Unit One: The Science of Psychology

 Many things that happen to us leave no record in memory True or False? True: Most of the information around us never reaches memory, and what does reach memory often gets distorted

 You are born with all the brain cells you will ever have True or False? False: Recent research shows that some parts of the brain continue producing new cells throughout life

True or False? Both center patches are the same shade of gray

True: The patch on the right appeared darker due to perceptual contrast with its background

 Intelligence is a purely genetic trait that does not change throughout a person’s life True or False? False: Intelligence is the result of both heredity and environment, and may change throughout your life

 The most common form of mental disorder occurs in 30% of the population True or False? True: Depression, the single most common disorder, may affect up to a third of the population at some point in their lives

 Repeated exposure to the same face leads us to like it less False: Familiar people (and their faces) are generally liked more than less familiar people True or False?

What Is Psychology – and What Is It Not? Psychology is a broad field, with many specialties, but fundamentally, psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes

What Is Psychology – and What Is It Not?  Psychology – The scientific study of behavior and mental processes  Psychology is not –  Mere speculation about human nature  A body of folk wisdom about people that “everybody knows” to be true

What Is Psychology – and What Is It Not?  Basic Definitions:  Psychology  The Scientific Method  Behavior  Mental Processes

Historical Foundations of Psychology 1879: Wilhelm Wundt – First Lab to Study Humans in Leipzig, Germany PSYCHOLOGY IS BORN!!!!!

Figure 1.1 Early Research Laboratories in North America **Between 1883 and 1893, 24 new laboratories were created in North America

Historical Foundations of Psychology 1883: G. Stanley Hall – first U.S. lab (Johns Hopkins University)

Historical Foundations of Psychology 1890: William James – The Principles of Psychology

Historical Foundations of Psychology 1892: G. Stanley Hall – Founded the APA

What Are Psychology’s Historical Roots? Modern psychology developed from several conflicting traditions, including structuralism, functionalism, Gestalt psychology, behaviorism, and psychoanalysis

Edward Titchener Devoted to uncovering basic structures that make up mind and thought; Introspection – careful, systematic observations of one’s own conscious experience Tradition Structuralism Functionalism Psychoanalysis Gestalt psychology Behaviorism

William James Believed mental processes could best be understood in terms of their adaptive purpose and function Led to investigation of mental testing, developmental patterns, and sex differences Tradition Structuralism Functionalism Psychoanalysis Gestalt psychology Behaviorism

Max Wertheimer Interested in how we construct “perceptual wholes” Tradition Structuralism Functionalism Psychoanalysis Gestalt psychology Behaviorism

Argued psychology should deal solely with observable events Tradition Structuralism Functionalism Psychoanalysis Gestalt psychology Behaviorism

Behaviorism: Redefining Psychology  John B. Watson ( ): United States  Founder of Behaviorism  Psychology = scientific study of behavior  Behavior = overt or observable responses or activities  Radical reorientation of psychology as a science of observable behavior  Study of consciousness abandoned

John Watson and the Nature-Nurture Debate  Nurture, not nature  “give me a dozen healthy infants, well- formed, and my own special world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes, even beggar-man and thief…”  Behaviorist school of thought emphasized the environment (nurture)  Focus on stimulus-response relationships  S-R psychology

Are People Free? B.F. Skinner  B.F. Skinner ( ): United States  Environmental factors determine behavior  Responses that lead to positive outcomes are repeated  Responses that lead to negative outcomes are not repeated  Beyond Freedom and Dignity  More controversy regarding free will

Asserted mental disorders arise from conflicts in the unconscious mind Tradition Structuralism Functionalism Psychoanalysis Gestalt psychology Behaviorism

Sigmund Freud and the Concept of the Unconscious Mind  Sigmund Freud ( ): Austria  Founded Psychoanalytic school of thought  Emphasis on unconscious processes influencing behavior  Unconscious = outside awareness  “The unconscious is the true psychical reality; in its innermost nature it is as much unknown to us as the reality of the external world.” (Freud p. 7 in text)

Freud’s Ideas: Controversy and Influence  Behavior is influenced by the unconscious  Unconscious conflict related to sexuality plays a central role in behavior  Controversial notions caused debate/resistance  Significant influence on the field of psychology