1. History and Approaches
Unit 1

2. Intro Brains – most incredible thing
Minds – not physical, but it’s there
Psychology somehow meshes the two.
Psychology: systematic study of human behavior and mental processes.
Everything biological is psychological; everything psychological is biological.

3. Roots
Ancient days – Buddha, Confucius, Hebrew scholars spoke of the mind broadly
Ancient China – exams for gov’t jobs
Ancient Greeks
Socrates & Plato used logic to say knowledge is innate; body & mind are separate (called “dualism”)
Aristotle disagreed, said knowledge comes from observing
Skip a bunch of years to…

4. Roots, continued Renaissance, around 1500
Rene Descartes – agreed with Socrates & Plato; interested in the body & mind interaction; dissected animals and saw nerves
Francis Bacon – put scientific method to use – hypothesis, procedure, observation, conclusion; this agreed with Aristotle
John Locke – spoke of “tabula rasa” (blank slate) – said we’re born with blank minds, then add to them

5. Early Psychology
Wilhelm Wundt, 1879 – first psychology lab; studied reaction time…
first time you hear the sound vs.
first time you’re aware of hearing sound (.2 second vs .1 second)
Early “schools of thought”:
1. structuralism
2. functionalism
3. behaviorism
4. Gestalt psychology
5. psychoanalysis

6. Early Psychology, continued
1. Structuralism – Edward Bradford Titchener (student of Wundt)
Focus on “structure of the mind”
Used “instrospection” – he asked people to describe physical objects (like a rose)
Subjective – with opinions, emotions
Objective – no opinions, emotions; just facts
Structuralism gave lots of info, but…?
Too subjective, too unreliable.
It fizzled out.

7. Early Psychology, continued
2. Functionalism – William James
Focused on function of the body. James came from the evolutionary approach (Charles Darwin had just done his thing.)
Evolution is all about survive, find a mate, reproduce, pass on genes, repeat
Ex.: the nose  function is to smell (this could help above)
Mary Calkins – admitted to Harvard, denied PhD. Later president of APA
Margaret Floy Washburn – 1st female PhD in psych, president of APA

8. Early Psychology, continued
Gestalt psychology
“The whole is more important than the parts.”
Huh? Pictures explain it best.

9. Modern Approaches (or perspectives)
Psychoanalysis – we’re driven by the unconscious
Evolutionary – survive, mate, pass on genes
Behavioral – behavior based on reinforcements (like rewards)
Cognitive – focus on thinking, logic
Humanistic – love/respect helps people reach their full potential
Socio-cultural – focus on differing cultures
Biological – focus on human body, especially the brain, chemicals
Biopsychosocial – a mix

10. Psychology sub-fields (there are many)
Psychometrics – measures abilities
Educational psychologists – how we learn/teach
Social psychologists – how we interact in groups
Industrial-organizational – advise businesses
Counseling – help people with issues
Psychiatrists – are different
they are medical doctors and thus can prescribe medication
Test tomorrow (25 questions, multiple choice)