Introduction and Brief History of Psychology

1. Introduction and Brief History of Psychology

2. Objectives • To be able to understand the scientific nature of Psychology • To enumerate the goals of Psychology • To briefly trace the historical development of Psychology • To describe the different schools of thought and contemporary approaches in psychology

3. Objectives • To be familiar with the different methods used by psychologists • To identify different issues tackled by the different subfields of psychology.

4. Definition Psychology – A scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. Etymologically, it came from the Greek words, Psyche which means “soul” or “mind”, and Logos which means “the study of.”

5. Definition • Behavior - Any response or activity of an organism. It can either be simple or complex; overt or covert; conscious or unconscious; voluntary or involuntary; rational or irrational.

6. Goals of Psychology • To Describe • To Explain • To Predict • To Control • The use scientific methods to find answers that are far more valid and legitimate than those resulting from intuition and speculation

7. Activity • To test your knowledge of psychology, try answering the following questions – True or False? 1. Infants love their mothers primarily because their mothers fulfill their basic biological needs such as providing food. 2. Geniuses generally have poor social adjustment 3. The best way to ensure that a desired behavior will continue after training is completed is to reward that behavior every single time it occurs during training rather than rewarding it only periodically. 4. People with schizophrenia have at least two distinct personalities. 5. If you are having trouble sleeping, the best way to get to sleep is to take a sleeping pill.

8. Activity • To test your knowledge of psychology. try answering the following questions: 6. Children's IQ scores have little to do with how well they do in school. 7. Frequent masturbation can lead to mental illness. 8. Once people reach old age, their leisure activities change radically. 9. Most people would refuse to give painful electric shocks to other people. 10. One of the least important factors affecting how much we like another person is that person‘s physical attractiveness

9. Important People in the Dev’t. of Psychology

10. Important People in the Dev’t. of Psychology Aristotle (384 –322 BC) – He made assumptions out of observation regarding human behavior. He believed that all beings, humans included, have souls, which animate them. Humans, however, compared to other animals, have rational souls. Thus, humans are not only, physical, but also rational. He also theorized about learning, memory, motivation, emotion, perception and personality.

11. Important People in the Dev’t. of Psychology Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650) - supported the view that humans enter the world with an inborn store of knowledge. He argued that some ideas (such as God, the self, perfection and infinity) are innate. He is also notable for his conception of the body as a machine that can be studied.

12. Important People in the Dev’t. of Psychology John Locke (1632–1704)-Believed that at birth the human mind is a “tabula rasa” or a blank slate, on which experience “writes” knowledge.

13. Important People in the Dev’t. of Psychology Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) - He is the author of the Law of Natural Selection or Theory of Evolution; inspired the Psychological school of thought, Functionalism.

14. Important People in the Dev’t. of Psychology Francis Galton (1822–1911) - He was concerned with the study of individual differences. He was considered as the “Father of Mental tests”

15. Important People in the Dev’t. of Psychology Ernst Weber (1795–1878); Gustav Fechner; Herman von Helmholtz (1821–1894) German Physicians who started experimenting with behavior through scientific methodologies.

16. Important People in the Dev’t. of Psychology Wilhelm Wundt – Considered as the “Father of Modern Psychology.” He established the first experimental laboratory for the study of Psychology, in Leipzig, Germany, 1879. He created a machine that measured the time lag between people’s hearing a ball hit the platform and their pressing a telegraph key. Wundt has seeking to measure the “atoms of the mind” – the fastest and simplest mental processes.

17. Important People in the Dev’t. of Psychology Wilhelm Wundt - in his laboratory in Leipzig, Germany

18. Important People in the Dev’t. of Psychology G. Stanley Hall A student of Wundt’s who established what many consider as the first American psychology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in 1883.

19. Important People in the Dev’t. of Psychology Hermann Ebbinghaus - A German who reported on the first experiments on memory, 1885.

20. Schools of Thought 1. Structuralism (Edward Titchener) – Study of the parts of conscious experiences through introspection. Conscious experiences are composed of sensations, feelings, and images. Introspection is a process of studying the self, or self-examination. Introduced by St. Thomas of Aquinas.

21. Schools of Thought 2. Functionalism (William James) – Defines behavior or the mental phenomena in terms of their functions in man’s adjustment to his environment. It is very much influenced by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

22. Schools of Thought • Gestalt Psychology (Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Koffka) Believed that the human mind imposes meaning to related experiences. It advocates that the study of human behavior should be wholistic. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

23. Schools of Thought 4. Behaviorism (John B. Watson) Emphasized the need to study what is observable. Its objective was to predict and control behavior. S-R Psychology.

24. Schools of Thought • Psychoanalysis (Sigmund Freud) –Much of our behavior is governed by unconscious motive and primitive biological instincts. It considered all humans basically would like to gain pleasure and avoid pain.

25. Contemporary Approaches • Neuroscience - Views behavior from the perspective of biological functioning • Psychodynamic - Believes behavior is motivated by inner, unconscious force over which a person has little control

26. Contemporary Approaches • Behavioral - Focuses on observable behavior • Cognitive - Examines how people understand and think about the world • Humanistic – Contends that people can control their behavior and that they naturally try to reach their full potential

27. The Scientific Method • The approach used by psychologists to systematically acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest. • Identifying questions of interest, • Formulating an explanation, (Theories and Hypotheses) • Carrying out research designed to support or refute the explanation.

28. Methods Used in Psychology 1. Descriptive Research – An approach to research designed to systematically investigate a person, group, or patterns of behavior. a. Naturalistic Observation - Research in which an investigator simply observes some naturally occurring behavior and does not make a change in the situation b. Directed Observation (Survey) - Research in which people chosen to represent a larger population are asked a series of questions about their behavior, thoughts, or attitudes.

29. Methods Used in Psychology 1. Descriptive Research – An approach to research designed to systematically investigate a person, group, or patterns of behavior. c. Archival Research - Research in which existing data, such as census documents, college records, and newspaper clippings, are examined to test a hypothesis. d. Case Study - An in-depth, intensive investigation of an individual or small group of people.

30. Methods Used in Psychology 2. Correlational Method - The correlational method involves systematically measuring the relationship between two or more variables Correlation Coefficient : +1.00 to -1.00 Positive Correlation Negative Correlation

31. Methods Used in Psychology Correlational Method

32. Methods Used in Psychology 3. Experimental Method - Considered as the most scientific of all methods. The researcher investigate a phenomenon by preparing 2 identical groups and altering the conditions of one of the groups; afterwards, measuring the difference. Independent Variable Dependent Variable

33. Methods used in Psychology Experimental Method

34. Fields in Psychology 1. Developmental Psychology – The study of human development and the factors that shape behavior form birth to old age.

35. Fields in Psychology 2. Social Psychology – The study of how people think about, influence, relate with one another, and the ways interaction with other people influence attitudes and behavior. 3. Personality Psychology – The study of individual differences.

36. Fields in Psychology 4. Clinical Psychology – The study of the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and behavioral problems (mental illness, drug addiction, marital and family conflict).

37. Fields in Psychology 5. Counseling Psychology – The study that deals with personal problems such as academics, social or vocational problems; counseling psychologists deal with less serious problems compared to clinical psychologists.

38. Fields in Psychology 6. School and Educational Psychology – The study that deals with the evaluation of learning and emotional problems of individual in school.

39. Fields in Psychology 7. Industrial/Organizational Psychology – The study involving the selection of people most suitable for particular jobs, the development of training programs in organization, and the identification of determinants of consumer behavior.

40. Fields in Psychology 8. Environmental Psychology – The study that deals with the relationship between humans and the environment.

41. Fields in Psychology 9. Behavioral Neuroscience – The study that employs the biological perspective, seeking to discover the relationships between biological processes and behavior.

42. Fields in Psychology 10. Experimental Psychology – The study that employs the behavioral and cognitive perspective as well as the experimental method in studying how people react to sensory stimuli, perceive the world, learn and remember, and respond.

43. Fields in Psychology 11. Forensic Psychology – the study that applies psychology to the law and legal proceedings.

44. Fields in Psychology 12. Sports Psychology – The study that applies theories and knowledge in psychology to enhance athletes’ and coaches’ performance.

45. Fields in Psychology 13. Health Psychology – The study of the cognitive, affective, behavioral, and interpersonal factors affecting health and illness.

46. Fields in Psychology 14. Cross-Cultural Psychology - investigates the similarities and differences in psychological functioning in and across various cultures and ethnic groups. 15. Behavioral Genetics - studies the inheritance o f traits related to behavior

47. Fields in Psychology 16. Cognitive psychology - focuses on the study of higher mental processes 17. Evolutionary psychology - considers how behavior is influenced by our genetic inheritance from our ancestors. 18. Psychology of Women - focuses on issues such as discrimination against women and the causes of violence against women

48. Fields in Psychology 19. Indigenous psychology - the study of human behaviors and mental processes within a cultural context that relies on values, concepts, belief systems, methodologies and other resources indigenous to the specific ethnic or cultural groups under investigation. of violence against women

49. Exercise • Identify which subfield of psychology is related to the issues or questions posed below: • Joan, a college freshman, is worried about her grades. She needs to learn better organizational skills and study habits to cope with the demands of college. • At what age do children generally begin to acquire an emotional attachment to their fathers?

50. Exercise • It is thought that pornographic films that depict violence against women may prompt aggressive behavior in some men. • What chemicals are released in the human body as a result of a stressful event? What are their effects on behavior? • Luis is unique in his manner of responding to crisis situations, with an even temperament and a positive outlook • Jeanette's job is demanding and stressful. She wonders if her lifestyle is making her more prone to certain illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease.