Psychology * Defined as: the scientific study of mind and behavior Psychology comes from 2 Greek words: Psyche = the soul (spirit, or mind as distinguished from the body)** Logos = study of a subject

Founder of Psychology William Wundt: 1879 opened first psychology research laboratory Psychology focus: Consciousness Awareness of immediate experiences

The Battle of the “Schools” Begins Old School: Structuralism: Edward Titchener Analyze consciousness of the basic elements (like scientists study matter) Introspection – Careful, self-observations of one’s own conscious experience Two intellectual schools of thought regarding the science of psychology fought it out in the academic arena, with the fight led by Edward Titchener in the STRUCTURALISM corner and William James in the FUNCTIONALISM corner. The structuralists believed that psychology should be about analyzing consciousness into its basic elements, just as physicists were studying how matter was made up of basic particles. To do this, Titchener and his followers relied on introspection, a process by which a person makes careful, systematic self-observations of one’s own conscious experience. The functionalists thought this missed the point. James and his followers thought psychology should be about investigating the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure.

The Battle of the “Schools” Begins New School Functionalism: William James Thought “Structuralists missed the point!” Investigate function/purpose of consciousness NOT structure! Led to investigation of mental testing, developmental patterns, and sex differences Two intellectual schools of thought regarding the science of psychology fought it out in the academic arena, with the fight led by Edward Titchener in the STRUCTURALISM corner and William James in the FUNCTIONALISM corner. The structuralists believed that psychology should be about analyzing consciousness into its basic elements, just as physicists were studying how matter was made up of basic particles. To do this, Titchener and his followers relied on introspection, a process by which a person makes careful, systematic self-observations of one’s own conscious experience. The functionalists thought this missed the point. James and his followers thought psychology should be about investigating the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure.

Perspectives

Psychoanalysis: Freud Sigmund Freud, M.D. : Significant influence !! Psychodynamic Theory: explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders through unconscious thoughts, feelings, behavior Psychoanalysis, psychodynamic, psychoanalytic theory all associated with Freud Behavior is influenced by: Unconscious Sexuality Video

Behaviorism: Watson, Pavlov, Skinner John B. Watson: founded behaviorism Names associated: Pavlov, Skinner Key Concepts: Focus on observable behavior Behavior is predictable Control behavior by controlling environment Baby is a Blank Slate Experiences shape behavior Nature vs. Nuture Watson Video

Humanistic Psychology: Rogers, Maslow Key Concepts: Self-Actualization Free Will Self Concept Self Esteem To be cont. (ch.7)

Cognitive Psychology Cognition defined: the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge Mental Processes uses the information processing theory to focus on how you: Think Perceive Remember Judge Piaget video

Information Processing Still Cognitive Psychology Computer metaphor Encoding Storage Retrieval

Biological Psychology Interaction between biology and behavior: Brain Nervous system Hormones Genetics Chemicals, nutrition Exercise, stress

Sociocultural/Cross-Cultural Psychology Humans influenced by: Social situations Culture Key Concepts: Conformity Social Norms Individualism: its all about me Collectivism: its all about the group

Evolutionary Psychology * Key Concepts: Fitness for Survival Reproduction Natural selection Adaptation

Practitioners Psychiatrists – M.D., can prescribe drugs Psychologists – Ph.D. or Psy.D. Many subfields of psychology Video

Levels of Explanation in Psychology Psychologists understand behavior at different levels Lower-level: biological factors Middle-level: interpersonal Higher-level: cultural factors This means that behavior has multiple, interactive causes Higher: Cultural and Social Middle: Interpersonal Personality Lower: Biological

Levels of Explanation: Depression Social and Cultural (e.g., gender roles, unemployment) Interpersonal (e.g., individual thought processes, marital conflict Biological (e.g., genes, hormones and neurotransmitters

Try it: Choose an emotion or behavior. Social and Cultural How would you explain it at this level? Interpersonal Biological How would you explain it at this level?

There is no single explanation for most mental processes or behaviors. Why did _____ do _____? There is no single explanation for most mental processes or behaviors. Levels of explanation Provide a focus for research Provide a direction for application Provide a framework for critical thinking

Goals of Psychology Four Goals: Describe Explain Predict Control/Influence Behavior/Mental Process If: Pattern Explainable Open-minded Analytical

What Makes Psychology A Science? Scientific Method the set of assumptions, rules, and procedures that scientists use to conduct empirical research Empirical research * collecting, organizing, and drawing conclusions from data Data information collected through formal observation or measurement.