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Psychology’s History and Approaches

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1 Psychology’s History and Approaches
AP Psych Unit 1 Psychology’s History and Approaches

2 Think about it… Have you ever responded/reacted to someone or a situation the same way one of your biological parents would? To what extent is behavior due to genes??? Have you ever woke up wondering how you had such a frightening or crazy dream? How often and why do we dream??? Have you ever played peek-a-boo with a baby and wondered why the baby is so entertained? What do babies perceive and think??? Have you ever wondered why some people succeed in school/work and others don’t? To what extent is intelligence involved??? ALL are questions various psychologists search to answer

3 True or False? Many things that happen to us leave no record in memory
True: Most of the information around us never reaches memory, and what does reach memory often gets distorted

4 True or False? You are born with all the brain cells you will ever have False: Recent research shows that some parts of the brain continue producing new cells throughout life

5 True or False? Intelligence is a purely genetic trait that does not change throughout a person’s life False: Intelligence is the result of both heredity and environment, and may change throughout your life

6 True or False? The most common form of mental disorder occurs in 30% of the population True: Depression, the single most common disorder, may affect up to a third of the population at some point in their lives

7 What Is Psychology – and What Is It Not?
Psychology is a broad field, with many specialties, but fundamentally, psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes Started as only the study of mental processes Later evolved to include behavior as well Psychology is not: Mere speculation about human nature A body of folk wisdom about people that “everybody knows” to be true

8 Influences on Psychology
Modern psychology developed from several conflicting traditions, including: Structuralism Functionalism Gestalt psychology Behaviorism Psychoanalysis

9 Influences on Psychology
Intellectual parents of psychology: philosophy and physiology Scholars from both fields began to explore questions about the mind (1870’s) Wilhelm Wundt: Focused on making psych an independent science 1879 established the first psych lab “birthdate of psych” Known as the founder of psych Psych became the study of conscious experience- used the scientific methods for all research G. Stanley Hall: Studied with Wundt Contributed to the growth of psych in America First U.S. lab 1883 First psych journal in the U.S. Assisted in establishing the APA

10 Influences on Psychology
Structuralism Devoted to uncovering basic structures that make up mind and thought Edward Titchener Based on the notion that the task of psychologists is to analyze consciousness into basic elements and investigate how these elements are related Looked at the structure of consciousness- its components Sensation, feelings, images, etc How are all these related? Used introspection to study consciousness Trained the subject to be more objective and aware Exposed them to various stimuli, then asked to analyze their experiences Why might this not have been the best method???

11 Influences on Psychology
Functionalism Believed mental processes could best be understood in terms of their adaptive purpose and function Based on the belief psych should focus on the function of the conscious, not its structure James Cattell & John Dewey Began to investigate mental testing Interested in how people adapt their behavior to the demands of the real world around them William James Formal training was in medicine Taught at Harvard Wrote the book Principles of Psych Took Darwin’s ideas about natural selection and applied these ideas to humans How did the conscious help humans???

12 Influences on Psychology
Philosophy and biology influenced the development of psychology Socrates and Plato Believed the mind is separate from the body Dualism- mind continues after the body dies Aristotle Knowledge grows from experiences Rene Descartes Interactive dualism- the mind and body are different but do interact and influence each other

13 Influences on Psychology
Nature vs. Nurture Nature- genetics Nurture- environment Always a focus of psych- origins of the debate date to ancient times Are we influenced by our genes, or are we the result of the environment we grew up in? Current questions: Gender differences Intelligence Psych disorders Conclusion→ BOTH Nature and Nurture are interconnected

14 Influences on Psychology
Empiricism Belief knowledge comes from experience Direct observation or experimentation John B. Locke Mind was a blank slate- tabula rasa Knowledge a person acquires come solely from experiences Behaviorism (one of the 7 approaches) John B. Watson B.F. Skinner Focused on study of overt and observable behavior- not mental processes Process of learning through rewards, consequences, and observations

15 Women pioneers in the history of psych
Mary Whiton Calkins First women president of the APA Developed one of the first American psych labs at Wellesley College Harvard refused her a graduate degree Margaret Floy Washburn First women to receive a Ph.D. in psychology Wrote The Animal Mind- led to the emergence of behaviorism Leta Setter Hollingworth Pioneered research on adolescent development, mental disabilities, and gifted children Completed research contrasting the popular belief at the time that women were biologically inferior to men

16 3 Levels of Analysis Different, but complementary views to analyze a phenomenon Biopsychosocial approach Incorporates biological, psychological, and sociocultural levels of analysis to explain a behavior Each is valuable, but incomplete on its own

17 Biopsychosocial approach
Imagine you were walking down the hallway and the person you pass smiles at you What makes him/her smile? Apply the biopsychosocial approach to this situation biological cause? psychological cause? sociocultural cause?

18 Psych Approaches Approaches or viewpoints used to explain mental processes and behavior Biological Cognitive Psychodynamic Humanistic Behavioral Social-cultural Evolutionary

19 Psych Approaches Biological
Focus on brain, body, neurons, nervous system How does the brain communicate with the body We are complex systems that respond to hereditary and environmental influences View of Human Nature: We are complex systems that respond to hereditary and environmental influences What Determines Behavior: Neural structures, biochemistry, and inborn responses to external cues Question for Study: How do heredity, the nervous system, and the endocrine system produce behavior and mental processes?

20 Psych Approaches Cognitive
Focus on thought processes and thinking skill show we encode, process, store, and retrieve information Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky View of Human Nature: People are information-processing systems What Determines Behavior: Mental interpretation of our experience Question for Study: How do mental processes, including sensation, perception, learning, memory, and language, influence behavior?

21 Psych Approaches Psychodynamic
Focus on unconscious conflicts and motives Sigmund Freud View of Human Nature: We are driven by dark forces of the unconscious What Determines Behavior: Unconscious needs, conflicts, repressed memories, and childhood experiences Question for Study: How does the energy generated in the unconscious mind motivate our actions and account for mental disorders?

22 Psych Approaches Humanistic
Focus on free will, improving self-esteem, and one’s self-concept Meeting needs of love and acceptance Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow View of Human Nature: Emphasizes human growth and potential What Determines Behavior: The influence of self-concept, perceptions, and interpersonal relationships, and on need for personal growth Question for Study: How can humanistic theory be applied to enhance mental health through counseling and therapy?

23 Psych Approaches Behavioral
Focused on study of overt and observable behavior- not mental processes Process of learning through rewards, consequences, and observations John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner View of Human Nature: Behavior is primarily shaped by learning What Determines Behavior: Stimulus cues and our history of rewards and punishments Questions for Study: What are the “laws” that associate our responses with stimulus conditions? How can they be applied to improve the human condition?

24 Psych Approaches Social-Cultural
Focus on impact of social factors on behavior and personality Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram View of Human Nature: People are social animals, so human behavior must be interpreted in social context What Determines Behavior: Cultures, social norms and expectations, social learning Questions for Study: Under what conditions is the social and cultural situation predictive of behavior? How are social influences different across cultures?

25 Psych Approaches Evolutionary Focus on natural selection and survival
Charles Darwin View of Human Nature: Behavior is developed and adapted over time What Determines Behavior: Natural selection Question for Study: How do behavior and individual differences develop and change?

26 Psych Approaches

27 Psych Approaches

28 Subfields of Psychology
What do psychologists do??? Psychology is a broad field with many specialties, grouped in three major categories: experimental psychology (research) teaching psychology applied psychology

29 Subfields of Psychology
Experimental psychologists Conduct most research across psychological spectrum May work in private industry or for the government Often teach at college or university Teachers of psychology At the high school or college level Applied psychologists Use knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to solve human problems

30 Subfields of Psychology
Basic research psychologists (Experimental) Conduct research on pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base Biological psychologists- explore the links between the mind and the body Developmental psychologists- study changing abilities from womb to tomb Educational psychologists- study influences of teaching and learning Personality psychologists- investigate persistent traits Social psychologists- explore how we view and affect one another

31 Subfields of Psychology
Applied psychologists Conduct research that aims to solve practical problems Industrial- Organizational psychologists Apply psych concepts and methods to optimize human behavior in the workplace Human factors psychology Study of how people and machines interact Counseling psychologists Help people work through or cope with challenges or crises to improve personal and social functioning (often related to marriage, work, or school) Clinical psychologists Assess and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders

32 Subfields of Psychology
Psychiatry vs. Psychology Psychiatry medical specialty MD – allowed to prescribe drugs Trained in mental behavior Medical perspective Psychology more perception, learning, testing, development, etc than just a biochemical component. Much more broad category.

33 Apply the Approach Apply the seven approaches to the following topics:
Drug abuse Love Intelligence What questions might a psychologist from each viewpoint ask? How might these questions be answered? How might they go about treating their patient? (think: useful strategies)

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