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WHY STUDY PSYCHOLOGY?
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
The scientific study of behavior and mental
processes.
 Behavior: our actions that we can observe and
record.
 Mental processes: internal subjective experiences
that we infer from our behaviors such as sensations,
perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings.
PRESCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGY
Socrates (469-399 B.C.)
Plato (428-348 B.C.)
 Through self-examination, concluded that the mind
and body were separate entities (dualism) .
 Believed that knowledge was innate.
PRESCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGY (CONT’D)
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
 Through the use of observation, Aristotle believed the mind
was NOT separate from the body (monism).
 Knowledge is NOT preexisting; it is derived from our
experiences stored in our memories.
PRESCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGY (CONT’D)
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Cognito ergo sum –
“I think, therefore I am”
 Dualist: mind separate from the
body and survives its death.
 Curious of how the mind and
body communicated, proposed
that fluids in the brain contained
“animal spirits” that flowed from
the brain to other parts of the
body, causing muscles to move.
How did Descartes “animal spirits” relate to what we know
about the connection between the human mind and body?
PRESCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGY (CONT’D)
John Locke (1632-1704)
 Monist: mind an body interact
symmetrically.
 He believed we are born
without knowledge – tabula
rosa (a blank slate)
 Our knowledge comes from
observation
 What we know comes from
our experiences
 Locke’s ideas helped to form modern EMPIRICISM, the idea
that knowledge originates in experience.
 Therefore, science should rely on observation and
experimentation.
THE NATURE VS. NURTURE CONTROVERSY
Are our behaviors inborn OR learned through experience
OR is it a result of the combination of the two?
nature vs nurture
THE BIRTH OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
William Wundt (1832-1920):
 Established the first psychology
lab at the University of Leipzig,
Germany.
 Attempted to measure the
“atoms of the mind” -- the
fastest and simplest mental
process.
 Created an machine that
measured the time lag between
hearing a ball hit a platform and
depressing a telegraph key.
 They found that people about 1/10 of a second quicker
when asked to press the key as soon as the sound
occurred as compared to depressing the key as soon as
they were aware of perceiving the sound.
STRUCTURALISM
 Introduced by Wundt and his student Edward Titchener.
 Early school of psychology that used introspection to explore
the elemental nature of the mind.
 Method involved training people to look inward and report
elements of their experiences as they looked at say a rose,
heard a metronome, or smelled or tasted a substance.
 Highly criticized as unreliable as experiences vary among
people. Also, self- reports and recollections are often subject to
error.
FUNCTIONALISM
 School of psychology that focuses on how mental and behavioral
processes function.
 Argued that the mind is constantly changing and it is pointless to
look for the building blocks of experience.
 Instead, the focus should be on the how and why an organism’s
behavior.
 Specifically, how do behaviors help the organism adapt, survive,
and flourish.
 Suggested that psychologists should look for the underlying cause
of behavior and the mental the processes involved. Functionalism
paved the way for behaviorism and applied subfields of psychology.
structuralism vs functionalism
THE BIRTH OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE
William James (1842- 1910)
 American philosopher and psychologist (Functionalist)
 Believed that structuralists were asking the wrong questions.
 Interested in the function or purpose of behavioral acts.
 Heavily influenced by Charles Darwin and his Theory of Natural
Selection (those best adapted to an environment have the
greatest chances at survival).
 Authored the first psychology
“textbook”,
The Principles of Psychology, which
is still widely read today.
Adapted from a line in William James’
The Principles of Psychology
WOMEN PIONEERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
Mary Calkins (functionalism)
 Student of William James (1890)
 Completed requirements for a Ph.D. at Harvard,
denied her degree because she was female
 Became a pioneer in memory research & the first woman
president of the American Psychological Association (APA)
Margaret Floy Washburn (structuralism)
 Student of Tichner, was the first womanto receive a
Ph.D. in psychology (Cornell)
 Studied animal behavior & wrote the influential book,
 The Animal Mind
 Second woman president of the APA.
PRINCIPAL APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY
Behavioral Approach
 Focuses on measuring and recording observable behavior in relation to the
environment.
 Behavior mainly determined by an organism’s experiences and its
environment rather than by genetics.
 Ivan Pavlov: Russian physiologist famous for experiments in the early 1900s
training dogs to salivate in response to the sound of a tone (stimulusresponse learning).
 John B. Watson : established the first school of behaviorism, known for
experiments with classical conditioning (stimulus-response learning),
particularly the Little Albert Experiment he conducted with Rosalie Rayner
 B.F. Skinner: known for his work with lab rats and pigeons, illustrating that
organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to positive consequences and
minimize responses that lead to negative or neutral consequences. (known
as operant conditioning).
PRINCIPAL APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY
Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Approach
 Concerned with how unconscious instincts, conflicts, motives, and
defenses influence one’s behavior.
 Sigmund Freud: Father of Psychoanalysis – treated patients with
mental disorders by talking with them over long periods of time to
reveal unconscious conflicts, motives, and defenses in order to
enhance patients’ self-knowledge. He believed that early life
experiences were important to personality development.
 Other well-known psychoanalysts include Carl Jung, Alfred Adler,
Karen Horney, and Heinz Kohur.
PRINCIPAL APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY
Humanistic Approach
 By the 1960s, many psychologists found behaviorism and
psychoanalysis to be too mechanistic.
 Asserting that humans have unique qualities different from
other animals, humanistic pioneers such as Carl Rogers and
Abraham Maslow emphasized that free will and the potential for
personal growth influence human behavior and mental
processes.
 Stressed the importance of meeting our needs for love and
acceptance and viewed human nature as naturally positive and
growth seeking.
 Using methods that include interview techniques, humanists
believe that people have the ability to solve their own problems.
PRINCIPAL APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY
Biological Approach
 Concurrent with the growth of the humanist approach.
 Concerned with the physiological and biological factors that
determine behavior and mental processes.
Evolutionary Approach
 An offshoot of the biological approach.
 Takes a Darwinian view and emphasizes how natural
selection favored behaviors that contributed to survival and
the spread of our ancestors’ genes.
PRINCIPAL APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY
Cognitive Approach
 Technological advances enabled psychologists to further their
study of cognition (thinking and memory).
 Focuses on the importance of receiving, storing, and processing
information, our thinking and reasoning, and the use of language,
all in an effort to understand human behavior.
 Jean Piaget: well known psychologist who studied cognitive
development in children. His research laid the groundwork for
approaches to preschool and primary education.
Neuroscience Approach
 Studies the interaction of thought processes and brain function.
Has been particularly beneficial in understanding and treating
disorders such as depression.
PRINCIPAL APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY
Sociocultural Approach
 Deals with the study of social and environmental factors that
influence cultural differences in behaviors.
 Sociocultural psychologists study cultural differences among
people in an effort to better understand, predict and control
human behavior.
Eclectic Approach
 No single theoretical approach explains all aspects of
behavior.
 Most psychologists adopt ideas and techniques from multiple
perspectives in dealing with mental processes and human
behavior.
PRINCIPAL APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY
Biopsychosocial Approach
SUB-FIELDS (DOMAINS) OF PSYCHOLOGY
Biological Psychology study the links between the brain and the mind.
Clinical Psychology: evaluate and treat mental, emotional, and
behavioral disorders.
Community Psychology: looks at how people interact with their social
environments & how social institutions affect individuals & groups
Counseling Psychology: help people to adapt to change or make
changes in their lifestyles.
Developmental Psychology: study psychological development
throughout life (birth to death).
Educational Psychology: look at how effective teaching and learning
take place.
Engineering Psychology promote the development and application of
psychology to improve technology, consumer products, energy
systems, communication and information, transportation, decision
making, work settings, and living environments.
SUBFIELDS (DOMAINS) OF PSYCHOLOGY
Forensic Psychology: apply psychological principles to legal
issues.
Health Psychology: focus on biological, psychological, and social
factors involved in health and illness.
Industrial/Organizational Psychology: apply psychological
principles and methods to the workplace to improve
productivity and the quality of the workplace.
Neuropsychology: also known as biological psychologists,
behavioral geneticists, physiological psychologists, and
behavioral neuroscientists – investigate the relationships
between the brain/nervous system and behavior.
Personality Psychology: focus on traits, attitudes, and goals of
the individual.
Psychometrics: focus on methods for acquiring and analyzing
psychological data.
SUBFIELDS (DOMAINS) OF PSYCHOLOGY
Positive Psychology: study of human functioning with the goals
of discovering & promoting strengths & virtues that enable
individuals & communities to grow and thrive
Rehabilitation Psychologists: work with individuals with
developmental and/or mental disabilities, as well as
disabilities resulting from stroke and/or accidents in efforts
to help them adapt to their personal situations.
School Psychologists: assess and counsel students, consult
with parents and educators, and carry our behavioral
interventions when needed.
Social Psychologists: focus on how a person’s mental life and
behavior are shaped by interactions with others.
Sports Psychologists: assist athletes in refining their focus on
competition goals, increase motivation, and deal with their
anxiety and fear of failure.
PSYCHOLOGY AND RESEARCH
Basic Research: pure science that aims to increase the
scientific base of knowledge.
Applied Research: scientific study that focuses on solving
specific practical problems.
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Psychiatry: a branch of medicine that deals with psychological
disorders. Psychiatrists often provide medical treatments in
addition to psychological therapy.