PSYCHOLOGY History and Field

Psychology Scientific study of behavior and mental process Scientific: objective, verifiable, attempts to eliminate bias Behavior: outward, what humans do Mental processes: inward, what humans think and feel Word Bank Bias: personal judgments based on beliefs rather than facts

History of Psychology I. Prescientific Psychology has its roots in philosophy and physiology For thousands of years, we have been interested in ourselves and our behavior, but more from a philosophical rather than scientific standpoint Word bank Empiricism: knowledge originates in experience; empirical: relies on observation and sensory experience

People like Buddha, Confusious, Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle wrote about the nature of the mind, its relationship to the body, etc. 1600’s birth of modern science Renee Descartes, a French philosopher and mathematician, echoed ideas of Plato and Socrates and said that the mind is entirely separate from the body. A concept known as “dualism.”

II. Wilhelm Wundt Known as the Father of Modern Psychology. Why? He opened a lab in Germany in 1879 the purpose of which was to apply scientific principles to the study of the human mind. Introduced introspection, the process of objectively examining and measuring one’s own thoughts and mental activities. Thus is the birth of our wonderful field!

Wundt had a student named Titchener who expanded on Wundt’s ideas, and gave us Structuralism says that every experience can be broken down into individual emotions and sensations Name dropping: Margaret Washburn Titchener’s student who became the first female to receive a PhD in Psych So, Wundt’s (Father of Psychology) student was Tichner (gave us structuralism), and Tichner’s student was Washburn (first female PhD in psych).

Structuralism died out in the early 1900’s and gave way to a competing idea known as Advanced by William James, functionalism states that our thoughts/feelings/ experiences must serve a purpose. What do they DO? What are they FOR? How are they ADAPTIVE??? Gee... I wonder who might be influencing William James.

You guessed it! Charles Darwin, gave us the theory of natural selection, or change over time. Summed up: physical traits that help an animal to adapt to its environment are passed on to its offspring and become part of the animal’s traits. William James figured that if physical traits could do that, then surely so could behavioral traits. Things like emotion and cognition MUST serve a purpose or a function, ergo functionalism. Word bank Cognition: a thought Cognitive: having to do with thought

While the functionalists are shouting down the structuralists, there is another idea popping up back in Germany. A guy by the name of Wertheimer advances Basically says that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We are not just a collection of emotions and perceptions. This will become very important later when we discuss sensation and perception.

Austrian Physician

HAAAAAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

Enter: John Watson and Ivan Pavlov

(The battle between Biology & Experience) (Do our behaviors really change over time?) (Are we that smart ??, How do you judge it ??)

1. Psychodynamic: What they call psychoanalytic today; focus on unconscious, childhood experiences 2. Behavioral: focus on observable behaviors, gave us principles of learning, stimulus response, reward/punishment, believed humans were blank slates and programmed by their environment.

Word Bank Deterministic: View that the individual has little to do with his own destiny 3. Humanistic: Focus on human potential and choices; back lash against the determinism of psychodynamic and behaviorist psychology 4. Cognitive: focus on mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering.

5. Biopsychological: studies the biologic bases of behavior (brain, nervous system, genetics) 6. Socio-cultural: Focuses on how culture and groups effect our behavior 7. Evolutionary perspective: focus on how natural selection has contributed to behavior

Just to throw you a curve ball... Bio-psycho-social: an integrated approach that incorporates the biological, psychological, and social causes of behavior. Psycho Social Bio Examples? Think addiction mental illness, personality

Psychology is an incredibly varied field. Probably much more than you realize! Research Psychologist: Studies human behavior in a lab through carefully conducted studies Examples: a. Brain and biology b. Development c. Education and learning d. Industrial organization (workplace, human productivity, job satisfaction, etc) e. Human factor (how humans interact with machines) f. Social psychologists (how humans affect one another)

Clinical Psychologists: typically diagnose and treat mental disorders Counseling Psychologists: typically help people cope with the challenges of living The term psychologist generally means the person has a doctoral degree (PhD), but not a medical degree. There are many other professionals that work in the field of psychology. For example a. A therapist or a licensed counselor, b. Social worker. c. School counselor d. Career counselor e. Marriage and Family Counselor These professions more often require a master’s degree.

A psychiatrist, on the other hand, is a medical doctor who specializes in behavioral issues. This person has gone to med school, just like your family doctor who treated your mono last year, or the surgeon who did your ACL surgery. A psychiatrist is the only professional (in most states) who can prescribe medicine.