1. Unit 1: Psychology’s History and Approaches

2. AP PSYCHOLOGY EXAM 2 parts: Section 1 100 multiple choice questions
70 minutes
66% of overall score
Section 2
2 Free Response Questions
50 minutes
33% of overall score

3. Approximate percentages of multiple choice section devoted to each area
History and Approaches: 2 to 4%
Research Methods: 8 to 10%
Biological Bases of Behavior: 8 to 10%
Sensation and Perception: 6 to 8%
States of Consciousness: 2 to 4%
Learning: 7 to 9%
Cognition: 8 to 10%
Motivation and Emotion: 6 to 8%
Developmental Psychology: 7 to 9%
Personality: 5 to 7%

4. Testing and Individual Differences: 5 to 7%
Abnormal Behavior: 7 to 9%
Treatment of Abnormal Behavior: 5 to 7%
Social Psychology: 8 to 10%

5. psychology
The science that studies behavior and the physiological and cognitive processes that underlie it
the scientific study of conscious experience
psychology is practical:
why do adolescents/young adults develop serious gambling problems at 2 to 4 times the rates of older adults?
when does gambling become pathological? what is pathology? (a deviation from an assumed normal state or condition; the study of disease and the structural/functional changes it causes)
what causes self-destructive behavior? how do we change it?
psychology is a way of thinking
essentially non-judgmental [people are weak, sinful, immoral]
investigates human behavior in a scientific way
builds knowledge that is supported by evidence from testing/studies
relatively accurate and dependable
psychology shows us that human behavior is complex – leads

6. consciousness the awareness of immediate experience
psychology: the scientific study of conscious experience

7. What is Psychology?

8. Psychology’s Roots Prescientific Psychology
Ancient Greeks
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
early questions: how do our minds work? how do our bodies relates to our minds? how much of what we know is built in, and how much is acquired through learning and experience?
Socrates/Plato: the mind is separate from the body
lives on after death
knowledge is innate
these principles are derived from logic
Aristotle: principles should be derived from observation (empiricism)
knowledge is acquired – grows from experiences stored in memory
little change until 17th century, beginning of modern science

9. Psychology’s Roots Prescientific Psychology
Rene Descartes
Francis Bacon
John Locke
tabula rasa (blank slate)
Empiricism
Descartes: accepted innate knowledge and total separation of mind and body
How do the immaterial mind and the physical body communicate? Brain circulated fluid containing ‘animal spirits’
Bacon: a founder of modern science
Locke: at birth, mind is a tabula rasa on which experience writes
Locke + Bacon: empiricism: knowledge originates in experience and science should therefore only rely on observation and experimentation

10. Psychology’s Roots Psychological Science is Born
Wilhelm Wundt (1879)
University of Leipzig
psychology’s parents: philosophy and physiology
Wundt: make psychology an independent discipline
first psychology lab established 1879
psychology as a science: born in Germany, flourished in America
psychology as a science modeled on physics or chemistry

11. Psychology’s Roots Thinking About the Mind’s Structure
Edward Titchener
Structuralism
introspection
psychologists no longer necessarily adhere to defined perspectives – modern psychologists are more eclectic, using ideas, theories and research from multiple perspectives according to their needs
structuralism: analyze css into its basic elements, investigate how those elements are related
physics: matter is made up of basic particles; css: what are its fundamental components? css = the awareness of immediate experience, so its fundamental components are sensations, feelings, images
introspection: the systematic self-observation of one’s own conscious experience
train subjects to report the elements of their experience – image, taste, smell – what were the immediate sensations, and how did they relate to each other?
criticism: like trying to understand a car’s engine by examining its disconnected parts
problems: introspection method needed smart, verbal people, and results varied from person to person, experience to experience
inherent problem with self-reporting

12. Psychology’s Roots Thinking About the Mind’s Function
William James
Functionalism
Experimental psychology
a species’ typical characteristics must serve some purpose, so css must be important, so psychology should study its functions, not its structure
James: consider the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings
influence by evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin – why does the brain think?
css developed because it is adaptive: it contributed to our ancestors’ survival and reproduce
css serves a function – it enables us to consider our past, adjust to our present and plan the future
structuralists stayed in the lab, while functionalists looked at the real world, and considered more practical applications
mental testing, patterns of child development, effective educational practices
James laid groundwork for study of learning and personality
2 lasting contributions of functionalism: behaviorism and applied psychology

13. Psychological Science Develops
Sigmund Freud
treatment of mental disorders – fears, obsessions, anxieties – via psychoanalysis
unconscious: contains thoughts, memories and desires that are well below the surface of conscious awareness but still exert great influence on behavior
observations: slips of the tongue, dreams – important feelings of which patient was unaware
Freud’s conclusion: psych disturbances are caused by personal conflict existing at an unconscious level
psychoanalytic theory: explain personality, motivation and mental disorders by focousing on unconscious determinants of behavior
major departure from view that people are fully aware of the forces affecting their behavior
we are not masters of our own minds
powerful influence of sexual urges – scandalous
psychoanalysis also controversial – criticized as unscientific speculation, but became popular

14. Psychological Science Develops
Behaviorism
John B. Watson
B.F. Skinner
“study of observable behavior”
developed from established fields of philosophy and physiology/biology
until 1920s, defined as ‘the science of mental life’ – focused on inner sensations, images and feelings
from 1920s to 1960s, redefined as ‘the scientific study of observable behavior’
behaviorists: science is rooted in observation, and you can’t observe a sensation – you can observe and record people’s behavior as they respond
from 60s and beyond – another redefinition: humanists - rebelled against Freudian psychology and behaviorism
Behaviorism:
behavior: any overt, observable response or activity by an organism
Watson: dominant 1913 – late 20s
radical change – abandon the study of css altogether, focus exclusively on behavior that we can see directly
scientific method: fundamentally required verifiability, which requires objective observation – get at reliable, exact knowledge, not speculation and personal interpretation
thoughts are ultimately private
behaviorism – fundamentally incompatible with psychoanalytical theory
Skinner: 1953 –return to Watson and strict focus on observable behavior
stimulus-response psychology: internal mental events existed but c/n be studied scientifically, and no need – if animal eats in response to food stimulus, we don’t have to guess whether it is hungry
importance of env-al factors: organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to positive outcomes and avoid responses that lead to neutral or negative outcomes
can apply these principles even to complex human behavior
effect: your behavior is not controlled by your conscious decisions – people are controlled by their envt – FREE WILL IS ILLUSORY

15. Psychological Science Develops
Humanistic psychology
Carl Rogers
Abraham Maslow
critique: previous approaches were dehumanizing
psychoanalytic theory- humans are governed by primitive, hidden urges – also focus on childhood memories/experiences too remote
behaviorism – preoccupied by essentially simple animal behaviors – also too mechanistic
humanism: emphasizes unique qualities of humans, esp their freedom and potential for personal growth
optimistic view of human nature
humans and animals are fundamentally different – must account for fundamental human drive toward personal growth, realization of potential
emphasize importance of satisfying our needs for love and acceptance

16. Psychological Science Develops
Psychology
science
behavior
physiological and
mental processes

17. Contemporary Psychology
Gradual maturation of psychology into a research-based science and a professional enterprise
Also a return in some ways to psychology’s 19th century roots:
css now called cognition: the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge – thinking or conscious experience
earlier loss of interest in css and “unobservable” mental processes
now, the cognitive perspective may have become dominant: cognitive perspective: psychology must include the study of internal mental events to fully understand behavior
how we think influences how we behave
focusing exclusively on overt behavior produces a skewed picture
putting the “psyche” back in psychology
psychologists can devise methods (e.g., electrical stimulation of the brain) to study cognitive processes scientifically
another return to psychology’s 19th century roots: the biological perspective: much of human nature can be explained in terms of the bodily structures and biochemical processes that allow organisms to behave the way they do

18. Psychology’s Biggest Question
nature vs nurture issue
biology versus experience
history
Greeks
Descartes, Locke
Charles Darwin
Natural selection
the controversy over the relative contributions of biology and experience
natural selection: from among chance variations, nature selects the traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment
influences both structure and behavior of the organism
an organizing principle of biology and also an important principle of psychology
“nurture works on what nature endows”
every psychological event is simultaneously a biological event
important caveats:
evolution does not imply genetic determinism
behavior can be changed
organisms do not have a conscious or unconscious goal of maximizing gene reproduction. Instead, the most adaptive traits will survive due to natural selection

19. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis
biological
psychological
social-cultural
Biopsychosocial Approach
not exclusive – levels of analysis offer complementary outlooks – everything is related to everything else
each level by itself is incomplete – eac asks different questions and each has its own limits
example: how to explain anger?
biological: physiological changes plus inborn temperament
psychodynamic: an outlet for subconscious hostility
cognitive: how we interpret a given situation?
humanistic: how does this affect potential for growth and personal fulfillment?
each of us is a complex system that is part of a larger social system
we are also composed of smaller systems – nervous system – and smaller systems – cells, molecules, atoms

20. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

21. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

22. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

23. Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

24. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives
Biological psychology
Evolutionary psychology
Psychodynamic psychology
Behavioral psychology
Cognitive psychology
Humanistic psychology
Social-cultural psychology

25. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

26. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives
what questions does each perspective ask?
biological: how are messages transmitted within the body? how is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives? to what extent are traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation and depression attributable to our genes? to our environment?
evolutionary: how does evolution influence behavior tendencies?
psychodynamic: how can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as the disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?
behavioral: how do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? what is the best way to alter our behavior?
cognitive: how do we use information in remembering? reasoning? problem solving?
humanistic: how can we work toward fulfilling our potential? how can we overcome barriers to our personal growth?
social-cultural: how are humans alike as members of one human family? as products of different environmental/cultural contexts, how do we differ?

27. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

28. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

29. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

30. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

31. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

32. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

33. Psychological Approaches/Perspectives

34. Psychology’s Subfields
Psychometrics
Basic Research
Developmental psychology
Educational psychology
Personality psychology
Social psychology

35. Psychology’s Subfields
Applied Research
Industrial/organizational psychology
Human factors psychology
Counseling psychology
Clinical psychology
Psychiatry

36. Seven Unifying Themes (1) psychology is empirical
(2) psychology is theoretically diverse
(3) psychology evolves in a sociohistorical context
(4) human behavior is complex and determined by multiple causes
(5) behavior is shaped by cultural heritage
(1) empiricism: premise that knowledge should be acquired through observation
conclusions should not be based on reasoning, speculation, traditional beliefs, common sense
conduct research to test ideas
maintain a skeptical attitude: require data, documentation, critical thinking, avoid generalizations
(2) to understand and explain what they observe, psychologists construct theories: systems of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations
a way to link and explain seemingly unrelated aspects of behavior
theoretical diversity: no single theory can adequately explain all we know about behavior
(3) dense interconnection between psychology and what is happening in society
society and psychology influence each other
trends, events, issues, social values – e.g., Victorian suppression of sexuality, the needs of traumatized veterans, globalization
(4) people prefer single-cause explanations – they are rarely complete
multifactorial causation of behavior
(5) people’s cultural backgrounds exert considerable influence over their behavior
culture: the widely shared customs, beliefs, values, norms, institutions, and other products of a community that are transmitted socially across generations
far reaching
can belong to entire societies, to small groups, to non-ethnic groups
happens outside as well as inside people – often taken for granted
generalizations about cultural groups must also account for the great diversity within any culture or ethnic group
differences and similarities in behavior across cultures
psychological processes are both culturally variant and invariant

37. (seven unifying themes cont.)
(6) heredity and environment jointly influence behavior
(7) people’s experience of the world is highly subjective
(6) nature vs. nurture  heredity vs. environment
Not an all-or-nothing proposition – most psychologists agree that both are important, but the relative importance of genetics and experience still debated
(7) people actively (and uniquely) process incoming stimulation, focus on or ignore selectively, and impose unique organization on the stimulli
perception is personalized and subjective
perception is often swayed/influenced by motive – we see what we want to see
people also see what they expect to see
the scientific method is designed to counteract human subjectivity

38. The End

39. Teacher Information Types of Files Animation
This presentation has been saved as a “basic” Powerpoint file. While this file format placed a few limitations on the presentation, it insured the file would be compatible with the many versions of Powerpoint teachers use. To add functionality to the presentation, teachers may want to save the file for their specific version of Powerpoint.
Animation
Once again, to insure compatibility with all versions of Powerpoint, none of the slides are animated. To increase student interest, it is suggested teachers animate the slides wherever possible.
Adding slides to this presentation
Teachers are encouraged to adapt this presentation to their personal teaching style. To help keep a sense of continuity, blank slides which can be copied and pasted to a specific location in the presentation follow this “Teacher Information” section.

40. Teacher Information
Hyperlink Slides - This presentation contains two types of hyperlinks. Hyperlinks can be identified by the text being underlined and a different color (usually purple).
Unit subsections hyperlinks: Immediately after the unit title slide, a page (slide #3) can be found listing all of the unit’s subsections. While in slide show mode, clicking on any of these hyperlinks will take the user directly to the beginning of that subsection. This allows teachers quick access to each subsection.
Bold print term hyperlinks: Every bold print term from the unit is included in this presentation as a hyperlink. While in slide show mode, clicking on any of the hyperlinks will take the user to a slide containing the formal definition of the term. Clicking on the “arrow” in the bottom left corner of the definition slide will take the user back to the original point in the presentation.
These hyperlinks were included for teachers who want students to see or copy down the exact definition as stated in the text. Most teachers prefer the definitions not be included to prevent students from only “copying down what is on the screen” and not actively listening to the presentation.
For teachers who continually use the Bold Print Term Hyperlinks option, please contact the author using the address on the next slide to learn a technique to expedite the returnto the original point in the presentation.

41. Teacher Information Continuity slides
Throughout this presentation there are slides, usually of graphics or tables, that build on one another. These are included for three purposes.
By presenting information in small chunks, students will find it easier to process and remember the concepts.
By continually changing slides, students will stay interested in the presentation.
To facilitate class discussion and critical thinking. Students should be encouraged to think about “what might come next” in the series of slides.
Please feel free to contact me at with any questions, concerns, suggestions, etc. regarding these presentations.
Kent Korek
Germantown High School
Germantown, WI 53022

42. Division title (green print) subdivision title (blue print)
xxx

43. Division title (green print) subdivision title (blue print)
Use this slide to add a table, chart, clip art, picture, diagram, or video clip. Delete this box when finished

44. Definition Slide
= add definition here

45. Definition Slides

46. Empiricism
= the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation.

47. Structuralism
= an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind.

48. Functionalism
= a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function – how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

49. Experimental Psychology
= the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method.
applied research: scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
basic research: pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

50. Behaviorism
= the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes.
Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

51. Humanistic Psychology
= historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual’s potential for personal growth.

52. Cognitive Neuroscience
= the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

53. Psychology
= the science of behavior and mental processes.

54. Nature-Nurture Issue
= the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.
Today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.

55. Natural Selection
= the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

56. Levels of Analysis
= the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon.

57. Biopsychosocial Approach
= an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.

58. Biological Psychology
= a branch of psychology that studies the links between biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes.

59. Evolutionary Psychology
= the study of the roots of behavior and mental processes using the principles of natural selection.

60. Psychodynamic Psychology
= a branch of psychology that studies how unconscious drives and conflicts influence behavior, and uses that information to treat people with psychological disorders.

61. Behavioral Psychology
= the scientific study of observable behavior, and its explanation by principles of learning.

62. Cognitive Psychology
= the scientific study of all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

63. Social-Cultural Psychology
= the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking.

64. Psychometrics
= the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

65. Basic Research
= pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.

66. Developmental Psychology
= the scientific study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.

67. Educational Psychology
= the study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning.

68. Personality Psychology
= the study of an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

69. Social Psychology
= the scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another.

70. Applied Research
= scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

71. Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology
= the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.

72. Human Factors Psychology
= the study of how people and machines interact resulting in the design of machines and environments.

73. Counseling Psychology
= a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, and marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.

74. Clinical Psychology
= a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

75. Psychiatry
= a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who often provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy.