“When the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems begin to resemble nails” (Abraham Maslow). How might this apply to ways of knowing, as tools, in the pursuit of knowledge? “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” In the book The Psychology of Science: A Reconnaissance, Abraham Maslow used this metaphor to illustrate the limited and confined perspective that the public uses to view the world, which is of a familiar and personal bias. The personal bias sprouts from the place of comfort for people, if a lawyer is faced with a problem they will approach such problem from a legal stand point. The problem with be evaluated using the tools that they as a lawyer were taught and equipped to use. Yet a person with an alternate background in education will use a different set of tools to conquer the same problem, such an act of problem solving can not only be viewed differently but approached from an array of positions to ultimately come to the same conclusion in terms of reaching a solution to a problem. In each scenario people utilized the tools they had available to them based off of life experiences and skill sets, both of which were familiar to that given person. Through the previously stated quote it can be gathered that Maslow believed that the procedures of the “natural sciences were not sufficient in tackling the problems faced in an attempt to better understand human consciousness,” it should, however,
As a result to concluding the chapter “How to Think Straight about Psychology” by Keith E. Stanovich, the infinite doors into Psychology have opened. I was immediately engaged into the history and conflicts between the continuity of previous and modern day psychology. It was astounding to find the amount of distaste, backed by modern psychologists, on the workings of Sigmund Freud, who I had recently thought to be the foundation to all psychology. However, after reading on about the diversity of psychology, it became apparent that the extensive amounts of subjects within the realm of this study, make it difficult for scientist and the overall population to agree on one unified idea. Psychology has criteria that is ever changing, but limited to the time period of discovery.
When you think about Abraham Maslow, Erik Erikson, and Sigmund Freud's theories, they all have to do with psychology. They all have to do with the mind. Abraham Maslow’s theory, Theory of Hierarchy Needs, is a description of the needs that motivate human behavior. Erik Erikson’s theory, Theory Eight Stages of Development, has eight stages that include trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame/doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair. Sigmund Freud’s theory, Theory ID, EGO, SUPEREGO, emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind and a primary assumption that the unconscious mind governs behavior to a greater degree than people suspect.
This essay examines the advantages and disadvantages of using a method primarily for gathering research on human subjects that can be examined for later use. It will give a basic outline of the methods of investigation, their uses and their suitability. I will also look at the scientific method as a whole and examine the criticisms of this method using the writings of Hume and Popper.
By Richard Thripp for Prof. John Beltran, PSY 4604 sec. 0W58, Univ. of Central Fla., Sp. 2013
Almost all human beings agree that everyone is different and that there is a need to experiment to better understand the differences within the human race. The role of scientific experiments in psychology is an attempt to better understand the mental process of humans and the possible discovery of something in human makeup that has not been noticed by past scientists and psychologists. Experiments can change the permanent thinking of psychologists and scientists. If one psychologist theorized an idea and every other generation agreed with that view, no one voicing an opposition to the idea, then psychologists would get nowhere in understanding the human mind, failing the innate purpose of psychology- to study and answer questions about actions, thoughts, and emotions. Thus, to fulfil the need of psychology, psychologists experiment and refer back to past psychologists for ways to expand.
Knowledge is a powerful tool, one which will unlock many doors for us as individuals and as the whole of the human race, but we must always remember the consequences of gaining knowledge. It is both our blessing and our curse, and we must never forget that knowledge is a power, what we do with that power will determine our fate and
The experience convinced him that there is so much that can be learned by studying people of different cultures daily lives. It also convinced him that people around the world have more similarities than differences, and that we all share certain human needs and drives. These findings helped guide his research on emotional security as an attribute that profoundly impacts our social relations. Maslow did not know how to organize all of these observations into a consistent conception of personality. While trying organize his findings, Maslow studied the literature of a few European psychological thinkers: Alfred Adler, Erich Fromm, Karen Horny and Max
The British Psychological Society states that ‘Psychology is the scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour’ (BPS). In this essay I will be discussing what is actually meant by this and whether psychology fits into both the traditional views of a science, as well as more contemporary perspectives. It is widely suggested that Psychology is a “coalition of specialities” meaning it is multi-disciplinary (Hewstone, Fincham and Foster 2005, page 4). I will therefore examine whether it could be considered wrong to think that all parts of the discipline should neatly fit into one view of a scientific approach.
Kinsey spent most of his time researching and studying sex that he did not have time for his wife. He began having sexual affairs with children and experimented to deepen his studies and knowledge about sexual behaviors. “Kinsey's work has been instrumental in advancing acceptance of pornography, homosexuality, abortion, and condom-based sex
Authored by Keith E. Stanovich, How to Think Straight About Psychology is a known work of the psychology world which was published in 1986. Beginning courses in psychology use his text frequently. Stanovich primary purpose for writing the text is to bring attention to his observation that the public’s understanding of psychology is different from psychology as a modern science. Psychology as a modern science explains the underlying functions that shape human attitudes and behavior. To the people who misunderstand this, the field of psychology is not a real science, but a pseudo-science instead. How to Think Straight About Psychology describes people’s several false impressions of psychology and it gives its readers a factual understanding of the field as a modern and scientific psychology while explaining how this science works.
Drawing on examples from chapters 3, 4 and 8 of Investigating Psychology, examine and assess the extent to which psychological research is of value to society.
Motivation according to Kelley (2014) is the ‘process through which managers build the desire to be productive and effective in their employees’. If an employee is motivated, they are more likely to be productive and generally staff turnover is low. The problem of worker motivation is that workers are not seen as humans, they have a lack of freedom at the workplace and lack of job fulfilment. Taylor and McGregor Theory X argue that there is not a problem with worker motivation, workers will be obedient because of fear of losing their job motivates them to do well. Whereas Maslow and McGregor’s Theory Y argues that there is a problem with worker motivation because of class conflict between the worker and the manager. The
The History of Psychology In order to discuss Psychology's history, it is important to understand that psychology still does not have one unifying approach unlike the natural sciences; even the definition of Psychology and what it truly means is still undecided. However I shall attempt to review chronologically its philosophical origins, include how the science of Physics and Biology were placed in history and how they influenced research and determined the development of Psychology as its recognised today. Beginning with the philosophers Plato and Aristotle (between 428- 347) in ancient Greece, they began to ask
Humanistic psychologists generally argue that a person’s subjective perception and understanding of the world is far more important than objective reality (Funder, 2012). Hence the fact that Rogers and Maslow valued scientific psychology very little. They and other humanistic psychologists typically prefer more qualitative research methods. These methods are often things such as diaries, open ended questionnaires, wholly unstructured interviews and observations. It is far more useful if the goal is not to generalize the findings to the general
braham Harold Maslow (1908-1970), the 77th president of the American Psychological Association, was widely known for his Hierarchy of Needs, a theory of human needs that begins at the base with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher-level safety needs and then psychological needs become active. The first section of the research paper explores Abraham Maslow’s early life: his childhood experience, his college study, and his academic career. The second section examines some of Abraham Maslow’s key publications, in order to acquire a comprehensive understanding of his theory. And lastly, Maslow’s contribution to the psychology field is discussed, as his works signified the advancement of 1960’s humanistic psychology and served as a complement to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and B.F. Skinner’s behaviorism.