1. Myers’ EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY
Module 1
The History and Scope of Psychology

2. What is Psychology? Psychology the science of mental processes
(not the current definition)

3. History of Psychology Socrates (469 – 399 B.C.) & Plato
Mind is separable from body
Knowledge is innate
(used logic)

4. History of Psychology Aristotle (335 B.C.) (used observation)
Knowledge is not innate, comes from experience
The mind is inseparable from the body
The heart is the seat of mental processes

5. History of Psychology Rene Descartes (1595 – 1650 A. D.)
Interactive dualism or the “mind-body problem”

6. History of Psychology John Locke (1632 – 1704 A.D.)
The mind at birth is a blank slate (tabula rasa) on which experience writes.

7. History of Psychology Wilhelm Wundt – 1879 “birth of psychology”
Laboratory in Leipzig, Germany
Studied simple reaction time

8. Early Schools of Thought
Structuralism (Edward Tichener)
Purpose: find the structure of mind or consciousness
Method: introspection

9. Early Schools of Thought
Functionalism – William James
What is the purpose or function of the behavior?
Influenced by Darwin & adaptation

11. Behaviorism Psychology – the science of behavior (1920 – 1960)
John B. Watson
Behavior is anything an organism does that can be observed and recorded

12. Current Psychology
1960s – psychology recaptured interest in mental processes (internal experiences)
Studied how minds capture and process information
Psychology is now the science of behavior and mental processes.

13. Contemporary Psychology
500,000 psychologists worldwide
130,000 European organizations
160,000 American APA members
Union of Psychological Science has 69 member nations
2002 – two-thirds of new psychology Ph.D.’s went to women

14. What is Psychology? Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective Focus
Neuroscience How the body and brain create emotions, memories, and
sensory experiences
Evolutionary How nature selects traits that promote the perpetuation of
one’s genes
Behavior How much our genes, and our environment, influence our
genetics individual differences
Psychodynamic How behavior springs from unconscious drives and
conflicts
Behavioral How we learn observable responses
Cognitive How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information
Social-cultural How behavior and thinking vary across situations and
cultures

15. What is Psychology? Basic Research Applied Research
pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
Applied Research
scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

16. What is Psychology? Clinical Psychology Psychiatry
a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
Psychiatry
a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders
practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatment as well as psychological therapy