History of Psychology

1. History of Psychology Section 1

2. Ancient Egypt • Egypt was known for its Egyptian Mystery System, since knowledge was power in those days. Only the privileged few had access to knowledge and they kept this knowledge secret and passed most of it on in secret societies.

3. Ancient Greeks • Pythagoras • He developed the label "philosopher" and was the first to call himself a philosopher, which means, lover of knowledge. • He was a mathematician as well as a philosopher

4. Ancient Greeks • Socrates • One of the greatest thinkers and philosophers of antiquity (anything considered very old). • Used dialectics, which was a method of question and answer to seek knowledge. • Was sentenced to death by his peers for not taking the gods into account in his philosophy.

5. Ancient Greeks • Plato • In 387 B.C. he founded The Academy • The Academy was a place for thinkers to discuss the philosophical topics of the day. • Parents wanted him to be a politician. • Held views on the creation of the world. • Plato defined 3 aspects of the psyche- reason, feeling and appetite.

6. 3 Aspects of the Pysche • "[As part of the team] there is a powerful, unrully horse intent on having its own way at all costs (appetite).  The other horse is a thoroughbred, spirited but manageable (spirit).  On catching sight of his beloved, the charioteer (reason) attempts  with some difficulty to direct the two horses toward the goal, which he alone (not they) can comprehend."

7. Plato Someone, pull my Finger The Academy

8. Ancient Greeks • Aristotle • Studied with Plato for 20 years. • Left Greece, but came back and founded his own school the Lyceum (school).

9. Ancient Greeks • Homer • Wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey

10. The Dark Ages (Early Middle Ages) • Thinking all the way back to World History, what happened during the Dark Ages? • How did this affect how the sciences were thought of in Europe? • What was the basis for all thought during this time (one word)?

11. The Renaissance • Also known as The Age of Reason • Newfound interest in math, sciences, exploration, art and culture. • The study of psychology broadened during this period.

12. Modern Psychology • Psychology- comes from the modern Greek words psyche (mind) and logos(study or knowledge) • No clear beginning, as we have seen from the earlier slides.

13. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) • Considered the “Father” of psychology as an independent science. • Grew up poor • Had to repeat a grade in school

14. Wundt • Sat and daydreamed in class (some of you may grow up to be famous psychologists!) • Graduated Medical School and became a physiologist (studied the function of living things).

15. Wundt’s Lab • First to have a lab in which to study the human mind much like a chemist would study an unknown compound. • In his lab Wundt argued that the mind could be analyzed into its basic compounds. These ideas became the basis for structuralism

16. Structuralism • The 2 main goals of structuralism are; • Discover the elements of consciousness. • Discover the combinations that elements undergo and the laws that regulate combinations. Q. What does this mean? A. Your conscious is made up of elements that make you who you are.

17. Introspection • Wundt’s theory of careful, self-examination and the reporting of one’s conscious experiences. • Introspection made its way over to the U.S.A.

18. William James (1842-1910)

19. William James • Born into wealth in Boston • Traveled the world during his youth • Trained as a medical doctor and made contributions to both psychology and philosophy (Founded dept. of Psych at Harvard)

20. Functionalism • James believed mental experience is best understood in terms of the functions or purposes it serves. • James founded the Functionalist school of psychology.

21. Functionalism • Focuses on the adaptive functions of behavior • Why do we do what we do? • James believed we develop habits because they enable us to perform more effectively in meeting the many demands we face in daily life.

22. Max Wertheimer Doesn’t the mustache Make him look like an old school Sheriff?

23. Max Wertheimer (1880-1943) • Founded the Gestalt school of psychology. • Gestalt means “Unitary form” or “ pattern” in German. • Argues that the concern expressed by structuralists regarding the architecture of consciousness was correct, but their notion of the psychic elements was incorrect. • Consciousness was more like a stream

24. Gestalt • Says, that the brain structures our perceptions of the world in terms of meaningful patterns or wholes. • The whole is greater than the sum of the parts • http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm • Example: When we see birds flying in a “V” formation.

25. Gestalt Illusions • http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~cfs/305_html/Gestalt/Illusions.html

26. Gestalt Illusions

27. Gestalt Illusions

28. Gestalt Illusions

29. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) • Probably the most well known Psychologist. • Lived in Austria

30. Freud • His Psychodynamic Theory focused on the subconscious- the region of the mind that lay beyond the reach of ordinary consciousness. • Motives underlying our behavior involve sexual and aggressive impulses that lie in the murky depths of the unconscious.

31. Freud • Freud believed people ‘repressed’ painful memories deep in their unconscious mind. • Freud used talk therapy to help people overcome psychological problems. • Eventually abandoned his thoughts on the unconscious mind and replaced it with his concept of the id, ego and super-ego.

32. Id • THIS IS PRESENT AT BIRTH.  IT SEEKS PLEASURE AND AVOIDS PAIN.  IT IS OUR INSTINCT.  IF WE WANT TO DO A PARTICULAR THING WE WILL DO IT.  EXAMPLE, IF WE ARE IN A LESSON AND WE WANT TO GO TO SLEEP, WE GO TO SLEEP

33. Ego • THE EGO HAS TO DECIDE BETWEEN THE DEMANDS  OF THE ID AND THE SUPEREGO.  IT CONTROLS THE ID'S DRIVE FOR IMMEDIATE SATISFACTION UNTIL AN APPROPRIATE OUTLET CAN BE FOUND. • SO, FROM THE EXAMPLE OF THE ID,  THE EGO WOULD SAY THERE IS NO BED HERE BUT I COULD LAY ON THE TABLE. 

34. Super-Ego • The superego is seen as the source of rewards and/or punishments. (i.e. feelings of pride and or feelings of shame or guilt, respectively.)  • Example, your superego would say that you cannot possibly go to sleep in a middle of a lesson.