History and Perspectives in Psychological Science Unit 1- Module 1 Notes

What is Psychology? Definition: Scientific study of behavior and mental process Scientific Study means that psychologists use scientific research methods to answer their questions Psychologists study things that we can see (human behavior) and things that we cannot (mental processes such as thoughts, dreams, and feelings)

What is Psychology? Research types: Basic Research: Applied Research: Research done to increase knowledge Applied Research: Research intended to solve problems

Roots of Modern Psychology Wilhelm Wundt Struggled as a student in his youth, eventually graduated from medical school Wasn’t interested in practicing medicine- rather, he wanted to understand human consciousness Conducted experiments that tested how perceptions, sensations, and feelings related to human behavior Considered the “Father” of psychology because he used experimental methods to study consciousness

Roots of Modern Psychology Wundt Experiment Task 1: when the picture below appears, raise your hand

Roots of Modern Psychology Wundt Experiment Task 2: one of 2 pictures will appear below. If the picture is a PLHS logo, raise your LEFT hand. If the picture is a TITAN logo, raise your RIGHT hand.

Roots of Modern Psychology Results: The response time for Task 2 was longer than Task 1. Why? Required more mental processes

Roots of Modern Psychology Edward Titchener Created structuralism First major school of thought in psychology Tried to create a physical picture of consciousness Provided many theories, most of which were disproven, giving rise to other schools of psychology

Roots of Modern Psychology Gestalt Psychology Emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes Examples: By itself, the bass line of a song is quite bland and boring When put with the rest of the pieces, the whole result is much different from the sum of its parts

Roots of Modern Psychology William James First American psychologist, published first psychology textbook Functionalism: ways consciousness helps people adapt to their environment Example: washing hands has been proven to help prevent disease

Roots of Modern Psychology Sigmund Freud Introduced psychoanalysis Our thoughts and actions are attributed to unconscious motives and conflict Example: A teenager might start smoking as a way to get back at their parents Freud started the practice of having his patients sit on a coach and share their thoughts

Roots of Modern Psychology Sigmund Freud Freud’s methods varied from other schools of study in two main ways: Psychoanalysis focused on abnormal behavior Psychoanalysis did not rely on controlled scientific experimentation While many of Freud’s theories have been disproved over the years, he still has many followers who continue to work in the spirit of his original ideas

Roots of Modern Psychology Behaviorism: Theory that psychology should only study observable behaviors, not mental processes Ivan Pavlov began the movement to study learning through observable behaviors John B Watson expanded Pavlov’s ideas, concluding that our behavior was shaped by our life’s experiences

Roots of Modern Psychology Humanistic Psychology Individuals have free will and strive to reach their full potential Influenced by Gestalt psychologists, in that the entire person was greater than any one part Maslow believed that humans went through stages that eventually led to reaching their fullest potential

Roots of Modern Psychology Jean Piaget Observed that younger children made mistakes on psychological tests that older children did not Concluded that younger children think differently that older children Considered a pioneer in developmental psychology