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Approaches to Psychology
Historical Approaches
Structuralism
• William Wundt (1832-1920)
• Study of human behavior in a systematic and
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scientific manner
Acknowledged as establishing modern psychology as
a separate formal field of study
Was interested in basic elements of human
experience (structuralist)
Important because he used a systematic procedure to
study human behavior
Functionalism
• William James (1842-1910)
• Father of Psychology in the US
• Rather than focusing on structures of the mind,
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James focused on the functions or actions of the
conscious mind and the goals or purpose of
behavior
Functionalists focus on how animals and people
adapt to their environments
Inheritable Traits
• Sir Frances Galton (1822-1911)
• Wanted to understand how heredity influences a
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person’s ability
Heredity includes all the traits and properties
that are passed along from parents to children
He thought the world would be a better place if
we got rid of less desirable people
Most fit were those with high intelligence
Galton assumed wealthiest people were the
most intelligent
Gestalt
• Group of German psychologists who
focused on the whole pattern (in German,
Gestalt)
• See the whole rather than the parts
• Example, see a chair rather than a seat,
legs back etc
Todays Approaches
• Pscychoanalytical
• Behavioral
• Humanistic
• Cognitive
• Biographical
• Sociocultural
Psychoanalytical
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Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Practiced in Vienna until 1938
More interested in unconscious mind
Our conscious experiences are only the tip of the iceberg
Beneath surface are primitive biological urges that are in
conflict with the requirements of society and modesty
These unconscious motivations and conflicts are
responsible for most human behavior
Also responsible for many unexplained physical
symptoms
Free Association
• Patient said anything that came to mind
• Psychoanalyist is a psychologist that studies how
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the unconscious motives and conflicts determine
human behavior, feelings and thoughts
Dreams are an expression of the most primitive
unconscious urges – Freud used dream analysis
which is free association applied to dreams
Case study: analyze the thoughts, feelings,
beliefs, experiences, behaviors and problems of
individual
Behavioral
• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
• Pavlov dogs: Pavlov rang a tuning fork each
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time he gave dog meat. The dog would normally
drool when he got the meat. After Pavlov
repeated the procedure many times, the dogs
would drool when it heard the ring of the tuning
fork, even if no food appeared. It had been
conditioned to associate the sound with the
food.
This is known as conditioning or the conditional
reflex
• Conditional reflex was a response (drool) provoked by a
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stimulus (tuning fork) other than the one that first
produced it (meat)
Could account for behaviors as the product of prior
experiences
This enabled psychologists to explain how certain acts
and differences among individuals were the result of
learning
Behaviorists
• John Watson (1878-1958)
• Concern with only observable behaviors
• All behavior is result of conditioning and
occurs because the appropriate stimulus is
present in the environment
Behavior- Reinforcement
• B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)
• Introduced concept of reinforcement
• Response to a behavior that increases
likelihood that the behavior will be
repeated (rewards)
Humanistic
• Developed as a reaction to behavioral
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psychology
1960’s
Humans not controlled by environment or
unconscious forces
Environment and the outside forces serve as a
background to our own internal growth
Each person is unique and has a self concept
and potential to develop fully
Cognitive Psychology
• Cognitivists focus on how we process, store,
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retrieve and use information
Influences our thinking, language, problem
solving and creativity
Behavior is more than a simple response to a
stimulus
Behavior is influenced by a variety of mental
processes including perceptions, memories and
expecations
Biological
• Impact of biology on behavior
• Pyschiobiologists study how physical and chemical
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changes in our bodies influence our behavior
How the brain, hormones impact our behavior
Use tools like MRI CT
Genetics influences a wide range of human behavior
Recent discoveries between chemicals in brain
(neurotransmitters) and human behavior
EX – autisitic children share a genetic defect in
regulation neurotransmitter Serontin – serontin plays a
role in brain function
Sociocultural
• Study influences of cultural and ethnic
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similarities and differences on behavior and
social factors
Our ways of thinking, feeling and behaving are
dependent on the culture in which we belong
Study impact of millions of immigrants who
come to US each year
How different Genders and socioeconomics
influence our behaviors, male-female, rich-poor