A New Science is Born

1. A New Science is Born

2. Psychology • In the 1870s – psychology “intellectual parents” were philosophy and physiology – H • How are bodily sensations turned into a mental awareness of the outside world? • Are people’s perceptions an accurate reflection of reality? • How do the mind and body interact?

3. Wilhelm Wundt • Scientific approach to studying the mind – made psychology an independent discipline • Focusses on consciousness – awareness of immediate experience • G. Stanley Hall – student of Wundt – brought his studies to America • Launched first research laboratory and psychology journal • Helped to establish the American Psychological Association

4. Battle of the schools – Structuralism vs Functionalism • Structuralism – brought about by Edward Titchener (trained with Wundt) • based on the notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into basic elements and investigate how these elements are related • fundamental components of conscious experience: such as sensations, feelings and images • depended on method of introspection – careful, systematic self-observation of one’s own experience • requires training for the subject themselves to be objective and more aware of themselves

5. Battle of the schools – Structuralism vs Functionalism • Functionalism – brought about by William James (trained in medicine) • based on the belief that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure • James drew influence from Charles Darwin’s natural selection – heritable characteristics that provide a survival or reproduction advantage are more likely than alternative characteristics to be passed on to the next generation and thus become “selected” over time.

6. Battle of the schools – Structuralism vs Functionalism • Functionalism – brought about by William James (trained in medicine) • James thinks structuralists miss the real nature of conscious experience – breaking consciousness into elements makes static parts – James wanted to look at the “flow of consciousness” • Want to look at how people adapt their behavior to the demands of the real world around them • Patterns of development in children, behavioural differences between the sexes, mental testing

7. Behaviourism • Emerges as another school of thought – John B Watson • Based on the premise that scientific psychology should be the only way to observe behavior • Wanted to abandon the study of consciousness altogether – believed that mental processes were not a proper subject for scientific study because ultimately they are private processes – no one can see your thoughts! • Behavior – any observable response or activity by an organism. • Nature vs Nurture – age old debate concerned with whether behavior is determined by genetic inheritance or by environment and experience • Behaviourist believed that it is the environment which shapes who people are

8. Behaviourism • Stimuli Response Psychology – how does one react to stimuli (an detectable input from the environment) • Ivan Pavlov – Pavlov’s Dogs – dogs can be trained to salivate in response to auditory stimulus • No longer need to study human subjects – use animals – can exhibit more control over their subjects • https://youtu.be/asmXyJaXBC8 ¶

9. Gesalt Psychology • concerned with perception • Psychology should continue to study conscious experience rather than just observable behavior

11. Sigmund Freud • Treated people with irrational fears, obsessions, and anxieties with psychoanalysis • Methods: Free association –saying whatever comes to mind • Blocks in the flow are considered “resistance” • Analyst interprets the resistance

12. Sigmund Freud • Existence of the unconscious – contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but that nonetheless exert great influence on behavior • Slips of the tongue can reveal a person’s true feelings • Dreams express important feelings a patient is unaware of • Psychoanalytic theory attempts to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious determinants of behavior

13. Sigmund Freud • Proposed that behavior is greatly influenced by how people cope with their sexual urges – scandalous! • Theories competed with behaviouralism (which was moving away from studying consciousness) • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hmYR23b-1Q

15. Skinner – behaviorist • Organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to positive outcomes, and they tend not to repeat responses that lead to neutral or negative outcomes • Worked with lab rats and pigeons – trained the birds to play ping pong! • Asserts that ALL behavior is governed by external stimuli – people are controlled by their environment, not by themselves • Free will is an illusion • Criticized

16. Humanism • theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and their potential for personal growth • Psychoanalysis criticized for the thought that behavior is dominated by primitive, sexual urges • Bahavouralism criticized because it suggests people are not masters of their own destinies • Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow • Human behavior governed primarily by each individuals sense of “self” or “self concept” – which animals lack ¶

17. Other Theories • Biological psychology – human and animal behavior can be explained in terms of the bodily structures and biochemical processes that allow organisms to behave • Cognitive Psychology – people’s manipulations of mental images influence how they behave Noam Chomsky, Jean Piaget (studies children’s development) • Sociocultural Psychology (1980s) – how cultural factors influence behaviour • Evolutionary Psychology (1990s)– examines behavioral processes in terms of their adaptive value for members of a species over the course of many generation