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144-637: The term derives from the Latin optimum , meaning "best". To be optimistic, in the typical sense of the word, is to expect the best possible outcome from any given situation. This is usually referred to in psychology as dispositional optimism. It reflects a belief that future conditions will work out for the best. As a trait , it fosters resilience in the face of stress . Theories of optimism include dispositional models and models of explanatory style . Methods to measure optimism have been developed within both of these theoretical approaches, such as various forms of

288-538: A Black lens and dedicated her career to focusing on the anxiety of African American women. She founded the organization Rise Sally Rise which helps Black women cope with anxiety. She published her work Soothe Your Nerves: The Black Woman's Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety, Panic and Fear in 2003. In 2002 Dr. Teresa LaFromboise, former president of the Society of Indian Psychologists, received

432-402: A biologically potent stimulus (e.g., food that elicits salivation) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (e.g., a bell) over several learning trials, the neutral stimulus by itself can come to elicit the response the biologically potent stimulus elicits. Ivan Pavlov —known best for inducing dogs to salivate in the presence of a stimulus previously linked with food—became a leading figure in

576-569: A child should be recognized as their own person with their own right and have each session catered to the child's specific needs. She encouraged drawing, moving freely, and expressing themselves in any way. This helped build a strong therapeutic alliance with child patients, which allows psychologists to observe their normal behavior. She continued her research on the impact of children after family separation, children with socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and all stages of child development from infancy to adolescence. Functional periodicity ,

720-752: A close collaborator with Watson, examined biological manifestations of learning in the brain. Trait theory In psychology , trait theory (also called dispositional theory ) is an approach to the study of human personality . Trait theorists are primarily interested in the measurement of traits , which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought , and emotion . According to this perspective, traits are aspects of personality that are relatively stable over time, differ across individuals (e.g. some people are outgoing whereas others are not), are relatively consistent over situations, and influence behaviour. Traits are in contrast to states , which are more transitory dispositions. Some traits are something

864-533: A concept of "recognition" ( pinyin : jen-shih ) which referred to the interface between individual perceptions and the socially accepted worldview; failure to correspond with party doctrine was "incorrect recognition." Psychology education was centralized under the Chinese Academy of Sciences , supervised by the State Council . In 1951, the academy created a Psychology Research Office, which in 1956 became

1008-496: A consideration of the external factors outside of the self. As the focus becomes more relaxed (but still prominent as it is a main part of the theory) research expands. Both the EPQ and Big Five approaches extensively use self-report questionnaires. The factors are intended to be orthogonal (uncorrelated), though there are often small positive correlations between factors. The five factor model in particular has been criticized for losing

1152-628: A degree of liberalization during the Khrushchev Thaw . The topics of cybernetics, linguistics, and genetics became acceptable again. The new field of engineering psychology emerged. The field involved the study of the mental aspects of complex jobs (such as pilot and cosmonaut). Interdisciplinary studies became popular and scholars such as Georgy Shchedrovitsky developed systems theory approaches to human behavior. Twentieth-century Chinese psychology originally modeled itself on U.S. psychology, with translations from American authors like William James,

1296-454: A five-point scale from "Strongly disagree" to "Strongly agree" and four filler items. Half of the coded items are phrased optimistically, the other half in a pessimistic way. Compared with its previous iteration, LOT-R offers good internal consistency over time despite item overlaps, making the correlation between the LOT and LOT-R extremely high. The Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) is based on

1440-402: A good life. In his philosophical investigations, Socrates followed a model that did not merely focus on the intellect or reason but a balanced practice that also considered emotion as an important contributor to the richness of human experience. Distinct from a disposition to believe that things will work out, there is a philosophical idea that, perhaps in ways that may not be fully comprehended,

1584-609: A greater connection to physiology, emerged in South America, under the leadership of Horacio G. Piñero at the University of Buenos Aires . In Russia, too, researchers placed greater emphasis on the biological basis for psychology, beginning with Ivan Sechenov 's 1873 essay, "Who Is to Develop Psychology and How?" Sechenov advanced the idea of brain reflexes and aggressively promoted a deterministic view of human behavior. The Russian-Soviet physiologist Ivan Pavlov discovered in dogs

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1728-443: A healthy lifestyle. There is also the notion of " learned optimism " in positive psychology , which holds that joy is a talent that can be cultivated and can be achieved through specific actions such as challenging negative self talk or overcoming " learned helplessness ". However, criticism against positive psychology argues that it places too much importance on "upbeat thinking, while shunting challenging and difficult experiences to

1872-751: A hiatus for World War I, the Seventh Congress met in Oxford, with substantially greater participation from the war-victorious Anglo-Americans. In 1929, the Congress took place at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, attended by hundreds of members of the APA. Tokyo Imperial University led the way in bringing new psychology to the East. New ideas about psychology diffused from Japan into China. American psychology gained status upon

2016-435: A laboratory procedure meant to study attachment style by separating and uniting a child with their mother several different times under different circumstances. These field studies are also where she developed her attachment theory and the order of attachment styles , which was a landmark for developmental psychology . Because of her work, Ainsworth became one of the most cited psychologists of all time. Mamie Phipps Clark

2160-683: A learning process that was later termed " classical conditioning " and applied the process to human beings. One of the earliest psychology societies was La Société de Psychologie Physiologique in France, which lasted from 1885 to 1893. The first meeting of the International Congress of Psychology sponsored by the International Union of Psychological Science took place in Paris, in August 1889, amidst

2304-425: A motivation to learn, while perfectionists are highly motivated by a need to prove themselves worthy consistently. Two additional facets of optimalism have been described: product optimalism and process optimalism. The former is described as an outlook that seeks to realize the best possible result, while the latter seeks maximization of the chances of achieving the best possible result. Some sources also distinguish

2448-506: A new applied psychology organization called the International Congress of Psychotechnics Applied to Vocational Guidance, later called the International Congress of Psychotechnics and then the International Association of Applied Psychology . The IAAP is considered the oldest international psychology association. Today, at least 65 international groups deal with specialized aspects of psychology. In response to male predominance in

2592-494: A person either has or does not have. In other traits, such as extraversion vs. introversion , each person is judged to lie along a spectrum. Trait theory suggests that some natural behaviours may give someone an advantage in a position of leadership. There are two approaches to define traits: as internal causal properties or as purely descriptive summaries. The internal causal definition states that traits influence our behaviours, leading us to do things in line with that trait. On

2736-541: A person's behavior; their ruling passions/obsessions, such as a need for money, fame etc. By contrast, "central" traits such as honesty are characteristics found in some degree in every person – and finally "secondary" traits are those seen only in certain circumstances (such as particular likes or dislikes that a very close friend may know), which are included to provide a complete picture of human complexity. A wide variety of alternative theories and scales were later developed, including: Currently, two general approaches are

2880-502: A professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University and the co-founder of Psychological Review , was the first professor of psychology in the United States . The German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus , a researcher at the University of Berlin , was a 19th-century contributor to the field. He pioneered the experimental study of memory and developed quantitative models of learning and forgetting. In

3024-663: A psychologist and political activist has applied a black, feminist, and class lens to all her psychological studies. Aiding progressive and women's issues, she has been the executive director for many NGOs. In 2007 she became the Senior Director of the Women's Programs Office of the American Psychological Association. Therefore, she was one of the creators of the APA's "Women in Psychology Timeline" which features

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3168-511: A religion established by Russian-American philosopher Helena Blavatsky , drew inspiration from these doctrines during her time in British India . Psychology was of interest to Enlightenment thinkers in Europe. In Germany, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) applied his principles of calculus to the mind, arguing that mental activity took place on an indivisible continuum. He suggested that

3312-476: A result of a general well-being factor and family environment influences. Patients with high dispositional optimism appear to have stronger immune systems since optimism buffers against psychological stressors. Optimists appear to live longer. Explanatory style is distinct from dispositional theories of optimism. While related to life-orientation measures of optimism, attributional style theory suggests that dispositional optimism and pessimism are reflections of

3456-434: A sea change of opinion, away from mentalism and towards "behavioralism." In 1913, John B. Watson coined the term behaviorism for this school of thought. Watson's famous Little Albert experiment in 1920 was at first thought to demonstrate that repeated use of upsetting loud noises could instill phobias (aversions to other stimuli) in an infant human, although such a conclusion was likely an exaggeration. Karl Lashley ,

3600-636: A significant influence on psychology in China. Chancellor T'sai Yuan-p'ei introduced him at Peking University as a greater thinker than Confucius. Kuo Zing-yang who received a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley, became President of Zhejiang University and popularized behaviorism . After the Chinese Communist Party gained control of the country, the Stalinist Soviet Union became

3744-462: A similar vein, the three-factor approach theorizes that neuroticism is mediated by levels of arousal in the limbic system and that individual differences arise because of variable activation thresholds between people. Therefore, highly neurotic people when presented with minor stressors, will exceed this threshold, whereas people low in neuroticism will not exceed normal activation levels, even when presented with large stressors. By contrast, proponents of

3888-674: A time at Imperial University in Japan, with publications such as Clairvoyance and Thoughtography by Tomokichi Fukurai, but it was mostly shunned by 1913. As a discipline, psychology has long sought to fend off accusations that it is a "soft" science . Philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn 's 1962 critique implied psychology overall was in a pre-paradigm state, lacking agreement on the type of overarching theory found in mature hard sciences such as chemistry and physics. Because some areas of psychology rely on research methods such as self-reports in surveys and questionnaires, critics asserted that psychology

4032-450: A total of 100,000 individual members. At least 30 other international organizations represent psychologists in different regions. In some places, governments legally regulate who can provide psychological services or represent themselves as a "psychologist." The APA defines a psychologist as someone with a doctoral degree in psychology. Early practitioners of experimental psychology distinguished themselves from parapsychology , which in

4176-446: A wide range of topics related to mental processes and behavior. Typically the latter group of psychologists work in academic settings (e.g., universities, medical schools, or hospitals). Another group of psychologists is employed in industrial and organizational settings. Yet others are involved in work on human development , aging, sports , health, forensic science , education , and the media . The word psychology derives from

4320-512: Is a cross-disciplinary, holistic model that concerns the ways in which interrelationships of biological, psychological, and socio-environmental factors affect health and behavior. Evolutionary psychology approaches thought and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. This perspective suggests that psychological adaptations evolved to solve recurrent problems in human ancestral environments. Evolutionary psychologists attempt to find out how human psychological traits are evolved adaptations,

4464-408: Is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between the natural and social sciences . Biological psychologists seek an understanding of the emergent properties of brains, linking the discipline to neuroscience . As social scientists, psychologists aim to understand the behavior of individuals and groups. A professional practitioner or researcher involved in the discipline

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4608-476: Is an inverse function of the serotonergic system , but he later revised this, linking it instead to the dopaminergic system . After examining thousands of personality measures and numerous personality trait frameworks, researchers have created "super-frameworks" that aim to encapsulate all personality traits into a single model (e.g., Pan-Hierarchical Five Factor Model). These models also sometimes identify measures that can be used to measure traits/constructs in

4752-430: Is associated with sociability and positive affect , whereas neuroticism is associated with emotional instability and negative affect. Many lower-order factors, or facets , are similar between the two taxonomies. For instance, both approaches contain factors for sociability/gregariousness, for activity levels, and for assertiveness within the higher order factor extraversion. However, there are differences too. First,

4896-704: Is called a psychologist . Some psychologists can also be classified as behavioral or cognitive scientists . Some psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior . Others explore the physiological and neurobiological processes that underlie cognitive functions and behaviors. Psychologists are involved in research on perception , cognition , attention , emotion , intelligence , subjective experiences , motivation , brain functioning , and personality . Psychologists' interests extend to interpersonal relationships , psychological resilience , family resilience , and other areas within social psychology . They also consider

5040-564: Is important, and differs from the sum of its parts. Psychologists in Germany, Denmark, Austria, England, and the United States soon followed Wundt in setting up laboratories. G. Stanley Hall , an American who studied with Wundt, founded a psychology lab that became internationally influential. The lab was located at Johns Hopkins University . Hall, in turn, trained Yujiro Motora , who brought experimental psychology, emphasizing psychophysics, to

5184-528: Is no necessity to seeing optimalism realization as divinely instituted because it is a naturalistic theory in principle. Psychological optimalism, as defined by the positive psychologist Tal Ben-Shahar , means willingness to accept failure while remaining confident that success will follow, a positive attitude he contrasts with negative perfectionism . Perfectionism can be defined as a persistent compulsive drive toward unattainable goals and valuation based solely in terms of accomplishment. Perfectionists reject

5328-413: Is not an objective science. Skeptics have suggested that personality, thinking, and emotion cannot be directly measured and are often inferred from subjective self-reports, which may be problematic. Experimental psychologists have devised a variety of ways to indirectly measure these elusive phenomenological entities. Divisions still exist within the field, with some psychologists more oriented towards

5472-599: Is positively correlated with life satisfaction , happiness, and psychological and physical well-being, and negatively correlated with depression and anxiety. Seeking to explain the correlation, researchers find that optimists choose healthier lifestyles. For example, optimists smoke less, are more physically active, consume more fruit, vegetables, and whole-grain bread, and are more moderate in alcohol consumption. Research to date has demonstrated that optimists are less likely to have certain diseases or develop certain diseases over time. Research has not yet been able to demonstrate

5616-558: Is simply the lay-term for what researchers know as explanatory style. More commonly, it is found that explanatory style is distinct from dispositional optimism, so the two should not be used interchangeably as they are marginally correlated at best. More research is required to "bridge" or further differentiate these concepts. As with all psychological traits , differences in both dispositional optimism and pessimism and in attributional style are heritable . Both optimism and pessimism are strongly influenced by environmental factors , including

5760-506: Is that a large part of both human and lower-animal behavior is learned. A principle associated with behavioral research is that the mechanisms involved in learning apply to humans and non-human animals. Behavioral researchers have developed a treatment known as behavior modification , which is used to help individuals replace undesirable behaviors with desirable ones. Early behavioral researchers studied stimulus–response pairings, now known as classical conditioning . They demonstrated that when

5904-437: Is the opposite end of a single dimension with pessimism, with any distinction between them reflecting factors such as social desirability . Confirmatory modelling , however, supports a two-dimensional model and the two dimensions predict different outcomes . Genetic modelling confirms this independence, showing that pessimism and optimism are inherited as independent traits, with the typical correlation between them emerging as

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6048-422: Is towards the positive, it is not necessary always to succeed while striving towards goals. This basis in reality, prevents the optimalist from being overwhelmed in the face of failure. Optimalists accept failures and learn from them, encouraging further pursuit of achievement. Ben-Shahar believes that optimalists and perfectionists show distinct motives. Optimalists tend to have more intrinsic, inward desires, with

6192-519: The Gemeinschaft ." Psychologists were to provide Seelenführung [lit., soul guidance], the leadership of the mind, to integrate people into the new vision of a German community. Harald Schultz-Hencke melded psychology with the Nazi theory of biology and racial origins, criticizing psychoanalysis as a study of the weak and deformed. Johannes Heinrich Schultz , a German psychologist recognized for developing

6336-469: The Upanishads and other Vedic texts that formed the foundations of Hinduism was the distinction between a person's transient mundane self and their eternal, unchanging soul . Divergent Hindu doctrines and Buddhism have challenged this hierarchy of selves, but have all emphasized the importance of reaching higher awareness. Yoga encompasses a range of techniques used in pursuit of this goal. Theosophy ,

6480-519: The Ebers Papyrus mentioned depression and thought disorders. Historians note that Greek philosophers, including Thales , Plato , and Aristotle (especially in his De Anima treatise), addressed the workings of the mind. As early as the 4th century BC, the Greek physician Hippocrates theorized that mental disorders had physical rather than supernatural causes. In 387 BCE, Plato suggested that

6624-515: The Imperial University of Tokyo . Wundt's assistant, Hugo Münsterberg , taught psychology at Harvard to students such as Narendra Nath Sen Gupta —who, in 1905, founded a psychology department and laboratory at the University of Calcutta . Wundt's students Walter Dill Scott , Lightner Witmer , and James McKeen Cattell worked on developing tests of mental ability. Cattell, who also studied with eugenicist Francis Galton , went on to found

6768-575: The International Journal of Psychology . IAAP and IUPsyS agreed in 1976 each to hold a congress every four years, on a staggered basis. IUPsyS recognizes 66 national psychology associations and at least 15 others exist. The American Psychological Association is the oldest and largest. Its membership has increased from 5,000 in 1945 to 100,000 in the present day. The APA includes 54 divisions , which since 1960 have steadily proliferated to include more specialties. Some of these divisions, such as

6912-607: The Psychological Corporation . Witmer focused on the mental testing of children; Scott, on employee selection. Another student of Wundt, the Englishman Edward Titchener , created the psychology program at Cornell University and advanced " structuralist " psychology. The idea behind structuralism was to analyze and classify different aspects of the mind, primarily through the method of introspection . William James, John Dewey , and Harvey Carr advanced

7056-772: The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues and the American Psychology–Law Society , began as autonomous groups. The Interamerican Psychological Society , founded in 1951, aspires to promote psychology across the Western Hemisphere. It holds the Interamerican Congress of Psychology and had 1,000 members in year 2000. The European Federation of Professional Psychology Associations, founded in 1981, represents 30 national associations with

7200-582: The Weber–Fechner law . Fechner's 1860 Elements of Psychophysics challenged Kant's negative view with regard to conducting quantitative research on the mind. Fechner's achievement was to show that "mental processes could not only be given numerical magnitudes, but also that these could be measured by experimental methods." In Heidelberg, Hermann von Helmholtz conducted parallel research on sensory perception, and trained physiologist Wilhelm Wundt . Wundt, in turn, came to Leipzig University, where he established

7344-484: The best of all possible worlds ( le meilleur des mondes possibles ) , or that God created a physical universe that applies the laws of physics. The concept was also reflected in an aspect of Voltaire 's early philosophy, one that was based on Isaac Newton 's view that described a divinely ordered human condition. This philosophy would also later emerge in Alexander Pope 's Essay on Man . Leibniz proposed that it

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7488-580: The explanatory style model of optimism. Subjects read a list of six positive and negative events (e.g. " you have been looking for a job unsuccessfully for some time "), and are asked to record a possible cause for the event. They then rate whether this is internal or external, stable or changeable, and global or local to the event. There are several modified versions of the ASQ including the Expanded Attributional Style Questionnaire (EASQ),

7632-477: The limbic system in the brain as key components that mediate cortical arousal and emotional responses respectively. Eysenck advocates that extraverts have low levels of cortical arousal and introverts have high levels, leading extraverts to seek out more stimulation from socializing and being venturesome. Moreover, Eysenck surmised that there would be an optimal level of arousal, after which inhibition would occur and that this would be different for each person. In

7776-434: The societal norms and roles they are assigned. As she states in her article, "Variability as related to sex differences in achievement: A Critique", the largest problem women have is the social order that was built due to the assumption women have less interests and abilities than men. To further prove her point, she completed another experiment with infants who have not been influenced by the environment of social norms, like

7920-501: The 1870s, when in France Paul Broca traced production of speech to the left frontal gyrus, thereby also demonstrating hemispheric lateralization of brain function. Soon after, Carl Wernicke identified a related area necessary for the understanding of speech. The contemporary field of behavioral neuroscience focuses on the physical basis of behavior. Behaviorial neuroscientists use animal models, often relying on rats, to study

8064-618: The 1910s and 1920s, eugenics became a standard topic in psychology classes. In contrast to the US, in the UK psychology was met with antagonism by the scientific and medical establishments, and up until 1939, there were only six psychology chairs in universities in England. During World War II and the Cold War, the U.S. military and intelligence agencies established themselves as leading funders of psychology by way of

8208-469: The 1940s. These tests, called the doll tests , asked young children to choose between identical dolls whose only difference was race, and they found that the majority of the children preferred the white dolls and attributed positive traits to them. Repeated over and over again, these tests helped to determine the negative effects of racial discrimination and segregation on black children's self-image and development. In 1954, this research would help decide

8352-617: The 20th century further diversified the field of psychology, with women of color reaching new milestones. In 1962, Martha Bernal became the first Latina woman to get a Ph.D. in psychology. In 1969, Marigold Linton , the first Native American woman to get a Ph.D. in psychology, founded the National Indian Education Association . She was also a founding member of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science . In 1971, The Network of Indian Psychologists

8496-471: The APA's Distinguished Career Contribution to Research Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture Ethnicity, and Race for her research on suicide prevention . She was the first person to lead an intervention for Native American children and adolescents that utilized evidence-based suicide prevention. She has spent her career dedicated to aiding racial and ethnic minority youth cope with cultural adjustment and pressures. Dr. Shari Miles-Cohen,

8640-449: The Army's Project Camelot , the "Manhattan Project" of social science , an effort which enlisted psychologists and anthropologists to analyze the plans and policies of foreign countries for strategic purposes. In Germany after World War I, psychology held institutional power through the military, which was subsequently expanded along with the rest of the military during Nazi Germany . Under

8784-866: The Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations (CAVE), and the ASQ designed for testing the optimism of children. Optimism and health are correlated moderately. Optimism explains between 5–10% of the variation in the likelihood of developing some health conditions ( correlation coefficients between .20 and .30), notably including cardiovascular disease , stroke , and depression . The relationship between optimism and health has also been studied with regard to physical symptoms, coping strategies, and negative effects for those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis , asthma , and fibromyalgia . Among individuals with these diseases, optimists are not more likely than pessimists to report pain alleviation due to coping strategies, despite differences in psychological well-being between

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8928-507: The Greek word psyche , for spirit or soul . The latter part of the word psychology derives from -λογία -logia , which means "study" or "research". The word psychology was first used in the Renaissance. In its Latin form psychiologia , it was first employed by the Croatian humanist and Latinist Marko Marulić in his book Psichiologia de ratione animae humanae ( Psychology, on

9072-539: The Institute of Psychology. Because most leading psychologists were educated in the United States, the first concern of the academy was the re-education of these psychologists in the Soviet doctrines. Child psychology and pedagogy for the purpose of a nationally cohesive education remained a central goal of the discipline. Women in the early 1900s started to make key findings within the world of psychology. In 1923, Anna Freud ,

9216-628: The Life Orientation Test for the original dispositional definition of optimism and the Attributional Style Questionnaire designed to test optimism in terms of explanatory style. Variation in optimism between people is somewhat heritable and reflects biological trait systems to some degree. A person's optimism is also influenced by environmental factors , including family environment, and may be learnable. Optimism may also be related to health . Researchers operationalize

9360-734: The Nature of the Human Soul ) in the decade 1510–1520 The earliest known reference to the word psychology in English was by Steven Blankaart in 1694 in The Physical Dictionary . The dictionary refers to " Anatomy , which treats the Body, and Psychology, which treats of the Soul." Ψ ( psi ) , the first letter of the Greek word psyche from which the term psychology is derived, is commonly associated with

9504-464: The Prussian state established psychology as a mandatory discipline in its rapidly expanding and highly influential educational system . However, this discipline did not yet embrace experimentation. In England, early psychology involved phrenology and the response to social problems including alcoholism, violence, and the country's crowded "lunatic" asylums. Philosopher John Stuart Mill believed that

9648-609: The Rockefeller Foundation, Mitscherlich established the first clinical psychosomatic medicine division at Heidelberg University. In 1970, psychology was integrated into the required studies of medical students. After the Russian Revolution , the Bolsheviks promoted psychology as a way to engineer the "New Man" of socialism. Consequently, university psychology departments trained large numbers of students in psychology. At

9792-485: The Soviet Union and inspired followers to use his methods on humans. In the United States, Edward Lee Thorndike initiated " connectionist " studies by trapping animals in "puzzle boxes" and rewarding them for escaping. Thorndike wrote in 1911, "There can be no moral warrant for studying man's nature unless the study will enable us to control his acts." From 1910 to 1913 the American Psychological Association went through

9936-402: The Soviet Union. Stalinist purges took a heavy toll and instilled a climate of fear in the profession, as elsewhere in Soviet society. Following World War II, Jewish psychologists past and present, including Lev Vygotsky , A.R. Luria , and Aron Zalkind, were denounced; Ivan Pavlov (posthumously) and Stalin himself were celebrated as heroes of Soviet psychology. Soviet academics experienced

10080-587: The U.S.'s entry into World War I. A standing committee headed by Robert Yerkes administered mental tests (" Army Alpha " and " Army Beta ") to almost 1.8 million soldiers. Subsequently, the Rockefeller family , via the Social Science Research Council , began to provide funding for behavioral research. Rockefeller charities funded the National Committee on Mental Hygiene, which disseminated

10224-679: The World's Fair celebrating the centennial of the French Revolution. William James was one of three Americans among the 400 attendees. The American Psychological Association (APA) was founded soon after, in 1892. The International Congress continued to be held at different locations in Europe and with wide international participation. The Sixth Congress, held in Geneva in 1909, included presentations in Russian, Chinese, and Japanese, as well as Esperanto . After

10368-536: The ability to change an individual's level of optimism through psychological interventions , and thereby perhaps alter the course of disease or likelihood for development of disease. An article by Mayo Clinic argues that steps to change self-talk from negative to positive may shift individuals from a negative to a more positive/optimistic outlook. Strategies claimed to be of value include surrounding oneself with positive people, identifying areas of change, practicing positive self-talk, being open to humor, and following

10512-590: The accomplishments of women of color in psychology. She is well known for co-editing Eliminating Inequities for Women with Disabilities: An Agenda for Health and Wellness (published in 2016), her article published in the Women's Reproductive Health Journal about women of color's struggle with pregnancy and postpartum (Published in 2018), and co-authoring the "APA Handbook of the Psychology of Women" (published in 2019). In 1920, Édouard Claparède and Pierre Bovet created

10656-406: The adult male getting more opportunities than women. She found no difference between infants besides size. After this research proved the original hypothesis wrong, Hollingworth was able to show there is no difference between the physiological and psychological traits of men and women, and women are not impaired during menstruation . The first half of the 1900s was filled with new theories and it

10800-620: The application of biological principles to the study of physiological and genetic mechanisms underlying behavior in humans and other animals. The allied field of comparative psychology is the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals. A leading question in behavioral neuroscience has been whether and how mental functions are localized in the brain . From Phineas Gage to H.M. and Clive Wearing , individual people with mental deficits traceable to physical brain damage have inspired new discoveries in this area. Modern behavioral neuroscience could be said to originate in

10944-609: The armed forces and in the new Office of Strategic Services intelligence agency. University of Michigan psychologist Dorwin Cartwright reported that university researchers began large-scale propaganda research in 1939–1941. He observed that "the last few months of the war saw a social psychologist become chiefly responsible for determining the week-by-week-propaganda policy for the United States Government." Cartwright also wrote that psychologists had significant roles in managing

11088-427: The atrocities committed by the pre-revolutionary France against its people. As defined by Nicholas Rescher , philosophical optimalism holds that this universe exists because it is better than the alternatives. While this philosophy does not exclude the possibility of a deity , it also does not require one, and is compatible with atheism . Rescher explained that the concept can stand on its own feet, arguing that there

11232-541: The belief women are mentally and physically impaired during menstruation , impacted women's rights because employers were less likely to hire them due to the belief they would be incapable of working for 1 week a month. Leta Stetter Hollingworth wanted to prove this hypothesis and Edward L. Thorndike's theory, that women have lesser psychological and physical traits than men and were simply mediocre, incorrect. Hollingworth worked to prove differences were not from male genetic superiority, but from culture. She also included

11376-569: The brain advanced during the Qing dynasty with the work of Western-educated Fang Yizhi (1611–1671), Liu Zhi (1660–1730), and Wang Qingren (1768–1831). Wang Qingren emphasized the importance of the brain as the center of the nervous system, linked mental disorder with brain diseases, investigated the causes of dreams and insomnia , and advanced a theory of hemispheric lateralization in brain function. Influenced by Hinduism , Indian philosophy explored distinctions in types of awareness. A central idea of

11520-401: The brain is where mental processes take place, and in 335 BCE Aristotle suggested that it was the heart. In China, psychological understanding grew from the philosophical works of Laozi and Confucius , and later from the doctrines of Buddhism . This body of knowledge involves insights drawn from introspection and observation, as well as techniques for focused thinking and acting. It frames

11664-549: The completion of training, positions were made available for those students at schools, workplaces, cultural institutions, and in the military. The Russian state emphasized pedology and the study of child development. Lev Vygotsky became prominent in the field of child development. The Bolsheviks also promoted free love and embraced the doctrine of psychoanalysis as an antidote to sexual repression. Although pedology and intelligence testing fell out of favor in 1936, psychology maintained its privileged position as an instrument of

11808-413: The concept from optimism since it does not focus on how things are going well but on whether things are going as well as possible. Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior . Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both conscious and unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts , feelings , and motives . Psychology

11952-637: The concept of mental illness and lobbied for applying ideas from psychology to child rearing. Through the Bureau of Social Hygiene and later funding of Alfred Kinsey , Rockefeller foundations helped establish research on sexuality in the U.S. Under the influence of the Carnegie-funded Eugenics Record Office , the Draper-funded Pioneer Fund , and other institutions, the eugenics movement also influenced American psychology. In

12096-432: The concept of women's impairment during menstruation in her research. She recorded both women and men performances on tasks (cognitive, perceptual, and motor) for three months. No evidence was found of decreased performance due to a woman's menstrual cycle. She also challenged the belief intelligence is inherited and women here are intellectually inferior to men. She stated that women do not reach positions of power due to

12240-405: The daughter of Sigmund Freud , built on her father's work using different defense mechanisms (denial, repression, and suppression) to psychoanalyze children. She believed that once a child reached the latency period , child analysis could be used as a mode of therapy . She stated it is important focus on the child's environment, support their development, and prevent neurosis . She believed

12384-451: The difference between conscious and unconscious awareness is only a matter of degree. Christian Wolff identified psychology as its own science, writing Psychologia Empirica in 1732 and Psychologia Rationalis in 1734. Immanuel Kant advanced the idea of anthropology as a discipline, with psychology an important subdivision. Kant, however, explicitly rejected the idea of an experimental psychology , writing that "the empirical doctrine of

12528-658: The direction of Hermann Göring 's cousin Matthias Göring , the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute was renamed the Göring Institute. Freudian psychoanalysts were expelled and persecuted under the anti-Jewish policies of the Nazi Party , and all psychologists had to distance themselves from Freud and Adler , founders of psychoanalysis who were also Jewish. The Göring Institute was well-financed throughout

12672-575: The domestic economy. The Army rolled out its new General Classification Test to assess the ability of millions of soldiers. The Army also engaged in large-scale psychological research of troop morale and mental health . In the 1950s, the Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Foundation collaborated with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to fund research on psychological warfare . In 1965, public controversy called attention to

12816-403: The earliest forms of philosophical optimism was Socrates' theory of moral intellectualism, which formed part of his model of enlightenment through the process of self-improvement. According to the philosopher, it is possible to live a virtuous life by attaining moral perfection through philosophical self-examination. He maintained that knowledge of moral truth is necessary and sufficient for leading

12960-459: The early 20th century, Wolfgang Kohler , Max Wertheimer , and Kurt Koffka co-founded the school of Gestalt psychology of Fritz Perls . The approach of Gestalt psychology is based upon the idea that individuals experience things as unified wholes. Rather than reducing thoughts and behavior into smaller component elements, as in structuralism, the Gestaltists maintained that whole of experience

13104-591: The establishment of university psychology departments and journals, and the establishment of groups including the Chinese Association of Psychological Testing (1930) and the Chinese Psychological Society (1937). Chinese psychologists were encouraged to focus on education and language learning. Chinese psychologists were drawn to the idea that education would enable modernization. John Dewey, who lectured to Chinese audiences between 1919 and 1921, had

13248-449: The family environment. Optimism may be indirectly inherited as a reflection of underlying heritable traits such as intelligence , temperament , and alcoholism . Evidence from twin studies shows that the inherited component of the dispositional optimism is about 25 percent, making this trait a stable personality dimension and a predictor of life outcomes. Its genetic origin interacts with environmental influences and other risks, to determine

13392-403: The field of psychology. In 1890, William James defined psychology as "the science of mental life, both of its phenomena and their conditions." This definition enjoyed widespread currency for decades. However, this meaning was contested, notably by radical behaviorists such as John B. Watson , who in 1913 asserted that the discipline is a natural science , the theoretical goal of which "is

13536-702: The field, female psychologists in the U.S. formed the National Council of Women Psychologists in 1941. This organization became the International Council of Women Psychologists after World War II and the International Council of Psychologists in 1959. Several associations including the Association of Black Psychologists and the Asian American Psychological Association have arisen to promote the inclusion of non-European racial groups in

13680-415: The five-factor approach assume a role of genetics and environment but offer no explicit causal explanation. Given this emphasis on biology in the three-factor approach, it would be expected that the third trait, psychoticism, would have a similar explanation. However, the causal properties of this state are not well defined. Eysenck has suggested that psychoticism is related to testosterone levels and

13824-438: The global explanations do so for all types of events, and the styles correlate among each other. In addition, individuals vary in how optimistic their attributions are for good events and on how pessimistic their attributions are for bad events. Still, these two traits of optimism and pessimism are un-correlated. There is much debate about the relationship between explanatory style and optimism. Some researchers argue that optimism

13968-498: The human mind was open to scientific investigation, even if the science is in some ways inexact. Mill proposed a "mental chemistry " in which elementary thoughts could combine into ideas of greater complexity. Gustav Fechner began conducting psychophysics research in Leipzig in the 1830s. He articulated the principle that human perception of a stimulus varies logarithmically according to its intensity. The principle became known as

14112-660: The idea of functionalism , an expansive approach to psychology that underlined the Darwinian idea of a behavior's usefulness to the individual. In 1890, James wrote an influential book, The Principles of Psychology , which expanded on the structuralism. He memorably described " stream of consciousness ." James's ideas interested many American students in the emerging discipline. Dewey integrated psychology with societal concerns, most notably by promoting progressive education , inculcating moral values in children, and assimilating immigrants. A different strain of experimentalism, with

14256-418: The individual. Gordon Allport's trait theory not only served as a foundational approach within personality psychology, but also is continued to be viewed and discussed by other disciplines such as anthropology because of how he approached culture within trait theory. Trait theory tends to focus on the individual over the situation in which they are in. This focus has relaxed within modern studies allowing for

14400-483: The landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, leading to the end of legal segregation across the nation. Clark went on to be an influential figure in psychology, her work continuing to focus on minority youth. As the field of psychology developed throughout the latter half of the 20th century, women in the field advocated for their voices to be heard and their perspectives to be valued. Second-wave feminism did not miss psychology. An outspoken feminist in psychology

14544-418: The late nineteenth century enjoyed popularity (including the interest of scholars such as William James). Some people considered parapsychology to be part of "psychology". Parapsychology, hypnotism , and psychism were major topics at the early International Congresses. But students of these fields were eventually ostracized, and more or less banished from the Congress in 1900–1905. Parapsychology persisted for

14688-399: The major influence, with Marxism–Leninism the leading social doctrine and Pavlovian conditioning the approved means of behavior change. Chinese psychologists elaborated on Lenin's model of a "reflective" consciousness, envisioning an "active consciousness" ( pinyin : tzu-chueh neng-tung-li ) able to transcend material conditions through hard work and ideological struggle. They developed

14832-442: The measures distinguish attributions for positive and negative events. Optimistic people attribute internal, stable, and global explanations to good things. Pessimistic explanations attribute these traits of stability, globality, and internality to negative events, such as relationship difficulty. Models of optimistic and pessimistic attributions show that attributions themselves are a cognitive style – individuals who tend to focus on

14976-425: The most popular: Cultures are widely known and accepted as being different in varying degrees. This can make the study of personality difficult as meaning and the expression of traits may be different within cultural groups. Trait theory uses a hierarchy of traits in order to separate culture from the traits; it can be said the culture is ignored in order to focus on the individual traits and how they are connected to

15120-415: The neural, genetic, and cellular mechanisms that underlie behaviors involved in learning, memory, and fear responses. Cognitive neuroscientists , by using neural imaging tools, investigate the neural correlates of psychological processes in humans. Neuropsychologists conduct psychological assessments to determine how an individual's behavior and cognition are related to the brain. The biopsychosocial model

15264-477: The orthogonal structure between factors. Hans Eysenck has argued that fewer factors are superior to a larger number of partly related ones. Although these two approaches are comparable because of the use of factor analysis to construct hierarchical taxonomies, they differ in the organization and number of factors. Whatever the causes, psychoticism marks the two approaches apart, as the five factor model contains no such trait. Moreover, psychoticism, unlike any of

15408-625: The other factors in either approach, does not fit a normal distribution curve . Indeed, scores are rarely high, thus skewing a normal distribution . However, when they are high, there is considerable overlap with psychiatric conditions such as antisocial and schizoid personality disorders . Similarly, high scorers on neuroticism are more susceptible to sleep and psychosomatic disorders. Five factor approaches can also predict future mental disorders. There are two higher-order factors that both taxonomies clearly share: extraversion and neuroticism . Both approaches broadly accept that extraversion

15552-404: The other hand, traits as descriptive summaries are descriptions of our actions that do not try to infer causality. Gordon Allport was an early pioneer in the study of traits. This early work was viewed as the beginning of the modern psychological study of personality. He also referred to traits within his work as dispositions. In his approach, "cardinal" traits are those that dominate and shape

15696-408: The other personality factors. Over time, the more optimistic students were less stressed, less lonely, and less depressed than their pessimistic counterparts. This study suggests a strong link between optimism and psychological well-being. Low optimism may help explain the association between caregivers' anger and reduced sense of vitality. A meta-analysis of optimism supported findings that optimism

15840-754: The overall optimism and longevity of cohorts of men from the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study and women from the Nurses' Health Study . The study found a positive correlation between higher levels of optimism and exceptional longevity, defined as a lifespan exceeding 85 years. Another study conducted by Aspinwall and Taylor (1990) assessed incoming freshmen on a range of personality factors such as optimism, self-esteem, locus of self-control, etc. Freshmen who scored high on optimism before entering college had lower levels of psychological distress than their more pessimistic peers while controlling for

15984-431: The pessimistic position that, since this is the best of all possible worlds, it is impossible for anything to get any better. Conversely, philosophical pessimism might be associated with an optimistic long-term view because it implies that no change for the worse is possible. Voltaire found it difficult to reconcile Leibniz's optimism with human suffering as demonstrated by the earthquake that devastated Lisbon in 1755 and

16128-453: The prediction and control of behavior." Since James defined "psychology", the term more strongly implicates scientific experimentation. Folk psychology is the understanding of the mental states and behaviors of people held by ordinary people , as contrasted with psychology professionals' understanding. The ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece, China, India, and Persia all engaged in the philosophical study of psychology. In Ancient Egypt

16272-401: The present moment is in an optimum state. This view that all of nature—past, present, and future—operates by laws of optimization along the lines of Hamilton's principle in the realm of physics is countered by views such as idealism , realism , and philosophical pessimism . Philosophers often link the concept of optimism with the name of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz , who held that we live in

16416-594: The profession. The International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) is the world federation of national psychological societies. The IUPsyS was founded in 1951 under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) . Psychology departments have since proliferated around the world, based primarily on the Euro-American model. Since 1966, the Union has published

16560-494: The psychological laboratory that brought experimental psychology to the world. Wundt focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components, motivated in part by an analogy to recent advances in chemistry, and its successful investigation of the elements and structure of materials. Paul Flechsig and Emil Kraepelin soon created another influential laboratory at Leipzig, a psychology-related lab, that focused more on experimental psychiatry. James McKeen Cattell ,

16704-419: The realities and constraints of human ability. They cannot accept failures, delaying any ambitious and productive behavior in fear of failing again. This neuroticism can even lead to clinical depression and low productivity. As an alternative to negative perfectionism, Ben-Shahar suggests the adoption of optimalism. Optimalism allows for failure in pursuit of a goal, and expects that while the trend of activity

16848-552: The recovery process for a number of patients that had undergone surgery. The study showed that optimism was a strong predictor of the rate of recovery. Optimists achieved faster results in "behavioral milestones" such as sitting in bed, walking around, etc. They also were rated by staff as having a more favorable physical recovery. At a six-month follow-up, optimists were quicker to resume normal activities. A number of studies have been done on optimism and psychological well-being. One 30-year study undertaken by Lee et al . (2019) assessed

16992-514: The results of natural selection or sexual selection over the course of human evolution. The history of the biological foundations of psychology includes evidence of racism. The idea of white supremacy and indeed the modern concept of race itself arose during the process of world conquest by Europeans. Carl von Linnaeus 's four-fold classification of humans classifies Europeans as intelligent and severe, Americans as contented and free, Asians as ritualistic, and Africans as lazy and capricious. Race

17136-481: The second half of the 20th century continued to do research that had large-scale impacts on the field of psychology. Mary Ainsworth 's work centered around attachment theory . Building off fellow psychologist John Bowlby , Ainsworth spent years doing fieldwork to understand the development of mother-infant relationships. In doing this field research, Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation Procedure,

17280-415: The side"—threatening to become toxic positivity . A study involving twins found that optimism is largely inherited at birth. Along with the recognition that childhood experiences determine an individual's outlook, such studies demonstrate the genetic basis for optimism reinforces the recognized difficulty in changing or manipulating the direction of an adult's disposition from pessimist to optimist. One of

17424-424: The soul can also never approach chemistry even as a systematic art of analysis or experimental doctrine, for in it the manifold of inner observation can be separated only by mere division in thought, and cannot then be held separate and recombined at will (but still less does another thinking subject suffer himself to be experimented upon to suit our purpose), and even observation by itself already changes and displaces

17568-417: The stage for further research to be done in social psychology , especially in gender construction . Other women in the field also continued advocating for women in psychology, creating the Association for Women in Psychology to criticize how the field treated women. E. Kitsch Child , Phyllis Chesler , and Dorothy Riddle were some of the founding members of the organization in 1969. The latter half of

17712-601: The state of the observed object." In 1783, Ferdinand Ueberwasser (1752–1812) designated himself Professor of Empirical Psychology and Logic and gave lectures on scientific psychology, though these developments were soon overshadowed by the Napoleonic Wars . At the end of the Napoleonic era, Prussian authorities discontinued the Old University of Münster. Having consulted philosophers Hegel and Herbart , however, in 1825

17856-738: The tasks of processing and incorporating beliefs regarding good and bad information respectively. The Life Orientation Test (LOT) was designed by Scheier and Carver (1985) to assess dispositional optimism – expecting positive or negative outcomes. It is one of the more popular tests of optimism and pessimism. It was often used in early studies examining these dispositions' effects in health-related domains. Scheier and Carver's initial research, which surveyed college students, found that optimistic participants were less likely to show an increase in symptoms like dizziness, muscle soreness, fatigue, blurred vision, and other physical complaints than pessimistic respondents. There are eight items and four filler items in

18000-427: The technique of autogenic training , prominently advocated sterilization and euthanasia of men considered genetically undesirable, and devised techniques for facilitating this process. After the war, new institutions were created although some psychologists, because of their Nazi affiliation, were discredited. Alexander Mitscherlich founded a prominent applied psychoanalysis journal called Psyche . With funding from

18144-857: The term "optimism" differently depending on their research. As with any trait characteristic, there are several ways to evaluate optimism, such as the Life Orientation Test (LOT), an eight-item scale developed in 1985 by Michael Scheier and Charles Carver. Dispositional optimism and pessimism are typically assessed by asking people whether they expect future outcomes to be beneficial or negative (see below). The LOT returns separate optimism and pessimism scores for each individual. Behaviourally, these two scores correlate around r =0.5. Optimistic scores on this scale predict better outcomes in relationships, higher social status , and reduced loss of well-being following adversity. Health-preserving behaviors are associated with optimism while health-damaging behaviors are associated with pessimism. Some have argued that optimism

18288-484: The test. Four are positive items (e.g. "In uncertain times, I usually expect the best") and four are negative items e.g. "If something can go wrong for me, it will." The LOT has been revised twice—once by the original creators (LOT-R) and also by Chang, Maydeu-Olivares, and D'Zurilla as the Extended Life Orientation Test (ELOT). The Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) consists of six items, each scored on

18432-407: The three factor model's emphasis on fewer high-order factors. Although both major trait models are descriptive, only the three-factor model offers a detailed causal explanation. Eysenck suggests that different personality traits are caused by the properties of the brain , which themselves are the result of genetic factors. In particular, the three-factor model identifies the reticular system and

18576-416: The three-factor approach contains nine lower-order factors and the five-factor approach has six. Eysenck's psychoticism factor incorporates some of the polar opposites of the lower order factors of openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness. A high scorer on tough-mindedness in psychoticism would score low on tender-mindedness in agreeableness. Most of the differences between the taxonomies stem from

18720-688: The two groups. A meta-analysis confirmed the assumption that optimism is related to psychological well-being: "Put simply, optimists emerge from difficult circumstances with less distress than do pessimists." Furthermore, the correlation appears to be attributable to coping style: "That is, optimists seem intent on facing problems head-on, taking active and constructive steps to solve their problems; pessimists are more likely to abandon their effort to attain their goals." Optimists may respond better to stress: pessimists have shown higher levels of cortisol (the "stress hormone") and trouble regulating cortisol in response to stressors. Another study by Scheier examined

18864-722: The unconscious mind. Research psychologists employ empirical methods to infer causal and correlational relationships between psychosocial variables . Some, but not all, clinical and counseling psychologists rely on symbolic interpretation . While psychological knowledge is often applied to the assessment and treatment of mental health problems, it is also directed towards understanding and solving problems in several spheres of human activity. By many accounts, psychology ultimately aims to benefit society. Many psychologists are involved in some kind of therapeutic role, practicing psychotherapy in clinical, counseling, or school settings. Other psychologists conduct scientific research on

19008-459: The unique experiences of individual humans, which cannot be understood only as data points within a larger population. Critics inside and outside the field have argued that mainstream psychology has become increasingly dominated by a "cult of empiricism", which limits the scope of research because investigators restrict themselves to methods derived from the physical sciences. Feminist critiques have argued that claims to scientific objectivity obscure

19152-548: The universe in term of a division of physical reality and mental reality as well as the interaction between the physical and the mental. Chinese philosophy also emphasized purifying the mind in order to increase virtue and power. An ancient text known as The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine identifies the brain as the nexus of wisdom and sensation, includes theories of personality based on yin–yang balance, and analyzes mental disorder in terms of physiological and social disequilibria. Chinese scholarship that focused on

19296-413: The values and agenda of (historically) mostly male researchers. Jean Grimshaw, for example, argues that mainstream psychological research has advanced a patriarchal agenda through its efforts to control behavior. Psychologists generally consider biology the substrate of thought and feeling, and therefore an important area of study. Behaviorial neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, involves

19440-402: The vulnerability to depression across the lifespan. Many theories assume optimism can be learned , and research supports a modest role of family-environment acting to raise (or lower) optimism and lower (or raise) neuroticism and pessimism. Work utilising brain imaging and biochemistry suggests that at a biological trait level, optimism and pessimism reflect brain systems specialised for

19584-498: The war with a mandate to create a "New German Psychotherapy." This psychotherapy aimed to align suitable Germans with the overall goals of the Reich. As described by one physician, "Despite the importance of analysis, spiritual guidance and the active cooperation of the patient represent the best way to overcome individual mental problems and to subordinate them to the requirements of the Volk and

19728-523: The ways people explain events, i.e., that attributions cause these dispositions. An optimist would view defeat as temporary, as something that does not apply to other cases, and as something that is not their fault. Measures of attributional style distinguish three dimensions among explanations for events: Whether these explanations draw on internal versus external causes; whether the causes are viewed as stable versus unstable; and whether explanations apply globally versus being situationally specific. In addition,

19872-459: Was Naomi Weisstein , who was an accomplished researcher in psychology and neuroscience , and is perhaps best known for her paper, "Kirche, Kuche, Kinder as Scientific Law: Psychology Constructs the Female." Psychology Constructs the Female criticized the field of psychology for centering men and using biology too much to explain gender differences without taking into account social factors. Her work set

20016-607: Was a turning point for women's recognition within the field of psychology. In addition to the contributions made by Leta Stetter Hollingworth and Anna Freud , Mary Whiton Calkins invented the paired associates technique of studying memory and developed self-psychology . Karen Horney developed the concept of " womb envy " and neurotic needs. Psychoanalyst Melanie Klein impacted developmental psychology with her research of play therapy . These great discoveries and contributions were made during struggles of sexism , discrimination , and little recognition for their work. Women in

20160-467: Was also used to justify the construction of socially specific mental disorders such as drapetomania and dysaesthesia aethiopica —the behavior of uncooperative African slaves. After the creation of experimental psychology, "ethnical psychology" emerged as a subdiscipline, based on the assumption that studying primitive races would provide an important link between animal behavior and the psychology of more evolved humans. A tenet of behavioral research

20304-550: Was another woman in psychology that changed the field with her research. She was one of the first African-Americans to receive a doctoral degree in psychology from Columbia University , along with her husband, Kenneth Clark . Her master's thesis, "The Development of Consciousness in Negro Pre-School Children," argued that black children's self-esteem was negatively impacted by racial discrimination . She and her husband conduced research building off her thesis throughout

20448-788: Was established by Carolyn Attneave . Harriet McAdoo was appointed to the White House Conference on Families in 1979. Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison , named one of Time Magazine's "Best Doctors in the United States" is a lecturer, psychologist, and writer. She is known for her vast modern contributions to bipolar disorder and her books An Unquiet Mind (Published 1995) and Nothing Was the Same (Published in 2009). Having Bipolar Disorder herself, she has written several memoirs about her experience with suicidal thoughts , manic behaviors, depression , and other issues that arise from being Bipolar . Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett views psychology through

20592-438: Was mocked by Voltaire in his satirical novel Candide as baseless optimism of the sort exemplified by the beliefs of one of its characters, Dr. Pangloss , which are the opposite of his fellow traveller Martin 's pessimism and emphasis on free will . The optimistic position is also called Panglossianism which became an term for excessive, even stupendous, optimism. The phrase "panglossian pessimism" has been used to describe

20736-431: Was not God's power to create a perfect world, but he created the best among possible worlds. In one of his writings, he responded to Blaise Pascal 's philosophy of awe and desperation in the face of the infinite by claiming that infinity should be celebrated. While Pascal advocated for making man's rational aspirations more humble, Leibniz was optimistic about the capacity of human reason to extend itself further. This idea

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