Unit III Psychology: Basic and Applied Science

Lead-in

1. Could you comment on the following words:

There is nothing quite so practical as a good theory

Some people have difficulty thinking of psychology as being a science in the same way physics, chemistry and biology are sciences. Do you think a discipline that studies how parents nurture children, how adolescents’ thoughts change or how adults form intimate relationships can be defined as a science?

2. The key ingredients of any science are a theory, hypotheses, and a scientific method. Theories help us to make predictions. Do you believe that we can predict an individual’s behavior and development? Explain your answer.

3. Comment on the following statement: Science is not defined by what it investigates but by how it investigates.

Pre-reading

1. Match the words from column A to the words from column B to make as many phrases as possible. Which phrases can be found in the text.

A B

fields	practical goals
for its own	psychologist
to advance	applications
to accomplish	of studying
to practice	of specialization
to do	understanding
relevant	findings
developmental	applied science
basic research	an interest in psychology
voluntary	behavior
useful	addicted
to develop	basic research
to become	responses
efficient ways	sake
eating	to practical problems

2. Scan the text and choose the appropriate subtitle from the list for each part:

1. Practical application of basic research findings.

2. Psychology is both a basic and an applied science.

3. Special requirements for students who want to become clinical or counseling psychologists.

4. Application of knowledge evokes an interest in psychology as a basic science.

5. Special educational requirements for earning a PhD in psychology.

Text.

Part I.

This look at major fields of specialization makes it plain that psychology is both a basic and an applied science. In basic science, knowledge is acquired for its own sake to advance our understanding of the nature of things; the potential usefulness of the knowledge gained is not a consideration. In applied science, findings from basic science are used to accomplish practical goals. Most biologists and physicists, for example, practice basic science; most physicians and engineers practice applied science. Psychologists may practice either - or both. Some psychologists who do basic research study a particular topic because they are aware that any knowledge gained will be relevant to practical problems. A developmental psychologist who studies the ability of infants to perceive patterns is doing basic research. His/her purpose has nothing to do with the design of crib toys, but if his/her findings are applied by a psychologist in his/her job as a consultant to a toy manufacturer, the science becomes applied. Similarly, a social psychologist who studies the friendships among a group of office workers - who likes whom, how much, and why - is doing basic science. If he/she discovers that one member of the group has no friends at all and another has so many friends he/she hardly has time to work, the psychologist might try to understand and explain the situation, but he/she would not try to alter it. He/she would leave that to a clinical or industrial psychologist who practices applied psychology.

Part II.

The use of basic research findings in applied science is relatively common. For instance, psychologists who have studied the learning process in animals have discovered that involuntary responses (such as salivation or eye-blinks) can result from one kind of learning, but that voluntary responses (such as pressing a lever) can result from another kind of learning. Recently, other psychologists have extended this basic research and discovered that many involuntary responses (skin temperature, muscle tension) could be brought under voluntary control through the process of biofeedback. Useful applications have resulted; for example, individuals with tension headaches have learned to reduce their discomfort by controlling muscle tension, and individuals with spinal-cord injuries have learned to retrain their muscles.

Part III.

Sometimes the process works in the opposite direction, too. Students interested in applications of psychological knowledge may eventually find themselves developing an interest in psychology as a basic science. For example, a student who has an alcoholic parent may become interested in the process by which any Individual becomes addicted to any substance. A student who wants to find more efficient ways of studying may become intrigued by the way memories are organized in the brain. And a student who is struggling with an unwanted ten pounds may decide to investigate the ways cues in the environment affect not only eating behavior but other behavior as well.

Part IV.

Some students find they have more than a casual interest in psychology and wonder about a possible vocation in the field. As we have seen, psychology is practiced by men and women in a number of professions, and various professions have different educational requirements.

Whether they are engaged in basic research to uncover fundamental laws of behavior, in applied research to solve specific problems, or in providing counseling and therapy to people suffering from psychological problems, the majority of psychologists have earned a PhD in the discipline of psychology. To earn a PhD, a psychologist must complete a four- to six-year graduate program in a department of psychology at a university. Typically, this program includes broad exposure to the theories and findings of psychology, a special focus on a subdiscipline (e.g., developmental or social psychology), and extensive training in research methods. Each PhD candidate must complete an original research project of fairly wide scope, under the direction of experienced researchers on the graduate faculty, and must then submit the findings as a doctoral dissertation.

Part V.

Students who want to become clinical or counseling psychologists must either meet the requirements for the PhD or enroll in a professional school of psychology (which may or may not be associated with a university), where they must meet the requirements for a PhD (doctor of psychology), a degree that places more emphasis on application and less on research. Clinical psychologists also complete specialized training in diagnosis and psychotherapy as well as a year of training at an institution that has an internship program.

Many students are interested in psychology but do not want graduate training. In the last decade psychology has become one of the most popular majors in the college curriculum, chosen by thousands of students who have no intention of completing a graduate degree. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, although only 2,780 doctorate degrees in psychology were awarded in 1992, 41,031 bachelor’s degrees were awarded. To a considerable extent, psychology has become a general major, like English or history – intriguing, informative, and useful basis for many careers and interests.

Follow up.

1. Skim the text and find the evidence that psychology is both basic and applied science.

2. What kind of science does a social psychologist do if he/she studies the friendships among office workers?

3. What should you investigate if you want to improve your ways of studying?

4. Project. Search the Internet for the information on the issue «Psychology as a Vocation in Russia».

5. Read the following extracts and try to identify them (an ad, a talk show, an anecdote, a TV program etc). Then comment on them. Try to justify your opinion.

Penetrate the Minds of Others - with Mind Prober! Psychologists agree that most of us conceal our fears, hopes, and inner desires from our closest friends, and even from ourselves! Now you can use the power of your personal computer to unlock those hidden truths about anyone in your life. With Mind Prober software, you’ll gain useful, accurate insight into anyone you choose as a subject, and be able to use that information to improve your relationships.

. . . Mind Prober is equally useful in your social and business lives. There is no limit to the number of people you may analyze. If you’d like to reveal hidden truths about people you know (or think you know), order Mind Prober today!

* * *

“Hello, this Dr. Joy Browne on WITS,” says the agreeable voice on the Boston radio station. “Today we’re having an open-line program. You can call in with any problem on any topic.” The first call comes from Steve, who opens with “Hi, Dr. Joy,” and tells about his fainthearted attempts to re-establish contact with an old flame, now married. Dr. Joy analyzes Steve’s problem as “a classic case of approach-avoidance,” advises him to stop being “so tentative” and to go ahead and “play it by ear.” She asks him to call back to “let me know what happens.”

Jan, 19, calls to talk about her struggle with overeating, and to ask why her psychiatrist keeps probing her past relationships. Dr. Joy defends the traditional psychiatric approach, telling Jan, “The issue may not be just your eating behavior, but your feelings about yourself.” She leaves Jan with a cheerful “don’t give up on therapy, kid.”

The program breaks for commercials for Heinz ketchup and Kava instant coffee.

* * *

To the left side of your brain, Saab turbocharging is a technological feat that retains good mileage while increasing performance.

To the right side of your brain, Saab turbocharging is what makes a Saab go like a bat out of hell . . .

The left side of your brain is your mother telling you that a Saab is good for you . ..

The right side of your brain guides your foot to the clutch, your hand to the gears, and listens for the “zzzooomm.”

6. Read the following and summarize covering these points.

• Difficult problems require complex solutions. Justify it and give an example from the text.

• Negative consequences of a talk-show psychology. Prove that any advice should be monitored, evaluated and if necessary modified.

• No single psychologist or psychological method can solve all problems. Try to justify it.

While con artists no longer sell magic elixirs and snake oil from the backs of horse-drawn carriages, their modern-day counterparts are still in business. This time though, rather than selling waters from the fountain of youth and the like, they are often hawking the secrets of psychology.

From advertisements to talk shows, we are bombarded daily by the media with information and misinformation about the field of psychology. We are told how to become smarter, happier, and better adjusted, and how to improve our lives by learning psychology’s secrets.

Yet all psychology - and all psychologists - are not alike, and the quality of advice that psychologists and self-styled “experts” give varies widely. For this reason, there are several points to keep in mind when you evaluate information dispensed by people who claim to be representing the field:

• There’s no free ride. If a way to actually learn while you sleep had already been invented, don’t you think it would be in widespread use and not advertised in the back pages of magazines? If you could, in fact, buy a computer program that would really “unlock the hidden truths” about others, wouldn’t you have heard about it already? And if your problems could be assessed, analyzed, and resolved in five minutes of radio air time, don’t you think people would be clogging the phone lines with their calls, rather than spending thousands of dollars on treatment for their problems? The point is that difficult problems require complex solutions, and you should beware of simple, glib responses on how to resolve major difficulties.

• If advice that is dispensed by psychologists is accepted by a consumer, the consequences of following that advice should be critically monitored, evaluated, and - if necessary - modified to ensure that it is producing desirable effects. In the case of talk-show psychology, this almost never occurs; it is rare that we discover how well the advice that was dispensed in a given case worked. Both the people with the problems and the other listeners and viewers may be getting bad advice - but they never have any way of knowing without follow-up.

• No single psychologist or psychological method can solve all problems. The range of difficulties bound up with the human condition is so broad that no person can be an expert in all areas, and any individual or any method that purports to resolve all problems is making an inappropriate claim.

7. Essay Writing. Using the information from the texts given above and your own ideas write an argumentative essay, covering the following topic: “The Informal Consumer of Psychology: Distinguishing Good Psychology from Bad Psychology”. Follow the plan given below: