The Roots of Psychology

Psychology’s history

EmpiricismStructuralismFunctionalismExperimental PsychologyBehaviorismHumanistic psychologyCognitive neurosciencePsychology(IB definition)

Key terms

Psychology can be traced back to early philosophers

There was an effort to understand about sensations, perceptions , learning and the connections between the mind, feelings and the body

Many believed that thought occurred in the heart and emotions in the stomach/bowels, others believed that the heart was the center of all thought and emotion

In ancient Greece, Socrates and Plato concluded that the mind was separate from the body and could live on after death

The Roots of psychology

Aristotle used careful observations and data, he concluded that knowledge is not preexisting but grows from experience

For approximately 2000 years there were no significant advancements in man’s thinking about the mind and nature of man

In the 1600’s, science began to flourish again and our drive to know why and how grew with it

Rene Descartes agreed with Socrates and Plato. He believed that the mind was separate from the body, could live on after death and the knowledge was innate.

Roots continued

Descartes believed (from dissecting animals) that our brains cavities were filled with fluid and that this fluid contained animal spirits. These spirits were thought to flow from the brain through the nerves, which would then cause muscle reactions. Memories were created when this fluid flowed into pores in the brain.

So, what was Descartes right about?Nerves are important pathways and they do

enable our reflexes.But about everything else, he had it wrong.

Across the pond, in Great Britain, Francis Bacon was basing his ideas on experiment, experience and common sense. He believed that the human mind seeks patterns of order in random events. He believed that this caused people to notice and remember events that support our ideas and ignore those that do not.

John Locke, a British philosopher, wrote about the “tabula rasa”, the blank slate. This idea, that we are born with our minds totally blank, influenced philosophy, psychology and political science.

The ideas of Bacon and Locke helped modern empiricism—the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should rely on observation and experimentation

The true birth of psychology as a science is credited to Wilhelm Wundt.

In 1879, at the University of Leipzig, he and two assistants set up what is commonly known as Psychology’s first experiment

They were using a ball and the pressing of a telegraph key to determine the time lag between hearing and awareness of hearing.

This experiment led to the development of the first psychology laboratory

Psychology is born

Wilhelm Wundt

Early founder of

modern

psychology

Before long psychology became divided into different schools of thought

StructuralismFunctionalismBehaviorismGestalt psychologyPsychoanalysis

History continued

Structuralism and FunctionalismSeeks to study the

structural elements of the mind

Founder: Edward Bradford Titchener

Engaged people in introspection and trained them to report on feelings and thoughts

It proved to be unreliable

Structuralism faded

Seeks to understand why our bodies behave as they do

Founder: William JamesBelieved (influenced by

Darwin) that thinking developed because it was adaptive

Encouraged explorations of emotions, memories, willpower and habits

James’ main influence was through his writing and students

definitionsStructuralismSchool of thought in

psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind

FunctionalismSchool of thought in

psychology that focused on how our mental processes function—how they enable us to adapt, survive and function

Edward Bradford Titchener

Founder of

Structuralism

William James

Founder of

Functionalism

Margaret Floy Washburn

Wrote The Animal

Mind

Focused on animal

behavior research

Studied vision,

sensory perception

and cognitive

processes

Used a variety of

animals for

research

Also worked on

Motor Theory

The school of psychology that believes that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes

This school of thought was led by John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner.

They dismissed introspection and embraced observable behavior.

Watson demonstrated conditioned responses in the famous “Little Albert” experiment

Behaviorism

Biological: studies the links between biological and psychological processes

Evolutionary: studies the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection

Psychodynamic: studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, then use that information to treat people with psychological disorders

Behavioral: studies observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of behavior

Cognitive: the study of mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Social-cultural: the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

Psychology’s levels of analysis