Unit 1:Psychology’s History and

Approaches

Unit Overview

●What is Psychology?●Contemporary Psychology

What is Psychology?

Psychology’s RootsPrescientific Psychology

●Ancient Greeks●Socrates and Plato●Mind is separable from the body and continues after the body dies●Knowledge is innate (born within us)

●Aristotle●Loved data●Careful observation●Knowledge is not pre-existing/It grows from experiences stored in our memories

Psychology’s RootsPrescientific Psychology

●Rene Descartes ●Francis Bacon●John Locke●Tabula Rasa (blank slate)●Empiricism (NC)

Psychology’s RootsPsychological Science is Born

●Wilhelm Wundt (1879)●University of Leipzig (first lab)●Reaction time experiment●Seeking to measure what?●Introspection

Psychology’s RootsThinking About the Mind’s Structure

●Edward Titchener●Structuralism NC●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”

Psychology’s RootsThinking About the Mind’s Function

●William James●Functionalism NC●Mary Calkins●Margaret Floy Washburn●Experimental psychology

William James (1842-1910)

●Published Psychology’s first textbook●The Principles of Psychology (1890)●Analysis●Introspection●Experiment●Comparison

Psychological Science Develops●Wundt and Titchener: focused on inner sensations, images and feelings●James: introspection analysis of consciousness and emotion●Freud: emphasized the ways emotional responses to childhood experiences and our unconscious though processes affect our behavior

“Science of mental life”-through the 1920’s

Psychological Science Develops

●Behaviorism●John B. Watson ●B.F. Skinner●“study of observable behavior”

1920’s-1960’s

“You can not observe a sensation, a feeling, or a thought, but you can observe and record people’s behavior as they respond to different situations.”

Psychological Science Develops(1960’s)

●Humanistic psychology●Carl Rogers●Abraham Maslow●Cognitive Neuroscience NC

Psychological Science Develops

●Psychology●Science●Behavior●Mental processes

Contemporary Psychology

Psychology’s Biggest Question

●Nature – Nurture Issue●Biology versus experience●Charles Darwin●Natural selectionNC

Nurture works on what nature endows.

Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

●Levels of Analysis NC●Biological●Psychological●Social-cultural●Biopsychosocial Approach NC

Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

Psychological Approaches/Perspectives (The

Umbrella)●Biological psychology NC●Evolutionary psychology NC●Psychodynamic psychology NC●Behavioral psychology NC●Cognitive psychology NC●Humanistic psychology NC●Social-cultural psychology NC

Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

Perspective:Neurobiological

●How the body and brain create emotions, memories, and sensory experiences●How evolution and heredity influence behavior●How messages are transmitted through the body●How blood chemistry is linked to moods and motives.●Major focus: the influence of biology on our behavior.

●Best way to treat/help patients???????

4 lobes of the brain

Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

Perspective:Psychoanalytic

●How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts●Analysis of personality traits and disorders in terms of sexual and aggressive drives as the disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas●Unresolved complexes hidden within ones unconscious (Oedipus and Electra, Potty training)●ID, EGO, SUPEREGO●Unconscious of why we do what we do

●Treatment?????

Id, Ego, Superego

●Id=Pleasure principle●Ego=Reality principle●Superego=Conscience (inhibitions and moral values)●Battleground

Id, Ego, Superego

Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

Perspective:Behavioral (Learning)

●How observable responses are acquired and changed●How we learn to fear particular objects or situations●How we most effectively alter our behavior, say, to lose weight or stop smoking.●Reinforcements and Punishments●How has ones environment shaped who they are. (Watson quote)●Personal experiences and reinforcement guide individual development●Skinner box, Pavlov's dogs, Little Albert●Treatment?

Behaviorism

Little AlbertPavlovs dogsBGSU

●Classical Conditioning●Operant Conditioning●Observational Learning

Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

Perspective: Cognitive

●How we process, store, and retrieve information●How we use information in remembering, reasoning, and solving problems●Interpretation of mental images, thinking, and language●Memory

●Treatment????

How would someone in this perspective treat your fear?

Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

Perspective:Humanistic

●Our capacity to choose our life patterns and not just be driven by unconscious forces or shaped by the environment●A reaction to behaviorism and psychoanalysis●How we seek maturity and fulfillment●How people experience and understand their own lives●How people find meaning in life●Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs

●Treatment?

Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

+ Application of Theories●John is 40 years old. He lives alone with his mother. He has never been married but has a good job as an engineer. His life seemed to be going well until one day a month ago. John’s boss chewed him out for not doing something right at work. During the last month, John has been worried and depressed because he has started to forget things. He told his mother, who told Ethel who lives next door, and now everybody knows. Here are some examples of what has been happening to him: he was supposed to turn in plans for a new project but forgot they were due. He had always remembered his mother’s birthday, but it was a week ago and he completely forgot about it, hurting her, even though she pretended not to be upset. A month ago, a few days after the incident on the job, he met a woman he really liked and set up a date with her for later in the week. But he had forgotten that he was going to be out of town then, so he had to cancel the date./ Explain John’s behavior and treatment you would recommend based on the theory given to your group.

JOHN

Psychology’s Subfields

●Psychometrics NC●Basic Research●Developmental psychology NC●Educational psychology NC●Personality psychology NC●Social psychology NC

Psychology’s Subfields

●Applied Research NC●Industrial/organizational psychology NC●Human factors psychology NC●Counseling psychology NC●Clinical psychology NC●Psychiatry NC

Tips for Studying Psychology

●SQ3R NC●Study Tips●Distribute your study time●Learn to think critically●In class, listen actively●Overlearn●Be a smart test-taker

Definition Slides

Empiricism

= the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation.

Structuralism

= an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind.

Functionalism

= a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function – how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Experimental Psychology

= the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method.

Behaviorism

= the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. ●Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Humanistic Psychology

= historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth.

Cognitive Neuroscience

= the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

Psychology

= the science of behavior and mental processes.

Nature-Nurture Issue

= the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.●Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.

Natural Selection

= the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

Levels of Analysis

= the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon.

Biopsychosocial Approach

= an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.

Biological Psychology

= a branch of psychology that studies the links between biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes.

Evolutionary Psychology

= the study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection.

Psychodynamic Psychology

= a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders.

Behavioral Psychology

= the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning.

Cognitive Psychology

= the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Social-Cultural Psychology

= the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.

Psychometrics

= the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

Basic Research

= pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

Developmental Psychology

= the scientific study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.

Educational Psychology

= the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning.

Personality Psychology

= the study of an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Social Psychology

= the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

Applied Research

= scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology

= the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.

Human Factors Psychology

= the study of how people and machines interact resulting in the design of machines and environments.

Counseling Psychology

= a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, and marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.

Clinical Psychology

= a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

Psychiatry

= a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who often provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy.

SQ3R

= a study method incorporating five steps; Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review.