is is the Canadian psychologist Steven
Pinker, who has identified four fears
genetically programmed.
that lie behind our reluctance to
1976 In The Selfish Gene, accept evolutionary psychology
British biologist Richard despite the empirical evidence. The The Blank Slate…
Dawkins states that behavioral first fear is one of inequality: if the promised to make racism,
tendencies evolve through mind is a “blank slate” when we sexism, and class prejudice
interaction with others over a are born, we are all born equal. But factually untenable.
long period of time. if we inherit mental traits, some Steven Pinker
people have a natural advantage.
AFTER The second fear is that if certain
2000 In The Mating Mind, imperfections are innate, they are
American evolutionary not susceptible to change, so social
psychologist Geoffrey Miller reform to help the disadvantaged is
says that human intelligence
is shaped by sexual selection. See also: Francis Galton 28–29 ■ Konrad Lorenz 77 ■ Roger Brown 237 ■
John Bowlby 274–77 ■ Noam Chomsky 294–97

212
COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR
RITUALS ARE ATTEMPTS
TO CONTROL INTRUSIVE
THOUGHTS
PAUL SALKOVSKIS (1950S– )
T
he second half of the 20th trauma, Salkovskis explained
IN CONTEXT century saw a profound the problem in terms of cognitive
change in clinical psychology, and offered a cognitive
APPROACH
psychology. Psychoanalysis was and behavioral treatment.
Cognitive behavioral
seen by many psychologists as less
therapy
than scientific, and by the 1960s it Obsessive thoughts
BEFORE was replaced as the treatment for Salkovskis suggests that obsessive-
1950s Joseph Wolpe applies some disorders by behaviorist compulsive disorder has its basis in
behaviorist ideas to clinical therapies, or the newer cognitive the sort of unwelcome and intrusive
psychology in techniques such therapy developed by Aaron Beck. thoughts that we all have from time
as systematic desensitization. Combinations of these approaches, to time—the idea that something
under the umbrella term cognitive terrible is about to happen, or that
1952 Behavior and personality behavioral therapy (CBT), evolved in we will suffer or cause some awful
theorist Hans J. Eysenck the 1980s, pioneered in Britain by misfortune. Most of the time, we
causes controversy with Paul Salkovskis. CBT, he found, was can put these thoughts out of our
claims that psychotherapy has especially successful in treating minds and carry on with life, but
no beneficial effect. obsessive-compulsive disorder sometimes they are more difficult
(OCD); where psychoanalysis had to shake off. At the extreme end of
1955 Albert Ellis offers an
failed to find a root cause for the the scale, the thoughts become
alternative to traditional
disorder in repression or past obsessive and bring with them a
psychotherapy with his
feeling of dread and responsibility.
Rational Emotive Behavior People predisposed to these kinds
Therapy (REBT). of obsessive thoughts find it
1960s Aaron Beck questions difficult to make a rational
whether psychoanalytical appraisal of their importance,
therapy is effective; he goes on and overestimate not only any
to develop cognitive therapy. risk of harm, but also the amount
of control they have to prevent it.
AFTER
2000s Cognitive behavioral
Compulsive activities such as
therapy becomes a standard repeated hand washing may be an
treatment for anxiety, panic attempt to control intrusive thoughts.
attacks, and other disorders. Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth is driven
by guilt to continually wash her hands.

See also: Joseph Wolpe 86–87 ■ Fritz Perls 112–17 ■ Albert Ellis 142–45 ■
Aaron Beck 174–77
We all have unwelcome intrusive thoughts.
But some people have trouble shaking them off, and the
thoughts become over-important and obsessional.
Paul Salkovskis
A graduate of the Institute
of Psychiatry, London in 1979,
They overestimate the threat They feel responsible Paul Salkovskis took up a post
posed by these thoughts. for any harm implied by at the University of Oxford
these intrusive thoughts. in 1985 to research panic
disorders. His interest in the
application of cognitive theory
to anxiety disorders led to
his appointment as a Senior
Fellow and later as Professor
They therefore feel compelled to take action to counter of Cognitive Psychology.
the threats and control the thoughts. While at Oxford, the
emphasis of his work moved
to the treatment of obsessive-
compulsive disorder using
cognitive behavioral therapy.
In 2000, he became Professor
Compulsive behavior rituals are of Clinical Psychology and
attempts to control intrusive thoughts. Applied Science at the
Institute of Psychiatry,
and Clinical Director in the
Centre for Anxiety Disorders
Obsessive thoughts of catching and helped through cognitive therapy to and Trauma. Since 2010,
passing on a deadly disease, for recognize the obsessional thoughts Salkovskis has been based
example, may result in compulsive for what they are, making a more at the University of Bath,
cleaning or hand washing. There is rational appraisal of the risk and, where he is establishing a
also a feeling of a responsibility to crucially, of how much responsibility specialist CBT research and
act, even if the action is out of he or she has for taking preventative treatment center.
proportion to the risk. The resulting action. This cognitive approach
compulsive actions can become helps reduce the distress. Alongside Key works
ritual behavior patterns, carried out this, behavioral therapy techniques,
repeatedly in an attempt to gain such as desensitization (gradual 1998 Panic Disorder
control over a perceived threat. exposure to the perceived threat) 1999 Understanding and
Treating Obsessive-
Cognitive behavioral therapy help the patient to control his
Compulsive Disorder
combines cognitive and behavioral or her compulsive behavior. 2000 Causing Harm
techniques to address both the Salkovskis uses CBT techniques and Allowing Harm
cause and the symptoms of OCD to successfully treat anxiety, (with A. Wroe)
to great effect. First, the patient is panic attacks, and phobias. ■
SOCIAL
PSYCHOL
BEING IN A WORLD
OF OTHERS
OGY
216 INTRODUCTION
Gordon Allport
John Dewey Kurt Lewin establishes publishes On the
publishes The his field theory, Nature of Prejudice,
Need for Social claiming that behavior which establishes the Serge Moscovici
Psychology, is determined by the theoretical foundations introduces the
describing man as a life space (totality) of a for the study of concept of social
“social animal.” person’s situation. prejudice. representations.
1917 1940S 1954 1961
1935 1951 1959 1963
Muzafer Sherif carries Solomon Asch’s Erving Goffman publishes Stanley Milgram’s
out the “autokinetic conformity experiments The Presentation of Self in Behavioral Study of
effect” experiments, suggest that people will Everyday Life, which Obedience illustrates
demonstrating the override their own claims that social that people will ignore
tendency for groups judgement in order interaction is a their own moral values
to conform. to conform. performance. to obey authority.
A
s psychology became influenced by the psychology of individual and his environment,
established as a scientific their individual members. Social as well as the nature of that
discipline, its scope was psychologists, as they were called, environment. In his studies of small
at first limited to the examination also studied the relationships groups, he laid the foundations for
of the mind and its workings, before between individuals within these later examinations of group
broadening to include the study of groups and between different dynamics and how groups and
behavior. For much of the first half groups. This introduced a new their members bring about change.
of the 20th century, this meant set of topics to psychology, Behaviorism fell out of favor
the emphasis was very much on including group dynamics, after World War II, and Lewin’s
a study of the mind and behavior of attitudes, and prejudice, as well ideas about the effect of the
individuals and their responses to as social conflict, conformity, social environment provided an
their environment, though it obedience, and social change. alternative that was enthusiastically
became increasing clear to taken up by the next generation.
some psychologists that “the Social environment The concept of “attribution”—the
environment” includes other people. Among the first to make a way we see and interpret the
The field of social psychology systematic study of the psychology behavior of others—became an
emerged in the 1930s, when of social groups was German– area of specific research, and from
psychologists began to explore the American Kurt Lewin, considered that came theories of conformity
interactions of individuals within the “father of social psychology.” and cultural norms such as
groups and society as a whole. Lewin took a fresh look at the those of Solomon Asch. Erving
They examined the effect of social dominant behaviorist approach, Goffman’s best-known theory—
organizations on the individual, and examining how behavior results that we act out certain behaviors to
the way that social structures are from the interaction between the suit the impression we want to give
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 217
Elliot Aronson develops

the “jigsaw classroom” Melvin Lerner suggests
William Glasser technique to reduce Janet Taylor Spence and his just world theory,
publishes Reality ethnic rivalry and Robert Helmreich which claims that many
Therapy, which forms encourage cooperation in devise the Attitudes of us tend to believe
the basis of his later newly desegregated toward Women that people get what
Choice Theory. classrooms. Scale (AWS). they deserve.
1965 1971 1972 1978
1968 1971 1977 1994
Robert Zajonc conducts Philip Zimbardo runs the Roger Brown and James Ignacio Martín-Baró
experiments on the Stanford Prison Kulik publish Flashbulb calls for “Liberation
mere exposure effect. Experiment. Memories, about our Psychology,” for poor
special biological and war-torn countries.
memory mechanism.
to others—also came out of this processes such as memory and The 1960s saw the rise of the civil
new emphasis on the importance emotion were highlighted by Roger rights movement and feminism,
of social interaction. Brown and Robert Zajonc, and both of which challenged the status
Research in the 1960s shed light these findings were exploited quo. Issues surrounding prejudice,
on the darker aspects of behavior; widely by the mass media and cultural norms, and beliefs came
Melvin Lerner showed how victims advertising, which began to play to the fore, and the work of social
are sometimes blamed for what an increasingly important role in psychologists such as Janet Taylor
happens to them, and Elliot Aronson modern society. Mass media and Spence did much to alter attitudes
explained that apparently aberrant advertising in turn had a growing toward women, while others
behavior could be the result of effect on social structures, used Lewin’s process of social
circumstances rather than insanity. prompting theories of social transformation to bring
More controversially, especially at a constructivism by psychologists about organizational changes.
time when the atrocities of World such as Serge Moscovici. Theories and models pioneered
War II were still fresh in people’s As a result, social psychology by social psychologists are now
minds, experiments by Stanley has rapidly become more used by business, industry, and
Milgram and Philip Zimbardo applicable to many different all kinds of social organizations,
showed just how far the need to obey situations. It has influenced other and more recently have been
and conform affects our behavior. areas of psychology—in particular adopted as a means of achieving
psychotherapy, through William social and political reform in
Applying psychology Glasser’s “reality therapy.” It has societies suffering from
The advent of cognitive psychology also impacted on other disciplines, oppression, most notably in
brought a new influence on social including sociology, anthropology, the “Liberation Psychology”
psychology. The effects of cognitive and even politics and economics. espoused by Ignacio Martín-Baró. ■
YOU CANNOT
UNDERSTAND
A SYSTEM UNTIL YOU TRY TO
CHANGE IT
KURT LEWIN (1890–1947)
220 KURT LEWIN
T
he behaviorists believed
IN CONTEXT that behavior is dictated by
the environment alone, but
APPROACH
in the 1920s Kurt Lewin made the
Field theory
claim that behavior is a result of
BEFORE both the individual and the A person who has learned
Early 1900s Sigmund Freud environment. His revolutionary
to see how much his own
and other psychotherapists ideas developed and evolved into
the study of group dynamics that is
fate depends upon the fate
argue that human behavior of his entire group will be
is a result of past experience. invaluable to organizations today.
In his investigation of human eager to take over a fair share
1910s Wolfgang Köhler, behavior, Lewin developed field of responsibility for its welfare.
among other Gestalt theory, which explores the forces Kurt Lewin
psychologists, argues that and factors that influence any given
people must be understood situation. Lewin’s “field” refers to
holistically, according to all the psychological environment of
of their elements and their the individual or the collective
interactions with the group at a particular point in time,
surrounding environment. and he identified two opposing
forces present in any given field: successfully, a person or organization
AFTER helpful forces, which drive people leader must take into account the
1958 In The Dynamics of toward achieving their goals, and various influences at play both
Planned Change, Ronald hindering forces, which inhibit within the minds of individuals
Lippitt, Jeanne Watson, and movement toward these goals. and within their environment.
Bruce Westley create a seven- In explaining his change model,
step change theory that Lewin’s change model Lewin emphasizes that the entire
focuses on the role of the Field theory provided the basis for situation, including all the relevant
change agent rather than on Lewin’s model of change, which personal and environmental details,
the evolution of change itself. offers an invaluable guide for must be taken into account, as
successful transformation, both focusing on isolated facts can lead
for individuals and organizations. to a skewed perception of the
The model shows that in order circumstances. Not only must you
to carry out the process of change have a thorough and holistic
In order for a change of behavior As a change occurs, more

to take place, details about both the key qualities and values
individual and the environment of a system are revealed.
must be taken into account.
You cannot understand Therefore the change process

a system until you try itself offers important information
to change it. about a system.

See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Wolfgang Köhler 160–61 ■ Leon Festinger 166–67 ■ Max Wertheimer 335 ■
Elton Mayo 335
Successful organizational change

is engendered by making a unique
diagnosis of the people and situational
forces involved, and understanding
the interplay between them.
understanding of a situation in
order to change it, but that
understanding actually deepens
throughout the change process, and
therefore “you cannot understand a
system until you try to change it.”
Lewin’s model describes a three-
step process for achieving personal
or organizational transformation.
The first stage—which he called
“unfreezing”—involves recognizing
that change is necessary, and
dismantling old beliefs and
practices. Change occurs in the unlearning, difficult relearning, zone and undergo the challenge
second stage, and is often and the restructuring of thoughts, of learning new skills or accepting
accompanied by confusion and feelings, attitudes, and perceptions. a new set of beliefs. This natural
distress as the old mindset or resistance can be overcome if the
system breaks down. The third and Unfreezing beliefs individual is helped to accept that
final stage, “freezing,” occurs when The unfreezing stage is perhaps the change is necessary, valid,
a new mindset is crystallized and the most complex stage of the and will lead to the best outcome,
there is an accompanying sense of process, as people are naturally and if support is given to engender
comfort and stability within the inclined to resist changes to their a feeling of psychological safety.
new framework. The process is established mindsets and routines. Lewin demonstrated the
difficult because it involves painful It requires careful preparation; positive effect of creating an
many change efforts within environment of psychological
organizations fail simply because safety during the unfreezing stage
employees are not adequately (and of allowing active participation
prepared, making them more in the change process) in his
resistant to change and less likely efforts to convince American
to function effectively under the housewives to serve animal organs
We all need each new system. Preparation might as food at home during World
other. This type of include creating an exciting vision War II. Historically, offal had only
interdependence is the for change that employees can been eaten by low-income families,
greatest challenge to rally around, communicating it but the American government
the maturity of individual effectively, developing a sense of wanted to ensure that nutritious
and group functioning. urgency and necessity for change, food was not going to waste during
Kurt Lewin providing employees with support, a time of food shortages, especially
and allowing them to participate as kidneys, livers, and hearts
actively in the process. are all high-protein foods. The US
On an individual level, people Department of Agriculture called
may react to this stage defensively, upon Lewin to help convince
not wanting to leave their comfort housewives to include these ❯❯
222 KURT LEWIN

in the discussion group he had belief has been proven wrong or
created an environment in which ineffective, we are naturally
women felt psychologically safe inclined to replace the old value
enough to express their concerns system with a new one, filling the
and opinions. Through exploring uncomfortable void left by the
their beliefs as well as the realities of unfreezing process. We do this in a
Learning is more effective the food shortages, he helped them combination of ways: relying on our
when it is an active rather change their opinions about which instinctive feelings, studying role
than a passive process. meats were edible and guided them models, and looking more generally
Kurt Lewin toward a new belief: that offal is to the vast array of information
acceptable to buy and serve at home. available. We hope in this way to
expose ourselves to a new piece
Making the change of information that will solve the
During Lewin’s second stage—the problem. Once this insight is
actual change process—people are achieved, we have accepted and
confronted with the daunting and established a new mindset.
meats in their family meals. During confusing task of implementing a In the case of the American
interviews with housewives, Lewin new system. They must give up housewives during World War II,
realized that there were both helpful familiar routines and practices and Lewin provided the women with
and hindering forces at play. The master new skills (which itself can new information by educating them
helpful forces, or incentives, toward arouse feelings of uncertainty or a about the good taste and nutritional
changing the housewives’ view of fear of failure). In an organization, value of offal (thereby replacing their
organ meat was its high nutritional the new system will be defined by old belief that it was an inferior
value. The hindering forces, or the leadership, and often relates to meat), and convincing them that
barriers, to change centered around technology, structure, procedures, given the reality of wartime food
the women’s view that the meat or culture. It is important at this shortages, there was absolutely no
was inappropriate for them and stage to provide sufficient support shame in serving it to their families
their families, and to a lesser degree, for employees and ensure the (thereby replacing their pre-wartime
that it would not taste good. elimination of obstacles. belief that they would be viewed as
Lewin set up a study using two At the level of personal change, social inferiors for eating it).
groups of housewives to explore the people cannot be given a new belief
best ways of initiating change. The system, but must find and accept The freezing stage
first group was told repeatedly that one for themselves. When an old After change has been implemented
eating offal was beneficial for them, within an organization, it must
while the other group took part in a become part of the company’s
small group discussion focusing on culture (or “frozen”) in order for it to
how the food shortage problem be successful in the long term. The
could be eased if women like new thought processes, practices,
themselves could be convinced to and behaviors adopted during the
take part in a program of using transition must become routine.
secondary cuts of meat such as Management can help to ensure
livers, kidneys, and hearts. When changes become more firmly
around one-third of the women who established by publicizing the ways
had participated in the discussion in which change has benefited the
group later served offal for dinner, company, and by nurturing positive
Lewin concluded that increasing
the level of people’s involvement
Learning to use new technologies
also increases the likelihood of in place of old ones is made easier by
changing their attitudes and an increase in driving forces—such as
behaviors. Lecturing to the first the ability to contact friends and family
group had proved ineffective, but worldwide, instantly and inexpensively.

During World War II, housewives chicken or steak, or if other women
were encouraged to change many of are criticizing her choice of meat,
their beliefs, from the types of food she may decide to abandon offal
and clothing that were acceptable
to their capability to do “men’s jobs.”
and look for other ways to feed her
family, starting the unfreezing and
change processes all over again.
ensure compliance to the new Lewin’s pioneering experimental
priorities) by offering them a $65 work into social systems has led
bonus if the US Department of him to be widely recognized as the
Transportation rated the company founder of social psychology. He
among the top five airlines. The use was the first psychologist to study
of Lewin’s change model marked “group dynamics” and organizational
Continental’s evolution from being development in a methodical way.
the poorest-performing airline to He applied rigorous social science
being named Airline of the Year. to effect useful social transformation,
At the individual level, the and his work has been influential
freezing stage marks a time when across the fields of experimental
new beliefs and practices are tested and social psychology. ■
through trial and error; this either
feelings toward the change among reinforces the changes or starts a
employees, perhaps by delivering new change cycle. For example,
rewards for implementing the new after a week of serving offal to her
skills or processes. For example, family, a wartime housewife might
in the 1990s, Continental Airlines assess whether her family seems to
was forced to file for bankruptcy. enjoy the meat, whether they seem There is nothing
In order to stay in business, the healthy, and whether other families so practical as
management implemented a major seem to be judging her positively or a good theory.
change: they shifted the company negatively based on her meal choices. Kurt Lewin
focus from saving costs to putting If the answers to these questions
out a quality product that met high are positive, she will continue to
customer standards. They decided serve offal at dinnertime. If, however,
to reward employees for adopting her children do not appear to be as
the new policies and practices (to healthy as they were when eating
Kurt Lewin German-American psychologist resign and seek refuge in the

Kurt Lewin was born in 1890 into US. He began working at Cornell
a middle-class Jewish family in University, then moved to the
Mogilno, Poland (then Prussia). In University of Iowa where he
1905, his family moved to Berlin, became a professor. In 1944, he
where he studied medicine at became director of the Center
the University of Freiburg before for Group Dynamics at the
transferring to the University of Massachusetts Institute of
Munich to study biology. During Technology, but died of a heart
World War I, he served in the attack just three years later.
German army, but returned to
Berlin to complete his PhD after Key works
being injured. He worked at the
Psychological Institute, Berlin, 1935 A Dynamic Theory of
from 1921 to 1933, when Personality
restrictions on the Jewish 1948 Resolving Social Conflicts
population compelled him to 1951 Field Theory in Social
224
IN CONTEXT
HOW STRONG
APPROACH
Conformism
IS THE URGE
BEFORE
1880s Hippolyte Bernheim,
a French physician, uses
hypnosis to demonstrate the
TOWARD
concept of “suggestibility.”
1935 Muzafer Sherif’s
conformism experiment
SOCIAL
leads Asch to develop the
Asch Paradigm.
AFTER
1963 Stanley Milgram’s
CONFORMITY?
obedience experiments show
that people conform for an
authority figure despite
experiencing a moral conflict.
SOLOMON ASCH (1907–1996) 1976 Serge Moscovici argues
that a consistent minority can
be influential.
1979 Knud S. Larsen, a
Danish psychologist, shows
that conformity may be tied
to cultural climate.
S
ocial psychologist Solomon
Asch challenged our idea of
ourselves as autonomous
beings when he devised an
experiment to demonstrate our urge
to conform. His famous experiment
showed that when people are
confronted with a majority opinion,
the tendency to conform may be
stronger than their commitment to
what they perceive to be true. He
detailed his findings in his 1955
paper Opinions and Social Pressure,
which also discusses the social
influences that shape a person’s
beliefs, judgments, and practices.
Asch wanted to investigate the
effects of group pressure on
individual decision-making, and

See also: Serge Moscovici 238–39 ■ Stanley Milgram 246–53 ■
Philip Zimbardo 254–55 ■ Max Wertheimer 335 ■ Muzafer Sherif 337
A group exerts profound A certain amount of

social effects on its conformity serves
members. important social functions.
People feel compelled to

conform in order to fit in. Solomon Asch
Solomon Elliott Asch was a
pioneer in the field of social
psychology. He was born into
a Jewish family in Warsaw
They will pretend or even (then part of the Russian
convince themselves that they agree Empire) in 1907. At the age
with the majority. of 13 he emigrated to the US
and studied psychology. He
received a PhD in 1932 from
Columbia University, where
he was influenced by Max
Wertheimer.
Their tendency to conform Asch became a professor
can be stronger than their values at Swarthmore College in
or basic perceptions. 1947, and worked closely with
Wolfgang Köhler. He held
visiting posts at Massachussets
Institute of Technology (MIT)
and Harvard, where he
how and to what extent people’s demonstrated the principles of
supervised Stanley Milgram’s
attitudes were influenced by social conformity, Asch contended Ph.D., before moving to the
forces around them. that—because there was no right University of Pennsylvania.
Turkish psychologist Muzafer or wrong answer to the task—no His many awards include the
Sherif set out to answer similar definitive conclusions could be Distinguished Scientific
questions in 1935, using a visual drawn. Conformity, he believed, Contribution Award from the
illusion called the autokinetic effect, could only be measured in terms American Psychological
whereby a stationary spot of light of an individual’s tendency to Association. He died aged 88.
seen in a dark room appears to agree with group members who
move. He told the subjects of his unanimously give the wrong answer Key works
study that he was going to move the on a task that has an unambiguous
light and asked them how far they solution. The simple perceptual task 1951 Effects of Group Pressure
thought it had shifted. Tested in that became known as the Asch Upon the Modification and
groups, the participants’ estimates Paradigm was designed to offer this. Distortion of Judgment
1952 Social Psychology
converged into a group norm,
1955 Opinions and Social
revealing that they used others’ The Asch Paradigm Pressure
estimates as a frame of reference in The experiment was conducted 1956 Studies of Independence
an ambiguous situation. Although with 123 male subjects, each of and Conformity
Sherif believed that he had whom was put individually into a ❯❯
226 SOLOMON ASCH

group of five to seven “confederates” Initially, Asch thought that only a
(people who were aware of the real few of the subjects would comply
aims of the experiment but were with the confederates’ answers.
introduced as fellow participants). After all, the task was simple and
The group was shown one card the answers obvious; during the
with a line on it, followed by pilot study in which there was no
another card with three lines pressure to yield to an erroneous
All the yielding subjects
labeled A, B, and C, and asked group, only three errors were made
underestimated the frequency
which one of those three lines out of 720 total trials. The results with which they conformed.
was the same length as the line of the actual study were surprising. Solomon Asch
on the first card. When surrounded by a group of
The room was always organized people all giving the same
so that the subject would give incorrect answer, subjects gave
either the last or the penultimate incorrect answers on almost a
answer. Over the course of 18 third (32 percent) of the questions;
trials, confederates were instructed 75 percent of them provided an
to provide the correct answers incorrect response for at least one conformed on all critical trials,
for the first six, but then to give question. One person complied and 13 of the 50 participants
identical but incorrect answers with the group giving a wrong (26 percent) never conformed.
for another 12. This was to test answer on 11 out of 12 trials. The results proved that the
whether or not the subject would Because the task was both simple subjects themselves were highly
answer correctly or whether he and unambiguous, these figures consistent. Those who broke
would match his response to that indicate a high degree of away from the group opinion and
of the confederates when all gave conformity by the subjects. provided an independent answer
the same—incorrect—answer. However, not a single participant did not succumb to the majority
even over many trials, while
In the Asch Paradigm experiment, participants were those who chose to comply with
given a visual test. They had to decide which of the three the majority seemed unable to
lines on the second card was the same length as the one on break this pattern.
the first card. Each question was called a “trial” and there
were 18 trials in all. Explanations
To get a deeper understanding
of his results, Asch interviewed
his subjects to find out why they
offered incorrect answers. Some
said they wanted to go along
with what they believed to be
the experimenter’s wishes and
avoid upsetting the overall
experiment. A few actually
wondered if they were perhaps
suffering from eye strain or were
seated at a misleading angle.
Some denied that they were
aware of having given incorrect
answers. Eventually, some
admitted to knowing their
answers were incorrect, adding
that they did not want to stand
out or appear different and foolish:
A B C they wanted to fit in.

Asch also spoke to the subjects Asch discovered that if he allowed
who had maintained correct and the participants to give their
independent responses, and found answers privately, by writing
that they had not been unresponsive them down on a piece of paper,
to the majority, but had been able conformity noticeably decreased,
to recover from the doubt that they and this held true even if the
A member of a
felt in order to give an honest confederates were still giving
account of what they saw. their answers aloud.
tribe of cannibals accepts
Asch performed variations on
cannibalism as altogether
the experiment to test what Cultural norms fitting and proper.
difference the size of the majority Some psychologists hypothesized Solomon Asch
group made to levels of conformity. that Asch’s findings reflected the
He found that just one confederate cultural climate of 1950s America
had virtually no influence on the during McCarthyism, when dissent
subject’s conformity, two had only a was seen as anti-American and
small influence, but three or more people were imprisoned for their
encouraged a relatively stable opinions. Later studies found
tendency to conform. Unanimity in variations in levels of conformity. bring about change. Moscovici was
the confederates’ responses was a For instance, a study conducted inspired to develop his own studies
more powerful factor; but even if in the early 1970s (a time of liberal, to demonstrate how a consistent
only one confederate offered an progressive thinking in the US) minority can affect the thinking
alternative answer, the subjects found far lower rates of conformity. of the majority.
were much more likely to provide However, a study in the late 1970s Although Asch acknowledges
an independent (and correct) showed a return to higher rates. that social life requires some
response. This finding highlights Conformity rates for cultures consensus, he also emphasizes
the power of even a very small worldwide also differ. Researchers that this is most productive when
dissenting minority. Furthermore, found that individualist cultures each individual contributes his
such as the US, the UK, and other independent insight and experience.
Western European countries, Consensus should not come out of
where personal choice and fear or conformity; the fact that he
individual achievements are found the tendency to conform was
valued highly, show lower levels strong even among intelligent people
of conformity than collectivist raised questions about societal
cultures such as Japan, Fiji, and values and the quality of education.
African countries, where group Asch’s conclusions note the
belonging is valued highly. power (and danger) of social
Psychologists have criticized influence to shape a person’s
Asch’s methods on the grounds beliefs and behavior. If something
that he focused on a stripped-down becomes normal for a group, social
version of group behavior that does pressure will ensure conformity.
not feature much interaction Inspired by Asch’s theory, Stanley
between participants, or that Milgram’s experiment on obedience
he was more focused on the showed that ordinary people are
individuals within a group than on capable of cruelty when under
the group dynamic. Others wonder pressure to conform.
if he overstated the power of the However, the majority of
majority to influence the minority. participants in Asch’s study, even
US Senator Joseph McCarthy
launched a Communist witch hunt Serge Moscovici, in particular, those who had conformed, stated
during the 1950s, generating an disagreed with Asch’s analysis that they valued independence
environment of fear and high levels and argued that an active minority of mind, leaving him optimistic
of political and social conformity. could influence the majority and about humanity. ■
228
LIFE IS A
DRAMATICALLY
ENACTED THING
ERVING GOFFMAN (1922–1982)
IN CONTEXT Social interaction is comparable to a theatrical play.

APPROACH
Impression management
BEFORE
1890 William James first
makes the distinction People, like actors, try There are “front
between the private self-as- to create a favorable stage” areas for
subject (“I”) and the public impression of our public There is an
self-as-object (“me”). themselves through personas, and audience for
their choice of script, “backstage” the performance.
1902 American sociologist setting, wardrobe, areas for our
Charles Cooley posits the skills, and props. private lives.
looking-glass self theory, which
states that the self is reflected
in the reactions of other people.
AFTER
1990 US psychologists Mark Life is a dramatically enacted thing.
Leary and Robin Kowalski
define three ways in which
impression management can
increase well-being: belonging,
D
evised by Erving Goffman, with other people, we present a
self-enhancement, and self- impression management public image of ourselves. In some
understanding. is a theory that relates instances, we may be trying to
1995 Psychologist Sarah to how we create, maintain, and influence a particular person
Hampson argues that our enhance our social identities. (such as a job interviewer); in other
A fundamental aspect of social situations, we may simply be trying
behavior changes according to
interaction, Goffman says, is that to maintain a favorable image of
who we are with, and different
we try—either consciously or ourselves. In his 1959 book, The
people bring out various
subconsciously—to manipulate Presentation of Self in Everyday
aspects of our personality. and control the way that others Life, Goffman draws a parallel
perceive us. Whenever we interact between impression management

See also: William James 38–45 ■ William Glasser 240–41 ■ Stanley Milgram 246–53 ■ David D. McClelland 322–23 ■
Walter Mischel 326–27
and theater, showing how the costumes to display to the if the food at the party turns out
ways we present ourselves in audience. The main goal of both to be nothing more special than
the real world are similar to the the social actor and the onstage pizza, or there are noncelebrities
performances of dramatic actors actor is to maintain a sense of also in attendance—there is a
on stage. Each social interaction is coherence through interactions tendency for people to pretend
driven as much toward having a with other actors. This can only that nothing has changed, thereby
particular effect on the audience as be achieved when everyone encouraging an artificial sense of
it is toward honest self-expression. agrees upon the "definition of the believability in order to keep the
In fact, according to Goffman’s situation," and on the characteristics, peace or to avoid embarrassment.
theory, personality is the sum of expectations, and limitations of Goffman himself was said
the various roles that a person a particular performance or to enjoy testing the limits of the
plays in his or her life. This implies interaction, signaling to each other rules that shaped encounters in
that the true self is not a private or the appropriate ways of reacting restaurants, lecture theaters, and
internal phenomenon, but rather and fitting into the social setting. movie theater lines. ■
the dramatic effect of the ways in To be in proper accord, people
which a person presents himself must agree on their personal
publicly. “Life is a dramatically identities, the social context,
enacted thing,” Goffman says: and the collective expectations
creating a successful impression of behavior within that context.
requires the right setting, props, For example, celebrities attending
wardrobe, skills, and a shared an elite party have all implicitly
understanding of what constitutes agreed to understand that they
being on stage (in the public are “celebrities at an elite party;”
sphere) versus backstage (in the each will accept their defined role
personal, private sphere). in that situation and encourage
other actors and observers (or
Hotel staff are "front stage" when
Performance skills audience members) alike to accept they are interacting with the public.
Goffman believes that in real life, this definition. However, if the Their behavior may change, becoming
everyone has the ability to choose particular definition of the situation less formal, when they are not on
their own stage, props, and becomes discredited—for instance, duty "backstage".
Erving Goffman Erving Goffman, a Canadian wrote about this experience

sociologist and writer, was in his 1969 paper, The Insanity
born in Mannville, Alberta. His of Place. In 1981, he married
ancestors were Ukrainian Jews again, and in 1982—despite
who had emigrated to Canada. being seen as something of a
Goffman gained a bachelor’s maverick—became president
degree in sociology and of the American Sociological
anthropology at the University of Association. He died of stomach
Toronto, then obtained a master's cancer just a few months later.
and PhD in sociology at the
University of Chicago. In 1962, Key works
he was made a full professor at
the University of California, and 1959 The Presentation of Self
by 1969 had published seven in Everyday Life
significant books. Tragedy struck 1961 Asylums
in 1964 when his first wife 1971 Relations in Public
committed suicide; Goffman 1974 Frame Analysis
THE MORE
YOU SEE IT
THE MORE YOU
LIKE IT
ROBERT ZAJONC (1923–2008)
232 ROBERT ZAJONC
IN CONTEXT
APPROACH Repeated exposure to a stimulus
breeds familiarity with it.
Familiarity
BEFORE
1876 German experimental
psychologist Gustav Fechner
suggests familiarity increases
positive feeling toward art Familiarity brings about an attitude change
objects, but “supersaturation” toward the stimulus …
leads to aversion.
1910 Edward B. Titchener
documents the mere exposure
effect, describing it as a
“glow of warmth” that people …taking the form of preference,
experience in the presence or affection.
of familiar things.
AFTER
1971 Psychologists T.T. Faw
and D. Pien find that adults
and children prefer unfamiliar This preference is emotional and
line drawings and patterns to forms on a subconscious level before
familiar ones. a person is even aware of it.
1989 Robert Bornstein finds
that the mere exposure effect
is strongest when unfamiliar
stimuli are presented briefly. The more you see it, the more you like it.
U
ntil the middle of the 20th this end, he performed a seminal 1910, described the “glow of
century, social scientists experiment in 1968 that led to his warmth” and feeling of intimacy
tended to base their discovery of the “mere exposure that a person experiences in the
explanations of human behavior effect,” which is arguably his best- presence of something familiar.
on environmental factors. However, known contribution to the field of However, Titchener’s hypothesis
the Polish-born psychologist Robert social psychology. was rejected at the time, and the
Zajonc believed that to develop a idea faded into relative obscurity.
more complete understanding, it Familiarity experiments Zajonc’s interest in the effect
is necessary to take into account Mere exposure, Zajonc explained, was aroused by a newspaper article
the functions of the mind as well. simply refers to a condition in that described a curious experiment
Zajonc’s main interest was in the which the given stimulus is that took place at Oregon State
relationship between feeling and accessible to the subject’s University in 1967. The article
thought—the intersection of perception, either consciously or stated that a “mysterious student”
emotion and cognition—and he subconsciously. The effects of mere had been attending class for two
devoted much of his career toward exposure had been documented months, enveloped in a black bag.
exploring which of these factors has previously by the psychologist The professor, Charles Goetzinger,
a stronger influence on behavior. To Edward B. Titchener who, in knew the identity of the person

See also: Leon Festinger 166–67 ■ Edward B. Titchener 334 ■ Stanley Schachter 338
Zajonc’s 1968 experiment

tested the mere exposure
effect by showing people
slides of symbols with
uneven rates of repetition;
the more frequently someone
saw a symbol, the more
they claimed to like it.
inside, but none of the class had any This increases with exposure: the affectionate feeling is not based
idea who it might be. Goetzinger greater your number of exposures on reasoned judgement. This is
then observed the class to gauge to something, the more affection contrary to what most of us might
their reactions over time. Initially, you will feel toward it. To put it imagine to be the case.
the students treated the black bag simply, “the more you see it, the In a paper called Feeling and
with hostility, but this softened in more you like it.” Thinking, written in 1980, Zajonc
time and they were eventually Researchers into the mere argued that feelings and thoughts
friendly and even protective toward exposure phenomenon since Zajonc’s are actually very independent of
the person in the bag. Goetzinger experiment have found that it is one another. Feelings not only
noted that the students’ attitude even possible to re-create this effect precede thoughts during a person’s
gradually “changed from hostility using sound rather than images. In complex response to a stimulus,
toward the black bag to curiosity 1974, the social psychologist D.W. but are actually the most powerful
and finally to friendship.” Rajecki used fertile chicken eggs determinants of a person’s attitudes
Zajonc’s groundbreaking paper, as test subjects, playing tones of and decisions. This paper was widely
Attitudinal Effects of Mere Exposure, different frequencies to different debated, and it helped to bring
was published in The Journal of groups of eggs before they hatched, the study of emotion back to the
Personality and Social Psychology and then playing these tones to forefront of Western psychology,
in 1968. Zajonc’s paper describes a both groups of chicks again after in part because the theory bears ❯❯
series of experiments in which he hatching. Without exception, the
showed participants a sequence of chicks preferred the tones that had
random images—geometric shapes, been played to them prenatally.
Chinese symbols, paintings, and
pictures of faces—that were flashed Preferences are not rational
in front of them so rapidly that they Zajonc’s findings indicate that this
were unable to discern which were preference for familiar things is Novelty is commonly
shown repeatedly. When subjects based purely on the history of associated with
were later asked which images they exposure to it, and is not affected uncertainty and conflict—
preferred, they consistently chose by a person’s expressed personal states that are more
the ones to which they had been beliefs or attitudes. This holds true likely to produce negative
most frequently exposed, although even when exposures take place than positive affect.
they were not consciously aware of only on the subliminal level, when Robert Zajonc
this fact. What Zajonc seemed to subjects are completely unaware
have discovered was that familiarity that they are being presented with
brings about an attitude change, a stimulus. This discovery led to
breeding affection or some form of Zajonc’s claim that “preferences
preference for the familiar stimulus. need no inferences,” meaning that
234 ROBERT ZAJONC
The advertising industry

has always attributed to
exposure formidable
advertising potential.
Robert Zajonc
Repeated exposure to a brand

can create a liking for it, even when
it is presented without any factual
information and requires no decision-
making from the person viewing it.
important implications for the study have already made, rather than effect,” the way we tend to form
of decision-making processes. It actually serving to inform the friendships or romantic relationships
suggests that, contrary to what we choice in the first place. with people we see regularly. One
may believe, it is not reason and Zajonc concludes that “affect explanation for this focuses on
logic that guide our decisions; in is always present as a companion evolution: when animals are
fact, we make fast, instinctive, to thought, whereas the converse exposed to something for the first
emotion-based decisions before we is not true for cognition.” We can time, they often respond with fear
have even had a chance to consider never think about something and aggression, but repeated
the choice cognitively—we make without a feeling attached; as exposures—during which the
judgments without information. If Zajonc says, we do not just see animal realizes the perceived threat
this is true, it follows that our “a house,” we see “a handsome does not materialize—lead to a
logical reasoning merely justifies house” or “a pretentious house.” reduction in negative responses.
and rationalizes the decisions we Every perception we have contains Zajonc explored this notion further
some affect, or feeling. The primacy with human subjects, discovering
of affect over cognition is also that people form very negative
apparent in memory, he says, as attitudes toward an imaginary
Frederick Bartlett noted in his book, group of unfamiliar people,
Remembering: “When a subject is attributing unpleasant qualities
being asked to remember, very to them for no apparent reason
The form of experience often the first thing that emerges is other than the fact that they are
that we came to call something of the nature of attitude.” complete strangers. However, as
“feeling” accompanies with shapes and symbols, repeated
all cognitions. Interpersonal attraction exposure is shown to increase
Robert Zajonc The impact of the mere exposure trust and affection.
effect extends beyond the confines Another explanation for the
of the laboratory, and out into the propinquity effect focuses on
area of interpersonal attraction. In the many factors involved in
this context, the phenomenon is interpersonal attraction, which
referred to as the “propinquity include familiarity, similarity of

attitudes, physical attraction, and colleagues, he conducted a study
reciprocal affection. Frequent to find out whether the faces of
interactions between people may spouses appear more similar after
not only increase the level of 25 years together. They compared
familiarity, but also provide an photographs of couples taken
increasing impression of similarity, during their first year of marriage
thereby breeding positive feelings with those taken 25 years later,
and ultimately attraction. and found that couples looked more
alike after many years of being
Exposure and advertising together. After ruling out several
Advertising is another arena in other potential explanations, the
which the mere exposure effect researchers decided that empathy
plays a crucial role, although the was the most likely cause. Time
picture here is less clear. Research had increased the couple’s empathy Robert Zajonc
seems to suggest that repeated for each other, and since human
exposure to a brand or corporate emotion is communicated through Robert Zajonc was born in
name would boost sales, but this facial expressions, they may have Lodz, Poland. When he was
16 his family fled to Warsaw
assumption is evidently overly begun to mimic each others’
during the Nazi invasion of
simplistic, as it doesn’t take into expressions in the process of Poland. Two weeks later, their
account other possible effects of empathizing, resulting in similar building was bombed and both
frequent exposure. wrinkle patterns over time. of his parents were killed. He
One study used banner ads to Known for the breadth of his spent six months recuperating
test the mere exposure effect on work on the basic processes of in a hospital, after which he
college-aged students. Subjects were social behavior, Zajonc helped was arrested by Nazi soldiers
presented with an article to read on to create the modern field of social and sent to a German labor
a computer screen while banner ads psychology. He used his work on camp. He escaped with two
flashed along the top of the screen. thought and feeling to explore other prisoners and walked
The results indicated that those who issues such as racism, genocide, 200 miles (320km) to France
had been exposed more frequently to and terrorism, hoping that research only to be recaptured and
the banner ads did indeed rate the could ultimately help to prevent imprisoned again. He broke
ads more favorably than those who war and human suffering. ■ out for a final time and made
his way to the UK.
had seen it less frequently or not at
After World War II, Zajonc
all. However, another study found
moved to the US, where he
that familiarity with a brand name established himself as an
can create an ambivalent attitude. eminent psychologist, gaining
This may be because people have psychology degrees to PhD
both good and bad associations level at the University of
with familiar companies, and all of Michigan. He worked there
these associations are brought to until his retirement in 1994,
mind with frequent exposure, when he became an emeritus
leading to greater ambivalence. As professor at Stanford University.
a result, it is unclear whether mere Zajonc died of pancreatic
familiarity, created through repeated cancer at the age of 85.
advertising, is good for sales.
Key works
Familiar faces
1968 Attitudinal Effects of
Zajonc found that not only does
Couples grow to resemble each Mere Exposure
exposure influence how a person other over time because they express 1975 Birth Order and
feels about someone, but it can empathy through reflecting each Intellectual Development
even change the way a person other’s facial expressions; this leads 1980 Feeling and Thinking
looks over time. With a group of to the formation of similar facial lines.
236
WHO LIKES
COMPETENT
WOMEN?
JANET TAYLOR SPENCE (1923– )
U
ntil the women’s liberation intellectual leadership, and social
IN CONTEXT movement took hold in the and economic freedom. The results
1970s, Janet Taylor Spence’s were surprising. Contrary to the
APPROACH
research had focused primarily on researchers’ expectations, subjects
Gender studies
anxiety. However, after reading a not only preferred more competent
BEFORE study conducted by two of her to less competent women, but even
1961 Albert Bandura develops colleagues about how competence awarded the highest ratings to the
social learning theory, which in men correlated with likeability, women who were competent in
suggests that boys and girls the American psychologist turned stereotypically masculine ways.
behave differently because to issues relating to gender. Noticing This landmark study was
they are treated differently. that the study did not consider seminal in launching gender
the female gender, she decided to research as a subcategory within
1970 Robert Helmreich conduct a similar study that focused the field of social psychology. ■
and Elliot Aronson publish a entirely on women. The resulting
study showing that men find paper—Who likes competent
competent men more likeable women?—was published in 1972.
than incompetent ones. Working with Robert Helmreich,
Taylor Spence set out to test
AFTER whether men and women preferred
1992 US psychologist Alice competent women to incompetent Even our conservative
Eagly finds that women are ones. The two psychologists subjects… rated highest
evaluated more negatively suspected that only people who the woman who was
when they display leadership in believed in sexual equality would competent in stereotypically
a traditionally masculine way. prefer competence. To test their masculine areas.
2003 Simon Baron-Cohen hypothesis, they designed the Janet Taylor Spence
suggests the female brain is Attitudes Toward Women Scale,
predominantly hardwired for which assesses attitudes toward
empathy, whereas the male the roles and rights of women by
asking questions about education,
brain is hardwired for
marriage, professional life, habits,
understanding systems.
See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Guy Corneau 155 ■ Eleanor E. Maccoby
284–85 ■ Albert Bandura 286–91 ■ Simon Baron-Cohen 298–99
FLASHBULB
MEMORIES ARE FIRED
BY EVENTS OF HIGH
EMOTIONALITY
ROGER BROWN (1925–1997)
I
n the late 1970s, Harvard
IN CONTEXT University professor Roger
Brown co-wrote a paper
APPROACH
called Flashbulb Memories that
Memory studies
became the classic study on a
BEFORE memory phenomenon. Brown and
1890 William James makes a his colleague, James Kulik, coined
distinction between short-term this term to refer to a special kind
(primary) memory and long- of autobiographical memory in
term (secondary) memory. which people give a highly detailed,
vivid account of the exact moment
1932 Frederic Bartlett’s that they learned about an event
studies show that recollective with a high shock value.
memory is not simply a matter The paper argues that culturally
of retrieval; it is an active and personally significant events,
reconstruction of past events. such as the shooting of J.F. Kennedy The assassination of President
or Martin Luther King, trigger the John F. Kennedy in 1963 was shocking
AFTER operation of a special biological and culturally significant. Brown
1982 US psychologist Ulric memory mechanism (“now print”) claims these kinds of events cause
Neisser argues that flashbulb the formation of “flashbulb” memories.
that creates a permanent record of
memories do not use a special the event and the circumstances in
mechanism and can be which we first become aware of it. However, researchers such as Ulric
inaccurate due to multiple Almost like a flash photograph, we Neisser have contested the special
“rehearsals” after the event. can picture where we were, who we mechanism theory, suggesting that
1987 In Autobiographical were with, and what we were doing the memories’ durability stems from
Memory, American when we heard the shocking the fact that they are thought about
psychologist David Rubin news—such as the destruction of (or rehearsed) repeatedly after the
suggests that we remember the twin towers on 9/11. Brown and event, by the individual and the
Kulik claim these memories are wider world, and so are continually
landmark events that define
vivid, accurate, and enduring. reinforced within memory. ■
us as people.
See also: William James 38–45 ■ Jerome Bruner 164–65 ■ Endel Tulving 186–91
■ Frederic Bartlett 335–36 ■ Ulric Neisser 339
238
THE GOAL IS
NOT TO ADVANCE
KNOWLEDGE, BUT
TO BE IN THE
SERGE MOSCOVICI (1925– )
KNOW
IN CONTEXT
We overhear something This merges with other
APPROACH that arouses our things we know or
Social constructivism curiosity. have experienced.
BEFORE
Georg Hegel says that our
ideas and values are fashioned
by the zeitgeist, or spirit of the
age, which constantly changes Everyone is eager to
transmit knowledge and We chatter about this
through the reconciliation of keep a place in the circle with other people and
opposing views. of conversation. share our thoughts.
1927 German physicist Werner
Heisenberg’s “Uncertainty
Principle” reveals that the
observer affects the observed.
1973 American psychologist The collective Attitudes become
Kenneth Gergen writes Social conversations continue, organized and values
Psychology as History, which allowing everyone become established.
marks the emergence of to know more.
social constructivism.
AFTER
1978 In his zone of proximal
development theory, Lev
Vygotsky puts forward the idea The goal is not Society begins to
that learning is fundamentally to advance use new phrases and
a socially mediated activity. knowledge, but visions to describe a
to be “in the know.” collective common sense.

See also: Friedrich Herbart 24–25 ■ Kurt Lewin 218–23 ■ Solomon Asch 224–27 ■ Lev Vygotsky 270
I
n the late 1960s, some social communicate within a community. because “the goal is not to advance
psychologists, known as the They are, in effect, a collective knowledge, but to be in the know;”
social constructivists, argued “common sense”—a shared version to be an active participant in the
that the voice of ordinary people of reality—that is built through the collective circuit. The process
was being lost from psychological mass media, science, religion, and allows the unfamiliar to become
research. The concern was that interaction between social groups. familiar, and paves the way for
individuals were wrongly being To test his theory, Moscovici science to become common sense.
portrayed as merely perceiving looked at how the concepts of In this way, social representations
their social worlds rather than psychoanalytic theory had been provide a framework for groups of
actually constructing them. In absorbed within France since people to make sense of the world.
order to counteract these worrying World War II. He studied mass- They also affect how people treat
trends, social psychologist Serge market publications and conducted each other within societies.
Moscovici conducted a piece of interviews, searching for evidence Whenever there is debate over a
research that became a classic of the type of information that had controversial social issue—such
study of the way people absorb been floating around the collective as whether it should be legal for
ideas and understand their world. consciousness. He discovered that homosexuals to adopt children—
In his study, Psychoanalysis: psychoanalytic theory had trickled the impact and importance of social
its image and its public, published down both in the form of “high representations becomes apparent.
in France in 1961, Moscovici culture” and as popular common Moscovici insists that social
explored the belief that all thought sense: people thought about and representations are genuine forms
and understanding is based on the discussed complex psychoanalytic of knowledge in their own right,
workings of “social representations.” concepts in a way that seemed not diluted versions of higher-level
These are the many concepts, quite normal, but on the whole they information. In fact, he makes it
statements, and explanations were using simplified versions. clear that these everyday thoughts
that are created in the course (rather than the more abstract,
of everyday interactions and Molding common sense scientific versions) are significant,
communications between people. The translation of difficult concepts because “shared representations
They allow us to orientate ourselves into accessible and more easily are there to set up and build a
in our social and material worlds transmissible language is not common ‘reality,’ a common
and provide us with the means to problematic, Moscovici contends, sense which becomes ‘normal’.” ■
Serge Moscovici Born Srul Hersh Moskovitch to a In 1949, he gained a degree in

Jewish family in Braila, Romania, psychology, then a PhD under
Serge Moscovici attended school the supervision of Daniel
in Bucharest, but was expelled Lagache, with the support of
due to anti-Semitic laws. After a refugee grant. He co-founded
surviving the violent pogrom the European Laboratory of
of 1941, in which hundreds of Social Psychology in 1965, and
Jewish people were tortured as a professor of psychology has
and murdered, he and his father taught in prestigious universities
moved constantly around the across the US and Europe.
country. He learned French during
World War II, and co-founded an Key works
art journal, Da, which was banned
due to censorship laws. In 1947, 1961 Psychoanalysis
he left Romania and traveled via 1976 Social Influence and Social
“displaced persons” camps until Change
he reached France a year later. 1981 The Age of the Crowd
240
WE ARE
BY NATURE
SOCIAL BEINGS
WILLIAM GLASSER (1925– )
W
illiam Glasser openly achieving greater happiness and
CONTEXT rejected conventional fulfilment through personal choice,
psychiatry and the use responsibility, and transformation.
APPROACH
of medication, claiming that most In 1965, he developed Reality
Choice Theory
of the mental and psychological Therapy, a cognitive-behavioral,
BEFORE problems that people experience problem-solving approach to
c.350 BCE Greek philosopher are actually on a spectrum of treatment that encourages clients
Aristotle says we are driven by healthy human experience, and to seek what they really want in
three things: sensual appetite, can be improved through changes the present moment, and to assess
anger, and boulesis, the rational in behavior. His ideas focus on whether or not the behaviors
desire for what is beneficial.
1943 Clark L. Hull says that
all human behavior comes We are, by nature,
from four primary drives: social beings.
hunger, thirst, sex, and the
avoidance of pain.
1973 US scientist William T.
Powers develops perceptual When our close Love and belonging
control theory (PCT), which interpersonal relationships are among our greatest
suggests that our behavior is are troubled we non-survival needs.
how we control our perceptions become unhappy.
in order to keep them close to
internally fixed reference levels.
AFTER
2000 US psychiatrist Peter
Breggin publishes Reclaiming Extreme unhappiness We can treat psychological
can result in problems by repairing
our Children, criticizing the
symptoms that are interpersonal
use of psychiatric drugs as commonly associated relationships; psychiatric
“cures” for troubled children. with mental illness. drugs are unnecessary.

See also: Emil Kraepelin 31 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ David Rosenhan 328–29 ■
Clark L. Hull 335
that they have chosen are bringing

them closer to or further away from
achieving their goals.
Choice Theory
Over decades of practicing Reality
Therapy, Glasser realized that his
entire approach was based on the
idea of people actively identifying
what they want to do in order to
be fulfilled, and this led him to William Glasser
develop Choice Theory. This theory
holds that we are all motivated to William Glasser was born
act in ways that increase pleasure in Cleveland, Ohio, in
Interpersonal strife with those close 1925. Originally trained as
and decrease pain—we want to to us leads to rifts and resentments that a chemical engineer, he
think and behave in ways that will produce symptoms of mental illness; attended medical school in
make us feel better. All pleasure these problems are, in fact, the logical Cleveland and trained in
and pain, he says, derives from our consequences of troubled relationships. psychiatry in Los Angeles.
efforts to satisfy five genetically He began practicing in 1957.
encoded needs: survival, love and someone to listen to what we say; Through the writings on
belonging, power, freedom, and fun. to feel free, we must feel free from perceptual control theory
Any behavior that satisfies one of the control of others; and while it is (PCT) by William T. Powers,
these is pleasurable, and any that possible to have fun on our own, it Glasser was introduced to
fails to do so is a source of pain, is much easier with other people. control theory systems. In
and ultimately, he explains, it is For these reasons, he argues, “we 1967, Glasser founded the
only through human relationships are, by nature, social beings.” Institute for Reality Therapy
that we can satisfy these needs. Glasser emphasizes that lasting in California (later renamed
When we are struggling to survive, psychological problems are usually the William Glasser Institute),
which trains students in
the help of another makes us feel caused by problems in our personal
Choice Theory. His approach
good; in order to feel love and relationships (rather than signifying
is taught in more than 28
belonging, we need at least one a biochemical abnormality in the countries, and he has written
good relationship; to sense even brain), and distress can be on mental illness, counseling,
the least of our power, we need remedied through repairing these and how to improve schools.
relationships without recourse He is the recipient of many
to psychiatric drugs. He points awards, including the “A
toward the basic human need for Legend in Counseling Award”
power, which we try to satisfy by and the Master Therapist
attempting to control other people. designation by the American
In fact, the only thing that we can Psychiatric Association.
Improving our relationships control is the way we behave and
is improving our think; we cannot control others. Key works
mental health. Trying to, he says, shows a lack of
William Glasser respect for others and is the cause 1965 Reality Therapy
1969 Schools Without Failure
of unhappiness. Choice Theory is
1998 Choice Theory
a self-control psychology designed 2003 Warning: Psychiatry
to counteract this tendency and Can be Hazardous to your
to help us find happiness within Mental Health
our relationships. ■
242
WE BELIEVE PEOPLE
GET WHAT THEY
DESERVE
MELVIN LERNER (1929– )
IN CONTEXT
People want …where “bad” things
APPROACH to believe that they only happen to
Attribution theory live in a safe, “bad” people, and
stable, and only “good” things
BEFORE orderly world… happen to “good” people.
1958 Austrian psychologist
Fritz Heider investigates the
attribution process, or how
people judge the factors that
influence a situation.
1965 American psychologists
People operate under People blame the victims
Edward E. Jones and Keith
the assumption that of misfortune
“people get what they in order to protect
Davis argue that the goal of themselves from
attribution is to discover how
deserve” and deserve
what they get. feeling vulnerable.
behavior and intention reveal a
person’s basic nature.
AFTER
1971 US sociologist William
P
eople are most comfortable that places undue importance on
J. Ryan coins the phrase when they have a sense of the supposed character traits of
“victim blaming,” exposing control over their lives. We the people involved rather than
how it is used to justify racism need to believe that we live in a on the actual facts of a situation.
and social injustice. world where the good are rewarded If someone is suffering or being
1975 American psychologists and the bad are punished, and this punished, we find it easier to
Zick Rubin and Letitia Peplau contributes significantly to our believe that that person must have
find that firm believers in a sense that it is possible to predict, done something to deserve such
guide, and ultimately control treatment. The Just-World theory
“Just World” tend to be more
events. This “Just-World hypothesis” becomes a comforting rationalization
authoritarian, more religious,
is a tendency to believe that of seemingly inexplicable events,
and more admiring of existing
“people get what they deserve.” and stops the world from appearing
social and political institutions. But, according to Melvin Lerner, chaotic or random. It also allows
this is a dangerous misconception people to believe that as long as

See also: Dorothy Rowe 154 ■ Elizabeth Loftus 202–07
live in a just world; and so children the victim to those assessing them
grow into adults with this belief can affect whether or not people are
firmly in place. held responsible for their misfortune.
Lerner’s hypothesis became the
Victim-blaming foundation of important research
In a 1965 study, Lerner found into social justice. It also sparked
that students who were told that a debate over the effects of a Just-
fellow student had won the lottery World approach to life. Does it help
rationalized this event by believing people stand up to difficulties? It
that the winner must have worked may instead stimulate the feeling
harder than his peers. It seems that that any wrongdoing, however
belief in a Just World allows people minor or unintentional, leads to
to adjust the facts of a situation. disaster—a belief that Australian
This can be especially damaging psychologist Dorothy Rowe has
Homelessness, like may other social
problems, is much easier to tolerate when applied to the way we might suggested can lead to an increased
or be indifferent to, if you believe that view victims of crime or abuse. In susceptibility to depression. ■
people are ultimately responsible for rape cases, for example, it is often
their own misfortunes. suggested that the female victim
was “asking for it” because she
they are “good,” only “good” things wore a short skirt or was flirtatious,
will happen to them, generating effectively absolving the perpetrator
a false sense of safety and control. of responsibility and placing it
In his book, The Belief in a Just in the hands of the victim. By People need to believe they
World, Lerner argued that we ask blaming the victim, outsiders also live in a Just World.
children to “be good” and promise protect their own sense of safety. Melvin Lerner
them that in return for effectively Lerner did emphasize, however,
putting their natural impulses and that belief in a Just World does not
desires to one side, they will be always lead to victim-blaming. The
rewarded in the future. For this seeming innocence, attractiveness,
contract to be fulfilled, we must status, and degree of similarity of
Melvin Lerner A pioneer of the psychological Lerner was editor of the journal
study of justice, Melvin Lerner Social Justice Research, and
studied social psychology at New in 2008 was given a Lifetime
York University, receiving his Achievement Award by the
doctorate in 1957. He then moved International Society for Justice
to Stanford University, California, Research. He is a visiting scholar
where he studied for his post- at Florida Atlantic University.
doctorate in clinical psychology.
From 1970 to 1994, Lerner Key works
taught social psychology at the
University of Waterloo in Canada. 1980 The Belief in a Just World:
He has also lectured at a number A Fundamental Delusion
of universities in the US and 1981 The Justice Motive in
Europe, including the University of Social Behavior: Adapting to
California, Washington University, Times of Scarcity and Change
and the universities of Utrecht and 1996 Current Concerns about
Leiden in the Netherlands. Social Justice
244
PEOPLE WHO DO
CRAZY THINGS ARE NOT
NECESSARILY CRAZY
ELLIOT ARONSON (1932– )
I
n his 1972 book, The Social psychological imbalance on the
IN CONTEXT Animal, Elliot Aronson puts part of the perpetrator. Aronson,
forward “Aronson’s First Law:” however, argues that although
APPROACH
people who do crazy things are not psychotic people certainly exist,
Attitude change
necessarily crazy. The “crazy things” even people who are generally
BEFORE he refers to include acts of violence, psychologically healthy can be
1956 Social psychologist Leon cruelty, or deep prejudice—acts so driven to such extremes of human
Festinger states his theory of extreme that they seem to reflect a behavior that they appear insane. It
cognitive dissonance, which
posits that having inconsistent
beliefs causes uncomfortable
psychological tension. In some situations, sane people do crazy things.
1968 The My Lai Massacre
of civilians in Vietnam takes
place, possibly because US
soldiers dehumanized victims
If we are unaware of the social circumstances
to reduce cognitive dissonance.
that prompted their actions…
AFTER
1978 Elliot Aronson devises
the Jigsaw method of learning,
involving highly interdependent
small-group learning, to reduce …we are tempted to conclude that they
are caused by a deficiency in character
prejudice and violence at school. or insanity.
1980s Psychologists argue that
dissonance experiments may
not reflect real attitude changes,
but a desire to seem consistent
and hence socially acceptable.
We must remember that people who do
crazy things are not necessarily crazy.

See also: Leon Festinger 166–67 ■ Solomon Asch 224–27 ■ Melvin
Lerner 242–43 ■ Stanley Milgram 246–53 ■ Philip Zimbardo 254–55
is therefore important that,

before diagnosing people as
psychotic, social psychologists
make every effort to understand
the situations people have been
facing and the pressures that
Some situational variables can
were operating on them when the
abnormal behavior took place.
move a great proportion of us
‘normal’ adults to behave in
Cognitive dissonance very unappetizing ways.
To illustrate his point, Aronson cites Elliot Aronson Elliot Aronson
an incident that took place at Kent
State University, Ohio, in 1970 in Elliot Aronson grew up in
which members of the Ohio National Massachusetts, during the
Great Depression. He won a
Guard shot and killed four unarmed
scholarship to attend Brandeis
students, wounding nine others. University, where he earned
Some of these students had been his bachelor’s degree, before
protesting against the American false, did not reflect the beliefs of completing a master’s degree
invasion of Cambodia, but others psychotic minds, but rather the at Wesleyan University and a
were simply crossing the campus. attempt of pressured and conflicted PhD at Stanford University.
The reason for the shootings minds to find relief. He has been a professor at
remains ambiguous, but the fact The conflict felt by these people several universities, including
that it was tragically unnecessary is known as “cognitive dissonance,” Harvard and Stanford.
is clear. However, in the aftermath, an unpleasant feeling experienced Throughout his career,
one Ohio schoolteacher (as well as when two or more of one’s beliefs are Aronson has tried to use
National Guard members) asserted inconsistent. In order to reduce this his research findings to
that the students had deserved to dissonance, people change their improve the human condition
die, and rumors spread quickly that attitudes, beliefs, and actions, even and reduce prejudice. In
recognition of his work, he
the slain girls were either pregnant, if this involves justifying or denying
was given the William James
had syphilis, or were filthy. Aronson cruelty against others. This, Aronson
Award and the Gordon Allport
argues that these rumors, though claims, is what happened after the Prize, and was included in the
Kent massacre. The townspeople list of the 100 most influential
wanted to believe in their National psychologists of the 20th
Guards’ goodness, and this meant century, published by the
believing their victims deserved to Review of General Psychology.
die. The idea that the slain had He is the only person to have
been wanton and dirty comforted won all three awards offered
the people, relieving the emotional by the American Psychological
conflict of believing that innocent Association: for writing,
students were needlessly killed. teaching, and research.
Aronson claims that anyone
could behave this way under similar Key works
circumstances. By understanding
1972 The Social Animal
the reasons why people justify or
The Kent State University 1978 The Jigsaw Classroom
shootings, in which four students deny the use of cruelty, we may be
2007 Mistakes Were Made
were shot dead by the National Guard, better placed to mediate or prevent (but not by me)
caused the emotionally conflicted it in wider social contexts, such as
townspeople to denigrate the victims. war or social prejudice. ■
PEOPLE
DO WHAT THEY ARE
TOLD TO DO
STANLEY MILGRAM (1933–1984)
248 STANLEY MILGRAM
S
ocial psychologist Stanley merely because he was ordered
IN CONTEXT Milgram dramatically to do so? His study went on to
changed our understanding demonstrate important aspects of
APPROACH
of human obedience when he the relationship between authority
Conformism
published Behavioral Study of and obedience, and it remains one
BEFORE Obedience in 1963. This paper of the most controversial experiments
1939–45 During World War II, contained results of an experiment in the history of psychology.
approximately six million Jews that seemed to suggest that the
are systematically killed on the majority of people are capable of The power of the group
orders of Nazi Germany. causing extreme harm to others Milgram believed that it was the
when told to do so by a figure of situation of World War II and the
1950 Solomon Asch authority. It also caused people compulsion to obey—rather than
demonstrates the power to question the ethical limits of the dispositions of the Germans—
of social pressure to make psychological experimentation. that had enabled Nazi cruelty. He
people conform in his Milgram became particularly maintained that the behavior was
line-task experiments. interested in studying obedience a direct result of the situation, and
1961 Nazi war criminal Adolf during the trial of German Nazi any of us might have behaved
war criminal Adolf Eichmann. The identically in that very same
Eichmann is tried, and claims
prevailing view was that there was context. In the late 1950s, Milgram
he was just “following orders.”
something inherently different had worked extensively with
AFTER about the 20th-century Germans; Solomon Asch on his conformity
1971 Philip Zimbardo conducts in the 1950s, psychologists such as studies and had witnessed people
his prison experiment, which Theodor Adorno had suggested agreeing with the decisions of a
demonstrates that in certain that the Germans had certain group, even when they knew
situations, otherwise good personality characteristics that these decisions to be wrong. The
people can perform evil deeds. made them specifically susceptible experiments showed that people
to committing the atrocities of the are prepared to do or say things
1989 American psychologists Holocaust. Eichmann, however, that conflict with their own sense
Herbert Kelman and V.L. claimed he had just been “following of reality. Would they also allow
Hamilton state that members orders,” so Milgram set out to their moral judgments to be
of a group obey authority when investigate if this could be true— affected by the authority of a
they accept its legitimacy. would an ordinary person lay aside group or even a single figure?
what he knew to be right or wrong
The Milgram experiment
Milgram set out to test whether
normally kind, likeable people could
be made to act against their own
Humans are socialized moral values in a setting where
to be obedient from
People do what
they are told to do. some kind of authority held sway.
an early age. He devised an investigation of how
obedient a selection of “ordinary”
men would be when they were told
by an authority figure to administer
electric shocks to another person.
The experiment took place in a
laboratory at Yale University in 1961,
We feel compelled to …even when this where Milgram was a professor of
comply with the commands conflicts with our psychology. The participants were
of authority figures… own moral values. recruited through a newspaper
advertisement, and a total of 40 men
were selected from a wide range of

See also: Solomon Asch 224–27 ■ Serge Moscovici 238–39 ■ Philip Zimbardo 254–55 ■ Walter Mischel 326–27
labels that indicated the intensity

of different ranges of shock levels,
from “slight shock” at one end, to
“extreme intensity shock,” “danger:
severe shock,” and finally, one
marked simply “XXX,” at the other.
The most famous The role of the experimenter
and controversial of all or “scientist” was played by a
obedience experiments. biology teacher who introduced
Richard Gross himself to the participants as
Jack Williams. In order to give the
impression of authority, he was
dressed in a gray laboratory
technician’s coat and maintained a
stern and emotionless demeanor
throughout each of the experiments. Convincingly wired up, Mr. Wallace
occupations, including teachers, The participants were told that pretended to be an innocent volunteer.
postal workers, engineers, laborers, the study intended to investigate His screams failed to prevent 65 percent
of participants from administering the
and salesmen. They were each paid the effects of punishment on
highest level of fake electric shock.
$4.50 for their participation; the learning. They were told that of two
money was given to them as soon as volunteers, one would be the learner
they arrived at the laboratory, and and the other the teacher. In fact, play, the draw was always rigged so
they were told that the payment was one of the two “volunteers” in each that Mr. Wallace took on the role of
theirs to keep regardless of what case was not a participant but a “learner” in every instance. In full
happened during the experiment. stooge: he was a likeable accountant view of the participant, the “learner”
In the laboratory, Milgram had called Mr. Wallace, who had been (Mr. Wallace) was strapped into an
created a phony (but very impressive trained to play the role of the victim. “electric chair” with an electrode
and realistic-looking) electric shock When Mr. Wallace and the genuine attached to his wrist; the participant
generator. This had 30 switches participant drew paper from a hat to was told that this electrode was
marked in 15-volt increments with determine which role they would attached to the shock generator ❯❯
Stanley Milgram Stanley Milgram was born in 1933 he married Alexandra Menkin,
to a Jewish family in New York with whom he had two children.
City. His Hungarian parents ran In 1963, he returned to Harvard,
a bakery in the Bronx, and he but was denied tenure because
attended James Monroe High of the controversy surrounding
School with Philip Zimbardo. his experiment, so he moved to
A high academic achiever and a the City University of New York,
leader among his peers, Milgram where he taught until his death
initially studied political science, at the age of 51.
but went on to receive a PhD in
psychology from Harvard in 1960 Key works
under Gordon Allport. After
working with Solomon Asch on 1963 Behavioral Study of
conformity studies at Harvard, he Obedience
became assistant professor at 1967 The Small World Problem
Yale, where he carried out his 1974 Obedience to Authority:
obedience experiments. In 1961, An Experimental View
250 STANLEY MILGRAM

Milgram’s shock generator produced totally
unexpected results. A team of 40 psychiatrists
predicted that fewer than 5 percent of participants 100% of the participants applied shocks
would administer shocks as high as 300 volts; up to 300 volts; the point at which the
in fact, every participant went to this level. learner began to shout in apparent pain.
35% of the participants applied
shock
Very s
shocks of between 300 and 375
volts, but then refused to apply
sh e
St
ity em
trong
k
Intense
any more.
oc
ro
ns Extr
n
gs
s
ho
hock
M
ck
od ck
ho
e
era
te
sh int ere
s
oc ev
k e r: s 65% of the participants continued
ng the experiment to the end, applying
Slight Da
shock XXX the maximum shock of 450 volts as
many times as requested.
0V 450V
located in an adjacent room. The correct answer, announce the level an incorrectly answered question
participant heard the “scientist” of shock he was about to receive, and apply the next level of shock
tell the “learner” (Mr.. Wallace) that and press a switch to administer the voltage. If he expressed misgivings
“although the shocks can be shock. Participants were instructed about continuing the experiment, he
extremely painful, they cause no to increase the shock level by 15 volts received a verbal prod from the
permanent damage.” To make the (in other words, to keep moving up “scientist” to encourage him, from
situation appear more authentic, the shock scale on the machine) a simple request to continue, to
the scientist then wired up the with every wrong answer. finally being told that he had no
participant and gave him a sample choice but to go on. If he refused
shock of 45 volts—which was in fact Applying the shocks to obey after the last prod, the
the only shock strength that the As part of the experiment, the experiment was terminated.
generator could produce. learner (Mr. Wallace) had been
At this point, the participant briefed to answer incorrectly to
was moved to the room containing around one question in every four,
the shock generator and asked to to ensure that the participant would
assume the role of “teacher.” He was be required to start applying electric
asked to read a series of word pairs shocks. During the experiment, the
(such as “blue-girl”, “nice-day”) learner would pound the wall once With numbing regularity,
aloud for the learner to memorize. the voltage had reached 300, and good people were seen
After this he was to read out a series shout: “I absolutely refuse to answer to knuckle under the
of single words; the learner’s task any more! Get me out of here! You demands of authority
was to recall the pairing word in can’t hold me here! Get me out!” and perform actions that
each case and to indicate his answer As the shock level increased, the were callous and severe.
by pressing a switch that illuminated learner would shout more frantically, Stanley Milgram
a light on the shock generator. If the and then eventually cease making
learner’s answer was correct, the any noise at all; questions would
questions continued; if the answer be met with nothing but an eerie
was incorrect, the participant was silence. The participant was told to
instructed to tell the learner the treat any unanswered question as

In advance of the experiment, test that they were not emotionally
Milgram had asked several different harmed by the experience. The
groups of people, including ordinary participants were also reunited with
members of the public as well as the “learner” (Mr. Wallace) so that
psychologists and psychiatrists, they could see that no actual
how far they thought participants shocks had been administered. Ordinary people, simply
would go when asked to administer
doing their jobs, and
the electric shocks. Most people Feeling obliged to obey
thought participants would stop at Milgram noted several features
without any particular
a level that caused pain, and the of the experiment that may have
hostility on their part,
psychiatrists predicted that, at most, contributed to such high levels of can become agents in a
one in 1,000 would continue to the obedience; for example, the fact terrible destructive process.
highest level of shock. Astonishingly, that it took place at the prestigious Stanley Milgram
when the experiment took place, Yale University gave it credibility.
Milgram found that all 40 of the In addition, participants believed
participants obeyed commands to that the study was designed to
administer shocks up to 300 volts. advance knowledge, and they had
Only five people refused to continue been assured that the shocks were
at this point; 65 percent of the painful but not dangerous. Being
participants obeyed the instructions paid may have increased their from the reactions and responses
of the “scientist” right to the end, sense of obligation, as did the fact of the participants that obeying the
obeying commands to administer they had volunteered to take part. “scientist” was violating their own
shocks to the top level of 450 volts. To test these explanations, Milgram sense of morality and negatively
Their discomfort at doing so ran many variations on the study, affecting them both physically and
was often evident: many showed but changing the context had only emotionally, but the pressure to
signs of severe distress, tension, minor effects on the results. comply was simply too powerful
and nervousness over the course Milgram wanted to see if the to defy in most cases.
of the experiment. They stuttered, inclination to obey authority figures This sense of obedience,
trembled, sweated, groaned, broke can become the major factor in Milgram felt, comes from the fact
out into nervous laughing fits, and determining behavior, even in that people are socialized from a
three people had full-blown seizures. extreme circumstances. It is clear very young age (by parents and ❯❯
In every instance of the experiment,
the participant stopped and
questioned it at some point; some
even offered to refund the money
they were paid at the beginning.
Interviews after the experiments
confirmed that, with only a few
exceptions, participants had been
completely convinced that the
“learning experiment” was real.
All participants were fully
debriefed so they understood what
had actually taken place, and they
were asked a series of questions to
By the 1960s, Yale University was

known to the general public as being
highly prestigious; its authority may
have seemed literally unquestionable
to the participants of Milgram’s study.
252 STANLEY MILGRAM

teachers) to be obedient and to carried out by the Nazis. However, debriefed after the experiment.
follow orders—especially the rules the conflict between a person’s Self-knowledge, he argued, is a
set forth by authority figures. As conscience and external authority valuable asset, despite the
Milgram says, “obedience is as exerts a huge internal pressure, and discomfort that the participants
basic an element in the structure Milgram felt that this accounted for may have felt when forced to
of social life as one can point to… the extreme distress experienced confront the fact that they behaved
it serves numerous productive by the participants in his study. in a previously unthinkable way.
functions.” But equally, the However, many psychologists
inhumane policies of the death Ethical concerns remained uneasy, and the study
camps in World War II “could only There were many ethical concerns was ultimately crucial in the
be carried out on a massive scale associated with Milgram’s study. development of ethical standards of
if a very large number of persons When it was first published, the psychological experimentation. It
obeyed orders.” His experiments ensuing controversy was so great helped to define important principles
clearly demonstrated that normally that the American Psychological such as the avoidance of intentional
harmless people become capable Association revoked his membership deceit of participants, and the need
of committing cruel acts when a for a full year. However, it was to protect experimental participants
situation pressures them to do so. eventually reinstated, and Milgram’s from emotional suffering.
In describing his results, 1974 book Obedience to Authority
Milgram also turned to the theory of received the annual Social Cross-cultural validity
conformism, which states that when Psychology Award. Another criticism of Milgram’s
a person has neither the ability nor The major concern was that study was that he used an
expertise to make a decision, he will the participants in the experiment unrepresentative sample: American
look to the group to decide how to were explicitly deceived, both about men do not necessarily reflect the
behave. Conformity can limit and the nature of the study and about general population. Even so, Milgram
distort an individual’s response to the reality of the electric shocks. was able to conclude that obedience
a situation, and seems to result in a Milgram’s defense was that he was not a particular feature found in
diffusion of responsibility—which could not have obtained realistic the minds of 20th-century Germans,
Milgram felt was crucial to results without employing deception, but something more universal. A
comprehending the atrocities and all of the participants were number of cross-cultural replications
The behavior of Nazis during
World War II had been attributed to
a prevalence of the “authoritarian
personality” in the population; this was
questioned by Milgram’s experiments.
Obedience to authority is not a

feature of German culture, but
a seemingly universal feature
of human behavior.
Stanley Milgram
In wartime, a soldier does

not ask whether it is good
or bad to bomb a hamlet.
Stanley Milgram
American soldiers in Vietnam

reported that their behavior became
unacceptable by degrees—as with
the shock generator—until they found
themselves murdering innocents.
of the original experiment have twice: first with the virtual learner historical examples of people using
demonstrated remarkably high communicating only by text, and their authority to persuade others to
consistency in results within then with the computer-generated commit crimes against humanity.
societies, but slight differences model visible on screen. Those with Equally importantly, Milgram
between one country and another. only text contact with the learner showed that it is “not so much the
For example, in most of North had little trouble administering the kind of person a man is, as the kind
America and Europe, results are shocks; but when the virtual learner of situation in which he finds
very similar to those found in was visible, participants acted himself that determines how he
Milgram’s original experiment, with exactly as they had in Milgram’s will act.” Instead of examining
very high percentages of obedience. original experiment. personalities to explain crimes, he
Asian studies, however, show even says, we should examine the
greater levels of obedience (in East Society demands obedience context, or situation.
Asian and Muslim countries in The notion of a society rests on an Milgram’s seminal study was
particular), while aboriginal African understanding that individuals are heavily criticized at the time, not
and Latin American populations, prepared to relinquish some personal least because it painted an
as well as the Inuit peoples of autonomy and look to others of unappealing and chilling portrait
Canada, show far less obedience. higher authority and social status of human nature. It is easier to
to make decisions on a larger scale believe that there are fundamental
Virtual torture or from a higher, broader perspective. differences between the Nazis and
In 2006, the psychologist Mel Slater Even the most democratic of the rest of humanity than to accept
set out to see what the effect would societies requires the rulings of a that in certain situations, many of
be if participants were made recognized, legitimate authority to us are capable of committing
explicitly aware that the situation take precedence over individual extraordinary acts of violence.
was not real. His replication used a self-regulation, in pursuit of the Milgram held up a light to the dark
computer simulation of the learner greater collective good. In order realities concerning power and the
and shock process, so participants for any society to function, its consequences of our tendency to
administering the shocks were fully populace must agree to obey its obey authority figures, and in so
aware that the learner was computer- rules. Legitimacy is, of course, doing, he simultaneously absolved
generated. The experiment was run the key, and there are countless and made villains of us all. ■
254
WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN YOU PUT
GOOD PEOPLE
IN AN EVIL PLACE?
PHILIP ZIMBARDO (1933– )
S
tanley Milgram’s shocking willingly use (or abuse) the power
IN CONTEXT obedience studies revealed granted to them? In 1971 he carried
that people will obey out the now-famous Stanford Prison
APPROACH
authority figures even if this entails experiment, using 24 middle-class
Conformity
acting against their own moral American college students who had
BEFORE convictions. In the aftermath, Philip undergone tests to establish that
1935 Muzafer Sherif Zimbardo set out to discover how they were mentally healthy.
demonstrates how groups people would behave if they were On the flip of a coin the students
quickly come to develop a put into a position of authority with were randomly assigned the role of
“social norm” in his autokinetic unimpeded power. Would they either “guard” or “prisoner,” and one
effect experiments.
1940s Kurt Lewin shows how
people’s behavior changes
What happens when you put good people
as their situations are altered.
in an evil place?
1963 Stanley Milgram conducts
his obedience studies, which
demonstrate that people will Normal, healthy people start to behave
obey authority even if it means according to the social roles assigned to them.
committing cruel acts.
AFTER
2002 British psychologists
Steven Reicher and Alex
Those in the position of Those in a subordinate
Haslam extend Zimbardo’s position will submit to
power will naturally use
study to explore positive rather (and abuse) their authority. authority.
than negative group behavior.
2004 Zimbardo defends a
former Abu Ghraib prison
guard in court, arguing that
the circumstances caused It is the power of social situations, rather than the
the guard’s cruel behavior. dispositions of people, that leads to evil behavior.

See also: John B. Watson 66 –71 ■ Zing-Yang Kuo 75 ■ Kurt Lewin 218–23 ■
Elliot Aronson 244 – 45 ■ Stanley Milgram 246 – 53 ■ Muzafer Sherif 337
To the researchers’ amazement,

the environment quickly became so
threatening to participants that the
study had to be ended after only six
days. Every guard became abusive
and authoritarian; prisoners were
denied food or bedding, hooded,
chained, and made to clean toilet
bowls with their hands. As the
boredom increased, they used the
prisoners as their playthings, Philip Zimbardo
making them take part in degrading
games. After just 36 hours, one Philip Zimbardo was born in
prisoner had to be released because New York City in 1933 to a
The “prisoners” rebelled against the Sicilian-American family,
“guards,” but the guards’ tactics became of uncontrolled crying, fits of rage,
and was a classmate of
more aggressive. They began dividing and severe depression. When other Stanley Milgram at James
the prisoners into groups, giving some prisoners showed symptoms of Monroe High School in the
rewards and others punishments. acute distress, Zimbardo realized Bronx. He went on to earn
the situation had become dangerous his BA degree from Brooklyn
Sunday morning soon afterwards, and ended the experiment. College, New York, and a PhD
the prisoners were arrested at their Zimbardo’s experiment showed from Yale. He taught at several
homes, booked at a real police that good people can be induced into universities before moving to
station, then transferred to the behaving in evil ways by immersion Stanford in 1968, where he is
basement of the Stanford University in “total situations” that have an still a psychology professor.
psychology department, which had apparently legitimizing ideology In 2000, Zimbardo stated
been converted into a mock prison. and approved rules and roles. The that he agreed with George
implications are vast, as Zimbardo Armitage Miller that it was
The prison environment explains: “Any deed that any human time to “give psychology away
to the public,” and his career
In order to make the experience as being has ever done, however
has reflected this idea. In the
psychologically real as possible, horrible, is possible for any of us
1980s he presented a popular
prisoners were stripped, searched, to do—under the right or wrong TV series on “discovering
deloused, and given uniforms and situational pressures.” ■ psychology.“ The American
bedding upon their arrival. To Psychological Foundation
heighten their sense of anonymity presented him with an award
and dehumanization, they were for Distinguished Lifetime
addressed only by their given Contributions to General
numbers, and each had a chain Psychology in 2000, and two
bolted around one ankle to serve as years later he was elected
a reminder of their lack of freedom. Our study… reveals the president of the American
The guards wore military-style power of social, institutional Psychological Association.
uniforms and sunglasses (to make forces to make good men
eye contact impossible), and carried engage in evil deeds. Key works
keys, whistles, handcuffs, and clubs. Philip Zimbardo
1972 The Stanford Prison
They were on duty 24 hours a day,
Experiment
and were given complete control 2007 The Lucifer Effect
over the prisoners, with permission 2008 The Time Paradox
to employ whatever tactics they 2010 Psychology and Life
saw fit in order to maintain order.
256
TRAUMA MUST BE
UNDERSTOOD IN TERMS
OF THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL
AND SOCIETY
IGNACIO MARTIN-BARO (1942–1989)
I
gnacio Martín-Baró made his impartial, universal approach to
IN CONTEXT claim that “trauma must be psychology, he came to realize
understood in terms of the that psychologists must take into
APPROACH
relationship between the individual account the historical context and
Liberation psychology
and society” after witnessing first- social conditions of the people they
BEFORE hand the social injustices and are studying. He believed that
1965 Community psychology, violence endemic to El Salvador in while some mental health problems
a new discipline investigating the 1980s. Rejecting the idea of an reflect an abnormal reaction to
the relationships between
individuals and communities,
arises from discussions at the
Swampscott Conference, Because it aims to be impartial and
Massachusetts. universal, mainstream psychology does not
address the way specific contexts
1970s A crisis over the and environments shape mental health.
relevance of social psychology,
the study of links between
social conditions, emotions,
and behaviors, erupts in
Britain, North America, and
most acutely in Latin America. But to understand and treat mental
disorders, a psychologist should understand
AFTER the sociopolitical environment
1988 The Latin American of his subjects and patients.
Institute of Mental Health and
Human Rights is founded.
1997 US psychologists Isaac
Prilleltensky and Dennis Fox
publish Critical Psychology, Trauma must be understood
highlighting how traditional in terms of the relationship between
psychology can help sustain the individual and society.
injustice and social oppression.

See also: Lev Vygotsky 270 ■ Jerome Kagan 339
reasonably normal circumstances, rather than considering how to

the problems specific to oppressed awaken and drive the desire for
and exploited groups tend to reflect justice or freedom.
a perfectly understandable and
normal reaction to abnormal Traumatized societies
circumstances. Martín-Baró His collection Writings for a
decided that psychologists needed Liberation Psychology, published
The challenge is
to be more aware of how living posthumously in 1994, captures
to construct a new
within a difficult context affects several decades of Martín-Baró’s person in a new society.
mental health, and that they should concerns. It addresses the use of Ignacio Martín-Baró
help the society being studied to psychology as an instrument of war
transcend its history of oppression. and political manipulation, the role
In the mid-1980s, he launched the of religion in psychological warfare,
branch of liberation psychology, and the impact of trauma and
which is committed to improving violence on mental health. Martín-
the lives of all marginalized and Baró studied areas where dependent
oppressed people. economies and severe inequalities well as its social and political
Liberation psychologists claim had led to relentless poverty and environment, and that individuals
that traditional psychology has social exclusion. He examined the must be treated with both these
many inadequacies. It frequently psychological impact of civil war factors in mind.
fails to offer practical solutions and oppression in El Salvador, the Martín-Baró focused on Central
to social problems; many of its dictatorships in Argentina and America, but his ideas are relevant
principles are developed from Chile, and poverty in Puerto Rico, anywhere social and political turmoil
artificial settings in wealthy Venezuela, Brazil, and Costa Rica. disrupts daily life. His humane and
countries, and so are unlikely to Each involved a different set of impassioned perspective draws a
translate to different situations; circumstances, affecting the local crucial link between mental health
it tends to ignore human moral population in unique ways. He and the struggle against injustice,
qualities, such as hope, courage, concluded that the mental health and attempts to find fresh ways of
and commitment; and its main goal issues that arise in one context will addressing associated psychological
seems to be to maximize pleasure, reflect the history of the place as issues more effectively. ■
Ignacio Martín-Baró Ignacio Martín-Baró was born Central America and eventually
in Valladolid, Spain. In 1959, he becoming head of its psychology
joined the Jesuit order, and was department. Martín-Baró was
sent to South America. There, he openly critical of El Salvador’s
studied at the Catholic University rulers, and in 1986 set up the
in Quito, Ecuador, and at the University Institute of Public
Javeriana University in Bogotà, Opinion. He and five others
Colombia. In 1966, Martín-Baró, were murdered by an army
now a Jesuit priest, was sent to death squad for their exposure of
El Salvador. He continued his political corruption and injustice.
studies at the University of
Central America in San Salvador, Key works
gaining a licentiate in psychology
in 1975. He later earned a PhD in 1983 Action and Ideology
social psychology from the 1989 System, Group and Power
University of Chicago, before 1994 Writings for a Liberation
returning to the University of Psychology
DEVELOP
PSYCHOL
FROM INFANT
TO ADULT
MENTAL
OGY
260 INTRODUCTION
In a new edition of
Three Essays on the Lev Vygotsky’s Kenneth and Mamie Clark
Theory of Sexuality, sociocultural theory of found the Northside Center Noam Chomsky
Freud adds a section learning emphasizes the for Child Development in challenges traditional
outlining his theory importance of the Harlem, New York, where theories of language
of psychosexual community in learning they examine the formation learning in Syntactic
development. and development. of racial bias. Structures.
1915 1930S 1946 1957
1920S 1936 1950 1958-60
The psychoanalytic world is Jean Piaget suggests that Eric Erikson publishes John Bowlby
divided on issues of child cognitive processes Childhood and Society, publishes a series of
development between develop in a series of which includes an articles rejecting
Anna Freud’s conservative well-defined stages exposition of the eight psychoanalytic and
approach and Melanie Klein’s through childhood. stages of psychosocial behavioral theories
“revolutionary” one. development. of attachment.
I
n the early part of the 20th Piaget raised some fundamental importance of a child’s social
century, two main approaches questions: whether we acquire and cultural environment. Erik
in psychology examined the knowledge gradually or in distinct Erikson also built on Piaget’s
psychological development of stages; whether certain abilities ideas, identifying eight stages
humans from childhood to are innate or learned; and how the of psychosocial development,
adulthood: the psychoanalytic environment affects development. including the “identity crisis”
theory of Freud gave an account His cognitive development theory of adolescence; while Lawrence
of psychosexual development suggested that a child’s growth into Kohlberg came up with six stages
in children, and behaviorism adulthood is divided into several of moral development in his studies.
explained the mechanics of the developmental stages, and within With the “cognitive revolution”
learning process. However, the each stage the child learns by doing that followed World War II,
study of development itself—the rather than instruction. Piaget’s psychologists such as Albert
psychological, emotional, ideas set the stage for the new field Bandura looked at the issue of
and perceptual changes that of developmental psychology and development again, this time
occur during a lifetime—did not shaped the curricula of schools in the light of cognitive models
evolve until the 1930s, when Jean up to the present day. of information processing. Bandura
Piaget overturned conventional Other developmental theories retained elements of both Piaget’s
thinking with the idea that a child soon emerged. Although broadly stages of development and
is not just a “miniature adult” agreeing with Piaget’s findings, Vygotsky’s social constructivism
gaining knowledge as his or her Lev Vygotsky argued that it was in his social learning theory.
body matures, but at the same necessary for a child to have adult Cognitive psychology also brought
time is also going through radical guidance at various stages in his new ideas about learning,
psychological changes. learning, and also stressed the especially the acquisition of
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 261
Harry Harlow carries out

experiments on monkeys Jerome Bruner
proving that contact Mary Ainsworth A school opens in explores the way the
comfort is more explores types of Neuville-du-Bosc, developing mind
important than the attachment in her France, which follows structures its sense of
provision of food in Strange Situation the educational theories reality in The Narrative
forming attachments. studies. of Françoise Dolto. Construction of Reality.
1959 1970 1973 1991
1961 1971 1974 1995
Albert Bandura performs Lawrence Kohlberg Eleanor E. Maccoby Simon Baron-Cohen

the Bobo Doll identifies six stages conducts a study into publishes Mindblindness,
experiments into of moral growth in gender differences exploring the
observational learning Stages of Moral in The Psychology of implications of growing
(modeling). Development. Sex Differences. up with autism.
language, and Noam Chomsky’s survival. The basic ideas of civil rights movement and
suggestion that this is an innate attachment theory were reinforced feminism were influencing thought
capability once more opened the by experiments carried out by in both social psychology and
nature versus nurture debate. psychologist Harry Harlow in the developmental psychology. How
US, who showed the effects of our prejudices are acquired, and
Attachment theory isolation and maternal separation at what stage of development,
While much developmental on infants. His experiments became an area of interest for the
psychology concerned itself with demonstrated that to build healthy African-Americans Kenneth and
the process of learning, a growing cognitive and social development, Mamie Clark, who based their work
area of interest arose from the infants needed companionship on studies of child development in
research carried out by the British and care. Later research by Mary Harlem, New York; while Eleanor
psychoanalyst and psychiatrist Ainsworth built on these findings, Maccoby examined the differences
John Bowlby. His study of children adding the concept of a “secure in development between the
who had been separated from their base” from which an infant sexes—the first of many similar
families during World War II led can explore the world. Bruno explorations in the new field of
to the formulation of attachment Bettelheim developed his own, more gender studies.
theory, which deals with the way controversial, theories of childhood Developmental psychology is
we build and maintain relationships development from the basis of currently exploring the causes and
with family and friends, placing attachment theory, rejecting the treatment of autism and learning
a special importance on the importance of the traditional family difficulties. And, with a growing
attachments made by infants to the after his study of children brought aging population, psychology
people who care for them; Bowlby up communally in kibbutzim. In is also looking into issues that
saw this as a natural impulse for the 1960s, social issues such as the confront us as we enter old age. ■
THE GOAL OF
EDUCATION
IS TO CREATE MEN AND WOMEN
WHO ARE CAPABLE OF DOING
NEW THINGS
JEAN PIAGET (1896–1980)
264 JEAN PIAGET
S
omewhere between his the world around them as they move
IN CONTEXT roots as a precocious young through the developmental stages.
biologist and his later He also believed that it is of primary
APPROACH
fascination with epistemology, Jean importance to nurture and guide
Genetic epistemology
Piaget carved out his own niche in children on this journey, giving
BEFORE a discipline that he called genetic them the freedom to experiment
1693 English philosopher epistemology, the study of how and explore on their own, in a very
John Locke’s Some Thoughts intelligence changes as children individual, trial-and-error manner.
Concerning Education suggests grow. Piaget was not interested in The task of a good teacher is,
a child’s mind is a tabula rasa, comparing levels of intelligence therefore, simply to support children
or blank slate. between children of different ages on their journey through these
(quantitative cognitive change); stages, constantly encouraging
1780s German philosopher his interests lay in the natural their creativity and imagination,
Immanuel Kant introduces the development of mental skills over because “the goal of education is
concept of the schema and time (qualitative cognitive change). to create men and women who are
suggests that morality Quantitative studies make possible capable of doing new things.”
develops independently of numerical comparisons, but Piaget
authority figures through wanted to explore differences in Learning is active
interaction with peers. the types, experience, and qualities One theme that pervades Piaget’s
of children’s learning, which theory of intellectual development
AFTER required “qualitative” research. is the concept of learning as an
1907 Italian educator Breaking away from the prevalent active personal process. From
Dr. Maria Montessori behaviorist model, which had infancy through childhood, he
opens the first Montessori linked child development entirely says, learning arises from a child’s
school, which encourages with environmental factors, Piaget natural desire to sense, explore,
independence and respect for decided to explore the innate, or move, and then master. For this
natural developmental stages. inborn, capacities that he believed reason Piaget had many misgivings
1970s–80s Many Western guide children’s progression about the notion of standardized
through a series of age-defined testing, in which children undergo
education systems incorporate
developmental stages. preformatted tests that have
a more child-centered
Piaget believed that children “correct” answers to provide
approach to learning. are active and autonomous learners, quantitative measures of
using their senses to interact with intelligence. While working on
A child’s cognitive processes are Children move through four stages

fundamentally different from of development autonomously and
those of an adult. independently.
Teachers must provide tasks

The goal of education is to that are appropriate to the child’s stage
create men and women who are of development, and nurture
capable of doing new things. independent thinking and creativity.

See also: Alfred Binet 50–53 ■ Jerome Bruner 164–65 ■ Lev Vygotsky 270 ■ Erik Erikson 272–73 ■ Françoise Dolto 279
■ Lawrence Kohlberg 292–93 ■ Jerome Kagan 339
standardizing intelligence tests

for Alfred Binet in the early 1920s,
he became interested less in a
child’s ability to produce correct
answers than in what those
answers actually were. Their
Education, for most
explanations revealed that
children’s assumptions about how
people, means trying to lead
the world works are very different
the child to resemble the
to those of adults, leading Piaget to typical adult of his society.
believe that children not only think Jean Piaget
differently to adults, but also that
children of different ages have
different methods of thinking.
The evolving mind

Since the 17th century, the
Children are not mini adults who
idea that a child is effectively simply do not yet know as much as
a miniature adult had held sway. adults; rather, they see the world
Empiricist philosophers of the time differently and interact with it in
had suggested that a child’s brain a wholly distinct way.
works exactly like an adult’s, but has
fewer associations. Another group of impersonal list of questions, this reaching for a toy. So Piaget
thinkers, the psychological nativists, flexible method allowed the child’s concluded that action, rather than
claimed that certain concepts— answers to determine the social interaction, is the source
such as the ideas of time, space, subsequent question. By following of thought at this stage.
and number—are innate, or “hard- the child’s line of thought, Piaget This discovery formed part of
wired” into the brain, so babies believed he could better understand his theory that every child passes
are born with an ability to make the processes underlying it. His through various stages of cognitive
use of them. Piaget’s suggestion rejection of a notion of quantitative development, and that these stages
that children’s mental processes— or measurable intelligence led to are different in quality and are
from infancy to adolescence—are some groundbreaking theories of hierarchical. A child only moves
fundamentally different to an adult’s childhood cognitive development. on to the next stage upon genuine
was a radical and controversial completion of the current stage. In
departure from this view. Developing the intellect studies and observations, Piaget
Piaget himself claimed that it Piaget initially believed that social determined that all children pass
is vitally important to understand factors, such as language and through the stages in the same
the formation and evolution of contact with family members and sequence, without skipping any or
intelligence during childhood, peers, impacted most on children’s regressing to previous ones. This is
because this is the only way we intellectual development. However, not a process that can be rushed,
can reach a full understanding of while studying infants, he realized and although children generally
human knowledge. His use of that for them language is less tend to go through the same stage
psychotherapeutic interviewing important and their own activity is at roughly the same age, each
techniques to ask children to paramount. In the first few days of individual child has his or her
explain their answers was inspired, life, babies have limited bodily own pace of development.
and it became an important tool movements—mainly crying and The four stages defined by
in all his research. Rather than sucking—though they quickly Piaget represent levels in the
adhering to a pre-determined and begin to add new actions, such as development of intelligence ❯❯
266 JEAN PIAGET

The Four Stages of Development
?
1 At the sensorimotor 2 Children begin 3 During the concrete 4 Verbal reasoning and
stage, babies learn about to arrange objects operational stage, children hypothetical thinking
the world through touch logically during the learn that quantities can develop in the formal
and their other senses. pre-operational stage. take different forms. operational stage.
and, as such, they provide a list of government.” Intelligent behavior, begin to develop and use internal
the “schemas” that children make according to Piaget, is comprised of images, symbols, and language.
use of at that particular moment in a growing collection of schemas. This constitutes the second, or
their development. A schema is a pre-operational, stage when a
representation in the mind of a set Four stages of development child is primarily interested in
of ideas, perceptions, and actions Piaget’s first stage is called the how things look or appear. They
that provide a mental structure sensorimotor stage, and this spans will demonstrate skills such as
to help us organize our past the first two years of a child’s life. arranging objects in a logical order
experiences, and prepare us for During this period, infants learn (according to height, for example),
future experiences. During infancy about the world primarily through or comparing two objects (such as
and early childhood, a schema can their senses (sensori-) and through blocks) through shared attributes,
be as simple as “things I can eat.” physical action or movement focusing on one perceptual quality
However, as children grow, their (motor). Children at this stage are (such as size or color) at a time.
schemas become more complex, egocentric, able to see the world From years two to four, the child
offering an understanding of what only from their own viewpoint. thinks in absolute terms (such as
constitutes “a kitchen,” a “best At the beginning of this stage, “big” or “biggest”); from four to
friend,” or “democratic infants practice reflexes without seven, they begin to use relative
understanding or intention; later terms (such as “bigger” or
they can extend and coordinate “heavier”). The ability to think
reflexes with objects. Then they logically is still limited and children
begin to coordinate their senses in remain egocentric, unable to see
a way that anticipates events; for things from another’s perspective.
example, they can imagine objects The third stage is the concrete
Knowledge…is a that are not present and find hidden operational stage, and this is
system of transformations ones. They begin to experiment when a child becomes capable of
that become progressively and set goals in their use of objects, performing logical operations, but
adequate. and think about a problem before only in the presence of actual
Jean Piaget acting. These developments mark (concrete) objects. The child now
the completion of the first stage. begins to grasp the concept of
As the child moves toward conservation, understanding that
the development of self-awareness, the quantity of an object remains
they now have the tools of the same despite physical changes
representational thought and can in its arrangement. They realize

that if you pour liquid from a short, required through each of the stages;
wide glass into a tall, thin one, the assimilation, accommodation, and
amount of liquid remains the same equilibrium. Assimilation is the
despite the difference in height. process by which we incorporate
Children can also understand that new information into existing
objects can be sorted according to schemas. Accommodation is
many qualities simultaneously—a required when, in the process of
Intelligence is what you
marble can be large, green, or clear. assimilating, we discover that we
use when you don’t know
A little less egocentric now, children need to modify existing knowledge what to do.
begin to incorporate more relativity or skills. A child who is able to Jean Piaget
into their viewpoints. assimilate successfully most or all
During the fourth stage—the new experiences is said to be in
formal operational stage—children a state of equilibrium. However,
begin to manipulate ideas (rather if the existing schemas are
than simply objects) and are able inadequate for coping with new
to reason purely on the basis of situations successfully, then the
verbal statements. They no longer child is in a state of cognitive approach to teaching, in theory and
need to refer to concrete objects, disequilibrium, and the schemas in practice. Rather than trying to
and can follow an argument. They need to develop in order to teach a child to think and behave
start to think hypothetically, and accommodate the necessary like an adult, educators were
this new capacity for imagination, information. Essentially, this is the encouraged to view their
and their ability to discuss abstract process of adaptation, one of the work as an opportunity to engage
ideas, reveals that they have now most basic forms of learning. children in novel and individual
become less egocentric. modes of thinking. Piaget believed
Impact on education that education should inspire
Reaching equilibrium Piaget’s work inspired the people to create, invent, and
In addition to defining the four transformation of the education innovate, and actively discourage
stages, Piaget identified several systems of Europe and the US them from conforming or following
fundamental facets of the during the 1970s and 80s, bringing established guidelines at the
developmental process that were about a more child-centered expense of imagination. If the
natural process of learning—from
infancy onward—is individual,
active, and exploratory, then so too
should be a system of education
that guides children’s formal
intellectual development.
Another vitally important aspect
of a child-centered education is an
awareness of the concept of
“readiness,” which involves setting
limits on learning based on the
child’s stage of development.
One of Piaget’s most enduring
contributions to the field of
education, particularly with ❯❯
Educators should not insist

on a particular way of doing or
understanding something, Piaget
(pictured left) asserted, but nurture
children’s natural learning processes.
268 JEAN PIAGET

Piaget believed that children learn
from being active rather than from
passive observation, and teachers
must adapt to this. Interaction
between students is of primary
significance in the classroom, and
Children have real
having established that one of the
best ways to secure knowledge is
understanding only
to teach it to somebody else, it
of that which they
follows that if children are allowed invent themselves.
to discuss topics actively among Jean Piaget
themselves (rather than listening
passively to lessons), they are more
likely to deepen and consolidate
their existing knowledge.
Children at this Montessori school Moral education

bring Piaget’s ideas to life. They are As with intellectual development, promoted peer interaction within
encouraged to build their own learning Piaget believed that children also the classroom as an integral part
with hands-on activities and plenty of
develop morally in stages and, for of the learning experience.
discussion with their peers.
the most part, autonomously. Real The role of the teacher in
moral growth is not the product Piaget’s child-centered classroom
regards to mathematics and of adult instruction, but is based is, therefore, almost one of a mentor
science, is the acknowledgement on a child’s own observations of and an enabler rather than that of
that teachers need to be aware of the world. Piaget viewed peer a standard instructor. Teachers
and honor an individual child’s interaction as absolutely crucial for need to assess carefully each
capacity to deal with a novel the moral development of children. student’s current level of cognitive
experience or to take on fresh Peers, not parents or other authority development and then set tasks
information. The tasks that a figures, are seen as being vital to that are intrinsically motivating.
teacher sets should reflect, and also moral growth, providing a key Interestingly, teachers must also
be adapted as precisely as possible source for understanding concepts create cognitive disequilibrium
to, the individual student’s such as reciprocity, equality, and in their students in order to help
cognitive level and capabilities. justice. Consequently, Piaget keenly them advance to the next stage of
Jean Piaget Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, observations about cognitive

Jean Piaget grew up with an development. In 1955, he
insatiable interest in the natural created the International Centre
world, and at the age of 11 he for Genetic Epistemology and
wrote his first scientific paper. was its director until his death
He studied natural sciences and in 1980. He was awarded prizes
earned a PhD from the University and honorary degrees worldwide.
of Neuchâtel at the age of 22. His
interest moved to psychoanalysis Key works
and he developed his theories of
genetic epistemology in France. 1932 The Moral Judgment of
In 1921, he became the director the Child
of the Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1951 The Psychology of
Institute in Geneva. He married Intelligence
Valentine Châtenay and they had 1952 The Origins of Intelligence
three children, who were the in Children
subjects of many of Piaget’s 1962 The Psychology of the Child

development, thereby providing olds were able to adjust their theory—which states that children
genuine learning opportunities. explanation of something in order require the help of adults or older
They should focus on the process to clarify it for a blindfolded person, children to complete some tasks—
of learning, rather than on the and would use simpler forms of served as a response to Piaget.
achievement of end results, by speech when talking to younger Another area of exploration has
encouraging their students to ask children, which is inconsistent been the assumed universality of
more questions, experiment, and with Piaget’s description of an the developmental stages identified
explore, even if that means making egocentric child who has no by Piaget. Although he had no
some mistakes along the way. awareness of the needs of others. compelling evidence to support
Above all, they must engender a Piaget’s portrayal of children this assumption at the time, more
collaborative space where students as primarily independent and recent cross-cultural investigations
teach and learn from each other. autonomous in their construction of concerning the sensorimotor stage
knowledge and their understanding (including one study conducted by
Criticisms of Piaget’s work of the physical world also met with Pierre Dasen in 1994) indicated that
Despite his popularity and the some resistance, as it seemed to the sub-stages suggested by Piaget
broad influence of his work in the ignore the important contribution are indeed universal, though
fields of developmental psychology, that other people make to a child’s environmental and cultural factors
education, morality, evolution, cognitive development. Pioneering seem to affect the rate at which
philosophy, and even artificial psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s work these stages are reached, and how
intelligence, Piaget’s ideas were focused on proving that knowledge quickly they are then completed.
not accepted without scrutiny and and thought are essentially social Piaget’s work unquestionably
criticism. As with all highly in nature, and disproving Piaget’s paved the way for many new
influential theories, years of assumption that a child was not areas of enquiry into the nature
exploration and research have really a part of the social whole. His of child development and human
brought to light its problems and theory suggests human development cognitive development. He created
weaknesses. Piaget’s notion of exists on three levels: the cultural the context in which a vast body of
egocentrism, for instance, has been and the interpersonal as well as the research took shape in the 20th and
called into question. Studies by the individual, and his main concern 21st centuries, and fundamentally
US psychologist Susan Gelman in was with the first two levels. His changed the nature of education
1979 demonstrated that four-year- “zone of proximal development” in the Western world. ■
Australian Aboriginal children
aged between eight and 14, and living
in remote parts of central Australia,
were found by Pierre Dasen to progress
through the stages identified by Piaget.
The deep structures,

the basic cognitive processes,
are indeed universal.
Pierre Dasen
270
WE BECOME
OURSELVES
THROUGH OTHERS
LEV VYGOTSKY (1896–1934)
F
or Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky believed that children
IN CONTEXT Vygotsky, the skills needed absorb the accumulated wisdom,
to reason, understand, and values, and technical knowledge of
APPROACH
remember all stem from a child’s previous generations through
Social constructivism
experiences with parents, teachers, interactions with their caregivers,
BEFORE and peers. Vygotsky saw human and use these “tools” to learn how
1860s Francis Galton sparks development as taking place on to conduct themselves effectively in
debate about whether nature three levels—cultural, interpersonal, the world. But it is only through
(innate ability) or nurture and individual. He focused on the social interaction that children can
(upbringing) has the most cultural and interpersonal levels, experience and internalize these
influence on personality. believing that our most formative cultural tools. Even our ability to
experiences are social; “we become think and reason on an individual
AFTER ourselves through others.” level stems from social activities in
1952 Jean Piaget argues the course of our development that
that the ability to absorb and foster our innate cognitive abilities.
process information develops Vygotsky’s theories influenced
through interaction between approaches to both learning and
children’s innate talents and teaching. He believed that teachers
their environment. should play an instructive role,
All higher constantly guiding and nurturing
1966 Jerome Bruner suggests psychological functions their pupils in order to improve their
that any subject can be taught are internalized attention span, concentration, and
effectively to a child at any relationships of the learning skills, and so build up their
stage of development. social kind. competence. This idea had a
1990 American educational Lev Vygotsky marked effect on education,
psychologist Robert Slavin particularly in the late 20th century,
designs his Student Teams stimulating a shift from child-
Achievement Divisions (STAD) centered to curriculum-centered
teaching, and to a greater use of
to promote more collaborative
collaborative learning. ■
learning, and downgrade
competitive, winner–loser
See also: Francis Galton 28–29 ■ Jerome Bruner 164–65 ■ Jean Piaget 262–69
approaches to education.
A CHILD IS NOT
BEHOLDEN TO ANY
PARTICULAR PARENT
BRUNO BETTELHEIM (1903–1990)
W
hile running a center
IN CONTEXT where disturbed children
were raised successfully
APPROACH
by professional carers, Bruno
Parenting systems Bettelheim began to question the
BEFORE common assumption that the best
1945 American psychoanalyst upbringing involved a close mother–
René Spitz reports on the child relationship. He wondered
disastrous effects of bringing if the Western world might have
up children in institutions. something to learn from communal
child-rearing systems, such as the
1951 John Bowlby concludes one used on an Israeli kibbutz.
that an infant requires an In 1964, Bettelheim spent seven
intimate and continuous weeks on a kibbutz, where children Kibbutz children, Bettelheim found,
relationship with his mother. were cared for in special houses, often develop closer bonds with each
away from their family home. In his other than with adults. This ability to
1958 US anthropologist relate well to their peers may explain
1967 book The Children of the Dream,
Melford Spiro writes Children their professional success as adults.
he stated that “a kibbutz child is not
of the Kibbutz, insinuating
beholden to any particular parent,”
that Western child-rearing and although he observed that this often become accomplished adults.
methods, with the focus on led to fewer one-to-one relationships, In fact, the children Bettelheim
the mother as the main carer, it did encourage many less intimate studied were tracked down in
work best in all cultures. friendships and an active social life. the 1990s by a journalist, who
AFTER discovered that a high percentage
1973 American psychiatrists Successful adults were now successful professionals.
Charles M. Johnston and Before his study, Bettelheim had Bettelheim concluded that the
Robert Deisher argue that predicted that a kibbutz might kibbutz’s communal approach was
produce mediocre adults who had a huge success. By publishing his
communal child-rearing
little cultural impact on society. findings, he hoped to improve
provides advantages that
Instead, he found that kibbutzniks childcare systems in the US. ■
few nuclear families offer.
See also: Virginia Satir 146–47 ■ John Bowlby 274–77
272
ANYTHING THAT
GROWS HAS A
GROUND PLAN
ERIK ERIKSON (1902–1994)
E
rik Erikson understood Stage three, from three to six years,
IN CONTEXT human development in terms presents the crisis of “initiative
of the epigenetic principle, versus guilt.” This is when children
APPROACH
which states that every organism is learn to act creatively and playfully,
Psychosocial development
born with a certain purpose and its but also with purpose. As they
BEFORE successful development results in interact with others they discover
1930s Jean Piaget proposes the fulfillment of this purpose. In that their actions can adversely
a stage-based theory of Erikson’s own words, “anything that affect someone else. Severe
cognitive development. grows has a ground plan, and out of punishments at this stage can
this the parts arise.” He proposed inflict paralyzing feelings of guilt.
1956 Sigmund Freud develops that the human personality unfolds From 6 to 12, children focus on
his theory of psychosexual and evolves in eight predetermined education and learning social skills.
development, claiming there stages. According to Erikson, this This fourth stage is known as
are five stages through which growth involves the constant “industry versus inferiority,” and it
a child progresses toward interaction between heredity provides a feeling of competence,
sexual maturity. and environmental influences. although an over-emphasis on work
can lead children mistakenly to
AFTER
The eight stages equate self-worth with productivity.
1980 Building on Erikson’s The first stage, which takes place
work, American psychologist during a baby’s first year, is “trust
James Marcia explores identity versus mistrust.” If the infant’s
formation in adolescence. needs are badly or inconsistently
1996 In her bestselling book met, feelings of mistrust develop
New Passages, American that can recur in later relationships.
writer Gail Sheehy notes that The second stage, “autonomy versus Hope is both the earliest
adults are prolonging their shame and doubt,” takes place and the most indispensable
adolescence into their 30s, from 18 months to 2 years. This is virtue inherent in the
pushing back all of Erikson’s when the child learns to explore, state of being alive.
stages of adulthood by but also for the first time must deal Erik Erikson
with feelings of shame and doubt as
approximately ten years.
a result of small failures or parental
reprimands. Healthy willpower
develops as a result of learning to
negotiate both success and failure.

See also: G. Stanley Hall 46–47 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Kurt Lewin 218–23 ■
Jean Piaget 262–69 ■ Lawrence Kohlberg 292–93
Anything that grows has a ground

plan, and out of this the parts arise.
The human personality develops through eight distinct

and predetermined stages between birth and death. Erik Erikson
Erik Erikson was born in
Frankfurt, Germany, as the
result of an extramarital affair.
He was given the surname of
Failure at any stage his mother’s husband, never
By negotiating each results in a mental knew his biological father,
stage successfully, deficiency (such as lack of and his mother married again
we develop as mentally trust or an overwhelming when he was three years old.
healthy individuals. sense of guilt) that stays Unsurprisingly, Erikson always
with us throughout life. struggled with identity issues.
He was encouraged to study
medicine, but rebelled and
studied art, touring Italy in his
youth as a “wandering artist.”
From here we enter adolescence reflect on their lives, becoming He then suffered what he
and the fifth stage of “ego-identity either satisfied and at peace with called an “aggravated identity
versus role confusion.” This is when their old age, or despairing over crisis” and went to Vienna,
where he taught art in a school
we develop a coherent sense of who physical disintegration and the
run on psychoanalytic
we are, through consideration of our reality of death. Successful
principles. Embracing these
past, present, and future. When negotiation of this stage results fully, he then trained as a
successfully negotiated, this stage in the attainment of wisdom. ■ psychoanalyst under Anna
ensures a unified sense of self, but Freud. In 1933, he married
problems here can lead to an “identity Joan Serson and they
crisis”—a term coined by Erikson. emigrated to Boston, where
During the sixth stage of he became the first child
“intimacy versus isolation,” between psychoanalyst in the city. He
the ages of 18 and 30, we build close later taught at Harvard, Yale,
relationships and experience love. and Berkeley. He changed his
The penultimate stage, “generativity surname to the self-chosen
versus stagnation,” from 35 to 60, “Erikson” when he became an
sees us working on behalf of future American citizen in 1933.
generations, or contributing to
Key works
society through cultural activities
Erikson said that in our older years
or social activism. we achieve a sense of completeness 1950 Childhood and Society
The final stage, “ego-integrity and “personal wholeness” in direct 1964 Insight and Responsibility
versus despair,” starts at the age of proportion to the degree to which we 1968 Identity: Youth and Crisis
around 60. It occurs when people successfully negotiated earlier stages.
274
IN CONTEXT
EARLY EMOTIONAL APPROACH

Attachment theory
BONDS ARE AN
BEFORE
1926 Sigmund Freud presents
the psychoanalytic theory of
INTEGRAL PART
“cupboard love,” suggesting
that infants become attached
to caregivers because they
OF HUMAN NATURE
fulfil physiological needs.
1935 Konrad Lorenz’s research
shows that non-humans form
JOHN BOWLBY (1907–1990) strong bonds with the first

moving object they encounter.
AFTER
1959 Harry Harlow’s work
demonstrates that macaque
monkeys separated from their
mothers in infancy develop
social and emotional problems.
1978 Michael Rutter shows
that children can become
strongly attached to a variety
of attachment figures (such as
fathers, siblings, peers, and
inanimate objects).
I
n the 1950s, the prevailing
theory on how infants form
attachments was based on
the psychoanalytical concept of
“cupboard love.” This suggested
that babies form bonds with people
who fulfil their physiological needs,
such as feeding. At the same time,
the animal studies of Konrad
Lorenz suggested that animals
simply bond with the first moving
object they encounter, which is
usually the mother.
It was against this background
that John Bowlby took a distinctly
evolutionary perspective on early
attachment. He argued that because
newborn infants are completely
helpless, they are genetically

See also: Konrad Lorenz 77 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Melanie Klein 108–109 ■ Anna Freud 111 ■ Kurt Lewin 218–23 ■
Lev Vygotsky 270 ■ Bruno Bettelheim 271 ■ Harry Harlow 278 ■ Mary Ainsworth 280–81 ■ Michael Rutter 339
it should take place during the first

year, or at the very least before the
child is two years old. Bowlby
Infants and mothers are
…within the critical period thought that any attempts at
biologically programed
to form an attachment with of the child’s life mothering beyond the age of three
each other… (the first 24 months). would be useless, and the child
would be on course to suffer the
effects of maternal deprivation.
Maternal deprivation
In 1950, Bowlby was commissioned
by the World Health Organization
If this attachment is broken to study children who had suffered
Attachment
within the critical period maternal deprivation during World
behavior is an War II due to evacuation or being
it will cause serious and
integral part of permanent damage to made homeless. He was also asked
human nature. the child’s development. to investigate the effects of being
raised in residential nurseries and
other large institutions (such as
orphanages). The result of this early
programed to form an attachment that, although an infant may have work was Bowlby’s 1951 report,
with their mothers in order to ensure more than one attachment figure, Maternal Care and Mental Health,
their survival. Mothers, he believed, his attachment to a mother-figure in which he observed that children
are also genetically programmed to is simply different from and more deprived of maternal care for
bond with their babies, feeling the significant than any other prolonged periods of time during
need to keep them in close proximity. attachment he will form throughout early childhood suffered some
Any conditions that threaten to his life. Both the infant and his degree of intellectual, social, or
separate mother and child activate mother behave in ways that secure emotional retardation later in life.
instinctive attachment behaviors this attachment. An infant, for Five years later Bowlby began a
and feelings of insecurity and fear. instance, engages in sucking, second study, this time investigating
These ideas formed the basis of cuddling, looking, smiling, and children who had spent five months
Bowlby’s theory, which developed crying in order to shape and control to two years in a tuberculosis ❯❯
to explain the lifelong significance his caregiver’s behavior, and a
of the mother–infant bond as well caregiver would be sensitive and
as the psychological difficulties responsive to the infant’s needs.
that children suffer if this bond is In this way the two behavioral
damaged or entirely broken. systems—attachment and
caregiving—help to shape one
Mothers only another and create a lifelong bond. Mother love in infancy is as
One of the most controversial Bowlby believes that this bond is important for mental health
aspects of Bowlby’s theory is that so deeply formative that if it fails to as are vitamins and proteins
infants always attach to a female, take place, or breaks down within for physical health.
never a male. This female figure the first few years of life, the child John Bowlby
may not be the natural mother, but will go on to suffer serious negative
she certainly represents a mother- consequences in later life. He also
figure. The term he gave for this argues that there is a critical period
tendency to attach to a female is during which a mother and infant
“monotropy,” and he emphasized should develop a secure attachment:
276 JOHN BOWLBY

Bowlby predicted that child
evacuees would suffer long-term
attachment problems as a result of
enforced separation from their mothers;
later studies found this to be the case.
sanatorium (which offered no

substitute mothering) when they
had been less than four years old.
The children—aged seven to 13 by
the time of the study—were rougher
in play, showed less initiative and
more over-excitement, and were less
competitive than those with a more
traditional upbringing.
In extreme cases, Bowlby found
that maternal deprivation could even
result in “affectionless psychopathy,”
a clinical condition in which people
are unable to care deeply for others The reason why this primary, secure by supporting the mother financially
and so do not form meaningful attachment is so important, Bowlby and emotionally. The evolutionary
interpersonal relationships. Those says, is that it is essential for the basis of Bowlby’s theory suggests
who suffer from it display a higher development of an inner working that women are naturally inclined
incidence of juvenile delinquency model or framework that the child to be parents, with inborn maternal
and antisocial behavior without any uses to understand himself, others, instincts that guide them through
sign of remorse, since they are and the world. This inner working the process of child-rearing, whereas
unable to experience feelings of guilt. model guides a person’s thoughts, men are more naturally suited for
In Bowlby’s 1944 study of juvenile feelings, and expectations in all of being providers.
thieves, he found that many of the his personal relationships, even into However, British psychologist
young criminals had been separated adulthood. Because the primary Rudolph Schaffer—who worked
from their mothers for a period of attachment serves as a prototype under Bowlby at the Tavistock
more than six months before they for all future relationships, the Clinic in London—found that there
were five years old, and of these, quality of the attachment will is considerable cultural variation
14 had developed the condition of determine whether or not a child in the extent to which fathers are
affectionless psychopathy. grows to trust others, view himself involved in childcare. Increasing
as valuable, and feel confident in numbers of fathers are taking on
society. These working models are the role of principal parent, which
resistant to change; once formed, suggests that parenting roles are
they determine how people behave a consequence of social convention
and the kind of bond they will form rather than biology.
with their own children. Bowlby’s view implies that men
Attachment behavior is will inevitably be inferior parents,
held to characterize The father’s role but research by Schaffer and the
human beings from the Bowlby’s attachment theory has American psychologist Ross Parke
cradle to the grave. been criticized for exaggerating the suggests that men are equally
John Bowlby importance of the mother–child capable of providing warmth and
relationship and undervaluing sensitivity to their infants. They
the father’s contribution. Bowlby also found that a child’s
sees the father as having no direct developmental outcome is not
emotional significance for the determined by the parent’s gender,
infant, contributing only indirectly but rather by the strength and

mothers; they should stay with the
child, fulfilling the role of essential
primary caregiver. For decades
after Bowlby’s theory was posited,
generations of working women
Direct observations were saddled with guilt, but many
studies since then have questioned
of men in their fathering
this aspect of Bowlby’s theory. For
role has shown them instance, in the 1970s psychologists
to be as capable of as Thomas Weisner and Ronald
much warmth and Gallimore showed that mothers are
sensitivity as women. the exclusive caregivers in only a
H. Rudolph Schaffer very small percentage of human
societies, and it is not uncommon
Bowlby claimed that day care
for groups of people (including centers are not suitable for the care of
relatives and friends) to share infants, because maternal deprivation
responsibility for raising children. leads to juvenile deliquency; this created
Schaffer also points to evidence a real dilemma for working mothers.
suggesting that children of mothers
quality of the bond that is forged. who are happy in their work have used Bowlby’s basic premise
In a further study, Schaffer and develop more successfully than to delve more deeply into childhood
psychologist Peggy Emerson found children whose mothers are attachment patterns, and to develop
that infants and young children frustrated from staying at home. theories of adult attachment by
display a wide range of attachment exploring how the bond between
behaviors toward many people Groundbreaking work parent and child can influence the
besides their mothers, and that Despite the many criticisms and future bond between spouses and
multiple attachments may actually revisions that it has provoked, romantic partners. Bowlby’s
be the rule rather than the exception. Bowlby’s work remains the most theories have also had many
These later findings were comprehensive and influential beneficial effects on various
especially important for working account of human attachment to aspects of child-rearing, such as
women, because the implication of date, and led to the groundbreaking the improvement of institutional
Bowlby’s theories was that women experiments of Harry Harlow and care and the growing preference
should not work once they become Mary Ainsworth. Psychologists for fostering as an alternative. ■
John Bowlby John Bowlby was the fourth of six Longstaff, with whom he had
children born to a London-based, four children. After the war he
upper-middle-class family. He was became director of the Tavistock
raised primarily by nannies and Clinic, where he remained until
sent to boarding school at the age retirement. In 1950 he carried
of seven. These experiences made out a major study for the World
him particularly sympathetic to Health Organization. He died at
the attachment difficulties faced his summer home on the Island
by young children. He studied of Skye in Scotland, aged 83.
psychology at Trinity College,
Cambridge, then spent some time Key works
teaching delinquent children. He
later earned a medical degree and 1951 Maternal Care and
qualified as a psychoanalyst. Mental Health (WHO Report)
During World War II, Bowlby 1959 Separation Anxiety
served in the Royal Army Medical 1969, 1973, 1980 Attachment
Corps and in 1938 married Ursula and Loss (three volumes)
278
CONTACT COMFORT
IS OVERWHELMINGLY
IMPORTANT
HARRY HARLOW (1905–1981)
M
any psychologists have
IN CONTEXT suggested that an infant
becomes attached to its
APPROACH
caregiver simply because that
Attachment theory
person fulfils its need for food. John
BEFORE Bowlby challenged this “cupboard
1926 Sigmund Freud’s love” idea theoretically, but Harry
psychoanalytic theory of Harlow set out to prove it.
“cupboard love” suggests that Harlow took infant macaque
an infant becomes attached monkeys from their mothers, placing
to a caregiver because that them in cages with surrogate
person is a source of food. “mothers”—one made of wire with
a feeding bottle attached; the other
1935 Konrad Lorenz states made of soft, cuddly, terry cloth, but
nonhumans form strong bonds with no bottle. If the “cupboard
with the first moving object love” theory was correct, the baby Infant macaque monkeys in
they meet—often the mother. monkeys would remain with the Harlow’s experiment formed a
mother that provided food. But in strong attachment to their cuddly,
1951 John Bowlby argues that cloth, surrogate “mother,” despite her
fact, they spent most of their time
human mothers and infants inability to provide any nourishment.
with the cloth mother, using her as
are genetically programmed to
a secure base, and clinging to her
form a uniquely strong bond. for safety when frightening objects Harlow’s work was enormously
AFTER were placed in the cage. Later important, because contemporary
1964 UK psychologists Rudolf tests, in which the cloth mother advice from psychologists and
Schaffer and Peggy Emerson was also able to rock and provide doctors had warned parents
show that infants are attached food, showed this attachment was against rocking or picking up a
to people who do not perform even stronger. Harlow, therefore, crying child. The results of his
feeding and caretaking duties. suggested that the main function experiments were so conclusive
of nursing might even be to ensure that they changed the approach to
1978 Michael Rutter shows body contact with the mother. parenting in the Western world. ■
that children bond with a
variety of attachment figures, See also: Konrad Lorenz 77 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39 ■
including inanimate objects. John Bowlby 274–77 ■ Mary Ainsworth 280–81 ■ Michael Rutter 339
WE PREPARE CHILDREN
FOR A LIFE ABOUT WHOSE
COURSE WE KNOW NOTHING
FRANCOISE DOLTO (1908–1988)
F
ollowing her own difficult from the adults who teach them,
IN CONTEXT childhood, French physician simply because they must have
and psychoanalyst Françoise had experiences that the older
APPROACH
Dolto decided that her work should generation could never have had
Psychoanalysis
help children discover and release when they were that age.
BEFORE their desires, believing that this For Dolto, the goal of education
1924 Sigmund Freud theorizes release would prevent neuroses. was to allow each child the freedom
about the castration anxiety She felt that some of the illnesses to explore his individual inclination.
children face, which Dolto says commonly manifested by children The adult, she believed, should
is a factor in our unconscious were, in reality, reflections of a serve as a role model, offering an
image of our own bodies. lack of connection between parents example rather than attempting to
and their offspring. Adults, she impart a method. The educator’s
1969 Jacques Lacan observed, often seemed unable to role, Dolto declared, was to teach
investigates “otherness,” understand children, in spite of children how to lead themselves. ■
which becomes central to once being children themselves.
Dolto’s work focusing on the
distinctiveness of individuals. Unique perspective
Dolto believed that every child
AFTER possesses a unique perspective,
1973 A school based on which traditional education seeks
Dolto’s theories opens in La to stifle. She condemned any It is too late to
Neuville-du-Bosc, France, system of morality or education make a difference
emphasizing well-being and that seeks to control children with adults; the work has
non-compulsory activities. through obedience or imitation, to be done with children.
1978 La Maison Verte, a and was dissatisfied with the Françoise Dolto
daycare center based on techniques being used, both at
Dolto’s ideas, opens in Paris, school and at home, to anticipate
with the aim of helping a child’s future when that future
is fundamentally unknowable.
parents and children to
Children, she stated, are different
minimize the adverse
effects of separation. See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Alfred Adler 100–01 ■ Jacques Lacan 122–23 ■
Daniel Lagache 336–37

280
A SENSITIVE MOTHER
CREATES A SECURE
ATTACHMENT
MARY AINSWORTH (1913–1999)
I
n the early 1950s, Mary Situation,” which studied how
IN CONTEXT Ainsworth, working closely babies balance their needs for
with attachment theorist John attachment and exploration under
APPROACH
Bowlby, developed a particular varying levels of stress. In each
Attachment theory
interest in the relationship between experiment, Ainsworth placed
BEFORE mothers and infants. In 1969, she a mother and her one-year-old baby
1950s John Bowlby experimented with a procedure in a room with toys for the baby
emphasizes the significance that became known as the “Strange to play with, and watched their
of the mother-child bond.
1959 Harry Harlow’s research
with infant macaque monkeys
demonstrates that they use an When an infant is separated from his mother he displays
one of three different kinds of attachment.
attachment figure as a secure
base from which to explore
their environment.
AFTER
1980 American psychologist
Brian E. Vaughn shows that If he shows no signs If he shows intense signs
the attachment figure may of distress and a stranger of distress but resists
change, according to is able to comfort him, contact with her on her
variations in a family’s the attachment is return, the attachment is
circumstances. anxious-avoidant. anxious-resistant.
1990 American psychologist
Mary Main identifies a fourth
attachment type in young
children—“disorganized”—to
describe an infant who is
fearful of both the environment If he is distressed, but upon her return
and the attachment figure. uses her as a secure base from which to explore,
there is a secure attachment.

See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ John Bowlby 274–77 ■ Harry Harlow 278 ■ Jerome Kagan 339 ■ Michael Rutter 339
return. She suggested that a baby’s

reactions upon reunion with his
mother indicate three distinct
patterns, or types, of attachment.
Attachment behavior is Attachment types

Around 70 percent of the babies in
strongly activated under Ainsworth’s studies were “securely
circumstances when the attached.” These infants used their
attachment figure is mothers “as a secure base from
inaccessible. which to explore.” They were
Mary Ainsworth distressed when she left the room,
but played happily, even in the
presence of a stranger, as long as
the mother was on hand if needed.
The babies who appeared to be
indifferent to their mothers, and
were hardly affected when she left Mothers in non-Western cultures
interactions both before and after the room, Ainsworth classified as often keep their infants close to them
the introduction of a stranger to “anxious-avoidant.” They were as at all times. Customs such as these
can affect the incidence of different
the room. The “situation” included easily comforted by the stranger
attachment types in a community.
periods when the mother left the as by the mother. About 15 percent
baby alone with the stranger, then of the infants fell into this group.
returned to the room. A further 15 percent, described Ainsworth claimed that a mother’s
Ainsworth found that the as “anxious-resistant,” were wary of sensitivity largely determines the
most important information about the stranger, even with the mother type of attachment. A sensitive
mother-child bonding was gleaned present. They became intensely mother, she stated, understands
not from the baby’s reaction to the distressed when the mother left the her child’s needs and responds
mother leaving the room, but rather room, but were also angry and appropriately to them, creating
from the infant’s reaction to her resistant to contact on her return. a secure attachment.
Mary Ainsworth In 1954, the couple moved to Criticism

Uganda, where Leonard had Critics of Ainsworth’s work have
Mary Ainsworth was born in accepted a post, and Mary took suggested that attachment types
Glendale, Ohio, USA, moving the opportunity to study mother- are not always permanent, and that
to Canada at the age of five. child bonding in tribal society. babies do not fit neatly into a single
She gained her doctorate in On returning to the US in 1956, type. Cultural differences have also
psychology from the University she continued her academic been noted. A 1990 study in Japan
of Toronto in 1939, and taught career, eventually becoming a uncovered an unusually high
there briefly before joining the professor at the University of percentage of anxious-resistant
Canadian Women’s Army Corps Virginia in 1975. infants, which may have been due
in 1942. After World War II, she to Japanese babies being less used
returned to the University of Key works
to separation from their mothers
Toronto, marrying graduate
student Leonard Ainsworth in 1967 Infancy in Uganda
than US infants. However, the
1950 and moving to London, 1971 Infant Obedience and Strange Situation is considered to
where Mary worked with John Maternal Behavior be one of the most important studies
Bowlby at the Tavistock Clinic. 1978 Patterns of Attachment in attachment research, and is still
widely replicated today. ■
282
WHO TEACHES A CHILD

TO HATE AND FEAR
A MEMBER OF
ANOTHER RACE?
KENNETH CLARK (1914–2005)
D
uring the late 1930s,
IN CONTEXT Kenneth Clark and his
wife, Mamie Phipps Clark,
APPROACH
studied the psychological effects of
Race attitudes
segregation on African-American
BEFORE schoolchildren, particularly on their
1929 German-born writer and self-image. They designed a “doll
social worker Bruno Lasker test” that would indicate children’s
publishes Race Attitudes in awareness of racial differences and
Children, setting up methods their underlying attitudes about
for the psychological study of race. Working with children
children’s views on race. between the ages of three and
seven, they used four dolls, each
Early 1930s Canadian identical in appearance except for
psychologist Otto Klineberg Clark’s doll experiments of the late
the color of their skin, which ranged 1930s and early 1940s showed that black
works with lawyers fighting from shades of white to dark brown. children in segregated schools often
for equal salaries for black The children showed an undeniable preferred white dolls, a sign that they
public-school teachers. awareness of race by correctly had absorbed prevailing prejudices.
identifying the dolls on the basis of
AFTER their skin color, as well as that this reflected the children’s
1954 The US Supreme Court identifying themselves in racial tendency to absorb racial prejudices
rules that racial segregation in terms by choosing the doll that that exist in society and then to
schools is unconstitutional, looked most like them. turn this hatred inward, the Clarks
in the Brown v. Board of In order to explore the children’s asked a very important question:
Education of Topeka hearings. attitudes about race, the Clarks “Who teaches a child to hate and
asked each of them to point out the fear a member of another race?”
1978 Elliot Aronson devises
doll they liked best or most wanted
the “jigsaw method” of
to play with; the doll that had a nice Passing on prejudice
teaching—where mixed-race
color; and the doll that looked bad. The Clarks sought to understand
groups of students work Distressingly, black children the influences shaping prejudice
interdependently—to help showed a clear preference for the in America, and decided that as
reduce racial prejudice in white dolls and a rejection of the children learn to evaluate racial
integrated classrooms. black dolls, which can be interpreted differences, according to the
as indirect self-rejection. Convinced standards of society, they are

See also: Elliot Aronson 244–45 ■ Muzafer Sherif 337
In 1930s America, white

By the age of three,
and even black children
children are racially
showed a preference for
aware and already
whiteness and a rejection
forming prejudices.
of blackness.
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Clark was born in
the Panama Canal Zone, but
Segregation and
Who teaches moved to Harlem, New York,
social influences from
when he was five. After his
parents, teachers, playmates, a child to hate mother refused to accept a
and the media lead to and fear a member ruling that her son would be
children internalizing of another race? limited to trade or vocational
racist attitudes.
schooling, Clark was enrolled
in high school. He went on
to earn a master’s degree in
psychology from Howard
required to identify with a specific The Clarks concluded that these University, Washington DC,
group, and each racial group has an attitudes are determined by a mix where he met his wife. The
implied status within a hierarchy. of influences, including parents, pair carried out research
That young black children preferred teachers, friends, television, films, together, becoming the first
the white doll showed they were and comics. Although it is very rare African-American man and
aware American society preferred for parents to deliberately teach their woman to receive a PhD in
psychology from Columbia
white people, and had internalized children to hate other racial groups,
University in New York City.
this. Children as young as three many subtly and unconsciously
They also founded child
had expressed similar attitudes to pass on dominant social attitudes. development and youth
those of adults in their community. Some white parents, for example, opportunity centers in Harlem.
may discourage their children Clark was also the first
from playing with their black peers, African-American to hold a
implicitly teaching them to fear permanent professorship at
and avoid black children. the City University of New
Clark’s 1950 summary of his York, and to serve as the
research insisted that segregation president of the American
Segregation is a way was damaging the personalities of Psychological Association.
in which society tells white and black children alike. His
a group of human beings expert testimony in court cases Key works
that they are inferior. tied into the 1954 Brown v. Board
Kenneth Clark of Education of Topeka case, which 1947 Racial Identification and
Preference in Negro Children
determined that racial segregation
1955 Prejudice and Your Child
was unconstitutional in public 1965 Dark Ghetto
schools, contributed directly to 1974 Pathos of Power
desegregated schooling and to the
Civil Rights Movement in America. ■
284
GIRLS GET
BETTER GRADES
THAN BOYS
ELEANOR E. MACCOBY (1917– )
IN CONTEXT But because girls tend to put in

APPROACH a greater effort at school, and
Feminist psychology have greater interest and
There is no
better work habits…
significant difference
BEFORE in the overall
Early 20th century First intellectual aptitude
research into sex differences of boys and girls.
by female psychologists.
…girls get better grades
1970s Studies of the sexes than boys.
tend to emphasize differences
between men and women.
AFTER
T
he emergence of feminist between the sexes are in fact
1980s Studies suggest
psychologists during the myths, and that many gender
structural differences between
1970s revived an interest in stereotypes are untrue. Although
the male and female brain.
the study of sex differences, which some findings had shown boys to be
1993 Anne Fausto-Sterling had waned during the rise of more aggressive and more adept at
claims biological graduations behaviorism. Feminist concerns mathematics and spatial reasoning
exist between “male” and became increasingly important to than girls, and girls to have superior
“female,” such that we can US psychologist Eleanor Maccoby. verbal abilities, subsequent studies
identify five different sexes Frustrated by the tendency of revealed that these differences
along the spectrum. psychological literature to report on are either negligible or are more
research findings that emphasized complex than they initially appear.
2003 Simon Baron-Cohen the differences between men and One difference that was
argues that the female brain is women rather than the similarities, consistent and undeniable was
predominantly hard-wired for Maccoby, with student Carol that “girls get better grades than
empathy, and the male brain Jacklin, reviewed more than 1,600 boys” in school. Maccoby found
for understanding systems. studies of gender differences. They this particularly interesting,
published their findings in The especially considering that girls
Psychology of Sex Differences (1974) did not obtain higher aptitude test
with the aim of showing that what scores when all of the subject
most consider essential differences matter areas were reviewed.

See also: Janet Taylor Spence 236 ■ Simon Baron-Cohen 298–99
Girls show greater responsiveness

to teacher’s expectations and are more
willing to work, according to Maccoby’s
research, which makes them more
likely to do better at school than boys.
Intellectual development
Furthermore, previous research into
achievement motivation seemed to
in girls is fostered
suggest that boys should outperform
by their being
their female peers. Males were assertive and active.
arguably more oriented toward Eleanor E. Maccoby
achievement for its own sake
than girls, showing greater task
involvement, and more exploratory
behavior; females were primarily
interested in achievement relating
to interpersonal relationships—
exerting effort to please others, and Maccoby concluded that their The ongoing debate over inherent
demonstrating low self-confidence better grades clearly reflect some sex differences is tied up with
with respect to many tasks. combination of greater effort, general political questions about
greater interest, and better work how society should be organized,
Challenging stereotypes habits than their male peers. and the roles that men and women
Maccoby systemically argued Whatever discrepancy exists are “naturally” equipped to fill. By
against these assumptions, between boys and girls in terms of pointing out that psychological
pointing to the fact that girls are achievement motivation does not literature tends to publish results
higher academic achievers than reflect school-related motivation. indicating sex differences, while
boys, show greater interest in This motivation could prove ignoring those indicating equality,
school-related skills from an early significant throughout girls’ lives, Maccoby has fought against the
age, and are less likely to drop out as performance at school is also assignment of men and women to
before completing high school. relevant to job performance. stereotypical professions. ■
Eleanor E. Maccoby Born in Tacoma, Washington, Achievement Award from the

Eleanor Maccoby (née Emmons) American Psychology Foundation
earned a bachelor’s degree from and The American Psychological
the University of Washington and Association introduced an award
an MA and PhD in experimental in her name. Maccoby’s work to
psychology from the University of debunk stereotypes is considered
Michigan. In the 1940s, she worked fundamental to understanding
for the Department of Agriculture, children’s socialization and
and then at Harvard University, gender differences.
supervising research on child-
rearing practices. Perceiving that Key works
gender bias was holding her back,
she moved to Stanford University, 1966 The Development of Sex
where she became the first Differences
woman to serve as Chair of the 1974 The Psychology of Sex
Psychology Department. Maccoby Differences
went on to receive a Lifetime 1996 Adolescents after Divorce
MOST HUMAN
BEHAVIOR
IS LEARNED THROUGH
MODELING
ALBERT BANDURA (1925– )
288 ALBERT BANDURA
I
n the 1940s and 1950s, learning observing others, is at the heart of
IN CONTEXT was understood primarily in social learning theory. This theory
behaviorist terms, with B.F. suggests that learning is achieved
APPROACH
Skinner’s theory of operant by mentally rehearsing and then
Social learning theory
conditioning—in which learning is imitating the observed actions of
BEFORE wholly determined by rewards and other people, who serve as models
1938 B.F. Skinner proposes punishments—dominating the of appropriate or acceptable
the behaviorist notion of field. From this context emerged behavior. Bandura argued that
operant conditioning, which Albert Bandura’s interest in studying “most human behavior is learned
explores positive and negative childhood aggression—an area he through modeling.”
reinforcements in learning. felt was too complex to explain in Bandura noted four conditions
terms of operant conditioning—as that are necessary for a person to
1939 US psychologist John a learned behavior. successfully model the behavior
Dollard argues that aggression Bandura’s hypothesis was that of another: attention, retention,
is always a consequence of children learn aggression through reproduction, and motivation.
frustration, and that frustration observing and imitating the violent Learning requires that the learner
always leads to aggression. acts of adults—particularly family is paying attention to the behavior
members. He believed that the key in the first place, that he remembers
AFTER to the problem lies at the intersection what he saw or heard, that he is
1966 American pychologist of Skinner’s operant conditioning actually able to physically reproduce
Leonard Berkowitz claims and Freud’s psychoanalytic theory the behavior, and that he has a
environmental cues, such of identification, which explores how good motive or reason to reproduce
as those associated with people assimilate the characteristics it, such as the expectation of reward.
aggressive behavior, must of others into their own personalities. Although the concept of reward
be present for aggression to Bandura’s work culminated in his is part of his social learning theory,
follow anger. famous Bobo doll experiment, and Bandura’s move away from
his hugely influential 1977 treatise behaviorism is evident in his
1977 US psychologist Robert A.
Social Learning Theory. radical, anti-behaviorist ideas about
Baron suggests that Bandura’s the relationship between
experiment implies that violence Social learning theory a person’s environment and his or
in the media contributes to Bandura’s belief that people learn her behavior. According to
violence in society. not through reinforcement (rewards behaviorism, environmental
and punishments), but through circumstances entirely determine
We are surrounded We notice and

by people talking and remember these
acting in different ways. observed actions…
Most human
behavior is
learned through
modeling.
…and, if motivated,
physically reproduce …which we then
ourselves. mentally rehearse…

See also: Konrad Lorenz 77 ■ B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Lev Vygotsky 270
behavior, but Bandura believes

in “reciprocal determinism”—the
idea that a person influences the
environment just as the environment
influences him. Bandura conceived
of personality as an interaction
between three different components:
the environment, behavior, and
psychological processes (the ability
to use language and entertain
images in the mind). All of these
components are relevant to the
study of childhood aggression,
which, Bandura argued, was learned
by watching and modeling adults.
Bobo doll experiment

Bandura’s social learning point of
view was the basis for his 1961
Bobo doll experiment on childhood
aggression, which sought to explain
how aggressive behavior develops,
what provokes people to carry
out aggressive acts, and what For the experiment, 36 boys and 36 Children attack the Bobo doll
determines whether they will girls, all between the ages of three in Bandura’s 1961 experiment on
continue to behave aggressively. By and six, were recruited from a local aggressive behavior. In some cases,
subjects devised new ways to attack
proving that a child will imitate the nursery school. They were divided
the doll by using other toys in the room.
behavior of an adult role model, the up into three groups of 24, each
experiment showed the power of comprising 12 boys and 12 girls. child was later left alone in a room
examples of aggression in society. The first group was the control of toys that included a Bobo doll, he
group (which did not see any adult or she imitated a good deal of the
role model); the second group was aggressive acts performed by the
exposed to an adult modeling the adult models, even creating
aggressive behavior toward an novel acts of violence against the
inflatable Bobo doll; the third group doll. Children in this group were
was exposed to a passive adult also generally less inhibited than
Behavior partly model. All of the children in the those in the other groups, showing
created the experiment were tested individually an increased attraction to guns
environment, and the to ensure that they would not be despite the fact that playing with
resultant environment, influenced by their peers. guns was not modeled.
in turn, influenced In the experiments on the By contrast, children who were
the behavior. second group, each child watched either in the control group or who
Albert Bandura an adult performing physically and were exposed to a passive adult
verbally aggressive acts toward the model only rarely demonstrated
doll. The adult pummeled the large any kind of physical or verbal
Bobo toy with a mallet, flung it in aggression. Although Bandura
the air, kicked it, threw it down on did consider the possibility that
the floor, and beat it. When each observing aggressive acts merely ❯❯
290 ALBERT BANDURA

Violence in computer games, and
in the media generally, has been cited
as a potential source of behavior
modeling, although this view has not
been strongly supported by studies.
weakened any inhibitions that

the children may have already
had about behaving violently, the
fact that they often imitated the
exact behavior they had just
seen suggests that observational
learning was taking place.
Violence in the media

Bandura’s research has raised many
important questions surrounding
the prevalence of violence in the
media. If a stranger performing
aggressive acts can be a model of indicate that exposure to violence Social learning theorists accept
aggression for children, you might can actually decrease the amount that cognition has a part to play
argue that television programs of aggression in children. This in modeling, and that cognitive
could also be considered a source theory—known as the Catharsis factors mediate the process
of behavior modeling. Modern films effect—suggests that an individual between viewing violence and
and television shows include may be able to relate to a violent actually imitating it. For instance,
graphic violence, which is often on-screen character and release the perception and interpretation
expressed as an acceptable (or at negative feelings, thereby becoming of TV violence, and how realistic
least expected) form of behavior, less aggressive personally than the program is, are both important
which children who are regularly prior to the viewing. intervening variables. Bandura
exposed to the media may feel Other psychologists regard also considers that environmental
inclined to imitate. This idea has television as a form of education, experiences are another influence
been hotly debated. Many studies and believe that, as characters in the social learning of aggression
indicate that violent films and often serve as role models for in children. Unsurprisingly,
television shows do not increase children, they should be positive people living in neighborhoods
a child’s tendencies toward models in order to help decrease with high crime rates are
violence. Some studies even the general level of violence more likely to commit acts
prevalent in society. of violence than those living
Although Bandura himself does in low-crime areas.
not believe in the Catharsis effect
of viewing aggressive behavior, Gender development
he was careful to note that there The social learning theory
was a distinction between learning underlying Bandura’s research
Exposure to and performance. Children, he on childhood aggression has
aggressive modeling is thought, could certainly learn important implications for our
hardly cathartic. aggressive behavior from viewing understanding of the development
Albert Bandura it, but knowledge of violent acts of gender identity. According to
would not necessarily result in the gender development theory,
committing these acts themselves. one reason why boys and girls
He warned against assuming a tend to exhibit differences in their
more direct and causal relationship behavior is that they are treated
between violence in the media and differently by their parents (as well
real-world aggression. as other significant adults and

peers). It has been shown that half a century later, reflecting the
people unwittingly tailor their breadth and scope of his influence.
behavior toward children from birth His groundbreaking contributions
to match their own gender-role span many of the fields of
expectations; this encourages psychology, including social
children to behave according to cognitive theory, personality
what are considered gender norms. theory, and even therapeutic
According to Bandura’s practices. His ideas also serve
findings, children also learn how as a bridge between preceding
to behave through reinforcement behaviorist learning theories
and observation learning. By and subsequent cognitive
imitating the behavior of others, learning theories.
children are highly likely to receive Bandura’s focus on processes
positive reinforcement for the type such as attention, memory, and Albert Bandura
of behavior that is considered most motivation marked a departure
appropriate to their sex. They will from studying only observable Albert Bandura was born to
also be either directly or subtly and measurable variables (the Polish parents in the small
town of Mundare in Alberta,
discouraged from behaving in ways sole concern of behaviorists)
Canada. He graduated from the
that are not sex-appropriate. and looked instead to the mental University of British Columbia,
Although there has been some realm—the mind—for information moving on to take his master’s
criticism of Bandura’s work (often about how people learn. For these degree and doctorate at the
centered on whether his idea is reasons, Bandura is considered by University of Iowa, where his
truly a theory of cognitive many of his peers to be one of the interest in learning theory
development), his findings and most distinguised and influential developed. In 1953, he took up
theories are still cited and debated psychologists of all time. ■ a teaching post at Stanford
University, California, where
he is a professor emeritus.
Behavior seen as sex-appropriate in children, One of the world’s most
such as independence (in boys) or empathy (in girls), eminent and influencial
is often positively reinforced by adults’ expectations,
psychologists, Bandura has
as well as by children’s imitation of adults and peers.
received numerous awards,
including the Thorndike
Award for Distinguished
Dependence Independence Contributions of Psychology
to Education (1999), and a
Lifetime Achievement Award
Empathy Self-reliance from the Association for the
Advancement of Behavior
Therapy (2001). He also has
more than 16 honorary degrees,
and in 1974 was elected
Emotional president of the American
Emotional control Psychological Association.
expressiveness
Key works
Female Male 1973 Aggression: A Social

Learning Analysis
1977 Social Learning Theory
1986 Social Foundations of
Thought and Action: A Social
Cognitive Theory
292
MORALITY
DEVELOPS IN
SIX STAGES
LAWRENCE KOHLBERG (1927–1987)
L
awrence Kohlberg believed neither of which could be considered
IN CONTEXT that morality develops completely acceptable, and noted
gradually throughout their responses. One example was
APPROACH
childhood and adolescence. In 1956, whether it was right or wrong for a
Moral development
he began a study involving man with no money to steal drugs
BEFORE 72 boys between the ages of 10 and that his sick wife desperately
1923 Sigmund Freud offers 16. He presented the boys with needed. Kohlberg followed up on 58
a psychoanalytic account moral dilemmas that required them of the boys, testing them every three
of moral development. to choose between two alternatives, years over the course of 20 years, to
1932 Jean Piaget argues that
morality develops from two
types of reasoning: one that is Morality develops in six stages throughout childhood,
subject to the rules of others, adolescence, and adulthood.
and another that is subject
only to a person’s own rules.
AFTER In the two preconventional stages, moral behavior
1977 American educational is determined by the concepts of punishment,
psychologist William Damon reward, and reciprocity.
suggests that young children
are able to take the needs of
others into account, earlier
than Kohlberg claims they are. In the two conventional stages, moral behavior is
1982 American psychologist consistent with doing what others believe to be
Nancy Eisenberg argues that right, upholding laws, and maintaining social order.
in order to understand
children’s moral development,
we must examine their
reasoning when faced with In the two postconventional stages, the individual
is the ultimate judge of moral behavior,
conflict between their own
based on his own conscience and universal
needs and those of others. moral principles rather than social norms.

See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Jean Piaget 262–69 ■ Albert Bandura 286–91
rules as fixed and absolute. In the

first of its two stages (the stage of
obedience and punishment), we
determine whether actions are right
or wrong by whether or not they
lead to a punishment. In the second
Moral thought may be
stage (the stage of individualism
considered partially to and exchange), right and wrong are
generate its own data determined by what brings rewards.
as it goes along. The desires and needs of others are
Lawrence Kohlberg important, but only in a reciprocal
sense—“You scratch my back and
Mahatma Gandhi was among the
I’ll scratch yours.” Morality at this few who reach the final stages of moral
level is governed by consequence. development described by Kohlberg.
The second level of moral Throughout his adult life, he felt a duty
reasoning starts in adolescence, to disregard unjust and oppresive laws.
and continues into early adulthood.
observe how their moral inclinations It sees us starting to consider the The third level of moral development
changed with age. Based on the intention behind behavior, rather is when we move beyond simple
answers given by his subjects, than just the consequences. Its first conformity, but Kohlberg suggested
Kohlberg identified six stages of stage, often called the “good boy– that only around 10–15 percent of us
moral development, which spanned nice girl” stage, is when we begin ever reach this level. In its first
three levels of moral reasoning: classifying moral behavior as to stage (the social contract and
preconventional, conventional, and whether it will help or please. Being individual rights stage), we still
postconventional. seen as good becomes the goal. In respect authority, but there is a
the second stage (the law and order growing recognition that individual
Building moral reasoning stage), we start to equate “being rights can supersede laws that are
The preconventional level of moral good” with respecting authority destructive or restrictive. We come
reasoning, which develops during and obeying the law, believing that to realize that human life is more
our first nine years of life, considers this protects and sustains society. sacred than just following rules.
The sixth and final stage (the stage
Lawrence Kohlberg While in Belize in 1971, Kohlberg of universal ethical principles) is
contracted a parasitic infection when our own conscience becomes
The youngest of four children, that left him battling with the ultimate judge, and we commit
Lawrence Kohlberg was born persistent pain and depression. ourselves to equal rights and respect
in Bronxville, New York. After On January 19, 1987, after for all. We may even resort to civil
completing high school at the asking to leave a treatment disobedience in the name of
end of World War II, he became session, he committed suicide, universal principles, such as justice.
a sailor, and helped smuggle reportedly by walking into the Kohlberg’s six-stage theory was
Jewish refugees into Palestine. icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean. considered radical, because it stated
In 1948, Kohlberg enrolled at that morality is not imposed on
the University of Chicago, where Key works children (as psychoanalysts said),
he completed his bachelor’s
nor is it about avoiding bad feelings
degree in just one year, and 1969 Stage and Sequence
went on to research and teach, 1976 Moral Stages and
(as the behaviorists had thought).
gaining a doctorate in 1958. He Moralization Kohlberg believed children developed
also taught at Yale University, 1981 The Philosophy of Moral a moral code and awareness of
and finally Harvard. Development respect, empathy, and love through
interaction with others. ■
294
IN CONTEXT
THE LANGUAGE
APPROACH
Nativism
ORGAN GROWS
BEFORE
1958 B.F. Skinner uses
operant conditioning to
explain language development,
LIKE ANY OTHER

arguing that children learn
words and phrases through
reinforcement.
BODY ORGAN
1977 Albert Bandura argues
that children may imitate the
general form of sentences, and
fill in these with specific words.
NOAM CHOMSKY (1928– ) AFTER

1994 Steven Pinker argues
that language is an instinct
from an innate program
hard-wired in the brain, which
arose because it was adaptive
for human survival.
2003 Psychologists Stan Kuczaj
and Heather Hill claim parents
offer children better examples
of grammatical sentences than
Chomsky suggests.
I
n the middle of the 20th
century, learning theory as
explained by B.F. Skinner
and Albert Bandura dominated
psychologists’ conception of
language development. These
behaviorists believed that
language—like all other human
faculties—was a direct result
of environmental input and
learning, developed through
the reinforcement and reward
techniques at the heart of operant
conditioning. Skinner noted that
when children imitate verbal
sounds, and form correct
words, they receive immediate
reinforcement and approval from
their parents, which motivates

See also: B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■ Jerome Bruner 164–65 ■ Steven Pinker 211 ■ Jean Piaget 262–69 ■ Albert Bandura 286–91
heredity. The onset of puberty, for

instance, is an aspect of human
Young children Young children can growth that is like the “growth” of
spontaneously use understand the meaning the language organ. We assume
grammatical rules of an entire sentence unquestioningly that it is a
that they have never without understanding genetically determined milestone,
been taught. all the words. and though the specific details of
its onset depend on several variable
environmental influences, the
fundamental process is the same
across the human species. We take
for granted that this is a result of
Verbal imitation combined with approval and praise does not basic biological programming.
explain the productivity and creativity of language. Language growth, Chomsky
emphasizes, is another genetically
programmed inevitability of human
development, on a par with the
processes that determine that we
The human capacity to understand grammar have arms instead of wings, or that
is innate and biological. build the structure of our visual or
circulatory systems.
The concept that language is
a part of our growth process is
important because it highlights
The language organ grows like Chomsky’s belief that it is not a
any other body organ. consequence of learning. He
adopts a nativist perspective,
focusing on the inherited
contributions to behavior and
them to continue learning new to understand the meaning of an minimizing the importance of
words and phrases. Bandura entire sentence without necessarily environmental input. However,
broadened the concept of understanding the meaning of each he believes that the environment
imitation, noting that children word. For Chomsky, this ability is plays a role in determining the
imitated not only specific words innate in humans—he claimed that specific direction of language ❯❯
and sounds, but also the general “the language organ grows like any
form and structure of sentences, other body organ,” likening it to other
as though filling in templates with features acquired through heredity.
specific words.
Linguist Noam Chomsky, Nativism
however, did not believe that Chomsky maintained that,
operant conditioning adequately although a child’s environment Language is a process
explained the productivity, supplies the content of language, of free creation.
creativity, and innovation grammar itself is an in-built and Noam Chomsky
of language. It also seemed biologically determined human
insufficient to explain children’s capacity. To illustrate his point, he
spontaneous use of grammatical refers to other aspects of human
rules that they have neither heard development that we accept as
nor learned, as well as their ability being an inevitable outcome of
296 NOAM CHOMSKY

growth, insofar as an individual’s aspects of grammar are understood
language organ develops according without requiring any instruction,
to early experiences. For instance, and that the knowledge is therefore
because Chomsky grew up in innate. This is the only way to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he explain how people have such a
absorbed knowledge of that rich grammatical understanding
We are designed
particular English dialect and his and how children can use language
language organ’s structure was so creatively by the age of six.
to learn languages based
tailored accordingly. The same Chomsky claims that “universal
upon a common set of
process occurs for everyone, grammar” is found worldwide, with principles, which we may
whether they have grown up in modifications according to people’s call universal grammar.
Paris, Tokyo, or London. native languages. It is a predefined Noam Chomsky
mechanism that acts as the basis
Universal grammar for the acquisition of any language.
But where is the proof that language He argues that this is demonstrated
acquisition is inborn rather than by the way that all children are
learned? According to Chomsky, equally able to learn any language
the most convincing evidence for to which they are exposed. He says
this claim is that there are aspects that a common set of linguistic (LAD). He bases his claim for its
of grammar that are so intuitive features is built into the language existence on three things: the
and self-evident that they need organ through heredity, and it fact that children are born with
never be discussed or learned in includes elements of grammar, the capacity to formulate and
order to be understood (they are meaning, and speech. It is what understand all kinds of sentences
therefore part of our biological makes it possible for us to speak despite never having heard or
inheritance). For instance, there and learn human languages, and learned them; that every human
are certain constructions in the may make it impossible for us to language appears to have certain
English language that permit the learn any language that violates universal elements; and that some
dropping of pronouns, and others these principles. grammatical principles are
that do not. The difference between acquired by individuals regardless
the two is subtle, yet even by the Language device of their culture or intelligence.
age of six, native English-speaking Chomsky proposes a name for There is other supporting evidence
children will use the constructions our innate language organ: the as well, including the fact that the
flawlessly. This implies that certain Language Acquisition Device human vocal organs, breathing
Noam Chomsky Linguist, philosopher, cognitive have made him a highly

scientist, and social activist controversial figure. He has
Noam Chomsky was born in won several honorary degrees
Pennsylvania to Jewish parents. as well as being a recipient of
He studied philosophy and the Distinguished Scientific
linguistics at the University Contribution Award, the
of Pennsylvania, where he earned Dorothy Eldridge Peacemaker
his bachelor’s, master’s, and Award, and the Orwell Award.
doctoral degrees. Chomsky joined He was married to linguist
the Massachusetts Institute of Carol Schatz for 59 years
Technology in 1955, becoming an until her death in 2008.
Institute Professor in 1976.
Chomsky is widely known as Key works
one of the fathers of modern
linguistics, but he is also a 1957 Syntactic Structures
political dissident and anarchist. 1965 Cartesian Linguistics
His criticisms of US foreign policy 1968 Language and Mind

evolved, arguing that language environment could also be a factor.
represents a distinct mental module There is also some degree of doubt
that is unique to human beings and surrounding Chomsky’s assumption
completely independent of general that language is unique to human
cognitive ability. beings. Data from studies with
Linguist Jean Aitchison is also chimpanzees and gorillas has
in agreement with Chomsky’s suggested that the difference
claim that children are hard-wired between ape and human language is
with knowledge of linguistic rules, quantitative rather than qualitative,
but her view is that children have which raises questions about how
built-in problem-solving abilities species-specific language really is.
that enable them to process Chomsky’s work has been
linguistic data (and other forms highly influential across linguistics,
Deaf children communicate using
a “gestural language,” which has the
of data). Chomsky maintains, psychology, philosophy, and even
same characteristics as spoken however, that human beings’ mathematics. Although the idea
language, suggesting that knowledge innate language ability exists that children are predisposed to
of grammar and syntax is innate. independently of other abilities, and learn language is widely accepted,
because the mind is constructed of his claim that children have an
apparatus, auditory system, and mental organs similar to those of innate knowledge of language that
brain are all specialized for spoken the body, language can easily be is not deeply influenced by their
communication. Chomsky argues isolated from other mental faculties. parents is highly controversial.
that, in light of the frequency with Criticism also comes from He has been widely considered the
which children are exposed to the Robin Chapman, an expert in most extreme nativist in the history
ungrammatical and incomplete communicative disorders, who of psychology, and although a
speech uttered by their parents and argues that the study of language biological source for language
other adults, only some kind of LAD development should also be development is widely thought
can explain the fact that children understood within the context of to be nearer the truth than one
seem to possess knowledge of children’s social interactions. She involving operant conditioning, it
grammatical rules. Finally, studies notes that language structure is is still unlikely to offer the complete
of deaf children provide further acquired piecemeal over several picture. Chomsky’s work has led to
evidence for an LAD, revealing the years, and that there are wide the emergence of more integrated
untutored emergence of a “gestural variations in how rapidly children views, which will no doubt lead to
language” that shares the basic acquire it, suggesting that social new research and understanding. ■
principles of spoken language.
Evaluation
Cognitive scientist Steven Pinker
agrees that language is an instinct
stemming from an innate program
that is hard-wired in the human
brain, but says that it arose through
evolution and was therefore
adaptive, helping our ancestors to
survive. Chomsky disagrees with
Pinker about how language
Studies of how chimpanzees

communicate with each other
shows that their language is complex,
although it appears to have less content
and variation than human language.
298
AUTISM IS AN
EXTREME FORM OF
THE MALE BRAIN
SIMON BARON-COHEN (1958– )
A
utism is a disorder that influential theories is Simon Baron-
IN CONTEXT affects the brain’s normal Cohen’s “theory of mind” hypothesis,
development of social and which, when supported by his
APPROACH
communication skills. Autistic observations about sex differences
Theory of mind
children often react to the world in the brain, suggests that “autism
BEFORE around them in a way that seems is an extreme form of the male brain.”
1943 American psychiatrist bizarre to others. They may have
Leo Kanner identifies autism, poor communication skills, and Brain types
suggesting it is the result of social interaction with autistic In 2003, Baron-Cohen developed the
cold, unemotional parenting. children tends to be challenging, empathizing–systematizing theory
partly because many of them fail to of “female” and “male” brains, which
1944 Austrian pediatrician speak, and partly because many assigns a particular “brain type” to
Hans Asperger describes show little interest in others. The every person, regardless of gender,
autism as “an extreme variant majority of autistic children are depending on ability to empathize or
of male intelligence.” male, and most remain impaired systematize. His research suggests
1979 British psychiatrists throughout adulthood. Various that the female brain is largely hard-
Lorna Wing and Judith Gould explanations for autism have been wired for empathy, with females
offered. One of the most recent and usually showing more sympathy for
discover that there is a wide
others, and greater sensitivity to
spectrum of autistic disorders.
facial expressions and non-verbal
AFTER communication. The male brain, by
1989 German-born contrast, appears to be geared toward
psychologist Uta Frith states understanding and building systems;
that autistic individuals tend it is mostly interested in how things
The person with work, as well as their structure, and
to notice detail, rather than the
the extreme female organization. It is therefore often
broader aspects of situations.
brain would be better at tasks requiring decoding
1997 UK psychologist Peter ‘system-blind.’ skills, such as map reading.
Mitchell argues Baron-Cohen’s Simon Baron-Cohen This does not mean, however,
“theory of mind” fails to explain that there is a neat gender split.
the exceptional memory and Baron-Cohen’s experiments showed
ability in specific areas that that around 17 percent of men
some autistic people possess. appear to have an “empathizing
brain,” and 17 percent of women

See also: Roger W. Sperry 337–38 ■ Heinz Heckhausen 338–39 ■ Michael
Rutter 339
The male brain is

The female brain is
predominantly hard-wired
predominantly hard-wired
for understanding and
for empathy.
building systems.
Autistic people are obsessed with Simon Baron-Cohen

understanding and working with systems,
but do not have the “tools” for empathy. Born in London, Simon
Baron-Cohen qualified as a
clinical psychologist at London
University’s Institute of
Psychiatry, and took his PhD
at University College, London.
In 1995, he became a fellow
Autism is an extreme form in experimental psychology at
of the male brain. Trinity College, Cambridge,
and is currently the university’s
Professor of Developmental
Psychopathology and director
have a “systematizing brain,” while are centered on some form of system, of its Autism Research Centre,
many people have a “balanced” such as an intense preoccupation where his work involves
brain of equal abilities. with light switches. They focus on investigating ways of treating
tiny details in the system, working autism, as well as research
Theory of mind out the underlying rules that govern into possible causes.
His many accolades include
Baron-Cohen believes that autistic it, or home in on a specific topic,
the President’s Award and
people lack a “theory of mind”—the learning everything about it with
Spearman Medal from the
ability to interpret others’ emotions great accuracy. This mix of little or British Psychological Society,
and actions successfully—and so no empathy and an obsession with plus the Boyd McCandless
are unable to assess another’s state systems, along with the higher rate Award from the American
of mind or intentions. Also, they of autism in males, led Baron-Cohen Psychological Association.
often have obsessive interests that to conclude that autistic people have From 2009 to 2011, Baron-
an extreme “male” brain. Cohen served as vice-president
Autism is one of the most severe of the International Society of
psychiatric disorders in children, Autism Research, and is also
and Baron-Cohen’s ideas have vice-president of the National
helped to deepen understanding of Autistic Society (UK).
the condition, raising awareness and
making treatment more effective. ■ Key works
1993 Autism: The Facts

Autistic children sometimes show 1995 Mindblindness
remarkable aptitude in certain areas, 1999 Teaching Children with
especially those that demand acute Autism to Mind-Read
observation of fine detail, such as 2003 The Essential Difference
mathematics, drawing, and painting.
PSYCHOL
OF DIFFE
PERSONALITY AND
INTELLIGENCE
OGY
RENCE
302 INTRODUCTION
Charles Spearman
proposes that intelligent Raymond Cattell
In The Descent of Man, behavior is generated by a Floyd and Gordon suggests that
Charles Darwin single, unitary quality Allport publish intelligence is made up
argues that variations within the brain, which he Personality Traits: their of two factors: fluid
in intellectual abilities calls “the general Classification and and crystallized
tend to be inherited. factor” or “g.” Measurement. intelligence.
1871 1904 1921 1941
1884 1905 1937 1942
Francis Galton is the first to Alfred Binet and Theodore Gordon Allport Katherine Briggs and
investigate individual Simon develop the first publishes his most Isabel Briggs Myers
differences scientifically, intelligence test, which significant work, create the Briggs
through large-scale becomes known as the Personality: Myers Type
questionnaires. Binet-Simon scale. psychological Indicator—a widely
interpretation. used psychometric test.
T
heoretical psychology has from research into more general refinement of Allport’s theories:
largely been concerned theories rather than a study of reducing the number of traits that
with identifying and personality itself. The first combined to form an individual
examining aspects of the mind psychologist to systematically personality. The prominent traits of
and behavior that are common approach the subject was Gordon introversion and extraversion were
to us all, yet philosophers, and later Allport, who felt that existing ideas common to most of these models,
scientists, have always recognized of personality were inadequate. As and the distinction between them
that there are differences in our one of the pioneers of what is now was felt to be a major factor in
psychological make-up that render called “trait theory,” he identified determining personality. They were
us individuals. Some of the early a number of different personality incorporated into Hans Eysenck’s
philosophers explained differences traits, which he suggested showed three-factor model, with its basic
in personality using the idea of the themselves in three different levels traits of extraversion–introversion,
four humors or temperaments, but it in a combination unique to each neuroticism, and psychoticism.
was not until the 20th century that person. The idea of traits became One assumption that was
there was any truly scientific study central to personality psychology questioned was whether personality
of personality. and, following Allport’s work, it traits would result in consistent
Behaviorists, as one would became a major new area of study. behavior. Research conducted
expect, saw personality as a by Walter Mischel showed that
product of conditioning, and Personality traits different situations produced
psychoanalytical theory described New ways of analyzing traits, different behavior, and suggested
personality as the effect of past such as Raymond Cattell’s factor that personality traits should be
experience on the unconscious— analytical method, which identified considered in the context of an
but these explanations resulted 16 personality factors, led to individual’s perception of and
PSYCHOLOGY OF DIFFERENCE 303
Walter Mischel publishes

Hans Eysenck Corbett H. Thigpen and Personality and Assessment, Nico Frijda publishes
develops an Hervey M. Cleckley questioning the assumption The Emotions,
influential document a case of that behavior is determined describing them
three-factor model multiple personality by personality traits as changes in an
of the theory of disorder in The Three regardless of situation or individual that prepare
personality. Faces of Eve. context. him or her for action.
1947-70S 1954 1968 1986
1950 1955 1973 1990S
J.P. Guilford suggests that David Wechsler David Rosenhan Researchers agree on the
the Structure of Intellect develops the questions the validity of “big five” personality
(SI) has three dimensions: Wechsler Adult psychiatric notions of traits—openness,
content, products, and Intelligence Scale normal or sane in his conscientiousness,
operations. (WAIS). pseudo-patient extraversion, neuroticism,
experiments. and agreeableness.
reaction to various circumstances. was assumed to be an inherited up general intelligence. This notion
Not only was personality found to characteristic (and carried with it of a single measure of intelligence
be less consistent than had been connotations of racial stereotypes was challenged by J.P. Guilford, who
assumed, but in some cases there and eugenics) rather than one believed that intelligence consists of
was the possibility of an individual influenced by environment. The a number of different abilities, an
having more than one distinct issue of nature versus nurture in idea that led to Raymond Cattell’s
personality. In a case made famous determining intelligence became theory of fluid and crystallized
by a book and film, The Three Faces key, with psychologists including intelligence—two levels of
of Eve, psychiatrists Corbett H. Raymond Cattell and Hans Eysenck reasoning and critical thinking.
Thigpen and Hervey M. Cleckley defending a hereditary viewpoint, Research into other areas of
described multiple personality and others arguing that not only is psychological difference has
disorder, now called dissociative intelligence affected by environment, included emotions and facial
identity disorder. but the way it is tested is culturally expressions, pioneered by Paul
biased, giving distorted results. Ekman and Nico Frijda, and
The intelligence factor In the early 20th century, British psychological disorders, but David
Another factor that distinguishes psychologist Charles Spearman had Rosenhan’s experiment showed
us as individuals is intelligence. laid the foundations for a more that it is not easy to distinguish
This had been studied from the objective, scientific study of the “normal” from the “abnormal.”
earliest days of psychology, but intelligence by using statistical Individual differences appear to
had proved difficult to define or techniques to test and measure be points on a spectrum, rather
measure. Studies are also frequently intelligence. He identified a single than easily labeled divisions—
controversial; since the time of factor, the “g factor,” that correlated highlighting the complexity and
Darwin and Galton, intelligence to all the mental abilities that make diversity of human psychology. ■
304
NAME AS MANY USES

AS YOU CAN THINK OF
FOR A TOOTHPICK
J.P. GUILFORD (1897–1987)
A
lthough intelligence, and children who might benefit from
IN CONTEXT what makes up intelligence, educational assistance. Together
had been discussed since with researcher Theodore Simon, he
APPROACH
the time of ancient Greece, the first created the “Binet–Simon Scale,”
Intelligence psychometrics
systematic method of measuring which used memory, attention, and
BEFORE intelligence was not developed until problem-solving tasks to measure
19th century Wilhelm Wundt, 1905, when the French psychologist and produce a number, or “quotient,”
Gustav Fechner, and Francis Alfred Binet was asked to identify that summarizes intellectual ability.
Galton claim that individual
differences in people’s
cognitive abilities can be
empirically measured. Questions of memory and Problems requiring
simple problem-solving… creative solutions…
Charles Spearman claims
intelligence can be summed
up in a single number.
L.L. Thurstone identifies seven …can be answered using …can be solved using
independent factors that make convergent thinking – divergent thinking –
up a person’s “primary the ability to come up with exploring many possible
abilities” or intelligence. one “correct” answer. avenues at once.
AFTER
1969 Philip E. Vernon
estimates that intelligence
is 60 percent inborn.
1974 US psychologist Ellis This requires a new
Paul Torrence produces his This can be tested
form of testing that includes
using standardized
own tests of creativity, which both problem-solving
intelligence (IQ) tests.
are most widely used today. and imagination.

See also: Alfred Binet 50–53 ■ Raymond Cattell 314–15 ■ Hans J. Eysenck 316–21 ■ William Stern 334 ■
David Wechsler 336
it has fundamental flaws. Standard happen if all national and local laws
intelligence tests, he says, ignore were suddenly abolished. Guilford
creativity and assume that there is scored the answers on levels of four
a “general intelligence” that can be key components: originality,
represented by an IQ score. fluency, flexibility, and elaboration.
Guilford claims that intelligence
Measuring creativity is not made up of just one “general
By definition, creativity means there factor,” but of three different groups
is more than one answer to any of activities. “Operations” are the
problem. It requires a different kind intellectual processes we use; there
of thinking, which Guilford calls are six types of these, including
“divergent,” since it goes in different memory, cognition, and evaluation.
directions and produces multiple “Content” is the type of information
Creative minds see even toothpicks
solutions to a problem. In contrast, or data involved—there are five of
as potentially having hundreds of uses. traditional IQ tests require thinking these, including visual and auditory
Guilford’s “Alternative Uses Test” scores that ends up with a single answer: content. “Products” are the results of
people on their ability to think of many “convergent” thinking. applying operations to content, such
original and widely assorted alternatives. Guilford thought that creativity as classes or relations, and there
was measurable—it is indicated by are six of these. The many ways in
The average intelligence quotient the number of directions in which a which we combine and use these
(IQ) was set for convenience at 100, person’s thoughts travel. He devised different types means there may be
allowing psychologists to categorize a number of tests to quantify anything up to 180 (6 × 5 × 6) types
people in relation to this score. In divergent thinking, including his of intelligence—more than 100 of
practice, around 95 percent of the 1967 “Alternative Uses Test,” which these have already been verified.
general population score between asks participants to write as many The complexity of Guilford’s
70 and 130, and the top 0.5 percent uses as they can think of for: (a) a theory and problems with testing
score over 145, the “genius” level. toothpick, (b) a brick, and (c) a paper mean that his tests are used less
Although the scale is still clip. In his “Consequences Test,” frequently than standard IQ tests,
used for most IQ tests today, US subjects were asked to imagine all but his work has influenced research
psychologist J.P. Guilford believes the things that might possibly into intelligence and creativity. ■
J.P. Guilford World War II—until his

retirement in 1967. Described as
Joy Paul Guilford was born on a devoted family man of
a farm in Nebraska. Always enormous integrity and
markedly intelligent, he was the generosity, his shyness earned
valedictorian of his high school him the nickname “gray ghost” The person who is
class. His bachelor’s degree in during his time in the army. An capable of producing
psychology was interrupted by a influential and prolific a large number of ideas
spell in the army as a private, researcher, Guilford produced per unit of time… has a
but he went on to earn a PhD more than 25 books, 30 tests, greater chance of having
from Cornell University. In 1928, and 300 articles. significant ideas.
he returned to Nebraska as an J.P. Guilford
associate professor, then took a Key works
position at the University of
Southern California (USC) in 1936 Psychometric Methods
1940, remaining there—apart 1967 The Nature of Human
from a short secondment during Intelligence
DID ROBINSON CRUSOE

LACK PERSONALITY TRAITS
BEFORE
THE ADVENT OF
FRIDAY?
GORDON ALLPORT (1897–1967)
308 GORDON ALLPORT
G
ordon Allport is sometimes
IN CONTEXT referred to as one of the
founding fathers of
APPROACH
personality psychology, as he was
Trait theory
the first psychologist of modern
BEFORE times to embark on a dedicated People… are busy
2nd century BCE Galen study of personality. Since the early
leading their lives into
classifies human temperament work on the four temperaments by
Hippocrates (c.400 BCE) and Galen
the future, whereas
according to the four humors. psychology, for the most
(c.150 CE), there seems to have been
1890 In Principles of no attempt to classify personality in part, is busy tracing
Psychology, William James any detail. In the 19th century, them into the past.
makes an early attempt to personality was barely mentioned Gordon Allport
define the self as having both in psychology, though there was
an “I” (the knowing self) and a much discussion of the self, or “ego.”
“me” (the experiencing self). In the early 20th century,
the two predominant schools of
AFTER psychology—psychoanalysis and
1946 Raymond Cattell behaviorism—were polar opposites
develops his 16PF (Personality in approach. Both were highly The American psychologist Gordon
Factors) questionnaire, based developed and influential schools Allport had fundamental problems
on Allport and Odbert’s that remain powerful (as well as with both of these approaches. He
lexical hypothesis. enduringly controversial) to this thought that behaviorism was
1970s Hans J. Eysenck creates day. Behaviorism, being interested wrong to discount the “person”
the PEN (Psychoticism, only in how we acquire (or learn) our doing the learning, because each
Extraversion, Neurotisicm) behavior, had nothing to say about person is unique and their perception
personality questionnaire. personality; while psychoanalysis is part of the process. He also
offered an in-depth approach, arguing considered psychoanalysis to be
1993 American psychologist for the existence of an unknowable inadequate for explaining personality
Dan P. McAdam demonstrates unconscious that controls personality and behavior because it placed too
the idiographic method in his but reveals itself only fractionally much importance on a person’s
book The Stories We Live By. and accidentally by slips of the past, ignoring their current context
tongue and in dream symbols. and motivations. His view was
Personality is formed from…
…cardinal traits or …common traits, …secondary traits,

“ruling passions”, such such as honesty or such as being nervous when
as altruism. Not everyone aggression. In the meeting strangers or laughing
has a cardinal trait, absence of cardinal at inappropriate moments.
and those that do traits, personality is These traits are evoked by
are often famous for it. shaped by these traits. specific situations.

See also: Galen 18–19 ■ William James 38–45 ■ Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ Abraham Maslow 138–39 ■
Martin Seligman 200–01 ■ Paul Salkovskis 212–13 ■ Raymond Cattell 314–15 ■ Hans J. Eysenck 316–21 ■ William Stern 334
affirmed when, as a young college Dilthey, but had first been put into work in general is not known for
graduate, he paid a visit to Sigmund practice by Allport’s university its focus on empirical research;
Freud in Vienna. On first meeting, tutor, William Stern. The first he was more of a theorist, almost
to make small talk, Allport told method, the nomothetic, aims to a philosopher. Yet his very first
Freud of a small boy he had met be as objective and scientific as paper, Personality Traits: Their
on the train on the way, who was possible, and it is exemplified in Classification and Measurement,
afraid of getting dirty and refused the study of human intelligence. cowritten with his brother Floyd,
to sit near anyone dirty, despite This involves obtaining test results was an excellent example of the
his mother’s encouragement. from large populations of people, nomothetic method. One of his
Perhaps, Allport suggested, the on personality traits such as last major pieces of work, the
child had learned this dirt phobia extraversion and introversion. analysis of Jenny Masterson,
from his mother, a neat and rather Results can be submitted to a was an extraordinarily detailed
domineering woman. Freud then sophisticated analysis, resulting example of the idiographic method.
asked, “And was that little boy in a number of general conclusions,
you?” Freud’s reduction of this such as the percentages of people The lexical hypothesis
small observation of Allport’s who are extravert or introvert, or In his first study, Allport and his
to some unconscious episode variations linked to age, gender, or brother reported their research
from his own childhood seemed, geography. However, this method on personality traits. They asked
to Allport, dismissive of all his does not aim to comment in any the participants to complete a
current motivations and intentions. way on traits at the individual level; personality questionnaire, and
Throughout his work, Allport it focuses on comparative comments to ask three people who knew
emphasizes the present over the and conclusions about a certain trait, them well to complete it too;
past, though later in his life he paid rather than any particular person. this reflected the Allport brothers’
more attention to psychoanalysis This was the method that the view that personality is forged
as a supplement to other methods. behaviorist B.F. Skinner used for in relationship to others. They
Allport argued for an approach his observations of rat behavior. concluded from their results that
to the study of human learning The second method, the there is a case for identifying traits,
and personality that was reasoned, idiographic, stands in direct and for attempting to measure
eclectic, and conceptually open- opposition to the nomothetic them. They also believed they
minded. He took some of what he method; it studies one individual had proven the possibility of
believed from prevailing approaches, in breadth and depth, taking into developing a complete and
but his central belief is that the account their biography, their sensitive instrument for the
uniqueness of each individual and personality traits, and their measurement of personality. ❯❯
his or her personality is largely— relationships, as well as how
but not exclusively—forged in they are seen and experienced
human relationships. by others. This method is much
closer to the psychoanalytic
Theory of personality method with its focus on one
Allport’s idea of personality is a person, one life.
complex amalgam of traits, human Allport said that while the Types exist not in people
relationships, current context, nomothetic method was a way or in nature, but rather in
and motivation. He identified two of describing traits, it had little the eye of the observer.
distinctly different approaches explanatory power; whereas the Gordon Allport
to the study of personality—the idiographic method, though unable
nomothetic and idiographic to draw any general conclusions,
methods—both of which had been could explain one person in
devised by the German philosophers illuminating detail. He was to
Wilhelm Windelband and Wilhelm use both methods, though his
310 GORDON ALLPORT

someone that it guides and unifies
their life in both conscious and
paranoid
awkward stubborn mischievous eager bossy unconscious ways; virtually every
judgmental loyal envious acute tender vain devout patient act is traceable to its influence.
sarcastic In his later years, Allport
forgiving honest bashful acquisitive
shy
cheerful curious acerbic aggressive proud cold considered a person’s cardinal
inventive arrogant artistic self-centred
witty polite traits as contributing to the
daring ambitious timid sociable sentimental bold proprium: the essential drives, core
touchy fretful reserved confident
kind moody needs, and desires of a person. This
shallow organized inconsiderate talkative concept goes beyond the idea of
efficient trustful helpful temperament, and is more akin to a
imaginative guiding purpose that will always
press for expression. As an example
of the proprium, Allport gave the
Norwegian polar explorer Roald
Amundsen, who had one dominant
passion from the age of 15: he
Allport and Odbert’s lexical hypothesis wanted to be a polar explorer. The
rested on the idea that the most important obstacles to his ambition seemed
and relevant personality differences are insurmountable, and the temptation
reflected by language; they identified 18,000
personality-describing words in English. to relinquish his dreams was great,
but the “propriate” striving persisted,
and though he welcomed each
In 1936, Allport and his colleague of the English language available success, it simply raised his level
H.S. Odbert proposed that individual at the time, to find 18,000 words of aspiration. Having sailed the
differences that are most salient that described personality. They Northwest Passage, Amundsen
and socially relevant in people’s narrowed this down to 4,500 embarked upon the project that led
lives eventually become expressed adjectives that they considered to his success in reaching the South
through language; and the more to be observable and stable Pole. Then, after years of planning
important the difference, the more personality traits. and discouragement, he flew over
likely it is to be expressed as a the North Pole. His commitment
single word. This idea is known as Cardinal traits never wavered, and he eventually
the lexical hypothesis. The two Based on a further analysis of died attempting to save the life of a
researchers went on to study the his lexical study, Allport defined less experienced explorer.
most comprehensive dictionaries three distinct categories of traits:
cardinal, common, and secondary. Less fundamental traits
Cardinal traits are those that are In contrast to cardinal traits,
fundamental to a person, governing common traits are general
their entire approach to life. Not characteristics, such as honesty,
everyone has a cardinal trait, that are found in most people.
according to Allport, but when they These are the building blocks that
A man can be do, they may even be famous for shape our behavior, but they are
said to have a trait; them; in fact some people are so less fundamental than cardinal
but he cannot be famous for them that their name traits. Common traits, Allport said,
said to have a type. becomes a byword for that trait, develop largely in response to
Gordon Allport giving us terms such as Byronic, parental influences, and are a result
Calvinistic, and Machiavellian. of nurture. They are shared among
On a less iconic scale, a person’s many people within a culture but in
cardinal trait might be something varying degrees; aggressiveness,
like “a fear of communism,” where for instance, is a common trait
this is so central and important to that varies by degrees. According

quite another. This is because our very angry when tickled” or “she
motives today are not continuously gets nervous on flights.” These
dependent on the past. We may traits express preferences or
start learning to draw, for instance, attitudes that are open to change.
to compete in popularity with In the absence of another person,
another child in class, but secondary traits might be present
Any theory that
ultimately become more interested but quite invisible. Added to
regards personality in perfecting the craft for its own the common and cardinal traits,
as stable, fixed, or sake. This means that how we they provide a complete picture
invariable is wrong. think and act today is only of human complexity.
Gordon Allport indirectly affected by our past.
Functional autonomy is also Traits and behavior
thought to explain obsessive and Allport was interested in how traits
compulsive acts and thoughts: they are forged in a person, and their
may be manifestations of connection with behavior. He
functionally autonomous traits, suggested that a combination of
where someone has no idea why internal and external forces
to Allport, most of us have he is doing something, but can’t influence how we behave. Certain
personalities made up of five stop himself from doing it. internal forces, which he called
to ten of these traits at a level Allport’s third category of traits, “genotypes,” govern how we retain
whereby they have become our known as secondary traits, exert information and use it to interact
“outstanding characteristics.” much less influence on us than with the external world. At the
Over time, common traits may cardinal or common traits. They are same time, external forces, which
achieve “functional autonomy,” by only seen in certain circumstances, he named “phenotypes,” determine
which Allport means that although because they are determined by the way individuals accept their
we start doing something for one context or situation. For instance, surroundings and how they allow
reason, we may carry on doing it for we might say of someone “he gets others to influence their behavior. ❯❯
Genotype traits are internal,

but phenotype traits are
external—they require Person in difficulty Kindness to others
stimuli from the outside
world to make them manifest. Self-sufficiency
Genotype traits
Phenotype traits Spider
Gluttony
Fear
Personality
Traits
Irritation
Creative thinking
Rude person
312 GORDON ALLPORT

Robinson Crusoe, Allport concluded,
must always have had many distinctive
personality traits, but some were only
uncovered by new circumstances after
he was shipwrecked and met Friday.
whom she was friendly. Allport used

these letters for his analysis, asking
36 people to characterize Jenny’s
personality traits from her letters.
Eight trait “clusters” encompassing
198 individual traits were relatively
easy to identify, with broad
agreement from all the people
rating the documents. These traits
were: quarrelsome–suspicious;
self-centered; independent–
autonomous; dramatic–intense;
aesthetic–artistic; aggressive;
cynical–morbid; and sentimental.
However, Allport concluded that
this trait analysis of Jenny was
These two forces, he said, provide and persistence to teach him to somewhat inconclusive, and so he
the groundwork for the creation of speak English, and the capability went on to use a number of other
individual traits. to convert him to Christianity. frameworks, including Freudian
Applying these ideas to the While Crusoe always had these and Adlerian analysis. Assisted
story of Robinson Crusoe, Allport personality traits, they remained by his students Jeffrey Paige and
saw that, prior to his meeting with unexpressed on the island until he Alfred Baldwin, he also applied
Friday, Crusoe’s genotypes, or formed a relationship with Friday. “content analysis” to the material.
inner resources, along with some The idea is similar to a well-known This was a new form of computerized
phenotype aspects, helped him to philosophical puzzle: if a tree falls analysis, where the computer was
survive alone on a desert island. He down in a forest, and there is programmed to count the number
had the resilience to overcome his nobody there, does it make a noise? of times words or phrases occur
initial despair, and fetched arms, For Allport, traits make behavior that are related to a given topic or
tools, and other supplies from the consistent; they are always there, emotion. Allport was particularly
ship before it sank. He built a even if no one is around to evoke impressed by this new method
fenced-in compound around a cave, them or witness them in action.
and kept a calendar. He hunted,
grew corn and rice, and learned to An idiographic study
make pottery and raise goats, and After the publication of Personality:
he also adopted a parrot. He read A Psychological Interpretation in
the Bible and became religious. 1937, Allport turned his attention to
These activities demonstrated the the topics of religion, prejudice, and Personality is far too complex
expression of Crusoe’s genotypical ethics. But in 1965 he returned to a thing to be trussed up in a
traits and resulting behaviors. the subject of personality by conceptual straight jacket.
However, it was only with the undertaking an idiographic study Gordon Allport
arrival of Friday that other aspects of the personality traits of Jenny
of his phenotypic behaviors could Masterson, who lived from 1868 to
find expression: he helped Friday 1937. During the last 11 years of her
to escape from his captors; he life, Jenny wrote 300 personal
named him; he had the patience letters to a married couple with

because of its potential to analyze
idiographic data, confirming his
belief that the idiographic approach
can identify subtleties of an
individual character that trait
questionnaires alone cannot reveal.
Allport urged psychologists
In 1966, Allport published a
paper entitled Traits Revisited
to study personality traits
suggesting that the aim of
and leave character to the
personality study should not be the province of philosophy.
microanalysis of individual traits, Martin Seligman
but the study of the psychic
organization of the whole person.
He stated that his early writings Gordon Allport
about traits were written in an age
of psychological innocence, although Gordon Willard Allport was
he maintained his belief that traits born in Montezuma, Indiana
in 1897. The youngest of four
are a reasonable starting point for to explore positive human experience
sons, Allport was shy and
the description of personality. are based “largely upon the behavior studious as a child, but as a
of sick and anxious people or upon teenager he became editor of
Allport’s influence the antics of captive and desperate his school newspaper and ran
Allport’s work forms the basis of rats.” He wondered why there were his own printing business.
many contemporary schools of no theories based on the study of During World War I, Allport
thought, though he is rarely credited healthy human beings, and those performed military duties,
directly. Much of modern personality who strive to make life worth before winning a scholarship
testing derives from the work of living. He pointed out that most to Harvard University to study
Raymond Cattell and Hans Eysenck, studies are of criminals, not of philosophy and economics.
and both of these psychologists law abiders; of fear, not courage; After graduating in 1919, he
drew upon Allport’s lexical study. and focus on the blindness of taught for a year in Turkey,
Cattell’s “16 Personality Factor humans, rather than their vision. then went back to Harvard,
Questionnaire,” which is still used The burgeoning school of positive where he gained his doctorate
in psychology in 1922. He also
by psychologists today, uses 16 psychology, led by Martin
studied with the Gestalt School
traits identified by Cattell through Seligman, has taken up this idea
in Germany, and at Cambridge
computer analysis of Allport and and aims to develop a scientific University in England.
Odbert’s original 4,500 adjectives. psychology of positive experience. In 1924, Allport again
Humanistic psychology, which By 1955, when Allport wrote returned to Harvard to teach
forms the basis of most counseling Becoming, his thinking had the first course in personality
and therapeutic practices, also developed further; he now saw studies in the US. Apart from
relies heavily upon Allport’s ideas, human striving toward a higher level four years at Darmouth College,
particularly his idiographic method of consciousness and realization as he remained at Harvard until
and insistence upon the uniqueness the true motive of personality. The his death from lung cancer,
of each and every person. Increased idea that “becoming” is the ultimate aged 70, in 1967.
focus on the practitioner–client goal of human beings was also
relationship as a vehicle for the developed by the psychologists Key works
expression and development of Carl Rogers and then Abraham
personality has its roots in Allport’s Maslow, who renamed it “self- 1937 Personality: A
Psychological Interpretation
assertion that personality is largely actualization.” Although Allport’s
1954 The Nature of Prejudice
a function of relationships. work is cited less often than other 1955 Becoming
Allport was also one of the well-known figures, he had a 1961 Pattern and Growth in
first to point out that even those profound and lasting influence Personality
psychological theories that attempt on the field of psychology. ■
314
GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
CONSISTS OF BOTH
FLUID AND CRYSTALLIZED
INTELLIGENCE
RAYMOND CATTELL (1905–1998)
R
aymond Cattell, considered made up “g”: fluid and crystallized
IN CONTEXT to be one of the dozen most intelligence. Fluid intelligence is
eminent psychologists of a series of thinking or reasoning
APPROACH
the 20th century, contributed hugely abilities that can be applied to
Intelligence theory
to the study of human intelligence, any issue or “content.” Sometimes
BEFORE motivation, and personality. His described as the intelligence we
1900s Alfred Binet claims interest in intelligence was sparked use when we don’t already know
intelligence can be measured, early in his career when he was a how to do something, it comes into
and introduces the term student of Charles Spearman, the play automatically in processes
“intelligence quotient” (IQ). British psychologist who defined such as problem-solving and
“g”—a single-factor, general pattern recognition, and it is
1904 Charles Spearman intelligence that serves as the thought to be closely related to
identifies “g” as an underlying foundation for all learning. working memory capacity.
property of intelligence. In 1941, Cattell developed this Cattell suggests fluid intelligence
concept further, defining two is genetically inherited, which may
1931 In The Measurement of
different types of intelligence that account for individual differences.
Intelligence, Edward Thorndike
says that there are three or four
main types of intelligence.
General underlying intelligence (g)
AFTER
is made up of two parts.
1950 J.P. Guilford claims that
there are around 150 different
types of intellectual ability.
1989 US psychologist John
B. Carroll proposes a three-
stratum psychometric model Fluid intelligence, which Crystallized intelligence,
of intelligence, consisting is the ability to think and which builds from past
of narrow abilities, broad reason abstractly, and to experiences and learnt
abilities, and Charles perceive relationships facts, and amounts to
between things without judgement skills that
Spearman’s “g” factor.
prior practice or instruction. accumulate as we age.

See also: Alfred Binet 50–53 ■ J.P. Guilford 304–05 ■ Hans Eysenck 316–21 ■ William Stern 334 ■ David Wechsler 336
It builds to a peak in young The culture-fair intelligence

adulthood, then steadily declines, test was developed by Cattell
perhaps because of age-related in the 1920s. It measures fluid
intelligence through pattern-
changes in the brain. Brain injury related problems that require
can affect fluid intelligence, which reasoning ability but no prior
suggests it is largely physiological. learning or knowledge to solve.
Crystallized intelligence
As we use fluid intelligence for
solving problems, we begin to
develop stores of knowledge and A B C D
working hypotheses about the
world around us. This store of
knowledge is our crystallized E F G H
intelligence, described by Cattell
as “the set of judgmental skills”
gained from investing fluid
intelligence in cultural activities.
Vast differences in learning of intelligence increases gradually Noting that standard IQ tests
experiences occur because of over a lifetime and stays relatively tend to assess a combination of
factors such as social class, age, stable until we are around 65 years fluid and crystallized intelligence,
nationality, and historical era. old, when it begins to decline. Cattell developed tests to assess
Crystallized intelligence Cattell sees fluid and crystallized fluid intelligence in isolation. His
includes skills such as verbal intelligence as fairly independent culture-fair intelligence test, which
comprehension and numerical of each other, but reasons that uses nonverbal, multiple-choice
facility, because these abilities rely having a higher fluid intelligence questions based on shapes and
on knowledge already gained— might lead to the broader and patterns, requires no prior learning
such as the rules of grammar or faster development of crystallized from the participants and can be
addition, subtraction, and other intelligence, depending on factors used to test children and adults
mathematical concepts. This form relating to personality and interests. from any culture. ■
Raymond Cattell Born in Staffordshire, England, life there. In 1997, the American
Raymond Bernard Cattell achieved Psychological Association
a first-class degree in chemistry in honored him with a Lifetime
1924 before turning to psychology Achievement Award. However,
and receiving his doctorate in his idea that nations should
1929. After teaching in London safeguard high, inherited
and Exeter universities, he ran intelligence through eugenics
the Leicester Child Guidance made this a controversial award,
Clinic for five years before moving and led to critical attacks.
to the US in 1937. He lived and Cattell defended himself and
taught there until 1973, holding refused the award, but died of
posts at Clark and Harvard heart failure the following year.
universities, and the University
of Illinois. Cattell married three Key works
times and moved to Honolulu as
a professor at the University of 1971 Abilities
Hawaii, spending the rest of his 1987 Intelligence
THERE IS AN
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN
INSANITY
AND GENIUS
HANS J. EYSENCK (1916–1997)
318 HANS J. EYSENCK
D
iscussion about genius has
IN CONTEXT been dominated for most
of its history by the nature-
APPROACH
versus-nurture debate: is a genius
Personality
born or made? Prior to the early
BEFORE 1900s, ideas about genius were
There is a common
1926 American psychologist based largely on stories of people
who were perceived as geniuses,
genetic basis for great
Catharine Cox tests the potential in creativity and
intelligence and personalities such as Leonardo da Vinci and
Beethoven. As early as Aristotle, for psychological deviation.
of 300 geniuses and finds the Hans J. Eysenck
average IQ to be 165+; key creative genius and madness were
characteristics are tremendous seen as linked, and both assumed to
persistence and motivation. be largely genetic in nature. In 1904,
British psychologist Havelock Ellis’s
1956 J.P. Guilford develops the A Study of British Genius, reported
concept of divergent thinking controlled studies of both psychotic
to discuss creativity. patients and creative people to
establish a link between the two. than the detailed characteristics
AFTER Seventy years later the German that make up a whole person. He
2009 In Genius 101: Creators, psychologist Hans Eysenck reviewed was a biologist, and like others
Leaders, and Prodigies, the early evidence and concluded before him, notably the ancient
American psychologist Dean that it is not psychosis (full blown Greek physicians Hippocrates and
Keith Simonton argues that insanity) that is related to genius, Galen, he believed that physiological
geniuses are the result of good but psychoticism, which he defined factors account for temperament.
genes and good surroundings. as an underlying disposition to Hippocrates had suggested that
2009 Swedish psychologist develop psychotic symptoms. personality type arises from an
Anders Ericsson attributes excess or deficit of a particular type
expert performance to 10,000 Temperament and biology of bodily fluids, known as humors.
Many psychologists have defined Galen expanded upon this idea to
hours of practice.
and measured personality traits, suggest there are four types of
but Eysenck’s interests focused temperament: sanguine, choleric,
on human temperament rather phlegmatic, and melancholic.
…and combined with …this can lead

an IQ of 165 or above… to genius.
A capacity for
over-inclusive thinking
can lead to original and
creative ideas…
…but combined with …this can lead

psychotic symptoms… to insanity.

See also: Galen 18–19 ■ Francis Galton 28–29 ■ J.P. Guilford 304–05 ■ Gordon Allport 306–13 ■
Raymond Cattell 314–15 ■ Walter Mischel 326–27 ■ David Rosenhan 328–29
He claimed that sanguine people Eysenck’s model of personality provides an overarching

have an excess of blood, and are paradigm for defining temperament. Each of the superfactors
cheerful and optimistic. Those with (Extraversion and Neuroticism) is made up of lower-order
habits, such as “lively.” The two superfactors divide habits
a choleric temperament, stemming into four types that reflect Galen’s four temperaments.
from an abundance of bile, are
quick and hot-tempered. Phlegmatic
individuals, with too much phlegm, neuroticism
are slow, lazy, and dull. Melancholics,
who suffer from black bile, are sad,
pessimistic, and depressed. moody touchy
lic
Galen’s biological approach ho anxious restless c
ho
nc
appealed to Eysenck, who considered
rigid aggressive
le
la
temperament to be physiological
ric
and genetically determined. me sober excitable
He proposed a measure of two pessimistic changeable
dimensions, or overarching
reserved impulsive
“superfactors” of personality, that
extraversion
introversion
encompass all the detailed traits: unsociable optimistic

Neuroticism and Extraversion– quiet active
Introversion, which he then mapped
against Galen’s four temperaments. passive sociable
careful outgoing
Eysenck’s scales
“Neuroticism” was Eysenck’s name thoughtful talkative
for a personality dimension that peaceful responsive
ph
ranges from emotionally calm and controlled easy-going

le
stable at one extreme, to nervous
e
reliable lively
gm
in
and easily upset at the other. He
gu
tic
a
claimed that neurotics (at the less even-tempered carefree n

sa
stable end of the spectrum) have a calm cheery
low activation threshold in terms of
triggering the sympathetic nervous
system, which is the part of the emotional stability
brain that activates the “fight or
flight” response. People with
this more responsive system are be more likely to develop a variety under-aroused and bored; so the
hyperactive in this regard, so they of nervous disorders. Eysenck’s brain must either wake itself up
respond to even minor threats as second dimension of temperament through seeking further excitement
though they are seriously dangerous, was “Extraversion–Introversion.” He with other people (extraverts) or
experiencing an increase in blood used these terms very much as we calm itself down through seeking
pressure and heart rate, sweating, use them to describe people around peace and solitude (introverts).
and so on. They are also more likely us: extraverts are outgoing and
to suffer from the various neurotic talkative, while introverts are shy Psychoticism
disorders. However, Eysenck was and quiet. Eysenck claimed that Eysenck tested his ideas on large
not suggesting that people who variations in brain activity explain groups of people, but realized there
scored at the nervous end of this the difference: introverts are were some sections of society that
dimension are necessarily neurotic chronically over-aroused and jittery, he was missing; so he took his
in practice, merely that they would while extraverts are chronically studies into mental institutions. ❯❯
320 HANS J. EYSENCK

said that, as with the neuroticism involves originality and novelty,
dimension, psychoticism ranges and is based on aspects of both
along a scale; his tests looked for intellectual ability and personality.
the occurrence of personality traits In his paper, Creativity and
commonly found among psychotics. Personality: Suggestions for
Eysenck found that a number of a Theory, Eysenck aimed to throw
Introverts are characterized
personality traits relate to each other some light on the nature of creativity
by higher levels of activity to produce psychoticism; those who and its relationship to intelligence,
than extraverts and so are score highly on this scale are usually personality, and genius.
chronically more cortically aggressive, egocentric, impersonal, Genius is held to be the highest
aroused than extraverts. impulsive, antisocial, unempathic, form of creativity, and it rests upon
Hans J. Eysenck creative, and tough-minded. A high very high intelligence: an IQ score
score on the scale does not mean a of at least 165 is considered to be a
person is psychotic, and it is not prerequisite. However, a high IQ is
inevitable that they will become so; not enough on its own. Another
they simply share characteristics relevant component of intelligence
with psychotic patients. In controlled is the mental search process which
studies, such as those by Norwegian we use to find solutions, by
Through this work, he identified psychologist Dan Olweus and his bringing together different ideas
a third dimension of temperament, colleagues in 1980, the aggressive from memory to form new answers
which he labelled “psychoticism,” element of psychoticism has been to problems. This mental scanning
a term that has largely replaced the related biologically to increased is guided by ideas of relevance:
word “insanity” in general use. In testosterone levels. what past ideas and experiences
personality theory, this was quite do I have that are relevant to this
a departure: most personality Studying genius problem? Each of us performs this
theorists were attempting to define A clear psychological definition of differently, and it is an ability that
and measure the normal (sane) creativity has proved slippery, but is independent of our IQ. The
personality. However, Eysenck there is broad agreement that it ability runs along a scale, ranging
from an expansive, over-inclusive
idea of what is relevant (seeing
too many things as potential
possibilities), to an overly narrow
one (seeing few possibilities); at the
center sits a more conventional
sense of what might apply to any
problem at hand.
Over-inclusive thinking can be
measured by word-association
tests, which analyze two features:
the number of responses to any
given word, and the originality of
responses. For example, when
presented with the word “foot,”
those with a narrow range of
responses are most likely to
Professor Frankenstein creates

a monster in Mary Shelley’s novel, and
exhibits classic psychotic symptoms:
recklessness, disregard for conventions,
and tough-mindedness.

psychoticism (in the absence of
psychosis). The drive to translate the
trait of creativity into achievement,
for example by creating works of
art, comes from aspects of
the psychotic temperament,
in particular the over-inclusive
thinking style. Eysenck was not
suggesting a causal link between
genius and insanity; while the
two things have something
in common—over-inclusive
thinking—this combines with
other features of genius or insanity Hans J. Eysenck
to lead to very different results.
Research into creativity faces Hans Jurgen Eysenck was
Creative geniuses, such as the artist a number of difficult challenges: born in Berlin, Germany, to
Vincent van Gogh, exhibit traits from artistic parents; his mother
with some researchers claiming
Eysenck’s psychoticism dimension, was a well-known film actress,
that creativity can only be judged and his Catholic father, Eduard,
particularly over-inclusive thinking, on what it produces. Eysenck
independence, and nonconformity. was a stage performer. His
felt unable to propose a fully parents separated soon after
developed theory of creativity, his birth, and he was raised
respond with the word “shoe;” a only a suggestion for one. As he by his maternal grandmother.
slightly wider range of inclusive said, “I am linking several fuzzy In 1934 he discovered that
thinking might contain the words theories.” His work ranged over he could only study at Berlin
“hand” or “toe,” while an over- many areas, though he is best University if he joined the
inclusive person might generate known for his exploration into Nazi party, so he traveled to
words such as “soldier” or “sore.” personality and intelligence. His England to study psychology
This kind of test makes it possible PEN (Psychoticism, Extraversion, at University College London.
to measure people’s creativity. Neuroticism) model was hugely He married in 1938 and
It is the element of over-inclusive influential, and acted as the after narrowly escaping
internment as a German
thinking that Eysenck demonstrated basis for much of the later
citizen during World War II, he
to be a common feature of both research into personality traits. ■
completed a PhD, and took up
psychoticism and creativity. When work as a psychologist at an
over-inclusive thinking and high IQ emergency hospital. He later
are present together, creative founded and then headed the
genius will result, because the Institute of Psychiatry at the
combination generates creative and University of London. Eysenck
original ideas. This is the cognitive married again in 1950, and
characteristic that lies at the base Psychoticism in the absence became a British citizen in
of creativity. When over-inclusive of psychosis… is the vital 1955. He was diagnosed with a
thinking and psychotic symptoms element in translating the brain tumor in 1996 and died
are present together, psychosis, in trait of creativity (originality) in a London hospice in 1997.
varying degrees, may result. from potential to actual
achievement. Key works
Creativity and personality Hans J. Eysenck
1967 The Biological Basis of
Eysenck believed that creativity is
Personality
a personality trait that provides the 1976 Psychoticism as a
potential for creative achievement, Dimension of Personality
but the realization of that potential 1983 The Roots of Creativity
lies in the character trait of
322
THREE KEY
MOTIVATIONS
DRIVE PERFORMANCE
DAVID C. M CLELLAND (1917–1998)
C
IN CONTEXT
Motivation is a key component of job performance.
APPROACH
Need theory
BEFORE
1938 American psychologist But what people say about their motives
cannot be taken at face value...
Henry Murray develops his
theory of how personality is
shaped by psychogenic needs.
1943 Abraham Maslow’s A
...because motivations are largely unconscious.
Theory of Human Motivation
presents his hierarchy of needs.
1959 In Motivation to Work, US
psychologist Frederick Herzberg
states that achievement, rather Tests reveal that there are three key
than money, motives people. motivations that drive performance.
AFTER
1990 In Flow: The Psychology
of Optimal Experience, Mihály
Csíkszentmihályi discusses Achievement: the drive to
motivation for achievement. excel and improve in all efforts.
2002 Martin Seligman explores
motivation as the expression of
character strengths.
2004 In Leadership That Gets Affiliation: the drive to
Results, US psychologist Daniel Power: the drive to form and maintain warm
influence and manage relationships with
Goleman applies McClelland’s other people.
ideas to leadership in business. other people.

See also: Abraham Maslow 138–39 ■ Mihály Csíkszentmihályi 198–99 ■
I
n the 1960s and 70s, decisions the unconscious. We are not fully
about whether to employ aware of our own motivations, he
someone or not were usually stated, so what we may say about
based on educational achievement, our motives in job interviews or
and the results of personality and IQ self-report questionnaires should
tests. David C. McClelland, however, not be taken at face value. He
suggested that peoples’ motivations advocated using the Thematic
were the best predictor of success Apperception Test (TAT), which
in the workplace. Through extensive psychologists Henry Murray and
research, he identified the three key Christiana Morgan devised in
motivations that he believed were the 1930s as a way of revealing David C. McClelland
responsible for job performance: the aspects of the unconscious. Rarely
need for power, for achievement, used in a business setting, the test David Clarence McClelland
and for affiliation. While everyone presents a series of pictures to the was born in Mount Vernon,
New York. After graduating
has all three motivations, he subject, who is then asked to
from Wesleyan University,
maintained that one would be develop a story based on them. Connecticut, and gaining
dominant, shaping a person’s The assumption is that the stories an MA at the University of
performance in the workplace. will be a projection of the subject’s Missouri, he moved to Yale,
underlying abilities and motivations. where he completed his PhD
Three key needs McClelland went on to devise an in experimental psychology
McClelland saw the need for power, innovative way of analyzing TAT in 1941. He taught briefly at
or to have control over others, as responses to allow a comparison several universities, before
the most important motivation for between the suitability of the accepting a position at
a good manager or leader. But this different people who took the test Harvard in 1956. McClelland
is only true as long as the need for to specific work-related roles. stayed there for 30 years,
power is on behalf of a company McClelland’s ideas revolutionized becoming Chairman of the
or an organization. Someone with business recruitment, and although Department of Social Relations.
a strong drive for personal power his intensive methods of assessing In 1963, McClelland set
up a business management
may make a poor team player. job applicants have lost some of
consultancy, applying his
High quality work, McClelland their popularity, the basic principles
theories to assist company
thought, stems from the need for endure. Motivation is now seen as executives in the assessment
achievement, which is therefore critical to performance at work. ■ and training of staff. In 1987,
a far more accurate predictor of Boston University made him
job success than intelligence. a Distinguished Research
The drive to achieve, he believed, Professor of Psychology, a
is what gives people a competitive position he held up to his
edge, helping them to stretch for death at the age of 80.
new goals and improve.
Lastly, McClelland claimed that Key works
the need for affiliation—to have
good relationships with others— 1953 The Achievement Motive
helps people to work well within a 1961 The Achieving Society
team. He also noted that people with 1973 Testing for Competence
Rather Than for Intelligence
a pronounced need for affiliation are
The Thematic Apperception Test 1987 Human Motivation
unlikely to be successful managers. was promoted by McClelland as a way of 1998 Identifying Competencies
McClelland pointed out that assessing job candidates. Telling a story with Behavioral-Event
motivation stems from personality based on a series of images was thought Interviews
traits that are deeply embedded in to uncover people’s true motives.
324
EMOTION IS AN
ESSENTIALLY
UNCONSCIOUS
PROCESS
NICO FRIJDA (1927– )
O
ur emotions and feelings situation has changed, as scientific
IN CONTEXT are idiosyncratic; they seem findings regarding the “site” of
to be purely subjective, and emotions have led to renewed
APPROACH
the mysticism surrounding them interest. Evolutionary psychologists
Psychology of emotion
may explain why the psychology of have also posed questions. What is
BEFORE emotion has advanced so slowly. the purpose of emotions? How have
1872 Biologist Charles Darwin But during the last 30 years, this they helped us survive and thrive?
publishes the first scientific
study of human emotions
in The Expression of the Emotion is an essentially unconscious process.
Emotions in Man and Animals.
Late 1800s William James
and Danish physiologist
Carl Lange propose the
Emotions are motivating Feelings are how we interpret
James–Lange theory of
forces, preparing us for action. the emotions we experience.
emotion: that emotions are
the result of bodily changes,
and not the cause of them.
1929 Physiologists Walter
Cannon and Philip Bard say They are spontaneous We are consciously aware of
we experience physiological biological processes that our feelings and can make
arousal and emotion at the are out of our control. decisions based on them.
same time, in the Bard–
Cannon theory.
AFTER
1991 In Emotion and
Adaptation, psychologist They can be understood by As we have control of our
Richard Lazarus says a thought others through spontaneous feelings, others cannot
physical expression, guess at our feelings
must precede any emotion or such as laughter. through our behavior.
physiological arousal.

See also: William James 38–45 ■ Albert Ellis 142–45 ■ Gordon H. Bower 194–95 ■ Charlotte Bühler 336 ■
René Diatkine 338 ■ Stanley Schachter 338
Nico Frijda’s groundbreaking book, about it. We are not suddenly

The Laws of Emotion, explores hijacked by our feelings as we are
the substance and rules of by our emotions.
emotions. He sees them as lying
at the crossroads of biological and Action and thought
cognitive processes: some, such Frijda points out that emotions and
as fear, are biologically inherent feelings are also displayed differently.
or innate, and these basic emotions Emotions prepare us for action; in
are the ones we share with other situations that induce fear, they are
animals. Others arise in us in motivating forces that prepare the
response to thoughts, so are clearly body to flee or stand and fight. Other
cognition-based. They may even— people are able to understand, or at
as in the case of indignation or least guess at, our emotions from our
humiliation—be shaped by culture. behavior. Feelings, however, may or
Emotions, such as fear, Frijda says,
Frijda makes clear distinctions may not be consistent with are always “about something.” They are
between emotions and feelings. behavior, because we can choose spontaneous responses to changing
Emotions are beyond our control; to behave in a way that hides them. circumstances, and reveal much about
they spontaneously arise and alert Frijda sees the basic emotions our relationship with our environment.
us to their presence by physical as an opportunity for greater self-
sensations, such as a tightening awareness. They accompany a In defining and describing a very
in the gut when we feel fear. For biological arousal that makes us specific set of laws by which
this reason he says that “emotion notice them and become more emotions operate, Frijda shows that
is an essentially unconscious aware of our feelings. This allows us they emerge, wax, and wane in a
process.” Feelings, on the other to factor them into choices we make, predictable way. Reason interprets
hand, are our interpretations of and with honest reflection, to deepen them like a barometer, to ensure our
whatever emotions we are self-awareness. But Frijda confines mental well-being. “Our emotional
experiencing, and have a more basic emotions to anger, joy, shame, selves and reasonable selves are not
conscious element to them. When sadness, and fear. Others, such as compartmentalized,“ Frijda says,
we feel something, we are able to jealousy and guilt, do not have the “on the contrary, they are connected
have thoughts and make decisions same biological imperative. much more than they seem”. ■
Nico Frijda Nico Henri Frijda was born in teaching. For the next 10 years
Amsterdam to an academic Jewish he was assistant professor at
family, and lived in hiding as a the University of Amsterdam,
child to avoid the persecution of then professor in experimental
the Jews during World War II. He and theoretical psychology.
studied psychology at Gemeente Frijda has held visiting posts
Universiteit, Amsterdam, where he in universities across Europe,
was awarded a PhD in 1956 for including Paris, Italy, Germany,
his thesis Understanding Facial and Spain. He lives with his
Expressions. He attributes his second wife in Amsterdam.
initial interest in emotions to
being in love, as a student, with Key works
“a very expressive girl.”
From 1952 to 1955 Frijda 1986 The Emotions
worked as a clinical psychologist at 2006 The Laws of Emotion
the Dutch Army Neurosis Centre, 2011 Emotion Regulation and
before returning to research and Free Will
326
BEHAVIOR WITHOUT
ENVIRONMENTAL
CUES WOULD BE
ABSURDLY CHAOTIC
WALTER MISCHEL (1930– )
U
ntil the late 1960s, Raymond Cattell identified 16
IN CONTEXT personality was most different personality traits; Hans J.
often described as a series Eysenck suggested there were only
APPROACH
of individual behavioral traits three or four. In 1961, Ernest Tupes
Personality theory
that were genetically inherited. and Raymond Christal proposed
BEFORE Psychologists worked to define that there are five major personality
c.400 BCE Ancient Greek and measure these traits, because traits (the “Big Five”): openness,
physician Hippocrates this was thought to be essential conscientiousness, extraversion,
suggests personality depends to understanding and reliably agreeableness, and neuroticism or
on the levels of the four predicting a person’s behavior. emotional stability. Then, in 1968,
humors in the body.
1946 Raymond Cattell begins
developing his 16-factor model
of personality. How can behavior
1961 American psychologists be predicted?
Ernest Tupes and Raymond
Christal propose the first “Big
Five” personality-factor model.
AFTER
1975 Hans J. Eysenck’s Looking at …we also need
Personality Questionnaire personality traits alone to consider external
identifies two biologically gives us very few cues… factors and context.
based, independent
dimensions of personality.
1980 US psychologists Robert
Hogan, Joyce Hogan, and
The dynamic interaction
Rodney Warrenfeltz develop
between a person and the situation
comprehensive personality he finds himself in is the best
tests based on the “Big Five” predictor of behavior.
model of personality.

See also: Galen 18–19 ■ Gordon Allport 306–07 ■ Raymond Cattell 314–15 ■
Hans J. Eysenck 316–21
Walter Mischel shocked the world

of personality theory when he
proclaimed in Personality and
Assessment that the classic
personality test was almost
worthless. He had reviewed a
number of studies that tried to
predict behavior from personality
test scores, and found them to be
accurate only 9 percent of the time.
Walter Mischel
External factors Resisting temptation, rather than
Mischel drew attention to the part succumbing to short-term gratification, Walter Mischel was born in
played by external factors, such as often indicates a capacity for greater Austria, but emigrated with
achievement in life, as Mischel’s studies his family to the US in 1938.
context, in determining behavior,
of behavior in young children revealed. He grew up in Brooklyn, New
believing that it was necessary to York, receiving his PhD in
look at the dynamic interaction of clinical psychology from Ohio
people and the situation they find In his famous marshmallow State University in 1956.
themselves in. Imagine how absurd experiments, aimed at testing He then went on to teach at
it would be if people’s behavior willpower, four-year-old children the Universities of Colorado,
appeared to be independent of were presented with a single Harvard, and Stanford, moving
external factors. He proposed that marshmallow and told they could in 1983 to Columbia University
an analysis of a person’s behavior, either eat it immediately, or wait 20 in New York City, where he is
in different situations, observed on minutes and then have two. Some the Robert Johnston Niven
numerous occasions, would provide children were able to wait, others Professor of Humane Letters.
clues to behavior patterns that were not. Mischel monitored each Numerous honors have
would reveal a distinctive signature child’s progress into adolescence, been heaped on Mischel. These
of personality, as opposed to a list and reported that those who had include the Distinguished
Scientific Contribution Award
of traits. Individual interpretation of resisted temptation were better
as well as the Distinguished
a situation was also considered. adjusted psychologically and more
Scientist Award of the
Later, Mischel explored habits of dependable; they did better at school, American Psychological
thinking, which might endure over were more socially competent, and Association, and the
time and across different situations. had greater self-esteem. Ability to prestigious Grawemeyer
delay gratification seemed to be a Award in psychology in
better predictor of future success 2011. Mischel is also a
than any previously measured trait. prolific and talented artist.
Mischel’s work led to a shift in
the study of personality—from how Key works
personality predicts behavior to
What is a personality how behavior reveals personality. It 1968 Personality and
test really telling us also changed the way personality Assessment
about a person? profiling is used in assessing job 1973 Is Information About
Walter Mischel candidates. Tests that were once Individuals More Important
Than Information About
considered an accurate basis for
Situations?
staff recruitment are now seen as 2003 Introduction to
a guide, to be interpreted in the Personality
context of the situations that are
likely to arise in doing a job. ■
328
WE CANNOT DISTINGUISH
THE SANE FROM THE INSANE
IN PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALS
DAVID ROSENHAN (1932– )
IN CONTEXT
Psychiatrists say that mental disorders can be
APPROACH accurately diagnosed through symptoms
Anti-psychiatry that can be categorized into diseases.
BEFORE
1960 In The Divided Self:
An Existential Study in Sanity
and Madness, R.D. Laing So they should be able to tell the difference
emphasizes the family as between the sane and the insane.
a source of mental illness.
1961 Psychologists E. Zigler
and L. Phillips demonstrate
huge overlaps in the symptoms
of different categories of A second experiment
psychiatric disorder. A first experiment showed that people with
showed that sane people genuine mental health
1961 Hungarian-American can be judged insane. disorders can be judged
psychiatrist Thomas Szasz to be faking them.
publishes the controversial
The Myth of Mental Illness.
1967 British psychiatrist
David Cooper defines the
anti-psychiatry movement in
We cannot distinguish the sane from
Psychiatry and Anti-Psychiatry.
the insane in psychiatric hospitals.
AFTER
2008 Thomas Szasz publishes
Psychiatry: The Science of Lies.
Psychiatric diagnoses are not objective, but
exist only in the minds of the observers.

See also: Emil Kraepelin 31 ■ R.D. Laing 150–51 ■ Leon Festinger 166–67 ■ Solomon Asch 224–27 ■
Erving Goffman 228–29 ■ Elliot Aronson 244–45 ■ Thigpen & Cleckley 330–31
D
uring the 1960s, psychiatry an appointment. Later, at the and powerlessness. Their records
faced a vocal challenge to admissions office, they were to showed that the average daily time
its fundamental beliefs by complain of hearing an unfamiliar they spent with medical staff was
a number of experts known as voice in their heads, which was less than seven minutes. Although
the “anti-psychiatrists.” This unclear but used words such as they were undetected by the hospital
informal group of psychiatrists, “empty” and “thud.” This suggested staff, other patients challenged their
psychologists, and welfare workers existential feelings of pointlessness. sanity, sometimes quite vigorously:
claimed that psychiatry is a medical They were instructed to give false “You’re not crazy. You’re a journalist
model of mental health, yet there names and occupations, but checking up on the hospital.”
are no physical symptoms, and its otherwise true personal histories.
treatment regimes largely ignore As a result, all the pseudo- Judging the insane sane
the patient’s needs and behaviors. patients were admitted to hospital In the second part of Rosenhan’s
In 1973, David Rosenhan carried with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, study, he falsely informed the staff
out a field study in the US that despite showing no symptoms of at a teaching and research hospital
explored the validity of psychiatric the disorder. Their hospital stays (who were aware of the first study)
diagnosis and resulted in the lasted an average of 19 days, during that during the next three months,
dramatic conclusion that we which time they behaved completely one or more pseudo-patients would
cannot distinguish the sane from normally. They maintained journals try to be admitted to the hospital,
the insane in psychiatric hospitals. of their experiences, surreptitiously and they were asked to rate each
In the first part of the study, at first but then openly, as it was new patient on the likelihood of
Rosenhan assembled a group never questioned. Demonstrating them being a pseudo-patient. Of
of eight sane people (including how even normal behavior might 193 genuine new admissions, 41
himself), made up of women and be interpreted as evidence of a were judged suspect by at least
men of different occupations and psychiatric condition, Rosenhan one member of staff, and 23 were
ages, and designated them as found that a common comment in flagged as possible pseudo-patients
pseudo-patients. They were briefed their medical notes was “patient by at least one psychiatrist.
to make an attempt to be admitted engages in writing behavior.” Rosenhan’s work generated an
as patients to different mental The “patients” themselves explosion of controversy, and led
hospitals in five US states, first by described their experience in many institutions to take steps to
telephoning the hospital to ask for hospital as one of depersonalization improve their care of patients. ■
David Rosenhan David Rosenhan was born in He is a fellow of the American

the US in 1932. After gaining Association for the Advancement
a BA in psychology from Yeshiva of Science and was a visiting
College, New York City, he moved fellow at Oxford University.
to the city’s Columbia University He founded the Trial Analysis
to study for his MA and PhD. He Group and has long been a
specialized in clinical and social major advocate for the legal
psychology, and became an expert rights of mental health patients.
in legal trial tactics and decision-
making. From 1957 to 1970, he Key works
taught at Swarthmore College,
Princeton University, and 1968 Foundations of Abnormal
Haverford College, then moved Psychology (with Perry London)
to Stanford, where he taught for 1973 On Being Sane in Insane
nearly 30 years. He continues to Places
work at Stanford as professor 1997 Abnormality (with Martin
emeritus of psychology and law. Seligman and Lisa Butler)
330
THE THREE
FACES OF EVE
CORBETT H. THIGPEN (1919–1999)
HERVEY M. CLECKLEY (1903–1984)
M
ultiple personality One of the most famous cases of
IN CONTEXT disorder (MPD, later multiple personality disorder is
known as dissociative that of Eve White. Eve was referred
APPROACH
identity disorder) is a mental to Thigpen and Cleckley in 1952,
Mental disorders
condition in which an individual’s suffering from severe headaches
BEFORE personality appears to present as and occasional blackouts. She was
1880s Pierre Janet describes two or more distinct identities. a neat, rather prim, young woman,
MPD as multiple states of MPD was first reported in 1791 by aged 25, married, with a four-year-
consciousness and coins the Eberhardt Gmelin; over the following old daughter. Eve would remain in
term “dissociation.” 150 years, a further 100 clinical cases treatment for 14 months.
were documented. It was believed Eve described to the doctors a
1887 French surgeon Eugene that the condition arose from disturbing episode: she had bought
Azam documents the multiple childhood abuse, and could be cured some extravagant clothes she could
personalities of Felida X. by integrating the sub-personalities not afford, yet had no memory of the
back into the main personality. purchase. As she recounted this, her
1906 US physician Mortin
Prince reports Christine
Beauchamp’s case in The
Dissociation of Personality.
AFTER Eve White Eve Black
1970s US psychiatrist Cornelia Prim, reserved, timid, Wayward, harsh,
repressed, compulsive. No irresponsible, shallow,
Wilbur reports Sybil Isabel awareness of the other hysterical. Aware of Eve
Dorsett’s case and links MPD two personalities. White, but not of Jane.
definitively with child abuse.
1980 The American Psychiatric
Association publishes the third Jane
edition of the Diagnostic and Mature, boldly capable,
Statistical Manual of Mental interesting, compassionate.
Disorder, legitimating MPD. Aware of both Eves, but
only from the point of
1994 MPD is renamed her awakening.
Dissociative Identity Disorder.

See also: Pierre Janet 54–55 ■ Timothy Leary 148 ■ Milton Erickson 336
Corbett H. Thigpen
& Hervey M. Cleckley
demeanor began to change. She Corbett H. Thigpen was
looked confused, then the lines of born in Macon, Georgia.
her face altered. Her eyes widened, His childhood interest
in amateur magic endured
and she smiled provocatively. She
throughout his life, and he
spoke in a bright, flirtatious tone,
was inducted into the
requesting a cigarette, even though Southeastern Association
Eve did not smoke. of Magicians’ Hall of Fame.
This was “Eve Black,” a separate Thigpen graduated from
personality so distinct that she Mercer University in 1942,
even suffered from a skin allergy to and from the Medical College
nylon that Eve White did not. Eve of Georgia in 1945. He served
White was unaware of Eve Black, Eve’s story was popularized in a book in the US Army during World
while the latter was wholly aware of and a film, The Three Faces of Eve, War II, then in 1948 he began
the former, and was full of derision which captured the public’s imagination his distinguished career as a
and made Eve’s case the most famous psychiatrist in a private
for her: “She’s such a damn dope….”
example of Multiple Personality Disorder. practice with Hervey M.
Distinct personalities Cleckley. For two decades,
Both personalities were submitted Eve’s condition was believed to the pair taught in the
departments of psychiatry
to extensive psychological testing. result from childhood abuse, so
and neurology at the Medical
Eve White had a marginally higher efforts were made to work back into College of Georgia. Thigpen
IQ than Eve Black; both fell in the her early childhood, using hypnosis was known as “the professor
“bright, normal” category. Personality to provoke the emergence of Eve who received a standing
dynamics were explored using the Black. Eventually, an attempt was ovation after every lecture.”
Rorschach test (in which subjects made to summon both personalities He retired in 1987.
report their perception of inkblots). at once; Eve fell into a trance. She
There were dramatic differences: woke as a third personality: this was Hervey M. Cleckley was
Eve Black showed a dominant Jane, the third face of Eve—a more born in Augusta, Georgia. In
hysterical tendency, and the ability capable and interesting character 1924, he graduated from the
University of Georgia, where
to conform. Eve White showed than Eve White. She seemed to
he was also a keen
“constriction, anxiety, and obsessive combine the assets of both Eves,
sportsman. He won a Rhodes
compulsive traits” and an inability without their weaknesses. While scholarship to Oxford
to deal with her hostility. neither Eve was aware of Jane, she University, graduating in
was aware of them both. 1926. He spent his entire
Jane appeared to be a balanced career at Georgia Medical
compromise between the two Eves, School, in a variety of
and she was nurtured as the positions, including that of
personality with the best grasp of founding chairman of the
the complex dynamics of the three Department of Psychiatry and
‘When I go out and personalities: the two Eves were Health Behavior. In 1941, he
get drunk,’ Eve Black integrated into her character. wrote The Mask of Sanity, a
said, ‘she wakes up Full-blown cases of MPD such seminal study of psychopaths.
with the hangover.’ as Eve’s are rare, but it is now
Thigpen & Cleckley thought that less pronounced cases Key works
are more common. The careful
1941 The Mask of Sanity
documentation of in-depth case (Cleckley)
studies like Eve’s has resulted in 1957 The Three Faces of Eve
diagnostic and treatment protocols (Thigpen & Cleckley)
that make MPD highly treatable. ■
DIRECTO
RY
334
DIRECTORY
I
nvestigation into the workings of the mind dates back to the earliest
civilizations, although it was largely philosophical in nature, rather
than scientific in the modern sense. It was only with major advances
in the biological sciences in the second half of the 19th century that a truly
scientific analysis of our mental processes became possible—giving rise to
psychology as a distinct area of study. The ideas and discoveries of some
of the key researchers in the field have been examined already in this
book, but many more have contributed to the growth of psychology as a
respected science in its own right. From structuralists to behaviorists, from
psychoanalysts to cognative therapists, the people discussed below have
all helped deepen our understanding of our uniqueness as human beings.
methods of cross-cultural analysis See also: Wilhelm Wundt 32–37 ■
JOHN DEWEY Rivers used on an expedition to the William James 38–45 J.P. Guilford
■
1859–1952 Torres Straits Pacific islands laid 304–05 Edwin Boring 335
■
the foundations for future field study.

American John Dewey greatly See also: Wilhelm Wundt 32–37 ■
influenced the development of the Hermann Ebbinghaus 48–49 ■ WILLIAM STERN

science and philosophy of human Sigmund Freud 92–99 1871–1938
thought in the first half of the 20th
century. Although primarily a German-born William Stern was a
behaviorist psychologist, his EDWARD B. TITCHENER leading figure in the establishment
application of the philosophy of 1867–1927 of developmental psychology. His
pragmatism on society had a major first book, Psychology of Early
impact on educational thinking Englishman Edward Bradford Childhood (1914), was based on
and practice in the US. Titchener studied experimental observations of his own three
See also: William James 38–45 ■ psychology, first at Oxford and then children over 18 years. His
G. Stanley Hall 46–47 in Germany under Wilhelm Wundt. method—“personalistic
He moved to the US in 1892, where psychology”—investigated the
he became known as the founder of individual developmental path,
W.H.R. RIVERS Structural Psychology, which breaks combining applied, differential,
1864–1922 down the experiences of humanity genetic, and general psychology. A
and arranges them into elemental pioneer in forensic psychology, he
William Halse Rivers Rivers was an structures. As Structural Psychology was the first to use the nomothetic-
English surgeon, neurologist, and is based on introspection, it was at idiographic approach. Stern is best
psychiatrist who specialized in the odds with behaviorism, which was remembered for his work on the
relationship between the mind and growing in popularity. By the 1920s, intelligence quotient (IQ) tests to
the body. He published several key Titchener was fairly isolated in his calculate a child’s intelligence. A
papers on neurological conditions, beliefs, though he was still widely single-number score is awarded
including hysteria. He is best known admired. He wrote several textbooks by dividing the “mental age” of the
for his work on “shell shock” (post- on psychology including: An Outline test-taker by his or her “chronological
traumatic stress disorder), and is of Psychology (1896), Experimental age” and multiplying by 100.
also considered one of the founders Psychology (1901–1905), and A See also: Alfred Binet 50–53 ■
of medical anthropology. The Textbook of Psychology (1910). Jean Piaget 262–69

DIRECTORY 335
Experiments. Using disciplines Testing (1929) and Hypnosis and

CHARLES SAMUEL MYERS drawn from psychology, physiology, Suggestibility (1933). Informed by
1873–1946 and anthropology, he examined over his objective behaviorist approach,
a five-year period the productivity Hull’s Mathematico-Deductive
At Cambridge University, Myers and morale of six female workers as Theory of Rote Learning (1940)
studied experimental psychology he made changes to their working measured all behavior (including
under W.H.R. Rivers, and in 1912 he conditions. The most surprising animal) by a single mathematical
set up the Cambridge Laboratory of outcome was the way the workers equation. He developed the theory
Experimental Psychology. During responded to the research itself. in Principles of Behavior (1943),
World War I, he treated soldiers for The Hawthorne Effect, as it is now which examined the effects of
“shell shock” (a term he invented). known, is an alteration in human reinforcement on the stimulus-
After the war, he was a key figure behavior that occurs when people response connection. His Global
in the development of occupational know they are being studied. This Theory of Behavior was
psychology. His books include discovery had a lasting impact on one of the standard systems of
Mind and Work (1920), Industrial industrial ethics and relations, and psychological research at the time.
Psychology in Great Britain (1926), research methods in social science. See also: Jean-Martin Charcot 30
and In the Realm of Mind (1937). See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Alfred Binet 50-53 Ivan Pavlov
■
See also: Kurt Lewin 218–23 ■ ■ Carl Jung 102–07 60–61 Edward Thorndike 62–65
■
Solomon Asch 224–27 Raymond

■
Cattell 314–15 W.R.H. Rivers 334

■
HERMANN RORSCHACH EDWIN BORING

1884–1922 1886–1968
MAX WERTHEIMER
1880–1943 As a Swiss schoolboy, Rorschach One of the most important figures
was called Klek (Inkblot), because in experimental psychology, Boring
Together with Kurt Koffka and he was always drawing. He later specialized in human sensory and
Wolfgang Köhler, Czech psychologist devised the inkblot test, whereby perceptual systems. His
Max Wertheimer founded Gestalt responses to specific blots may interpretation of W.E. Hill’s reversible
psychology in the US in the 1930s. reveal emotional, character, and old woman/young maid drawing led
Gestalt built on existing theories of thought disorders. He died, aged 37, to it becoming known as the Boring
perceptual organization. Moving a year after his “form interpretation Figure. At Harvard in the 1920s,
away from Wundt’s molecularism, test” Psychodiagnostics (1921) was Boring moved the psychology
Wertheimer advocated the study of published. Others later developed department away from psychiatry,
the whole, famously saying “the the test, but this gave rise to four turning it into a rigorously scientific
whole is more than the sum of its different methods, each flawed. In school that unified structuralism and
parts.” He also devised Pragnanz, 1993, American John Exner united behaviorism. His first book, A
the idea that the mind processes them all in the Comprehensive History of Experimental Psychology
visual information into the simplest System—one of the most enduring (1929), was followed by Sensation
forms of symmetry and shape. psychoanalytical experiments. and Perception in the History of
See also: Abraham Maslow 138–39 See also: Alfred Binet 50–53 ■ Experimental Psychology (1942).
■ Solomon Asch 224–27 Sigmund Freud 92–99 Carl Jung
■ See also: Wilhelm Wundt 32–37 ■
102–07 Edward B. Titchener 334
ELTON MAYO
1880–1949 CLARK L. HULL FREDERIC BARTLETT
1884–1952 1886–1969
In the 1930s, while Professor of
Industrial Management at Harvard, American Clark Leonard Hull’s early Frederic Bartlett was Cambridge
Australian Elton Mayo carried out studies included psychometrics and University’s first Professor of
his groundbreaking Hawthorne hypnosis. He published Aptitude Experimental Psychology (1931–51).
336 DIRECTORY
He is known for his memory Edward Thorndike and Charles induces a trance by confusing the
experiments where participants were Spearman, administering the Army mind with a moment of “behavioral
asked to read an unfamiliar, mythical Alpha Test for group intelligence. He void” as the flow of the handshake
story composed by Bartlett (such as later developed Binet’s tests, adding is interrupted. Considered the
The War of the Ghosts) before nonverbal reasoning. Wechsler founder of hypnotherapy treatment,
retelling it. Many added details that believed intelligence lies not only in Erickson was also a major influence
were not in the original story, or the ability to think rationally, but also on the growth of family therapy,
changed meanings to fit their own in the ability to act purposefully solution-focused therapy, systemic
specific culture. Bartlett concluded and to deal effectively with one’s therapy, and a number of brief-
that they were not remembering but environment. In 1939, the Wechsler- therapy treatments, including NLP
rather reconstructing the text. Bellevue Intelligence Scale was (neuro-linguistic programming).
See also: Endel Tulving 186–91 ■ published, followed a decade later by See also: B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■
Gordon H. Bower 194–95 W.H.R.

■ the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Stanley Milgram 246–53.
Rivers 334 Children (1949). The Wechsler Adult
Intelligence Scale (1955) is still the
most widely used intelligence test. ALEXANDER LURIA
CHARLOTTE BUHLER See also: Francis Galton 28–29 ■
1902–1977
1893–1974 Alfred Binet 50–53 David C.
■
McClelland 322–23 Born in Kazan, Russia, Luria studied

German-born Bühler founded the at Moscow’s Institute of Psychology.
Vienna Institute of Psychology in His work on reaction times and
1922 with her husband, Karl. Her NANCY BAYLEY thought processes resulted in his
studies of childhood personality and 1899–1994 “combined motor method” and the
cognitive development expanded first ever lie-detector machine. He
to include the course of human Nancy Bayley, an eminent American then went to medical school and
development throughout life. Rather child developmental psychologist, specialized in neurology. Balancing
than Jung’s three stages of life, she specialized in the measurement of the physical and the mental, he made
proposed four: birth–15; 16–25; motor and intellectual development. breakthroughs in brain damage,
26–45; and 46–65. Bühler found For her doctorate, she measured memory loss, perception, and
links between adult emotions and fear in children by analyzing the aphasia (language disorders). The
early childhood. Her World Test is a sympathetic nervous system via stories he told in books such as
therapeutic device that uses a set moisture levels in sweat glands. The Man with a Shattered World:
of numbered miniatures to reveal a Her Bayley Scales of Mental and The History of a Brain Wound (1972)
child’s inner emotional world. After Motor Development (1969) remains helped to popularize neurology.
publishing From Birth to Maturity the worldwide standard measure of See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99
(1935) and From Childhood to Old mental and physical development ■ B.F. Skinner 78–85 Noam
■
Age (1938), she moved to the US. In in infants from one to 42 months. Chomsky 294–97
the 1960s, Bühler helped to develop See also: Edwin Guthrie 74 ■
humanistic psychology. Simon Baron-Cohen 298–99

See also: Carl Rogers 130–37 ■ DANIEL LAGACHE
Abraham Maslow 138–39 Viktor ■
1903–1972
Frankl 140 Gordon Allport 306–13
■ MILTON ERICKSON
1901–1980 Frenchman Daniel Lagache was
inspired to study experimental
DAVID WECHSLER Nevada-born Erickson’s trial-and- psychology, psychopathology, and
1896–1981 error observations of hypnosis over phenomenology by the lectures of
many years led him to become a Georges Dumas. A forensics and
During World War I, Wechsler, a world authority on hypnosis and criminology expert, Lagache’s key
Romanian-born American, worked trance. He is well known for his books included Jealousy (1947) and
as an army psychologist alongside Ericksonian Handshake that Pathological Mourning (1956). After
DIRECTORY 337
being expelled from the International their own personalities through their Cerebral Cortex and the Internal
Psychoanalytical Association in 1953 cognitive appraisal of events. From Organs (1954), Miller set out to
for his criticism of Sacha Nacht’s this theory came the “role construct prove that internal organs and
medical authoritarianism, he set up repertory test,” which is used to their functions could also be
the breakaway French Society of research and diagnose the nature manipulated at will. His findings
Psychoanalysis with Jacques Lacan. of personality. Valued in cognitive led to the treatment technique of
A Freudian theorist, Lagache also psychology and counseling, it is also Biofeedback, which aims to
played an important role in used in organizational behavior and improve patients’ conditions by
promoting psychoanalysis among educational studies. training them to respond to signals
the general public, particularly by See also: Johann Friedrich from their own bodies.
linking it with clinical experience. Herbart 24–25 Carl Rogers 130–37
■ See also: Anna Freud 111 ■
See also: Jacques Lacan 122–23 ■ Ulric Neisser 339 Albert Bandura 286–91
ERNEST R. HILGARD MUZAFER SHERIF ERIC BERNE

1904–2001 1906–1988 1910–1970
In the 1950s, Ernest Ropiequet Raised in Turkey, Sherif gained his Berne, a Canadian psychiatrist and
“Jack” Hilgard collaborated on his PhD in the US at Columbia, with a psychoanalyst, developed the theory
pioneering hypnosis studies at dissertation on how social factors of transactional analysis, which put
Stanford University with his wife can influence perception. Published verbal communication at the center
Josephine and, in 1957, they as The Psychology of Social Norms of psychotherapy. The words of the
founded the Laboratory of Hypnosis (1936), it became known as “the first speaker, the Agent, were called
Research. There, with André Muller autokinetic effect” experiments. One a Transaction Stimulus; the reply of
Weitzenhoffer, he developed the of Sherif’s legacies was combining the Respondant was a Transaction
Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility successfully experimental methods Response. Every personality was
Scales (1959). His controversial in the laboratory and the field. He split into alter-egos: child, adult, and
neodissociation theory and the worked with his wife, Carolyn Wood parent; each stimulus and response
“hidden-observer effect” (1977)— Sherif, notably on the Robbers Cave was seen as playing one of these
which asserts that under hypnosis Experiment (1954). In this, a number “parts.” Exchanges were studied as
several subsystem states of of boy campers were divided into an “I do something to you, and you
consciousness are regulated by an two groups. Posing as a janitor, do something back” transactional
executive control system—have Sherif observed the origins of analysis. His Games People Play
stood the test of time. His textbooks prejudice, conflict, and stereotype in (1964) suggested that “games,” or
Conditioning and Learning (with social groups. His resulting Realistic behavior patterns, between
D.G. Marquis, 1940) and Introduction Conflict theory still underpins our individuals can indicate hidden
to Psychology (1953) are still studied. understanding of group behavior. feelings or emotions.
See also: Ivan Pavlov 60–61 ■ With Carl Havland, he also developed See also: Erik Erikson 272–73 ■
Leon Festinger 166–67 Eleanor E.

■ the Social Judgement theory (1961). David C. McClelland 322–23
Maccoby 284–85 See also: Soloman Asch 224–27 ■
Philip Zimbardo 254–55

ROGER W. SPERRY
GEORGE KELLY 1913–1994
1905–1967 NEAL MILLER
1909–2002 American neurobiologist Sperry’s
Kelly made an important contribution successful separation of the corpus
to the psychology of personality American psychologist Miller was callosum—the bundles of nerve
through The Psychology of Personal a research fellow in Vienna under fibers that transfer signals between
Constructs (1955). His humanistic Anna Freud and Heinz Hartman. left and right brain hemispheres—
idea suggests that individuals make After reading K.M. Bykov’s The led to a dramatic breakthrough in
338 DIRECTORY
the treatment of a certain kind of in opinions to prove that television

epilepsy. In 1981, with David Hubel could alter people’s values. HAROLD H. KELLEY
and Torsten Wiesel, he was awarded See also: Leon Festinger 166–67 ■
1921–2003
the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Solomon Asch 224–27 Albert
■
Medicine for his work on his split- Bandura 286–91 American social psychologist Kelley
brain theory, which showed that gained his PhD under Kurt Lewin
the left and right hemispheres had at Massachusetts Institute of
separate specializations. RENE DIATKINE Technology. His first major work,
See also: William James 38–45 ■
1918–1997 Communication and Persuasion
Simon Baron-Cohen 298–99 (with Hovland & Janis, 1953), split
Diatkine, a French psychoanalyst a communication into three parts:
and psychiatrist, was central to the “who;” “says what;” and “to whom.”
SERGE LEBOVICI development of dynamic psychiatry. The idea was widely adopted, and
1915–2000 He emphasised emotions and their it changed the way people such as
underlying thought processes, rather politicians presented themselves. In
Lebovici was a French Freudian than observable behavior. Diatkine 1953, he began working with John
who specialized in adolescent, child, was also very active in developing Thibaut. Together they wrote The
and infant development, especially institutional mental health, helping Social Psychology of Groups (1959),
the bonding process between baby to set up The Association De Santé followed by Interpersonal Relations:
and mother. He is credited with Mentale in 1958. His book on primal A Theory of Interdependence (1978).
introducing child psychoanalysis fantasies, Precocious Psychoanalysis See also: Leon Festinger 166–67 ■
to France. His many books include (with Janine Simon, 1972), is one of Kurt Lewin 218–23 Noam
■
Psychoanalysis in France (1980) his most enduring works. Chomsky 294–97

and International Annals of See also: Anna Freud 111 ■
Adolescent Psychiatry (1988). Jacques Lacan 122–23

See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ STANLEY SCHACHTER
Anna Freud 111 1922–1997
PAUL MEEHL
1920–2003 New York-born Schachter is best
MILTON ROKEACH known for the two-factor theory of
1918–1988 The work of American Paul Meehl emotion (the Schachter-Singer
has had a lasting impact on mental Theory), developed with Jerome
Rokeach, a Polish-American social health and research methodology. In Singer. The pair showed that
psychologist, studied how religious Clinical Versus Statistical Prediction: physical sensations are linked to
belief affects values and attitudes. A Theoretical Analysis and a Review emotions—for example, the way in
He saw values as core motivations of the Evidence (1954), he argued which people experience increased
and mental transformations of basic that behavioral statistics were heartbeat and muscle tension
psychological needs. His theory of better examined using formulaic before feeling afraid—and that
dogmatism examined the cognitive mathematical methods rather than cognition is affected by an
characteristics of closed- and open- clinical analysis. In 1962, he found a individual’s physiological state.
mindedness (The Open and Closed genetic link to schizophrenia, which See also: William James 38–45 ■
Mind, 1960). Rokeach’s Dogmatism until then had been attributed to Leon Festinger 166–67
Scale, an ideology- and content-free poor parenting. His studies of
way to measure closed-mindedness, determinism and free will focusing
is still used, and the Rokeach Value on quantum indeterminacy were HEINZ HECKHAUSEN
Survey is viewed as one of the most published as The Determinism- 1926–1988
effective ways of measuring beliefs Freedom and Mind-Body Problems
and values in particular groups. In (with Herbert Feigl, 1974) German psychologist Heinz
The Great American Values Test, See also: B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■ Heckhausen was a world expert
Rokeach et al. measured changes David Rosenhan 328–29 on motivational psychology. He
DIRECTORY 339
completed a postdoctoral its development had neglected the (never having had something), and
dissertation on hopes and fears of role of perception. His specialism is linked antisocial behavior to family
success and failure, and his early memory, and in 1995 he chaired the discord rather than maternal
work on childhood motivational American Psychological Association deprivation.
development led to the Advanced task force “Intelligence, Knowns See also: John Bowlby 272–77 ■
Cognitive Model of Motivation and Unknowns,” which examined Simon Baron-Cohen 298–99
(Heckhausen & Rheinberg, 1980). theories of intelligence testing. His
His book Motivation and Action papers were published as the book
(1980), coauthored with his The Rising Curve: Long-Term Gains FRIEDEMANN SCHULZ
psychologist daughter, Jutta, has in IQ and Related Measures (1998). VON THUN
had a lasting influence. See also: George Armitage Miller 1944–
See also: Zing-Yang Kuo 75 ■ 168–73 Donald Broadbent 178–85
■
Albert Bandura 286–91 Simon

■ German psychologist Friedemann
Baron-Cohen 298–99 Schulz von Thun is famous for his
JEROME KAGAN Communication Model, published
1929– in the three-volume To Talk With
ANDRE GREEN Each Other (1981, 1989, 1998). Von
1927– Kagan, a leading American figure in Thun says there are four levels of
developmental psychology, believed communication in every part of a
André Green, an Egyptian-born that physiology had more influence conversation: speaking factually;
French psychoanalyst, developed an on psychological characteristics making a statement about
interest in communications theory than the environment. His work on ourselves; commenting on our
and cybernetics while an intern for the biological aspects of childhood relationship to the other person;
Jacques Lacan in the 1950s. He later development—apprehension and or asking the other person to do
became a harsh critic of Lacan who, fear-revealed effects on self- something. He says that when
he said, put too much emphasis on consciousness, morality, memory, people speak and listen on different
symbolic and structural form, which and symbolism—laid foundations levels, misunderstandings occur.
invalidated his Freudian claims. In for research on the physiology of See also: B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■
the late 1960s, Green returned to the temperament. His work influenced Kurt Lewin 218–223
Freudian roots of analysis with his studies of behavior in fields far
exploration of the negative. This beyond psychology, including crime,
was most elegantly expressed in his education, sociology, and politics. JOHN D. TEASDALE
paper, The Dead Mother (1980), in See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■
1944–
which the mother is psychologically Jean Piaget 262–69
dead to the child, but, as she is still British psychologist Teasdale
there, confuses and frightens him. investigated cognitive approaches
See also: Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ MICHAEL RUTTER to depression. With Zindel Segal
Donald Winnicott 118–21 Jacques
■
1933– and Mark Williams, he developed
Lacan 122–23 Françoise Dolto 279
■ the technique called Mindfulness-
British psychiatrist Michael Rutter Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
has transformed our understanding This combines cognitive therapy
ULRIC NEISSER of child development issues and with mindfulness and Eastern
1928– behavior problems. In Maternal meditation techniques, asking
Deprivation Reassessed (1972), he patients with recurrent major
The best-known book by German- rejected John Bowlby’s selective depression to engage with negative
American Neisser is Cognitive attachment theory, showing that thoughts intentionally, rather than
Psychology (1967), which outlines a multiple attachments in childhood automatically, and to observe them
psychological approach focused on were normal. His later research from a more detached perspective.
mental processes. He later criticized revealed a split between deprivation See also: Gordon H. Bower 194–95
cognitive psychology, feeling that (a loss of something) and privation ■ Aaron Beck 174–77
340
GLOSSARY
Anecdotal method The use of Behavior modification The Collective unconscious In Carl
observational (often unscientific) use of proven behavior change Jung’s theory, the deepest level
reports as research data. techniques to control or modify the of the psyche, which contains
behavior of individuals or groups. inherited psychic dispositions
Archetypes In Carl Jung’s theory, through the archetypes.
the inherited patterns or frameworks Behaviorism A psychological
within the collective unconscious approach that insists that only Conditioned response (CR)
that act to organize our experiences. observable behavior should form A particular response elicited by
Archetypes often feature in myths the object of study, as this can an initially neutral stimulus that has
and narratives. be witnessed, described, and been paired with an unconditioned
measured in objective terms. stimulus, which naturally provokes
Association i) A philosophical that response.
explanation for the formation of Central traits In Gordon
knowledge, stating that it results Allport’s theory, the six or so Conditioned stimulus (CS) In
from the linking or association of main personality traits that are classical conditioning, a stimulus
simple ideas to form complex ideas. used to describe a person, such as that comes to elicit a particular
ii) A link between two psychological “shy” or “good natured.” These are (conditioned) response by virtue
processes, formed as a result of the “building blocks” of personality. of having been paired with an
their pairing in past experience. unconditional stimulus.
Classical conditioning A type
Associationism An approach of learning in which a neutral Contiguity The close occurrence of
that claims that inborn or acquired stimulus acquires the capacity two ideas or events. This is thought
neural links bind stimuli and to trigger a particular response to be necessary for association.
responses together, resulting in by becoming paired with an
distinct patterns of behavior. unconditional stimulus. Control group Participants in an
experiment who are not exposed to
Attachment An emotionally Cognitive To do with mental the manipulation of the researchers
important relationship in which one processes, such as perception, during an experiment.
individual seeks proximity to and memory, or thinking.
derives security from the presence Correlation A statistical term for
of another, particularly infants to Cognitive dissonance An the tendency of two data sets or
parental figures. inconsistency between beliefs variables to vary in a similar way in
or feelings, which leads to a a certain set of circumstances. It is
Attention A collective term for state of tension. often mistaken for causation.
the processes used in selective,
focused perception. Cognitive psychology A Crystallized intelligence The
psychological approach that collected skills, cognitive abilities,
Autism The informal term for focuses on the mental processes and strategies acquired through
autistic spectrum disorder involved in learning and knowing, the use of fluid intelligence. It is
(ASD)—a cluster of mental and how the mind actively said to increase with age.
dysfunctions that is characterized organizes experiences.
by extreme self-absorption and lack Defense mechanisms In
of empathy, repetitive motor Cognitive style The habitual psychoanalytic theory, mental
activities, and the impairment of way in which an individual reactions that occur to ward off
language and conceptual skills. processes information. anxiety by unconscious means.
GLOSSARY 341
Desensitize A process of Extinction i) The elimination of General intelligence (“g”) As

weakening a strong response to something, especially a species. defined by Charles Spearman, a
an event or thing by repeated ii) The weakening of a strength of general factor of intelligence or
exposure to that stimulus. response in conditioned learning, ability determined through the
due to a lack of reinforcement. correlation of scores on various
Depression A mood disorder mental tests; Spearman saw it as a
characterized by feelings of False memory A recovered measurement of mental energy, but
hopelessness and low self worth, memory or pseudomemory of an others view it as an individual’s
accompanied by apathy and loss event that did not take place. It is abstract reasoning ability.
of pleasure. In extreme cases, thought to arise through suggestion.
depression may impair normal Gestalt psychology A holistic
functioning and can lead to Family therapy A general term psychological approach that
thoughts of suicide. denoting therapies that treat a emphasizes the role of the
whole family, rather than one organized “whole,” as opposed
Determinism The doctrine that person, on the assumption that to its parts, in mental processes
all events, acts, and choices are problems lie in the interrelationships such as perception.
determined by past events or within the family system.
previously existing causes. Humanistic psychology A
Field theory Kurt Lewin’s model psychological approach that
Dichotic listening Listening of human behavior, which uses the emphasizes the importance of
to two different messages that concept of force fields to explain the free will and self-actualization in
are presented simultaneously, “life space” or field of social determining good mental health.
one to each ear. influences around an individual.
Hypnosis The induction of a
Ego A psychoanalytic term for Fluid intelligence The ability to temporary, trancelike state of
one of three elements of the deal with totally new problems. It heightened suggestibility.
human persona (see also id, is said to decrease with age.
superego); the ego is the rational Hypothesis A prediction or
aspect of personality that is in Free association A technique statement tested for verification or
touch with the outer world and its used in psychotherapy, in which refutation by experimentation.
requirements, and is responsible the patient says the first thing
for controlling the instincts. that comes to mind after any Id A psychoanalytic term for one of
given word. three elements of the human persona
Empiricism A philosophical (see also ego, superego); the id is
and psychological approach that Freudian slip An act or word that the source of psychic energy and is
assigns the attribution of all is close but different to the one allied with the instincts.
knowledge to experience. consciously intended, and reflects
unconscious motives or anxieties. Individual differences All the
Encoding The processing of psychological characteristics that
sensory information into memory. Functionalism A psychological are susceptible to variation
approach that is concerned with between individuals, such as
Ethology The scientific study investigating the adaptive personality or intelligence.
of animal behavior under functions of the mind in relation
natural conditions. to its environment. Inferiority complex A condition,
suggested by Adlerian (after founder
Extraversion A personality type Fundamental attribution error Alfred Adler) psychoanalysis that
that focuses energy primarily The tendency to explain other is said to develop when a person is
toward the external world people’s behavior by reference to unable to deal with real or imagined
and other people (see also personality traits rather than feelings of inferiority and becomes
introversion). external situational factors. either belligerent or withdrawn.
342 GLOSSARY
Imprinting In ethology, an innate Law of Effect Proposed by Oedipus complex According

system of rapid learning that takes Edward Thorndike, this is the to psychoanalytic theory, a
place in animals immediately principle that, where several developmental state that arises
subsequent to birth; it commonly responses to an event are possible, around the age of five, during
involves developing an attachment those that lead to reward tend to which a boy experiences
to a specific individual or object. become more strongly associated unconscious desire for his
with the event, while those that mother and the wish to replace
Innate Inborn or present in an lead to punishment become more or destroy his father.
organism from birth; it may or may weakly associated.
not be genetically inherited. Operant conditioning A form of
Materialism The doctrine that conditioning in which the outcome
Instincts Natural drives or views only the physical realm as real, depends upon an animal operating
propensities. In psychoanalysis, and sees mental phenomena as upon its environment, such as
these are the dynamic forces that explicable through physical terms. pressing a lever to obtain food.
motivate personality and behavior.
Mental age The age at which Personality A person’s stable and
Instrumental conditioning A children of average ability can enduring mental and behavioral
form of conditioning in which the perform particular tasks, as traits and characteristics, which
animal is instrumental in the indicated by levels of performances incline him or her to behave in a
outcome of events; an example of in standardized tests. relatively consistent way over time.
this type of conditioning would be
an animal’s negotiation of a maze. Mind-body problem The problem Phenomenology An approach
of defining the interaction of mental to knowledge based on immediate
Intelligence quotient (IQ) An and physical events, first raised by experience as it occurs, without
index of intelligence that allows René Descartes. any attempt to categorize it
individuals to be allocated through preconceptions,
comparative levels of intelligence. Negative reinforcement In assumptions, or interpretations.
First suggested by William Stern, instrumental or operant
it is calculated by dividing an conditioning, the strengthening Phobia An anxiety disorder,
individual’s mental age by their of a response through the removal characterized by intense and
chronological age, and then of a negative stimulus. usually irrational fear.
multiplying by 100.
Neuron A type of nerve cell Positive reinforcement A key
Introspection The oldest involved in transmitting messages concept in behaviorism, this is
psychological method; it consists (as nerve impulses) between the process of increasing the
of self-observation: “looking different parts of the brain. probability of a response by
(spection) within (intro)” one’s immediately following the
own mind to examine and report Neuropsychology A subdiscipline required response with a
on one’s own inner state. of psychology and neurology that is reward or positive stimulus.
concerned with the structure and
Introversion A personality type function of the brain, and studies Pragmatism The doctrine that
that focuses energy primarily the effects of brain disorders on sees ideas as rules for action; the
toward its own internal behavior and cognition. idea’s validity is measured by its
thoughts and feelings (see also practical consequences.
extraversion). Nonsense syllables Syllables
of three letters that do not form Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud’s
Just noticeable difference recognized words. They were first set of theories and therapeutic
The smallest difference that can be used experimentally by Hermann methods, which explore the
detected by an individual between Ebbinghaus in a study of learning unconscious processes that
two physical stimuli. and memory. influence human behavior.
GLOSSARY 343
Psychophysics The scientific Schizophrenia A group of severe Trait theory The view that
study of the relations between mental disorders (originally known individual differences depend
mental and physical processes. as dementia praecox) that cause largely on underlying character
impairment in multiple areas of attributes (traits) that remain
Psychosexual stages In functioning. It is characterized by essentially consistent across
psychoanalytic theory, the marked disturbance of thought, flat time and context.
developmental stages of childhood, or inappropriate emotions, and
centering on zones of the body distorted visions of reality. Transference In psychoanalysis,
through which pleasure is derived. the tendency for a patient to
Self-actualization The full transfer emotional reactions from
Psychotherapy A collective term development of one’s potentialities past relationships (particularly
for all therapeutic treatments that and realization of one’s potential. parental) onto the therapist.
use psychological rather than According to Abraham Maslow,
physical or physiological means. this is the most advanced Trial and error learning A
human need. theory of learning initially proposed
Purposive behaviorism Edward by Edward Thorndike that claims
Tolman’s theory, which says all Shaping In behaviorism, the learning occurs through the
behavior is directed toward some shaping of behavior is the performance of several responses,
ultimate goal. procedure of providing positive with the repetition of those that
reinforcement for successive produce desirable results.
Reality principle The set of rules, approximations of a desired
in psychoanalysis, which govern response or standard. Unconditional positive regard
the ego and take account of the In Carl Rogers’ client-centered
real world and its demands. Social learning A theory of therapy, the absolute acceptance
learning based on observing of someone purely because he or
Reflex An automatic reaction the behavior of others and the she is a human being.
to a stimulus. consequences of those behaviors.
Albert Bandura was the foremost Unconditioned response In
Reinforcement In classical proponent of this theory. classical conditioning, a
conditioning, the procedure reflexive (unconditioned, natural)
that increases the likelihood Stimulus Any object, event, response produced in response to a
of a response. situation, or factor in the particular stimulus (e.g. moving a
environment that an individual limb away from a painful stimulus).
Replication Repetitions of can detect and respond to.
research or an experiment in all Unconditioned stimulus In
details that lead to the same Stream of consciousness classical conditioning, a
results. Replication is essential William James’s description of stimulus that elicits a reflexive
to establish validity of findings. consciousness as a continuous (unconditioned, natural) response.
flowing process of thoughts.
Repression In psychoanalytic Unconscious In psychoanalysis,
theory, an ego-defense mechanism Structuralism A psychological the part of the psyche that cannot
that pushes unacceptable thoughts, approach that investigates the be accessed by the conscious mind.
memories, impulses, or desires structure of the mind.
beyond conscious awareness. Validity The extent to which
Anna Freud also called it Superego In psychoanalysis, a test measures what it is
“motivated forgetting.” the term for the portion of the supposed to measure.
psyche that is derived from
Retrieval Recovering information internalizing parental and Zeigarnik effect The tendency to
stored in the memory through a societal values and standards. recall incomplete or unfinished tasks
process of search and find. It is governed by moral restraints. more easily than completed ones.
344
INDEX
Baldwin, Albert 312 brain 59, 163
A
A Guide to Rational Living, Albert Ellis 91
Bandler, Richard 114
Bandura, Albert 74, 80, 164, 236, 260, 261,
286–291, 294
Bard–Cannon theory 324
Bard, Philip 324
autism 298
children 265
cognitive psychology 158
connectionism 64
damage 16
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, Leon Baron-Cohen, Simon 236, 261, 284, 298–299 female/male 236
Festinger 158 Baron, Robert A. 288 hemispheres 16
A Theory of Human Motivation, Abraham Barthes, Roland 123 imaging 76, 150, 163, 191
Maslow 198, 322 Bartlett, Frederic 48, 158, 180, 188, 204, 208, information processing 182, 183, 185
Absent Fathers, Lost Sons, Guy Corneau 155 234, 237, 335 intelligence 315
Adler, Alfred 90, 100–101, 138, 139, 142, 146 Basic Forms and the Realization of Human learning 58
adolescence 46, 47 “Being-in-the-World,” Ludwig Binswanger 141 memory 190, 191
Adorno, Theodor 248 Bass, Ellen 204 mind/body dualism 20, 211
Affect Theory of Emotions 196 Bateson, Gregory 150, 151 resilience 153
affectionless psychopathy 276 Bayley, Nancy 336 sex differences 284
aggression, childhood 288, 289, 290 Beck, Aaron 72, 91, 142, 145, 159, 174–177, speech area 76
Ainsworth, Mary 261, 277, 280–281 198, 200, 212 Breggin, Peter 240
Allport, Floyd 302, 310 Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) 177 Breuer, Josef 23, 90, 94
Allport, Gordon 165, 173, 204, 216, 302, 306–313 Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) 177 brief therapy 149
analysis of consciousness 40–45 Beck, Judith 175 Briggs, Katherine 302
analytical psychology 104–107 Beck Hopelessness Scale 177 Broadbent, Donald 72, 158, 173, 178–185, 192
Animal Intelligence, Edward Thorndike 65 Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS) 177 Broadbent Filter Model 183
Animal Minds, Donald Griffin 34 Becoming, Gordon Allport 313 Broca, Pierre Paul 16, 76
antipsychiatry 150–151, 328, 329 behavior therapy 60, 80 Brown, Roger 194, 216, 217, 237
anxiety 86, 87, 159, 177 behavioral epigenetics 75 Brüke, Ernst 96
applied psychology 182 behavioral psychology 322–323 Bruner, Jerome 158, 162, 164–165, 173, 188,
archetypes 94, 104, 105, 106, 107 Behavioral Study of Obedience, Stanley 261, 270
Argyle, Michael 100 Milgram 248 Bruno, Giordano 48
Aristotle 18, 20, 34, 41, 201, 240 behavioral therapy 59, 159 Buddhism 116, 140, 210
Aronson, Elliot 166, 217, 236, 244–245, 282 behaviorism 11, 12, 59, 68–71, 72, 80, 90, Bühler, Charlotte 336
Asch Paradigm 224, 225 149, 158, 308 Burns, David 142
Asch, Solomon Elliott 216, 224–227, 248, 249 Behaviorism, John B. Watson 71 Burt, Cyril 50
Asperger, Hans 298 behaviorist movement 44, 58, 76, 77
attachment theory 261, 274–277, 278, 280–281 behaviorist psychology 62, 63, 64, 160
Attitudes Toward Women Scale 236 Bellak, Leopold 149
attribution theory 242–243
autism 261, 298
autokinetic effect 225
Avenzoar (Ibn Zuhr) 60
Avicenna 22
Bem, Daryl 166
Berkeley, George 20
Berkowitz, Leonard 288
Berne, Eric 111, 337
Bernheim, Hippolyte 224
C
Cajal, Santiago Ramón y 76
Axline, Virginia 118 Bernoulli, Daniel 193 Campbell, Joseph 104
Azam, Eugene 330 Bettelheim, Bruno 261, 271 Cannon, Walter 324
Beyond Freedom and Dignity, B.F. Skinner 85 Carroll, John B. 314
Binet, Alfred 17, 30, 50–53, 265, 302, 304, 314 Cattell, James 35, 50, 51
Binet–Simon Scale 52–53, 52, 304 Cattell, Raymond 302, 303, 308, 313,
B
babies,
Binswanger, Ludwig 141
bio-psychology 28–29
Bleuler, Eugen 31, 150
Bly, Robert 155
Boring, Edwin 335
314–315, 326
Chapman, Robin 297
Charcot, Jean-Martin 17, 23, 30, 51, 54, 55,
90, 94
Cherry, Colin 158, 183, 184
attachment theory 274, 275, 280, 281 Bornstein, Robert 232 child abuse 204, 206, 207
hatred by mother 121 Bower, Gordon H. 159, 188, 194–195, 196 Childhood and Society, Erik Erikson 46, 260
innate concepts 265 Bowlby, John 77, 104, 152, 211, 260, 271, children,
nature–nurture debate 29 274–277, 278, 280 adopted 119, 120
Baddely, Alan 185 Braid, James 22, 23 aggression 288
INDEX 345
attachment theory 276, 278, 280 Karl Lashley 76 Beck 159

autism 298, 299 language 294, 295 Descartes, René 16, 20–21, 34, 40, 41,
childcare systems 271 Zing-Yang Kuo 75 180, 192
cognitive development 264–269 conformism 224–227, 248–253 desensitization 59
conditional love for 135 conformity 216, 254–255 development, stages of 272–273
development 12, 13, 270 Conjoint Family Therapy, Virginia Satir 91 developmental psychology 11, 12, 159,
developmental psychology 260, 261 connectionism 62–63 260–261, 269, 284–285
education 270, 279 consciousness 16, 17, 44, 148 Dewey, John 216, 334
intelligence tests 52 analysis of 40–45 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
language learning 294, 296, 297 human and animal 37 Disorder 330
moral development 292, 293 mind/body dualism 20 Diatkine, René 338
nature–nurture debate 28 psychoanalysis 94, 95, 96 difference, psychology of 11, 13, 302–303
negative reinforcement 82 stream of 40–41, 45 Dilthey, Wilhelm 309
psychic growth 101 structuralism 24, 25 Dimensions of Personality, Hans Eysenck 18
psychoanalysis 118, 119 Cooley, Charles Horton 100, 228 Diseases of the Nervous System,
race attitudes 282, 283 Cooper, David 328 Jean-Martin Charcot 54
stimulus-response conditioning 71 Corneau, Guy 91, 155 dissociation 54, 330
trauma 153, 257 Coué, Emile 22 Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) 303, 330
Children of the Kibbutz, Melford Spiro 271 Counseling and Psychotherapy, Carl Rogers Divided Consciousness, Ernest R. Hilgard 54
Choice Theory 217, 240–241 91, 141, 146 Does Consciousness Exist, William James 20
Chomsky, Noam 59, 72, 85, 173, 211, 260, 261, Cowan, Nelson 173 Dollard, John 288
294–297 Cox, Catharine 318 Dolto, Françoise 261, 279
Christal, Raymond 326 Craik, Fergus 185 dream analysis 98, 98
Clancy, Susan 208 Craik, Kenneth 180, 181 Drives Toward War, Edward Tolman 75
Clark, Kenneth 260, 261, 282–283 creativity 91, 304, 305, 318–321 Duncker, Karl 160
Clark, Mamie Phipps 260, 261, 282 Creativity and Personality: Suggestions for a
classical conditioning 58, 59, 60–61, 68, 69, Theory, Hans J. Eysenck 318
70, 81, 85 Critical Psychology, Isaac Prilleltensky &
Ivan Pavlov 60–61, 62
Cleckley, Hervey M. 303, 330–331
client-centered therapy 200
Client-Centered Therapy, Carl Rogers 26, 198
cocktail party problem 183, 184
Dennis Fox 256
Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály 198–199, 200, 201,
322
Cultural Psychology, Wilhelm Wundt 37
Culture-fair Intelligence Test 315, 315
E
Eagly, Alice 236
cognition 59, 68, 73, 160 Cutshall, Judith 207 Ebbinghaus, Hermann 10, 11, 17, 48–49, 62,
cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) 12, 59, Cyrulnik, Boris 152–153 158, 162, 170, 172, 188, 208
72, 85, 144, 145, 159, 212–213 education,
cognitive behaviorism 72–73, 160 child-centered 264, 267, 268, 269
cognitive development 164–165, 264, 265, connectionism 62
266, 267, 269
cognitive dissonance 166, 167, 244, 245
Cognitive Maps in Rats and Men, Edward
Tolman 59
cognitive neuroscience 163
D
Damasio, Antonio 45
intelligence tests 52
nature-nurture debate 29
educational psychology 65
ego 96, 96, 97, 105, 106, 111
Eichmann, Adolf 248
cognitive psychology 11, 12, 59, 72, 85, 91, Damon, William 198, 292 Eisenberg, Nancy 292
158, 159, 166–167, 180, 181, 184, 185, Darwin, Charles 16, 28, 34, 50, 58, 77, 83, 211, Ekman, Paul 159, 196–197, 303
208–209, 260–261 302, 324 electric shock obedience experiment
Cognitive Psychology, Ulric Neisser 159 Dasen, Pierre 269, 269 248–252
cognitive therapy 72, 91, 174–177, 198, 200 Davis, Keith 242 Ellis, Albert 91, 110, 142–145, 174, 177, 212
collaborative psychology 193 Davis, Laura 204 Emerson, Peggy 277, 278
collective unconscious 90, 104, 105, 106, 107 Dawkins, Richard 211 Emotion and Adaptation, Richard Lazarus 324
Coming of Age in Samoa, Margaret Mead 46 de Faria, José Custódio (Abbé Faria) 23 emotions 68, 69, 144, 159, 196, 197, 233, 303,
community psychology 256 De Homine, René Descartes 20 324–325
Compendium of Psychology, Emil Kraepelin 17 death instinct 91, 108, 109 awareness 116
Completion, Arithmetic, Vocabulary, and deception 196, 197 repression of 134
Directions (CAVD) test 65 Decision and Stress, Donald Broadbent 185 Emotions Revealed, Paul Ekman 197
conditioning 11, 58, 59 defensive pessimism 108 empathy 235, 235, 236
B.F. Skinner 80, 81, 82 Deisher, Robert 271 English Men of Science: Their Nature and
Edward Thorndike 63 Deleuze, J.P.F. 54 Nurture, Francis Galton 29, 75
Edward Tolman 72, 73 dementia 31 Envy and Gratitude, Melanie Klein 91
Edwin Guthrie 74 depression 109, 140, 142, 154, 159, 176, 200, Epicetus 142
Ivan Pavlov 60–61, 61, 62 201, 243 epigenetics, behavioral 75
John B. Watson 68, 69, 70, 71 Depression: Causes and Treatment, Aaron episodic memory 189, 190, 191
346 INDEX
epistemology, genetic 264 Hamilton, Max 154

Erickson, Milton 149, 336
Ericsson, Anders 318
Erikson, Erik 46, 90, 260, 272–273
ethology 59, 77
eugenics 28, 29
G
“g factor” 302, 303, 314
Hamilton, V.L. 248
Hampson, Sarah 228
Hanh, Thich Nhat 210
Harlow, Harry 139, 261, 274, 277, 278, 280
Haslam, Alex 254
evolution 16, 58 Galen, Claudius (Galen of Pergamon) 18–19, Hebb, Donald 48, 76, 158, 163
evolutionary psychology 13, 211 20, 308, 319 Hebbian learning 163
Existence, Rollo May 91 Gallimore, Ronald 277 Heckhausen, Heinz 338
existential philosophy 91 Galton, Charles 16 Hegel, Georg 122, 238
existential psychology 91 Galton, Francis 13, 28–29, 50, 51, 75, 270, Heidegger, Martin 141
existential psychotherapy 141 302, 304 Heider, Fritz 242
Existential Psychotherapy, Irvin Yalom 141 Gardner, Howard 198 Heinroth, Oskar 77
existentialism 16, 26–27 Gelman, Susan 269 Heisenberg, Werner 238
experimental psychology 17, 34–37, 48, gender development 290, 291 Helmreich, Robert 217, 236
49, 148 gender differences 261, 284, 285 Helplessness: On Depression, Development,
Experimental Studies of the Perception of gender studies 236, 261 and Death, Martin Seligman 174
Movement, Max Wertheimer 160 genetic epistemology 264–267 Herbart, Johann Friedrich 16, 24–25
extraversion 19, 319–321 genetics 59, 83, 159 Hereditary Genius, Francis Galton 16, 29
Eyewitness Testimony, Elizabeth Loftus 159, Genius 101: Creators, Leaders, and Prodigies, Herzberg, Frederick 322
188, 206 Dean Keith Simonton 318 Hess, Eckhard 77
Eysenck, Hans J. 18, 19, 212, 302, 308, 313, genius, nature of 318–321 Hilgard, Ernest R. 54, 337
316–321, 326 genotypes 311, 312 Hill, Heather 294
Gergen, Kenneth 238 Hippocrates 18, 30, 308, 319, 326
Gestalt movement 44 Hogan, Joyce 326
Gestalt psychology 12, 59, 72, 73, 158, 159, Hogan, Robert 326
F
facial expressions 196, 197, 235, 303
160–161, 167, 220
Gestalt theory 91, 154
Gestalt therapy 114–117, 142, 174
Gilbert, Dan 140
Gillette, Douglas 155
Horney, Karen 90, 110, 114, 126, 129, 142, 143
Hull, Clark L. 59, 240, 335
human development 29, 46–47
humanist psychoanalysis 126–129
humanistic psychology 12, 129, 136, 137,
Facial Expressions of Emotion, Paul Glasser, William 217, 240–241 138–139, 141, 198
Ekman 159 Gmelin, Eberhardt 330 humanistic psychotherapy 91
facial recognition 36 Goddard, Henry H. 53 Hume, David 49
false memory syndrome 206, 207 Goetzinger, Charles 233 humorism 18–19, 308, 319
familiarity 232–235 Goffman, Erving 216, 228–229 hypnosis 16, 17, 22–23, 30, 30, 90, 94, 224, 331
family therapy 146–147, 151 Goldstein, Kurt 138 hysteria 17, 30, 90, 94
Faria, Abbé (Dormez) 16, 22–23 Goleman, Daniel 322
Fausto-Sterling, Anne 284 Good Business: Leadership, Flow and the
fear 68, 69, 70, 71, 325 Making of Meaning, William Damon &
Fear of Freedom, Erich Fromm 90
Fechner, Gustav 232, 304
feminism 284
feminist psychology 284
Festinger, Leon 159, 166–167, 244
Howard Gardner 198
Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet,
William Damon & Howard Gardner 198
Goodman, Cecile 158
Goodman, Paul 91, 174
I
“I,” the 122–123
flashbulb memories 190 Gould, Judith 298 Ibn Sina 22
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Green, André 339 Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) 60
Mihály Csíkszentmihályi 199, 200, 322 Griffin, Donald 34 id 96, 111
fluid intelligence 314, 315 group dynamics 216, 220, 223 identity crisis 46, 273
forgetting 48, 49, 208, 209 Guilford, Joy Paul 303, 304–305, 314, 318 idiographic method 308, 309, 313
Frankl, Viktor 91, 140 Guthrie, Edwin 58, 59, 74 impression management 228–229
freedom of attitude 140 imprinting 59, 77
Freeman, Derek 46 individual psychology 100–101
Freud, Anna 90, 111, 260, 273 individualism 117
Freud, Sigmund 11, 12, 17, 22, 24, 30, 46, 54,
90, 92–99, 104, 108, 111, 118, 150, 152,
174, 195, 204, 220, 272, 274, 278, 292, 309
Freudian slips 98
Frijda, Nico 303, 324–325
H
Haley, Jay 149
inferiority complex 100, 101
inheritance 16, 28, 59, 104, 105
inkblot (Rorschach) test 331, 335
innate (inborn),
abilities 28
Frith, Uta 298 Hall, G. Stanley 17, 46–47 behavior 75, 80
Fromm, Erich 90, 91, 124–129, 198 Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) beliefs 104
154 insanity, and genius 318, 320, 321
INDEX 347
insight-oriented therapy 149 Kraepelin, Emil 17, 31 Lewin, Kurt 12, 166, 167, 216, 218–223, 254
instinct 28, 58, 59, 75, 77, 104, 105, 161, Krech, David 45 liberation psychology 217, 256–257
275, 297 Kubovy, Michal 192 Linas, Rodolfo 44
intelligence 13, 17, 161, 304–305, 314–315 Kuczaj, Stan 294 Lipitt, Ronald 220
child development 264, 265, 266, 267 Kulik, James 237 Locke, John 28, 40, 41, 49, 264
connectionism 63, 65 Kuo, Zing-Yang 58, 75, 80 Loeb, Jacques 68
“g factor” 62 Loevinger, Jane 111
inheritance 29 Loftus, Elizabeth 91, 159, 188, 202–207, 208
psychology of difference 303 logotherapy 140
intelligence quotient (IQ) tests 50, 52, 53, 65,
265, 302, 304, 305, 314, 315, 318, 320, 323
intelligence theory 50–53
introversion 90, 319, 321
IQ see intelligence quotient (IQ) tests
L
L’Automatism Psychologique, Pierre Janet 110
Loneliness, Creativity and Love, Clark
Moustakas 132
Lorenz, Konrad 34, 59, 75, 77, 274, 278
Lucretius 31
Luria, Alexander 336
Iron John: A Book About Men, Robert Bly 155 Lacan, Jacques 90, 122–123, 155, 279
Lagache, Daniel 336
Laing, R.D. (Ronald David) 26, 27, 91,
J
150–151, 328
Lange, Carl 43, 324
language 116, 260, 294, 295, 296, 297
Language Acquisition Device (LAD) 296, 297
Language and Communication, George
M
Maccoby, Eleanor E. 261, 284–285
Jacklin, Carol 284 Miller 171 Machiavellian trait 310
James–Lange theory of emotion 43, 324 Larsen, Knud S. 224 MACOS program 164
James, William 11, 17, 20, 28, 38–45, 47, 59, Lashley, Karl 58, 59, 76, 163, 165 Main, Mary 280
65, 68, 80, 82, 100, 122, 148, 162, 163, 170, Lasker, Bruno 282 Man: A Course of Study (MACOS)
172, 228, 237, 308, 324 latent learning 68, 73 program 164
Janet, Pierre 17, 54–55, 104, 330 Laws of Organization in Perceptual Forms, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl 91,
Johnston, Charles M. 271 Max Wertheimer 40 140
Jones, Edward E. 242 Lazarus, Arnold A. 177 Marcia, James 272
Jung, Carl Gustav 24, 90, 94, 102–107, 114, 122 Lazarus, Richard 324 Margaret Mead and Samoa, Derek Freeman 46
Jungian archetypes 155 Leadership That Gets Results, Daniel marshmallow tests 327
Just-World hypothesis 242, 243 Goleman 322 Martín-Baró, Ignacio 217, 256–257
juvenile delinquency 276 learned abilities 28 Marx, Karl 129
learned helplessness 200, 201 masculine psychology 155
learning 12, 16, 17, 48, 49, 58, 59, 68, 159, 163, Maslow, Abraham 91, 100, 126, 132, 133,
221, 222 137, 138–139, 148, 198, 200, 313, 322
K
Kabat-Zinn, Jon 200, 210
brain function 76
by association 76, 77
child-centered education 264, 268, 269
childhood aggression 288
conditioning 61, 73
Masterson, Jenny 310
Maternal Care and Mental Health, John
Bowlby 275
maternal deprivation 275, 276
May, Rollo 26, 91, 126, 137, 141
Kagan, Jerome 339 connectionism 62, 63, 64, 65 Mayo, Elton 335
Kahneman, Daniel 159, 193 developmental psychology 260, 262 MBCT 210
Kahun Papyrus 30 “g factor” 314 MBSR 210
Kanner, Leo 298 imprinting 77 McAdam, Dan P. 308
Kant, Immanuel 40, 41, 114, 264 insight 160, 161 McClelland, David 322–323
Kelley, Harold H. 338 jig-saw method 244, 282 McLuhan, Marshall 12
Kelly, George 154, 337 language 294, 295 Mead, Margaret 46, 196
Kelman, Herbert 248 memory and 162, 194–195 medical psychiatry 31
Kierkegaard, Søren 16, 26–27, 141 nature–nurture debate 28 Meehl, Paul 338
King Solomon’s Ring, Konrad Lorenz 34 learning difficulties 261 memory and memories 17, 48, 49, 49, 58, 158,
Klein, Melanie 90, 91, 99, 108–109, 110, 111, learning theory 74, 166, 294 159, 180, 208, 234
118, 119, 121, 260 social 288–291 and learning 162
Klineberg, Otto 282 Leary, Mark 228 and neurons 163
Koffka, Kurt 160 Leary, Timothy 91, 148 autobiographical 237
Kohlberg, Lawrence 260, 261, 292–293 Lebowici, Serge 338 brain function 76
Köhler, Wilhelm 193 Lectures on the Diseases of the Nervous emotional states and 196
Köhler, Wolfgang 158, 159, 160–161, 163, System, Jean-Martin Charcot 17 “forgetting curve” 62
20, 225 Leibniz, Gottfried 24, 25 information processing 183, 184
Kohut, Heinz 110 Lerner, Melvin 154, 217, 242–243 inherited 104, 105
Kowalski, Mark 228 Levi-Strauss, Claude 123 intelligence 304, 314
348 INDEX
recall (retrieval) 159, 195, 204–207, 208, 209 neurohypnotism 22 parenting systems 271
repressed 90, 91, 95, 96, 97, 99 Neurolinguistic Therapy (NLP) 114 Passions of the Soul, René Descartes 16
storage and retrieval 188–191 neurological science 30, 54–55 Pavlov, Ivan 11, 58, 59, 60–61, 62, 68, 70, 72,
structuralism 25 neuropsychology 67, 163 74, 76, 80, 81, 86, 87, 161, 174
Memory, A Contribution to Experimental neuroscience 59, 158, 159, 163 PEN (Psychoticism, Extraversion,
Psychology, Hermann Ebbinghaus 17, 49, Neurosis and Human Growth, Karen Neuroticism) 308, 321
170, 208 Horney 114 Peplau, Letitia 242
mental disorders 17, 330–331 neuroticism 19, 319–321, 319 perception 16, 17, 59, 114, 115, 158, 159,
mental illness 31, 150, 151 Neurypnology, James Braid 22 160, 161, 192
Mersenne, Marin 21 New Passages, Gail Sheehy 272 Perception and Communication, Donald
Mesmer, Franz 22 Nietzche, Frederick 141 Broadbent 72, 158, 184, 192
Metzler, Jacqueline 159 nomothetic method 309 Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) 240, 241
Milgram, Stanley 166, 217, 224, 225, 227, Norem, Julie K. 108 Perls, Frederick “Fritz” Salomon 91, 112–117,
246–253, 254 nurture see nature–nurture debate 126, 132, 138, 174
Miller, Alice 118 Perls, Laura 91, 174
Miller, Geoffrey 211 Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) 44
Miller, George Armitage 159, 162, 163, 164, person-centered therapy 132–135
165, 168–173, 180, 194, 208
Miller, Neal 59, 337
mind/body dualism 20–21
mind, theory of 298–299
Mindblindness, Simon Baron-Cohen 261
O
obedience 217, 224, 227, 248–251, 254
personal construct theory 154
personality 13, 16, 17, 134, 318–321
humorism 18, 19, 308, 309
multiple personality disorder 331
nature–nurture debate 28
mindfulness 200, 210 Obedience to Authority, Stanley Milgram 252 Personality and Assessment, Walter
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Mischel 303, 327
(MBCT) 210 212–213 Personality: Psychological Interpretation,
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Odbert, H.S. 308, 309, 310, 313 Gordon Allport 302, 312
(MBSR) 210 Oedipus complex 155 personality psychology 302, 303, 308–313
Minuchen, Salvador 146 Olweus, Dan 320 personality tests 323
Mischel, Walter 302, 303, 326–327 On Aggression, Konrad Lorenz 75 personality theory 303, 318–321, 326–327
Mitchell, Peter 298 On Becoming a Person, Carl Rogers 26, 136 personality traits and types 107, 128, 129, 308,
mnemonics 48 On Memory, Hermann Ebbinghaus 62 309, 310, 320, 326–327
Montessori schools 264 On the Cause of Lucid Sleep, Abbé Faria 23 Personality Traits: Their Classification and
mood-congruent processing 195 On the Diseases of Women, Hippocrates 30 Measurement, Gordon and Floyd Allport
mood-dependent retrieval 195 On the Fabric of the Human Body, Andreas 302, 308
Moore, Robert L. 155 Vesalius 18 Phillips, L. 328
moral development 292–293 On the Nature of Prejudice, Gordon philosophy 10, 11, 16
Morgan, Christiana 323 Allport 216 Philosophy of the Unconscious, Eduard
Moscovici, Serge 216, 217, 224, 227, 238–239 On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin 16, von Hartmann 24
mother–infant bond 275, 280, 281 50, 77 phobias 87
motivation 322–323 On the Qualities of Form, Christian von Piaget, Jean 74, 164, 165, 260, 262–267, 270,
Motivation and Personality, Abraham Maslow Ehrenfels 160 272, 292
91, 200 operant conditioning 58, 59, 72, 82, 83, 84, Pien, D. 232
Motivation to Work, Frederick Herzberg 322 85, 288, 294, 295, 297 Pinker, Steven 159, 192, 294, 297
Moustakas, Clark 132 Opinions and Social Pressure, Solomon placebo effect 22
Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) 303, 330 Asch 224 Plato 20, 34, 41
Murray, Henry 138, 322, 323 optical illusions 192 play therapy 109, 118
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) 107 Origins of Intelligence in the Child, Jean Pollack, Irwin 171, 172
Myers, Charles Samuel 335 Piaget 164 positive psychology 152–153, 198–199,
Myers, Isabel Briggs 302 Ornstein, Robert E. 148 200–201, 313
Osmund, Humphrey 148 positive reinforcement 81, 83, 85
“other,” the 122–123 Posner, Laura 116
Postman, Leo 48, 165, 204
N
nativism 294–297 P
Powers, William T. 240, 241
Prilleltensky, Isaac 256
Prince, Morton 54, 330
Principles of Physiological Psychology,
Wilhelm Wundt 31, 34
natural selection 77, 83 Principles of Psychology, William James 17,
nature–nurture debate 13, 16, 28, 29, 71, 75, Pahnke, Walter 148 60, 80, 82, 308
159, 261, 264, 270, 303 Paige, Jeffrey 312 problem solving 159, 160, 161
negative reinforcement 82, 83 Palazzoli, Mara Selvini 146 Prospect Theory 193
Neisser, Ulric 159, 237, 339 Paracelsus 94 psyche 96, 105
INDEX 349
psychedelic drugs 148 Reality Therapy, William Glasser 217 shock, electrical, obedience experiment
psychiatry 328–329 REBT see Rational Emotive Behavior 248–252
Psychiatry and Anti-Psychiatry, David Therapy Simon, Théodore 52, 302, 304
Cooper 328 reciprocal inhibition 86–87 Simonton, Dean Keith 318
Psychiatry: The Science of Lies, Thomas Reclaiming our Children, Peter Breggin 240 Skinner box 81, 82, 83
Szasz 328 reconstructive memory 158 Skinner, B.F. (Burrhus Frederic) 58, 59, 60, 61,
psychic growth 101 recovered memory therapy 205, 207 62, 64, 71, 72, 74, 75, 78–85, 86, 149, 288,
psychic tension 108 Reicher, Steven 254 294, 309
psychoanalysis (psychoanalytic reinforcement 64, 81, 82 Slater, Mel 253
psychotherapy) 12, 17, 90, 91, 97, 158, 308 Remembering, Frederic Bartlett 204, 208, 234 Slavin, Robert 270
Alfred Adler 110–111 repressed memory 204, 205, 207 Smith, Sidney 173
Donald Woods Winnicott 118–121 Riecken, Henry 167 social constructivism 238–239, 270
Françoise Dolto 279 Rivers, W.H.R. 334 social learning theory 80, 236, 260, 288–291
Jacques Lacan 122–123 Rogers, Carl 26, 27, 91, 114, 116, 130–135, Social Learning Theory, Albert Bandura
Johann Friedrich Herbart 24, 25 141, 145, 146, 198, 200, 313 74, 164
Melanie Klein 108–109 Rokeach, Milton 338 social psychology 11, 12, 167, 216–217,
Sigmund Freud 94–99 Rorschach, Hermann 335 220–223, 232, 236, 244–245, 256
Psychoanalysis: Its Image and Its Public, Rorschach test 331, 335 Social Psychology as History, Kenneth
Serge Moscovici 239 Rosenhan, David 303, 328–329 Gergen 238
psychodiagnosis 17 Rowe, Dorothy 91, 154, 243 Socrates 26
psychodynamic therapy 149 Rubin, David 237 Some Thoughts Concerning Education,
Psychological Automatism, Pierre Janet 55 Rubin, Zick 242 John Locke 264
psychological nativism 265 Rumi 126 Spearman, Charles 53, 62, 302, 303, 304, 314
psychological resilience 152, 153 Rutter, Michael 274, 278, 339 Spence, Janet Taylor 217, 236
Psychological Types, Carl Jung 90 Ryan, William J. 242 Sperry, Roger W. 337
psychology 10–11, 16, 17 Spiro, Melford 271
experimental 148 Spitz, René 271
Psychology and Productive Thinking, Karl split personalities 110
Duncker 160
Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It,
John B. Watson 58, 59, 86
psychology of difference 11, 13, 302–303
psychology of emotions 196–197
S
Salkovskis, Paul 212–213
Stages of Moral Development, Lawrence
Kohlberg 261
Stanford Prison experiment 217, 254
Stekel, Wilhelm 108
Stern, William 309, 334
psychometric test 302 Sartre, Jean-Paul 122, 140, 150 Stevens, Stanley Smith 173
psychopathology 90 Satir Model 147 stimulus-response theory 11, 58, 59, 68, 70,
psychosexual development 260 Satir, Virginia 91, 146–147 71, 74
psychosis 150, 318–321 Schachter, Stanley 167, 338 Storm and Stress movement 47
psychotherapy 11, 12, 94, 138 Schacter, Daniel 159, 170, 188, 194, 204, 207, structuralism 24–25
psychoticism 318–321 208–209 Structure of Intellect (SI) 303
Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism Schaffer, H. Rudolph 276, 277, 278 Studies on Hysteria, Sigmund Freud &
(PEN) 308, 321 schizophrenia 31, 91, 150, 151, 329 Josef Breuer 24, 30, 90, 94
purposive (cognitive) behaviorism 72, 160 Schopenhauer, Arthur 108, 122 Sturm und Drang movement 47
Purposive Behavior in Animals and Men, Segal, Zindel 210 Sufi mystic 126
Edward Tolman 72 selective attention 182, 183, 184, 185 suicide 140
self 16, 126, 127, 133, 134, 135, 136 Sullivan, Harry Stack 146
self-actualization 91, 126, 138–139, 148, 313 superiority complex 101
self-awareness 116 Syntactic Structures, Noam Chomsky 260
R
Race Attitudes in Children, Bruno Lasker 282
self-blame 154
self-esteem 100, 101
Self-Mastery Through Conscious
Autosuggestion, Emile Coué 22
self-perception theory 166
systematic desensitization 86, 87
Szasz, Thomas 328
racism 242, 282, 283

radical behaviorism 71, 80–85, 149
Rajecki, D.W. 233
Rank, Otto 132
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
self-realization 106
self-suggestion 23
Seligman, Martin 140, 174, 198, 200–201,
313, 322
seven, as a magical number 170–173
T
Teasdale, John D. 210, 339
91, 110, 142–145, 174, 177, 212 Seven Sins of Memory, Daniel Schacter 159 temperament and humours 18, 19
Rayner, Rosalie 69, 70, 71, 86 Shannon, Claude 171 Terman, Lewis 53
reality and perception 114, 115 Sheehy, Gail 272 Textbook of Psychiatry, Emil Kraepelin 31
reality theory 217 Shepard, Roger N. 159, 192 Thaler, Richard 193
reality therapy 217, 240, 241 Sherif, Muzafer 216, 224, 225, 254, 337 The Art of Memory, Giordano Bruno 48
350 INDEX
The Behavior of Organisms, B.F. Skinner 74, The Sickness unto Death, Søren
75, 86
The Belief in a Just World: A Fundamental
Delusion, Melvin Lerner 154, 243
The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker 192
The Cause of Lucid Sleep, Abbé Faria 16
Kierkegaard 16
The Social Animal, Elliot Aronson 244
The Textbook of Psychology, Johann
Friedrich Herbart 16
The Three Faces of Eve, Corbett H. Thigpen
W
Walden Two, B.F. Skinner 85
The Children of the Dream, Bruno & Hervey M. Cleckley 303, 331 Waldeyer-Hartz, Heinrich 76
Bettelheim 271 The War of the Ghosts, Frederic Bartlett 158 war neurosis 86, 87
The Concept of Anxiety, Søren Kierkegaard 26 Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) 138, 323 Warrenfeltz, Rodney 326
The Descent of Man, Charles Darwin 203 Thigpen, Corbett H. 303, 330–331 Watson, Jeanne 220
The Dissociation of Personality, Morton Thorndike, Edward 58, 59, 62–65, 68, 72, Watson, John B. (Broadus) 11, 26, 28, 40, 58, 59,
Prince 330 74, 161, 163 60, 61, 62, 64, 66–71, 72, 75, 80, 86, 87, 94
The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Watzlawick, Paul 91, 149
Sanity and Madness, R.D. Laing 26, 91, 328 Sigmund Freud 260 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) 303
The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense, Thurstone, L.L. 304 Wechsler, David 303, 336
Anna Freud 90 Titchener, Edward B. 35, 232, 233, 305, 334 Weisner, Thomas 277
The Emotions, Nico Frijda 303 Tolman, Edward Chace 58, 59, 68, 72–73, 74, Werner, Emmy 152
The Expression of the Emotions in Men and 75, 160, 193 Wernicke, Carl 16
Animals, Charles Darwin 58, 324 Tomkins, Silvan 196 Wertheimer, Max 40, 114, 160, 335
The Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Torrence, Ellis Paul 304 Westley, Bruce 220
Freud 90, 98 Traits Revisited, Gordon Allport 313 When Prophecy Fails, Leon Festinger,
The Laws of Emotion, Nico Frijda 325 Treisman, Anne 180 Henry Riecken & Stanley Schacter 167
The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Tulving, Endel 159, 162, 170, 186–191, 194, Wherever You Go, There You Are, Jon
Two, George Armitage Miller 162, 170 208, 209 Kabat-Zinn 200
The Mating Mind, Geoffrey Miller 211 Tupes, Ernest 326 Wilbur, Cornelia 330
The Meaning of Anxiety, Rollo May 26, 141 Turing, Alan 158, 170, 181 Williams, Mark 210
The Measurement of Intelligence, Edward Tversky, Amos 159, 193 Willis, Thomas 30
Thorndike 314 Windelband, Wilhelm 309
The Mentality of Apes, Wilhelm Köhler 193 Wing, Lorna 298
The Mirror Stage, Jacques Lacan 90 Winnicott, Donald Woods 91, 118–121
The Myth of Mental Illness, Thomas
Szasz 328
The Narrative Construction of Reality,
Jerome Bruner 261
The Need for Social Psychology, John
U
Uncommon Therapy, Jay Haley 149
Wolpe, Joseph 59, 72, 80, 86–87, 174, 177, 212
women 217, 236
Words and Things, Roger Brown 216
Writings for a Liberation Psychology, Ignacio
Martín-Baró 257
Dewey 216 unconditional positive regard 135, 136 Wundt, Wilhelm 17, 18, 26, 31, 32–37, 47,
The Organization of Behavior, Donald Hebb unconscious 16, 17, 90, 91, 148 50, 172, 304
48, 163 collective 104, 105, 106, 107
The Practice and Theory of Individual psychoanalysis 94, 95, 96, 97, 98
Psychology, Alfred Adler 90 structuralism 25
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life,
Erving Goffman 216, 228
The Principles of Psychology, William James Y
45, 122, 162, 170
The Process of Education, Jerome
Bruner 165
The Psychology of Consciousness, Robert E.
Ornstein 148
V
Valéry, Paul 13
y Cajal, Santiago Ramón 76
Yalom, Irvin 141
Youth: Its Education, Regiment, and Hygiene,
G. Stanley Hall 47
The Psychology of Perceptive and Value and Need as Organizing Factors Yuille, John 207
Renaissance Art, Michal Kubovy 192 in Perception, Jerome Bruner
The Psychology of Personal Constructs, & Cecile Goodman 158
George Kelly 154 Vaughn, Brian E. 280
The Psychology of Sex Differences, Eleanor E.
Maccoby 261, 284
The Psychology of the Unconscious,
Carl Jung 24
The Selection of Consequences, B.F.
Verbal Behavior, Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson,
Edward Thorndike & B.F. Skinner 59, 85
Vernon, Philip E. 304
Vesalius, Andreas 18, 19
Vgotsky, Lev 238
Z
Zajonc, Robert 217, 230–235
Skinner 83 von Ehrenfels, Christian 160 Zeigarnik, Bluma 158, 162, 188, 194
The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins 211 von Hartmann, Eduard 24 Zeigarnik Effect 162, 194
The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind von Helmholtz, Hermann 37 Zigler, E. 328
Forgets and Remembers, Daniel Schacter von Thun, Friedemann Schulz 339 Zimbardo, Philip 166, 217, 248, 254–255
170, 188, 194, 204, 207 Vygotsky, Lee 164, 165, 260, 269, 270 zone of proximal development theory 269
uploaded by [stormrg] 351
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РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.

LONDON, NEW YORK, MELBOURNE,

DK LONDON DK DELHI First American Edition 2012

NIGEL BENSON MERRIN LAZYAN

JOANNAH GINSBURG MARCUS WEEKS

PSYCHOLOGY IN THE MAKING 46 Adolescence is 60 The sight of tasty food

28 Personality is composed 75 Nothing is more natural

30 The laws of hysteria 76 Learning is just not

130 The good life is a process

218 You cannot understand

286 Most human behavior 324 Emotion is an essentially

272 Anything that grows PSYCHOLOGY OF 332 DIRECTORY

279 We prepare children for 306 Did Robinson Crusoe lack

280 A sensitive mother 314 General intelligence

284 Girls get better 322 Three key motivations

René Descartes Francis Galton’s

1649 1819 1859 1869

1816 1849 1861 1874

1879 1885 1887 1890

1883 1877 1889 1895

Meanwhile, the mysterious nature developed in distinct ways in establishment of a scientiﬁc

Phlegmatic: slow, quiet,

In a letter to the French philosopher

A few years later, Abbé Faria, a

Anna Freud 111 ■ Leon Festinger 166 – 67

Thoughts and feelings contain

1996 Rollo May bases his

IN CONTEXT Personality is composed of elements from

defective nurture.” Intelligence, he

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE

B.F. Skinner 78–85

physical bodies—for example,

Fritz Perls 112–17 ■ Wolfgang Köhler 160–61 ■ Max Wertheimer 335

This “most difﬁcult of philosophic

can one but the sentence

The 12-word sentence problem was used by James to

ﬁnal conclusion; consciousness is

But when it comes to deﬁnitions

IN CONTEXT Human development is determined by

Erik Erikson 272–73

Hermann Ebbinghaus Hermann Ebbinghaus was born in two psychology laboratories

THE INTELLIGENCE APPROACH

ALFRED BINET (1857–1911) abilities such as intelligence.

Intelligence testing can only measure…

…an individual’s mental abilities at a particular time

Ernest R. Hilgard 337

Signiﬁcantly, Lucie 3 could recall a behavior as “the subconscious.” But

Pierre Janet Pierre Janet was born into a Inﬂuenced by Jean-Martin

Charles Darwin John B. Watson

1872 1913 1927 1930

1898 1920 1929 1930

Edward Thorndike’s John B. Watson Karl Lashley’s B.F. Skinner

Karl Lorenz discovers

1935 1943 1957 1959

1938 1948 1958 1960S

stimulus (bell, buzzer, or light) with pain or some form of threat

EDWARD THORNDIKE (1874–1949) 1918 John B. Watson’s “Little

B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■ Donald Hebb 163 ■ Hans Eysenck 316–21

but when he was unable to obtain

Joseph Wolpe 86–87 ■ Kenneth Clark 282–83 ■ Albert Bandura 286–91

a local children’s hospital. The tests On a separate occasion, while

1920 John B. Watson conducts

ONCE A RAT HAS VISITED