History of Psychology

Welcome to Unit 2 Seminar!

TONIGHT

• This week's seminar is about both the philosophical

influences of psychology and the physiological

connection.

• More specifically we will discuss the contributions of

Rene Descartes (/day-cart’/), John Stuart Mill, James

Mill, and John Locke.

Perry’s Theory of Intellectual Development

– Dualism

• Unquestioning, absolute, right/wrong– Multiplicity

• Multiple points of view– Relativism

• Knowledge is contextual and relative– Commitment to Relativism

• Beyond the classroom, integration to self

Some Terminology…

• Psychology is the scientific study of mind (thoughts, feelings, etc.) and behavior (actions).

• Historiography The principles, methods, and philosophical issues of historical research.

• Zeitgeist “spirit of the time,” the intellectual and cultural climate

Major Themes in Psychology

• Structuralism• Functionalism• Gestalt psychology• Psychodynamics• Behaviorism• Humanistic• Cognitive• Neuroscience

QUESTION

• What is the mind-body

problem and how does it

relate to psychology?

Mind-body Problem

• Distinction between mental and

physical qualities.

– Dualist position states they are separate;

how does one influence the other?

– The direction and interplay of the mind

(spirit/soul) and the physical.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

Before Descartes, the accepted

point of view was that the

interaction between the mind and

body was essentially

unidirectional (went in one

direction), that the mind

influenced the body, but not the

other way around.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

“The harmony and order of the

universe could be explained in

terms of the clock’s regularity—

which is built into the machine by

the clockmaker just as the

regularity of the universe was

thought to be built into it by God”

(Schultz & Schultz, 2011, p. 23).

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)• The mind influences the body;

however, the body exerts a great influence on the mind– Bidirectional, not uni-directional– Innate knowledgeConarium – Descartes believed the

conarium was the passage or linking mechanism to the metaphysical, a place in the brain that linked the physical with the spiritual. He determined that the pineal gland did this.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

• The Zeitgeist of the times. – In what way was Descartes’ life and intellect

influenced by the era in which he lived?– Lifestyle– Pursuits– Social settings– Political settings– Moral/religious settings – Mind/body connection

The New Science of Psychology

What is positivism?

Positivism

• The doctrine that recognizes only

natural phenomena or facts that

are objectively observable and not

debatable.• Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

The New Science of Psychology

What is positivism? Write in your own words what positivism is.

The New Science of Psychology

What is positivism? The idea that science should be based totally on observable facts is called positivism

The New Science of Psychology

•What is materialism?

Materialism

• The doctrine that considers the facts of

the universe to be sufficiently explained

in physical terms by the existence and

nature of matter.

The New Science of Psychology

•What is materialism?

The New Science of Psychology

•What is materialism?

Matter is all there is to explain theuniverse. Materialism denies there is anything of importance other than the material (matter). Only what we can measure and perceive is real to a materialist.

John Locke (1632-1704)• Rejected Descartes’ notion of innate

knowledge• Tabula Rasa (blank slate)

– Nurture not nature– Everything is learned through experience

• Simple ideas are received passively; upon reflection, simple ideas make up complex ideas.– assimilation/accomodation of schemas

(Piaget)

The New Science of Psychology

•What is empiricism?

Empiricism

• The pursuit of knowledge through the

observation of nature and the attribution of

knowledge to experience; knowledge through

observation and experimentation.

The New Science of Psychology

•What is empiricism?(State this in your own words to the class)

James Mill (1773-1836)• Father of John Stuart Mill• Machine not a metaphor for the

mind, rather the mind IS a machine.

• No free will– Mind is passive, acted on by

external stimuli

• Learning through association (linking)– Early behaviorism

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

• Son of James Mill• Argued against mind as

machine, rather mind was active in association process

• Creative synthesis– Combination of mental

elements creates something greater than the sum of its parts (…Gestalt roots).

The Scientific Approach to Psychology

• The German approach to science – defined broadly as compared to England and France

• Measurement

• Ernst Weber (1795–1878)

• Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801–1887)

• Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894)

Herman von Helmholz

• Helmholtz abandoned his research into

human reaction times.

Herman von Helmholz

• Helmholtz abandoned his research into

human reaction times.

• He found individual differences from one

individual to the next.

Herman von Helmholz

• Helmholtz abandoned his research into

human reaction times.

• He found individual differences from one

individual to the next.

• He found differences within the responses of

the same individual.

Question

• What is the smallest detectable difference

between two stimuli?

Question

• What is the smallest detectable difference

between two stimuli?

– “just noticeable difference” coined by Weber

Absolute Threshold

• The definition of the point of

sensitivity below which no sensation

can be detected and above which

sensation can be experienced

Psychophysics

• The scientific study of the relations

between mental and physical

processes

Reference

Littell, T. (2010). Adapted from Power Point

presentation.

Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2011). History of modern

psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Stark, R. (2005). Victory of reason. New York: Random

House.