The History of Modern Psychology

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The Father of Modern Psychology

• William Wundt (vil´helm voont) – First psychology lab

• 1879 Leipzig, Germany

– Attempted to break down the basic components of mental experience

– Used introspection

Introspection

• “There is one thing, and only one in the whole universe which we know more about than we could learn from external observation. That one thing, is ourselves. We have, so to speak, inside information.”

--C.S. Lewis

Introspection

• The examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes– Subjects were specially trained to describe the

sensations and feelings a stimulus created. • “Observers with their eyes closed were presented the stimuli for a brief

period, after being instructed as follows: ...Let the stimulus have its full normal effect and respond to it naturally. After I say 'Now' describe your experience as completely as you can...Don't try to tell what the object is, but describe your experience in the situation. The stimuli included odors, sandpaper, warm velvet, a blast of air, rubber gloves filled with water, preserved brain, preserved frog, soaked macaroni, wet rubber snake, and cold metal.”

Introspection Example

• Stimulus---A Rose– “At no time did the smell become dominant, at no time was it the

principal element of the experience. The [pleasant] affection stood out, dominated, seemed the principal item of experience, and the smell somehow belonged to the affection...[The smell] was loose, diffuse, unnucleated experience...The affection was unnucleated too. Along the middle there was a tendency for the smell to collect, condense, but it didn't go far. It did shrink in extent and increase in density a little (1924)

• The more dedicated Observers would spend long hours with stomach tubes in place, having various substances poured directly into their stomachs!

Shortcomings of Introspection– Requires verbal people– Results vary from person to person– People are often wrong about themselves– Often people just don’t know why they feel what they

feel“The untrained Os are just a bother. They try hard enough and in reaching around give a lot of good stuff but it is always so cluttered up with the stimulus [error]...The perceptive attitude is so ingrained that it takes a long continued effort to get rid of it and we are so often accused of overtraining our Os it makes me rather unhappy. Of course I'm going ahead but the fewer untrained Os I have to deal with the better I feel about it.” (Nafe, 1926)

The Father of Modern Psychology

• William Wundt (vil´helm voont)

– By insisting on measurement and experimentation he moves psychology from just philosophy, to science

Structuralism: 1879-1920s•Focus: the scientific study of conscious experience

•Key Figures: Edward Titchener & William Wundt

•Key Idea: Relied on introspection to explore the structures of the mind

•Like a builder would focus on the wood, brick, mortar, nails, frame of a house

•Criticisms: Subjective perceptions are unreliable, mental processes are unobservable.

William James• Rejects Structuralism

• Functionalism –theory of mental life and behavior that is concerned with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to function in its environment.

• Wrote The Principles of Psychology (the 1st modern psychology textbook)

Functionalism: 1890s-1920sFocus: the scientific study of conscious experience

•Key Figure: William James

•Key Idea: Relied on introspection to understand the adaptive purpose of mental processes

•Like an architect focuses on the functions of each room of a house and how it serves the needs of the people living in it.

•Criticisms: Subjective perceptions are unreliable, mental processes are unobservable.

Gestalt: 1890s-presentFocus: the scientific study of conscious experience

•Key Figure: Max Wertheimer

•Key Idea: The whole is different from the sum of its parts.

•Argued that analysis of the mind's elements could not completely explain consciousness, that the whole is different from the sum of its parts

•Criticisms: Theory is descriptive, but not explanatory

Gestalt Psychology

• Gestalt is a German word that means “the whole”

• This approach to psychology looks at how your perceptions of the word come together to form you whole perception.

• This perception is often greater than the sum of its parts.

Psychoanalysis: 1890s-presentFocus: the scientific study of the UNCONSCIOUS experience

•Key Figure: Sigmund Freud

•Key Idea: Behavior results from forces at work within the individual, often at an unconscious level

•Free association & dream analysis can be used to uncover unconscious conflicts, drives, wishes, and fears

•Criticisms: Interpretations are subjective, the unconscious mind is unobservable

Behaviorism: 1900-presentFocus: the scientific study of OBSERVABLE behaviors

•Key Figures: John Watson, B.F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov

•Key Idea: Behavior occurs because of conditioning; Can’t observe consciousness, so don’t study.

•Criticisms: No consideration of internal influences—people are more than behaviors!

Humanism: 1950s-present

Focus: the scientific study of mental processes & behaviors

•Key Figures: Abraham Maslow & Carl Rogers

•Key Idea: Free will, human potential, personal growth

•Criticisms: Human potential cannot be measured objectively