Book SummaryThe Psychology Book, by Catherine Collin, Nigel Benson, et al.

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Psychology Book

In The Psychology Book, Catherine Collin, Nigel Benson, Joannah Ginsburg, Voula Grand, Merrin Lazyan, and Marcus Weeks provide a broad overview of the development of psychology and the fields of study within it. Starting in antiquity, the authors describe how our collective knowledge of psychology evolved over the centuries, highlighting the contributions of the most influential psychologists and researchers over...

The Psychology Book Summary The Origins of Psychology

Psychology is the study of human thought and behavior, as well as the mental processes that underpin them. In its infant form, psychology dealt with the concept of human consciousness before thinkers turned their attention to understanding and measuring mental processes through experimentation and behavioral observation. We’ll explore that transition in this section.

Early Ideas About Consciousness

According to the authors, psychology’s earliest beginnings were in ancient Greece when philosophers began pondering what the mind—or the soul—was and consisted of. Plato proposed the idea that the mind and the body are separate, rather than a single entity as was previously thought.

Then, in the 1600s, French philosopher René Descartes expanded on Plato’s ideas about the mind being separate from the body to theorize about how the mind influences the body: He suggested that the mind is immaterial (doesn’t exist in space) and resides in the pineal gland of the brain, where it consciously operates the rest of the body like a machine. Descartes defined consciousness as the ability to think about oneself and about one’s thoughts.

The Mind-Body Problem

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The Psychology Book Summary Behaviorism: Studying the Mind by Observing Behavior

The authors explain that many researchers felt that the best way to analyze the human mind was through a person’s behavior. Behaviorism is the study of why people and animals behave the way they do and how they learn. Behavior was appealing to study because it was observable and could therefore be studied in experiments. American psychologists considered it to be a more scientific approach to the field than the philosophical analysis of consciousness. Below, we’ll discuss some of the most important experiments and ideas that shaped the field of behaviorism.

(Shortform note: Behaviorism remains a major field of study in psychology, but it has many critics. Despite the view many had of behaviorism as a scientific and objective approach to psychology, some have suggested that the controlled variables and artificial environments in which such experiments take place lead to behaviors that humans wouldn’t normally perform. Others suggest that behaviorism discounts the role of emotions, motivations, and the unconscious mind.)

Stimulus-Response Theory: Classical and Operant Conditioning

According to the authors, some of the...

The Psychology Book Summary Psychoanalytic Theory: The Study of the Mind’s Inner Workings

The other main approach to psychology in the early 20th century was psychoanalytic theory, or psychotherapy, which was more common in Europe. Unlike behaviorism, its focus is on the internal workings of the mind—things such as repressed memories and the unconscious—and on the treatment of mental illness through therapy. Below we’ll discuss some of the most influential figures and concepts in psychoanalytic theory.

(Shortform note: While psychotherapy was originally developed with the aim of curing mental illnesses, its use has broadened in recent years, and it’s often applied with the intention of facilitating personal growth or self-improvement. Some experts suggest that this is a corruption of the field and that its use should be confined to the treatment of illnesses and dysfunctions.)

Sigmund Freud: The Father of Psychoanalysis

According to the authors, Austrian scientist Sigmund Freud pioneered the field of psychoanalysis. He established a theory that identified three dimensions of the mind: 1) the conscious, or the active operations of our minds that we’re...

The Psychology Book Summary Cognitive Psychology: The Study of Mental Processes

The authors say that after World War II, psychology’s main focus shifted from behavior and psychoanalysis to the study of mental processes like emotion and memory in what’s referred to as the “cognitive revolution.” Following the development of computer systems and artificial intelligence, some psychologists began to view the brain as an information processor, and this view—along with advances in neuroscience—gave them a model for how to study mental processes directly instead of interpreting them through behavior. This led to the field of cognitive psychology, which remains the dominant approach to psychology today. Below we’ll discuss some of cognitive psychology’s most influential concepts.

(Shortform note: The fields of cognitive psychology and computer science continue to be closely intertwined, as much of the research and advancements in artificial intelligence—the purpose of which is to program computers to have abilities similar to those of the human brain—is based on concepts from cognitive psychology. Universities now offer [combined majors in computer science and cognitive...

The Psychology Book Summary Social Psychology: Society and the Individual

The scope of psychology broadened in the 20th century, leading to the emergence of new fields like social psychology. In the 1930s, some scientists began to study how individuals behave within groups, as well as how those groups impact the individuals within them. They also looked at relationships among individuals in groups and among groups themselves. This gave them insight into how social change occurs, humans’ tendency to conform, and the psychology behind obedience, among other things. We’ll discuss some of the most prominent ideas below.

Field Theory and Social Change

The authors say that one of the earliest figures in social psychology was German-American psychologist Kurt Lewin. He developed field theory, which focuses on how a group or individual’s psychology influences a situation. He established a model of change suggesting that anyone who wants to create change in a person or group must understand the psychological and environmental factors that influence them.

For example, if a doctor’s office wanted to switch from in-office visits to remote telehealth appointments, they would need to understand many factors, including whether patients benefit from...

The Psychology Book Summary Developmental Psychology: The Mind From Infancy to Adulthood

The authors explain that prior to the 1930s, the general belief was that children are just miniature versions of adults and that the main psychological difference between children and adults was a lack of knowledge due to age. This belief was challenged by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, who argued that children’s cognitive processes are different from those of adults. This led to the field of developmental psychology, or the study of how the brain changes over the course of a lifetime, including the forming of attachments, learning, and developmental disorders, among other things. We’ll discuss some of the most influential concepts and figures below.

(Shortform note: Because the historical view of children was that they were miniature adults, the concept of childhood wasn’t established in Western society until around the 1600s. Before that, children as young as seven were treated as small adults, with the accompanying expectations for labor. [Marriage and reproduction before the age of 18 were also the...

The Psychology Book Summary Differential Psychology: The Study of Human Differences

The field of differential psychology, which arose in the 20th century, examines differences in people’s personalities and intelligences. This has led to modern day IQ and personality tests, trait theory, and research into personality disorders. We’ll discuss some of the most prominent figures and concepts below.

Differences in Intelligence

In the late 1800s, German scientist Wilhelm Wundt theorized that all living creatures have a “mental life,” which includes intelligence. The authors explain that he formed the idea of an intelligence quotient (IQ), which led him and other scientists to seek to measure a creature’s intelligence.

Later, in the 1890s and early 1900s, French psychologist Alfred Binet observed that it was only possible to measure someone’s mental abilities in a specific time and context, and that these abilities could change over time, meaning intelligence was not fixed at any particular level. Binet and fellow scientist Théodore Simon devised a set of IQ tests called the Binet-Simon Scale to assess a child’s abilities based on the abilities of other children of the same age.

While the Binet-Simon Scale was originally intended to provide...

Shortform Exercise: Apply Psychology to Your Life

In this exercise, you’ll consider how you might apply your new understanding of psychological concepts to your daily life.

What’s one theory from this guide that seems relevant to your life? For example, if you’re a parent, you may have found Piaget’s stages of cognitive development informative; or if you’re interested in criminal justice, you may have been intrigued by the concept of false memory syndrome.