Intro to Psychology History, Approaches, Research/Methods

Psychology….A short history and a long past. Stand Alone discipline for 110 years. Plato/Socrates-Ideas are Innate Aristotle-Show me prove it; ideas grow from experience Science of behavior and mental processes

Prescientific Psychology Some ideas are inborn The mind is a blank slate Socrates ( B.C.)Aristotle ( B.C.) Plato ( B.C.)Locke ( ) How are ideas formed?

Historical Approaches (Waves) Wave One: Introspection Wilhelm Wundt –1 st Psychology Lab –Structuralism (what) William James (Harvard) –1 st Psychology Text –Functionalism (why/purpose) What are your immediate sensations? A rose: Red Silky Aromatic Soft

What the heck is this?

Wave Two: Gestalt Gestalt Psychology Max Wertheimer ( ) Examine a person’s whole experience. The whole is more than the sum of its individual parts. Gestalt Therapy

Wave Three: Psychoanalysis Freud ( ) Psychoanalytic Theory Critics Unscientific Unverifiable theories

Wave Four: Behaviorism John Watson ( ) B.F. Skinner Limit studies to observable phenomena Stimuli and Response Reinforcement

Modern Approaches/Perspectives Biological Cognitive Behavioral Evolutionary Psychoanalytical Humanistic Approach Cross-Cultural

Biological Approach Focus: How the body and brain create emotion, memories, and sensory experiences. How might a biological psychologist study test anxiety?

Cognitive Approach Focus: How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information. How might a cognitive psychologist study test anxiety?

Behavioral Approach Focus: How we learn observable responses depending on whether events in the environment rewards or punishes these behaviors. How might a Behavioral Psychologist approach test anxiety?

Psychoanalytical Approach Focus: How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts Early Childhood Dreams How might a Psychoanalyst approach test anxiety?

Humanistic Approach Focus: Emphasizes that we have great freedom in directing our future, a large capacity for growth, intrinsic worth, and self- actualization. How might a Humanist approach test anxiety?

Cross-Cultural Approach Focus: How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures. How might someone using this approach study test anxiety?

Evolutionary Approach Focus: How nature selects traits that promote the perpetuation of one’s genes. How might someone from this approach study test anxiety?

Which Perspective?? Dr. A is interested in studying the different attitudes about the elderly among North American and Japanese adults. Dr. A has found that the Japanese show more respect and responsibility toward elderly parents, and wishes to understand the cultural norms that contribute to these attitudes.

Which Perspective?? Prof. B studies the attentional processes involved when people search for specified objects by measuring the amounts of blood flow to various portions of the brain while a participant engages in a letter detection task.

Which Perspective?? Dr. C tries to help a client stop smoking by understanding the unconscious reasons for the client’s need to smoke. Dr. C encourages the client to talk about his childhood conflicts with his parents.

Which Perspective?? Dr. Dre tries to help a client stop smoking by telling her to keep a careful record of the number of cigarettes smoked and the particular people or situations who are a part of her smoking behavior. She keeps these records as a way of uncovering the factors that reward her for smoking, so that she may later remove those rewards.

Which Perspective?? Prof. E studies the factors that help or hinder students in memorizing information from textbooks. The professor systematically varies task characteristics such as textbook difficulty in an effort to understand the underlying memory processes involved in reading a textbook.

Which Perspective?? Dr. F is working to help a seriously depressed man become a productive member of society again. She points out to her client his potential for personal growth and his obvious love for his family, and reminds him of his many successes in professional and personal activities.

Which Perspective?? Dr. E is interested in studying if a certain level of aggressiveness is more favorable in the perpetuation one’s genes.

Goals of Psychology

Where Do Psychologists Work? 49% Private Practice-Therapy Setting-Clinical Psychologist 28% Academic Setting- Research (Basic/Applied, Professor) 13% Variety –(Social Work, Group Home Coordinator) 6% Industrial/Organization Setting (Production Manager) 4% Secondary Schools-(School Psychologist/Counselor)

Experimental Design Hypothesis Identify (IV) (DV) Choose (Random Selection) Assign (Experimental and Control Group) Manipulate (treatment, no treatment, Placebo, Double-Blind Procedure) Measure (Compare different Conditions) Analyze (Statistical Procedures) and Conclusion