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History of Psychology

History of Psychology. The 1st Psychologists?. Odysseus “saw the cities of many peoples and he knew their minds” Psamtick I performed the first controlled psychological experiment and he accepted the results!. Darwin. What does Darwin have to do with psychology?

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History of Psychology

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  1. History of Psychology

  2. The 1st Psychologists? • Odysseus “saw the cities of many peoples and he knew their minds” • Psamtick I performed the first controlled psychological experiment and he accepted the results!

  3. Darwin • What does Darwin have to do with psychology? • Natural selection - how nature determines which species survive - influencing both physical characteristics and behavior • Influenced early psychologists like James • The evolutionary perspective (coming soon) • Do you have to believe in evolution to be a psychologist?

  4. Wilhelm Wundt - 1879 • German physiologist studied perception, the “atoms of the mind” - the simplest mental processes • Structuralism - break down complex tasks into simpler steps • Trained G. Stanley Hall who opened the 1st American psy laboratory

  5. Herman Ebbinghaus - 1880’s • Studied memory in Germany • Found that when learning a list of words, we forget much of it very soon, but a percentage is retained in long-term memory • After studying a foreign language, you will forget much of the vocabulary after a year or two, but will retain 30 - 40% for decades

  6. William James - 1890’s • Philosopher and MD • Principles of Psychology • Functionalism - influenced by Darwin • Consciousness as a stream

  7. Salt • What’s the difference between structuralism and functionalism? • Try using salt as a metaphor….

  8. E.L Thorndike - 1890’s • American who studied learning - cats trapped in a puzzle box (cats learn gradually, by repetition, not in sudden flashes of insight) • Law of Effect - we tend to learn those things that have satisfying outcomes • Remains influential today

  9. Sigmund Freud

  10. S. Freud - 1900’s • Medical doctor in Vienna • How to treat patients with “hysterical” illnesses? • Studied with Charcot, the hypnotist • 1900 - Interpretation of Dreams • Unconscious, defense mechanism, growth in stages, psychodynamics

  11. Freud extended • Jung - collective unconscious • Adler - personality - inferiority complex • Anna Freud, Karen Horney on women • Cultural effects • Good science?

  12. Behaviorists - 1910’s • Pavlov, a physiologist, studied animals • Watson, a PhD psychologist, saw no value in studying the “mind” • Classical conditioning • Skinner and operant conditioning • Very influential even today

  13. Humanists - 1930’s, ‘40’s, ‘50’s • Maslow, Rogers, May • Less interested in illness • More interested in improving the lives of “normal” people • Self-actualization: openness to experience, living in the moment, trusting oneself, a “good life”

  14. Watson and Crick - 1950’s • Description of DNA • Boom in genetics • How do genes affect our behavior? How come one identical twin is alcoholic and one isn’t?

  15. 1960’s and later • Cognitive psychology - how do we think, plan, remember, judge, learn? • Bandura - social learning • Socio-cultural psychology - how do people around the world differ? How are they similar? • Social psych - Milgram, Zimbardo - why do we behave in groups the way we do?

  16. Neuroscience • New methods of brain research allow us to watch our brain in action. • How do we process memories? • How do we learn to shoot a basketball? • What’s the brain chemistry of mental illness?

  17. PerspectivesWhy different perspectives? • Lots of different influences on behavior • We need theories to organize information, explain facts, predict behavior

  18. Perspectives • Neuroscience • Evolutionary • Behavioral genetics • Psychodynamics • Humanist • Behavioral • Cognitive • Socio-cultural

  19. Neuroscience • What areas of the brain are active when swimming? • What brain chemicals are important in depression?

  20. Evolutionary • How does natural selection influence personality? • Is there an advantage to extroversion? • Why haven’t left-handers died out? • Why haven’t gays died out?

  21. Behavioral genetics • Are children of alcoholics likely to be alcoholic as well? • Psychodynamics • How would Freud explain love? • Do your childhood experiences determine your adult personality? • Do we do things unconsciously?

  22. Humanist • What counts as a good life? How do we achieve satisfaction? • Behavioral • How do we learn to be kind? Why are boys more aggressive than girls?

  23. Cognitive • How do we plan parties? Solve puzzles? How do we judge a defendant when we sit on juries? How do we remember the days of the week? • Socio-cultural • Why are Japanese schools different from American schools? Why do some Asian parents arrange marriages for their children?

  24. Big questions? • Nature vs. nurture? • Change vs stability? • Rational vs irrational? • Big picture or little picture?

  25. Some conclusions • Psychology is still growing as a science • Do we have all the “right” answers? • Genetics and brain science are the major driving forces today • Plenty of big questions remain unanswered - what’s a good life? Is this love? What is a memory?

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