2. Schools of psychology

3. Definition of Psychology
The science of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings)

4. Approaches and Schools of Psychology:
By the late 1800’s, psychology was beginning to emerge as a separate scientific discipline.
Biologist Charles Darwin came up with the theory of natural selection.
Psychology branched into two schools of psychology (structuralism and functionalism) and from there several approaches to psychology.

5. Structuralism: Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhelm Wundt – Credited as the founder of scientific psychology because in 1879 he set up a research laboratory in Germany.
The lab was dedicated to the scientific study of conscious experiences and sensations.
Introspection – the process of looking inward to identify how one feels, thinks, or acts.
he replicated his studies in different conditions with similar results.
Wundt helped found the School of Structuralism which aimed to focus on the structure of the mind and indentify the basic elements of consciousness.

6. Functionalism: William James
William James was a psychologist that felt that Wundt was asking the wrong questions.
James was more interested in the function or purpose of behavioral acts.
School of Functionalism – Researchers that focused on how we adapt to our environments. (stream of consciousness)
Main Goal: Explain human behavior
Also wrote first psychology textbook

7. Gestalt Psychology: Max Wertheimer – founded Gestalt Psychology
The whole is more than the sum of it’s parts
Example: A beautiful painting
A painting is more than just colors and line – its an experience
So, each person has a completely different experience when viewing the world – must be sensitive to this during therapy.

8. 1.Behavioral
Behavioral Approach – Focuses on measuring and recording observable behavior. (behavior results from learning)
Pavlov and his dogs, Watson and Baby Albert, Skinner and his rats. (rewards, punishments, and associations)
All these men believed that psychology should be the science of behavior.

9. Anything a person says, does, or feels
Any action we can observe and record
Any action, whether observable or not
Anything we can infer from a person’s actions
Sensations and Perceptions

10. 2.Psychoanalytic / Psychodynamic
Psychoanalytic Approach – Focuses on unconscious internal conflicts to explain mental disorders, personality, and motivation.
Sigmund Freud developed this approach and focused on unconscious desires (Freudian slips, life and death instincts, libido, early life experiences.
Psychodynamic Approach – Those that varied Freud’s ideas but kept with the roots of psychoanalysis.

11. 3.Humanistic
Humanistic Approach – Emphases the importance of people’s feelings and view human nature as naturally positive and growth seeking.
Abraham Maslow (Hierarchy of Needs) and Carl Rogers (Unconditional Positive Regard) led the charge.
This approach came out the 60’s and 70’s.

12. 3.Humanistic Safety Self-actualizing Love and Belongingness
Physiological
Esteem Needs

13. 4. Biological Biological Approach –
Examines how complex chemical and biological processes within the nervous and endocrine systems are related to the behavior of organisms.
Much research is being done today using this approach – Brain based research.

14. 5. Cognitive Cognitive Approach
– Emphasizes the importance of receiving, storing, and processing information.
It also focuses on thinking, reasoning, and using language to understand human behavior.
Cognition – thinking and memory.

15. 6. Evolutionary
Evolutionary Approach –Attempts to explain behavior patterns as adaptations naturally selected to increase reproductive success.
This approach uses Darwin’s theory of natural selection as a basis.
Darwin wrote Origin of Species.

16. Evolutionary
Biological
Socio-Cultural
Behavioral
Cognitive

17. 7.Socio-cultural
As time progressed more people were traveling and visiting other cultures.
Psychologists soon recognized the difference in cultural gestures, body language, and spoken language.
Socio-cultural Approach – Examines the cultural differences in an attempt to understand, predict, and control behavior.

18. 8.Eclectic
The most widely used psychological approach today is eclectic.
Eclectic – No one perspective can best explain all human behavior.
So…Eclectic psychologists use a combination of all the approaches

19. Structuralism
Wundt’s ideas formed the basis of the first school of thought (or perspective) in psychology, known as structuralism.
In reality, though, it was one of Wundt’s students, Edward B. Tichener, who formally established this psychological school of thought. Structuralism, as the name suggests, was centered on investigating the structure of the mind. Wundt believed that psychology should focus on breaking down consciousness into its basic elements, in much the same way a child would pull apart a toy to reveal its component parts. The idea of determining the specific structure of something so abstract and dynamic as the mind may seem absurd to many today. Yet, structuralists were confident that not only could they accomplish this goal, but that they could do so scientifically. [showmyads]

20. Structuralism
Wundt advanced the technique of introspection as the “scientific” tool that would enable researchers to unveil the structure of the mind.
Introspection involves looking inwards; reflecting on, analyzing and trying to make sense of our own internal experiences as they occur.
In employing this technique, trained subjects were presented with various forms of stimuli and asked to describe as clearly and “objectively” as possible what they experienced..

21. Reports would then be examined to determine the basic elements of consciousness.
For example, if you were presented with a slice of cake, it would not be enough to simply identify the type of food before you.
You would also need to explain the basic elements of the cake that you able to sense.
For example, you might describe the taste, smell, texture, colour, and shape of the cake in as much detail as possible.

22. Functionalism
From the point of view of American scholar William James, structuralists were sorely misguided.
The mind is fluid, not stable; consciousness is ongoing, not static. Attempts to study the structure of the mind would therefore be futile at worst and frustrating at best.
A more fruitful endeavor, they argued, would be to study the function, as opposed to the structure, of the mind. Function in this sense can mean one of two things:

23. -first, how the mind operates – that is, how the elements of the mind work together – and second, how mental processes promote adaptation.
Clearly influenced by the teachings of Charles Darwin and the principle of natural selection (survival of the fittest), James believed that mental processes serve vital functions that enable us to adapt and survive in a changing world.
Thus, while the structuralists asked “what happens” when we engage in mental activity, the functionalists were more concerned with “how it happens” and “why.”

24. Psychoanalysis
Mention the word psychology, and few persons would fail to recall Sigmund Freud. Like the structuralists and functionalists before him, Freud believed in studying covert behavior, but unlike his predecessors, Freud was not content with examining only conscious thought; he dived head-first into the unconscious.
Freud compared the human psyche to an iceberg – only a small portion is visible to others with most of it lying below the surface.
Freud also believed that many of the factors that influence our thoughts and actions lie outside of conscious awareness and operate entirely in our unconscious.
Psychology therefore needed to study these unconscious drives, motives and impulses to arrive at a more complete understanding of the individual.

25. Behaviourism
Despite their differences, structuralism, functionalism and psychoanalysis all shared an emphasis on mental processes – events that are unseen to the naked eye. John B. Watson, a staunch supporter of behaviourism, strongly objected to this approach and prompted a revolution in psychology.
Watson was an advocate of scientific scrutiny but for him, covert behavior, including mental processes, could not be studied scientifically. The emphasis, from his perspective, should only be on overt or observable behavior.
Behaviourists believed that human behavior can be understood by examining the relationship between stimuli (events in the environment) and responses (observable behavior). They saw no need to employ subjective techniques such as introspection to infer mental processes over which even trained subjects and researchers could not agree. What was once the study of the mind thus became the study of observable behaviour.

26. Behaviourism
B.F. Skinner, another famous behaviourist, supported Watson’s view by advancing the idea that human behavior can be explained by reinforcement and punishment – observable, environmental factors – with no need to consider inner mental processes. Later behaviourists adopted a more balanced view of matters, embracing the study of both overt and covert behavior. These became known as cognitive behaviourists.

27. Gestalt Psychology
The word “gestalt” means “form, pattern or whole.” Gestalt psychologists believed that psychology should study human experience as a “whole,” not in terms of separate elements as the structuralists would contend.
Their slogan, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” conveyed the idea that meaning is often lost when psychological events are broken down; only when these pieces are analyzed together and the whole pattern is visible do we find true meaning in our experiences.
To use an example, imagine breaking apart the words you are now reading into individual letters and scattering them as you wish across the page. Would you be able to discern anything meaningful from them? Quite likely, you wouldn’t.
Only when the letters are properly combined to form words and then structured into sentences do you grasp any true meaning. The “whole” then becomes something different, something greater than the accumulation of its “parts.”

28. Conclusion
In the few years since psychology emerged as a distinct science, it has grown and changed in innumerable ways. Each major school of thought fought for dominance but in the end, none emerged as clear winners. At the same time, none were losers.
How so? Well each school of thought left an indelible mark on psychology, helping to mold it into the respected discipline that it now is.
In addition, many psychologists today adopt an eclectic approach – instead of clinging to one particular perspective, they carefully choose from each school of thought those ideas and methods they believe are most appropriate for achieving their objectives.
Psychology has never been nor will it ever be a static field of study. Even now, there are new theories being written, new topics being studied and new ideas yet to be explored.

29. Subfields of Psychology
Psychology is a broad field
There are many jobs available with a psychology degree
Historically though, this wasn’t always the case.
Psychology saw a huge boom after World War II.
Many opportunities arose in clinical and counseling psychology.
In addition, school psychology started to become more popular as researchers data indicated that children perform better when they are taught using their respective learning style(s).

30. Subfields of Psychology:
Clinical Psychologists – Evaluate and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. (OCD, Schizophrenia)
Counseling Psychologists – Help people adapt to change or make changes in their lifestyle. (Analyze This)
Developmental Psychologists – Study psychological development throughout a lifespan. (Piaget)
Engineering Psychologists – Do research on how people function best with machines. (assembly lines)

31. Subfields of Psychology:
Educational Psychologists – Focus on how effective teaching and learning take place. (consultants)
Forensic Psychologists – Apply psychological principles to legal issues. (crimes)
Health Psychologists – Concentrate on biological, psychological, and social factors associated with health and illness. (hospitals)
Industrial/Organizational Psychologists – Aim to improve productivity and the quality of work life by applying psychological principles and methods to the workplace. (Panera)

32. Subfields of Psychology:
Neuro-psychologists – Explore the relationship between brain/nervous systems and behavior. (Laboratory research)
Psychometricians – Focus on methods for acquiring and analyzing psychological data. (research based)
Rehabilitation Psychologists – Help clients with mental retardation, developmental disabilities, and disabilities resulting from neurological injury. (stroke)
School Psychologists – Assess and counsel students, consult with educators and parents, and perform behavioral intervention when necessary. (Mrs. Waikem)

33. Subfields of Psychology
Social Psychologists – Focus on how a person’s mental life and behavior are shaped by interactions with other people. (can be workplace related)
Sports Psychologists – Help athletes refine their focus on competition goals, increase motivation, and deal with anxiety and fear of failure. (Professional Athletes)

34. References Burger, J. M. (2011). Personality. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Coon, D., & Mitterer, J. O. (2010). Introduction to psychology: Gateways to mind and behavior (12th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to the history of psychology (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2011). A history of modern psychology (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Walters, G. D. (2002). Psychology as the study of mind and behaviour. In S. P. Shohov (Ed.), Advances in psychological research, Vol 15 (pp ). New York: Nova Science Publishers Inc.