History of Psychology Exam 3

Eduard Spranger

Explained one’s experience through a sociopolitical lens, everything is connected; 6 value-oriented personality types

Theoretic personality type

Objective, logical, scientific, interested in finding intellectual truth

Economic personality type

Utilitarian ethic, interested in material success

Aesthetic personality type

Values beauty, feelings and sensations as worthwhile experiences

Social personality type

Helpful love and loyalty, valuing the love of others, compassionate and kind

Political personality type

Concerned with acquiring power over others, competitive and ambitious, leaders in their field

Religious personality type

Values unity with the devine, blessedness

Karl Jaspers

Psychiatrist and philosopher of existentialism, promoted that psychiatry and natural science hermeneutics should be combined to understand mental illness; 5 forms of interpreting psychopathology

Five hermeneutic forms of interpreting psychopathology

Phenomenological, expression, static, genetic, rational understanding

Phenomenological understanding

Represents patients’ experiences based on self-description, self-reporting experiences; e.g. reported tightness in chest, racing thoughts, fear of fainting

Expression understanding

How is someone expressing a psychopathology, what do we perceived from their expression; e.g. shaky hands, trembling voice, frequent panic attacks

Static understanding

What symptoms remain constant in one’s expression and description of their psychopathology; e.g. someone carrying anger talking about a situation

Genetic understanding

Understanding the development of one psychological event to another, like from anger to violence; e.g. from fear, to humiliation, to anger

Rational understanding

How someone rationalizes their psychopathology; e.g. “I’m terrified of being judged because if I fail, my whole future falls apart”

3 distinguishing criteria that made psychology a human science (not natural)

Psychological categories are social constructed, produce a looping affect, and are value-laden

Looping effect

Psychological categories produce a looping affect by affecting psychological processes through its use; e.g. someone finding out they have a low IQ changes their self-worth, self-esteem, and self-awareness

Value-laden

Psychological categories are attached with value, such as certain categories being valued more than others; e.g. low IQ implying less worth in our culture

Edmund Husserl

Founder of phenomenology, experience is central to mental life and the essence of experience is intentionality

Phenomenology

The study of experiences as they appear, reporting on consciousness without preconceived theories or models

Husserl’s 3 Forms of Reduction 

Phenomenological reduction, eidetic reduction, transcendental reduction

Phenomenological reduction

Focusing on a phenomenon as it appears in our consciousness, before biases

Eidetic reduction

To look at something but its essence (unchanging, necessary) and essential structures

Transcendental reduction

The ego is the source for meaning behind the experience

Role of religion and spirituality in psychology’s history

The soul, historical scientists related their observations to God, science and religion co-existing… later psychologists are more skeptical of religion

Transpersonal psychologies

Belief that the spiritual dimensions of human experience are central to understanding mental life, integrating transcendence into psychology

Secularizing the soul

The mission of natural science; the soul is what humans remember

Spirituality in mental health

Revival in scientists’ interest in the role of religion and spirituality in reducing stress, and their implications for health

Quantification of psychology

Enabled psychologists to respond to social needs and make research more efficient, solidifying as a natural science and attracting more funding

Problems with overreliance on statistics

Metaphysical-ontological, epistemological, measurement accuracy, objectivity vs subjectivity, sociopolitical issues

Metaphysical-ontological issue with statistics

Assuming numbers can fully capture human phenomena, mechanistic worldview

Epistemological issue with statistics

Statistics describe, but don’t explain or reveal causes of phenomena… quantifying it does not make it objectively real

Measurement accuracy issue with statistics

Absolute accuracy in psychological measurement is impossible

Objectivity vs subjectivity issue with statistics

The quest to eliminate subjectivity and equate numbers with objectivity misrepresents the inherently interpretive nature of psychology

Sociopolitical issue in psychology

Western culture equates quantification with truth and control, using statistics as an illusion of objective to serve political goals

Psychophysics

Quantifying very small but noticeable differences in sensation, foundation for experimental studies using statistical methods

Correlational methods

Measure of relatedness between variables, became a new norm and could then justify with large samples

Qualitative methods

Interviews are transcribed, interviewers and participants build rapport and have a discussion, sometimes sharing their own views with the participant

The Scientific Rhetoric

The persuasive elements of scientific communication, how arguments are constructed, debated, and disseminated

Epistemological foundations of APA

Assumption that participants are objective sources of data, so long as collection and analysis follows APA format

Criticisms around APA

Standardized rhetoric conveys the scientist’s detachment from what is being studied, despite procedures being influenced by the background and biases of the researcher

Assumptions of APA

That it is primarily designed for quantitative studies, reproduces standards of natural science, subjective writing is seen as inappropriate, and no encouragement to acknowledge research assistants

Max Horkheimer

A critical theorist who distinguished critical theory from traditional, stating that scientific facts are not purely factual - they are shaped by society and history

Critical theory

Challenges the separation of the individual from society, and a moral commitment to social justice

Traditional theory

Relied on logic, math, and deduction, separating values from research and knowledge from action

Hebert Marcuse

A critical theorist who believed that instrumental rationality shapes modern society and the people within it, creating one-dimensional people

Instrumental rationality

A thinking focused only on efficiency, control, and the means-to-an-end without questioning morality or meaning; e.g. Nazis focused on efficiently organizing mass death rather than questioning the ethics of their actions

One-dimensional society

Resulting from instrumental rationality where individuals’ desires and choices are shaped by consumer culture rather than critical thinking or creativity

Consequences of a one-dimensional life

Pop culture turns real suffering into entertainment, needs/desires/pain becomes trivialized, desensitization to suffering, avoiding complexity, struggling to find meaning and purpose

Jurgen Habermas

Believed that humans have a natural desire to free themselves from oppression through critical thinking and speech

Habermas 4 Conditions for Critical Speech

Symmetry (equal power between people), sincerity, truthfulness, righteousness

Dynamic objectivity

Is intersubjective (created through shared human perspectives), situated (shaped by researcher’s social location), partial and contestable

Feminist standpoint theory

Claims that women are uniquely positioned to produce more complete, and objective knowledge due to socialization towards revealing hidden aspects of social reality

Post-modern thought

Challenging the conception that modernism is good; argues that it is oppressive rather than liberatory

Kenneth Gergen

Psychological theories should acknowledge the sociohistorical nature of events, nothing is independent from the context; knowledge and language are socially constructed through relationships

Michel Foucault

Works on madness and exclusion, challenged the idea of normality as a construct for social control; everyone participates in the structure of power

Indian psychologies

Oral traditions dating back to 2000 BCE, investigating using observation, introspection, personal experience, reasoning, and the educator-learner relationship

Mind-body-self perspectives in India

Yogic, Hindu, and Buddhist perspective

Yogic perspective

Goal is to develop awareness of the unconscious mind, bodily tendencies, and emotions; achieve enlightenment and inner peace using yoga and regulated breathing

Hindu perspective

We have the lower self, driven by instincts, and the higher self that seeks understanding and transcendence

Buddhist perspective

There is no fixed self or ego, individuals are interdependent with their environment and everything is related; prayer, contemplation, and detachment

5 Afrocentric values

Primacy of relationships and harmony with nature, unity of spirit with matter, collective responsibility, communal interdependence, dynamic/flexible/fluid processes

First Nations psychologies

Spirit is central, the eternal life force which gives meaning and direction; is also attached to dreams, understanding what might be in the unconscious; circular thinking

Ontology

The study of how we know what is what, fundamental characteristics of reality; psychology borrowing mechanical metaphors to explain the mind

Reductionism

Studying isolated variables/elements, but failing to capture the complexity of mental life

Epistemology

The study of knowledge, how we know things, and using the correct methodologies for the topic of study

Mainstream psychology

Adopting models that ignore agency, meaning, and context; lack of universal laws because it is so subjective

Intelligence research

Supported psychologists’ efforts to gain social and scientific legitimacy, most commonly applied psychology for schools and businesses historically

Critiques of Intelligence Testing

Assumptions about genetics, social-hygiene, debates, biased against non-White populations

Individualized approach to intelligence

Focused on the individual child, testing to understand specific needs and abilities; more flexible and diagnostic

Psychometric approach to intelligence

Focused on measuring and ranking people using statistics

Early intelligence testing

Commissioned by the French government to identify children struggling in school; Metric Intelligence Scale was only for classification and support - not proof of fixed IQ

Alfred Binet

Developed an intelligence test and argued that his test did not measure real intelligence, and challenged the belief that low performance = moral failure

William Stern

Introduced the IQ formula, and later was focused on comparing children to the class average

British foundational influence on psychometrics

Had a strong focus on inherited traits and measuring individual differences

American foundational influence on psychometrics

Adopted British ideas but focused on adapting them for large-scale use, like schools and military

British view of intelligence

Primarily hereditary, biologically fixed, with minor environmental influences

US view of intelligence

Primarily as hereditary and fixed, but were seen as only measuring skills needed for academic success

Client-Centered Therapy

Carl Rogers focuses on the client’s experience, self-concept, and personal growth; the therapist provides unconditional positive regard and is directed by the client

Behavioural Therapy

Focus on changing maladaptive behaviours through conditioning, reinforcement, and exposure; e.g. systematic desensitization for phobias

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy

Focus on changing problematic thinking leading to improvements in behaviour and mood; emerged as a replacement for behaviourism, provides preventative benefits, strong empirical support

Criticisms of CBT

Sometimes ignores individual differences and therapeutic relationships, overemphasis on the medical model, some debates about research methods including calls for more qualitative research

Positive psychology

Focus on optimism, prevention, building a maximal self, and well-being rather than problems or disorders; blending science with religious traditions, applied in US Army resilience

Criticisms of positive psychology

Can be toxic positivity, debates on the definition of “positive”, treats moral/cultural values as fact, promotes Western cultural ideals of self-improvement, promotes a simplistic idea of happiness

Health psychology

Uses the biopsychosocial model to focus on the treatment/prevention of illness, promotion of health, role of psychology in illness, and developing health policy

Criticisms of health psychology

Focuses on studies that manage risk-behaviour, does not advocate for policy change around homelessness and unemployment, biomedical perspective

Critical health psychology

Examines on the structural determinants of health, addresses health inequalities, and understands sociocultural processes and power relations

Community psychology

Aims to study individuals in their social contexts, striving for social change advocating for the redistribution of power and wealth

Community psychology in Canada

Focused on social policy, public mental health education, and influenced the World Health Organization (WHO); shifts to experimental psychology reduced its prominence, has only a few programs today

Community psychology in the US

Emerged during social reform movements, focused on mental health care inequities and social justice; remains active through community partnerships

Psychopharmacology

Research on the brain and neurochemistry has been heavily funded by pharmaceutical companies, power and wealth is involved in distribution of treatments

Criticisms of psychopharmacology

Medication has been used as the primary treatment for SMI, use of drugs to socially control populations, over prescription, and ignoring interpersonal/social health concerns

Gross harm

Clear ethical violations in therapies of medication, identifiable overt misconduct; e.g. sexual relations with clients

Subtle harm

Ethical oversights such as unintentional neglect or insensitivities; e.g. failure to inform client of rights, breach in confidentiality, inappropriate interventions, encouraging excessive dependency on therapy

CPA Ethical Codes

Code of conduct for psychologists who are in a position of power, is sometimes over-systematic

Problems in APA and CPA Codes of Conduct

Reactive (focused on punishment), centered on professionals (rather than client rights), neglecting social contexts like systemic inequalities, profit over ethics

Spranger’s methodological statements

Understanding requires knowledge and background; understanding someone is not the same as empathizing

Spranger’s characteristics of typical adolescence

Discovery of self, emergence of life-plan, venturing into different domains of life

Spranger in female adolescent development

Claimed that female adolescents have inherent biological and metaphysical differences to which their nature was more powerful than society in their development

Spranger’s view on biological explanations of adolescence

Cannot address the psychological problems of development like isolation, loneliness, radicalism, or tendencies to idealization; the biological model only represents “one realm” of facts

Methodological pluralism

Acknowledging the limits of any methods in research and the need to combine a variety of methods to understand a disorder; advocated by Jaspers