Explaining Humans: Winner of the Royal Society Science Book Prize 2020

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Bouchard, T. J., & McGue, M. (1981). Familial studies of intelligence: A review. Science, 212(4498), 1055-1059.

Holland, J. G. (1978). BEHAVIORISM: PART OF THE PROBLEM OR PART OF THE SOLUTION? Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11(1), 163-174. The cognitive approach within psychology also holds that internal mental processes lead to behaviours. Many of the experiments carried out were done on animals; we are different cognitively and physiologically. Humans have different social norms and moral values that mediate the effects of the environment. According to Baddeley and Hitch (1974), the central executive component functions to control attention, but the exact nature of this component remains unclear. To better understand the capacity of the central executive, we can make predictions using the model's assumptions. One assumption is that the central executive has a small storage. It is important to appreciate that the human brain is a highly complicated piece of biological machinery. Scientists have only just “scratched the surface” of understanding the many functions of the workings of the human brain. The brain can influence many types of behavior.The underlying assumption is that to some degree the laws of behavior are the same for all species and that therefore knowledge gained by studying rats, dogs, cats and other animals can be generalized to humans.

H.M. suffered such devastating epileptic fits that in the end a surgical technique that had never been used before was tried out. As proposed by John B. Watson, methodological behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology that maintains that psychologists should study only observable, measurable behaviors and not internal mental processes. In contrast, traits that do not enhance survival will gradually disappear. Theories within the biological approach support nature over nurture. An example of behavior of evolutionary explanation is Bowlby’s theory of attachment. While modern behaviorists often accept the existence of cognitions and emotions, they prefer not to study them as only observable (i.e., external) behavior can be objectively and scientifically measured.The fundamental belief of this type of therapy is that clients can fulfill their full potential as human beings if they can achieve these goals. Examples of humanistic therapies include client-centered therapy and Gestalt therapy. Research using twin studies looks for the degree of concordance (or similarity) between identical and fraternal (i.e., non-identical) twins. Twins are concordant for a trait if both or neither of the twins exhibits the trait. Twins are said to be disconcordant for a trait if one shows it, and the other does not.

According to Rogers, people could only self-actualize if they had a positive view of themselves (positive self-regard). This can only happen if they have unconditional positive regard from others – if they feel that they are valued and respected without reservation by those around them (especially their parents when they were children). Humanistic psychology is a perspective that emphasizes looking at the the whole person, and the uniqueness of each individual. Humanistic psychology begins with the existential assumptions that people have free will and are motivated to acheive their potential and self-actualize. Summerhill School in UK, founded by A.S. Neill is one of the schools that have applied humanistic ideas fully with some success to enhance motivation in students.

Humanistic psychologists also believe that the most fundamental aspect of being human is a subjective experience. This may not be an accurate reflection of the real world, but a person can only act in terms of their own private experience subjective perception of reality. The behaviorist movement began in 1913 when John B. Watson wrote an article entitled Psychology as the behaviorist views it, which set out several underlying assumptions regarding methodology and behavioral analysis: All behavior is learned from the environment: Watson and Rayner (1920) conditioned an orphan called Albert B (aka Little Albert) to fear a white rat. It offered a new set of values for approaching an understanding of human nature and the human condition. This approach supports the application of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to treat conditions like depression effectively.