Introduction Psychology

What is Psychology? Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. “Psychology” has its roots in the Greek words of “psyche,” or mind, and “-ology,” or a field of study.”

History of Psychology “Psychology has a long past but only a short history.” ◦ Hermann Ebbinghaus

Psychology vs. Psychiatry Psychiatry is a specialty in the medical field, not a part of psychology. Psychiatrists hold MDs and have specialized training in the treatment of mental and behavioral problems. Psychology is a much broader field which has many different specialties.

Origins of Psychology Greeks- 5 th & 6 th centuries B.C. –People’s lives were dominated not so much by gods but their own minds People are rational Aristotle = Asked Why? –Began to compare the sensations, wonder how the thought process worked, and even why we slept

Socrates -> Plato -> Aristotle Mind & Body Separate -> Yeah, not so much Let’s look at the data

Origins Continued… During Renaissance people began to experiment and observe results Rene Descartes first to pose dualism- idea that a link existed between the mind and body –Nativism- is the view that certain skills or abilities are 'native' or hard wired into the brain at birth. ( )

A Change in Perspective For hundreds of years medieval Christian churches felt the human mind, like that of God, was an unsolvable mystery. In the 17 th C. the French philosopher Rene Descartes argued that human sensations and behaviors were based on activity in the nervous system. Rene Descartes

John Locke ( ) –“An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” –Tabula rasa –Empiricism Knowledge originates in experience and that science should rely on observation and experimentation

Psychology Becomes a Science Despite Descartes arguments and scientific breakthroughs at the time, psychology didn’t become a recognized science until the mid 1800s.

Modern Psychology Rooted in History Modern psychology developed from several conflicting ideas including structuralism, functionalism, Gestalt psychology, behaviorism and psychoanalysis.

Psychological Science Is Born –Wilhelm Wundt ( ) Established modern psychology as a formal field of study –1 st “Psychologist” –Developed the first psychology lab/experiment Measuring reaction time

Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt (Voont) was the first to declare himself a psychologist. He believed in structuralism. Wilhelm Wundt

Structuralism: devoted to uncovering the basic structures that make up mind and thought-looking for the elements of conscious experience. Structuralism relies on introspection, or the process of reporting one’s own conscious mental experiences. What would be the strengths/weaknesses of introspection?

Gestalt Psychology Gestalt psychology was the opposite of structuralism. Instead of looking at the individual parts, it wanted to examine the whole. Gestalt psychology looked at how the brain works by studying perception and perceptual thinking. Ex. Recognizing a person’s face.

E.B. Titchner- brought Wundt’s psychology to U.S. –Structuralism-study the basic elements that make up human mental experiences –Introspection Looking inward- analyzing immediate sensations and how they related to one another. Results varied and were unreliable For example…

Using structuralism and the idea of introspection I would need to analyze everyone’s immediate sensations. Did this picture make you smile? Did this picture make you want to cry? Once again with structuralism, results varied and were unreliable

Critics of Wundt and Structuralism Like most new theories, people began to dispute and refute structuralism. William James (the first U.S. psychologist) believed that psychology should look at function and not just structure. William James

Functionalism Functionalism- study how animals and people adapt to their environments.. –Influenced by Charles Darwin William James- father of psychology in U.S. –Taught first psychology class at Harvard University in Why does the brain think? Why does the nose smell? Wrote “The Principles of Psychology” –Took 12 years!

Functionalism- A theory that emphasized the functions of consciousness and the ways consciousness helps people adapt to their environment. James thought that psychology should explain how people adapted-or failed to adapt-to everyday life outside the laboratory. The parts of the functionalist view of psychology

James’ Functionalism James’ criticism of Wundt’s structuralism was that it was boring and inaccurate because it was only done in the laboratory. James wanted to see how people functioned in everyday life, not just in contrived situations. Also he believed that mental process were not static. He described them as a “stream of consciousness.”

Ladies Margaret Washburn –First PhD 1894, Cornell –The Animal Mind- animal behavior research Mary Calkins –Denied degree by Harvard in 1895 –First woman president of the APA –Renowned memory researcher Between Females claimed two- thirds of U.S. Psychology Ph.D.s

Psychology Defined 2012 The definition has evolved over time. *The science of behavior and mental *processes. Behavior = any action we can observe and record. –Examples: Yelling, smiling, sweating… Mental Processes = internal, subjective experiences we infer from behavior. –Examples: Sensations, perceptions, feelings…

Nature versus Nurture The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Plato Descartes Darwin Aristotle Locke

Nature versus Nurture How are humans alike but diverse? Are gender differences biologically predisposed or socially constructed? Is children’s grammar mostly innate or formed by experience? How are differences in intelligence and personality influenced by heredity and by environment? Are sexual behaviors more pushed by inner biology or pulled by external incentives?

4.2% Elementary and Secondary Schools 6.3% Business and Government 8.5% Other 19.4% Hospitals and Clinics 28.0% Colleges and Universities 33.6% Private Practice Psychology’s Early History Psychology Today: Vigorous and Diversified Seven Unifying Themes Personal Application Psychology’s Modern History

0.5% Forensic 0.6% Other 0.9% Clinical Neuropsychology 5.2% School 6.1% Industrial/Organizational 14.7% Counseling 72.1% Clinical Psychology’s Early History Psychology Today: Vigorous and Diversified Seven Unifying Themes Personal Application Psychology’s Modern History