History of Psychology

1. History of Psychology

2. Lecture Overview • What is Psychology? • History of Psychology • Early views of Mental Disorder • Origins of Psychological Science • Psychological Science Today • Levels of analysis

3. What is Psychology? • Psychology is the study of the • Mind -- mental activity such as thoughts, feelings, and subjective experiences • Brain – an organ in the skull that produces mental activity and behavior • Behavior – any observable action or response

4. History of Psychology • Interest in understanding human behavior and mental processes has existed for centuries • Areas of interest: • Consciousness • Madness or Mental Disorder

5. History of Psychology • Written documents addressing these issues date back 25 centuries to the Greek Philosophers Socrates, Aristotle, & Plato • In Asia, evidence of interest in exploring consciousness and in controlling it with meditation and yoga • In Africa, personality and mental disorder explained based on traditional spiritual beliefs

6. Early Views of Mental Disorder • Earliest conceptions of mental disorder – displeasure of the gods or demonic possession • E.g., Ancient Babylonians – insanity resulted from possession by the demon Idta

7. Early Views of Mental Disorder • Treatment developed out of conception of mental disorders • Flogging • Starvation • Drinking “unpalatable brews” • Trephining

8. Trephining

9. Trephining

10. Early Views of Mental Disorder • Evidence of Humane Treatment • Sleeping in the temple of the deity of healing • Artistic endeavors • Bathing in hot springs • Exercise • Those who were not cured, however, were chased from the temples and/or stoned

11. Early Views of Mental Disorder • Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) • Earliest proponent of somatogensis • Mental disorder resulted from disturbances of the body NOT demonic possession • Stress can also damage the mind and body

12. Early Views of Mental Disorder • Hippocrates • Normal Functioning depended on delicate balance of four “humors” or body fluids • Mental Disorder resulted from an imbalance of these “humors” • Blood – changeable mood • Black Bile -- melancholia • Yellow Bile (choler) – irritable; anxious • Phlegm – sluggish or dull

13. Early Views of Mental Disorder • Treatment • Looked for natural remedies • E.G., For melancholia • Tranquility • Sobriety • Care in choosing food and drink • Abstinence from sexual activity

14. History of Psychology • Galen (1st Century AD) – autopsy of apes  lead to his belief in the role of the brain in mental function • 3rd Century AD -- Return to demonology; mentally ill as witches (?); Church had responsibility for care of mentally ill • 1700’s -- move toward Psychogenesis – mental disorders attributed to psychic malfunctions • 1850’s -- Return to Somatogenesis with publication of Kraeplin’s classification system

15. Origins of Psychological Science Nature -vs- Nurture Debate Ongoing debate since the time of the Greeks about causes of psychological characteristics Nature  psychological characteristics are biologically determined or innate; that is, we are born with it Nurture  psychological characteristics are acquired through learning, experience, or culture

16. Origins of Psychological Science Nature -vs- Nurture Debate E.G., Schizophrenia; intelligence Current thinking  all behavior is some combination of Nature and Nurture

17. Implications of the Nature/Nurture Debate • Thinking, feeling, experiencing, behavior have multiple causes • Biology is NOT destiny

18. Origins of Psychology as a Science 1637 Nature -vs- Nurture Debate Religious doctrine  the mind and the brain were separate entities Descartes – mind and brain were separate but related Current conception – the mind is what the brain does! Cartesian Dualism

19. Implications of Mind-Body Debate 1637 Nature -vs- Nurture Debate Brain Cartesian Dualism Behavior Mind

20. Origins of Psychology as a Science 1859 1637 Darwin –Theory of Natural selection Cartesian Dualism • Species evolve through a process known as natural selection • Characteristics that were adaptive in specific environments had a selective advantage

21. Survival Mechanisms: Famine • Taste-specific satiety – become satiated more quickly when exposed to a single flavor than to a variety of flavors • We have a preference for foods that are high in fat and sugar • Current Implications – high rate of obesity

22. Survival Mechanisms: Learning • Specific area of the brain that recognizes reward • This area of the brain “lights up” when a behavior is followed by a biologically relevant consequence • Leads to repetition of the behavior • Current Implications  brain mechanisms that set us up for addiction

23. Survival Mechanisms: Sex • Gender differences in tendency toward promiscuity develops from need to ensure survival of offspring • Males  more sexual partners means greater number of offspring survive • Females  better sexual partners means greater likelihood of offspring survival • Remember: Biology is NOT destiny

24. Implications of Evolutionary Theory • Pioneering research in animals could be used to explain human behavior • Pavlov’s dogs – implications for human learning • Helmholtz’ research on nerve impulses in frogs could be used to understand nerve impulses in humans • Animal models of addiction, ADHD and other mental disorders allow us to determine brain areas involved in these disorders and novel compounds for treatment

25. Origins of Psychology as a Science 1859 1879 Wundt introduces Structuralism Structuralism – conscious experience can be broken down into its most basic components or elements Introspection – the process of reporting on one’s own mental experiences of a stimulus Identified major areas of interest to psychologists Darwin –Theory of Natural selection

26. Origins of Psychology as a Science 1879 1890 William James – Argued that structuralism was too narrow Functionalism – Influenced by Darwinian Theory The mind evolved to serve adaptive functions These adaptive functions should be evident in behavior and in daily life; thus interested in studying the functions of the mind Wundt introduces Structuralism James introduces Functionalism

27. Origins of Psychology as a Science 1900 1890 Freud – as physician, found patients with neurological symptoms that had no physical explanation Unconscious mind – much of mental activity occurred outside of an individual’s conscious awareness Mental disorder – unconscious mental forces in conflict Freud – the unconscious James introduces Functionalism

28. Origins of Psychology as a Science 1900 1912 Freud – the unconscious Gestalt Theory We perceive information as uniform and whole not as separate elements The whole is greater than the sum of its elements Gestalt Psychology the whole > the sum of its parts

29. Origins of Psychology as a Science

30. Origins of Psychology as a Science 1912 1925 Behaviorism – behavior is a function of learning Behaviorism – Studying the mind is unscientific Observable behavior, not the mind, should be the focus of scientific inquiry All behavior is a function of environmental influences Gestalt Psychology the whole > the sum of its parts

31. 7 Levels of Analysis Genetic Neurochemical Brain Systems Behavioral Perceptual/Cognitive Individual Social/Cultural 7 Disciplines Biological Developmental Behavioral Cognitive Trait Clinical Sociocultural How do we Understand Behavior?

32. Depression Genetics Neurochemistry Developmental Perceptual/Cognitive Academic Performance Genetics Behavioral Developmental Perceptual/cognitive Social/Cultural Understanding Behavior using a Levels of Analysis Approach