Module 1 Psychology and Its History

LEARNING TARGETS

• 1–1 Explain how psychology is a science and why the “rat is always right.”
• 1–2 Describe the three key elements of the scientific attitude and how they support scientific inquiry.
• 1–3 Explain how critical thinking feeds a scientific attitude, and smarter thinking for everyday life.
• 1–4 Describe how psychology developed from early understandings of mind and body to the beginnings of modern science.
• 1–5 Describe some important milestones in psychology’s early development.
• 1–6 Explain how behaviorism, Freudian psychology, and humanistic psychology furthered the development of psychological science.

Once upon a time, on a planet in our neighborhood of the universe, there came to be people. Soon thereafter, these creatures became intensely interested in themselves and in one another: “Who are we? What produces our thoughts? Our feelings? Our actions? And how are we to understand and manage those around us?”

A smile is a smile the world around The science of psychology builds from the input of multiple disciplines in many lands. As you will see throughout this book, we’ve come to learn not only of our cultural and gender diversity but also of the similarities that define our shared human nature. People in different cultures vary in when and how often they smile, for example, but a naturally happy smile means the same thing anywhere in the world.