Chapter1 understanding modernpsychology

Understanding the Focus of Modern Psychology

Chapter 1pp. 3-33

Defining Psychology

• Psychology–The scientific study of behaviour and brain (mind)

–Behaviour = x–Focus on the scientific method–Focus on systematic observation

• Psychology seeks to understand how people act, think and feel

What Is Psychology?

What is Psychology?

• Scientific: Systematic observation

• Behaviour: Observable actions• Mind: Subjective experiences such as sensations, thoughts, and emotions produced by the brain

What is Psychological Science?

The Study of mind, brain and behaviour

BRAIN MIND

Mind is what the Brain DoesThe physical brain enables the mind

How Can You Study The Mind?

• Metaphor: “Black Box”– Can observe what it does, how it responds, but can’t see inside

• How do you study it?– Self-report– Find a way to “open” it– Study how it behaves

•Example: How long does it take to respond to different stimuli?

What Psychologists Do

• Clinical Psychologists

• Counselling Psychologists

• Applied Psychologists

• Research Psychologists

Clinical Psychologists

• Diagnose and treat psychological

problems

• Regulated in most provinces

• Work with clients who have

adjustment problems or more severe

psychological problems

• Work in clinics, private practice,

universities and colleges

Counselling Psychologists

• Deal with milder problems than do Clinical Psychologists

• Deal with family and personal adjustment issues

• Work in clinics, private practice, universities and colleges

Together, clinical and counselling psychologists = majority of “psychologists”

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Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

• Published by the American Psychiatric Association

• Covers all mental health disorders for both children & adults

• Statistics in terms of:– gender, – age at onset,– prognosis,– as well as some

research concerning the optimal treatment approaches.

DSM - IV-TR

Assesses five dimensions:• Axis I: Clinical Syndromes• Axis II: Developmental Disorders & Personality Disorders

• Axis III: Physical Conditions• Axis IV: Severity of Psychosocial Stressors

• Axis V: Highest Level of Functioning

Counsellor

• Provide some sort of therapy or support to clients, but do not have advanced training in providing psychological treatment

• Generally not regulated

• No minimum education requirements established

Psychiatrist

• Medical doctors who specialize in diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems

• Similar to psychologists (BUT

there are differences)

– Licensed to prescribe drugs

Applied Psychologists

• Apply psychology to practical problems in the real world

– Examples:•School psychologists•Industrial/organizational psychologists

•Human factors psychologists

• Not involved with psychological disorders

Research Psychologists

• Conduct experiments to learn about behaviour and the mind

• Work in universities, colleges, research institutes

• Specialties– Biopsychologists– Personality psychologists– Cognitive psychologists– Social psychologists– Clinical psychologists

Psychological Science Crosses Many Levels of Analysis

Genetic: Gene mechanisms, heritability, twin and adoption studies

Neurochemical: Neurotransmitters and hormones, animal studies, drug studies

Brain Systems: Neuroanatomical structures, animal studies, brain imagingPerceptual and cognitive: Thinking, decision making, language, memory

Individual: Personality traits, sex differences, developmental age changesSocial and Cultural: Cultural norms, situations, context

How to Become a Psychologist

• Major in Psychology as an Undergraduate (although not completely necessary)– Take relevant courses in Psychology– Get “practical” and/or “research” experience

– Get to know your Professors– Demonstrate good analytical thinking skills, people skills, writing skills

• Psychologists – Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, Doctoral degree

ORIGINS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE

The mind-body problem

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)


Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

Made conclusions about workings of the brain

Sensory messages (vision, touch, smell) arrived at one location in the brain


• Where does the mind reside?

• The heart? The liver? The stomach?

• Is the mind separate from the body?

• Is the mind a subjective experience of the physical brain?

Descartes and the Reflex

The mind-body problemRené Descarte (1596-1650)

Dualism: Mind exists separate from the body but is also related to the body

The human mind causes motions in the body by moving a small part of the brain

Blood came into contact with thinking substances in the brain and flowed out along the channels of the nerves to animate the muscles and other parts of the body

Mind and Body

• Roots of modern psychology lie in the disciplines of philosophy, physiology, and anatomy

• Descartes: Two separate entities– Mind controls body through pineal gland– If so: impossible to scientifically study the mind

• Psychologists today: One and the same– Mind arises from brain activity– The mind is what the brain does

Nature and Nurture:Where Does Knowledge Come From?

• To what degree are we shaped by innate/inherited tendencies?

• Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E)– Tabula rasa

• Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)– Nativism

• Charles Darwin (1809-1882)– Adaptive behaviours (guided by natural selection)

The Nature-Nurture Debate

• Are psychological characteristics biologically innate or acquired through education, experience, culture?

• Bipolar disorder– Characterized by dramatic mood swings– Prior to 1950’s: bad parenting (all nurture)

– Drugs were discovered that could alleviate symptoms

– This condition can be heritable: way the brain is wired (nature) and how the individual is treated (nurture)

Nature Plus Nurture

• Many characteristics do have genetic (inherited) component– Examples: intelligence, personality

• Experience shapes how these characteristics develop– Example: educational experiences

• In other words, both matter!

Model of Gene-Environment Interaction:

Limit-Setting Model

Modern Experimental Psychology

• Late 1800’s

• Psychological phenomenon should be studied experimentally

• Establishment of formal laboratories to study psychological phenomenon

Roots: Modern Experimental Psychology Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

Structuralism

Founder of Psychology as an academic discipline

Psychological Processes, as products of physiological actions in the brainhttp://www.nndb.com/people/531/000053372/

Roots: Modern Experimental Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)• Physiological actions in the brain take time to occur

• Present participant with two tasks• One more complicated than the other• By subtracting the easier task from the complex task –how much time particular mental task took to occur


Gestalt School (late 19th century)

The whole of personal experience is much greater than simply the sum

of its constituent elements

The whole is greater than the sum of the parts


Gestalt School (late 19th century)

The perception of objects is subjective

Dependent on Context

Structuralism• Introspectionism: to look inward

• Structure of the mind could be understood by breaking it down into elementary parts

• Example– Complex taste: salty, bitter, sour, sweet



James Mark Baldwin (1861-1934)

Functionalism

• Psychological laboratory at the University of Toronto

http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/museum/baldwin.htm

Functionalism

• William James (1842-1910)

• Understand mental processes by understanding the goal or purpose of those processes– Example: What is the goal or purpose of memory?

• Expanded the topics covered by scientific psychology; still dependant on introspection

Roots: Modern Experimental Psychology John B. Watson (1878-1958)

Behaviourism Role of environment on behaviour

The mind, if it existed was irrelevant

The mind-body problem was of no interest to a scientist

http://www.nndb.com/people/078/000030985/

Behaviourism

• John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner (1904 - 1990)

• Problems with introspection– Cannot directly observe mental events– Subjective, varies by individual

• Solution: Focus only on observable behaviour in carefully controlled experiments– Example: Influences on animal behaviour

Roots: Modern Experimental Psychology Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Psychoanalysis

Unconscious experience

Unconscious mental forces were often in conflict – produced psychological discomfort – even psychological disorders

Psychoanalysis – involves trying to bring contents of unconsciousness into conscious awareness

Analyzing symbols in patients dreams


Sigmund Freud

• Psychoanalysis– Freud’s theory of how the mind works and how to address disorders

• Key to healing: Insight

• Unconscious mind– Conflicts, memories that you aren’t aware of

– Many conflicts and problems arise from childhood experiences

Reaction to Freud:Humanistic Psychology

• Criticisms of Freudian psychology– Dark, pessimistic view of human nature– Dismisses free will to grow and change

• Humanistic psychology– Carl Rogers (1905-1987), Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)

– Humans have great potential to grow and improve selves

– Therapists should encourage this through non-judgemental support

Roots: Modern Experimental PsychologyAbraham Maslow (1908-1970)

Humanistic Psychology

Importance of free will

Positive view of human nature

Rogers: Client-centred therapy


Current Perspectives

Psychological Science Crosses Many Levels of Analysis

Genetic: Gene mechanisms, heritability, twin and adoption studies

Neurochemical: Neurotransmitters and hormones, animal studies, drug studies

Brain Systems: Neuroanatomical structures, animal studies, brain imagingPerceptual and cognitive: Thinking, decision making, language, memory

Individual: Personality traits, sex differences, developmental age changesSocial and Cultural: Cultural norms, situations, context

• Psychology most popular major in Canadian universities

• James Mark Baldwin started Canada’s first psychological research lab at the University of Toronto in 1892, making it one of the first such labs in the work

• Donald O. Hebb (McGill) idea’s about neurological mechanisms underlying learning and memory continue to be influential

Scientific Psychology in Canada

• Brenda Miller (McGill University and the Montreal Neurological Institute) published groundbreaking studies of a man known as H.M. who has severe amnesia

• Ronald Melzack’s (McGill University) research and theory led to a radical reconceptualization of the nature of physical pain

Scientific Psychology in Canada

• Albert Bundura published works showing how children’s behaviour is influenced by rewards and punishments and also by observations of other children’s behaviour and its consequences

• Mary Salter Ainsworth made pioneering contributions to the understanding of the processes by which children become socially and emotionally attached

First Psychology Laboratory

Trends in Modern Psychology

• Eclectic approach– Draw from several ideas, schools of thought, not just one

• New emphases– Cognitive factors– Biological factors– Evolutionary psychology– Cultural factors

Cognitive Factors

• 1950’s: Shift from behaviourism, back to interest in internal mention processes– Also known as the “cognitive revolution”

• Why?– Better research techniques allowed more objective observation of mental processes

– Computers became a new way to understand how the mind works

The Cognitive Revolution

• Higher-order mental functions– Language, memory, decision making

• The way people think can influence their behaviour

• Information processing theories• Artificial intelligence

Developments in Biology

• New emphasis on linking brain and behaviour

• Modern technology allows us to– Record the activity of brain cells in response to stimuli in the environment

– Create images of brain activity during different mental processes, psychological states

– Better understand normal and abnormal brain chemistry

Evolutionary Psychology

• Study of the human mind and behavioural processes as products of natural selection

• New emphasis on applying Darwin’s ideas of natural selection to behaviour and the mind

• Human mind evolved to include cognitive and social mechanisms to solve delineated adaptive problems

Solving Problems with the Adaptive Mind

• Natural selection has endowed humans with a mind/brain capable of flexibility and adaptiveness

• Behaviour and understanding can shift dramatically with experience

• Can solve and create array of problems

• By using adaptive mind can enrich understanding and retention

Importance of Culture

• The shared values, customs, and beliefs that are characteristic of a group or community

• New emphasis on how culture shapes the mind and behaviour

• Lev Vgotsky (1896 - 1934)– How children think depends on social, cultural environment around them

Chapter1 understanding modernpsychology

Education

mind psychologists

study of mind

brain mind behaviour

mind work

mind separate

brain psychology

human mind

psychology psychology