Be the Guide

Be the Guide

Write a 5–6 page paper that discusses an early school of thought, including its key principles, major events and historical figures, influences of other schools of thought, cultural influences, applications to professional behavior, and ongoing impact.

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Introduction

Psychology's early schools of thought were diverse and thought-provoking. They emerged from brilliant minds, often shaping each other and trying to fill in the gaps of another perspective left behind. In your second assessment, you will “be the guide” by selecting one of these early schools of thought to dig into, learn more, and apply to a given scenario. You'll consider this early school of thought's key principles, major events and historical figures, how other schools of thought contributed to it, cultural influences, and applicability to current professional behaviors. You'll end with identifying how the seeds of this school of thought remain present today—how will it continue to have an impact in the future?

Assessment Preparation

Step 1: Pick one historical school of thought:

• Structuralism.
• Functionalism.
• Psychoanalysis.
• Behaviorism.
• Cognitive psychology.
• Gestalt psychology.
• Humanism.

Step 2: Choose one of the following scenarios, and then follow the assessment instructions:

• Scenario A: Using your knowledge of the development of this school of thought to guide the behaviors of a supervisor or manager.
• Scenario B: Using your knowledge of the development of this school of thought to guide the behavior of advertisers or a marketing team.
• Scenario C: Using your knowledge of the development of this school of thought to guide the behaviors of a therapist working with teenagers.
• Scenario D: Using your knowledge of the development of this school of thought to guide the behavior of an educator working with young children.

Step 3: Locate three peer-reviewed journal articles on your historical school of thought within the Capella University Library. Be sure that at least one of the three articles is related to the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). To learn more about Capella' diversity mission, visit the Capella University Mission and Leadership webpage. To accomplish this goal, find at least one article that comes from an international journal, uses a non-Western population, or represents clearly the experiences of an underrepresented group in the literature.

Assessment Instructions

For the topic and scenario of your choice, make sure you include the following in a 5–6-page paper:

• Title page.
• Introduction (suggested length: 1 paragraph).
  • What school of thought are you reviewing? What are its key principles?
• Explanation of the major events that have affected the development of your school of thought. (suggested length: 2–3 paragraphs).
  • What events and historical figures contributed to the creation of your school of thought? Discuss their contributions.
• Analysis of how other schools of thought have affected the development of your school of thought. (suggested length: 2–3 paragraphs).
  • How have other schools of thoughts contributed to your school of thought? Compare/contrast the schools of thought and interpret any connections.
• Analysis of cultural influences that have affected the development of your school of thought. (suggested length: 2–3 paragraphs).
  • How have societal movements and/or cultural factors shaped the development of this school of thought?
• Analysis of how knowledge of a school of thought applies to current professional behavior. (suggested length: 2–3 paragraphs).
  • Consider the scenario you've selected in Step 2 above. How might this school of thought shape workplace behavior in that context? Provide examples to support your analysis.
• Conclusion (suggested length: one paragraph).
  • How might this school of thought continue to have an impact in the future? Consider impact on individual, community, and global scales.
• Reference page.

Submission Requirements

You do not need an index or abstract for this paper. Use the APA Style Paper Template [DOCX].

• Length: Write 5–6 pages of content in addition to a title page and references page.
• Written communication: Must be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• Resources and citations: A minimum of four sources is required. Three must be peer-reviewed journal articles and one may be a credible professional source, such as a textbook. One article should represent DEI perspectives. Format according to current APA guidelines. See Academic Writer.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and rubric criteria:

• Competency 1: Explain the major events, schools of thought, and cultural influences that have affected the development of the science of psychology.
  • Explain the major events that have affected the development of a selected school of thought.
  • Analyze how other schools of thought have affected the development of a selected school of thought.
  • Analyze the cultural influences that have affected the development of a selected school of thought.
• Competency 3: Analyze psychological theory and scholarly literature in history, systems, and contemporary topics.
  • Incorporates research from three peer-reviewed journal articles with one study from an international source or one that includes non-Western and/or underrepresented participants.
• Competency 4: Apply psychological theory and research to guide professional behavior.
  • Analyze how knowledge of a school of thought applies to current professional behavior.
• Competency 5: Articulate future directions on an individual, community, and global scale to promote positive change.
  • Articulate how a school of thought may continue to have an impact on individual, community, and global scales.
• Competency 6: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.
  • Use APA style paper formatting with only minor errors.
  • Use APA style formatting for citations and reference list with only minor errors.
  • Address assessment purpose in a well-organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.Use the resources linked below to help complete this assessment.Collapse All

    Schools of Thought

    Structuralism and FunctionalismAs you've discovered, the debate over how to explain behavior and the human mind began as soon as psychology was established as a legitimate science. Immediately, two schools of thought, structuralism and functionalism, emerged. Although neither school stood the test of time as the science of psychology progressed, each played an influential role in the development of modern-day psychology. Wilhelm Wundt and his student Edward Titchener founded structuralism while William James (inspired by Darwin's theory of evolution) and others like James Rowland Angell are widely associated with the functionalist perspective. The following chapter from your text covers the origins of these early schools of thought:
    • Benjamin, L. T., Jr. (2023). A brief history of modern psychology (4th ed.). Wiley.
      • Chapter 5, “The Early Schools of American Psychology."

    Psychoanalysis

    The term psychoanalysis has become ubiquitous in modern psychology and modern culture along with its founding father, Sigmund Freud. Freud believed that an individual's psyche could be healed by making one's unconscious thoughts become conscious. At the time, this was revolutionary thinking. It continues to be controversial today. To understand the history and significance of psychoanalytic theory, read the following chapter:
    • Benjamin, L. T., Jr. (2023). A brief history of modern psychology (4th ed.). Wiley.
      • Chapter 7, “Psychoanalysis.”

    Behaviorism

    Behaviorism emerged soon after psychoanalysis, and emphasized observable behavior over hidden thoughts. Their key belief was that responses to environmental stimuli shaped action. For instance, if a child is rewarded with a new toy for cleaning their room, they might clean their room more often. Key theorists included Edward Thorndike and B.F. Skinner (both famous for studying the Law of Effect and operant conditioning) as well as Ivan Pavlov and John Watson (both famous for their examination of classical conditioning). Learn more in the following chapter:
    • Benjamin, L. T., Jr. (2023). A brief history of modern psychology (4th ed.). Wiley.
      • Chapter 8, “Behaviorism."

    Cognitive and Gestalt Psychology

    Cognitive psychology has been an evolving field in psychology, with roots in the other schools and many offshoots into other applied areas of psychology such as neuroscience and education. Its founder is often considered to be Ulric Neisser.Gestalt theory is part of cognitive psychology's history, founded by Max Wertheimer. Gestalt theorists view the whole of an object or scene as different from the sum of its individual parts. To understand Gestalt theory, consider the Rubin's Vase illusion. Initially, most people see an illustration of a vase and nothing more. Look at it long enough and you should experience a "Gestalt switch" between seeing a vase and then seeing two opposing faces. The Gestalt school of thought proposes that the whole of an object or scene is more important than its individual parts. The following chapter in your text will provide essential history and context:
    • Benjamin, L. T., Jr. (2023). A brief history of modern psychology (4th ed.). Wiley.
      • Chapter 11, “Cognitive Psychology.”
    • Also review the Wertheimer (2014) article using your Early Schools of Thoughtreading list. Historians say that Gestalt theory began with the publication of a paper by Max Wertheimer on the phi phenomenon—seeing motion where no motion has occurred. The author of this article discusses the origin and evolution of Gestalt theory.

    Humanism

    Humanism focuses on how every person is unique, innately good, and driven to self-actualize (pursue fulfillment in life). This school of thought emerged after behaviorism and psychoanalysis, rejecting some of the underlying principles of those perspectives and labeling them as dehumanizing. Humanists put people in the driver's seat of life, and included major theorists like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.
    • Learn more by visiting the Simply Psychology website and by reviewing Macleod's article, “Humanistic Approach In Psychology (Humanism): Definition & Examples,” also found in your Early Schools of Thought reading list.
    • Your textbook also briefly mentions humanistic psychology:
      • Benjamin, L. T., Jr. (2023). A brief history of modern psychology (4th ed.). Wiley.
        • Chapter 9, “The New Profession of Psychology.”

    Brief History

    Review this media piece for an overview of the seven early schools of thought emphasized in your ‘Be the Guide’ paper.
    • A Brief History of Psychology.

    DEI and Writing Resources

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Using your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion reading list, complete the following readings:When looking at the history of psychology as a field, one critique is that perspectives were historically limited. In particular, older research and publications centered the voices of White authors and particularly males. Systematic inequality existed within research. Learn more by reviewing the article by Roberts et al. (2020), Racial inequality in psychological research: Trends of the past and recommendations for the future.To encourage systemic change in our approach to psychological science, we will be asking you to incorporate resources in your work that represent an eye towards diversity, equity, and inclusion. Learn more about how these terms are defined by reviewing the APA's framework and resources in your reading list. Henrich et al.'s (2010) article will further introduce you to why psychology samples, historically, have often been referred to as ‘WEIRD’.
    • Note - The linked Henrich et al. file in the library provides discussion from other researchers and authors after the article. The primary article is pages 61-83. You are welcome to review the additional discussion afterwards if you would like.
    The resources you select to support your assessments should reflect a diversity of perspectives and give voice and bring visibility to traditionally underrepresented groups in the field (e.g., BIPOC, women, LGBTQIA+, etc.). Your goal will be to find at least one peer-reviewed journal article for each assessment that either comes from an international journal, uses a non-Western population, or represents clearly the experiences of an underrepresented group in the literature.

    Writing Skill: Synthesis

    With so many perspectives on any topic, learning how to synthesize those perspectives together in your writing is an important skill. As you collect information on a topic and evidence to support various points in your writing, consider how you will weave these different pieces together in a way that makes sense and reads smoothly. This will require you to incorporate multiple of the other writing skills you've already learned about, including writing with purpose, summarizing, and organizing.Learn more about Developing Synthesis and then dig deeper into when synthesis is used and related examples and approaches by checking out the Writing Center's resource, The Meaning of Synthesis.You'll want to synthesize in any piece of writing when combining multiple sources together to make your arguments or support your key points - be sure to use this skill when working on your assessments in this course.

    APA Style: Paper Formatting

    Just like APA style has particular guidelines for citations and references, so too does it have particular guidelines for how you format your overall paper. This formatting includes a dedicated title page, page headings and numbers, set margins, paragraph indentation, and recommended font selections. As you work on your papers in this course (and other psychology courses), review the APA style guidelines here and apply the formatting details to your work. Use your APA Style Paper Formatting reading list for guidelines on these elements.

    Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

    As you recruit sources for your assessments, you'll be asked to find peer-reviewed journal articles to support your work. Peer-reviewed journal articles are a particular type of scholarly publication that serve as firsthand evidence and thereby add credibility to your writing. An article being peer-reviewed means that it is not just edited for typos or the like before publication, but it is reviewed by (usually) multiple experts in the field who often require a number of revisions before publication and help validate the credibility of the source before it ever reaches the physical page. Watch the video, What are Peer Reviewed Articles and then jump over to How Do I Find Peer-Reviewed Articles? to explore where to find peer-reviewed journal articles using our Capella library.

    Critical Thinking: Implications and Consequences

    Researchers take their knowledge, old and new, and harness it to impact positive change. If you've been reading the Discussion section of peer-reviewed journal articles, you've seen how psychologists mention this in their own research. They discuss the implications (what follows logically from their claims) and consequences (what follows from their actions) of their work, and suggest future directions for both research and the ‘real world’. When you work on your assessments, you'll be considering how you can help make positive change. To learn more about implications and consequences, review the section on ‘Implications & Consequences’ on the Analytic Stage of Thinking page on Campus.

    Research Methods

    Research Methods

    Historical approaches to research methods are discussed with the readings, including early laboratories and experimental approaches. Quantitative approaches to research were emphasized in psychology's early years. As the hot topics of interest shifted in psychology, a field traditionally full of quantitative articles full of statistics became a field with an increasing balance of quantitative articles and qualitative articles. A qualitative approach is often thought to better represent the lived experiences of different populations, via using approaches like interviews and focus groups to gain firsthand perspectives.Learn more via reviewing the article in your Qualitative Research reading list. Consider how additional qualitative research in this field can enrichen our understanding of the human mind and behavior.Directly compare quantitative and qualitative research here:
    • Research Methodologies Comparison Table.