Psychology

1. Psychology Philosophical and Historical Roots

2. Definition • Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes • Psyche = soul + Logos = the study of

3. When Did the Study of Psychology Begin? • Relatively new; 1870s • Humans have been asking questions that relate to the study of psychology since the beginning of civilization • 6000-5000 BC: Assyrians described their dreams • 500 BC: Confucius discussed the power of an educated mind • 500 BC: Buddha asked how sensation and perceptions combine to make ideas

4. Philosophy and Physical Sciences • Psychology has its roots in philosophy and the physical sciences • Philosophy and psychology are both interested in • The nature of the self • Effects of early experience • Free will • Origin of Knowledge • How biological and environmental factors result in behavior • Physical science – interested in knowledge of the brain and nervous system

5. Philosophical Roots • What was the relationship between the body and mind? • Dualists – body and mind are different and separate • Monists – mind and body are not separate • Was knowledge inborn or a result of experience?

6. Ancient Greek Philosophers • Socrates • Mind is separate from the body and continues on after death • Plato’s Three Part Mind • Reason, Spirit, and Appetite must be in balance • Similar to a team of horses (spirit and appetite) guiding a driver (reason) • Believed in monism • Aristotle • Believed all knowledge is gained through sensory experience (not preexisting) • Importance of careful observation

7. René Descartes (1595-1650) • Dualist • Believed the brain had cavities containing “animal spirits” that flowed through hollow nerves to the muscles to cause movement • Also thought memories formed pores in the brain into which the animal spirits flowed

8. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) • Observed that the human mind tends to perceive patterns in random events • Also noticed that humans tend to notice and remember events that confirm their beliefs

9. John Locke (1632-1704) • The mind was a blank slate (tabula rasa) that was filled with ideas gained through experience • One of the founders of modern empiricism: knowledge is a result of experience and science should rely on experimentation and observation as a result

10. Physical Sciences • 7,000 years ago healers drilled holes into a person’s skull to relieve them of conditions like headaches or hallucinations • Understanding that the brain was important for mental life • Egyptians understood that paralysis was due to brain damage that was permanent • 500 BC Greek physicians dissected bodies and saw the connection between the sense organs and the brain; Also noticed the brain’s connection to emotional problems

11. Greek Theory of Personality • Personality was a result of the amounts of four different body fluids: yellow bile, black bile, blood, and phlegm • Treatment resulted in “bleeding” to change the amount of the body fluids

12. 17th and 18th Century Developments • New technology (like the microscope) resulted in new discoveries about the body and mind • Phrenology (1796): Measuring of the brain • Size of certain areas of the skull (and thus, brain) meant something

13. The Birth of Psychology Conducted the first recorded psychological experiment at the University of Leipzig in 1879 (Germany) Studied reaction times How quickly after hearing a ball drop could a person strike a telegraph key? Wilhelm Wundt

14. Edward Titchener • Student of Wundt • Wanted to find the structural elements of the mind • Established the theory of structuralism • Mind could be broken down into the smallest elements of experience • Asked participants to use introspection (self-reflection) by training them to report elements of their experience as they experienced different sensations • Looking at a rose • Listening to a metronome • Smelling something • Tasting something • Introspection proved to be unreliable; Fell out of favor in the world of psychology

15. Functionalism • School of thought proposed by William James • Influenced by Charles Darwin and natural selection • Functionalism • Behavior was purposeful because it led to survival • How do our mental and behavioral processes function? • How do they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish? • Offered a psychology course at Harvard • Wrote the first psychology textbook – Principles of Psychology (1890) • Today’s study of psychology is based in functionalism

16. Gestalt Psychology • Founded by a group of German psychologists who rejected structuralism (early 20th century) • Gestalt = form or whole • Thought that breaking perception into its building blocks resulted in the loss of psychological information • Also interested in learning, memory, motivation, group dynamics, and perception • Today it is no longer a distinct school of thought

17. Psychoanalysis • Sigmund Freud - Austrian physician • Views dominated psychology for the first half of the 20th century • Believed that actions were a result of unconscious drives and conflicts • Humans are not always aware of the roots of their behavior • Came up with theories regarding: human sexuality, dream analysis, roots of abnormal behavior, personality, treatment of disorders • Did not use experimentation; Relied on introspection; Studied unhealthy people • Modern day version of psychoanalysis = psychodynamic perspective

18. Behaviorism • From the early 1900s until the 1960s, behaviorism became another dominant force in psychology • Behaviorism – study and careful measurement of observable behavior • Pioneers: • Ivan Pavlov: Salivating dogs and classical conditioning • Learning by association • John B. Watson: Believed all phenomena was the result of conditioning; Strong supporter of the blank slate theory • B.F. Skinner: Behavior is related to rewards and punishment • Still a dominant perspective in psychology today

20. Cognitive Psychology • Challenged the two major forces in psychology in the mid-20th century (psychoanalysis and behaviorism) • Studied the information that behaviorists avoided – internal mental processes • Thinking, feeling, learning, remembering, states of consciousness • One reason for the shift were new research methods • Believed internal processes could and should be studied • We can make inferences about the cognitive processes that underlie behavior • Still a major force in psychology today

21. Contemporary Psych • Psychologists approach the study from different approaches/perspectives/schools of thought • Most psychologists do not strictly adhere to one perspective or another • Acknowledge the importance of multiple perspectives in examining behavior and mental processes • Perspectives are helpful for examining psychological phenomena from one particular angle

22. Historical Schools of Thought Still Adhered To • Behaviorism • Cognitive Psychology • Psychodynamic Theory • Expanded and revised version of Freud’s ideas

23. Humanistic Psychology • Approach that sees humans as inherently good and motivated to learn and improve • Emphasize human potential, love, belonging, self-esteem, and self-expression • Importance of self-actualization • Fulfilling of one’s potential • Focus on mental well being, rather than on mental illness • Abraham Maslow • Forerunner of positive psychology • Focuses on positive experiences, self-determination, relationship between positive emotions and physical health, and the factors that allow humans and societies to flourish

24. Abraham Maslow

25. Social-Cultural Psychology • Describes the effects of social environment and culture on the behavior of others • How would memory be affected by the presence of others? • How would the tendency to help be affected by one’s culture?

26. Biological Psychology • Also referred to as behavioral neuroscience • Focuses on the relationships between the mind and behavior and their underlying biological processes • Genetics, anatomy, biochemistry, physiology • How is memory affected by brain chemicals or hormones?

27. Evolutionary Psychology • Concerned with the evolutionary origins of behaviors and mental processes, their adaptive value, and the purposes they continue to serve • Food aversion