Download Psychology`s Three Big Debates

An Introduction to the stuff you will
be learning this year.
What is it?
Psychology
The definition has changed
over time. Today it is:
The science of behavior and
mental processes.
Do our feelings always match our behaviors?
If you call me stupid,
I may feel sad inside.
But I will
still act
tough.
(even though
I will be
crying on the
inside, so be
gentle).
History of Psychology
• Although the science of psychology
started in the late 1800’s, the concept has
been around a lot longer.
• There was evidence of trephination
(cutting holes into a skull to let evil spirits
out) back in the stone age.
It was like a bad SAW movie!!!!
Psychology’s History
Prescientific Psychology
• Ancient Greek
•Socrates
•Plato
• These two guys thought alike
• dualism - the mind is separate from the
body and continues after the body dies
- some ideas innate (nature)
Aristotle
– monism – mind and body are connected
-
knowledge results from memories of
past experiences (nurture)
Psychology’s Roots
Prescientific Psychology
• Rene Descartes – mind and body separate;
innate ideas
• Francis Bacon – founder of modern science and
the scientific method
• John Locke – mind is a blank slate
• Empiricism – knowledge comes from
experience & science should therefore use
observation and experimentation
– Locke’s and Bacon’s ideas
Psychology’s Early Debates
Waves of Psychology
• The science of psychology has gone
through about 6 different waves since
it started.
• Waves are different ways of thinking
5 Historical Waves of
Psychology
• Introspection - basic research tool to study one’s inner sensations and
mental images (self reported sensory reactions to certain objects)
– Stucturalism – focus was on understanding the structures of the brains in their
smallest form
– Functionalism – focus on the functions of the brain and how they allow us to
adapt and survive
• Gestault – focus on human senses and how we perceive the world around
us
• Psychoanalytic – behavior is driven by unconscious drives and conflicts
from childhood experiences
• Behaviorist – ignored mental processes and studied only observable
behavior. Behavior is a result of learning (classical, operant, observational)
• Biopsychosocial -integrated approach that incorporates biological,
psychological and social cultural levels of analysis. Made up of 7 modern
schools
Beginnings of Modern
Psychology
– Wilhelm Wundt (Leipzig)
• 1st Psych Lab - Reaction time experiment
– G. Stanley Hall (Baltimore)
• 1st Lab USA -Johns Hopkins University
• 1st Pres. APA
Wave One: Introspection
• Structuralism - early school of psychology that used
introspection to explore the structural elements (smallest mental
processes) of the human mind.
– Introspection - self reflective observation of one’s own
sensations and feelings to study inner sensations and mental
images
– Wilhelm Wundt (Leipzig)
• 1st Psych Lab - Reaction time experiment
– G. Stanley Hall (Baltimore)
• 1st Lab USA -Johns Hopkins University
• 1st Pres. APA
– Edward Titchner (Cornell)
• Student of Wundt
• Used introspection to identify elements of sensory experience
– Example: Report immediate reactions and feelings to
different musical sounds
Wave One - Introspection
• Functionalism -
Focused on the
adaptive value of conscious thoughts and
emotions (how they enable us to survive
and reproduce - added the importance of
the environment )
– Wm. James
• First Functionalist – based ideas on Charles
Darwin’s
• 1st Psych prof at Harvard
• Authored 1st Psych textbook
– Mary Calkins
• 1st woman student of Psychology (Harvard)
• 1st woman APA Pres.
– Margaret Floy Washburn
• 1st woman to receive Ph.D. in Psych
Wave Two: Gestalt Psychology
• Focused on human perceptions of the world
• The whole of an experience can be more than the sum
of its parts.
– Led by Max Wertheimer
This may seem like
one picture, but it can
be perceived as 2
different faces. Can
you find them?
Rules for
how we
organize
what we
see
Think for a moment of all the reasons that you love your mom.
If you add all those reasons up, do they equal your love for your mom?
Hopefully not!!!
Wave Three: Psychoanalysis
• Sigmund Freud - personality
theories
• Feelings come from a hidden place
in your mind called the unconscious.
• Behavior is driven by unconscious
drives and conflicts and childhood
experiences
• We protect ourselves from our
real feeling by using defense
mechanisms.
Wave Four: Behaviorism
• During this time period (early to mid 1900s), people
started to ignore how you feel inside.
• All that mattered was how you acted.
• If they could change your behavior, who cares how
you feel.
• Very popular during the conservative 1950’s when
social appearance mattered more than self
expression.
Wave Four: Behaviorism
• Behaviorism – ignored mental processes
and studied only observable behavior
• Believe behavior is learned through
conditioning or through observation
• Classical Conditioning
• Pavlov
• John B. Watson
• Operant Conditioning
– B.F. Skinner
• Observational Learning
– Bandura
Wave Five: Eclectic
Biopsychosocial Approach
• We are now in wave five.….which is about variety.
• Psychologists pick and choose what theories to
use depending on the situation and the client.
Just like Ben 10 choosing the right alien to
fight the bad guy depending the situation.
Modern Psychology’s Three Main
Levels of Analysis
• Levels of Analysis
– Biological
– Psychological
– Social-cultural
• Biopsychosocial Approach - integrated
approach that incorporates biological,
psychological, and social-cultural levels of
analysis.
• Evaluates both nature and nurture
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
Wave 5 -Biopsychosocial
Approach is made up of 7
different perspectives.
In other words, psychologists today, pick
and choose from about 7 schools of
thought to help you with your problems.
Thus we have:
THE SEVEN MODERN SCHOOLS OF
PSYCHOLOGY
1. Biopsychology (Neuroscience)
Perspective
• All of your feelings and behaviors
have an organic root – ie. they come
from your brain, neurotransmitters,
hormones etc…
• To change behavior the biological
problem must be addressed, usually
through medication or surgery
Let us imagine for a second that your dog died
(sad but it will happen). You become
depressed. You stop eating and sleeping.
What would a psychologist from this school say
is going on and how might they help you?
2. Evolutionary Perspective
• Based on ideas of
Charles Darwin –
natural selection,
survival of the
fittest.
• Our behavior is driven
by inherited traits
from our ancestors
that help us survive How could this behavior ensured
and reproduce.
Homer’s ancestors survival?
3. Psychoanalytic Perspective
• Focuses on the
unconscious mind.
• Our behavior is
driven by our
hidden/unconscious
drives and conflicts.
• We repress many of
our true feelings and
are not aware of
them.
• In order to get
better, we must bring
forward the true
feelings we have in
our unconscious.
If a man has
intimacy issues
and cannot form
relationships
with others.
What do you
think someone
from this school
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.
4. Behavioral Perspective
Pretend that you
fail psychology
class. You become
depressed. In turn,
you begin to binge
and gain weight.
• Focuses on observable
behaviors while putting
feelings to the side.
• We behave in ways
because we have been
What do you think a
conditioned by rewards
behaviorist may do?
and punishments to act
They would probably ignore
a certain way.
the fact that you are
depressed and just focus on • To change behaviors,
your overeating.
we have to recondition
the client.
Maybe make you run a mile every time you eat over 2000 calories.
5. Humanist Perspective
• emphasizes the growth potential of
healthy people and the individual’s
potential for personal growth.
• Believes all people are good by
nature
• Ideas came from Carl Roger’s and
Abraham Maslow.
• Behavior comes from our needs on
Maslow’s Hierarchy and striving to
meet the next level.
• Therapists attempt to increase
awareness of a clients current
feelings and actions and facilitate a
client’s growth
I possess
the
resources to
grow
6. Cognitive Perspective
• Focuses on how we
think (encode,
process, store and
retrieve
She rejects
information)
You meet a girl…
you…don’t even
Hopes are high!!!
get digits.
• Behavior is
How do you react to the rejection?
influenced by the
way we interpret an
experience
• Cognitive Therapist
attempt to change
the way you think. Some react by getting back Some react by giving up
on the horse and try again.
and live a lonely life of
solitude.
7. Social-Cultural Perspective
• Behaviors and feelings are
dictated by friends,
family, society and the
culture you live in.
• Examples:
Is this part of your
culture?
• Some cultures kiss each
other when greeting, some
just bow.
• Does your culture place
value on individual or the
group?
• In our culture is it better to
be fat or thin?
Examples of the
Biopsychosocial Approach
• How would a psychologist approach
someone who is obese and is having
difficulty losing weight?
• What are some of the possible causes
and solutions?
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Psychology’s Three Big Debates
• Nature Versus Nurture
– Are our behaviors/traits influenced more by our
genes (nature) or by our experiences (nurture)
– Ex. Intelligence- genes or home environment?
• Stability Versus Change
– Do our behaviors/traits remain stable or do they
change?
– Ex. Does a person’s shyness stay stable or could
the degree of shyness change over a life span?
• Continuity Versus Discontinuity
– Is our development over our life span smooth and
orderly (continuous) or is it abrupt (discontinuous)
– Ex. Do we learn to add 2 numbers in small steps
over time or do we just “get it” around the age of
4
Fields of Psychology
Applied V. Basic Research
• Applied Research
has clear, practical
applications.
• YOU CAN USE IT!!!
• Basic Research
explores questions
that you may be
curious about, but
not intended to be
immediately used.
Studying how
kissing changes
when you get
older is
interesting…but
that’s about it.
Research on therapies for drug addicts has
a clear purpose.
Psychology’s Subfields
• Psychometrics – measurement of human abilities.
Ex. Creates aptitude tests like SAT, personality questionnaires
• Basic Research – research in psychology to
increase our knowledge of the field. Examples:
– Developmental psychologythroughout the human life span
– Educational psychology –
affect teaching and learning
change
how psych processes
– Personality psychology – individual traits
– Social psychology – how humans relate to one
another
Psychology’s Subfields
• Applied Research – using what you’ve learned
to help others
– Industrial/organizational psychology –
help improve performance and well-being in the workplace
– Human factors psychology – designing machines
and work environments that are best for people – ergonomics
– Counseling psychology
– assists people in problems
with work, family school (Masters Degree)
– Clinical psychology
disorders (PhD)
– treats people with psych
– Psychiatry – prescribes medicine and treats psych
disorders (Medical Doctor – M.D.)