AP Psychology: History & Approaches

1. AP Psychology: History & Approaches

2. Where do you stand? • How much is Psychology a real science like Physics, Chemistry or Biology? • How much of Psychology’s facts (like the bystander effect) can be trusted if every human is different?

3. What is psychology? • Definition • From the Greek terms psychemeaning mind or soul • and logos meaning study of • Thus, the study of the mind

4. History and Approaches • Roots can be traced back 2000 years • Hippocrates – Mind body dualism • two spheres: mind (non-physical entity) and matter (body) • Descarte defines mind body dualism • “I think, therefore, I am.” • Locke – Tabula rasa “blank slate” • nature vs nurture debate

5. Origin of Psychology • Late 1800s, psychology emerged as its own discipline • Biologists like Charles Darwin and physiologists like Weber and Fechner show how physical events are related to sensation and perception • Birth date = 1879 • Wundt established 1st research lab in Germany

6. Wundt • Studied consciousness • Wanted to describe basic elements • how they are organized and how they relate • Used introspection • Began psychology’s transformation from philosophy of mental processes to science of mental processes I “Wundt”er Vat is going on in his head?

7. Titchener & Structuralism • English • Student of Wundt • Studied consciousness as well as images and other aspects that are harder to quantify • Added “clearness” as element of sensation • Called approach “structuralism” = trying to define the structure of consciousness

8. William James – American psychologist at Harvard (late 1870s) first lab to show demos to students rejected Wundt & Titchener’swork G. Stanley Hall – first research lab at Johns Hopkins Focus on understanding how mental processes function to allow humans to live and adapt Functionalism

9. Behaviorism • John B. Watson – observable behavior of animals and humans = only appropriate subject matter for psych (early 1900s) • Should base psychology only on what can be seen in behavior (he had disdain for introspection!) • Thought all human behavior was learned • B.F. Skinner = rewards & punishments shape, maintain & change B

10. Gestalt • Wertheimer, Koffka & Kohler • Gestalt = whole • “The whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts”. • Emphasis = breaking consciousness into small elements you destroy the whole

11. Psychoanalysis • Sigmund Freud – (late 1800s early 1900s) • All behavior= based in conflicts at an unconscious level • Developed psychotherapy (dream analysis) • Emphasized importance of childhood • Based on medical cases not on lab experiments

12. The often forgotten • Eclectic approach • Means exactly that – taking techniques and ideas from a variety of approaches.

13. Approaches (see handout) • Evolutionary • Behavioral • Biological • Cognitive • Humanistic • Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic • Sociocultural Even Big Bird Can Hurt People Sometimes

14. FOLDABLES STUDY TOOL: On the outside cover, label YOUR NAME and “Perspectives in Psychology” The goal is to make a study aid to include the name of perspectives, name(s) associated with it and what (how) the perspective studied psychology. • Open your foldable like a book. Using the middle pages, record these five historical perspectives • Structuralism, Functionalism, Psychoanalytical, Gestalt, Behaviorism • Pull the edges to reveal a place to record to 5 contemporary perspectives • Cognitive, Humanist, Biological, Evolutionary, Socil-Cultural