History of Psychology: Aristotle, before 30 BC

Greek naturalist and philosopher who theorized about learning, memory, motivation, emotion, perception, and personality.

René Descartes: 1596-1650

Originated the concept of Dualism, viewed mind and body as interactive machines.

Stated that the mind could follow body and vice versa.

Proposed the idea of both voluntary and involuntary behavior.

Ruled out areas other than the brain for mental functioning.

John Locke: 1632-1704

Knowledge should be acquired by careful observation.

No innate ideas: all knowledge comes from experience or

reflection. Mind is a blank slate written on

by experience (tabula rasa).

Charles Darwin: 1850s

Studied the evolution of finches and expands

his study to include humans.

Opposed religious teachings of the time by suggesting that man was a common ancestor to lower species.

Birth of Psychology Wilhelm Wundt:

Father of Psychology

1879: Leipzig, Germany. Intended to make psychology a reputable science.

Many American psychologists eventually went on to study in Leipzeig.

Wilhelm Wundt: Father of Psychology

Most of his experiments on sensation and perception.

Did not think that high order mental processes could be studied

experimentally. Trained in medicine and philosophy. Wrote many books about

psychology, philosophy, ethics, and logic.

Can you read this?

This is bcuseae the huammn mnid deos

not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Amzanig, huh?

IntrospectionLooking inward at one’s

own mental processes.

Because it is not objective, it fails miserably.

E.B. Titchener

Wundt’s student. Taught at Cornell University.

Studied nature of mental experiences.

Structuralism: Analyze sensations, images and feelings

into their most basic elements.

William James: 1842-1910

Claimed that searching for building blocks was a waste of time

because brain and mind are constantly changing: focused on function.

Functionalism. Underlying causes and practical consequences of certain behaviors and mental strategies: “Stream of Consciousness.”

Expanded psychology to animal behavior.

Herman Ebbinghaus1885

Published classic studies on

memory, nonsense syllables, learning

curve.

American Psychological Association (APA)

Founded in 1892: the governing body of all research not conducted by

universities.

Eclecticism Utilizing of diverse theories and

schools of thought. Mosaic, no single approach can

create the whole picture. Unlikely for psychology to ever have

a unifying paradigm. Grand theories replaced by more

specific ones.

Fields in Psychology Group activity:

Schools of Pscyhology

song

The Gestalt School Based on the idea that perceptions

are more than the sums of their parts

Instead of “parts”, they are wholes that give shape, or meaning, to the parts.

Ex: the previous song

Psychological Perspectives Today

Behavioralism

Behavioral Perspective: Focus on the influence of environment on behavior.

All behavior is observable and measurable.

Behaviorism Ivan Pavlov, 1849-1936. Russian experimenter who

showed automatic/involuntary behavior in learned responses to specific stimuli in the environment.

Created “Classical Conditioning.”

Behaviorism John Watson, 1913. Psychology can never be as

objective as chemistry or biology. Consciousness is not that easy.

“I can take a child and make him into anything, a beggar, a

doctor, a thief.”

Behaviorism B.F. Skinner, 1950’s. Dismissed importance of inherited

traits and instincts about human behavior. Private events can be studied as long as they are treated as a form of behavior, many experiments with learning and memory.

Believed that all behavior is a result of rewards and punishments in the past.

Behavioristic Theory Social Learning Theory: How people

acquire new behaviors by observing and imitating others (modeling).

Criticisms: Excluded all behavior that cannot be seen. All behavior cannot be explained by rewards and punishments. Treats people like robots as if they have no free-will.

Psychoanalytic Theory Focus on how unconscious motives

influences behavior. All behavior is meaningful, and

much of it is controlled by digging below the surface to uncover the roots of personality.

Sigmund Freud!!! (Da MAN!)

Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939. Studied neurology, but wanted to

be a medical researcher, forced into being a private physician.

Became convinced that patients difficulties were due to mental rather than physical problems.

Proposed that distress due to problems that dated back to childhood.

Siggy Freud Psychoanalysis: Freud’s method for

treating people with emotional problems, free association.

Unconscious: Nearly all of our impulses are sexual and aggressive in nature. Because we cannot accept them in our conscious, thoughts find their expression in dreams, slips of the tongue that appear as accidents, and even jokes.

Psychoanalytic Theory Aggressive energy: Basic human

instinct lodged in unconscious; the duty of society is to get people to channel their aggressive energy into productive activity. If not, aggression is released and violent activities occur.

Psychoanalytic Theory

Hidden Desires: Freud stated that people are “cesspools

of hidden desires.” Unresolved Conflicts: If these

occur in childhood, this will cause fixations in later life. (Stages)

Psychoanalytic Theory Freud’s Stages: Oral (Birth - 1 yr.),

anal (1 yr.), phallic (4 yrs. - separates males/females), latency (Puberty), genital (adult)

3 Personalities: Id, Ego, Superego: Id: Wants/Desires, Basic primal

instincts. “Pleasure Principle” Ego: “Reality Principle” Superego: Conscious mind. “Do the

right thing.”

Psychoanalytic Theory: Criticisms

Does not focus on observable behavior, negative viewpoint of mankind

because actions are provoked by unconscious thoughts, cannot be scientifically proven or disproven.

Ignores political and social explanations of people’s problems.

Currently focuses on perceptions, memories, and thinking in our unconscious (Psychodynamic theory).

Humanistic Theory

1950’s-60’s: Emphasize free-will, people not completely

ruled by environment or past experience, able to control

one’s own choices and destinies to achieve full

human potential.

Humanistic Theory Abraham Maslow:

Hierarchy of Needs: People’s struggle is to be the best they possibly can,

known as self-actualization. Carl Rogers: Former minister;

believed all people strive for perfection; some interrupted by a bad environment.

Humanistic Theory Human Potential: Everyone striving

to reach their highest potential. Criticisms: Believes all people are

good and that people have the ability to heal themselves. Too vague, more of a philosophy for life than a psychology.

Biopsychological (Neurobiological)

Focuses on the influence of biology on behavior Seeks to understand the nervous system. All

actions, feelings associated with the nervous system.

Wilhelm Wundt: Expected psychology to rest almost solely on Anatomy and Biology. Interested in how bodily events interact with events in the external environment to produce perceptions, memory and behavior. Roger Sperry won Nobel-Prize for his Split-Brain research.

Biopsychological (Neurobiological)

Nervous System: Responsible for our behavior; Specifically abnormal and immediate responses.

Anatomy/Biology: Solely responsible for human behavior.

Criticisms: Ignores mental processes. Explains too little of human behavior, rejects environmental influences.

Cognitive Theory Thinking: Focuses on how mental

thoughts affect behavior. Studies how we attend, perceive, think,

remember, solve problems and arrive at beliefs.

Know what’s going on in people’s heads first, then applies it to their behavior.

Jean Piaget: studies children’s cognitive development.

Cognitive Theory Thought Processes: Can infer mental

processes from observable behavior.

Remember Gestalt Psychology: means “pattern” or “whole.” Studies how people interpret sensory information in order to acquire knowledge.

“The whole is larger than the sum of its parts”

Cognitive Theory: Criticisms

Downplays emotion, too mentalistic, hard to decide between competing cognitive explanations.

Strong approach today.

Sociocultural Psychology

Examines how cultural and political (religious) experience effect our everyday life.

Gender influences of behavior. Job opportunities to influence people’s goals and ambitions.

Sociocultural Psychology

It is NOT intrapsychic: Within the mind or self.

Cultural Values/Political Systems: How norms and social influences affect behavior.

Sociocultural Psychology Ambition/Goals/Values:

Environments influence on one’s long-term ambitions.

Criticisms: Underestimated personal and overestimated social influences on our behavior. Makes broad generalizations about ethnic groups and cultures.

Jobs in Psychology

Clinical Psychologists Help people with psychological

problems, such as anxiety, depression, or severe psychological disorders

Clinical psychologist help their clients overcome problems and adjust to the demands of life.

They also help people with problems in their relationships, addictions, or weight control.

Clinical Psychologists continued….

Clinical psychologists are trained to evaluate psychological problems through use of interviews and psychological tests

Then they help clients understand and resolve their problems by changing ineffective or harmful behaviors.

Psychiatrists A psychiatrist is a MEDICAL

DOCTOR. They specialize in treatment of

psychological problems and can PRESCRIBE MEDICATION

Counseling Psychologists Typically treat people with adjustment problems

rather than those with serious psychological disorders Ex:

Struggling making a decision about ones career Having difficulty making friends Having conflicts with family members, teachers,

employers, etc Dealing with parents’ divorce

Counseling psychologists help people identify their goals, overcome adjustment problems, and meet challenges

School Psychologists

School psychologists help identify and help students with problems by talking with teachers, parents, and the student themselves.

They may also administer tests such as intelligence tests and achievement tests.

School psychologists help identify and assist students with special needs, learning difficulties or disorders, and students who may be academically gifted.

In many school districts school psychologists help place students in certain classes to help them be successful

Education Psychologists They are concerned with helping students learn, but focus

more on planning and instructional methods for an entire system

They are concerned with theoretical issues that relate to how we measure student abilities, learning, and development

They help decide which tests are most effective in determining student success.

They also help consider how certain items on tests or certain instructional methods in the classroom account for student differences and promote their success.

Developmental Psychologists

Study the changes that occur throughout a person’s lifespan

Include: Physical changes emotional changes Cognitive changes social changesThey also look at how heredity (genes) and the environment influence a person’s

development

Personality Psychologists Identify characteristics or traits Looks for different traits people

have and then study these traits They share this information with

clinical psychologists who are interested in the origins of certain psychological disorders

Social Psychologists Concerned with people’s behavior in social situations Look at how men and women act in same settings/

different settings What attracts people to one another Why people tend to conform to groups standards and

expectations How people change in groups What effects prejudice Why people act aggressive or why people help others

in certain situations

Experimental Psychologists Conduct research into basic human

processes such as the nervous system

Engage in basic research Has no immediate application, but is

done for its own sake Their findings are often put into

practice by other psychological specialists.

Industrial Psychologists Focus on people and work Improve working conditions Job satisfaction Help people who have problems on

the job

Environmental Psychologists Focus on the way in which people

influence and are influenced by their environment.

Consumer Psychologists Study behaviors of shoppers to

explain and predict their behavior

Forensic Psychologists Work within the criminal justice system Can testify about the psychological competence of a

defendant They may be called to explain how psychological

problems can give rise to certain criminal behaviors Help select police officers Train police officers in handling dangerous

situations such as suicide threats, hostage crises, and family violence

Health Psychologists May study the effects of stress on

health problems such as headaches and heat disease

Try to explain why some people follow doctors advice and some disregard it

Help people adopt helpful lifestyle changes such as exercising