3. Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the active vocabulary.

1. He was a great disappointment to. . . .

2. At times he showed signs of …, but often, and especially under stress, his behavior …

3. He was virtually naked, covered with …, dirty, and ….

4. First he gave him a name, …, and then made … that Victor’s behavior was due to his … rather than … or some other organic condition.

5. Victor learned simple discriminations, but when they were made more difficult, he became…

6. Victor’s background and … could not be overcome.

4. Answer the questions to the text:

1. What happened in 1799?

2. How did the boy look like?

3. What did the Society of Observers of Man arrange for him to be brought to the capital for?

4. What aims did Itard have?

5. What did Victor learn?

6. Why did Itard give up hope of ever attaining his goals?

5. Group Discussion: Do you think Itard’s experiment was worthwhile? Why or why not?

6. Make a summary of the text using the following phrases:

I believe that...

I am sure...

I do not think that...

I am not sure that...

As far as I know...

It seems likely/unlikely that...

I`d like to note...

I`d like to stress the fact that...

Text Overview of Psychology, Understanding Psychology, 2003, p. 9 – 10

1. Read the text using the vocabulary and express the main idea of the text in Russian:

scientific – научный

mental – умственный, психический

to apply to – применять

to cover – охватывать

to measure – измерять

feeling – чувство

thought – мысль

to log on – входить

to remain – оставаться, находиться

to intimidate – пугать, устрашать

to engage – вовлекать, заинтересовывать , заниматься

conclusion – вывод

blind – слепой

astride – верхом

tusk – бивень

pointed - остроконечный

Overview of Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Such study can involve both animal and human behaviors. When applied to humans, psychology covers everything that people think, feel, and do. Psychologists differ in how much importance they place on specific types of behavior. For example, some psychologists believe that you should study only behavior that you can see, observe, or measure directly. Steve’s behavior of logging on and remaining on the Internet for hours at a time is an observable behavior. Some psychologists believe that our thoughts, feelings, and fantasies are also important, even though these processes are not directly observable. Steve may log on because he feels intimidated by others or by schoolwork, but psychologists cannot directly observe that these are the reasons that Steve is engaging in this behavior. While psychologists may differ on which types of behavior are important, they do agree that the study of behavior must be systematic. The use of a systematic method of asking and answering questions about why people think, act, and feel as they do reduces the chances of coming to false conclusions. Consider the story of the blind men and the elephant. A long time ago, three very wise, but blind, men were out on a journey when they came across a sleeping elephant. Because they could not see the elephant, they did not know what was blocking their way, so they set about to discover what they could about the blind. As it happened, each man put his hands on a different section of the elephant, examining it in great detail and with much thought. The first man, having felt the elephant’s trunk, described a creature that was long, wormlike, and quite flexible. “No, no! You must be mistaken,” said the second man, who was seated astride the elephant. “This creature is wide, very round, and does not move very much.” The man who was holding one of the elephant’s tusks added his description of a small, hard, pointed creature.