Part 1: A brief look at the roots of Psychology

1. Part 1: A brief look at the roots of Psychology

2. A quote… • “Psychology has a long past, but a short history.” • -Hermann Ebbinghaus • What do you think this statement means?

3. Ancient roots • Buddha, Confucius, ancient Hebrews, etc. • Ancient Greece • Socrates/Plato: relied on logic to determine that the mind is separate from the body • Aristotle: human behavior governed by patterns and rules; i.e. seeking pleasure, avoiding pain; used observation and data • Hippocrates: strange behavior caused by brain abnormalities, not the gods; four “humors” or fluids determined personality

4. 1600s • Rene DeCartes, France • “I think, therefore I am.” • People used their inborn knowledge to reason • Theorized about brain fluids causing movement by flowing through nerves to our muscles • Francis Bacon, Great Britain • Focused on experiments and common sense over superstition; responsible for the scientific method • John Locke • “Tabula rasa:” blank slate

5. Birth of Modern Psychological Science • Bacon and Locke’s insights lead to modern empiricism- that knowledge comes from experience and science relies on observation, experimentation, evidence. • Important note: the first people who did psychology came from different fields of study (“Magellans of the mind”)! • December, 1879: 1st psychology lab established in Germany at University of Leipzig by Wilhelm Wundt • The 1st ever psychology experiment on reaction time and perception: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW6nm69Z_IE

6. The first two perspectives/theories Edward Titchener (Wundt’s student) • Founded structuralism (1892): used self-reflective introspection used to discover the elements of the mind. William James • Created functionalism: how do our thoughts and behaviors help us adapt to our environments? • Wrote the first psychology textbook (1890) • Admitted the first female Psychology Ph.D at Harvard (Mary Calkins)

7. Other early landmarks • Hermann Ebbinghaus: first experiments on memory (1885) • 1st Psychology Ph.D awarded (1886) • 1st American Professor of Psychology (1888) • APA (American Psychological Association) founded in 1892 • Edward Thorndike: first experiments on animal learning (1898) • Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): Psychoanalysis • Alfred Binet: first intelligence test (1905) • John B. Watson (1878-1958): Behaviorism • In order to be a reputable science, psychology should limit itself to observable, measurable behaviors (1913) • Gestalt Psychology (Wertheimer, Koffka, etc) (1920s): "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts;” learning comes from insight, not only from repetition and rewards • For more details, watch this video: • http://www.learner.org/series/discoveringpsychology/history/history_flash.html

8. Part 2: The Six Modern Theoretical Approaches to Psychology

9. 1. Psychoanalytic approach • Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

10. 2. Behaviorist approach • John Watson (1878-1958) • B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

11. 3. Humanistic approach • The late 1950s and 1960s

12. 4. Cognitive approach • Cognition=Thinking

13. 5. Biological approach How do the following impact an individual’s mental processes and behavior:

14. 6. Sociocultural approach • How do the following forces impact a person’s behavior and mental processes? • Does your language shape the way you think? Check these out: • http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29language-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine • http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~atman/Misc/eskimo-snow-words.html

15. Final thoughts • There are many approaches, therefore there are many possible answers. • Think of each of the six perspectives as a “lens” onto each individual. • Human beings have free will; as a result, human behavior does not follow set laws, like physics. • However, there are still patterns and tendencies that can be discovered using the scientific method. • For Monday: think of a favorite celebrity or well-known individual (or a few) who you pay attention to whose behavior in recent times has been interesting, problematic, or positive in any way you find compelling.