Psyc 375: History of Psychology Midterm- Athabasca Questions and Answers

Compare and contrast Stocking's (1965) notions of presentism and historicism, and discuss the relative merits of each approach. - Answer- Presentism is when current understandings of how things work are put into the context of the evolution of those beliefs and findings. It allows for people to better understand the history of our current knowledge. Presentism is good because it eliminates bias. Historicism is when people look at history isolated from current understanding. History is studied simply for history's sake and does not attempt to relate the past to the present. It allows people to take on the perspective of people in their own day and age. What considerations are involved in deciding what to include in a history of psychology? - Answer- Define a Zeitgeist, and explain its relationship to historical accounts. - Answer- The context surrounding a historical event. This includes the political climate, the beliefs at the time, development in other areas of science and even technological advancements. It allows us to put things into perspective. Define both the great-person approach to history and the historical development approach. What approach did Henley elect to use? - Answer- The great person approach looks at the key figures of history and focuses on them, whereas the Historical development approach follows the evolution of ideas from its origin to where we are today. Henley uses an eclectic approach, which allows them to use whichever is the best method for explaining the history of psychology. List the three reasons the author cites for studying the history of psychology - Answer- (a) deeper understanding, (b) recognition of fads and fashions, (c) a source of valuable ideas. How does History give us a deeper understanding of psychology? - Answer- Studying history allows for us to gain a deeper understanding as it gives us context to the current beliefs. It prevents us from repeating the mistakes of the past. How does history give us a better understanding of the fads and fashions of psychology? - Answer- Study history allows us to better understand what are fads and fashions in psychology and to see the evolution of its focus. Theories fade, not because they are incorrect, but simply because they become unpopular. How does studying the history of psychology give us a source of valuable ideas? - Answer- There are many ideas from the past that are not incorrect, they were just presented at a time in which people were not ready to accept it. This means that there are still plenty of ideas from the past that should be re-examined. Why did Galileo and Kant claim that psychology could never be a science? - Answer- Galileo and Kant claimed that