Introduction to Psychology

1. Introduction to Psychology

2. Trephining – early form of “therapy”

3. Salem witch trials - 1692 http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/story/story.html

4. Life Before Psychology • Philosophy asks questions about the mind: • Does perception accurately reflect reality? • How is sensation turned into perception? Problem - No “scientific” way of studying problems René Descartes (1596-1650) Descartes believed that there was a link between the mind and body Physiology asks similar questions about the mind – but with a biological perspective (ie chemicals, etc) • Predict what will happen • Systematically observe events • Do events support predictions? SCIENTIFIC METHOD

5. Psychology Is Born First Experimental Psych Lab (1879) • Focuses on the scientific study of the mind. • Wundt insists that Psych methods be as • rigorous as the methods of other sciences. • Wundt began to study humans in a lab. Wundt’s students start labs across USA (1880-1900) Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) University of Leipzig Harvard University Yale University Columbia University Catholic University Univ of Pennsylvania Cornell University Stanford University

6. Women of Psychology Mary Calkins - student of William James at Harvard but was not awarded a Ph.D. Founded psych lab at Wellesley College (1891) Maragaret Washburn- first woman to receive Ph.D. in Psychology. Wrote The Animal Mind, which helped begin the Behaviorist movement. Leta Hollingworth- Debunked popular theories that suggested women were inferior to men. Did pioneering work on adolescent development, mental retardation & “gifted” children.

7. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) Physiologist & Perceptual Psychologist Founder of Psychology as a Science Experiments Psychology Understanding Mental Processes Psychology (pre-1920) William James (1842-1910) Philosopher & Psychologist Formed Y at Harvard

8. Structuralism vs Functionalism Structuralism Analyze consciousness into basic elements and study how they are related Introspection - self-observation of one’s own conscious experiences Wilhelm Wundt Functionalism Investigate the function, or purpose of consciousness rather than its structure Leaned toward applied work (natural surroundings) William James (1842-1910)

9. Psych the Science of Behavior Behaviorism Scientific Psychology should focus on observable behavior. Mental Processes cannot be studied directly John Watson (1878-1958) Stimulus- Response Psychology Ivan Pavlov

10. Psychology Science of Observable Behavior Behaviorism Psychology (1920s-1960s) John B. Watson (1878-1958) Watson believed that a person’s behaviour was a product of his/her experiences as opposed to their internal mental state “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.” John B. Watson - 1930

13. Freud & Psychoanalysis Proposes the idea of the UNCONSCIOUS Thoughts, memories & desires exist below conscious awareness and exert an influence on our behavior Unconscious expressed in dreams & “slips of the tongue” Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Psychoanalytic Theory - attempts to explain personality, mental disorders & motivation as a result of unconscious conflicts

14. Freud believed that our minds were divided into conscious, subconscious and unconscious behaviours. He believed these behaviours looked like an iceberg – with only a small part of our conscious self exposed to the world – and a large component of our minds buried or hidden beneath – filled with conflicts and desires which would bubble up to the surface and cause us anxiety and guilt. Psychoanalysis – is a treatment method that involves bringing unconscious conflicts and unresolved issues to the surface to be dealt with and “put to rest”.

15. Freud’s techniques • Free association – is a technique used to bring unconscious thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc to the surface • The traditional method is to have the patient lie on a couch and respond to random words without using the conscious mind to “think” • - The idea is that the unconscious thoughts rise above the conscious mind  Freud’s couch

16. The following exercise is a FREE ASSOCIATION test that you are going to take… When you see the word on the screen – simply write down the FIRST word that comes into your head – try NOT to think about it!! There are 20 words in total… READY?

17. white

18. death

19. house

20. holiday

21. child

22. water

23. dog

24. boat

25. blue

26. shoes

27. sea

28. stars

29. head

30. sad

31. black

32. eat

33. flower

34. moon

35. love

36. mother

37. What to look for in your free association test …. • Freud would have looked for numerous words relating to sexual images, violence, dark images, seemingly unrelated images (eg: holiday = machete) • most of the time our minds associate words together, and link common themes • unless there is something dark and unresolved brewing in the unconscious, the words should be fairly benign – usually opposites or related words. • Try this next activity: you will be given a word to start with – write down words one after another as they come to you (don’t “think” about them!) • you will have one minute – here is the word…..

38. school

39. Behaviouristic Psychology Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) - was a Russian physiologist who was trying to study the effects of salivation on digestion in dogs. He inadvertently discovered something else – that the dogs would salivate even without food present – just the sight of the experimenter would cause the dog to salivate! Pavlov began to study this phenomenon and called it “classical conditioning”.

43. Behaviourist Psychology B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) – Skinner believed that reinforcements were needed in order for the subject to stay motivated to complete the task. He coined the term “operant conditioning” which is based on the theory of positive and negative reinforcements to shape behaviours.

44. Humanistic Psychology • Carl Rogers (1902-1987) – was the founder of humanistic psychology • according to Rogers, we value positive self-regard, that is, self-esteem or self-regard. Without this self-regard, we feel small and helpless, and we can fail to become all that we can be!

45. Cognitive Psychology Cognition the mental processes involved in acquiring, processing, storing & using information Cognitive Psychologists return to the study of learning, memory, perception, language, development & problem solving Noam Chomsky “Language” Advent of computers (late 1950s) provides a new model for thinking about the mind

46. Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) • a method of treatment to help clients change “thought patterns” and behaviours through role-play, desensitization, journaling, talk therapy, etc. • it involves helping the client understand and make sense of the problem – and eventually teach and change the thought patterns and behaviours often through exposure therapy (guided exposure to the problem or issue) • often skills are taught to help the client behave in more successful and appropriate ways

47. Biological psychology • based on the idea that the brain is the issue – chemical imbalances and other issues within the brain itself • often mental illnesses that are “organic” in nature (a problem in the brain) are treated with drugs

48. Influence of Heredity & Environment NATURE NURTURE versus

50. Identical twins = identical DNA These identical twins lived in different environments – evidence for environmental influence?