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Prologue: The Story of Psychology

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Psychological Science is BornStructuralism

Wundt and Titchener studied the elements (atoms) of the mind by conducting

experiments at Leipzig, Germany, in 1879.

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Structuralism• “Analytic introspection” - in

response to a stimulus, observe and record all perceptions and thoughts

• eg. pear - yellow, fruit, sweet, moist, crunchy, etc. for hours on end!!

• By carefully recording and analyzing these introspections, Wundt and his students believed they were discovering the ‘structure’ of the brain/mind.

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Legacy of Structuralism

• Quickly refuted as an approach. However. . .

• It introduced the “scientific” study of the mind. Instead of just theoretical philosophy, actual “scientific” experiments and research were performed on how the brain/mind worked.

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Psychological Science is BornFunctionalism

Influenced by Darwin, William James established the school of functionalism,

which opposed structuralism.

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Rather than study the structure of the brain, James decides to focus on the ‘function’ of thoughts

• Our thoughts are not separate ideas, they are actually connected and continuous, like a flowing river, thus we have a “stream of consciousness”

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Psychological Science is BornThe Unconscious Mind

Sigmund Freud and his followers emphasized the importance of the

unconscious mind and its effects on human behavior.

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Psychoanalytic Theory

• Freud observed that many of his patients’ problems had psychological roots, not physical.

• He develops a theory around the idea of the unconscious housing thoughts and desires that influence our conscious thoughts and behaviors.

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Psychological Science DevelopsBehaviorism

Watson (1913) and later Skinner emphasized the study of overt behavior as

the subject matter of scientific psychology.

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Behaviorism• Ivan Pavlov’s classic research had dogs become

conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell ringing, which Watson applied to humans, focusing only on their outward, observable behaviors.

• Later, B.F. Skinner takes these ideas even further and states there is no value in studying inner thoughts and mental processes.

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Psychological Science Develops

Humanistic Psychology

Maslow and Rogers emphasized current environmental influences on our growth

potential and our need for love and acceptance.

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Psychology Today

We define psychology today as the scientific study of behavior (what we

do) and mental processes (inner thoughts and feelings).

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Psychology’s Big Debate

Nature versus Nurture

Darwin stated that nature selects those that best enable the organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

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Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

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Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample QuestionsNeuroscience How the body and

brain enables emotions?

How are messages transmitted in the body? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?

Evolutionary How the natural selection of traits the promotes the perpetuation of one’s genes?

How does evolution influence behavior tendencies?

Behavior genetics

How much our genes and our environments influence our individual differences?

To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulnerability to depression attributable to our genes? To our environment?

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Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample QuestionsPsychodynamic

How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts?

How can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?

Behavioral How we learn observable responses?

How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter our behavior, say to lose weight or quit smoking?

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Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample QuestionsCognitive How we encode,

process, store and retrieve information?

How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Problem solving?

Social-cultural

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures?

How are we — as Africans, Asians, Australians or North Americans – alike as members of human family? As products of different environmental contexts, how do we differ?

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Psychology’s Subfields: Research

Psychologist What she does

BiologicalExplore the links between brain and mind.

DevelopmentalStudy changing abilities from womb to tomb.

CognitiveStudy how we perceive, think, and solve problems.

Personality Investigate our persistent traits.

SocialExplore how we view and affect one another.

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Psychology’s Subfields: Research

Data: APA 1997

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Psychology’s Subfields: Applied

Psychologist What she does

ClinicalStudies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

CounselingHelps people cope with academic, vocational, and marital challenges.

EducationalStudies and helps individuals in school and educational settings

Industrial/Organizational

Studies and advises on behavior in the workplace.

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Psychology’s Subfields: Applied

Data: APA 1997

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A clinical psychologist (Ph.D.) studies, assesses, and treats troubled people with

psychotherapy.

Psychiatrists on the other hand are medical professionals (M.D.) who use treatments

like drugs and psychotherapy to treat psychologically diseased patients.

Clinical Psychology vs. Psychiatry

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Survey: What you are about to read, including chapter outlines and section heads.

Question: Ask questions. Make notes. Read: Make sure you read outlines, sections

and chapters in entirety. Review: Margin definitions. Study learning

outcomes. Reflect: On what you learn. Test yourself with

quizzes.

Close-upYour Study of Psychology

Survey, Question, Read, Review and Reflect (SQ3R)

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Distribute your time. Listen actively in class. Overlearn. Be a smart test-taker.

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