History of Psychology Welcome to Unit 2 Seminar!.
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Transcript of History of Psychology Welcome to Unit 2 Seminar!.
History of Psychology
Welcome to Unit 2 Seminar!
TONIGHT
• This week's seminar is about both the philosophical
influences of psychology and the physiological
connection.
• More specifically we will discuss the contributions of
Rene Descartes (/day-cart’/), John Stuart Mill, James
Mill, and John Locke.
Perry’s Theory of Intellectual Development
– Dualism
• Unquestioning, absolute, right/wrong– Multiplicity
• Multiple points of view– Relativism
• Knowledge is contextual and relative– Commitment to Relativism
• Beyond the classroom, integration to self
Some Terminology…
• Psychology is the scientific study of mind (thoughts, feelings, etc.) and behavior (actions).
• Historiography The principles, methods, and philosophical issues of historical research.
• Zeitgeist “spirit of the time,” the intellectual and cultural climate
Major Themes in Psychology
• Structuralism• Functionalism• Gestalt psychology• Psychodynamics• Behaviorism• Humanistic• Cognitive• Neuroscience
QUESTION
• What is the mind-body
problem and how does it
relate to psychology?
Mind-body Problem
• Distinction between mental and
physical qualities.
– Dualist position states they are separate;
how does one influence the other?
– The direction and interplay of the mind
(spirit/soul) and the physical.
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Before Descartes, the accepted
point of view was that the
interaction between the mind and
body was essentially
unidirectional (went in one
direction), that the mind
influenced the body, but not the
other way around.
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
“The harmony and order of the
universe could be explained in
terms of the clock’s regularity—
which is built into the machine by
the clockmaker just as the
regularity of the universe was
thought to be built into it by God”
(Schultz & Schultz, 2011, p. 23).
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)• The mind influences the body;
however, the body exerts a great influence on the mind– Bidirectional, not uni-directional– Innate knowledgeConarium – Descartes believed the
conarium was the passage or linking mechanism to the metaphysical, a place in the brain that linked the physical with the spiritual. He determined that the pineal gland did this.
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
• The Zeitgeist of the times. – In what way was Descartes’ life and intellect
influenced by the era in which he lived?– Lifestyle– Pursuits– Social settings– Political settings– Moral/religious settings – Mind/body connection
The New Science of Psychology
What is positivism?
Positivism
• The doctrine that recognizes only
natural phenomena or facts that
are objectively observable and not
debatable.• Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
The New Science of Psychology
What is positivism? Write in your own words what positivism is.
The New Science of Psychology
What is positivism? The idea that science should be based totally on observable facts is called positivism
The New Science of Psychology
•What is materialism?
Materialism
• The doctrine that considers the facts of
the universe to be sufficiently explained
in physical terms by the existence and
nature of matter.
The New Science of Psychology
•What is materialism?
The New Science of Psychology
•What is materialism?
Matter is all there is to explain theuniverse. Materialism denies there is anything of importance other than the material (matter). Only what we can measure and perceive is real to a materialist.
John Locke (1632-1704)• Rejected Descartes’ notion of innate
knowledge• Tabula Rasa (blank slate)
– Nurture not nature– Everything is learned through experience
• Simple ideas are received passively; upon reflection, simple ideas make up complex ideas.– assimilation/accomodation of schemas
(Piaget)
The New Science of Psychology
•What is empiricism?
Empiricism
• The pursuit of knowledge through the
observation of nature and the attribution of
knowledge to experience; knowledge through
observation and experimentation.
The New Science of Psychology
•What is empiricism?(State this in your own words to the class)
James Mill (1773-1836)• Father of John Stuart Mill• Machine not a metaphor for the
mind, rather the mind IS a machine.
• No free will– Mind is passive, acted on by
external stimuli
• Learning through association (linking)– Early behaviorism
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
• Son of James Mill• Argued against mind as
machine, rather mind was active in association process
• Creative synthesis– Combination of mental
elements creates something greater than the sum of its parts (…Gestalt roots).
The Scientific Approach to Psychology
• The German approach to science – defined broadly as compared to England and France
• Measurement
• Ernst Weber (1795–1878)
• Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801–1887)
• Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894)
Herman von Helmholz
• Helmholtz abandoned his research into
human reaction times.
Herman von Helmholz
• Helmholtz abandoned his research into
human reaction times.
• He found individual differences from one
individual to the next.
Herman von Helmholz
• Helmholtz abandoned his research into
human reaction times.
• He found individual differences from one
individual to the next.
• He found differences within the responses of
the same individual.
Question
• What is the smallest detectable difference
between two stimuli?
Question
• What is the smallest detectable difference
between two stimuli?
– “just noticeable difference” coined by Weber
Absolute Threshold
• The definition of the point of
sensitivity below which no sensation
can be detected and above which
sensation can be experienced
Psychophysics
• The scientific study of the relations
between mental and physical
processes
Reference
Littell, T. (2010). Adapted from Power Point
presentation.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2011). History of modern
psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Stark, R. (2005). Victory of reason. New York: Random
House.