 and his student concluded that the mind is separable from body and continues after the body dies, and that knowledge is innate.  Plato’s student said knowledge is not preexisting; instead it grows from the experiences stored in our memories. Psychology’s Roots

John Locke ( )  Took 20 years and hundreds of pages to complete one of history’s greatest papers—An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.  Famously argued that the mind at birth is a tabula rasa (blank slate) on which experience writes.  Helped form modern empiricism – knowledge originates in experience and science should rely on observation and experimentation.

Wilhelm Wundt – Functionalism  1879 in Germany, professor Wundt created a lab with the help of two students.  Seeking to measure the fastest and simplest mental processes. Press lever when hearing a sound – 1/10 of a sec. Press level when consciously aware of perceiving the sound – 2/10 of a second.  Considered psychology’s first experiment.  Didn’t last.

Structuralism  Wundt’s student, Edward Titchener, received Ph.D. in  Joined Cornell University and introduced “structuralism.” People engage in self-reflective introspection (looking inward), training them to report elements of experience as they looked, listened, tasted, and touched. Didn’t last either

Problems with Introspection  Required smart, verbal people  Proved somewhat unreliable – its results varying from person to person and experience to experience.  Moreover, often we just don’t know why we feel what we feel or do what we do.

Functionalism  William James thought it better to consider the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings.  Influenced by Charles Darwin.  Consciousness serves a function – it enables us to consider our past, adjust to our present circumstances, and plan our future.  James encouraged exploration of down-to-earth emotions, memories, willpower, habits, and moment-to-moment streams of consciousness.  James wrote the first psychology textbook (took him 12 years) – Principles of Psychology.

Behaviorism  From 1920s into the 1960s, John B. Watson, followed by B.F. Skinner, redefined psychology as “the scientific study of observable behavior.” You cannot observe a sensation, a feeling, or a thought, but you can observe and record people’s behavior as they respond to different situations.

Psychoanalysis  Observing patients led Sigmund Freud to his discovery of the unconscious.  Of great interest to Freud was the mass of unacceptable passions and thoughts that he believed we repress, or forcibly block from our consciousness because they would be too unsettling to acknowledge.  He believed in hypnosis, dreams and free association as a way to unlock repressed feelings.

Modern Psychological Approaches

Biological  How the body and brain enable emotions, memories, and sensory experiences; how genes combine with environment to influence individual differences. How are messages transmitted within the body? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives? To what extent are traits such as intelligence, personality, and depression attributable to genes ? To our environment ?

Evolutionary  How the natural selection of traits promoted the survival of genes. How does evolution influence behavior tendencies.

Psychodynamics  How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts. How can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as the disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?

Behavioral  How we learn observable responses. How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the best way to alter our behavior, say, to lose weight or stop smoking?

Cognitive  How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information. How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Solving problems?

Humanistic  How we meet our needs for love and acceptance and achieve self-fulfillment. How can we work toward fulfilling our potential? How can we overcome barriers to our personal growth? Psychologist Carl Rogers – unconditional positive regard, client-centered therapy Abraham Maslow – Hierarchy of Needs

Socio-cultural  How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures. How are we humans alike as members of one human family? As products of different environmental contexts, how do we differ?

Psychology’s Subfields

Basic Research  Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base. Biological psychologists – explore the links between brain and mind. Developmental psychologists – study our changing abilities from womb to tomb. Cognitive psychologists – experiment with how we perceive, think, and solve problems. Personality psychologists – investigate our inner traits. Social psychologists – explore how we view and affect one another.

Applied Research  Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems. Industrial/organizational psychologists – study and advise on behavior in the workplace. Within I/O psychology, human factors psychologists focus on the interaction of people, machines, and physical environments.

Counseling & Clinical Psychologists  Counseling psychologists help people to cope with challenges and crises (including academic, vocational, and marital issues) and to improve their personal and social functioning.  Clinical psychologists assess and treat people with mental, emotional, and behavior disorders. Both administer and interpret tests, provide counseling and therapy, and sometimes conduct basic and applied research.

Psychiatrists  Medical doctors licensed to prescribe drugs and otherwise treat physical causes of psychological disorders.  Also, often provide psychotherapy.

 Some clinical psychologists are lobbying for a similar right to prescribe mental- health-related drugs.  In 2002 and 2004, New Mexico and Louisiana became the first states to grant that right to specially trained and licensed psychologists.