Unit 1: Psychology’s History & Approaches

1. Unit 1:Psychology’s History & Approaches

2. What is Psychology? http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/intro-to-psychology.html Philosophy and Biology … developing OVER TIME Questions how the mind & body relate Modern Science was born (1600s) laying psych foundation & emerging ideas linking mind & body & emotions TODAY: What is Psych Science of Behavior and mental processes A way of asking & answering questions Uses scientific method to explore thoughts, feelings, actions

3. Psychology’s RootsPrescientific Psychology • Ancient Greeks • Socrates & Plato:(469-399 BC) – viewed mind & body as separate. The mind was liberated & cont’d separate after death. People are BORN with intelligence. Used Logic vs. data • Aristotle:used data via observation. Sole is not separate from the body. Knowledge is not pre existing but grows from experiences stored in memories. Foreshadowed NATURE V. NURTURE argument

4. TIME GAP St Augustine (354-430 AD) : wrote about how the conditions of the body influence the mind and mind influences the body The body’s 4 HUMORS (blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm) Too much bile makes the body irritable TIME GAP

5. Psychology’s RootsPrescientific PsychologyScientific Revolution Begins • Rene Descartes (1595-1650): questioned how the mind & body communicated. Believed Mental Process was outside of the Physical. Used observable data • Francis Bacon (1564-1626):mind “sees” & seeks patterns & confirmations. Usedexperimentation

6. John Locke (1632-1704): rejected the idea of inborn knowledge. • Tabula Rasa (blank slate) • Empiricism: view that knowledge originates in experience. So… science should rely on obs. & exp. • Lead to the idea that all are = at birth >>> Democracy

7. Psychology’s RootsPsychological Science is Born Psych is a Science • Wilhelm Wundt (1879) • University of Leipzig- 1st psych exp. 1879 • Reaction time experiment • New Branches of Psychology developed- Structuralism & Functionalism

8. Psychology’s RootsThinking About the Mind’s Structure • Edward Titchener (Wundt’s student) worked to discover the elements of the mind • Structuralism- early school of psych that used introspection to explore elemental structure of the mind & its SENSORY EXPERIENCES • Critique:requires smart, verbal people varied from person to person--- unreliable

9. Psychology’s RootsThinking About the Mind’s Function Structuralism & Functionalism • William James • Functionalism: consciousness has a purpose. Focus = how mental/ behavioral processes function. Complex mental processes of adaption/survival/flourishing • Mary Calkins: pioneered memory research & the 1st woman • Margaret Floy Washburn: synthesized animal behavior research • Experimental psychology

10. Psychological Science DevelopsTurn of the Century • Sigmund Freud: controversial ideas influenced humanity’s self-understanding Suggested events during childhood development shaped adult psychi & behavior Father of psychoanalysis or “talk therapy”

11. 20th Century • 1900-1920s- science of mental life • 1920-60s- science of observable behavior • 1960s- science of behavior & mental processes Mental Processes Internal subjective experiences we infer form behavior– sensation, perception, dreams, thoughts, beliefs & feelings Behavior Anything an organism dies that we can observe/record

12. Psychological Science DevelopsContemporary Science • Behaviorism • John B. Watson • Little Albert experiment • Championed psych as the science of behavior & demonstrated conditioned responses in baby (Conditioning) • B.F. Skinner : Leading behaviorist • “study of observable behavior” • rejected introspection & studied how consequences shape behavior Gestault, Psychoanalysis and behavioralism

13. Psychological Science Develops1960s • Humanistic psychology : rebellion against Freudian psychology & behaviorism– found Behaviorisms focus on learned behaviors to mechanistic. Focus= meaning of early childhood memories / emphasis= importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential, & having our needs for love & acceptance met • Carl Rogers • Abraham Maslow (hierarchy of needs) • Cognitive Neuroscience

14. Contemporary Psychology

15. Psychology’s Biggest Question… Still-Aristotle • Nature – Nurture Issue • Biology versus experience • History • Greeks • Rene Descartes • Charles Darwin • Natural selection

16. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis • Levels of Analysis • Biological • Psychological • Social-cultural • Biopsychosocial Approach

17. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives Overview of specializations • Biological psychology • Evolutionary psychology • Psychodynamic psychology • Behavioral psychology • Cognitive psychology • Humanistic psychology • Social-cultural psychology

18. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

19. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

20. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

21. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

22. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

23. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

24. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

25. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

26. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

27. Psychology’s Subfields • Psychometrics • Basic Research • Developmental psychology • Educational psychology • Personality psychology • Social psychology ethics psychological-experiments.html

28. Psychology’s Subfields • Applied Research • Industrial/organizational psychology • Human factors psychology • Counseling psychology • Clinical psychology • Psychiatry

29. Tips for Studying Psychology • SQ3R • Study Tips • Distribute your study time • Learn to think critically • In class, listen actively • Overlearn • Be a smart test-taker

30. The End

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

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

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

34. Experimental Psychology = the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method.

35. 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).

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

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

38. Psychology = the science of behavior and mental processes.

39. 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.

40. 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.

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

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

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

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

45. 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.

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

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

48. Social-Cultural Psychology = the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.

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

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