Unit 1
What is Psychology? Contemporary Psychology
Ancient Greeks Socrates and Plato Mind is separate from the body and continues after the body dies Knowledge is innate (born within us) Aristotle Loved data Careful observation Knowledge is not pre-existing/ it grows from experiences stored in our memories
Rene Descartes Francis Bacon John Locke Tabula Rasa (blank slate) Empiricism
Wilhelm Wundt (1879) University of Leipzig (first lab) Reaction time experiment Seeking to measure what? Introspection
Edward Titchener Structuralism introspection “There is one thing, and only one in the whole universe which we know more about than we could learn from external observation. That one thing is ourselves. We have, so to speak, inside information”
William James Functionalism Mary Calkins Margaret Floy Washburn Experimental psychology
Published Psychology’s first textbook The Principles of Psychology (1890) Analysis Introspection Experiment Comparison
1. Nature vs Nurture 2. Stability vs Change 3. Rationality vs Irrationality
Wundt and Titchener: focused on inner sensations, images and feelings James: introspection analysis of consciousness and emotion Freud: emphasized the ways emotional responses to childhood experiences and our unconscious thought processes affect our behavior “Science of mental life” – through the 1920’s
Behaviorism John B. Watson B.F. Skinner “study of observable behavior” “You can not observe a sensation, a feeling, or a thought, but you can observe and record people’s behavior as they respond to different situations”
Humanistic Psychology Carl Rogers Abraham Maslow Cognitive Neuroscience
Psychology Science Behavior Mental processes
Nature – Nurture Issue Biology versus experience Charles Darwin Natural Selection Nurture works on what nature endows.
Levels of Analysis Biological Psychosocial Social-cultural Biopsychosocial Approach
Biological psychology Biological psychology Evolutionary psychology Evolutionary psychology Psychodynamic psychology Psychodynamic psychology Behavioral psychology Behavioral psychology Cognitive psychology Cognitive psychology Humanistic psychology Humanistic psychology Social-cultural psychology Social-cultural psychology
How the body and brain create emotions, memories and sensory experiences How evolution and heredity influence behavior How messages are transmitted through the body How blood chemistry is linked to moods and motives Major focus: the influence of biology on our behavior Best way to treat/heal patients???
How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts Analysis of personality traits and disorders in terms of sexual and aggressive drives as the disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas Unresolved complexes hidden within ones unconscious (Oedipus and Electra, potty training) ID, EGO, SUPEREGO Unconscious of why we do what we do Treatment???
id = pleasure principle ego = reality principle superego = conscience (inhibitions and moral values) Battleground id,ego, superego
How observable responses are acquired and changed How we learn to fear particular objects or situations How we most effectively alter our behavior, say, to lose weight or stop smoking Reinforcements and Punishments How has ones environment shaped who they are Personal experiences and reinforcement guide individual development Skinner box, Pavlov’s dog, Little Albert Treatment???
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How we process, store, and retrieve information How we use information in remembering, reasoning, and solving problems Interpretation of mental images, thinking, and language Memory Treatment???
Our capacity to choose our life patterns and not just be driven by the unconscious forces or shaped by the environment A reaction to behaviorism and psychoanalysis How we seek maturity and fulfillment How people experience and understand their own lives How people find meaning in life Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs Treatment???
John is 40 years old. He lives alone with his mother. He has never been married but has a good job as an engineer. His life seemed to be going well until one day a month ago. John’s boss chewed him out for not doing something right at work. During the last month, John has been worried and depressed because he has started to forget things. He told his mother, who told Ethel who lives next door, and now everybody knows. Here are some examples of what has been happening to him: he was supposed to turn in plans for a new project but forgot they were due. He had always remembered his mother’s birthday, but it was a week ago and he completely forgot about it, hurting her, even though she pretended not to be upset. A month ago, a few days after the incident on the job, he met a woman he really liked and set up a date with her for later in the week. But he had forgotten that he was going to be out of town then, so he had to cancel the date./ Explain John’s behavior and treatment you would recommend based on the theory given to your group.
Psychometrics Basic Research Developmental psychology Educational psychology Personality psychology Social psychology
Applied Research Industrial/organizational psychology Human factors psychology Counseling psychology Clinical psychology Psychiatry
SQ3R Study Tips Distribute your study time Learn to think critically In class, listen attentively Overlearn Be a smart test-taker
The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science, should, therefore rely on observation and experimentation
An early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind
A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function – how they enable us to adapt, survive and flourish
The study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method
The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not (2)
Historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory and languate).
The science of behavior and mental processes
The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture
The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations
The differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon
An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological and social-cultural levels of analysis
A branch of psychology that studies the links between biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychosocial processes
The study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection
A branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders
The scientific study of observable behavior and its explanation by principles of learning
The scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating
The study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking
The scientific study of the measurements of human abilities, attitudes and traits
Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
The scientific study of physical, cognitive and social change throughout a life span
The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning
The study of an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling and acting
The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another
Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces
The study of how people and machines interact resulting in the design of machines and environments
A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, and marriage) and in achieving greater well-being
A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who often provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy
A study method incorporating five steps; Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, Review