Chapter 1 Introduction and History of Psychology.

Chapter 1Chapter 1

Introduction and History of Psychology

What Is Psychology – What Is Psychology – and What Is It Not?and What Is It Not?

Psychology is a broad field, with many specialties, but fundamentally, psychology is the science of behavior

and mental processes


Psychology – The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Psychology is notMere speculation about human nature

A body of folk wisdom about people that “everybody knows” to be true

Pseudopsychology –

Erroneous assertions of practices set forth as being scientific psychology


Psychology disputes unfounded claims from pseudopsychology

What DoWhat DoPsychologists Do?Psychologists Do?

Psychology is a broad field with many specialties, grouped

in three major categories: experimental psychology,

teaching of psychology and applied psychology


Experimental psychologists:

• ____________________________

• _____________________________

• ______________________________

I/OI/O SportsSports

School School

CounselingCounseling

EngineeringEngineering

RehabilitationRehabilitation

Use knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to solve human problems

ClinicalClinical


Applied psychologists

I/O (Industrial/Organizational)I/O (Industrial/Organizational)

Sports PsychologistsSports Psychologists

Engineering Psychologists (aka Human Engineering Psychologists (aka Human Factors Psychologists)Factors Psychologists)

School PsychologistsSchool Psychologists

Rehabilitation PsychologistsRehabilitation Psychologists

Counseling and Clinical PsychologistsCounseling and Clinical Psychologists

What Are Psychology’s What Are Psychology’s Historical Roots?Historical Roots?

Modern psychology developed from several

conflicting traditions, including structuralism, functionalism, Gestalt

psychology, behaviorism, and psychoanalysis

Devoted to uncovering Devoted to uncovering basic structures that make basic structures that make

up mind and thoughtup mind and thought

TraditionTradition

StructuralismStructuralism

Functionalism

Psychoanalysis

Gestalt psychology

Behaviorism

Wilhelm Wundt

StructuralismStructuralism

• Founded by ________

•Father of Psychology

•1879; Leipzig, Germany

•First ___________

•Known for ideas of Introspection – the process of looking within.

•Report sensations, images, and feelings of objects.

Believed mental processes could best be understood in

terms of their adaptive purpose and function

TraditionTradition

Structuralism

Functionalism Functionalism

Psychoanalysis

Gestalt psychology

Behaviorism

William James

FunctionalismFunctionalism

• Founded by ___________

•1890’s; Harvard

•Big fan of Darwin (who, by the way, helped to kick off psychology)

•Wrote the 1st __________

•Disagreed with Wundt – said that sensations are only a part of the picture.

•What about emotions that are triggered? Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are adaptive and that there is a specific function of these things.

Interested in how we construct “perceptual

wholes”

TraditionTradition

Structuralism

Functionalism

Psychoanalysis

Gestalt Gestalt psychologypsychology

Behaviorism

GestaltGestalt

• Prominent Gestalt Psychologists ________________ and ____________

•Wertheimer was interested in visual illusions and ambiguous figures (like the Necker Cube we saw earlier).

•Kohler was interested in “a-ha” moments known as “insight learning”, which is when we see something for being more than what it is or suddenly “get it!”.

•Relied on introspection – report sensations and what you see and feel.

•However, the idea is that the “________________________________________________”

Argued psychology should deal solely with observable

events

TraditionTradition

Structuralism

Functionalism

Psychoanalysis

Gestalt psychology

BehaviorismBehaviorism

John B. Watson

BehaviorismBehaviorism

• Led by ____________ in the 1920’s.

•They were the ones that liked to cause controversy – they disagreed with everyone else.

•They were only interested in observable behaviors because that was the only thing that could be considered “reliable evidence.”

•So, forget what people are ___________, they were only interested in why people were ____________ or ____________.

Asserted mental disorders arise from conflicts in the

unconscious mind

TraditionTradition

Structuralism

Functionalism

PsychoanalysisPsychoanalysis

Gestalt psychology

Behaviorism

Sigmund Freud

PsychoanalysisPsychoanalysis

“Nomophobia is the fear of being out of mobile phone contact - and it's the plague of our 24/7 age”

“Experts say nomophobia could affect up to 53 percent of mobile phone users.”

• Father of Psychoanalysis is ____________ – 1930’s.

•Said that all problems arise or are related to __________________– it is the infantile source of behavior (id, ego, superego).

•Where do our hidden fears or desires come from; how is our past related to our fears and desires and obsessions?

What are the Perspectives What are the Perspectives Psychologists Use Today?Psychologists Use Today?

((1)Psychoanalytic, (2)Cognitive, (3)Behavioral, 1)Psychoanalytic, (2)Cognitive, (3)Behavioral, (4)Humanistic, (5)Biological, (6)Sociocultural, (4)Humanistic, (5)Biological, (6)Sociocultural,

(7)Evolutionary(7)Evolutionary

1

2345

6

7

View of Human Nature:View of Human Nature:

We are driven by dark forces of We are driven by dark forces of the unconsciousthe unconscious

PerspectivePerspective

What Determines Behavior:What Determines Behavior:

Unconscious needs, conflicts, Unconscious needs, conflicts, repressed memories, and repressed memories, and

childhood experienceschildhood experiences

Slogan/Mnemonic:Slogan/Mnemonic:

Biological

Developmental

1.1.Psychodynamic Psychodynamic or Psychoanalyticor Psychoanalytic

Sociocultural

Cognitive

Behavioral

Trait

Humanistic

Evolutionary/Sociobiological


People are information-People are information-processing systemsprocessing systems


Mental interpretation of our Mental interpretation of our experienceexperience

Slogan/MnemonicSlogan/Mnemonic


Biological

Developmental

Psychodynamic

Sociocultural

2. Cognitive2. Cognitive

Behavioral

Trait

Humanistic



Behavior is primarily shaped by Behavior is primarily shaped by learninglearning



Stimulus cues and our history of Stimulus cues and our history of rewards and punishmentsrewards and punishments

Slogan/MnemonicSlogan/Mnemonic

Biological

Developmental

Psychodynamic

Sociocultural

Cognitive

3. Behavioral3. Behavioral

Trait

Humanistic



Emphasizes human growth and Emphasizes human growth and potentialpotential



The influence of self-concept, The influence of self-concept, perceptions, and interpersonal perceptions, and interpersonal relationships, and on need for relationships, and on need for

personal growthpersonal growth


Biological

Developmental

Psychodynamic

Sociocultural

Cognitive

Behavioral

Trait

4. Humanistic4. Humanistic



We are complex systems that We are complex systems that respond to hereditary and respond to hereditary and environmental influencesenvironmental influences


Neural structures, Neural structures, biochemistry, and inborn biochemistry, and inborn

responses to external cuesresponses to external cuesSlogan/Mnemonic:Slogan/Mnemonic:

PerspectivePerspective5.Biological or 5.Biological or

BiopsychologicalBiopsychological

Developmental

Psychodynamic

Sociocultural

Cognitive

Behavioral

Trait

Humanistic



People are social animals, so People are social animals, so human behavior must be human behavior must be

interpreted in social contextinterpreted in social context



Cultures, social norms and Cultures, social norms and expectations, social learning expectations, social learning


Biological

Developmental

Psychodynamic

6.Sociocultural6.Sociocultural

Cognitive

Behavioral

Trait

Humanistic



Behavior is developed and Behavior is developed and adapted over timeadapted over time



Natural selection Natural selection


Biological

Developmental

Psychodynamic

Sociocultural

Cognitive

Behavioral

Trait

Humanistic

7.Evolutionary/7.Evolutionary/SociobiologicalSociobiological


We undergo predictable patterns We undergo predictable patterns of change throughout our livesof change throughout our lives


Interaction between Interaction between heredity heredity and and environmentenvironment



Biological

8.8.DevelopmentalDevelopmental

Psychodynamic

Sociocultural

Cognitive

Behavioral

Trait

Humanistic



Individual differences result from Individual differences result from differences in our underlying differences in our underlying

patterns of stable characteristicspatterns of stable characteristics



Each person’s unique combination Each person’s unique combination of traits of traits


Biological

Developmental

Psychodynamic

Sociocultural

Cognitive

Behavioral

9.Trait9.Trait

Humanistic


End of Chapter 1End of Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Introduction and History of Psychology.

Documents

applied psychology slide

history of psychology

psychoanalysis slide

experimental psychology

scientific psychology

pseudopsychology slide

teaching of psychology

father of psychology