1. History of Psychology Prologue, Lecture 1
“Psychology…is less a set of findings than a
way of asking and answering questions.”
- David Myers

2. The Story of Psychology
In your notes:
1. Write five adjectives that describe a typical
scientist.
2. Write five adjectives that describe a typical
psychologist.

3. Psychology
With hopes of satisfying curiosity, many people listen to talk-radio counselors and psychics to learn about others and themselves.
Dr. Crane (radio-shrink)
Psychic (future gazing)

4. Psychology’s Roots Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
“The soul is not separable from the body, and the same holds good of particular parts of the soul.” Aristotle, De Anima, 350 B.C.
Aristotle, a naturalist and philosopher, theorized about psychology’s concepts. He suggested that the soul and body are not separate (a monist) and that knowledge grows from experience.

5. Psychological Science is Born
Wundt and psychology’s first graduate students studied the “atoms of the mind” by conducting experiments at Leipzig, Germany, in This work is considered the birth of psychology as we know it today.
Wundt ( )
Preview Question 1: When and how did psychological science begin?
An even earlier “psychology” experiment?

6. Psychological Science is Born
Founders of structuralism, an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind.
Wundt ( )
Preview Question 1: When and how did psychological science begin?

7. Psychological Science is Born
Mary Calkins
James ( )
American philosopher William James wrote an important 1890 psychology textbook. Mary Calkins, James’s student, became the APA’s first female president.

8. Psychological Science is Born
Mary Calkins
James ( )
James founded functionalism, which focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function – how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

9. Psychological Science is Born
Freud ( )
Sigmund Freud, an Austrian physician, and his followers emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind and its effects on human behavior.

10. Psychological Science is Born
Psychology originated in many disciplines and countries. It was, until the 1920s, defined as the science of mental life.
Wundt – German philosopher & physiologist
James – American philosopher
Pavlov – Russian physiologist
Freud – Austrian physician
Piaget – Swiss biologist

11. Psychological Science Develops
Behaviorists
Watson ( )
Skinner ( )
Preview Question 2: How did psychology continue to develop from the 1920s through today?
Watson and later Skinner emphasized the study of overt behavior as the subject matter of scientific psychology.

12. Psychological Science Develops
Humanistic Psychology
Maslow ( )
Rogers ( )
Maslow and Rogers emphasized current environmental influences on our growth potential and our need for love and acceptance.

13. Psychology Today
We define psychology today as the scientific study of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (inner thoughts and feelings).

14. Homework
Ask Yourself (AY) Questions:
p.6, p.11 (10 pts)