1 / 21

A Short History of Psychology

A Short History of Psychology. Origins of Psychology. Phrenology Greeks- 5 th & 6 th centuries B.C. People’s lives were dominated not so much by gods but their own minds People are rational Aristotle = Asked Why?

carlaw
Download Presentation

A Short History of Psychology

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. A Short History of Psychology

  2. Origins of Psychology • Phrenology • Greeks- 5th & 6th centuries B.C. • People’s lives were dominated not so much by gods but their own minds • People are rational • Aristotle = Asked Why? • Began to compare the sensations, wonder how the thought process worked, and even why we slept

  3. Origins Continued… • During Renaissance people began to experiment and observe results • Rene Descartes first to pose dualism-idea that a link existed between the mind and body • Nativism- is the view that certain skills or abilities are 'native' or hard wired into the brain at birth. (1596-1650)

  4. John Locke (1632-1704) • An Essay Concerning Human Understanding • Tabula rasa • Empiricism • Knowledge originates in experience and that science should rely on observation and experimentation

  5. Psychological Science Is Born • Wilhelm Wundt • (1832-1920) • Established modern psychology as a formal field of study • 1st “Psychologist” • Developed the first psychology lab/experiment • Measuring reaction time

  6. E.B. Titchner- brought Wundt’s psychology to U.S. • Structuralism-study the basic elements that make up human mental experiences • Introspection • Looking inward- analyzing immediate sensations and how they related to one another. • Results varied and were unreliable • For example…

  7. Using structuralism and the idea of introspection I would need to analyze everyone’s immediate sensations. • Did this picture make you smile? • Did this picture make you want to cry? • Once again with structuralism, results varied and were unreliable

  8. Functionalism • Functionalism- study how animals and people adapt to their environments.. • Influenced by Charles Darwin • William James- father of psychology in U.S. • Taught first psychology class at Harvard University in 1875. • Why does the brain think? Why does the nose smell? • Wrote “The Principles of Psychology” • Took 12 years! 1842-1910

  9. Ladies • Margaret Washburn • First PhD 1894, Cornell • The Animal Mind- animal behavior research • Mary Calkins • Denied degree by Harvard in 1895 • First woman president of the APA • Renowned memory researcher Between 1996-2009 Females claimed two-thirds of U.S. Psychology Ph.D.s

  10. Contemporary Approaches • Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic- Unconscious motives and conflicts determines human behavior, feelings, and thoughts • Sigmund Freud (1856- 1939) • Dream Analysis • Emotional responses to childhood experiences • Pretty much linked everything to sex! • Free Association- say anything that comes to mind. • LETS PRACTICE FREE ASSOCIATION

  11. Behaviorism • Learn/modify behavior based on response to environment • Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) & Classical Conditioning • (The Dog Dude)

  12. John Watson (1878-1958) • Behaviorism • Psychology as the science of behavior! • Little Albert Experiment • Classical Conditioning • Watson later had a successful career in…

  13. Behaviorism Continued… • Defined psychology as “the scientific study of observable behavior.” • Can record a person’s behavior as a response to different situations. • Skinner Thorndike Operant Conditioning 1904-1990 1874-1949

  14. Cognitive • How people process, store, retrieve, use info and how thought processes influence our behavior. Behavior is more than a simple response to a stimulus. Behavior is influenced by a variety of mental processes. Processes include perceptions, memories, and expectations. Jean Piaget- Observed Children 1896-1980

  15. Humanistic • Each person has freedom in directing his or her future and achieving personal growth. • Importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential and the importance of having our needs for love and acceptance satisfied. 1902-1987

  16. Psychology Defined 2012 • The definition has evolved over time. *The science of behavior and mental *processes. • Behavior = any action we can observe and record. • Examples: Yelling, smiling, sweating… • Mental Processes = internal, subjective experiences we infer from behavior. • Examples: Sensations, perceptions, feelings…

  17. Nature versus Nurture • The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Plato Descartes Darwin Aristotle Locke

  18. Nature versus Nurture • How are humans alike but diverse? • Are gender differences biologically predisposed or socially constructed? • Is children’s grammar mostly innate or formed by experience? • How are differences in intelligence and personality influenced by heredity and by environment? • Are sexual behaviors more pushed by inner biology or pulled by external incentives?

More Related