The Story of Psychology

1. Prologue The Story of Psychology PSYCHOLOGY David G. Myers C. Nathan DeWall Twelfth Edition

2. Prologue Overview • The Story of Psychology • What Is Psychology? • Psychology Is a Science • Key Elements of the Scientific Attitude and Scientific Inquiry • Milestones in Psychology’s Early Development • Behaviorism, Freudian Psychology, and Humanistic Psychology • Contemporary Psychology • Psychology’s Level of Analysis and Subfields • Benefits of Psychological Principles

3. What Is Psychology? • Psychology is a science • Uses evidence-based method: observation and experimentation (empirical approach) • Requires scientific attitude: curiosity, skepticism, and humility • Employs science-based critical thinking strategies

4. Psychological Science Is Born (part 1) • In the beginning • Before 300 B.C.E.: Aristotle used observation and questioning to understand the body–psyche relationship • Questions were answered through observation (and guesses)

5. Psychological Science Is Born (part 2) Psychology’s First Laboratory Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) • Sought to measure ”atoms of the mind” • Created experimental apparatus • Elements included carefully measured observations and experiments

6. Psychology’s First Schools of Thought (part 1) • Structuralism • Titchener (1867–1927) • Mentored by Wundt • Encouraged self-reported introspection, reporting on sensations and other elements of experience in reaction to stimuli • Used these introspective reports to build a view of the mind’s structure

7. Psychology’s First Schools of Thought (part 2) • Functionalism • William James (1842–1910) • Influenced by Darwin • Studied evolved functions of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors • Authored Principles of Psychology

8. Psychology’s First Women (part 1) • Mary Whiton Calkins (1863–1930) • Became memory researcher and first APA female president • Studied with James but faced discrimination and was denied a Ph.D.

9. Psychology’s First Women (part 2) • Margaret Floy Washburn (1871–1939) • Became first female Ph.D. in psychology and second APA female president • Wrote The Animal Mind • Studied with Titchener but was barred from his experimental psychology organization

10. Psychological Science Develops: Behaviorism • Behaviorism • Defined psychology as “the scientific study of observable behavior” without reference to mental processes • Became a major force in psychology into 1960s • Proponents • John B. Watson (classical conditioning)and B. F. Skinner (operant conditioning) dismissed introspection • Watson and Rayner conducted the famous “Little Albert” experiments

11. Psychological Science Develops: Freudian Psychology • Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) • Emphasized how unconscious thought processes and emotional responses to childhood experiences affect later behavior

12. Psychological Science Develops: Humanism • Humanistic psychology • Revived interest in the study of mental processes • Focused on ways that current environments nurture or limit growth potential and the importance of having the needs for love and acceptance satisfied • Led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

13. Contemporary Psychology • The cognitive revolution occurred in 1960 and interest in mental processes returned. • Cognitive psychology scientifically explored ways in which information is perceived, processed, and remembered. • The interdisciplinary field of cognitive neuroscience ties the science of the mind (cognitive psychology) with the science of the brain (neuroscience). It focuses on the brain activity underlying mental activity.

14. Modern Definition of Psychology • Psychology: science of behavior and mental processes • Behavior: any action that can be observed or recorded • Mental processes: internal, subjective experience inferred from behavior

15. Contemporary Psychology (part 1) • The field of psychology is growing and globalizing. • Psychology’s pioneers have come from many fields: physiology, philosophy, medicine, and biology. • Advances in psychology are being made by more than 1 million psychologists worldwide. • Their work has contributed to the growing understanding of biology and experience and fueled the nature–nurture debate.

16. Contemporary Psychology (part 2) • The big nature–nurture question continues. • To what extent are our traits already set in place at birth (our “nature”)? • To what extent do our traits develop in response to our environment and experiences (our “nurture”)? Why do you think these questions are important?

17. Contemporary Psychology: Evolutionary Psychology and Behavior Genetics Nature • Plato: Character and intelligence inherited; some ideas inborn • Descartes: Some ideas are intuitive • Darwin: Some traits, behaviors, and instincts are part of species; natural selection Nurture • Aristotle: Content of the mind comes through senses • Locke: Mind is a blank slate Nurture works on what nature provides.

18. Contemporary Psychology (part 3) • Cross-cultural and gender psychology • Psychological studies are often conducted with participants from WEIRD cultures. • Shared biological heritage contributes to underlying universal processes. • Socially defined gender and biologically defined sex contribute to deeper understanding of similarities and differences within and across cultures.

19. Contemporary Psychology: Positive Psychology • Martin Seligman and others • Explores human flourishing • Uses scientific methods to investigate the building of a good life, which engages a person’s skill, and a meaningful life, which extends beyond oneself

20. Contemporary Psychology (part 4) • Evolutionary psychology: focuses on how humans are alike because of common biology and evolutionary history • Behavior genetics: focuses on differences related to differing genes and environments • Cross-cultural psychology: focuses on how culture shapes behavior, but recognizes that some underlying processes are universal • Gender psychology: focuses on differences; males and females are overwhelmingly similar • Positive psychology: focuses on human flourishing

21. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

22. Psychology is a “hub scientific discipline” (Cacioppo, 2007) that represents wide-ranging interests • Basic research • Biological psychologists • Developmental psychologists • Cognitive psychologists • Personality psychologists • Social psychologists • Applied research • Industrial-organizational psychologists • Counseling psychologists • Clinical psychologists • Psychiatrists • Community psychologists

23. Psychology’s Current Perspectives

24. As the author reminds us… “Like two-dimensional views of a three-dimensional object, each of psychology’s perspectives is helpful. But each by itself fails to reveal the whole picture.”

25. Use Psychology to Become a Stronger Person—and a Better Student (part 1) • Becoming a stronger person • Get a full night’s sleep • Make space for exercise • Set long-term goals, with daily aims • Have a “growth mindset” • Prioritize relationships

26. Use Psychology to Become a Stronger Person—and a Better Student (part 2) • Becoming a better student • Self-testing and rehearsal boost retention of material • Actively processing material and retrieving material helps master it (testing effect) • Spaced rehearsal, interspaced with other subjects, is more efficient than cramming • Concept familiarity is not effective enough

27. SQ3R Study Method (McDaniel et al., 2009; Robinson, 1970) • Survey • Scan/skim what you are about to read, especially chapter outlines and section heads. • Question • Ask questions that the text might answer; write guesses. • Read • Look for the answer to your questions, reading a manageable amount at a time. • Rehearse • Recall what you have read in your own words. Test yourself with quizzes. • Review • Read over any notes you have taken. Write or say what a concept is before rereading to check your understanding.

28. Four Additional Study Tips • Distribute study time • Learn to think critically • Process class information actively • Overlearn