Best of the Century

1. What have been the major changes in psychotherapy this century?

There are two major changes in psychotherapy in this century; one is the spread of psychotherapy to the mass of people, and another one is the efficiency of the therapies and medication. Nowadays, psychotherapy is helping millions of people through various media. Individual and group therapies are held, including workshops and seminars, and psychotherapy has reached different areas such as in education and business system. There are also products such as self-help books and computer-assisted materials that can be bought from local stores. Therapists have learned to blend many theories and practices together to suit their perspectives and patients, and with the help of advancing study of disorders, proper and improved medication can be given out.


2. Twenty breakthroughs are identified. Which 5 do you think are the most important? Justify your answer. Identify what perspective is being taken by the psychologist.

The first breakthrough, by Harry F. Harlow in 1973, is taken by the social-cultural perspective. Based on his research, Harlow shows that males and females use different approaches to solve problems. This finding is important because it helps people of different gender understand each other’s actions more and increases the health of their relationships.

The second breakthrough, by Ellen Langer—a neuroscience psychologist—in 1982, shows that just by doing a simple task such as thinking, a person can live a longer and healthier life. This discovery is significance because it can influence the staff in nursing home to give the elderly simple tasks to do; these simple tasks not only decrease the elder’s boredom, but they also lead the elder into a longer and more productive life.

The discovery of Erik Erikson in 1983 is the third breakthrough, which supports the developmental perspective. He suggests that intellectual and emotional development occurs throughout a person’s life. This finding implies that people never stop learning even if they are 70 years of age, which means that our intelligence increases every single day.

Judith Rodin’s research in 1984 is the fourth breakthrough of the century. It shows that certain hormones can trigger certain actions or feelings in people. By using the neuroscience perspective, this discovery can help people with obesity to control their food obsessions or out-of-control people because of excessive adrenaline in their system.

The fifth breakthrough by Elizabeth F. Loftus in 1984 is from the cognitive perspective. Her work shows that eyewitness testimony in courts is not reliable and that false memories can be easily put into both children and adults. This discovery greatly affects how much jurors should believe eyewitnesses in criminal court because in a court, many lives are on the line and one decision can change everything.