Classical Psychology Ms. Carmelitano

Ancient Psychology Psychology: The study of behavior and mental processes Psychology was a branch of philosophy until the 1870’s Wilhelm Wundt founded the first laboratory dedicated to psychological research Its roots can be found in Ancient Greece, Egypt, China and, India Greeks: developed a 2-aspect theory of the soul: 1) Thymos – involved in thought and emotion and perishes with the body 2) Psyche - aspect considered immortal. Psychology was derived from this aspect.

Thought Experiments - deiknymi Mental concepts or hypotheses, often resembling riddles, which are used by philosophers as ways of processing difficult ideas Most often, they’re used in more abstract fields like philosophy and theoretical physics, where physical experiments aren’t possible. They are like mathematical proofs Example: The Schrödinger’s Cat thought experiment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOYyCHGWJq4

Wilhelm Wundt: Father of Modern Psychology (1879) Wundt believed that scientific psychology should focus on analyzing a person's subjective experience of the world and mind – rather than just questioning the world Founded a laboratory to study psychology Studied introspection: The study of the subject’s subjective ideas about their own experiences

Wundt’s study Created a machine to measure the time lag between a person hearing a ball hit a platform, and their pressing a key He was trying to identify the fastest and simplest mental processes.

Sigmund Freud Austrian Neurologist “Father of Psychoanalysis” Aim was to discover the cause of nervous disorders in patients with no physical cause for the ailments “Father of Psychoanalysis” Freud developed clinical methods for treating psychopathology with dialogue between a patient and a doctor Focuses on unconscious internal conflicts to explain mental disorders, personality, and motivation.

Freud Believed we have an unconscious mind where we repress all of our threatening urges and desires. These repressed urges struggle to surface, creating a nervous disorder. Freud believed personality was formed in the first 6 years of life, therefore any abnormal behaviors stemmed from early childhood.

Freud’s stages of development (1905) Freud that personality changed over time as a person grew from a child to an adult He believed there were five stages of development which occur during the first 5 years of life During each stage, a child meets a conflict between biological drives and social expectations They must successfully navigate these internal conflicts to master the development of each stage If they do not, they develop deviancies The id and superego develop to exercise control over biological drives Psychosexual Stages of development Each stage had a different focus Oral (0-1 year old) Babies put things in their mouth Anal (1-3 years old) Babies become aware they can control their own body functions Phallic (3-6 years old) Children become aware of differences between girls and boys and may become jealous of same-sex parents Latency/ repression (6- puberty) No development takes place during this stage, energies are focused on developing social skills with children of the same sex Genital (puberty to adult) During this stage deviances may emerge if children did not progress successfully through earlier stages

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development Psychologist Erik Erikson postulated different stages of development in humans At each stage, a person must resolve a different “crisis” in order to develop their individual identity The fifth stage of development concerns adolescents and the identity crisis He calls this stage the Identity versus role confusion stage Trust vs Mistrust Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt Initiative vs Guilt Industry vs Inferiority Identity vs Role Confusion Intimacy vs Isolation Generativity vs Stagnation Ego Integrity vs Despair

Id, Ego, Superego Freud’s Theory of Personality Personality is composed of three elements: Id, Ego, Superego – which work together to create human behavior

The Id Present from birth Unconscious part of the brain, responsible for instinctive and primitive behavior The id is the impulsive, child-like portion of the psyche that operates on the "pleasure principle" and only takes into account what it wants and disregards all If these needs are not satisfied immediately, one will suffer anxiety However, immediately meetings these needs is not always possible If we only had an Id, we would find ourselves grabbing things out of people’s hands that we wanted

The Superego The aspect of personality that holds internalized moral standards and ideas learned from parents and society Sense of right and wrong Provides guidelines for us to make judgments Emerges around age 5 Perfects and civilizes our behavior Suppresses all unacceptable urges of the Id and makes the ego act on idealistic standards Two parts 1. Ego Ideal: rules and standards for good behavior 2. Conscience: information about things viewed as bad – usually met with feelings of remorse when they are performed

The Ego (Balance between Id and Superego) Part of personality responsible for dealing with reality – both conscious and unconscious It ensures that impulses of the id are expressed in a socially acceptable manner Operates on the reality principle: Strives to satisfy the id’s desires in a realistic and appropriate way A person will weigh the costs and benefits of an action before deciding to act on the impulse or not One may need delayed gratification The ego will discharge tensions of an immediately unmet urge through secondary processes: A real world solution to the primary instinct

All together now The Id: The devil on your shoulder The Superego: The angel on your shoulder The Ego: The person who must decide what to do