心理学与生活-第74章
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resembles in his style of investigation and his unpromising interest in the individual as self。
Allport was born in Montezuma; Indiana; in 1897; one of four children。 His father; a physician; ran
his clinic in the Allport home。 He indulged his strong belief in the imposition of discipline and
responsibility at an early age by assigning each of his sons a task to carry out in the clinic。 Mrs。
Allport; a former schoolteacher; introduced the children to philosophy; providing them with the
foundations of the classics and encouraging their independent inquiry into the nature of things。
She was a religious woman and stressed the importance of faith。 Allport himself has described his
upbringing as one of “plain Protestant piety and hard work。”
On pletion of high school; Allport followed his brother Floyd to Harvard。 His education was
interrupted briefly when he served a short time in the armed forces during World War I。 He
eventually earned his B。A。 in 1919。 Gordon did not immediately pursue a graduate degree;
choosing instead to teach in Istanbul; Turkey; but returned to Harvard a year later to earn his
doctorate in psychology at the age of 24。 He did not remain in the United States for long; again
feeling the need to travel and study abroad。 This time Allport spent two years at large universities
in England and Germany。 When he returned; he secured a permanent academic position at
Harvard。
Allport’s most significant book; Personality: A Psychological Interpretation; was published in 1937
and enjoyed a great reception。 (The book was thoroughly revised 24 years later under the title
Pattern and Growth in Personality。) His approach to understanding human personality as a growing;
changing system of traits; attitudes; and habits became well known。 Allport is responsible for
emphasizing the importance of both the concept of attitudes in social psychology and the concept
of personality traits。
From 1939 to 1949; he was the Harvard University editor of the Journal of Abnormal and Social
Psychology and was elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1939。 He cofounded
the Department of Social Relations at Harvard in 1946 and; thereafter; was closely
identified with the “third force” in psychology; the humanistic psychologists。 Allport received the
Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award in 1964 and continued to pursue his research and
writing until his death in 1967。
Hans Jargon Eysenck (b。 1916)
Hans Eysenck; the grandson of a medical doctor and an only child; was born in Berlin; Germany。 In
order to gain admission to the University of Berlin; Eysenck was required to join the Nazi party as a
member of the SS。 He tolerated these circumstances for only a short time; leaving eventually for
France and; finally; England。 Eysenck studied psychology at the University of London; obtaining
his Ph。D。 in 1940。 He became director of the psychology department at Maudsley Hospital in
London after World War II; and has traveled often to the United States as a visiting professor。
Eysenck’s contributions to psychology have been varied。 He is regarded most for his empirical and
theoretical work on personality and his contributions to behavior therapy。 He is particularly well
known for his personality test battery; the Eysenck Personality Inventory; and for his critical review;
in 1952; of the value and effectiveness of psychotherapy; especially psychoanalysis; in the
treatment of psychological disorders。 Eysenck founded the journal Behavior Research and Therapy in
1962; and is the author of more than 350 books and articles; including the Biological Basis of
Personality (1964) and Personality; Structure and Measurement (1969)。
279
PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
Sigmund Freud was born in Pribor; Czechoslovakia; in 1856。 Although Freud was a gifted student;
it took him eight years to finish his medical degree at the University of Vienna; partly because he
was interested in so many topics。 Freud first pursued a career as a neurologist; but financial
concerns forced him into general medical practice。 In cooperation with his friend Joseph Breuer;
Freud began to treat hysterical women。 This is unusual; because at the time there was no known
cure for hysteria; which is now known as a conversion disorder。 Through trial and error and
feedback from clients; Breuer and Freud developed the technique known as psychoanalysis。
The fundamental rule of psychoanalysis is honesty; clients must relay all thoughts and feelings
uncensored to the analyst。 Clients then follow their stream of thought wherever it may lead; a
process known as free association。 In the course of free association; clients often uncover traumatic
events in the past; and; upon reliving these events; often experience relief from their symptoms。
Freud’s first major work; The Interpretation of Dreams (1900); detailed the process of dream
interpretation; which he felt was the “royal road to the unconscious。” Although it took six years to
sell the first 600 copies printed; this work would go through eight additional printings during
Freud’s lifetime。
Although the technique of psychoanalysis is perhaps Freud’s most important legacy; he made
many other substantial contributions to psychology。 These include the recognition of the
importance of sexuality and unconscious processes; a fully developed system of personality; and
an appreciation for the conflict between individual desires and the constraints of society。 His work
has influenced so many aspects of our thinking that he is often not given full credit for the
development of his ideas。 Freud’s many detractors are quick to point out that his theories are not
based on empirical research。 While this is certainly true; just because they lack empirical evidence
does not mean that they are wrong。 It just means that they are less likely to be right。 Because of the
breadth of his intellectual contributions; he remains the most cited psychologist in Psychology and
Life and most parable texts。
Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961)
Carl Jung was born in Kesswil; Switzerland; the son of a pastor。 From childhood; Jung was
fascinated by the problems of religion and spiritualism。 He received his M。D。 from the University of
Basel in 1901; with an emphasis in psychiatry。 Having read Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams; he
sought the master out and soon became Freud’s most famous disciple。 An eventual split between
Freud and Jung occurred; prompted by Jung’s belief that the psychosexual theory of development
was too restrictive。
Jung advanced his own brand of psychology; known as analytic psychology; introducing the
concepts of the collective unconscious and archetypes。 Like Freud; Jung developed a large
following of loyal adherents。 In his later writings; Jung returned often to an analysis of religion and
mysticism; addressing themes that had fascinated him from his youth。
Neal Miller (b。 1909)
Neal Miller has been in the vanguard of American psychology for more than 30 years。 He sees
himself as a “builder of bridges between disciplines” and; indeed; his contributions run the gamut
from social…learning theory and frustration…aggression hypotheses; to physiological research into
brain stimulation and control of autonomic responses through biofeedback。
Miller received his undergraduate training at the University of Washington and his master’s degree
at Stanford University。 In 1935; he earned his doctorate at Yale; the school with which he would be
associated for the next 30 years。 In light of the strongly behavioristic approach his research has
taken; it is interesting to note that he received considerable formal training in psychoanalytic theory
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CHAPTER 14: UNDERSTANDING HUMAN PERSONALITY
and practice。 Perhaps his participation at the Institute of Human Relations at Yale; where he was in
contact with anthropologists and sociologists primarily concerned with the influence of the social
milieu on the individual; impressed him with the limitations of analysis。
With the publication of two landmark books; Social Learning and Imitation in 1941 and Personality
and Psychotherapy in 1950; he and his colleague; John Dollard; created a sensation。 These works
demonstrated that social learning; psychoanalytic treatment; and the origins of neurosis could be
understood in terms of classical learning theory。 The intelligent; innovative nature of Miller’s
acplishment brought him a Newb…Cleveland Prize in 1951 and a Warren Medal in 1954。
In the same year that Personality and Psychotherapy was published; Miller applied his theories of
behavior modification to victims of bat neurosis with a high degree of success; essentially
abandoning the psychoanalytic approach to therapy。 True to his self…portrait as a “bridge…builder;”
he translated the implications of his research and therapeutic techniques to a more physiologically
based line of inquiry; investigation into the physiology of learned responses。 He used electrical
stimulation of parts of the brains of animal participants to elicit motivational sensations such as
fear; pain; and pleasure; and demonstrated that an electrical or chemical stimulation of the brain
may bring about sensations of hunger。 Following the example of Pavlov; he continues to explore a
wide range of learned visceral responses。 In accord with what he has already discovered about
learned visceral responses; he designed a lightweight electromechanical instrument that alerts
children with scoliosis whenever they lapse into incorrect posture。 The results of this treatment
have been encouraging。
Although he is now an emeritus professor; Miller remains active in his research and conceptual
contributions to the field of behavioral medicine。 Miller served as president of the American
Psychological Association in 1961; was awarded the National Medal of Science; and has been
elected to the National Academy of Sciences。
Carl Rogers (1902–1987)
Carl Rogers; the founder of client…centered therapy and one of the best…known figures in humanistic
psychology; is often described by friends as the “man who gave people permission to be
themselves。” A firm believer in the basic goodness of human beings; Rogers based his approach to
therapy and education on the assumption that individuals; when given the proper opportunity and
encouragement; can decide for themselves the best course to follow。 This doctrine placed the mild…
mannered Rogers squarely in the face of controversy throughout his career; as he attempted to go
beyond the mere formulation of pleasant…sounding philosophies; to implement his notions in the
context of social institutions。
A student of agriculture; Rogers made an abrupt change of plans after traveling to China with a
student religious group。 He began to see that he would only truly satisfy his needs and interests in
a milieu that encouraged munication and offered him an opportunity to help others。 He
enrolled in a theological seminary; but soon found the emphasis on dogma and hierarchy to be
contradictory to his hi