PSY 410 – HISTORY & SYSTEMS

Dr. Nancy Alvarado

Welcome to PSY 410

What are systems? Systems of thought Theoretical perspectives Ways of organizing the core ideas of our field Approaches to developing new knowledge Influences on the development of modern

psychology “Systems Psychology” means something

different than “psychological systems” – it is a subfield of psychology that studies behavioral systems and their dynamics.

Who are these people?

William James G. Stanley Hall Sandra Scarr

Sources for Today’s Lecture

Blackboard Reading 1:A History of Modern Psychology (3rd Edition) by C. James Goodwin, Chapter 1 – Introduciung Psychology’s History (p. 1-24).

Blackboard Reading 2:Timeline of Psychology from inside front and back covers of the Goodwin textbook.

Why do we study history?

Hegel said that the only true lesson of history is that nations have never learned anything from history. The past is too different from the present to

offer much help and has little reality to those living in the present.

Boring said: “The seats on the train of progress all face backward.” The past does not predict the future very well.

To better understand the present

“Imagine a man who professes over and over his unending love for a woman but who knows nothing about where she was born or who her parents were or where she went to school or what her life had been like until he came along – and furthermore doesn’t care to learn. What would you think of such a person?”

David McCullough, 1992

Why is there an APA and an APS? APA = American Psychological Association APS = American Psychological Society =

Association for Psychological Science These two organizations reflect the tension

between research and practice within psychology. A separate group of “Experimentalists” was formed

in 1906 The APA’s division structure was created after WWII

to accommodate the split. Despite that, researchers seceded from the APA in

1988.

Other reasons

The same problems are still with us, for example: Nature-nurture – how heritable are traits such as

intelligence, shyness or schizophrenia? Criminality? Science does not proceed directly from error to

truth, so the evolution of current thinking is informative – the dialectic of science.

An overview of progress gives unity to a highly diverse field – all psychologists share a common history.

Psychologists are people who behave in a context.

Recurrent Questions

Is a science of the mind possible? Comte said no, J.S. Mill said yes, Wundt tried it

out. How do we see, perceive and have

knowledge of the world? What is the nature and locus of the mind? What is the relationship between mind and

body? Nature vs nurture (nativism vs empiricism) See Hothersall text, pg 1.

Hot or Not?

1950’s – All Hail Rock & Roll

1970’s – Disco Boogie

2013 -- Prom

Presentism vs Historicism

Presentism – interpreting the past in terms of the present. Stocking (1965) – use of modern knowledge

and values to interpret the past. Was Gordon Allport racist when he referred

to “Negroes” or “colored people”? He might be by today’s standards, but not those of his time.

Historicism – placing historical events within the overall context of their times. The contextual approach to history.

Psychology is contextual too. We cannot totally escape presentism

because we are embedded in and formed by our experiences, but we can try.

It takes a conscious act of empathy and imagination to try to place oneself in a historical context in order to understand behavior of others. This is the same empathy and imagination

demanded of therapists who work with people different than themselves, even of another sex.

The more you know the better this can be accomplished.

Lessons from the Past

It takes an act of imagination to identify the assumptions of one’s own time period.

Broca was convinced that women were inferior to men because their brains were less developed. He proposed that the difference

between male and female brain sizes increased with each generation.

Because his views were consistent withthe beliefs of the time, they went unchallenged.

New Arrivals at Ellis Island

Immigrants from Norway, 1904/1905

Goddard and Ellis Island

Goddard translated Binet’s IQ test from French to English to screen immigrants upon entry to the USA. Those with low scores were classified as “mentally

defective” and denied entry (deported). The test was not validated across cultures.

What was he thinking? Why would he do this? Darwinian evolution and Mendelian genetics strongly

influenced thinking at the time, IQ was believed inborn.

The nation feared being overrun by immigrants. Testing was considered “scientific” and thus

infallible.

Internal vs External History

Internal history – the history of ideas. Traces the development of theories held by

different psychologists. Ignores influences outside psychology that

have affected the discipline. External history – focuses on those

external influences from outside psychology. A broader view that examines societal and

economic contexts in which ideas arise. A balance is needed between the two.

Timelines and Maps show context Goodwin textbook’s timeline for the

history of psychology –Blackboard Reading 2.

Wikipedia timeline of the history of psychology: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_psychology

Sample Timeline

An Individual Person’s Timeline

Personal vs Naturalistic History Personal history – sees the actions of individual

historical figures as primary. Emphasizes the overall intellectual and cultural

climate. Hegel called this the zeitgeist Biographies are important and historical periods are

identified by the people who shaped events (eponyms).

Our Hothersall textbook takes this approach. Theories in psychology and periods epitomized

by certain viewpoints are often named for people originating them – such as Freudian or Skinnerian.

Academic Pedigrees

A pedigree is the ancestry of a person or animal (the family tree).

In psychology, famous people may have studied with earlier influential figures, so you can trace their lineage.

Schools of thought were also organized around institutions where people collaborated (e.g., major universities such as the University of Chicago). This is also a kind of academic pedigree.

My Academic Tree

Nancy AlvaradoCal Poly Pomona

Louis NarensUC Irvine (Cognitive Science)

Abraham RobinsonUCLA (Mathematics)later, Yale Univ.

Paul EkmanUCSF

Silvan TomkinsPrinceton Univ.

PhD Advisor

Postdoctoral Mentor

The Alternative View

Naturalistic history – an approach that emphasizes the broader forces of history acting on individuals. Great men are agents of forces beyond their control. Boring promoted this view of psychology, the Goodwin

book emphasizes it. Multiple events occur when two people

independently create the same theory or discovery. Darwin & Wallace developed identical theories of

evolution However, it is mistaken to think of such forces as

deterministically controlling ideas, as if people don’t matter.

Critical Thinking about History Primary vs secondary sources.

Primary sources are archives of records, correspondence, diaries, speeches, minutes of meetings, unpublished manuscripts and papers.

Secondary sources are published analyses or summaries found in journals, magazines, encyclopedias written about some person, event, or time period.

Historians are human so their interpretations reflect their beliefs and inevitably affect their work. Postmodernism critiques this bias, but truth can be

approached via the combined efforts of historians.

How to Study for this Course Remember the names of important people. Read the details of the lives of the people in the

textbook – use empathy to imagine the times. Always be asking yourself “What did this person

contribute to modern psychology?” Each chapter in Hothersall ends with a summary of

this. Organize the people into schools of thought and

disciplines of psychology, and place on a timeline. Memorize key terms in red (look up meanings

too).

Some Suggestions

DO NOT underline your textbook. People tend to underline the main points. When you go back, it is hard to see the text that

isn’t underlined, which has the details – so you wind up studying what you already know.

DO NOT outline the chapters. Outlines also focus on main points but not

details. DO make flash cards and use them to study. DO use practice tests or test yourself from

the book.

When something is unfamiliar Look up words you don’t know using

Google or Wikipedia. Ask questions, even in class. Remember that words used in earlier

centuries may have had different meanings than they do today.

Look up unfamiliar names or terms in the indexes of the textbook and then re-read where that term was first defined or that person was first introduced.

Skimming the Book

Skimming is not reading -- reading occurs with full attention.

You may be tempted to believe you already know the content of the textbook’s chapters. Assume that you don’t and read every word. The details in the Hothersall book are not in your

other textbooks – you WILL do poorly if you don’t read it.

Think about yourself as a future psychologist and the people in the book as if they were your professors, friends or colleagues. Care about them!