1. Perspectives of Psychology
Ms. Rebecca
2009

2. Do Now:
Why do you think people think, feel and act in certain ways? Are they born a certain way? Do they learn in school to act a certain way? Do they learn from friends?

3. Different perspectives
The human mind is really complicated. So, psychologists have a lot of different ideas about why people act and think the way they do.
The next slide lists the 6 most popular perspectives today. In practice, psychologist apply the perspective that best deals with the problem at hand.

4. I’m a tv expert! BUT I only watch Prison Break.

5. I’m a tv expert!
I can learn a lot about Prison Break if I watch it all the time, but I wont know ANYTHING about other types of shows like comedies, documentaries, cartoons, the news, sports shows etc.…..

6. I’m a tv expert!
I could never claim to know EVERYTHING about t.v. by only watching one show/type of show.

7. I’m a tv expert!
But maybe if I watched all different types of shows (drama, comedy, mystery, cartoons, news, sports etc) I would be closer to being an expert of t.v. shows today.

8. Human behavior experts
Just like there are many different types of tv shows, there are also many different ideas about why humans behave the way they do.

9. Human Behavior And thoughts come from many different things.
Some believe behavior is learned in childhood; some believe experiences in the present are more likely to impact behavior and thoughts.

10. 6 Perspectives
In Psychology today there are 6 different perspectives or ideas about where human behavior comes from.

11. 6 Perspectives 1. Biological Perspective 2. Psychoanalytic Perspective
3. Behaviorist/Learning Perspective
4. Humanist Perspective
5. Cognitive Perspective
6. Sociocultural Perspective

12. Biological Perspective
“I was born this way” (The Complete Idiots Guide to Psychology)

13. Biological Perspective
Look at the body to explain the mind

14. Biological Perspective
Influence of hormones, genes, the brain, central nervous system on the way we think, feel and act

15. Questions Biological Perspective Answers:
Is personality inherited from parents?
Does mental stress cause physical illness?

16. Biological Perspective’s impact on Psychology
- developed medicines to treat depression and other disorders
-helped people to understand that mental illnesses are uncontrollable sometimes, like physical illness. Removed some stigmas of mental illness.

17. 2. Psychoanalytic Perspective
“It’s only the tip of the iceberg”

18. 2. Psychoanalytic Perspective
Behavior is driven by mental conflicts deep inside us!

19. 2. Psychoanalytic Perspective
Freud said that people have conflicts between their urges and what society says is ok.

20. 2. Psychoanalytic Perspective
We learn when we are children to hide our real feelings, so we push our urges waaaaaaay down until we are adults and then we don’t really know the “real” reasons we do what we do because they are so deep within us.

21. 2. Psychoanalytic Perspective
BUT we can get clues about our real” feelings from our dreams and seemingly unexplainable behavior

22. 2. What Psychoanalytic Psychologists think?
Childhood experiences really affect how we are as adults.
Human behavior sometimes doesn’t make sense
Talking about our feelings in a comfortable setting can help people work through their “true” feelings to solve problems.

23. 3. Behaviorist/Learning Perspective
“We’re all just rats caught in a maze”

24. 3. Behaviorist/Learning Perspective
Rats can find food in a maze if they’ve found food in the same place before.
Their behavior changes if the location of the food changes.

25. 3. Behaviorist/Learning Perspective
John Watson studied rats in mazes and said that people are the same.
Behavior is just a response to something. The consequence determines whether the behavior happens again.

26. 3. Behaviorist/Learning Perspective
What do Behaviorist/Learning Psychologists do?
Try to understand people by studying what happens to them and how they respond.
If the consequence is good, they should repeat the behavior. If not, they won’t do the behavior again.

27. 3. Behaviorist/Learning Perspective
Example:
Stimulus: You find out there’s a test
Response: You study
Consequence: You get an “A”
Based on the good consequence of getting an “A”, you continue the behavior of studying for tests.

28. 3. Behaviorist/Learning Perspective
What do Behaviorist/Learning Psychologists say?:
-Behavior Modification: you can learn to change bad behavior
You can get over your fears!

29. 4. Cognitive Perspective
“I Think, Therefore I Am”

30. 4. Cognitive Perspective
Study the way people can gain, organize, and remember knowledge that guides behavior.

31. 4. Cognitive Perspective
We’re much more than rats! We react to the environment but we also act on it to do things like:
Solve problems
Make decisions
Think about options before we act

32. 4. Cognitive Perspective
Also, FEELINGS affect what we do too!
Example: Someone who is told they have cancer but there is treatment would react very differently to the news than a person who found out they had cancer and were going to die.

33. 4. Cognitive Perspective
Cognitive Psychologists develop theories about mental processes and test those theories by creating situations where people are expected to behave in a predictable way (if they don’t behave in a predictable way, the theory is wrong).

34. 4. Cognitive Perspective
Where do we see Cognitive Psychology?
Self-help books
Attitude adjustments can help people because it’s all about how they feel about a situation/problem.

35. 5. Sociocultural Perspective
To understand human behaviors you have to understand the culture in which they live.

36. 5. Sociocultural Perspective
What’s “normal” in one country may be weird in another.

37. 5. Sociocultural Perspective
In the U.S. individuality is valued
In Asia it’s better to be part of a group

38. 5. Sociocultural Perspective
Eating disorders are a bigger problem in the U.S. where the ideal is to be really thin. Higher rate of violence in the U.S.

39. 6. Humanistic Perspective
“Look on the Bright Side”

40. 6. Humanistic Perspective
People are naturally good. They will try to be the best they can be UNLESS other people get in their way.

41. 6. Humanistic Perspective
Example: Children are good until teachers/parents etc. tell them they AREN’T good.

42. 6. Humanistic Perspective
Then, children begin to believe that they can’t be good so they stop trying.

43. 6. Humanistic Perspective
Main ideas in Humanist Psychology
Self-esteem is VERY important!
A person’s view of their life is much more important that what actually happens in their life.

44. Homework: Read pp28-31 in your textbook
Using what you have learned in class, and the info in your book you must make up a scenario where someone needs psychological help.
Then, write down what someone with each of the perspectives would say is the root of the problem and perhaps how it can be fixed. You should have 6 different reasons for the problem.
Be prepared to share with someone in the class!

45. History of Psychology
Do Now: What kinds of human behavior are you curious about?
Example: why do people find others attractive?
Why do some people get angry easier than others?

46. Hmmm interesting!
People have ALWAYS been interested in the behaviors of other people, that’s…
PSYCHOLOGY!
Questions about human behavior have been asked throughout history.

47. I. Ancient Greece (2000 years ago)
A. Socrates: said we can learn about ourselves by looking at our own thoughts and feelings: introspection.

48. B. Aristotle ( )
Experiences from the past affect our feelings later.
Example: Being with our parents makes us feel safe because they have kept us safe in the past.

49. B. Aristotle (384-322) He also said:
People try to avoid pain and find pleasure.

50. C. Hippocrates ( B.C.)
Confusion and madness are caused by problems in the brain.

51. II. The Middle Ages
Most Europeans believed problems like confusion and anger issues were caused by being possessed by demons.

52. II. The Middle Ages
“pure” metals AND people SHOULD sink to the bottom of water
People who were thought to be possessed were thrown into deep water….

53. III. Modern Science (1500s-1700s)
The Scientific Approach was invented, leading to the birth of modern Psychology in the 1800s.

54. Scientific Approach
Ideas about human behavior and thinking should be supported by evidence.

55. 1879 Beginning of Psychology as a modern lab science.

56. A. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) Established a lab in Germany
He founded structuralism: the study of the basic elements of consciousness (being awake and experienceing the world)

57. Consciousness:How we experience the world
1. Objective Sensations: sight, taste, hearing, touching, smelling
2. Subjective Feelings: Emotional responses to the world.

58. Structuralists
Believed the human mind combined these 2 types of experiences
Ex: You can see an apple as red and taste it as sweet but ALSO you can feel good when you see an apple because you REMEMBER how good it feels to bite into it.

59. B. William James (1842-1910) and Functionalism
Structuralists are WRONG!
You can’t break down people’s experiences!
Stream of Consciousness

60. B. William James (1842-1910) and Functionalism
Functionalism is how mental processes (thinking) help people/animals adapt to their environment.

61. How did Functionalists do research?
Observe people’s behavior in a lab and use introspection (researchers asked people how they felt inside)

62. Other ideas of Functionalists
Behavior is learned
Example: Students study because the learn that it will help them get better grades.
Habits

63. John B. Watson (1878-1958) and Behaviorism
Consciousness is a private event known only by an individual.
Psychology is a science and needs to ONLY use observable, measurable, events (ex. Behaviors)

64. B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) and Reinforcement
When animals are rewarded for a behavior, they are more likely to do that behavior again (ex. Dog treats)
People learn behaviors the same way.

65. The Gestalt School
Context (the placement of things) influences the way we interpret things.
Learning is active, not just habit.

66. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and the school of Psychoanalysis
Most famous early psychologist.
Psychoanalysis- people have unconscious motives and conflicts within themselves that affect their behavior.

67. For Example
Freud believed that dreams might be a representation of wishes that you have deep down but didn’t know about.

68. Also
Freudian Slip:

69. Psychodynamic Thinking
Most of what is in your mind is unconscious. We are full of impulses and urges that conflict with what society says we can do.
So Freud said he could help people know their unconscious feelings and find acceptable ways to deal with them.

70. Now you have learned a little bit about different psychologists
It’s your turn to choose one psychologist to present about to the class!
History Heads Assignment!