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5. Social sciences were considered to be pseudo-sciences for a long period of time, until the researchers have added an empirical basis to the theory. Galton was a so-called Victorian polymath and was studying the abilities of human mind in the 19th century. His works helped in formulating the basics of differential psychology and intellectual tests. Galton investigated into measuring human abilities like speed of reaction, which he connected with the intellectual potential. Even though some of his conclusions were false, Galton created the way of measuring mental activity that is used today.
6. William James started investigating into psychology when it was only trying to prove that it was a science. Even though he was more critical about materialism than Pierce, he managed to develop a pragmatic philosophy. James believed that the attempts to explain metaphysical concepts often lead to the conclusions that the issue itself is unreal, as well as the disagreement theories. James wrote that it is possible to clarify a metaphysical concept God exists. According to his point of view, the idea of God is pragmatically explained when it makes religious people feel better. In this way James established certain compromise with pragmatic philosophy.
7. There were numerous pseudo-scientific theories in psychology not so long ago that tried to make oppressive ideas legitimate. Among them were the theories that women are inferior on an intellectual level to men, that IQ is hereditary and that homosexuality needs to be cured. A great number of such doubtful questions created an image of a pseudo-science. The publication of The Manual of the American Psychological Association systematized the rules of writing scholar works, determined the ways of citing to avoid plagiarism and referencing. It helped to create an image of an academic science.
8. Leta Hollingworth investigated into the question of intellectual differences between men and women. She wanted to disprove the idea that women were mediocre in their intellectual and psychic abilities, while men exhibited variations from the lowest to the highest extremes. Hollingworth stated that it was a culturally-influenced issue that had nothing to do with genetics. She also proved that women did not have decreased intellectual abilities during their menstrual cycle. The current researches support her conclusions about equal mental abilities of men and women, because no empirical evidences were found to support the opposite stereotype.
9. According to Gestalt psychological theory, a person percepts the entire system before paying attention to its minor parts. The theory is often criticized for several issues. The first one is that it is not explanatory by its nature and provides only the descriptions that are often vague and uninformative. The second problem is that people sometimes misperceive things and it leads to creation of false images. It can happen because of individual characteristics like headache, bad sight or hearing. The perception can also be influenced by outer circumstances. For example, the object was too far and it was difficult to see its lines or there were too many people in the room and it was problematic to concentrate.
10. Functionalism was the main psychological theory in the beginning of the 20th century in the US. This psychological school was influenced by the works of William James, and created by James Rowland Angell and John Dewey. However, the details about the work of functionalists are not well-known. It is considered to use the theory of evolution and natural selection proposed by Darwin. It is possible to say that functionalists naturally developed into behaviorists. Functionalists thought that human behavior depended upon the environment and changed with it. This idea was developed by the behaviorist school later.
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11. Structuralism is considered to be one of the first psychological schools that focused mainly on categorizing mental processes. Functionalism was created as a response to the structuralism theory. The works of Charles Darwin and William James influenced this theory. Functionalists made an attempt to explain the elements of consciousness from the viewpoint of human behavior and the purpose of thinking. Structuralists and functionalists were initially influenced by the same theories of evolution and tried to understand the work of human mind from a scientific point of view. In addition, structuralism became the basis for further functionalism researches.
12. The system of mental health treatment had changed greatly from the beginning of the 20th century till now. It is still impossible to cure serious mental disorders, but it is possible to ease the life of patients. In the early 1900s, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud wrote numerous works in psychoanalysis that professionals use nowadays. However, the conditions in asylums were not comfortable at all. In the nearest past the patients moved from the hospitals and are now treated in residences that have less strict environment. The medicine stepped forward in producing antipsychotics that ease the problems of people. In addition, the care standards and advocacy system changed for better.
13. People actively use behaviorist principles in modern therapy, learning theory and even business nowadays. Even though it is considered to be quite simple and primitive, it is still effective. The main idea of the theorys creator John B. Watson was that it was possible to measure, train and change every way of conduct. It is not difficult to gather information during the research, so businesses often apply these methods. It helps to train the employees easily in the company. It is possible to set healthy habits in therapy, when the patient learns how to guard the regime. The behaviorist principles are also used in education. Even though the approach is not individual and is quite primitive, its effectiveness is proved by time.
14. Butterfield and Lachman initiated the discussion about the cognitive revolution, They believed that cognitive psychology might change the science greatly. The apologists of information processing theory supported their ideas. However, the majority of scientists consider cognitive ideas to be linked to behaviorism. Cognitivism develops the ideas of behaviorism, adding precise predictions and descriptions of models. This certainly moves the science forward, but still cannot be called a revolution. It is a slow natural development of one approach into another, as it was in case of structuralism and functionalism. Nowadays, cognitive approach is the newest one and is based on the results of all previous researches.
15. I did not mention Robert V. Guthrie in my text because he is not connected with the discussed issued. However, he influenced the development of psychology in the US greatly. He was the only black student in the masters program in the university in 1955 and had to experience numerous prejudices about his skin color. He became an inspiration for other minority students and showed by his example how to overcome stereotypes. After graduation, Guthrie promoted the idea that the American universities needed to hire more people of different nationalities not only to teach ethnic studies, but also other subjects as well. He wanted to see the revolution of diversity in a psychological sphere.
