History of Psychology

1. History of Psychology

2. Started as Philosophy • Socrates & Plato • Mind and Body are Separate • Knowledge is inborn • Aristotle • Mind & Body are One • Knowledge grows from experiences & memories

3. Philosophical Developments BIG • A Question: How are mind and body related? • René Descartes (1596–1650) -Interactive Dualism • The mind and body are separate but interact(fluids through the nerves) to produce conscious experience of sensations & emotions

4. Heading Towards a Science • Led to EMPIRICISM – What we know comes from experience, therefore science should rely on observation & experimentation. • Francis Bacon & John Locke • Both focus on how the mind is shaped by experience

5. Physiology Influence • Study of functions & parts of humans • By 1600’s began to focus on brain • Began to develop explanations for the functioning of the senses. • Becomes foundation for psychology as a science

6. Psychology as Science is Born! Psychology The Science December 1879 Wilhelm Wundt

7. What is Psychology? The science of behavior and mental processes • Behavior - observable actions of a person or animal • Mental Processes - feelings, sensations, perceptions, memories, dreams, motives and other subjective experiences • Science - an objective way to answer questions based on observable facts/data and well-described methods • Goal of Psychology is to Describe, Explain & Predict behavior & mental processes.

8. Wilhelm Wundt • Leipzig, Germany • The “father of psychology” • Founder of modern psychology • Opened the first psychology lab in 1879 • Applied laboratory techniques to study of the mind/consciousness Who’s Your Daddy? Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920)

9. E.B. Titchener • Wundt’s student, • Professor at Cornell University • Analyzed the intensity, clarity and quality of the parts of consciousness • Founder of structuralism E. B. Titchener (1867–1927)

10. Structuralism • Studied the basic elements (structures) of thoughts and sensations (consciousness). • Felt consciousness could be broken into 3 parts: • physical sensations • feelings • images • Introspection – subject would view an object and try to reconstruct their sensations & feelings they felt while viewing it. • Example: Describe the experience of hearing a 5-note chord on a piano. Do you hear one sound or the individual notes? • Not scientific – too subjective, not repeatable, not able to be used for studying all topics (learning, development, mental disorders).

11. William James • First American psychologist • Started psychology at Harvard in 1870s • Opposed Wundt and Titchener’s approach • Author of the first psychology textbook (Principles of Psychology - 1,400 pages!) • Founder of Functionalism Functionalism – influenced by Darwin to focus on how behaviors help us adapt to the environment William James (1842–1910)

12. Functionalism • Emphasized studying the function of consciousness and how consciousness helped people adapt to their environment • Wanted to understand how mind and consciousness worked • Used naturalistic observation • Viewed consciousness as a stream of constantly changing states .

13. Structuralism vs Functionalism review (2 min)

14. Early Schools of PsychStructuralism/Functionalism • Structuralism • What are the mental processes that make up consciousness? • Used Introspection – self observation • Functionalism • Why do humans think, feel and behave like they do? • Studied subjects in their natural settings.

15. DAILY DOUBLE

16. Explain the difference between Structuralism & Functionalism. Structuralism – basic parts of a person’s thoughts and feelings. Focus on basic senses & perception. Functionalism – how our consciousness helps us to function or adapt to our environment.

17. William James’ Students • G. Stanley Hall • First Ph.D. in psych • Started first U.S. psych lab • Started the American Psychological Association. • Mary Whiton Calkins • First woman to complete Ph.D. program but Harvard didn’t give her a degree! • Became first woman president of the APA in 1905 • Margaret Floy Washburn • First official Ph.D. in psychology • Studied different animal species • 2nd female president of APA

18. John B. Watson • Founder of Behaviorism • Studied only observable and objectively described acts • Emphasized objective and scientific methodology • Performed the Little Albert Classical Conditioning Study on Fear John B. Watson (1878–1958)

19. B.F. Skinner • Behaviorist • American psychologist at Harvard • Focused on learning through rewards and observation • Operant Conditioning Studied learning of voluntary behavior and effect of reinforcement & punishment B. F. Skinner (1904–1990)

20. Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) • Behaviorist • Russian Physiologist • Studied learning through associations in dogs • Classical Conditioning - Learning to do reflexive behaviors to unusual things • Emphasized the study of observable behaviors Santa?

21. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) • Austrian physician that focused on illness • Founder of the psychoanalytic perspective • Believed that abnormal behavior originated from unconscious drives and conflicts that were aggressive and sexual in nature.

22. Freud’s Influence • Influence on “pop culture” • Freudian slips • Anal-retentive • Influence on psychology • Psychodynamic theory • Unconscious thoughts • Significance of childhood experiences

23. Carl Rogers & Abraham Maslow(1902-1987) (1908-1970) • Helped to create Humanistic Psychology • Stressed the study of conscious experience and an individual’s free will to reach their potential • Healthy individuals strive to reach their potential (self-actualized).

25. Wolfgang Kohler • Created Gestalt Psychology • The whole is different from the sum of its parts. • Integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes. Wolfgang Kohler (1865-1965)

26. What do you see? You See the whole picture first rather than the individual dots that make it up. – Gestalt Psychology Scene from Ferris Bueller(start at 1:05)

27. Cognitive Neuroscience • Combines the biological and cognitive schools of thought in psychology • Study of the Brain and how it works when we perceive, think, remember and use language.