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Prologue: The
Story of
Psychology
“I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule,
not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but
to understand them.”
Benedict Spinoza, A Political Treatise, 1677.
1
Psychology’s Roots
Prescientific Psychology
2
Prescientific Psychology
Confucius (551-479 B.C.)
3
Prescientific Psychology
Hebrew Scriptures
4
Prescientific Psychology
Plato
Socrates
Socrates (469-399 B.C.) and Plato (428-348 B.C.)
Socrates and his student Plato believed the mind
was separate from the body, the mind continued to
exist after death, and ideas were innate.
5
Prescientific Psychology
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
6
Prescientific Psychology
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
7
Prescientific Psychology
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) & Dualism
8
Prescientific Psychology
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) & Materialism
9
Prescientific Psychology
John Locke (1632-1704) & Empiricism
10
Prescientific Psychology
Darwin (1809-1882) & Evolution
* 1859 – publishes The Origin of Species
* living things have arrived at their present shape through a long evolutionary
process involving natural selection
* organisms whose inherited characteristics were best adapted to their
environment survived and reproduced while others died
* later argued that the basic forms of human emotional expressions (such as
laughing and crying) are inherited and may have evolved because of survival
advantages associated with the ability to communicate one’s
emotions/intentions to others of one’s kind
* helped convince the intellectual world that human beings, despite their
pretensions, can be understood through the methods of science
11
From speculation to science:
The Birth of Modern Psychology
Aristotle (4th century BCE) asked
questions to understand the
relationship between body and
psyche.
His way of answering those questions
was to observe… and make guesses.
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) added
two key elements to help make
psychology a science:
1. carefully measured observations
2. experiments
Psychological Science is Born
Structuralism
Titchner (1867-1927)
Wundt (1832-1920)
Wundt and Titchener studied the elements (atoms)
of the mind by conducting experiments at the
University of Leipzig, Germany, in 1879.
13
Edward Titchener’s Structuralism
Psychological Science is Born
Functionalism
Margaret Floy Washburn
James (1842-1910)
Influenced by Darwin, William James
established the school of functionalism,
which opposed structuralism.
15
Psychology Pioneers
 Functionalism
 Principles of Psychology.
William
James
Psychology Pioneers
 First female president of
the APA
 Researcher on memory
Mary
Whiton
Calkins
Psychology Pioneers
 Second female APA
president
 Wrote The Animal Mind.
 Studied with Edward
Titchener, but was barred
from his experimental
psychology organization.
Guess why.
Margaret Floy
Washburn,
PhD
Trends in Psychological Science:
Behaviorism
By pairing a rat with a
loud noise, Watson
taught a baby (“Little
Albert”) to fear furry
things. This is called
classical conditioning.
John B. Watson
Skinner used operant
conditioning to teach
pigeons to do amazing
things to get rewards. He
later wrote about how
human communities could
be shaped by this method .
B. F. Skinner
Trends in Psychology:
Freudian/Psychoanalytic Psychology
Sigmund Freud
 Sigmund Freud, founder of
psychoanalysis, (late 1800’s):
 He studied and helped people with a
variety of mental disorders.
 His school of study and treatment
focused on the role of unconscious
drives, wishes, and needs, and
emphasized the importance of
childhood experiences.
Trends in Psychology:
Humanism
Abraham Maslow
Carl Rogers
 Humanists: Abraham Maslow
and Carl Rogers (1960s):
 studied people who were
thriving rather than those who
had psychological problems.
 developed theories and
treatments to help people to
feel accepted and to reach their
full potential.
 “warm & fuzzy”
Shifting definitions of “psychology”
Wilhelm
Wundt and
Edward
Titchener,
around 1900:
“The science
of mental life.”
Johncombine
B.
Now we
and
theseWatson
definitions:
B.F. Skinner,
behaviorists,
“The
science of
1920’s: “The
behavior
scientificand
study of
mental
observable
processes.”
behavior.”
Cognitive
psychologists,
1960’s,
studied
internal mental
processes,
helped by
neuroscience.
Psychology Today
We define psychology today as the scientific
study of behavior and mental processes.
Science – psychology endeavors to answer questions through the
systematic collection and logical analysis of objectively
observable data
Behavior – observable actions of an individual person or animal
Mind – an individual’s sensations, perceptions, memories, thoughts,
dreams, motives, emotional feelings, and other subjective
experiences
23
The Big Debate
Nature versus Nurture
Darwin (1809-1882)
Darwin stated that nature selects those that best
enable the organism to survive and reproduce in a
particular environment.
24
The Big Issue in Psychology: N-N
The NatureNurture
Question:
To what extent are
our traits already
set in place at
birth (our
“Nature”)?
And to what extent
do our traits
develop in
response to our
environment/
experience (our
“Nurture”)?
Descartes:
Some ideas
are innate.
Plato:
Ideas such
as “the
good” and
“beauty”
are inborn.
Aristotle:
All knowledge
comes through
the senses.
Nature vs. Nurture
Charles Darwin:
Some traits,
behaviors, and
instincts are part of
the nature of the
species.
John Locke:
The mind is a
blank slate (blank
chalkboard or
screen) “written
on” by experience.
We share a
common
origin that
Nature
gives us
an
inborn human
nature in
common.
+
We have
differences
Nurture
that are
shaped by our
environment
“Nurture works on what Nature endows.”
Biology Plus Environment..
are part of
psychology’s three
“biopsychosocial”
levels of analysis.
The deep level,
Biology:
genes, brain,
neurotransmitters,
survival,
reflexes,
sensation
In the middle,
Psychology:
thoughts,
emotions,
moods, choices,
behaviors, traits,
motivations,
knowledge,
perceptions
The outer level,
Environment:
social Influences,
culture,
education,
relationships
The three levels as influences on
some psychological phenomenon
Example:
Example:
Example:
Example:
Enjoying
Depression
Intelligence
Shyness
Soccer
There are many
perspectives for
describing
psychological
phenomena:
Cognitive
perspective
Social-cultural
Behavioral
genetics
Neuroscience
Psychodynamic
Behaviorist
Evolutionary
From different angles, you ask different questions:
How reliable is memory? How can we improve our
thinking?
Could our behavior, skills, and attitudes be
“downloads” from our culture?
Could our behavior, skills, and attitudes be
genetically programmed instincts?
What role do our bodies and brains play in
emotions? How is pain inhibited? Can we trust our
senses?
Do inner childhood conflicts still plague me and
affect my behavior?
How are our problematic behaviors reinforced?
How do our fears become conditioned? What can
we do to change these fears and behaviors?
Why are humans prone to panic, anger, and
making irrational judgments?
Let’s play: “What’s my perspective?”
“Obsessivecompulsive
disorder is a
problem in the
orbital cortex.”
“No, OCD is
an
inherited
condition.”
“Compulsions start as habits
and are rewarded by the
anxiety relief they bring.”
“OCD comes
from our
natural instinct
to control our
environment.”
“No, OCD is a matter
of mental habits and
errors that can be
corrected.”
“No, it’s a sign
of unresolved
childhood
issues.”
“OCD thinking
and behavior is a
reaction to our
fast-paced, outof-control
lifestyles.”
Psychology’s Subfields
Type of research
Applied
Biological
Clinical Psychology
Developmental
Counseling Psychology
Cognitive
Educational Psychology
Personality
Industrial-Organizational
Social
Community Psychology
Positive Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Psychology’s Subfields
Research Examples
Type of research
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Personality
Social
Positive Psychology
Explore the structural problems
in the brain that may be part of
autism
Study how the stages of
cognitive and emotional
development vary in autism
Clarify the difficulties autistic
children have with
understanding sarcasm
Decide whether traits like
neuroticism need to be
measured differently in autism
Find how autistic children can
learn social skills as procedures
if not by intuition
Explore what motivates people
and contributes to life
satisfaction
Psychology’s Subfields
Applied
Applied
Clinical Psychology
Counseling Psychology
Educational Psychology
Industrial-Organizational
Community Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Use exposure therapy to
decrease phobic reactions in a
traumatized client
Help someone achieve career
goals despite family conflict and
self-doubt
Evaluate aptitudes and
achievement to plan for a
student with learning problems
Figure out how a factory can
improve coordination of tasks,
roles, and personalities
Help coordinate a city’s efforts
to understand and prevent
elder abuse
Use exposure therapy to
decrease phobic reactions in a
traumatized client
Psychology in context with
other professions
Psychiatrists are
physicians, M.D.s or
D.O.s. They can prescribe
medication.
In addition to clinical
psychologists, professionals
in social work, counseling,
and marriage and family
therapy may be trained to
do psychotherapy.