Introduction to psychology  Lecture Day 8/17 Wednesday Welcome!

Mark This as unit one in notebook  please label as 1.1 notes

What is psychology? Derived from two Greek roots, “psyche” (meaning mind, soul) and “logos” (meaning the study of) Literally means “study of the mind” Atkinson et al. (1991) states that psychology is “The scientific study of behavior and mental processes”

WHERE DID PSYCHOLOGY COME FROM? Question one: WHERE DID PSYCHOLOGY COME FROM?

History of psychology SO….Where did Psychology come from?? Developed from 3 main areas: Philosophy, Biology, and Physics

History of psychology PHILOSOPHY: First clearly outlined by Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. (5th century BC) Two more recent philosophical influences on the development of psych as a science were: Empiricism (argues that humans should only measure data that is objectively observable [like behavior!]) Positivism: argues that the methods and principles of science should be applied to behavior.

History of psychology Biology: (has two important influences) 1) Evolution: THINK DARWIN! Darwin’s suggestion that humans EVOLVED from other animals. Many discoveries in genetics came from these evolutionary theories which helped in the study and further understanding of BEHAVIOR. 2) Physiology: these are discoveries, mostly by the medical profession, of the structure and function of the brain, nervous and endocrine systems have significantly contributed to the understanding of behavior.

Charles darwin

History of psychology PHYSICS: This is a subject that, because of its great success, has been adopted as the ideal model by scientists in psychology, who have borrowed its scientific methods and principles. Physicists (like FECHNER) started applying their subject to human behavior and experience (psychophysics) in the 19th century, with some success.

Fechner

History of psychology RECAP: List the three “places” psychology has come from. What are two recent philosophical influences on the development of psychology as a science? What are the two important influences biology has on psychology? What was “borrowed” from physics?

WHEN did psychology start? History of psychology Question TWO: WHEN did psychology start?

History of psychology 1879: usually said to be the start of psych as a separate scientific discipline. How? Wilhelm Wundt created the first psychology lab in Leipzig during 1870s. Because of this, Wundt is regarded as the “Founding Father” of psychology. BUT: Some people deny this and state another psychologist should hold that title.

Question Three: How did psychology develop? History of psychology Question Three: How did psychology develop?

History of psychology Structuralism: first approach to investigating psych  Pioneered by Wundt Wundt: thought that the object of psych investigation should be studied by ‘introspection’ (looking inward’s at one’s own mental experience) in order to break it down into it’s component parts (images, sensations, and feelings) ((like the science of chemistry has done with chemicals))

History of psychology Functionalism: approach William James advocated. -James was influenced by Darwin—argued that the workings of the mind are functional to survive and adapt, so we should investigate our behavior AND thoughts are actually for. -Some of this still applies BUT…

William James

History of psychology Psychoanalysis: a method of therapy developed by Sigmund Freud in Austria. See “The Interpretation of Dreams”—Freud began describing in detail an underlying theory of the human mind and behavior that has had a HUGE (and controversial) impact on psych Freud argues: the proper object of psychological investigation should be the unconscious mind, and that our behavior is determined by processes we are no aware of.

Behaviorism: behaviorists like John Watson were extremely critical of all the ‘approaches’ that concerned themselves with “minds,” Watson proposed that psych should only investigate observable behavior if psych was to be an objective science. this approach dominated experimental psych in the 50s (this is when a strong resurgence of interest in the “mind” developed in the form of cognitive and humanistic approaches which suggested that behaviorism ignored all the most important and interesting things that happen in our heads. History of psychology

John Watson

History of psychology Cognitive Psych: aims to investigate the mind using ‘computer information processing’ ideas to arrive at testable models of how the brain works, and then applying scientific methods to confirm these models. The cognitive approach has enjoyed much success and is a very dominant one in psych today.

History of psychology Humanistic Approach: had less of an impact on psych. has deliberately adopted a less scientific view of the human mind by arguing that psych should focus on each individual’s conscious experience and aims in life.

History of psychology Biological Approach: has advanced evolutionary, physiological, and genetic explanations for human behavior throughout the history of psychology.

Summaries of the schools of thought: Psychodynamic Approach Behaviorist (Learning) Approach Cognitive Approach Humanistic Approach Biological Approach Social Approach