Definition of psychology

§  The study of the mind and soul (thought and behavior)

§  Also the study of science of behavior, psychological processes, & cognitive processes. 

                          Disciplines from which psychology originated

§  ¹⁾ Philosophy

§  ²⁾ Physiology 

 Wilhelm Wundt

§  German physiologist

§  Modeled after scientific disciplines using scientific method

§  Focus on consciousness (aware of immediate experience)

§  Developed 1^st formal psychology laboratory in Germany

Difference between Structuralism and Functionalism 

§  Structuralism

A  is understanding the basic elements of consciousness and how they are related

B advocated by Edward Tichner

A  systematic Introspection

§  Functionalism

A  Understanding the function or purpose of consciousness

B Advocated by William James

A  Adaptive values

A  Studied in environments

B How people adapt their behavior to the world around them

B Markings on butterfly vs. having consciousness

A  Functionalism was more accepted and led to behaviorism today

R What is introspection and which disciplines used this to obtain data?

§  Introspection involves looking into one’s own mind for information about the nature of conscious experience

§  It is the main method of investigation for structuralists

R William James

  Is considered the founder of psychology in US.

§  The most famous functionalist

R Behaviorism and important behavioral psychologists

  Behaviorism

A  Proposed that psychology can be a true science only if it examines observable behavior, not ideas, thoughts, feelings, or motives

A  An extreme form of environmentalism(the view that all behavior comes from experience)

A  Only observable events (stimulus-response relations) can be studied scientifically

§  Important behavioral psychologists

A  John B. Watson

B Focus should be observable behavior

ü  Objective

ü  Verifiability

B Mental processes are private events

B Strong belief in environment/experience as cause of behavior (aka empiricism)

ü  Nature-nurture debate

A  Ivan Pavlov

B Discovered by accident how organisms learn relationships b/w events &stimuli

ü  Dogs can salivate to the sound of a bell

B Adaptive feature of behavior

B May things in our environment can signal the occurrence of another

A  B.F. Skinner

B Behavioral principals

ü  Reinforcements vs. punishment

ü  Applied to both animals and humans

B Radical behaviorist vs. methodological behaviorist

ü  Mental events exist but difficult to study

B Beyond freedom and dignity

ü  Environmental determinism

B Ideas were often misinterpreted 

R Sigmund Freud

§  Austrian physician

§  Brought psychology to main stream

§  Focused on treatment of psychology disorders

§  Study of unconscious

                              1.   Conflicts at this level(unconscious) result in psychology disorders

                              2.   Control of our minds are at mercy of unconscious forces

                              3.   Coping with sexual urges also influence behavior

§  Psychoanalysis

§  Not all psychologist were accepting of this view 

R Unconsciousness and psychoanalysis 

§  Study of unconscious

                              1.   Conflicts at this level (unconscious) result in psychology disorders

                              2.   Control of our minds are at mercy of unconscious forces

                              3.   Coping with sexual urges also influence behavior

§  Psychoanalysis 

R B.F. Skinner & his contribution to the behavioral perspective

B.F. Skinner

A  Influential behavior psychologist

§  Contribution to the behavioral perspective

A  Behavioral principals

B Reinforcements vs. punishment

B Applied to both animals and humans

A  Radical behaviorist vs. methodological behaviorist

B Mental events exist but difficult to study

A  Beyond freedom and dignity

B Environmental determinism

A  Ideas were often misinterpreted

R Humanistic perspective and what did this perspective add to the dominate theories

§  Humanistic perspective developed in response to the “dehumanizing” stance of top perspectives

A  Lack of emphasis on uniquequalities of human behavior

§  Important to understand personal growth, reaching full potential, and freedom

§  Optimistic view of human nature

§  Humanistic perspective plays an important role in the development of personality of theories and treatment of psychological disorders 

R Important humanistic psychologists

§  Carl Rogers

A  Behavior is controlled by sense of self or a person’s “self concept”

A  Incongruence

§  Abraham Maslow

A  Basic need to reach ones full potential

A  Hierarchy of needs

R Cognitive perspective and what research in this area examines

 Human behavior cannot be fully understood without examining how people acquire, store, and process information

§  What we learn and how we behave in our environment will influence how we think and what we expect to happen in our daily lives

§  Our thoughts/ mental processes must influence our behavior

§  Incomplete picture of human behavior

§  Investigations focused on:

A  Cognitive development (Piaget) –on little children

A  Memory (Ebbinghaus, Miller, Baddeley) –old memory discovery

A  Language (Chomsky)

A  Problem solving

A  Cognitive framework influence experience (Bartlett) 

R Applied psychology and the most well-known applied psychology profession

§  Psychologists who use (apply) the scientific findings to practical, everyday problems

§  Most well-know applied psychology profession:

A  Clinical psychology

B Concerned with the evaluation, diagnosis, & treatment of individuals with psychological disorders as well as treatment of less severe behavioral & emotional problems

B Interviewing clients; testing; providing group/ individual psychotherapy 

R Biological perspective of behavior

§  In 1950’s research emerged that showed connection b/w brain structure, behavior, and the mind.

§  Behavior can be explained by structures and biochemical processes

§  Ability to record single brain cell activity

§  Evoke emotion by brain stimulation

§  Hemispheres control different mental and physical tasks

§  Role of natural drugs (brain chemicals) on behavior 

R Evolutionary psychology’s perspective on behavior

§  Integration of Darwin’s theory of evolution and psychology emerged

§  Behaviors which are adaptive persist:

A  Central premise: natural selection favors behaviors that enhance organisms’ reproductive success

§  Research has focused on natural selection of:

A  Mating preferences & sexual behavior; Jealousy & aggression; Language; Decision making; Personality; Development 

R What 3 areas does positive psychology focus on?

1.      Positive subjective experiences

2.      Positive individual traits

3.      Positive institutions and communities

R Describe the nature-nurture debate

§  Nature

A  Who we are comes from inborn tendencies and genetically based traits

§  Nurture

A  We are all essentially the same at birth, and we are the product of our experiences 

R Describe mind-body dualism

§  René Descartes

A  Stated that the mind and the body are separate entities

A  Mind controls the body

R Different areas of research in psychology

§  Developmental psychology

§  Social psychology

§  Experimental psychology

§  Physiological psychology

§  Cognitive psychology

§  Personality

§  psychometrics