Chapter 1- Introducing Psychology
Chapter 1- Introducing Psychology
Why Study Psychology?
Provides useful insight into behavior
› Physiological- having to do with physical processes
› Cognitive- having to do with thinking and understanding
Goals of Psychology
1. Describe- how is a person behaving?2. Explain- why do they behave this
way? - Hypotheses and theories3. Predict4. Influence or control
using applied science
› Use of scientific method
Origins of Psychology
Marmaduke Samson and phrenology-› Examining bumps
on a person’s skull to determine intelligence and character traits (mid 1800s)
Structuralism- Wundt
Wilhelm Wundt- established modern psychology (first laboratory- Leipzig, 1879)
Structuralism- study the basic elements that make up conscious mental experience
Structuralism- Wundt
Use of introspection- self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings
First use of a systematic procedure to study human behavior
Functionalism- James
William James- “father of psychology” (first textbook)› All activities of the mind (thinking,
feeling, learning, and remembering) have one major function- survival as a species.
Functionalism- James
Wundt focused on structure of the mind; James focuses on the functions or actions of the mind and the goals of behavior
Functionalism- study of how people and animals react to their environments
Structuralism vs. Functionalism
Structuralism
• Wundt• Concerned with
the STRUCTURE of something
• What’s it made of?• Why do we think
this way?
Functionalism
• James• Concerned with
the FUNCTION of something
• What does it do?• What are the
results of thinking this way?
Inheritable Traits
Francis Galton (1822-1911)-Heredity› Concluded that
intelligence and prominence are hereditary traits.
› Did not consider the role of environment when making this conclusion.
Gestalt Psychology
Perception is more than a sum of parts, but it involves a “whole pattern”
How sensations are assembled into perceptual experiences
Example- chair
Psychoanalytic Psychology
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)-› Our conscious
experiences are only the tip of the iceberg Beneath the surface
are primitive biological urges in conflict with society and morality
Different Perspectives in Psychology
Biological PsychologyBiological Psychology
Behavioral/Clinical PsychologyBehavioral/Clinical Psychology
Cognitive PsychologyCognitive Psychology
Social-Cultural PsychologySocial-Cultural Psychology
Humanistic PsychologyHumanistic Psychology
Psychodynamic PsychologyPsychodynamic Psychology
Evolutionary PsychologyEvolutionary Psychology
Biological Perspective/ Neuroscience
FocusHow the body and brain create emotions, memories,and sensory experiences.
FocusHow the body and brain create emotions, memories,and sensory experiences.
Sample Issues• How do evolution and heredity influence behavior?• How are messages transmitted within the body?• How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?
Sample Issues• How do evolution and heredity influence behavior?• How are messages transmitted within the body?• How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?
Biological Psychology
Study of how physical and chemical changes in our body influence our behavior› PET scans and CAT scans› Twins and autism
Behavioral/Clinical Perspective
FocusHow we learn from observable responses.How to best study, assess and treat troubled people.
FocusHow we learn from observable responses.How to best study, assess and treat troubled people.
Sample Issues• How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations?• What is the most effective way to alter certain behaviors?• What are the underlying causes of:
Anxiety Disorders Phobic Disorders Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
Sample Issues• How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations?• What is the most effective way to alter certain behaviors?• What are the underlying causes of:
Anxiety Disorders Phobic Disorders Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
Behavioral Psychology
Ivan Pavlov› rang a tuning fork
each time he gave a dog meat powder
› dog began to salivate to the tune of the fork
Behavioral Psychology
Psychologists began to account for behaviors as
The product of prior experience
Could explain how differences among individuals were the result of learning
Behavioral Psychology
Behaviorism- how organisms learn or modify their behavior based on their response to events in the environment (John Watson)› Reinforcement (Skinner) – response to a
behavior that increases the likelihood a behavior will be repeated
Cognitive Perspective
FocusHow we encode, process, store and retrieve information.
FocusHow we encode, process, store and retrieve information.
Sample Issues• How do we use info in remembering and reasoning?• How do our senses govern the nature of perception?
(Is what you see really what you get?)• How much do infants “know” when they are born?
Sample Issues• How do we use info in remembering and reasoning?• How do our senses govern the nature of perception?
(Is what you see really what you get?)• How much do infants “know” when they are born?
Cognitive Psychology
Study of how we process, store, retrieve, and use information and how cognitive processes influence behavior (Piaget, Chomsky)› Behavior is influenced by a variety of
mental processes, including perceptions, memories, and expectations
Humanistic Perspective Contradictory to Behaviorism
› Maslow, Rogers and May› We are evolving and self-directed with
the ability to develop our full potential› Believe we have free will and are not
controlled by the environment or our past
Humanistic Psychology
Belief that each person has freedom in directing his or her future and achieving personal growth (Maslow, Rogers)› Humans are not controlled by events in the
environment or by outside forces- these things just serve as a background to our own internal growth
› Potential for personal growth
Psychodynamic/Psychoanalysis Perspective
› Study of behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
› Study of the unconscious mind, motives and behaviors
› Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)› Internal conflicts› Free association
Psychoanalytic Psychology
Unconscious motivations and conflict are responsible for medically unexplainable physical symptoms
Freud- Free Association
A patient says everything that comes to mind no matter how absurd
As a psychoanalyst, he sat and interpreted
Dreams are expressions of primitive unconscious urges
Use of case studies
Social-Cultural Perspective
FocusHow behavior and thinking vary across situationsand cultures.
FocusHow behavior and thinking vary across situationsand cultures.
Sample Issues• How are we, as members of different races andnationalities, alike as members of one human family?• How do we differ, as products of different social contexts?• Why do people sometimes act differently in groups thanwhen alone?
Sample Issues• How are we, as members of different races andnationalities, alike as members of one human family?• How do we differ, as products of different social contexts?• Why do people sometimes act differently in groups thanwhen alone?
Sociocultural Psychology
Studies the influence of cultural and ethnic similarities and differences on behavior and social functioning› Shared cultures and perspectives across
culture (ex- sneezes)› Immigration› Gender, socioeconomic status
Evolutionary Perspective
How the natural selection of traits promoted the survival of genes.
Focus on the evolution of behavior and mental processes.
Suggests that many kinds of behavior patterns, such as aggressive behavior, also have an hereditary basis.
Belief that inherited tendencies influence people to act in certain ways.
Psychology Bingo
Physiological
Cognitive Psychology Structuralism Introspection Wilhelm Wundt
Functionalism
William James Sir Francis Galton Physiological
Gestalt Psychoanalytic
Psychology Sigmund Freud Free Association Case Study Ivan Pavlov Behaviorism B.F. Skinner Phrenology Cognitive