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Can We Get in Someone’s Head?

Can We Get in Someone’s Head?. Lecture 2: History and Methods 1/26/04. On human nature…. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle: pleasure, pain, imagination, desire, good vs. evil, free will >16 th century: studied soul, spirit, the “psyche” Descartes: body = physical; mind= spiritual

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Can We Get in Someone’s Head?

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  1. Can We Get in Someone’s Head? Lecture 2: History and Methods 1/26/04

  2. On human nature… • Socrates, Plato, Aristotle: pleasure, pain, imagination, desire, good vs. evil, free will • >16th century: studied soul, spirit, the “psyche” • Descartes: body = physical; mind= spiritual • Scientifically study body not mind • Hobbes- NO! Entire human experience comes from brain- even thoughts & feelings

  3. Meanwhile… • German physiologists studied bodily sensations and our subjective awareness • How are bodily sensations turned into mental awareness? • Are our perceptions of the world accurate reflections or reality? • How do the mind and body interact?

  4. Pioneer #1: Wilhelm Wundt discovering the laws of consciousness • Father of Psychology • Estd. first psychology laboratory in 1879 • “Color blue, sound of an E chord, Taste of smoked salmon, meaning of a sentence - all psychological” • Developed introspection. • Report on conscious, moment-to-moment rxns. • Psychological Contrasts & Psychic Relations • Love on the rebound • Draw an apple

  5. Structuralism: Mental

  6. Pioneer # 2: William James • Plagued by depression • Principles of Psychology, 1890 • Habit formation, Stream of consciousness, individuality, link btw. Body & mind, emotions, the ‘self’, • 1892: “Jimmy” • “Cash value” of an idea, not T vs. F • Functionalism • Darwin: natural selection; characteristics of species with survival advantage are ‘selected’--- consciousness must serve important purpose • “Lab is a waste of resources”

  7. Functionalism Investigate purpose of consciousness, not structure Stream of consciousness Consciousness is a continuous flow of thoughts, not static Mental testing, development, education, individual differences Structuralism Analyze consciousness into basic elements Introspection Systematic, self-observation in response to tones, optical illusions, fruit… Sensation & Perception Structure vs. FunctionThe first great debate

  8. Gestalt Psychology • The whole is greater than the sum of the parts • Structuralism = wrong! • Mind perceives world in organized fashion, can’t be broken down into elements • Phenomenological approach • Unstructured reporting of experience ***tspces***

  9. Pioneer # 3: FreudWhat about the unconscious? • People are driven by UNconscious forces • Human mind is an iceberg • Clinical practice for patients with ailments with no physical basis • “cured” with hypnosis and talking • The Interpretation of Dreams, 1900. • Psychoanalysis- Freud’s theory of personality and method of psychotherapy,

  10. Controversy strikes again: It’s not all in your head! A psychology of observable behavior?

  11. Controversy strikes again: It’s not all in your head! • Can a science be based on introspective reports of a subjective experience or mental processes that supposedly reside inside the unconscious? • “Psychoanalysis is voodooism” • Psychology should be a purely objective, experimental branch of natural science • NOT the invisible and elusive mind

  12. The Behaviorist AlternativeFrom mind-body to nature-nurture • John B. Watson defined psychology as study of behavior; mind is irrelevant • Vary a stimulus in environment, observe response • Behaviorism • Dominated from the 1920’s to the 1960’s • “Sensations, thoughts, feelings, and motivations may fuel speculation for the curious philosopher, but if it can’t be seen, it has no place in psychology”

  13. Talk about controversy… • From ministry to philosophy to psychology • Learning in rats on mazes… • How young could they learn? • Dabbled in neurology… what about people? • “Crazed scientist, killer of rats, toasts and eats them” • Meets Mary Ickes, Intro PSY student • “Ode to John B. Watson” • ‘Robbing Psych’- No difference between rats and people • Interest in children… • Affair with research assistant Rosalie Raynor • On to advertising… impulse buys • “Made not born”

  14. “Children should be awakened at 6:30 A.M. for orange juice and a pee. Play 'till 7:30. Breakfast should be at 7:30 sharp; at 8:00 they should be placed on the toilet for twenty minutes or less 'til bowel movement is complete. Then follow up with a verbal report. The child would then play indoors 'till 10AM, after 10:00 outside, a short nap after lunch, then "social play" with others. In the evening a bath, quiet play until bedtime at 8:00 sharp.”

  15. The “Cognitive Revolution”But thought processes do influence outcomes • Behaviorism was too restrictive. • Studies of child development, animal behavior, brain studies, ‘self-actualization’, computers… • Thoughts, expectations, ‘soft stuff’ counts • Cognition • Mental processes such as thinking, knowing, and remembering

  16. And social situations too...

  17. Which of the comparison lines is the same as the standard line? Asch, 1955

  18. What did participants do? • 76% went along with the clearly incorrect majority at least once • In all, P’s conformed 37% of the time • However, 24% NEVER conformed

  19. Doing PsychologyGetting in someone’s head

  20. LIFE Questionnaire • What did you think? • Stream of consciousness • Frequency of behaviors • Social desirability? • Did you learn anything about yourself? • Was anything missing?

  21. Think about: • History of psychology has tried to come up with the best ways of understanding people • What do you think are the best ways? • What do you think are interesting phenomena to study (mental activity, behavior)?

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