UNIT 1

Study Skills
Reading: Skimming and Scanning

Practice in Surveying and Questioning

Reading the Table of Contents
Most textbooks have a table of contents located at the beginning of the book that
tells the title and page number of each chapter and its subtitles, as well as the location of
the glossary, index, and/or appendix (some books may contain all of these or only a
few).
The table of contents is useful for giving an overview of the text, to show you
what information it will or will not contain. A good way to preview the content of a
course is to read the table of contents.

EXERCISE 1
Look at the table of contents from Introduction to Psychology on page 2 and answer the
following questions.
1. How many parts is the text divided into?
2. How many chapters is the text divided into?
3. What two subheadings does each chapter (except chapter 3) have?
4. What information is contained in the appendix?
5. In what chapter could you find information about:
a. The psychology of parenting?
b. The psychology of learning?

EXERCISE 2
Look at the list of topics below; decide in which chapter you would find information
about the topic. Write the number of the chapter next to the topic. Some topics may be
found in more than one chapter. If you don’t think this book would have information on
the topic, write N.I. for no information.
1. Child psychology ____________________________________________________
2. Abnormal psychology ________________________________________________
3. Biology as it relates to psychology ______________________________________
4. Psychology and its relation to the study of pain _____________________________
5. Psychology and animals _______________________________________________
6. The role of professionals in psychology ___________________________________
7. The relationship between sociology and psychology _________________________
8. Psychology and drugs ________________________________________________

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Using the Headings of Each Chapter as a Comprehension Tool
Most chapters in textbooks have their material organized under headings. Before you
read the whole chapter, a good way to survey is to read the title of the chapter and the
headings. Make the headings into questions which you will answer as you read. Notice
any Photographs along with their captions, any charts, diagrams, or cartoons.
Look for any comprehension or study questions at the end of the chapter to see
what will be expected of you when you complete the chapter. Then go back and read the
heading again. Make a guess about what information will be contained in each section.
This will help you to be an expectant, active reader.

EXERCISE 3
The following headings appear in Introduction to Psychology. Discuss with your
partner or write down what information you think might be contained under each
heading.

1. Why Study Psychology?

2. Psychology: Psyche = Mind; Logos = Knowledge or Study
3. Science

Finding the Main Idea and Supporting Ideas

Once you have become familiar with the scope and purpose of a textbook by first
studying the table of contents (as in Exercise 1 and 2) and then surveying each chapter
by studying the headings (as in Exercise 3), the next step is to read the assigned chapter
in order to find the main idea and supporting ideas. Many textbooks have a preview
section and/or summary for each chapter to give you the overall main ideas of the
chapter.

Chapter Preview
1. What is the answer to the heading, “Why Study Psychology?”
2. What is psychology about?
3. What information will be found in the chapter?

Summary
1. What is the definition of psychology?
2. What are the goals of psychology?
3. Where does the history of psychology begin?
4. What are some of the schools of thought in the field of psychology?
5. What major streams of thought can still be seen in modern psychology?
6. What are some areas of specialization in psychology?
7. What are two types of research done in psychology?

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Once you have read the preview and summary and answered the questions, you should
be able to guess what the main ideas of the chapter will be. Write your guess as to the
main ideas of the chapter, as outlined in the summary. The first one is done for you.

EXAMPLE: 1. Definition of Psychology

2. ________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________
7. ________________________________________________

Now as you read a portion of Reading 1, “An Introduction to Psychology and

Psychologist,” you will be able to fill some of the supporting ideas for the main ideas
you have listed. (You should note that only a part of Reading 1 is contained in this text.)

PREREADING: READING ONE

As you read the following section from Reading 1 of Introduction to Psychology by
Dennis Coon, keep in mind your answers to Exercise 3, in which you studied the
headings. When you finish reading this section, compare your answers to Exercise 3
with the information contained under each heading.

READING ONE:
“AN INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGIST”
Glossary
Flounder = to struggle, to search for an answer and find difficulty
Stimulus = something that awakens the mind and senses
Owls = birds with a large head and eyes, known for sleeping during the day and
staying awake at night
Genius = a person with a very high intelligence
Atmosphere = the air in a particular place; atmo = air, steam; sphere = round, ball
Threaten = to warn of something bad
Suicide = killing oneself; sui = self; cide = kill
Hypnosis = a sleeplike condition brought on by suggestion, where the person in the
condition is still responsive to spoken commands; hypno = sleep
Despair = to feel sad, without hope
Soundproof = not allowing sound to pass through
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Receptive = accepting
Gynecologist = doctor who treats women’s disease: gyneco = woman
Pioneered = started something new

An Introduction to Psychology and Psychologist 1

Why Study Psychology? Chapter

Preview
You are a universe, a collection of worlds within worlds. Your brain is possibly the
most complicated and amazing device in existence. Through the action of its 14
billion cells you are capable of art, music, science, philosophy, and war. Your
capacities for compassion, affection, and dedication coexist with your capacities for
aggression, hatred, and …. murder? You are the most frustrating riddle ever written,
a mystery at times even to yourself. You are at one and the same time a unique event
in human history and like everyone who has ever lived. Your thoughts, emotions,
and actions, your behavior and conscious experience, are the subject of this book.
Perhaps the simplest reason for studying psychology is that we are in the middle
of a psychology revolution. Aldous Huxley has said:
We have had religious revolutions, we have had political, industrial,
economic, and nationalistic revolutions. All of them, as our descendents
will discover, were but ripples in an ocean of conservatism – trivial by
comparison with the psychological revolution toward which we are
rapidly moving (Huxley, 1971).
Look around you. Newspapers, magazines, radio, and television abound with
psychological information. Psychology is discussed in homes, schools, businesses,
and bars. Psychology is an explosive, exciting, and ever changing panorama of
people and ideas. You can hardly consider yourself “educated” without knowing
something about it.
There is another reason for studying psychology. Socrates said, “Know thyself,”
and although we must envy those who have set foot on the moon, loaded into an
atom, or experienced firsthand the dreamlike landscapes of the ocean’s depths, the
ultimate frontier still lies close to home. Psychologist D. O. Helb puts it this way:
“What is psychological all about? . . . . Psychology is about the mind: the central
issue, the great mystery, the toughest problem of all” (Helb, 1974).
Psychology is a journey into inner space. This book is a travel guide. Psychologist
can’t claim to have “the answers” to all of your questions, but they can show you the
contours of the landscape already explored. More importantly, you may find skills in
psychology that will aid you in your own search for answers. Ultimately the answers
must be your own, but the study of psychology is a rich starting point. In this
chapter you will find a definition of psychology, a description of various kinds of
psychologists and what they do and a brief history of ideas in psychology.

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RESOURCES
Psychology: Psyche = Mind;
Logos = Knowledge or study

Question: What is psychology?

It is important then, to be open-minded as you begin the study of psychology.
Consider it an adventure and judge after you have seen what psychology has to
offer. For now, let us say that psychology is the scientific study of the behavior of
organism. Its goals are to describe, understand, predict, and control behavior.

Question: What does “behavior” refer to in the definition of psychology?

Behavior is anything you do. Eating, sleeping, talking, and sneezing are
“behaviors.” So, are dreaming, gambling, taking drugs, watching TV, learning
Spanish, basket weaving, and reading this book. Psychologists prefer to focus on
behavior because it can be observed and measured. Psychology floundered early in
its development because psychologists differed in their answers to question such as:
“When you look at a ‘green’ lawn, do you experience the same color sensation that I
do?” This question can’t be answered. It is too subjective. You may experience the
sensation I call “red,” but if we both consistently label it “green” (because it
happens every time we look at the lawn) we will never discover that we have had
different experiences. All we can observe scientifically, or empirically, is that when
we look at the same stimulus (the lawn) we respond alike: We call it “green.”

Question: Then psychologists try to be objective?

Yes. Psychologists have a special respect for empirical evidence. That is,
information gained by direct observation and measurement, rather than through
opinion, argument, or reliance on authority. Would you say it’s true that “you can’t
teach an old dog new tricks?” why argue about it? A psychologist would get ten
“new” dogs, ten “used” dogs, and ten “old” dogs and then try to teach them all new
tricks to find out!
Whenever possible, psychologists settle differences by direct investigation. As
self-evident as this approach may seem in fields such as biology or physics, we are
still often tempted in psychology to accept what seems plausible or sensible, rather
than what is.
For example, see how many of these questions you can answer correctly on the
basis of personal experience reasoning, or common sense, and then we will compare
your answers to those established empirically.

1. Owls can see in complete darkness. T of F?

2. The higher s person’s intelligence, the greater the chance of mental illness.
(Genius is the next to insanity) T of F?
3. The image of the moon is magnified by the atmosphere near the horizon. T of F?
4. Those who threaten suicide rarely actually commit suicide. T of F?
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 5. Through the use of hypnosis, people can be made to perform unusual feats of
strength. T of F?
6. Intelligence is completely inherited from one’s parents. T of F?
7. If your car breaks down, you are more likely to get help from a passerby on a
busy highway than on a lightly traveled country road. T of F?
8. Punishment is the most effective way to reinforce the learning of new habits. T
of F?
9. Drug addiction is one of the major causes of murder and other violent crimes. T
of F?
10. A one-eyed man could not land an airplane. T of F?

Scoring this quiz is easy since all of the statements are F, false. If you missed some,
don’t despair, because the point is simply this: Psychology became a science when
psychologists began to perform experiments, make observations, and seek
evidence, and you will become a more critical and sophisticated observer of human
behavior to the extent that you do the same.

Question: I’ve heard that psychology isn’t scientific. You have said it is. Is it?

Science. Psychology has been described by some as the “almost” science” because
scientific study of humans is not yet possible in all areas of research. Sometimes
questions go unanswered because of moral or practical limitations. What would
happen if a child were placed in a soundproof, lightproof boy for the first five years
of life? This question will probably never be directly answered (However, many
times an indirect answer can be obtained by studying animals.)
Sometimes research must await a receptive social climate. Very little was known
about human sexual response until William Masters, a psychologist, and Virginia
Masters, a psychologist, pioneered direct recording of physiological responses to
sexual intercourse. Such research would have been impossible to carry out and
publish 20 years ago.
More frequently, psychological question remain unanswered because a suitable
method does not yet exist. For years the subjective reports of people who said the
never dream had to be considered accurate. Then the EEG (electroencephalograph
or brain-wave machine) was developed, and it became possible to tell objectively
when a person is dreaming. People who “never dream”, it turns out, dream
frequently and remember their dreams when awakened during one. Through use of
the EEG, the study of dreaming is becoming quite scientific.

Comprehension

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A. Answer the following statements True of False. For the true statements, locate the
sentence or sentences in the reading that tell why the statement is true. Correct the
false statements so that they are true.

__ 1. Psychology is a subjective field of study

__ 2. Many psychological questions go unanswered because a suitable method does not
yet exist
__ 3. We now have machinery that can tell us objectively when a person is dreaming
__ 4. Psychologist can find answers to questions about humans indirectly by studying
animals
__ 5. Direct investigation is an approach used in biology and physics but not in
psychology
__ 6. Eating, watching TV, and taking drugs are all examples of human behavior
__ 7. There are no limitations for a psychologist engaged in research
__ 8. Psychological research about human sexual response began over fifty years ago
__ 9. Psychologist find answers only by accepting what seems sensible to them
__10. Psychologist observe and measure behavior

B. Give brief answer to the following questions

1. How is psychology defined in this chapter?
2. What is behavior?
3. What is empirical evidence?
4. What are some limitations on psychological research?

C. For Discussion and/or Writing

1. Did you have any idea what psychology was before you read this part of chapter
1? Was your idea different from of similar to what you read in the chapter?
2. Do you think a psychologist should have the right to carry out any kind of
experiment on human volunteers (for example, giving a strong drug to prisoner-
volunteers to test the drug’s effect)?
3. What might a psychologist learn by studying a person’s dreams?
4. After studying Reading One, what do you feel is the most important reason for
studying psychology? Why?
5. Why do you think Aldous Huxley felt that the psychological revolution is much
more important that all religious, political, industrial, economic, and
nationalistic revolutions?
6. Why is it necessary to conduct psychological experiments in a scientific way?
Why can’t we simply believe people’s statements about their behavior?

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