Why Study Psychology’s History? - Bryan Burnham.net · Introduction to the History of Psychology...
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Introduction to the History of Psychology and Historical Inquiry Lecture 1 “The History of your Lifetime” 1. Get into groups of 2-3, introduce yourselves 2. Take out a piece of paper, and individually, write a list of 5 things you would include in a history of science, psychology, or medicine during your lifetime 3. Compare lists within groups and decide, as a group, what five things to include on a combined list 4. Let’s see what your groups identified 5. If we used the topics on the board, would our descendants get an accurate story? Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?
Transcript of Why Study Psychology’s History? - Bryan Burnham.net · Introduction to the History of Psychology...
Introduction to the History of Psychology and Historical InquiryLecture 1
“The History of your Lifetime”
1. Get into groups of 2-3, introduce yourselves
2. Take out a piece of paper, and individually, write a list of
5 things you would include in a history of science,
psychology, or medicine during your lifetime
3. Compare lists within groups and decide, as a group, what
five things to include on a combined list4. Let’s see what your groups identified
5. If we used the topics on the board, would our
descendants get an accurate story?
Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?
Why Study Psychology’s History?
● “Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking possession by the mind
in clear and vivid form, one out of what seem several simultaneously
possible objects or trains of thought...It implies withdrawal from some
things in order to deal effectively with others, and is a condition which has
a real opposite in the confused, dazed, scatterbrained state.” (William
James, 1890; p. 403 in Principles of Psychology)
● “...attention can be defined as enhanced processing over a limited subset
of sensory information that has been selected for monitoring or tracking.”
(Tse, Seidenberg & Logothesis, 2003; p. 91 in Psychological Science)
Why Study Psychology’s History?
● Past helps shape the present
● Significant area of study (APA Division 26)
● No single form, approach, or discipline to/of psychology
exists
● Integrates areas/issues within modern psychology
Development of Modern Psychology● Psychology derived from ancient philosophy
○ Plato, Aristotle, and other Greek philosophers
○ Ideas: Memory, learning, motivation, thought, perception, abnormal
behavior
● Philosophy + Physiology= Psychology
● Modern psychology is:○ Defined (mainly) by its methods
○ Uses techniques of physical sciences
○ Increased precision and objectivity
○ More science than philosophy
Reconstructing Psychology’s Past● Lab research can be controlled and replicated, historical
data cannot○ Data can be lost, misplaced or destroyed
○ John B. Watson, Hermann Ebbinghaus, Gustav Fechner
● Historiography ○ How we study history
○ Techniques and principles employed in historical research
● Externalist approach tells history has been recorded
● Internalist approach uses a character to tell the story
Reconstructing Psychology’s Past● Data can become distorted in translation
○ Data may become altered from translation and can change
meanings
○ Freudian Theory of personality
● Self-serving data○ Data is subject to the biases of people who report it
○ Was B. F. Skinner a rigorous student?
Forces that Shaped Psychology
● Zeitgeist is intellectual and cultural climate of the time
● Economic opportunities promoted study of behavior○ Businesses wanted better widget-makers
○ Scholarly and real-world careers opened
● The World Wars shapes what we study○ Expansion of testing services and psychotherapy
○ Diagnostically useful
○ Human performance research
● Prejudice and discrimination examined social influences○ Discrimination against women
○ Discrimination based on ethnic origin
Forces that Shaped Psychology
Scientific Psychology’s History
● What someone said or did is less important than the impact
● Personalistic Theory○ Progress/change are a result of individual contributions
○ Darwin, Freud, Fechner individually contributed
● Naturalistic Theory○ Progress/change are inevitable due to the Zeitgeist
○ Supported by examples of simultaneous discovery
Scientific Psychology’s History
● Structuralism dealt with the simple elements of conscious experience as dependent on experiencing persons
● Functionalism was concerned with the mind as used in adaptation to environment
● Behaviorism focused on observable behavioral acts● Psychoanalysis produced Freud’s theory of personality and
systems of psychotherapy● Humanistic psychology emphasizes the study of conscious
experience and wholeness of human nature● Gestalt psychology focused on learning and perception and how
we combining sensory elements to perceive novel patterns
