26. PROLOGUE: The Story Of Psychology

Prologue Introduction

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PROLOGUE

The Story Of Psychology

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Harvard astronomer Owen Gingerich (2006) reported that there are more than 100 billion galaxies. One of these, our own relative speck of a galaxy, has a few hundred billion stars, many of which, like our Sun-star, are circled by planets. On the scale of outer space, we are less than a single grain of sand on all the oceans’ beaches, and our lifetime but a relative nanosecond.

Yet there is nothing more awe inspiring and absorbing than our own inner space. Our brain, adds Gingerich, “is by far the most complex physical object known to us in the entire cosmos” (p. 29). Our consciousness—our mind somehow arising from matter—remains a profound mystery. Our thinking, emotions, and actions (and their interplay with others’ thinking, emotions, and actions) fascinate us. Outer space staggers us with its enormity. But inner space enthralls us. Enter psychological science.

For people whose exposure to psychology comes from the news and popular media, psychologists seem to analyze personality, offer counseling, dispense child-raising advice, examine crime scenes, and testify in court. Do they? Yes, and much more. Consider some of psychology’s questions that you may wonder about:

Have you ever found yourself reacting to something as one of your biological parents would—perhaps in a way you vowed you never would—and then wondered how much of your personality you inherited? To what extent do genes predispose our person-to-person differences in personality? To what extent do home and community environments shape us?
Have you ever worried about how to act among people of a different culture, race, gender, or sexual orientation? In what ways are we alike as members of the human family? How do we differ?
Have you ever awakened from a nightmare and wondered why you had such a crazy dream? Why do we dream?
Have you ever played peekaboo with a 6-month-old and wondered why the baby finds the game so delightful? The infant reacts as though, when you momentarily move behind a door, you actually disappear—only to reappear out of thin air. What do babies actually perceive and think?
Have you ever wondered what fosters school and work success? Are some people just born smarter? Does sheer intelligence explain why some people get richer, think more creatively, or relate more sensitively?
Have you ever wondered how the Internet, video games, and electronic social networks affect people? How do today’s electronic media influence what we think and how we relate?
Have you ever become depressed or anxious and wondered whether you’ll ever feel “normal”? What triggers our bad moods—and our good ones? What’s the line between a normal mood swing and a psychological disorder for which someone should seek help?

Psychology is a science that seeks to answer such questions about us all—how and why we think, feel, and act as we do.

A smile is a smile the world around Throughout this book, you will see examples not only of our cultural and gender diversity but also of the similarities that define our shared human nature. People in different cultures vary in when and how often they smile, but a naturally happy smile means the same thing anywhere in the world.