1. The Evolution of Psychology
Chapter 1
The Evolution of Psychology

2. The Development of Psychology: From Speculation to Science
Prior to 1879
Physiology and philosophy scholars studying questions about the mind
Wilhelm Wundt ( ) University of Leipzig, Germany
Campaigned to make psychology an independent discipline
Established the first laboratory for the study of psychology in 1879
Psychology was born
Prior to 1879 psychology did not exist as an independent field of study
Psychological questions arose on a secondary basis in the fields of Physiology and Philosophy
Wilhelm Wundt campaigned to make psychology an independent discipline
Brought the scientific methods of physiology to bear on philosophical questions
Developed the first laboratory in psychology at the University of Leipzig in 1879

3. Wilhelm Wundt’s International Influence
Leipzig, the place to study psychology
Graduates of Wundt’s program set up new labs across Europe and North America
G.Stanley Hall ( ), Johns Hopkins University
Established the first psychology laboratory in the U.S. in 1883
Between 1883 and 1893, 24 new laboratories in North America
Many young scholars came to Leipzig to study under Wundt
Wundt’s students, trained in the scientific study of the mind, dispersed across Germany and America
The first research lab in the U.S. was established by G. Stanley Hall ( ) (who studied under Wundt briefly) at John’s Hopkins University
Between 1883 and 1893, 24 new psychological laboratories sprang up in the U.S. and Canada
While psychology was born in Germany, its period of largest growth began in the United States

5. The Battle of the “Schools” in the U. S. : Structuralism vs
The Battle of the “Schools” in the U.S.: Structuralism vs. Functionalism
Two intellectual schools of thought regarding the science of psychology
Structrualism – led by Edward Titchener
Focused on analyzing consciousness into basic elements
Introspection – careful, systematic observations of one’s own conscious experience
Functionalism – led by William James
Focused on investigating the function or purpose of consciousness
Led to investigation of mental testing, developmental patterns, and sex differences
May have attracted the first women into the field of psychology
Two intellectual schools of thought regarding the science of psychology fought it out in the academic arena, with the fight led by Edward Titchener in the STRUCTURALISM corner and William James in the FUNCTIONALISM corner.
The structuralists believed that psychology should be about analyzing consciousness into its basic elements, just as physicists were studying how matter was made up of basic particles…to do this, Titchener and his followers relied on introspection, a process by which a person makes careful, systematic self-observations of one’s own conscious experience.
The functionalists thought this missed the point. James and his followers thought psychology should be about investigating the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure.

7. Who Won the Battle?
Most historians give the edge to James and the functionalists
Today, psychologists are not really categorized as structuralists or functionalists
Applied psychology and Behaviorism - descendants of functionalism
Behaviorism - early 1900’s
The next major school of thought to influence the development of psychology
Probably the functionalists, although the war changed as both schools of thought gradually faded away
Today, psychologists really aren’t categorized as functionalists or structuralists, but the modern fields of applied psychology and behaviorism are direct descendants of functionalism
Basically, the Battle of the “Schools” was only the prelude to numerous fundamental controversies in psychology
It was the advent of behaviorism in the early 1900’s that was the next major school of thought to fundamentally alter the course of psychology

8. Behaviorism: Redefining Psychology
John B. Watson ( ): United States
Founder of Behaviorism
Psychology = scientific study of behavior
B.F. Skinner – No freewill
Behavior = overt or observable responses or activities
Radical reorientation of psychology as a science of observable behavior
Study of consciousness abandoned
John B. Watson ( ) founded the behaviorist school of thought
Basic tenet: Only observable behavior should be studied in scientific psychology
Behavior, according to Watson, refers to an observable or overt response or activity of an organism
Watson’s ideas radically changed the landscape of psychology
Give up consciousness and have a science of behavior

9. BEHAVIORAL
We should look for the causes of our behavior in our environment rather than in our biology or in our minds.
They have made their greatest contribution by giving us a detailed understanding of how the environment affects learning – especially through rewards and punishments.
They only care about behaviors that impair our living, and attempt to change them.
To change behaviors, we have to recondition the client.
This was the approach started by John Watson and B.F. Skinner.
Advantages? Disadvantages?
If you bit your fingernails when you were nervous, a behaviorist would not focus on calming you down, but rather focus on how to stop you from biting your nails.

10. Sigmund Freud and the Concept of the Unconscious Mind
Sigmund Freud ( ): Austria
Founded Psychoanalytic (Psychodynamic) school of thought
Emphasis on unconscious processes influencing behavior
Unconscious = thoughts, memories, and desires that are outside conscious awareness
Freud was an Austrian physician who founded psychoanalytic psychology
His work with people with psychological problems led him to believe that people are influenced by unconscious forces…that is, thoughts, memories, and desires that are outside conscious awareness

11. PSYCHODYNAMIC
The term psychodynamic comes from the belief that the mind (psyche) is a reservoir of energy (dynamics).
We are motivated primarily by the energy of irrational desires generated in our unconscious minds.
We repress many of our true feelings in our unconscious mind and are not aware of them. In order to get better, we must bring forward the feelings we have in our unconscious so that they can be dealt with.
Sigmund Freud is the best known representative of this approach.
The mind is a sort of mental boiler that holds the rising pressure of unconscious sexual and destructive desires, along with memories of traumatic events.
Stressed early childhood experiences determine later behavior
Negative view of humanity (aggression, sex)
Use dreams, hypnosis, inkblots, Freudian slips to access the unconscious
If a man has intimacy issues and cannot form relationships with others, what do you think someone from this perspective may think?
Perhaps they may delve into the man’s unconscious and discover that he was bullied when he were younger. The bullying may have caused fear in getting close to others.

12. Freud’s Ideas: Controversy and Influence
Behavior is influenced by the unconscious
Unconscious conflict related to sexuality plays a central role in behavior
Controversial notions caused debate/resistance
Significant influence on the field of psychology
Freud believed that unconscious conflict, particularly with regard to sexual urges, plays a central role in behavior.
This was scandalous and offensive for several reasons…first, if we are influenced by forces we are not aware of, how can we be masters of our own minds? Where does free will come in? Second, in an era of sexual repression, the emphasis on sexuality was quite upsetting to many people.The controversial nature of Freud’s ideas caused great resistance in the field of psychology, and his ideas were not well received among academic circles.
Despite of (or maybe even because of) the controversy, Freud’s ideas moved into the main stream, influencing thought in psychology, medicine, art, and literature.

14. WHO WAS THE FOUNDER OF PSYCHOLOGY?
REVIEW:
WHO WAS THE FOUNDER OF PSYCHOLOGY?
WUNDT
WHO STARTED THE FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE?
JAMES
WHAT EARLY PERSPECTIVE DID TITCHENER START?
STRUCTURALISM

15. WHO STARTED THE BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE?
REVIEW:
WHO STARTED THE BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE?
WATSON
WHAT IS THE MAJOR THEME OF THE BEHAVIORIST PERPECTIVE?
THE ENVIRONMENT CONTROLS YOU
NAME ANOTHER MAJOR FIGURE IN THE BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE?
B.F. SKINNER
WHAT IS THE MAJOR THEME OF THE PSYCHOANALITIC PERSPECTIVE?
UNCONSCIOUS MOTIVATION

16. HUMANISTIC Carl Rogers founder, Abraham Maslow also a big name
Emerged as a revolt against behaviorism and psychoanalytic approaches
This perspective peaked in the late 1960s and ’70s, so it focused on spirituality and free will.
Our actions are hugely influenced by our self-concept and by our need for personal growth and fulfillment. We have to strive to be the best we can be (“self-actualization”).
Humanists emphasize the positive side of our nature: human ability, growth, and potential.
Believe in the inherent goodness of human beings
Emphasize the free will people have to make choices affecting their lives, and press psychology to take a greater interest in feelings and the self-concept.
Happiness is defined by the distance between our “self-concept” and our “ideal self”.
Unconditional Positive Regard

18. COGNITIVE CHANGE THOUGHTS FIRST, BEHAVIOR WILL FOLLOW
You are what you think
Our thoughts and actions arise from the way we interpret our experiences.
Concerned with the processes of thinking and memory, attention, imagery, creativity, problem solving, and language use.
Discuss the mental processes which determine what humans can perceive, or communicate, as well as how they think.
Your mind is like a computer

19. BIOLOGICAL
Sometimes also referred to as biopsychological or the neuroscience approach.
Emphasizes how our physical makeup and the operation of our brains influence our personality, preferences, behavior patterns, and abilities. In other words, all of our feelings and behaviors have an organic root.
Search for the causes of behavior in heredity, the nervous system, the endocrine (hormone) system, and disease.
More likely than other views to recommend medication

20. Evolutionary
A variation on the biological view that draws on Darwin’s ideas.
Suggests that many human traits arise from hereditary characteristics established in our remote ancestral past.
Our genetic makeup – including our most deeply ingrained behaviors – were shaped by the conditions our ancestors faced thousands of years ago.
In other words, we behave the way we do because we inherited those behaviors; thus, those behaviors must have helped ensure our ancestors’ survival.
Advantages? Disadvantages?

21. Focus on the idea of social influence.
SOCIOCULTURAL
Even in the same high school, behaviors can change in accordance to the various subcultures.
Focus on the idea of social influence.
As a complex blend of human language, beliefs, customs, values, and traditions, culture exerts powerful influences on all of us.
Much of our behavior and our feelings are dictated by the culture we live in.

22. Contemporary Psychology: Cultural Diversity
Ethnocentrism – viewing one’s own group as superior and as the standard for judging
Historically: middle and upper class white males studying middle and upper class white males
1980’s – increased interest in how cultural factors influence behavior
growing global interdependence
increased cultural diversity
The vast majority of psychological research seeking to identify general principles of behavior that could be applied to all of humanity has been conducted in the United States, by white middle and upper class males studying white middle and upper class males. Little attention was paid, historically, to how this research might apply to non-Western cultures, ethnic minorities, or women.
In the late 80’s, however, a movement toward incorporating cultural factors into research and theory emerged…this was in part due to sociopolitical forces (civil rights movement, women’s movement, etc.), but most notably to the advances in international communication and increased global interdependence, as well as the increasingly diverse multicultural make-up of the Western world.

24. Psychology Today: A Thriving Science and Profession
Psychology is the science that studies behavior and the physiological and cognitive processes that underlie it, and it is the profession that applies the accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems.
Research: Seven major areas - developmental, social, experimental, physiological, cognitive, personality, and psychometrics.
Applied Psychology: Four major areas - clinical, counseling, educational/school, and industrial/organizational.
Psychology is the science that studies behavior and the physiological and cognitive processes that underlie it, and it is the profession that applies the accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems.
The seven major research areas in psychology are: developmental, social, experimental, physiological, cognitive, personality, and psychometrics.
The four major applied areas of specialization are: clinical, counseling, educational/school, and industrial/organizational.