DK - Simply Psychology (2022, DK)
DK - Simply Psychology (2022, DK)
DK - Simply Psychology (2022, DK)
PSYCHOLOGY
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DISORDERS AND
THOUGHTS THERAPIES
AND PROCESSES 108 DIAGNOSING DISORDERS
Psychiatric classification systems
88 THE CONSCIOUS MIND 110 PROCESSING DIFFERENTLY
Consciousness Autism spectrum disorder
90 PROCESSING SENSATIONS 111 HARD TO FOCUS
Perception Attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder
92 IDENTIFYING OBJECTS
Pattern recognition 112 DELUSIONS, PARANOIA, AND
ALTERED THINKING
93 BASIC FEELINGS
Schizophrenia
Psychology of emotions
113 EXTREME HIGHS AND LOWS
94 MAGIC NUMBER SEVEN
Bipolar disorder
Information processing
114 A DARK CLOUD
95 A BIOLOGICAL COMPUTER
Depression
Computational theory of mind
115 PREGNANCY, PARENTHOOD,
96 FOCUSING ATTENTION
AND MENTAL HEALTH
Attention theory
Perinatal mental illness
97 STRIVING FOR CONSISTENCY
116 FEARING THE WORST
Cognitive dissonance
Generalized anxiety and
98 STORAGE STRUCTURE panic disorders
Long-term memory
117 DEBILITATING FEAR
99 REWRITING THE PAST Phobias
False memory
118 INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS AND
100 MEMORY MALFUNCTION REPETITIVE URGES
The seven sins of memory Obsessive compulsive disorder
119 DISTORTED SELF-IMAGE
Body dysmorphic disorder
120 AFTERMATH OF TRAUMA
Post-traumatic stress disorder
121 FRAGMENTED IDENTITY
Dissociative identity disorder
122 PROBLEMS WITH EATING
Eating disorders IDENTITY AND
123 STRUGGLING TO RESIST
Addiction
DIFFERENCE
124 RELATING DIFFERENTLY 142 HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS
Personality disorders Trait theory
126 TREATING DISORDERS 143 THE BIG FIVE
Psychological therapies The OCEAN model
128 UNCOVERING THE PAST 144 ENERGY SOURCES
Psychodynamic therapy Introversion and extroversion
129 BALANCING THE SOUL 145 TESTING PERSONALITY
Jungian therapy Personality psychometrics
130 PARENT, ADULT, CHILD 146 FLUID AND CRYSTALLIZED
Transactional analysis The Cattell–Horn theory
131 LED BY THE CLIENT of intelligence
Person-centred therapy 147 THREE INTELLIGENCES
132 THE WHOLE PERSON Triarchic theory of intelligence
Gestalt therapy 148 MEASURING CREATIVITY
133 CONFRONTING EXISTENCE The Torrance Tests of Creative
Existential therapy Thinking
134 HEALING REASON 149 DRIVING MOTIVATORS
Rational emotive behaviour Need theory
therapy 150 WHO AM I?
135 CHANGING PATTERNS Identity formation
Cognitive behavioural 151 FINDING AN IDENTITY
therapy Identity status theory
136 GROUP DYNAMICS 152 MALE BIAS
Family systems therapy Feminist psychology
137 FACING TRAUMA 153 AFROCENTRIC PSYCHOLOGY
Eye movement desensitization & Optimal psychology
reprocessing
154 MINDS AND CULTURES
138 TREATING THE BODY Multicultural psychology
Medication
139 NATURAL REACTIONS 156 INDEX
Anti-psychiatry
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
Psychology can be described as the scientific study of the mind and
human behaviour, but that hardly does the subject justice. We humans
have been fascinated by the way our minds work and why we behave
the way we do since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers. In
fact, the term “psychology” originates from their word psyche,
meaning both “soul” and “mind”.
Until comparatively recently, the study of minds was a branch of
philosophy. Psychology only became recognized as a science towards the
end of the 19th century, when experimental psychologists found ways of
applying scientific methods to their research. This new science developed
at roughly the same time as advances in physiology and neuroscience,
which provided explanations of how our brains and nervous systems
work. Psychology bridged the gap between these physical explanations
and various philosophers’ theories about the mind.
As psychology developed further, it began to share ground with
still more disciplines, including the social sciences, medicine, and
education. Different branches of psychology emerged, each dealing
with different aspects of the subject, such as developmental
psychology (see pp.44–65), social psychology (see pp.66–85), and
the psychology of difference (see pp.140–155). Other branches dealt
specifically with diagnosing and treating psychological disorders
(see pp.106–139). More recently, especially with the benefit of brain-
imaging technology, it has become possible to study mental processes,
and states such as consciousness, which researchers had previously
considered to be beyond the scope of scientific study.
Psychology has provided the world with theories and discoveries
that help to explain what makes human beings tick. Its practical
applications have changed our lives, and in particular how society
regards mental health. Our curiosity about ourselves is apparently
insatiable, and psychology continues to produce fresh insights
into our minds and our behaviour.
INTRODUCTION 7
s t u d y
t h e
m i n d
i n g
Mind–body
interaction
Dualists claim that
the mind and the
body are two different
BODY kinds of thing, but
are unable to explain
how they interact.
10 DUALISM
ONLY MATTER
The first scientists were the philosophers of ancient Greece. Many of
them were dualists (see opposite), but some believed that the only
thing that exists is physical matter. Democritus, for example, claimed
that the psyche is composed of physical particles called “fire atoms”,
which bring inanimate matter to life. Known as physicalism, this
idea was reformulated by the 17th-century philosopher Thomas
Hobbes, who argued that the mind is nothing but the brain in action.
”Nothing
exists except
atoms and MIND
empty space...“
Democritus
PHYSICALISM 11
Sources of the soul
Plato associated reason, spirit,
and appetite (the three parts of
the “soul”) with the brain, heart,
and stomach, respectively.
RE ASON
AP
IT
IR
PE
SP
TI
E
T
INTERNAL DIVISIONS
In the Republic, Plato (see p.10) divided the “soul”, or mind, into
three parts: reason, spirit, and appetite. Reason gives us the ability
to think and to make sound judgements. Spirit is our life-force, and
enables us to act with courage. Appetite is desire, which we keep in
check by using reason. For Plato, a healthy person keeps all three
elements in balance. Over 2,000 years later, Sigmund Freud
divided the mind into three similar categories (see p.22).
Genes
NATURE
We each inherit an
array of genes, which
have varying levels of
influence on our physical
and mental abilities.
PARENT CHILD
NURTURE
Environment
Our upbringing, from
diet to educational
opportunities, affects ADULT
many areas of our
ongoing development.
PARENT CHILD
HEREDITY 13
Biological Neurological Psychological
Until the 19th century, Charcot made advances Freud claimed that
people believed that in understanding the mental disorders have
EMOTIONAL EXCESS
14 HYSTERIA
M E N T I A P R A E C OX ”
“DE
PATTERNS IN COMMON
In the 18th and early 19th centuries,
doctors described mental illnesses using
broad terms such as “hysteria” (see opposite)
or “insanity”. Early psychiatrists sought to develop
a more nuanced classification system, identifying
many conditions by their symptoms. Then in 1899,
Emil Kraepelin suggested a new way of defining and
classifying mental illnesses: by grouping them
according to common patterns of symptoms
noted over time, not just by individual
symptoms alone.
SHARED
SYMPTOMS
“MA ”
N I C D EP R E S S I O N
subjects with a
stimulus, such as
a candle flame or a
metronome, which
LOOKING
was chosen to
provoke a range of
mental responses.
WITHIN
THOUGHTS
SENSATIONS
INTROSPECTION
Subjects learned
to examine their
own thoughts and
sensations to see
how they responded
to stimuli.
OBSERVATION
16 INTROSPECTION
THREE ELEMENTS
Continuing Wundt’s experimental work on introspection
(see opposite), Edward B. Titchener tried to explain how the
mind produces conscious experience. In a theory known as
“structuralism”, he identified three elements of consciousness:
sensations, images, and feelings. He argued that these elements
are the building blocks of three states of experience: sensations
form our perceptions, or “discernments”; images form our
thoughts; and feelings form our emotions. Working together,
they form the structure of conscious experience.
U S E X PE R
S C IO IEN
C ON CE
TS E
N
M
E
NM
OT
ION
DISC ER
TH O U G HT S
Sensations Feelings
Our perceptions are Our emotions are
made up of sensations, composed of simpler
such as sights, sounds, feelings and reactions.
and tastes.
Images
Our thoughts are
patchworks of simple
mental images.
STRUCTURALISM 17
ar t s s
a n d p l e m e nt
l e l e
W ho vidua
nify
h e in di c t si g e
T o b je y ar
n he s
o f a u n ti l t s p a r t l e .
a
il ttle stood ul who
un d
er in gf
m ean
of a
STU
DY I
OLE
ho
ts w
NG
g is
W H f p
olo
sych rceptio
n
THE
o e
oup of p alt,
r y , a gr heory rd Gest eir
t h
entu list wo be t
0 th c ructura erman descri atural
2 st G es,
e
In th ed the e d the nce”, to ave a n l whol m
ct opt r “esse t we h aningfu gs fro
reje .17) ad o a e in
p rm” d th sm f th gs
(see ing “fo y argue hings a aning o ive thin
n e tt e e s
mea ach. Th terpre t the m e perc a way a le
r o in o u at w us ho
app ncy to rking and th s obvio as aw
e o e .
tend r than w l parts, em in a triangl ht lines
h e u a th a ig
rat individ reting see ee stra
ir rp l e, we hr
th e
ly , in t e
xa m p
on of t
k e ct i
quic le. For colle
ss ib s a
po ot a
a p e, n
sh
18 GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY
Hermann Ebbinghaus performed
an experiment to test the nature of
memory. He familiarized himself with
a list of meaningless syllables, such
as VUT and LEF, and then periodically
tested himself to see how many he could
remember. He plotted his results on
a graph that is now known as the
“forgetting curve”. The graph showed
that, without re-reading the original list,
he forgot half of the syllables in a matter
of days, after which he forgot most of
the others at a slower rate. Ebbinghaus
demonstrated that we quickly forget
learned information, and that, to retain
it, we need to return to it daily.
TH
”Mental events...
EF
a subject.“
Hermann Ebbinghaus
GE
TT
IN
C
G
U
RV
E
LEARNED INFORMATION 19
Stream of consciousness For James, the
Previous thinkers believed that
FUTURE PLANS
function of the stream
consciousness is composed of of consciousness is to
different things; James compared enable us to adapt
it to a stream in which all of the to our environment:
for example, by making
mind’s processes are contained.
plans for the future.
”My thinking
is first and
last and always
for the sake
of my doing.“
William James
20 FUNCTIONALISM
An environmental The mind is Subsequently,
PHYSIOLOGICAL
REACTION
AWARENESS OF
REACTION
EXPERIENCE OF
EMOTION
stimulus, such as a directly aware the mind also feels
loud noise, triggers of the body’s the response to
a physical response, response to the stimulus as an
such as an increase the stimulus. emotion: fear.
in heart rate.
FEAR
EXTERNAL
STIMULUS
ID
UNCONSCIOUS MIND
Freud believed that
our unconscious minds
store suppressed
memories and instincts.
Freud’s
structural model
According to Freud, the
superego is the moral centre of
the personality: it wants us to
do the right thing. The ego is the
seat of reason: it negotiates with
the id and the superego. The id
is the realm of pure instinct: it
wants immediate gratification.
22 PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
DISSECTING THE MIND
In the early 20th century, Sigmund Freud proposed that each
person’s mind has three levels of consciousness: the conscious,
the preconscious, and the unconscious. He also identified three
aspects of personality: the superego, the ego, and the id. Freud
suggested that the superego and the ego both have conscious,
preconscious, and unconscious elements, but that the id is
entirely unconscious. He claimed that psychological problems
arise as a result of conflict between a person’s conscious mind
and their unconscious beliefs and desires (see p.24).
THANATOS
DEATH
DRIVE
EROS
LIFE DRIVE
Primitive drives
In Freud’s view, the id is the primitive, instinctive
core of the personality. Entirely unconscious, it is
composed of all of our biological drives, which
direct us to meet our basic needs. These drives
include our sexual and aggressive instincts, which
he called “Eros” (the life drive) and “Thanatos”
(the death drive) respectively.
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY 23
I G HT
IN S
GAINING INSIGHT
The goal of
psychoanalysis is
to bring suppressed
memories into the
conscious mind. This
enables the patient to
face these memories
and see them in a
new light. CONSCIOUS
PRECONSCIOUS
BRINGING UP
THE PAST
UNCONSCIOUS
Sigmund Freud (see
pp.22–23) proposed that
psychological problems arise
when an individual has a traumatic
experience, usually early in life, and
then “suppresses” the memory of what
happened. He argued that such memories
remain active in the unconscious mind, causing
the person to suffer a range of ailments, including
anxiety and depression. In Freud’s view, they could
alleviate these ailments by undergoing a process that he
called “psychoanalysis”, in which an “analyst” (therapist)
encourages them to talk about whatever comes to mind. He
claimed that this method, known as free association (see p.128),
enables patients to access and face their suppressed memories,
thoughts, feelings, and dreams.
24 PSYCHOANALYSIS
SHIELDING THE EGO
In the 1930s, Anna Freud, the daughter of Sigmund Freud (see
pp.22–24), explored the ways in which our unconscious minds
manipulate reality in order to protect us from traumatic events
and circumstances. She identified a wide range of such “defence
mechanisms”, including repression (the burying of painful
memories) and rationalization (the justification of unacceptable
thoughts and behaviours). She attributed these mechanisms to
the ego, which, she argued, defends us from both the drives of
the id and the demands of the superego (see pp.22–23).
EGO
SUPEREGO
ID
DEFENCE MECHANISMS 25
IMAGINED SELF
A person with an inferiority
complex may overcompensate
for their feelings of inferiority
by self-aggrandizing or
striving to excel over others.
”A lie would
have no sense
unless the
truth were felt
dangerous.“
Alfred Adler
26 INFERIORITY COMPLEX
Hermann Rorschach designed a test that he believed could help
to diagnose psychological disorders. Under controlled conditions,
he showed a series of 10 abstract inkblot pictures to each of his
patients, and asked them to describe what they saw. Paying close
attention to how they reacted to each picture, Rorschach noticed
that patients with similar personalities or disorders reacted in
similar ways. Where some saw an angry face, for example, others
saw a pair of playful bears. Today, some psychologists still use this
test to help them to assess an individual’s personality type.
T D O YO U
A S
H
EE
W
Projecting meaning
The Rorschach test relies on our tendency to project
meaning onto abstract patterns. Many people see a
downward-facing monster in this inkblot. Other
interpretations include animal hide or a skin rug.
RORSCHACH TESTS 27
Sigmund Freud (see pp.22–24) argued that we each have an
unconscious mind that forms symbolic representations of
our conscious experiences. Carl Jung, Freud’s student, proposed
that this personal unconscious is only one part of a collective
unconscious mind, which generates “archetypes” (primal imagery
common to all human beings). Jung claimed that such imagery can
be found not only in our dreams, but also in traditional myths,
religions, and fairy tales. Key archetypal images include those of
the “Wise Old Man”, the “Great Mother”, and the “Tree of Life”.
PE N S
NS AL
OU
CO
RS C IO
CO ON
CI
ON
UN ERS
AL S
P
EG
O
U
EG
OUTSIDE
WORLD
EGO
PERSONAL
T
UNCONSCIOUS
H D
E S I N
HARED M
EN
I
SEEK
IMAGINARY
ESS
SY
MB
AL
RE
OL
IC
REGISTER THEORY 29
DISCOVERING OTHERS
In the 1940s, Melanie Klein argued that very young children
do not experience “people” around them, but only “objects”
that either delight or frustrate them. A mother’s breast, for
example, is an object that causes relief, but also resentment
when it is taken away. Since an infant does not always get
what it wants, it can struggle to understand how the same
object can be both “good” and “bad”, and so repress its
negative feelings towards the bad. According to Klein,
healthy infants gradually learn that certain objects are
people, and that people are “ambivalent”: neither good nor
bad, but simply more complicated than they had thought.
“BAD” M
O
TH
ER
“G O
D
O
” M
OTHER
“UNHEALTHY” PERSON
“HEALTHY” PERSON
REAL SELF
DESPISED
SELF
SELF-REALIZATION 31
CO
ND
BEF IONI
IT
OR NG
E
G
NG
Learned
response
A dog can
CO
learn to salivate
ND
AF T ONIN
in response to a
ITI
ER
neutral stimulus,
CONDITIONED CONDITIONED such as the sound
G
STIMULUS RESPONSE
of a ringing bell.
PAVLOVIAN
RESPONSES
In the 1890s, Ivan Pavlov made a discovery
that became the basis of a theory known
as “classical conditioning”, which some
psychologists have since applied to humans (see
opposite). Before Pavlov, scientists believed that
animals respond to stimuli in an unconditioned
(instinctive) way – for example, that dogs only salivate
when they are presented with food. However, while
conducting an experiment, Pavlov discovered that dogs also
begin to salivate in response to sounds that they are
conditioned (taught) to associate with being fed. He showed
that animals learn by associating a stimulus with a learned response.
32 CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
G!
BA N
ING
ITI E
ON
R
C O B E FO
ND
UNCONDITIONED NEUTRAL
STIMULUS STIMULUS
ING
G!
ITI G
BA N
ON
N
CO DURI
ND
Misplaced
fear
An infant’s
ING
natural fear of
N D TE R
ON
loud noises can
ITI
AF
become wrongly
CONDITIONED CONDITIONED
associated with a
CO
STIMULUS PHOBIA
harmless object.
BEHAVIOURAL CONDITIONING 33
REPEAT WHEN SATISFIED
Edward Thorndike believed that animals, including humans, learn new
behaviours through a trial-and-error process of responding to their
immediate environments. In one experiment, he placed a cat in a box
from which the cat could only escape by pressing a lever. To motivate
the cat, he placed a fish outside the box. Initially, the cat only got
to the fish when it accidentally pushed the lever. However, it soon
learned that there was a connection between the lever and the box
opening, after which it pressed the lever to get out. Thorndike
concluded that animals repeat behaviour when it is followed by
pleasant consequences. He called this principle the “law of effect”.
PLEASANT CONSEQUENCE
was a connection between reward of the fish,
pressing the lever, the box the cat remembered
opening, and being free to the process of how
eat the fish. to reach it.
Favourable outcomes
Thorndike’s experiment showed that
animals repeat actions that lead to
favourable outcomes.
34 LAW OF EFFECT
STRENGTHENS BEHAVIOUR
REINFORCEMENT
POSITIVE NEGATIVE
ADDS SOMETHING TAKES SOMETHING AWAY
WEAKENS BEHAVIOUR
PUNISHMENT
SHAPING BEHAVIOUR
Building on the work of Edward Thorndike (see opposite),
B.F. Skinner argued that animals and humans repeat behaviours
that are reinforced by rewards, and cease behaviours that have
“punishing” outcomes. Reinforcement can be of two kinds:
the “positive” addition of something pleasing, or the “negative”
removal of something unpleasant. Likewise, punishment can be
the “positive” imposition of a penalty, or the “negative” removal
of something pleasant – both of which are designed to weaken
unfavourable behaviour.
OPERANT CONDITIONING 35
COGNITIVE MAPS
We often gain knowledge without realizing it, and only
notice what we have learned when a situation prompts us to
remember it. In the 1940s, Edward C. Tolman explored this
phenomenon, which psychologists call “latent learning”. Tolman
discovered that rats learn to negotiate complex environments,
including mazes, even when there is no incentive for them
to do so (a food reward, for example). He argued that rats
unconsciously form mental images, or “cognitive maps”, of
their surroundings, which they then use for navigation. He
suggested that the same is true of humans, and that many
of our learning processes are similarly unconscious.
36 LATENT LEARNING
IM U LUS
ST Behaviourism
Behavioural psychologists
focus their research on
SP O NSE how people behave,
RE
rather than how they
think, when they respond
to particular stimuli.
IM U LUS
ST
L PRO C
TA E
SS
MEN
ES
Cognitive SP O NSE
behaviourism RE
Cognitive behaviourists
include an intermediate
stage of mental activity
in their account of human
perception and learning.
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURISM 37
SELF-ACTUALIZATION
THE
HIERARCHY
ESTEEM
OF NEEDS
Abraham Maslow suggested that we
BELONGING
38 SELF-ACTUALIZATION
Unconditional support
Rogers believed that
therapists should offer their
client complete acceptance,
no matter what the client
says or does.
COMPLETE SUPPORT
AND ACCEPTANCE
Maslow’s idea that self-actualization is one of our five basic needs
(see opposite) was inspired by the work of his contemporary Carl
Rogers, who pioneered the humanistic approach to psychology
(see p.131). Rogers believed that people are fundamentally good,
and that we should accept ourselves unconditionally. As a therapist,
he offered his clients what he called “unconditional positive regard” –
that is, complete support and acceptance. By doing so, he hoped to
uproot a major cause of anxiety within individuals – namely, our belief
that we are only acceptable if we live up to certain expectations.
Unconditional
self-acceptance
Many people’s anxiety
is lifted when they
recognize that they are
acceptable for who
they truly are.
POS
T ITI
M EN VE
A GE EM
G
O
EN
TI
O
NS
HMENTS
R E L A TI O
LIS
NS
MP
HI
CO
PS
AC
M E A NI N G
40 POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
PERCEPTION
MEMORY
COOPERATION
LANGUAGE
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 41
This deepest part
of our brains prompts
us to satisfy our most
fundamental needs,
such as the need to
eat and to reproduce.
LIMBIC SYSTEM
CEREBRAL CORTEX
This outermost, folded
part of our brains plays a
key role in our “higher”
mental processes, such
as planning, imagining,
and making decisions.
Control systems
Our bodies are
NERVE NETWORK
controlled by two main
A system of nerves connects our systems: a network of
brains to the rest of our bodies
nerves, and an array
via our spinal columns. This
enables our brains to guide
of chemical messengers
and monitor our behaviour. called “hormones”.
42 BIOPSYCHOLOGY
Biopsychology combines the study of
anatomy (bodily structure), physiology (bodily
functions), and psychology. Biopsychologists study
how our brains and nervous systems influence the ways in which
we think, feel, and behave, and try to pinpoint how mental functions
are linked to particular parts of our brains. In doing so, they focus on
nerve cells, or “neurons”, which carry information from our senses
to our brains, and relay instructions from our brains to other parts
of our bodies. They also study how other chemicals,
called “hormones”, prime us to behave in
particular ways.
A L
G IC R
L O OU
I O V I
B HA
BE Hormones are
chemicals that travel
in our blood. They
control many of our
bodily functions,
including our emotional
reactions and our
ability to digest food.
HORMONE
BIOPSYCHOLOGY 43
growt h
and
dev e lo
pm e nt
Before the 1930s, most psychologists thought that we
learn by adjusting our behaviour in order to pursue rewards
or avoid punishment (see pp.32–35). However, in 1936,
Jean Piaget challenged this idea: he proposed that we
pass through four stages of development, and that the
way we learn is different in each stage (see p.47). A new
branch of psychology, known as developmental psychology,
emerged from his work. Its researchers focus on the ways
in which we change psychologically at different times in
our lives, and on the extent to which our learning is shaped
by genetic, environmental, or social factors.
M A FO R D O
HE G
SC
Original schema
A child’s first schema
for a dog might include
the idea that all dogs
are small and furry.
ACCOMMODATION ASSIMILATION
says “miaow” by
GS
or small – into an
AT
N
TS
O
D
SC DS R
H E M A FO R C H E M A FO
schema for cats. for dogs.
ORGANIZING IDEAS
Jean Piaget described a child’s mental development as an increase
in the number and complexity of “schemas”, the basic building
blocks of intelligence that help us to understand and interpret the
world. Schemas enable us to organize and categorize knowledge by
dividing it into units that relate to different aspects of the world,
such as actions, objects, or abstract concepts. They remain stored
in our minds, and we apply them when needed, which enables us
to sort through vast amounts of information quickly.
46 SCHEMAS
HOW CHILDREN THINK
Piaget (see opposite) also developed the theory that children move
through four different stages of cognitive development as they grow
up: the sensorimotor stage, the pre-operational stage, the operational
stage, and the formal operational stage. He proposed that children’s
minds are not just a smaller, though fully formed, version of an adult
mind, but that their intelligence develops through
these four stages. His work showed that there
are differences both in the kind of thinking
H2O
and the amount of thinking that children
perform at the different stages
of their development.
WATER
Formal
operational
Operational (12 years+)
(7–11 years) Adolescents gain the
Pre-operational Children begin to ability to think in the
(2–7 years) use logic, and learn abstract: that is, to
Sensorimotor As language more complex visualize things that
(birth–24 develops, children concepts such as they cannot see in
months) learn to use words “conservation” (the the real world (e.g.
Infants experience and pictures to idea that differently water molecules),
the world through represent concrete shaped cups can and use reasoning
movement and (real) objects or hold the same to understand them.
sensation, such as simple concepts, amount of liquid).
by grasping things such as “water”.
or sucking them.
Spotlight on pupils
Piaget argued that teachers can
support a child’s learning by creating
an environment that encourages
autonomy and independence.
TEAC HER
A NATURAL PROCESS
In the early 20th century, Jean Piaget argued that
children develop naturally, and learn independently by
encountering new experiences. He therefore proposed
a “child-centred” approach to education. His method
requires teachers to consider a child’s individual learning
style, abilities, requirements, and interests. Teachers then
make learning easier by fostering an environment of trust
and confidence, within which the child can actively
explore, participate, and experiment.
48 CHILD-CENTRED LEARNING
AD N
UL
T IO
CT
IN
A
ER
FL
NT
UE
LI
NC
Blooming together
CIA
E
SO
children learn through
social interaction,
guidance from adults,
and engagement with
culture and language.
C U LT U R E UAG E
L ANG
LEARNING TOGETHER
In the 1930s, Lev Vygotsky argued that children learn by
interacting with adults and peers, and that their cognitive
development is heavily influenced by both language and culture.
Unlike Jean Piaget (see opposite), Vygotsky believed that each
child has a set of potential abilities that can only be unlocked
by collaborating with others. He suggested that children learn
best in the “Zone of Proximal Development”: that is, when
they are working on tasks that they can only master with
guidance and support.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM 49
”Hope is both the
earliest and the most
indispensable virtue
inherent in the state
of being alive.”
Erik Erikson
50 PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
ATTAINING WISDOM
WISDOM A healthy adult
has successfully
passed through all
eight stages. They
Y feel secure and
IT DE
GR SPA unregretful.
INTE IR
C A RE
ST
V ITY AG
NAT
R ATI ION
G E NE
LOVE
ISO
LAT
M ACY ION
INTI
A supported
FIDELIT Y A teenager
who does not
teenager exploring RO navigate this stage
LE successfully will
independence CO
N F US I
develops a strong IT Y ON feel insecure and
IDENT confused.
sense of identity.
MPETENCE
CO
FINDING AN LACKING A
IDENTITY SENSE OF SELF
INF
E R I OR
TRY IT Y
I N DU S
PURPOSE
E
ATIV GUILT
I N IT I
WILL
SH
AM
E AN D
O MY DO U BT
AUTON
An infant
who trusts
HOPE A neglected
their caregiver infant becomes
becomes anxious and
happy and M I S TR struggles to
U ST
hopeful. TRU S T develop trust.
51
INSTINCTIVE
BEHAVIOUR
In the 1930s, zoologist Konrad Lorenz studied
“fixed-action patterns”, the instinctive behaviours
wired into the nervous systems of animals. During
experiments, he noticed that baby geese follow
the first living thing they see after hatching, even
a human. This is known as “imprinting”.
Lorenz also observed that a specific
stimulus can trigger a fixed-action
pattern: for instance, when he
placed an egg by a mother
goose’s nest, she always
completed the same routine to
retrieve it, even if he removed
the egg before she had finished.
Lorenz concluded that fixed-
action patterns are not learned,
but are genetically programmed.
This raises the question of how
many human behaviours, such An animal’s genes
are programmed so
as babies’ attachment to
INNATE TRIGGER
GENETICALLY
PROGRAMMED
Animals have complex,
species-specific instincts
and behaviours that are
hardwired into their
neural networks.
52 FIXED-ACTION PATTERNS
ADULT HITS TOY CHILD OBSERVES ADULT
COPYING OTHERS
In the 1960s, Albert Bandura questioned the behaviourist
theory that all learning is a result of direct experience and
reinforcement (see pp.32–35). Instead, he proposed a “social
learning theory”, arguing that people learn behaviours by
observing and copying others. In a well-known experiment,
he showed that children can learn to behave aggressively
through imitating adults. He argued that such learning can
also take place indirectly, raising fears that children may
learn from behaviour that they see on TV or online.
NE E DS NE E DS
C C
AR
AR
E
E
DO
IV S
G
ES E
E
NO
C ARE T GIVE C AR
54 ATTACHMENT THEORY
The “wire mother” Once it had fed, the
WIRE MOTHER
CLOTH MOTHER
provided food for the baby monkey quickly
baby monkey, but returned to its soft
nothing else. The baby “cloth mother”, which
monkey therefore provided it with comfort
failed to bond with her. and security.
LO
RT
N
GI F O
NG M
FO R CO
In the 1960s, many psychologists theorized that babies form
attachments to their mothers simply because they need to be
fed. Harry Harlow suspected that comfort and love were just as
important to an infant, and tested this theory using monkeys.
He separated several baby monkeys from their mothers and gave
them two surrogate mothers each: one that provided milk, but
was made of wire; and one that was made of terrycloth. The
babies spent most of their time with their “cloth mothers”, and
only briefly went to their “wire mothers” to feed. This proved
that infants have a strong need for comfort from their caregivers.
INFANT DEVELOPMENT 55
FEELING SECURE
Mary Ainsworth devised a way of ”Infants who
classifying the relationships between were... securely
children and their primary caregivers. attached to their
In an experiment known as the Strange mothers explored
Situation, Ainsworth left several actively.“
Mary Ainsworth
mother-and-child pairs in an unfamiliar
room, in which the child was free to
play. She then observed the child’s
Constant mothers
responses to various potentially
The researchers asked
stressful situations, including being each mother to behave
left alone for a couple of minutes, in the same way during
the test. Each one let
and seeing a stranger enter the
her child explore the
room. Based on how each child room, before leaving
reacted, Ainsworth defined three it alone for a brief
period of time.
kinds of child–caregiver attachment:
“secure”; “insecure ambivalent”;
and “insecure avoidant”.
RESPONSES TO ABUSE
Some people who are physically or sexually abused as children go
on to display disruptive or violent behaviour as adults. In 2002,
Avshalom Caspi presented evidence suggesting that the activity
levels of the “MAOA” gene can affect the way in which maltreated
children react to their experiences; this gene controls production
of monoamine oxidase A, an enzyme that breaks down some
neurotransmitters (see p.42). Caspi’s work suggests that genetics
may explain why not all victims of abuse go on to abuse others.
BLACK
COMBINING
THE ELEMENTS
BLACK HOUSE
Eventually, children put
words together to form
sentences. Chomsky claimed
that their LAD gives them
the ability to structure
sentences correctly.
BORN TO SPEAK
Language is incredibly complex, and yet most children master
its rules by the age of 8. In the 1960s, linguist Noam Chomsky
suggested that the human brain has a specialized “Language
Acquisition Device” (LAD): a mental faculty that enables infants
to understand the grammar and syntax of their native language
without formal training. This faculty contains what Chomsky called
a “universal grammar”, which all languages have in common. He
argued that when a child hears people speak, its LAD becomes
active, enabling it to respond appropriately.
58 LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
RIGHT OR WRONG?
In 1958, Lawrence Kohlberg proposed that humans pass through
three stages of moral development, each of which has two phases.
He argued that we move through these stages in a particular order,
and that moral development is linked to cognitive development.
In the first stage, we have what Kohlberg called “preconventional”
morals, which are shaped by our awareness of obedience and
punishment, and of individualism and exchange. In the second
stage, we embrace “conventional” morals, driven by our need
for good personal relationships and our awareness of the need for
social order. In the third, “postconventional” stage, we consider
more general moral issues, such as the existence of human rights.
INDIVIDUALISM
AND EXCHANGE
OBEDIENCE
AND PUNISHMENT
MORAL DEVELOPMENT 59
THE DOLL TESTS
Kenneth and Mamie Clark were
a married couple who studied children’s
attitudes towards race. During the
1940s, they conducted experiments in Most of the children
DOLL WITH
WHITE SKIN
the USA, in which they asked African associated the white doll
with being “nice” and
American children to choose between “good”, expressing a
two dolls that were identical, aside from clear preference for it.
BROWN SKIN
59 per cent of
DOLL WITH
the children said
”To separate that the brown doll
“looks bad”, revealing
them from internalized racism.
others of similar
age and
qualifications
solely because
of their race
generates a
feeling of
inferiority.“
Chief Justice
Earl Warren AFRICAN AMERICAN
CHILD
REDUCING PREJUDICE
In 1971, Elliot Aronson was asked to advise desegregated schools
on how to counter the fighting, discrimination, and hate crimes that
had become endemic. Aronson developed the “Jigsaw Classroom”,
a teaching technique designed to reduce racial prejudice and facilitate
learning. Teachers divided the classroom into diversified groups, and
broke up assignments into pieces that the group had to assemble like
a jigsaw puzzle. This made students rely on each other to complete
their task, and reduced instances of prejudice and stereotyping.
Cooperation
Aronson designed the
Jigsaw Classroom to
create a cooperative
environment. This enabled
students to meet their
team goals by working
together as a group.
JIGSAW CLASSROOMS 61
EXPLORING ETHNICITY
In the 1980s, Jean Phinney investigated the process by
which young people from minority ethnic groups come to
understand their racial and cultural identities. She proposed
that individuals undergo three stages of development: the
“unexamined ethnic identity” stage; the “ethnic identity
search/moratorium” stage (in which they examine their
cultural heritage); and the “ethnic identity achievement”
stage (in which they understand and accept their identities).
More recently, researchers have formed the “Ethnic and
Racial Identity in the 21st Century Study Group”, which
reviews and builds on the work of Phinney and others.
BOY OR GIRL?
Traditionally, psychologists believed that hardwired, biological
differences between the brains of men and women determine
differences in their feelings and behaviour. However, research has
shown that although most people are born with either a male or
a female body, the cultural environment in which they grow up
has a greater impact on whether they develop stereotypically
“masculine” or “feminine” feelings or behaviours. For this reason,
most psychologists now distinguish between a person’s physical
sex (usually either male or female) and their gender (whether they
consider themselves to be a man, a woman, both, or neither).
GENDER DEVELOPMENT 63
E R
D
GE N
In the early
1970s, Eleanor Maccoby
observed that scientific studies
around sex and gender tended to
emphasize differences between females
and males, rather than similarities. Seeking to
challenge gender stereotypes, Maccoby explored
the biological, cognitive, and social factors that
contribute to sex differences. She found that
biological influences are not as important as
psychologists believed: parental, social,
and cultural influences have just as
ES
much impact.
YP
T
E O
R
STE
64 SEX DIFFERENCES
In the 1970s, Lorna Wing suggested that autism exists on
a spectrum (see p.110). Later, researchers questioned why
autism seems to occur more frequently in males. In 2002,
Simon Baron-Cohen theorized that exposure to testosterone
in the womb contributes to cognitive sex differences, and
that on average, the “female” brain is programmed to
empathize and the “male” brain to systemize. His “extreme
male brain” theory proposed that people with autism have more
“systemizing” brains (although he stressed that this does not
mean that they are “hyper-male” or incapable of empathy).
T KIN DS O
E N FB
F ER R
AI
F
DI
G SY
IN
N?
ST
IZ EM
TH
PA
IZ
EM
IN
G
”Brains come in
S PE
AUT RUM?
SOCIAL ANIMALS
In the early 20th century, John Dewey argued that human
beings are essentially social in nature, and that psychologists
should therefore study societies rather than individuals.
Following the naturalist Charles Darwin, Dewey proposed
that our minds, like our bodies, are a product of evolution,
and that we have evolved to cooperate with each other.
Overturning centuries of thinking, Dewey argued further
that our minds do not passively observe the world,
but actively engage with it, and adapt to our social
and cultural environments.
68 CULTURAL NATURALISM
THE LIFE SPACE
In the 1940s, Kurt Lewin argued that psychologists should study how
individuals interact with the world as they perceive it to be. Known
as field theory, his work analyses people in terms of their entire
physical, social, and psychological environment, which he called their
“life space”. Lewin compared this space to a field in which “psychical
forces”, including assumptions about the world, shape the way each
of us acts. For Lewin, human behaviour is the result of an active
interplay between a person and their environment, and so can only
be understood in particular, individual contexts.
SYCHOLOGICA
CE (P L FI
SPA E LD
L IFE )
Psychic
energy GOAL TO
ACHIEVE
RESISTING DRIVING
GOAL TO
AVOID
FORCE FORCE
BARRIER
BARRIER
IN
DIVIDUAL
Psychic tension
According to Lewin, our life spaces contain
tensions between what we want to achieve
and what we want to avoid, and we must
constantly try to overcome barriers to success.
FIELD THEORY 69
Overlapping categories
Researchers such as Sari van Anders
suggest that each person’s sexuality has
many interrelated aspects, including (but
not limited to) preferences about gender,
sex, and number of partners.
RESEARCHING SEXUALITY
In 1948, Alfred Kinsey produced one of the first psychological
studies of sexual orientation. While progressive at the time, it limited
sexuality to seven categories, including homosexual, heterosexual,
and bisexual. Today, the concept of sexual orientation has widened
to incorporate multiple expressions of sexuality, with a focus on
determining factors such as how a person self-identifies, as well as
their sexual attractions, behaviour, fantasies, and general lifestyle.
Some researchers no longer consider sexuality to be a rigid concept,
and instead suggest that it has many different dimensions, which
they are working to describe and explain.
Sexual continuum
Kinsey designed a seven-point scale that
placed sexuality on a continuum. He
proposed that sexual orientation was
fluid and changeable over time.
70 PSYCHOLOGY OF SEX
INTIMACY
FRIENDSHIP
E
RO AT
MA ON
LO NTI NI
VE C M PA V E
L O
CO
CONSUMMATE
LOVE
IN
E
OV
FA
TU
YL
NT
AT
PT
IO
EM
PA
E
N
ITM
FATUOUS
S
LOVE
S IO
MM
N
CO
TARGET LINE A
MAJORITY RULES
In 1951, Solomon Asch conducted a series of experiments that
demonstrated that people can be influenced by the behaviour of
others. He placed individual volunteers in groups of actors, who
knew the real aim of the experiment but pretended to be fellow
volunteers. Each group was then presented with a card on which
lines of various lengths had been drawn. When they were asked
which of the lines was the same length as a “target line”, the
actors identified the incorrect line. Although the true volunteers
knew that their fellow “volunteers” were mistaken, the majority
of them chose to agree with the wrong answer.
72 SOCIAL CONFORMITY
AUTHORITY FIGURES
In the 1960s, Stanley Milgram performed an experiment in
which a group of researchers persuaded numerous individual
volunteers to question a test subject and to punish him with
increasingly severe electric shocks if he failed to respond
correctly. Although they were reluctant to do so, more than
half of the volunteers delivered the electric shocks. In reality,
the electric shocks were faked, and the subject receiving
them was an actor. However, the experiment showed that,
in certain circumstances, people can easily be persuaded to
act against their own consciences. Milgram believed that we
are all primed from an early age to obey authority figures.
OBEDIENCE 73
THE PERCEPTION
OF POWER
In 1971, Philip Zimbardo set out to understand how we behave
when we believe that we have power over others. He recruited
volunteers to take part in an experiment that simulated a prison
setting, and assigned each one a role as either a prison guard or a
prisoner. Despite knowing that they were part of an experiment,
the participants took their roles seriously, and their behaviour
underwent intense changes: for example, the guards showed
uncharacteristic amounts of aggression. The experiment was
terminated early due to concerns about the wellbeing of the
prisoners, who quickly showed signs of emotional distress.
Guards
All the guards took their roles
very seriously. They threatened
the prisoners physically and
insisted that they perform menial
tasks, such as scrubbing the
toilets with their hands.
Prisoners
Some of the prisoners fixated on
abiding by the prison rules, even
to the point of turning against
their fellow prisoners. Others
rebelled by barricading
themselves inside their cells.
“Crazy” Not-so-crazy
When a person behaves in an A person’s unusual behaviour
unusual way, others might may not appear so “crazy”,
assume that there is something however, when seen within the
wrong with their personality. social context that gives rise to it.
Conflict
When a goal is in limited supply,
so that only one side can win, the
two groups come into conflict.
Cooperation
When achieving a common goal
requires collaboration, the two
groups put conflict aside.
EMERGENCY
AVOIDING RESPONSIBILITY
First proposed in 1964, the “bystander effect” is a theory that
suggests that an individual who is part of a group of bystanders is
less likely than a lone individual to help a stranger in an emergency.
In 1968, John Darley and Bibb Latané argued that this occurs
because people are afraid of being embarrassed if they misread a
situation, and because they assume that other people are better
qualified to help than they are. Darley and Latané called this
phenomenon “diffusion of responsibility”.
Single bystander
Lone individuals are more likely
to help in an emergency. They
feel an increased sense of
personal responsibility.
EMERGENCY
INITIAL EXPOSURE
Zajonc showed
participants a series
of objects, one of
which appeared
multiple times.
78 MERE-EXPOSURE EFFECT
“Bad things happen “Good things happen
to bad people” to good people”
According to just-world theory, if a Likewise, according to the same
person is suffering they must have theory, if a person enjoys a happy
done something to deserve it. life, they must be a good person.
”Prejudgments
become prejudices
only if they are
not reversible
when exposed to
new knowledge.“
Negative stereotype Gordon Allport
Allport described prejudice as a
hostile attitude held towards an
individual solely because they belong
to a group that we perceive negatively.
80 PREJUDICE
MEASURING
OPINIONS
Devised by Janet T. Spence and Robert L. Helmreich
in 1972, the Attitudes Towards Women Scale is a
questionnaire that consists of a series of statements
about the societal roles and rights of women,
compared to men. The statements address topics
such as vocation, freedom and independence,
education, etiquette, sexual behaviour, and
relationships. Respondents indicate how far
they agree or disagree, and researchers score
each answer on a scale ranging from “strongly
conservative” (traditional) to “egalitarian” (liberal
or pro-feminist). Research with the scale has shown
that attitudes have become less conservative since
it was devised, with women typically holding more
egalitarian views than men. Researchers have since
TRADITIONAL
X MODEL Y MODEL
82 ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
STUDYING
ORGANIZATIONS
Organizational psychologists study the behaviour of organizations
as a whole, as well as the behaviour of people within them. They
identify principles that govern the behaviour of workers, as groups
and individuals, and use this to solve problems in the workplace.
This may include making changes to an organization’s culture so
that employees can work more effectively, or helping managers
to recruit and retain staff. Observing and modifying the behaviour,
dynamics, and systems of an organization are important ways
to ensure that it functions at its best. Psychologists use many
theories to help with this process, three of which are shown here.
ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 83
MartÍn-BarÓ argued
PSYCHOLOGY
that psychologists
can help to remove
some of the barriers
that are created by OPPRESSION
social injustice. According to Martín-
Baró, people who have
been marginalized in
society will often be
constrained by social
and political factors.
SOCIOPOLITICAL
CONTEXT
EXAMINING
OPPRESSION
In the 1980s, Ignacio Martín-Baró declared that
psychology is often too Eurocentric in its approach,
research, and theories. Liberation psychology, his
solution to this problem, aims to amplify the voices and
experiences of people who are marginalized by society.
His research incorporated the experiences of those
oppressed through poverty, corruption, violence, or social
injustices. Martín-Baró challenged psychologists to
address social injustice, and believed that psychology
is the key to changing policies that affect people who
might be powerless to advocate for themselves.
84 LIBERATION PSYCHOLOGY
FREE TO CHOOSE
In 1998, William Glasser developed choice theory. This
states that we are free to choose how to behave, even if we
are not aware of it, and that we are not able to control other
people’s behaviour – only our own. Glasser argued that we
are genetically driven to meet five basic needs (see below),
but that we can actively choose how to behave in order to
ensure that those needs are met. He considered love to be
the most vital of the five needs, believing that we must
connect with people in order to fulfil all of our other needs.
NEEDS
According to Glasser, we
CHOICE OF
BEHAVIOUR
FREEDOM
LOVE
SURVIVAL
FULFILMENT
Selecting (perhaps
unconsciously) the most
OF NEED
CHOICE THEORY 85
t h o u g
a n d
p r o c e
h t s
s s e s
In the second half of the 20th century, psychologists
began to abandon behaviourism (see pp.32–35) in favour
of cognitive psychology: a field of study based on the idea
that researchers can study cognition (what goes on in our
minds) directly, as opposed to via behaviour. It also assumes
that our minds are like information processors that run on
the hardware (or “wetware”) of our brains. Analysing the
mind in this way has led to new insights into many mental
processes – including memory, perception, attention,
decision-making, and problem-solving – and has even
shed light on what it means to be conscious.
SENSORY
INPUT
Self-awareness
A major aspect of consciousness,
self-awareness is effectively the
state of being aware that we
are aware of something.
THE
CONSCIOUS
MIND
The word “consciousness” has several meanings, ranging
from simply being awake to having a sense of “self”. Being
conscious includes being aware of our thoughts and feelings as
well as the external world of physical objects. However, since
consciousness is largely a subjective (personal) experience,
it is difficult to define in objective (factual) terms. For this
reason, scientists focus on trying to understand what causes
consciousness, rather than trying to define it.
88 CONSCIOUSNESS
PROCESSOR
GLOBAL
WORKSPACE
PROCESSOR SENSORY
INPUT
PROCESSOR
ELEMENT ELEMENT
CONSCIOUSNESS 89
PROCESSING
SENSATIONS
Our brains receive information about the world via our sensory
organs and nervous systems. We experience this information as
sensations, such as sights, sounds, and smells. However, before it can
be of use to us, all of this sensory information has to be identified,
organized, and interpreted, all of which is done unconsciously by
our brains. This process of gathering and structuring sensory
information is what psychologists call “perception”.
KNOWLEDGE,
MODELS, AND
EXPECTATIONS
that through experience we
build up a store of knowledge,
including models of the world
as we understand it, and how
we expect it to be.
OBJECT
Organizing information
Perception is the process by which
we make sense of the world. Our
brains use prior experience to help
them to identify and organize the
information gathered by our senses.
90 PERCEPTION
OBJECT
Bottom-up processing
In bottom-up processing, raw, This occurs when we experience
DATA-DRIVEN
uninterpreted information
something directly, without
is sent from our sensory
reference to any prior knowledge,
organs to our brains,
where it is processed, models, or expectations. It is a
and then interpreted. process of sensation rather
than interpretation.
OBJECT
Top-down processing
This type of processing occurs
SCHEMA-DRIVEN
PERCEPTION 91
Prototype matching Template matching
Our brains compare an object with Our brains identify an object by
a composite image, or “prototype”, comparing it to various “templates”:
which they have compiled based on memories of different examples
experiences of similar objects. of similar objects.
IDENTIFYING OBJECTS
When we see an object, our brains have to identify what it is.
They do so by comparing the object with images of other objects
that we have seen before, which are stored in our memories. This
process is known as “pattern recognition”. Psychologists currently
have four different theories to explain how it works (see above).
92 PATTERN RECOGNITION
ANGER FEAR DISGUST
BASIC FEELINGS
In the 1970s, Paul Ekman noticed that certain experiences
cause us to react involuntarily – such as to jump with fright,
to blush, or to cry. These are physical reactions, but they are
caused by emotional responses that are also involuntary.
Ekman argued that we have six such automatic, or “primary”,
emotions: anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, and
surprise. According to Ekman, each of these feelings produces
a distinctive expression on our faces. He theorized that these
expressions, which we all display, are not learned responses,
but are instinctive, and have evolved over millions of years.
PSYCHOLOGY OF EMOTIONS 93
MAGIC NUMBER SEVEN
In the late 1950s, psychologists shifted towards an approach
that viewed cognition as a kind of information processing system
(see opposite). One of the pioneers of the new “cognitive psychology”
was George Armitage Miller, who argued that short-term memory
has a finite capacity of about seven items. He referred to this as
“The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two” – a limitation
that creates a potential bottleneck, controlling what can be stored
and eventually transferred to long-term memory. Because of this
control mechanism, later psychologists widely referred to short-
term memory as “working memory”.
G
W
RK
IN
RK
O
KI
IN UN IN NK
GM
EC
H GM HU
EMOR
Y B E FO R E M O RY A F T E R C
94 INFORMATION PROCESSING
Processing
Our brains collect
input data from the
senses. They identify,
prioritize, and classify
this data, and analyse
it for meaning.
OUTPUT
information from the memory, and may use it
INPUT
A BIOLOGICAL COMPUTER
In the second half of the 20th century, advances in information
technology led researchers to describe the computer as a kind of
electronic brain. Similarly, some psychologists proposed that the
human brain is like a “biological computer”, or information processor.
This analogy is a way of describing how our brains process information
about the external world, and suggests that the distinction between
brain and mind is comparable to that between hardware and software.
It likens cognitive processes – such as decision-making, storing and
recalling memories, and perception – to computer systems.
SENSORY INPUT
limited capacity for
processing sensory
input. When they are
overloaded, they focus
our attention on what
is most relevant.
FILTERING
Broadbent proposed that in
order to cope with multiple
streams of sensory input,
we select one as the focus
of our attention, and filter ATTENUATION
out the others.
Treisman showed that we
register multiple streams of
information. These remain in
our short-term memory, but
we focus our attention on
one particular stream.
SHORT-TERM
MEMORY
FOCUSING ATTENTION
In the 1950s, Donald Broadbent observed that the human mind has
a limited ability to deal with all the information it receives from our
senses. He argued that our minds have a kind of filter, which focuses
our attention on one source of information, while filtering out any
others. An example of this selective attention is our ability to focus
on a single conversation at a noisy party, known as the “cocktail
party effect”. Anne Treisman built on this idea, proposing that our
brains do not fully filter out information that is outside the focus of
our attention, but rather “attenuate” it (reduce its significance).
96 ATTENTION THEORY
STRIVING FOR CONSISTENCY
Leon Festinger noticed that our beliefs can be so deeply
entrenched that they are unshakeable, even in the face of solid,
contradictory evidence. Furthermore, when there is conflict
between the facts and a firmly held belief, it creates an unsettling
feeling. Festinger named this state “cognitive dissonance”, and
claimed it can be eased by rejecting either the belief or the facts.
Alternatively, he argued, a person can try to live with dissonance,
but reduce their exposure to situations that reveal it.
A dissonant state
“Cognitive dissonance”
is the state of being
torn between a
firmly held belief
and factual evidence
that disproves it.
Conflict resolved
When a belief is
contradicted by facts, a
person can either justify
their belief, accept that it
is wrong, or minimize the
importance of the problem.
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE 97
KEY LIFE MOMENTS
We remember important,
surprising, or emotionally
FLASHBULB charged events as vivid and SEMANTIC
MEMORY detailed “flashbulb” moments. MEMORY
SC IO US
CO N
EXPLICIT
KNOWLEDGE
We store our
MEMORY recollections of
OF FACTS
“KNOWING THAT” facts, ideas, and
EPISODIC
concepts in our
MEMORY “semantic” memory.
IMPLICIT
MEMORY
“KNOWING HOW”
UN
In “episodic” memory, CO N SCIO US
EXPERIENCES
we associate our
OF EVENTS
personal experiences
of the past with PERFORMING TASKS
a particular time OR SKILLS
or place. When we store an
action in “procedural”
memory, we can
PROCEDURAL remember how to do it
MEMORY without consciously
thinking about it.
STORAGE STRUCTURE
While our short-term memory has only a limited capacity (see p.94),
our long-term memory can store large quantities of information
indefinitely. Our minds organize our long-term memories into
different categories: in explicit memory, we consciously store
and recollect information, while in implicit memory, we do so
unconsciously. Explicit memory is further divided into things that
we have experienced (episodic memory), and ideas and facts
that we have learned (semantic memory).
98 LONG-TERM MEMORY
REWRITING ORIGINAL
MEMORY
THE PAST
Our memories can be far from SUGGESTIBILITY
reliable. In the 1970s, Elizabeth
Loftus conducted research showing
that as well as forgetting details of
events in our past, we sometimes
recall things differently from the
way they actually happened, or
even “remember” things that did ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
not happen at all. She claimed that
we are susceptible to suggestion,
and our recollections can be
influenced by information – or
misinformation – that we gather
after an event: for example, her
studies showed that asking leading
MISINFORMATION
questions in court can affect
witness statements. Her work
also raised questions about the
reliability of memories recovered
after traumatic events.
MISATTRIBUTION
”Memory works... like
a Wikipedia page:
you can go in there FALSE
and change it, but so MEMORY
can other people.“
Elizabeth Loftus
FALSE MEMORY 99
MEMORY ORIGINAL
MEMORY
MALFUNCTION
In the 1990s, building on the work
of Elizabeth Loftus (see p.99), Daniel
Schacter set out to explain how
we recall information and how we
sometimes introduce inaccuracies
into what we remember. He likened
the failings of memory to the Seven
Deadly Sins, and identified seven Correct memory
When we store a
“sins” of memory. The first three,
memory correctly, we
which he called “sins of omission”, can completely and
occur when an individual cannot recall accurately recall the
original fact or event.
information. The others, which he
termed “sins of commission”, occur
when an individual recalls corrupted
or incorrect information. Although
Schacter referred to these events
as “sins”, he emphasized that they
are features of memory rather than
faults, and can serve a purpose in
enabling us to interpret the present
and imagine the future.
Misattribution
”Memory is not We may recall a
a simple replay.“ memory correctly,
Daniel Schacter but attribute that
memory to the
wrong source.
Fast: System 1
In System-1 thinking, the
brain reacts to a situation
S S M E NT
STIMULUS
automatically. It involves no
conscious thought processes,
SSE
T
AU
C
O
N
SC
IO
US
Slow: System 2
DEC I
102 HEURISTICS
S YS TE M 2
With its deliberate,
analytical approach,
System-2 thinking
avoids the biases
of System 1 and
slowly reaches a
fairer decision.
SITUATION
OBJECTIVE
SOLUTION
SYS TE M 1
Our brains instinctively
choose the simplest System-1 thinking
ASSESSMENT
SUBJECTIVE
path to make decisions. uses past experience,
System 1 is faster and rather than evaluating
easier than System 2, the present situation,
and we therefore use and produces a quick,
it most of the time. subjective decision.
JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS
Heuristics (see opposite), or “rules of thumb”, are a feature
of System-1 thinking. They are useful for making quick
decisions, but can lead to unjustified conclusions. In part, this
is because, by their nature, heuristics are often biased: that is,
they place undue importance on some pieces of information
rather than others. For example, we tend to value information
that comes to mind quickly, and to discount any additional
facts. We also tend to place greater emphasis on information
that confirms our existing beliefs.
SPIRITUAL EXERCISE
The practice of meditation is rooted in religious traditions, particularly
those of ancient India and China, and in the mid-20th century,
scientists began to study its benefits. In the 1970s Jon Kabat-Zinn
proposed that, even outside religious contexts, meditation helps
people to let go of obsessive thoughts and emotions, and to feel
less stressed. Some people use meditation to foster mindfulness:
a state in which we detach from our thoughts and feelings, and
simply observe them coming and going in our minds. Many people
find this state helpful in alleviating anxiety and depression.
During meditation
When we meditate,
we can practise freeing
ourselves from our
thoughts and emotions,
and examine them from
a detached viewpoint.
SENSE OF SENSE OF
SKILL TIMELESSNESS
BOREDOM
”Flow: a state
in which people
W
are so involved
O
FL
in an activity
SKILL LEVEL
FLOW 105
d i s o r
a n d
t h e r a
de r s
p i e s
Psychology and neuroscience developed side by side,
offering a greater understanding of the mind and the brain,
and a more nuanced view of mental health conditions. Early
psychologists abandoned the practice of diagnosing people
as either “sane” or “insane”, and instead began cataloguing
the symptoms associated with psychological problems,
eventually developing the modern system for classifying
psychological disorders (see pp.108–109). Some of these
problems can be treated medically, by specialist doctors
known as psychiatrists. Others can be treated by clinical
psychologists using a range of therapies (see pp.126–127).
DIAGNOSING DISORDERS
When diagnosing psychological disorders, psychologists and psychiatrists
rely on their clinical training and experience. They may also refer to
either the World Health Organization’s International Classification
of Disease (ICD-11) or the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which describe and
classify different disorders. Here is a selection of common classifications
according to the ICD-11.
SCHIZOPHRENIA
SCHIZOPHRENIA OR OTHER (see p.112)
PRIMARY PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS
Characterized by hallucinations, DELUSIONAL DISORDER
delusions, disorganized thinking, Having fixed beliefs about oneself and one’s
and unusual behaviour environment, both positive and negative,
that are untrue
BULIMIA NERVOSA
FEEDING OR EATING DISORDERS
(see p.122)
Changes in a person’s eating habits
that are detrimental to their health
BINGE EATING DISORDER
and wellbeing
(see p.122)
PICA
Eating substances that are not nutritious
MILD
(see pp.124–125)
PERSONALITY DISORDERS
Patterns of feelings and behaviours MODERATE
that are very different to those (see pp.124–125)
expected by society
SEVERE
(see pp.124–125)
AN ASD PROFILE
ASD impacts each person a person has quite
severe difficulty
differently: an individual
with their ability
may experience little N O D I F F I C U LT Y
to communicate,
or no difficulty in some but much less
areas, but serious difficulty with
COMMUNICATION
IN
TE S
R A OCI
CT AL
IO Y
N OR ION
NS PT
S E RC E
PE
SEVERE RE
DIFFICULTY B STR
EH I
AV C TE
IO D
UR
SKILLS
SENSORY
R
TO S
M O ILL
SK
HARD TO FOCUS
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be
characterized by a tendency for a person to focus intensely on
certain tasks, but to struggle to concentrate on less stimulating
activities, such as chores. A person with ADHD may have
difficulty making plans, interrupt conversations, or appear
careless or forgetful. They may also be impulsive or talkative,
and may need to move around or fidget in order to concentrate.
Based on current guidelines, whatever a person’s age, they have
to have shown symptoms in more than one setting (such as
at school and at home) before the age of 12 in order to be
diagnosed with ADHD.
HALLUCINATIONS
PARANOIA, DELUSIONS
THINKING
UNIDENTIFIED SMELLS
AND TASTES
FEELINGS OF BEING
A person with schizophrenia does CONTROLLED
WITHDRAWAL
TIREDNESS
112 SCHIZOPHRENIA
HIGHS AND LOWS
Bipolar disorder is characterized by fluctuations between
EXTREME
MANIA
HYPOMANIA
BALANCED MOOD
MILD DEPRESSION
DEPRESSION
114 DEPRESSION
DISTORTED REALITY
Some new parents may
experience symptoms
of depression, and some
may have thoughts of
harm coming to their
baby – or even of causing
it (although they never
would in reality). Such
thoughts are accompanied
by feelings of guilt
and shame.
PR
,
OD
EG
N O
A AN T H
N C Y, P A R E N H
D T
ME E AL
N TA L H
Many people experience mood changes (sometimes called
“baby blues”) during or after pregnancy. Perinatal mental
illness is different, however: changes are longer-term and
more severe. During pregnancy or up to a year after
birth, parents may experience various symptoms that
psychologists would associate with mental illness, including
depression (see opposite), severe anxiety, or panic attacks
(see p.116). Some may also develop obsessive-compulsive
symptoms (see p.118) or psychotic thinking (see p.108).
MENTAL SYMPTOMS
Anxiety can disrupt sleep
and impair concentration.
Panic attacks can make
a person feel that they
are dying, having a heart
attack, or “going insane”.
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
Anxiety can lead to muscle
tension, restlessness, or
fatigue, while panic attacks
involve shortness of breath,
an increased heart rate,
feelings of choking,
or discomfort in the
chest or stomach.
INTENSE FEAR
the thing triggers an
agoraphobia (fear of being in situations that exaggerated feeling
of fear or sense of
might be difficult to escape, such as crowded danger – leading to
spaces), or social phobia (fear of being extreme anxiety or
a panic attack.
in social situations), can have a more
disruptive effect on a person’s life,
because the person may avoid
people or particular places.
SOURCE OF PHOBIA
A person with
a phobia may
be unable to
avoid the thing
that they fear.
PHOBIAS 117
Obsessions are repetitive A person with OCD performs
OBSESSIONS
CREATE ANXIETY
COMPULSIONS
BRING RELIEF
and unwanted thoughts, compulsions in response
images, and/or urges that to an obsession. These can
cause significant distress include both physical and
and anxiety, but that a mental rituals, and the urge
person with OCD thinks to perform them becomes
they cannot prevent stronger the more they
from occurring. are repeated.
OBSESSIONS COMPULSIONS
ANXIETY RELIEF
DISTORTED
SELF-IMAGE
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)
causes a person to worry or obsess
about a feature of their body that
they perceive to be a flaw, but that
is invisible or barely noticeable
to others. The person may feel
that other people are judging
them on this feature, which may
cause them great distress, and lead
them to check it obsessively and
try to conceal it. Such repetitive
thoughts and behaviours can
become uncontrollable, and make
it difficult for the person to engage
in everyday activities.
”Trauma results
in a fundamental
reorganization of
the way mind and
brain manage
perceptions.“
Reliving a traumatic event Bessel van der Kolk
A reminder of the trauma triggers
a “fight-or-flight” response, which
can cause physical reactions
such as an accelerated heart
rate, sweating, or increased
muscle tension.
Host identity
The identity that a person feels to be their
core self is known as the “host identity”. The
host may be unaware that other “alters”
exist, even when another alter is in control.
FR
Y
A I
G
ME N T T
NTED IDE
When a person has to cope with extreme trauma that lasts for
an extended period of time, they may develop a condition
known as dissociative identity disorder (DID). This is a complex
form of dissociation (feeling detached from reality), in which the
person’s identity is divided into two or more different parts, or
“alters”. Alters might seem to be different genders or ages, have
distinct thoughts, feelings, and memories, or speak different
languages. Each alter may take control of the person’s thoughts
and behaviour intermittently. Disconnection between the alters
can result in blanks or gaps in memory, which can cause
significant distress and difficulties with daily life.
BINGE
Bulimia nervosa
This disorder involves a cycle
between eating large
amounts (binging), and then
emptying (purging) the PURGE
stomach in an attempt
to avoid weight gain.
U
PU
RE
M
/R
CO
EL
IE F
unable to stop repeating a particular
behaviour (such as using drugs, gambling,
drinking, or simply looking at their smartphone),
even though they know that it is harming them.
This is because physical changes in the person’s
brain prompt them to repeat the behaviour. If the
person is unable to overcome their addiction, they
may go to dangerous lengths to satisfy it. If they
manage to stop, they may relapse after a painful
period of withdrawal. However, rehabilitation
programmes and social support can help
individuals with a particular addiction
TE
T
IL
N
N
EE
/
G
D E T/
GR
RE
ST
RU
GG
LIN G
TO RESIST
ADDICTION 123
ivity
Negative af fect
tive
People with nega
rience a
af fectivity expe Detac h m e nt
gative A person
broad range of ne with deta
s, re ga rd les s of the may ten c h m e nt
emotion d to avo
id
re su lt, they interacti social
situation. As a ons (soc
str us tfu l, ha ve detachm ial
may be mi ent) or d
istance
se lf- es te em , and/or themselv
es from
low their ow
re to new emotion
limit their exposu s (emoti n
detachm onal
experiences. ent). This
them wit can leav
h few frie e
and redu nds ,
ce their
of experi range
e n ce .
RELATING DIFFERENTLY
PSYCHOANALYSIS
(see pp.24, 128)
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH
Focuses on a patient’s early years, and JUNGIAN THERAPY
on bringing unconscious dynamics (see p.129)
into conscious awareness
TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS
(see p.130)
MINDFULNESS
(see p.104)
MEDICATION
BIOTHERAPY APPROACH (see p.138)
Uses biological (physical) interventions
to change a person’s brain structure ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY (ECT)
or functioning Aims to treat severe mental illness by passing
low electrical currents through the brain
GESTALT THERAPY
(see p.132)
EXISTENTIAL THERAPY
(see p.133)
HYPNOTHERAPY
Places a person in a trance-like state, in which
their mind is more receptive to change
ARTS-BASED THERAPY
Promotes self-expression and mental wellbeing
through art and music
ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY
Uses the bond between humans and animals to
boost a person’s mood and self-esteem
Free association
The analyst encourages the client to speak
as openly as possible, without censoring
themselves. This enables their unconscious
thoughts and feelings to emerge.
Freudian slips
The client may pause unnecessarily or use
an inappropriate word. Such anomalies, known
as “Freudian slips”, may suggest that there
is a link between certain words and
unconscious thoughts.
TRUE SELF
CO
E R W O RLD
INN
L LE
A NI M
C TIV E U N C ON SCIO
CONSCIOUS UNCONSCIOUS
E R W O RLD
P ER S O N A
EGO EGO
SHADOW
A /A N I M U S
OUT
US
P P P P P P
A A A A A A
C C C C C C
Radiating support
The therapist creates
a safe and trusting
environment; listens to
the client with empathy
and acceptance; and
maintains a positive
and genuine attitude
towards them.
THERAPIST
CLIENT
PHONY
PHOBIC
outer layer indicates the second layer as one
fake and inauthentic where a person fears
way a person presents seeing who they really
themselves, concealing are, so they cover up
their true self. any vulnerabilities.
FREEDOM FREEDOM
ISOLATION ISOLATION
MORTALITY MORTALITY
BELIEF CONSEQUENCE
Before therapy
Being unable to control
irrational beliefs leads
to negative thinking,
emotional distress,
and possible problems
with behaviour.
ACTIVATING
EVENT
BELIEF
During therapy
A therapist helps to
identify the underlying
reasons for irrational
beliefs, leading the
client towards a
CONSEQUENCE healthier mindset.
THOUGHTS
POSITIVE
CHANGE
FEELINGS
C BT
CHANGING PATTERNS
Based on the work of Albert Ellis (see opposite) and Aaron Beck
in the 1960s, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) focuses on
changing patterns of thinking or behaviour that have a negative
impact on an individual’s wellbeing. CBT therapists help their
clients to see that it is their perception of an event that is causing
emotional problems, not the event itself. They encourage clients
to identify “cognitive distortions” (forms of negative thinking) or
negative behaviours, challenge them, and replace them with more
realistic and positive thoughts or behaviours. In turn, this can lead
to improvements in mood and physical symptoms.
GROUP DYNAMICS
Murray Bowen developed family systems therapy in the
1950s. He argued that every family is an emotional
unit, and believed that if one person in a family changes
emotionally, then that will influence emotional changes in
the others. In therapy, clients gain insight into current
and past family relationships using a chart called
a “genogram”, and learn how to establish good
communication, problem-solve, and set boundaries.
FACING TRAUMA
Devised by Francine Shapiro in the 1980s, eye movement
desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) aims to benefit people
who have experienced traumatic events. It involves a technique
called “bilateral stimulation”, in which the therapist moves a
finger back and forth while the client follows it with their eyes.
At the same time, the client briefly focuses on a traumatic
memory. The eye movements are thought to help the client’s
brain to “process” the trauma properly, enabling them to heal.
Focus on trauma
The client focuses on a traumatic
memory while moving their eyes.
This helps their brain to process the
trauma like an ordinary memory,
lessening its impact.
PRESCRIPTION
138 MEDICATION
The path of life
According to R.D. Laing, mental illnesses
are natural reactions to the difficulties that
people encounter on the “path of life”. He
argued that, under certain circumstances,
it is sane for people to behave “insanely”.
HEALTHY
STATE
LIFE’S DIFFICULTIES
Laing argued that
psychiatrists should give
their patients the time and
understanding that they
need in order to overcome
their difficulties.
NATURAL REACTIONS
The anti-psychiatry movement started in the 1960s, in opposition
to various psychiatric practices, including that of detaining people
in asylums. Its supporters also criticized the use of various forms of
brain surgery, which, they argued, damaged people for the sake
of making them docile. R.D. Laing, a key (though controversial)
figure in the movement, believed that most mental illnesses are
in fact natural reactions that people have in intolerably stressful
situations. He claimed that even severe symptoms, such as
psychosis (see p.108), are part of the process of moving past
difficult circumstances and towards a healthy state.
ANTI-PSYCHIATRY 139
i d e n t
a n d
d i f f e
i t y
r e n c e
In contrast to social psychologists (see pp.66–85),
researchers studying the psychology of difference set out
to identify and examine the specific characteristics that
distinguish us as individuals. Initially, their work focused
on intelligence, which is to some extent measurable (unlike,
for example, personality). However, as the field developed,
it became clear that there are many different kinds of
intelligence. Similarly, psychologists abandoned the practice
of classifying personalities as either “introverted” or
“extroverted”, and introduced a new system based on
a wider range of personality traits and characteristics.
CARDINAL TRAITS
These traits dominate
and tend to define an
individual, such as
being altruistic or
Machiavellian.
”Personality is
less a finished
product than
a transitive
process.“
Gordon Allport
HUMAN
CHARACTERISTICS
First developed by Gordon Allport in the 1930s, trait theory
suggests that personality is made up of specific characteristics,
or “traits”, which are a culmination of patterns of behaviour,
thoughts, and emotions. Traits are expressed to varying
degrees, but remain consistent over time, and trait theorists
focus on identifying and measuring them. Allport organized
these traits into a three-tiered hierarchy: cardinal traits,
central traits, and secondary traits. He argued that our
personalities are determined by genetics but can be influenced
by our environment, making them unique to each individual.
AGREEABLENESS
EXTROVERSION
NEUROTICISM
OPENNESS
Five continuums
Each core trait can be expressed
at any point along its continuum,
from the highest to the lowest
extreme, or (more usually)
somewhere in between.
Extroversion Introversion
According to Jung, Jung theorized that
extroverts direct their introverts direct their
energy towards the energy towards their own,
external world. They also internal world, and find
feel energized by being time alone less draining
around others. than socializing.
ENERGY SOURCES
Carl Jung (see p.28) was one of the pioneers of personality
psychology, and he questioned why different people have
different personality traits. Jung identified two main
personality types, “introvert” and “extrovert”, which he
defined in terms of what he called “psychic energy”.
He argued that introverts direct this energy inwards, and
so are more reflective in nature, and prefer to keep to
themselves. Conversely, he claimed that extroverts direct
their energy outwards, and so are more sociable, more
accommodating, and more willing to try new experiences.
OBJECTIVE
an examiner analyses designed to exclude any
a person’s responses to biased interpretation on
ambiguous words or images. the part of the examiner.
These may provide insights The person can usually
into their unconscious answer the questions
thoughts and feelings. privately, in writing.
PROJECTIVE OBJECTIVE
PERSONALITY PERSONALITY
TESTS TESTS
General intelligence
Cattell considered overall
intelligence and cognitive
ability to be the culmination of
both fluid and crystallized
intelligence.
to
,
is d t t
as
em
to new s to nce t eor y
ef i o o e d s ,
ell
s p e n r se
h
nt ical me a ne
le ire
bt
,a
ex
u
ur
ers at a inte al su
tu intell nt, sh w on
e
.
lve
tan llow llig
al
ble ow
i
EX T
E R N A L WO RLD
su genc ape i e.
u
m-
bt e a t to
n on
i
ic
he s t
CE
IN
E R N AL WO RLD
PR LLI G
LL Y TI C
pro s link omp
pro
EN
TE
o r he me e
AC
d
L
IG
y
sa
h
TI C N C E
IN NA
C
AL
A
E
TE
nd
s
ab
ce
i
Th
ilit
an
y
CREATIVE
t
INTELLIGENCE
IN T
Experiential subtheory
This suggests that creative intelligence involves
being skilled in coping with “novel” (new)
experiences, and in “automation” (completing
familiar tasks automatically).
THREE INTELLIGENCES
In 1985, Robert Sternberg provided an alternative theory of
intelligence to counter the Cattell–Horn theory (see opposite), which
was based on psychometric testing (see p.145). Sternberg believed
that intelligence is not defined solely by academic ability, but
also includes our capacity to be creative and to adapt to our
environment. He proposed that there are three types of intelligence:
practical, creative, and analytic. Known as the triarchic theory
of intelligence, Sternberg’s model relies on three “subtheories”,
each of which relates to one of the three types of intelligence.
In a picture test, a
STIMULUS
person is asked to
embellish a given
stimulus (a circle).
INCREASINGLY CREATIVE
DINNER PLATE
AFFILIATION
to control others, to work alongside
influence change, others, favouring
and gain status. collaboration.
DRIVING MOTIVATORS
Building on the work of Abraham Maslow (see p.38) in the 1960s,
David McClelland argued that people are motivated by three
needs: achievement, power, and affiliation. He believed that each
of these needs is present in all of us, irrespective of gender, race,
age, or culture. However, he also suggested that needs are
learned, and therefore that our dominant motivator depends on
our individual cultures and life experiences. In workplace settings,
managers sometimes use “need theory” to improve employees’
performance by understanding what motivates them.
I?
AM
O
H
W
c ial
s o an
t he hum is
”In e of here ng
gl , t ei
jun ence of b a
ist g t
e x e e l i n i t h o u i t y. “
f t
n o li ve w id e n
a of so n
n s e rik Erik
se E
NO COMMITMENT COMMITMENT
EXPLORATION
Moratorium Achievement
Many teenagers actively explore After encountering role models
identity options, without committing. and exploring their options, an
They encounter new role models, and adolescent or young adult is ready
query previously held and new beliefs. to commit to their chosen identity.
FINDING AN IDENTITY
In 1966, James Marcia theorized that role models provide adolescents
with examples of belief systems and ideologies. He proposed that
we go through four progressive stages of identity development as we
choose which beliefs to commit to (although not all adolescents go
through every stage). Progression to a new stage may be triggered
by a crisis, in which we re-evaluate our beliefs and goals.
psychologists have
traditionally been men
who had a particular
view about what women
require in order to be
psychologically healthy.
WOMAN
Weisstein argued
that, in psychology,
PROJECTION the traditional view
of women is a male
projection that has little
to do with how women
actually think and feel.
MALE BIAS
In the 1970s, Naomi Weisstein raised important questions
about how psychologists viewed women and their identities
at the time. Weisstein argued that psychologists failed
to acknowledge that a person’s identity is not simply
determined by their genes, but is also shaped by their
environment, which may or may not encourage them
to fulfil their true potential. She particularly challenged
the Freudian approach (see pp.22–29), which presented
women as being driven almost exclusively by the need
to get married and raise children.
Optimal Suboptimal
For Myers, the “optimal” state Myers proposed that the
of being is one in which we “suboptimal” state of being is
acknowledge that we are all one in which we see ourselves
connected – to each other, to and the world as a set of
nature, and to the divine. individual, unrelated parts.
CROSS-CULTURAL
APPROACH
This approach studies differences
and similarities across two
specific cultural groups, as well
as relationships between them.
156 INDEX
cognitive bias 103 defence mechanisms 25 environment 13, 45, 69,
cognitive development 54, delusions 108, 112, 113, 138 142, 152
59 Democritus 11 Erikson, Erik 50–51,
cognitive dissonance 97 depression 24, 94, 108, 113, 150
cognitive maps 36 114, 115, 138 Eros 23
cognitive psychology Descartes, René 10 ethnic identity development
86–105, 94 desires 12, 23 62
collective unconscious 28, detachment 124 eugenics 146
129 development, four stages of Eurocentrism 84
commission, sins of 100–101 45, 47 evolutionary psychology
commitment 71, 151 developmental psychology 41, 68, 93
compulsions 118, 123 7, 44–65 existential therapy 127,
computational theory of Dewey, John 68 133
mind 95 difference, psychology of 7, experience 9
concepts 47 140–55 and knowledge 90–91,
conditioning disability 150 103
behavioural 33 disgust 93 traumatic 24, 25
classical 32 disinhibition 124, 125 explicit memory 98
law of effect 34 disorders, psychological 7, extroversion 143, 144
operant 35 15, 106–39 eye movement
social 31 dissociality 124, 125 desensitization and
conflict 50, 76, 97 dissociative identity reprocessing (EMDR)
conformity 67 disorder (DID) 109, 121 127, 137
conscientiousness 143 dreams 24, 28, 128
conscious mind 22, 23, 24,
129
drives, primitive 23, 25
drug abuse 120, 123
F
consciousness 7, 87, 88–89 dualism 10, 11 facial expressions 93
elements of 17 fairness 79, 83
levels of 22–23 E familiarity 78
stream of 20 family systems therapy 127,
cooperation 41, 68, 76 eating disorders 109, 122, 136
creative intelligence/ Ebbinghaus, Hermann 19 fear 21, 93, 116, 117
thinking 147, 148 education femininity 63, 64
crystallized intelligence 146 child-centred learning 48 feminist psychology 152
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly Jigsaw Classrooms 61 Festinger, Leon 97
105 effect, law of 34 field theory 69
cultural naturalism 68 egalitarianism 81 fight-or-flight response 116,
culture 49, 62, 63, 68, 150, ego 22, 23, 25, 130 120
154–55 Ekman, Paul 93 fixed-action patterns 52
cyclothymia 113 Ellis, Albert 134, 135 flashbacks 120
emotionally unstable flow 95
D personality disorder fluid intelligence 146
(EUPD) 125 focus 96, 111
Darley, John 77 emotions 17, 94, 142, 143 forgetting 100–101
Darwin, Charles 20, 68 James–Lange theory of curve 19
decision-making 87, 95, emotion 21 free association 24, 128
102–103 psychology of 93 Freud, Anna 25
INDEX 157
Freud, Sigmund 12, 14, implicit memory 98 Lewin, Kurt 69, 8
22–24, 28 imprinting 52 liberation psychology 84
Freudian slips 128 incompleteness, sense of 29 life space 69
functionalism 20 inferiority complex 26 limbic system 42
information processing 89, Loftus, Elizabeth 99, 100
G 90–91, 94
injustice 79, 83
logic 47, 102, 146
Lorenz, Konrad 52
Galton, Francis 13 instinctive behaviour 52 love
gambling 123 integrated information choice theory 85
gender 64, 65, 70, 150 theory 89 triangular theory of 71
gender development 63 intelligence
generalized anxiety development of 47 M
disorder (GAD) 108, 116 theories of 141, 146–47
genetics 13, 45, 52, 57, 142 interconnectedness 153 McClelland, David 149
genograms 136 intimacy 71 Maccoby, Eleanor 64
Gestalt psychology 18 introspection 16, 17 McGregor, Douglas 82
Gestalt therapy 127, 132 introversion 144 Magical Number Seven 94
Glasser, William 85 management styles 82
global workspace theory 89 JKL mania 113, 138
goals 95, 150, 151 MAOA gene 57
Greenberg, Jerald 83 James, William 20, 21 Marcia, James 151
Jigsaw Classrooms 61 marginalization 84
H Jung, Carl 28, 129, 144 Martín-Baró, Ignacio 84
Jungian therapy 126, 129 masculinity 63, 64
hallucinations 112, 113, 138 “just-world” hypothesis Maslow, Abraham 38, 39,
happiness 41, 93 79 40, 149
Harlow, Harry 55 Kabat-Zinn, Jon 94 matter 11
Helmreich, Robert 81 Kahneman, Daniel 102 medication 126, 138
heredity 13 Kinsey, Alfred 70 meditation 104
heuristics 102, 103 Klein, Melanie 30 memory 19, 41, 87, 95
Hobbes, Thomas 11 knowledge false 99
hormones 42, 43 acquired 146 long-term 94, 98
Horn, John 146 and perception 90–91 pattern recognition 92
Horney, Karen 31 schemas 46 retrieving childhood 128
humanistic psychology 9, Kohlberg, Lawrence 59 Seven Deadly Sins of
127 Kraepelin, Emil 15 100–101
hysteria 14, 15 Lacan, Jacques 29 short-term 94, 96, 98
Laing, R.D. 139 suppressed 24, 25
I Lange, Carl 21 working 94
language 41, 49 mere-exposure effect 78
id 22, 23, 25 development 47, 58 Milgram, Stanley 73
identity Latané, Bibb 77 mind and body 10
dissociative identity latent learning 36 mindfulness 104, 126
disorder 121 learned behaviour 34, 53 misattribution 99, 100
ethnic and racial 62 learned information 19 mood disorders 108, 138
formation 51, 150 learned response 32 moral development 59
identity status theory 151 Lerner, Max 79 mothers 30, 54, 55, 56
158 INDEX
motivation 149 Pavlov, Ivan 32, 33
multicultural psychology perception 17, 18, 87, R
154–55 90–91, 95, 132, 135
Myers, Linda James 153 perinatal mental illness 115 race
myths 28 Perls, Fritz and Laura 132 and identity 150
person-centred therapy Jigsaw Classrooms 61
N 127, 131
persona 129
racial identity
development 62
natural selection 41 personality and self-esteem 60
nature and context 75 rational emotive behaviour
interconnectedness 153 disorders 109, 124–25 therapy (REBT) 126, 134
versus nurture 13 and identity 150 rationalization 25
needs OCEAN model 143 Raynor, Rosalie 33
choice theory 85 testing 27, 145 realistic conflict theory 76
hierarchy of 38 trait theory 141, 142 reality, aspects of human
need theory 149 type 27, 144 29
negative affectivity 124 Phinney, Jean 62 reason 12, 47
nervous system 7, 42–43 phobias 108, 117 register theory 29
neurons 42, 43 physicalism 11 reinforcement 35
neuroscience 107 Piaget, Jean 45, 46, 47, 48 relationships, family 136
neurosis, layers of 132 Plato 10, 12 religion 28, 150
neuroticism 143 positive psychology 40 repression 24, 25
neurotransmitters 42, 57, 138 post-traumatic stress responsibility
disorder (PTSD) 109, avoidance of 77
O 120, 138
power
for choices/actions 133
rituals 118
obedience 67, 73 as motivator 149 Rogers, Carl 39, 131
object relations theory 30 perception of 74 Rorschach, Hermann 27
obsessive compulsive practical intelligence 147 Rorschach tests 27, 145
disorder (OCD) 109, 115, preconscious mind 22, 23 rules of thumb 102, 103
118 preference 78
OCEAN model 143 pregnancy 115 S
omission, sins of 100–101 prejudice 67, 80
openness 143 racial 61 sadness 93
operant conditioning 35 problem-solving 87 Schacter, Daniel 100
oppression 84 psychoanalysis 24, 126, 128 schemas 46, 91
optimal psychology 153 psychoanalytic theory 9, schizophrenia 15, 108, 112,
organizational psychology 22–23 138
82–83 psychodynamic therapy scientific method 7, 9
others 30 126, 128 security, sense of 54, 55, 56
psychological development segregation, racial 60–61
P 50–51 self
psychology, nature of 7 sense of 51, 88, 150
panic disorders 108, 115, psychometric tests 145, 147 true 129
116, 117, 120 psychotic disorders 108, self-acceptance 134
passion 71 112–13, 115 self-actualization 38, 39
pattern recognition 92 punishment 35 self-awareness 88, 132, 133
INDEX 159
self-destructive behaviour Sternberg, Robert 71, 147 triarchic theory of
29, 120 stimuli 16, 21, 32, 33, 37, 52, intelligence 147
self-esteem 26, 60, 114, 78, 145 trust 51, 131
122 Strange Situation, the 56 Tversky, Amos 102
self-realization 31 stress 56, 109, 120, 136, 139
Seligman, Martin 40
sensations 17, 89
structuralism 17, 18
suggestibility 99, 101
UVW
processing 90–91 superego 22, 23, 25 unconditional positive
sensorimotor stage 47 surprise 93 regard 39, 131
sex symptoms, shared 15 unconscious, collective 28,
and autism 65 129
differences 64, 65
gender identity 63
T unconscious mind 22, 23,
24, 25, 128, 145
psychology of 70 talking therapies 126 Values 133, 150
sexual abuse 57 testosterone 65 van Anders, Sari 70
shadow 129 Thanatos 23 Vygotsky, Lev 49
Shapiro, Francine 137 therapies 126–39 Watson, John 33
Sherif, Muzafer 76 Thorndike, Edward 34, 35 weight issues 122
skills 95 thoughts 17, 142 Weisstein, Naomi 152
Skinner, B.F. 35 challenging thought Wing, Lorna 65
social conditioning 31 patterns 135 wisdom 50
social conformity 72 negative 94, 134, 135 women
social constructivism 49 Titchener, Edward 17 attitudes towards 81
social context 75 Tolman, Edward 36 feminist psychology 152
social injustice 84 top-down processing 91 pregnancy/childbirth 115,
social learning theory 53 Torrance, Ellis Paul 148 152
social phobia 117 Torrance Tests of Creative Wundt, Wilhelm 16, 17
social psychology 7, 66–85, Thinking (TTCT) 148
141 trait theory 142 Z
socioeconomic status 150 transactional analysis 126,
soul, tripartite 12 130 Zajonc, Robert 78
Spence, Janet T. 81 transference 128 Zimbardo, Philip 74
Stanford Prison experiment trauma 120, 121, 137
74 Treisman, Anne 96
stereotyping 61, 63, 64, 80 trial and error 34
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
DK would like to thank the following for their help for authenticity reading; Senior Jacket Designer
with this book: Phil Gamble, Daksheeta Pattni, Suhita Dharamjit; Senior DTP Designer
and Vanessa Hamilton for the illustrations; Harish Aggarwal; Senior Jackets Editorial
Alexandra Beeden for proofreading; Helen Peters Coordinator Priyanka Sharma.
for the index; Mind’s Lived Experience Leaders;
Bethan Crisp, Alex Farines, Lewis Fewtrell, All images © Dorling Kindersley
Julie Francis, Chloë Emily Fraser, Emma Harris, For further information see:
Dee Hudson, Amanda Joyce, Rebecca Myatt, www.dkimages.com
Claire Simpson, Debs Smith, and Phoebe Stewart
160 INDEX