1. History of Psychology

2. Psychology’s beginning…
Wilhelm Wundt Leipzig, Germany
Studied conscious experience.
Used stimulus to elicit a sensory response.
“Experimental Self-Observation”
Ok… but what do we need to remember about him?
Careful observation and Evidence!!!

3. Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener
Hoped to analyze experience into basic “elements” or “building blocks”.
Focused on introspection which turned out to be very unreliable as so few people came to the same conclusions.
For example… taste can be experienced differently by different people and yet, neither is wrong in their own experience.

4. Functionalism William James (American)
Broadened the study to include animal behavior, religious experience, abnormal behavior, etc.
James believed that what you experienced could be characterized by a “stream” or “flow” of consciousness.
Lasting importance?
Brought study of animal behavior and educational psychology to importance.

5. Structuralism vs. Functionalism

6. Behaviorism John Watson The study of observable behavior.
Essentially, how does stimuli relate to an animal or individual’s response?
Rejected introspection as “unscientific”
Adopted Pavlov’s understanding of conditioning.

7. “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own special world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select– doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant—chief, and yes, beggar—man and thief” (Watson, 1913). Baby Albert

8. Your reaction? What does this quote tell us about Watson’s beliefs?
Do you agree with him?

9. Nature vs. Nurture argument Is this a case of categorical thinking
Nature vs. Nurture argument Is this a case of categorical thinking? John Watson spent the rest of his life as an extremely successful advertising executive. Any idea why he was so successful? Gambling, video games (Farmville, Candy Crush).

10. Radical Behaviorism B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
Our behavior is controlled by rewards or positive reinforcers.
Skinner Box and Operant Conditioning

11. Skinner and Watson…
Are any ethical issues raised by the experiments of Skinner and Watson? Would these practices be acceptable today? Why or why not?

12. Cognitive Behaviorism
Combines cognition and conditioning.
Example: You frequently visit a particular Web site because it offers free games. A behaviorist would say that you visit the site because you are rewarded by the pleasure of game playing each time you go there. A cognitive behaviorist would add that, in addition, you expect to find free games at the site.

13. Gestalt Psychology Form, pattern, or whole.
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.
Max Wertheimer
Many experiences resist being broken into smaller pieces.

14. Gestalt Psychology

18. Born Schizophrenic

21. Psychoanalytical Psychology
Sigmund Freud (Austrian)
Mental life is like an iceberg
Identifies the idea of the “unconscious”
We are influenced by unconscious thoughts, impulses, and desires.
Threatening thoughts that are repressed, unless in dreams, emotions, etc.

22. Freudian Slips
A slip of the tongue that reveals an unconscious thought. “Nice to beat you,” says a woman when meeting the ex-girlfriend of her husband. “A dinner guest thanks his host for “his hostility”.

23. Freud cont. All thoughts and actions are determined
Will we be able to determine a cause of every thought and action
Child experience influences adult personality
Internal motives, conflicts, and unconscious forces.

24. Humanistic Psychology
Focuses on the subjective human experience
Abraham Maslow (Hierarchy of Needs)
Problems, potentials, and ideals.
Stresses free will
Need for love, self-esteem, belonging, expression
Self-Actualization: fully developing one’s own potential.

26. 5 major perspectives of modern psychology
Psychodynamic
Behavioristic
Humanistic
Cognitive
Biophysiologica
GROUP ACTIVITY!!

27. Positive Psychology
Love, happiness, creativity, well-being, self-confidence, achievement.
Focus on positive aspects of human psychology.

28. Though all of these schools of thought exist…
Most modern psychologists pull expertise from many different psychological schools of thought.
They’re better together!!