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A 3-hour Tour
Ok, so not quite 3 hours – just a (VERY BRIEF) – History of Psychology
First things first . . .
What is psychology? The scientific study of behavior & mental processes
Science: making verifiable, objective predictions Behavior: observable acts Mental Processes: storing, recalling, using info/feelings
How is it different from other social sciences? Focus on individual behavior
Where did it come from? Philosophy Physiology
Psychology is born (roughly) in 1879
Historical Origins of ψ from Philosophy Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650)
Historical Origins of ψ from Philosophy Rene Descartes
Beliefs Rationalist: True knowledge comes through
reasoning Nativist: Heredity provides individuals with inborn
knowledge and abilities and we use this to reason We are to doubt everything – that’s the only
way we can be certain about anything I think, therefore I am.
Historical Origins of ψ from Philosophy John Locke (1632 – 1704)
Historical Origins of ψ from Philosophy John Locke
Saw the mind as receptive and passive, with its main goal as sensing and perceiving
Tabula rasa – we are born as a blank slate, everything we know is learned
This is in direct contrast to the rationalist Descartes
Psychology Becomes More Scientific Hermann Helmholtz (1821 – 1894)
Psychology Becomes More Scientific Hermann Helmholtz
He was a mechanist – he believed that everything can be understood with basic physical and chemical principles
He pushed for the need to test and demonstrate things.
Psychology Becomes More Scientific Gustav Fechner (1801 – 1887)
Psychology Becomes More Scientific Gustav Fechner
Psychophysics – he pushed to investigate the relationship between the physical world and our conscious psychological world
He thought it possible to measure the perceived as well as the physical intensities of sensory stimuli and to determine a mathematical relationship
Just noticeable difference (JND) approach
The Father of Psychology
Wilhelm Wundt
The Father of Psychology
Wilhelm Wundt 1st ψ lab (1879)
University of Leipzig, Germany Focus on consciousness
Find basic elements of conscious processes Discover how elements (sensations and feelings) are
connected Specify laws of connection
Introspection Self-observation: ‘seeing’ mental processes in immediate
experience
The First Schools of ψ
Structuralism Lots of work on sensation & perception and breaking
those down into minute detail Three basic mental elements
Images, feelings & sensations
Titchner Found 43,000 elements associated with sensory experiences 30,000 associated with visual 11,000 associated with auditory 4 associated with taste (was correct with this one)
The First Schools of ψ
Functionalism Focus on adaptation
Applying Darwin’s theory of natural selection to mental processes
William James Stream of consciousness Consciousness is personal/selective, continuous (can’t be ‘cut
up’ for analysis), and constantly changing Structuralism was foolish to search for common elements to all
minds
The First Schools of ψ
Behaviorism Focus on observable behavior J. B. Watson
Felt that the main goal of psychology should be the prediction and control of behavior
Stimulus-response theory We respond to stimuli with our behavior, not thoughts Pavlov’s dog studies
Reinforcement for behavior If our behavior produces rewarding consequences, then we
will do it again
Subsequent Schools of ψ
Gestalt psychology Wholes vs. multiple individual elements
You shouldn’t dissect an experience into separate elements to discover truths – instead, look at the ‘whole’
Max Wertheimer Phi phenomenon
Subsequent Schools of ψ
Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory Conscious vs. unconscious conflicts
Unconscious: motivations and memories of which we are not aware
Mental illness arises from being overwhelmed by which of these is ‘in control’
Psychoanalysis as therapy: tell me about your childhood….
Today’s Theoretical Perspectives
Behavioral Observable S-R relationship
Psychodynamic Unconscious forces motivating behavior
Humanistic Self-actualization, free will
Cognitive Thought processes
Psychobiological Genes, brain function
Evolutionary
So what is it you do?
Basic vs. applied Areas of psychology:
Developmental Personality Clinical Cognitive Social Experimental/biological Quantitative