Intro to Psychology

1. Intro to Psychology History of Psychology, Types of Psychologists

2. What is Psychology? • Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes • Mental processes: what the brain does when we think, remember, feel, etc. • Behavior: outwardly observable acts of an individual, alone, or in a group. • Goals • Describe • Explain • predict • control mental processes and behavior. • The experimental study of behavior and the practical applications that arise from them • A very broad and interdisciplinary field

3. Brief History of Psychology • Earliest roots: philosophy • E.g., Descartes • What is the mind? Is it different from the body? • Cartesian dualism • studied reflexes • Focus on existence of mind

4. Toward a Scientific Psychology: Biology • Pierre Flourens - Experimental Ablation • Case of Phineas Gage • Hermann von Helmholtz – Studied neuronal transmission. • Ernst Weber and psychophysics

6. Scientific Study of Psychology: Structuralism (ca 1870’s -1900) • Wilhelm Wundt – the father of psychology • Set up the first psychology lab in 1879. • Created the approach of structuralism • Wanted to know what the structure of the mind was • Used introspection • Edward Titchener – student of Wundt, introduced experimental psychology to the USA.

7. Functionalism (ca 1880’s – current) • Arose in protest to the private mental events studied by structuralists • Focused on the process of conscious activity • Had its roots with evolution. How is a particular behavior adaptive? • William James: Not what mind does, but why it does it • Became incorporated into all of psychology

8. Gestalt Psychology • School of thought that emphasized the total experience of the individual and not just parts of the mind or behavior • The whole is greater than the sum of its parts • Wanted to stay away from reductionism • Lacked scientific rigor and was displaced • Major influence in sensation and perception

11. Psychoanalysis • Sigmund Freud • Focused on the causes and treatment of emotional disturbances, and particularly the unconscious. • Assumed that psychological maladjustment is a consequence of unresolved conflict • Important in the history of psychotherapy

12. Behaviorism (ca 1915 – current) • Rejected mental events. • Psychology should only study observable and verifiable events. • John Watson – Father of behaviorism. • Simplicity; belief in reductionism. • Stimulus – response • Used animals (pigeons and rats) • B. F. Skinner • Dominated psychology for over 50 years.

14. The Cognitive Revolution (mid 1970’s) • A return to the studies of the mind and how it worked • The computer largely influenced theories of the mind. • Study of perception, representation, decision making, memory, etc.

15. Evolutionary Psychology • Relies heavily on Darwinian evolution. • Traits and behaviors exist because they were selected during evolution. • Individuals who possessed the particular trait had a reproductive advantage on individuals who did not. • Behaviors exist for a reason. • Compare human behaviors with other animals. Comparative psychology.

16. Behavioral Neuroscience (1990’s especially) • The “Decade of the Brain” • Technological advances • Goal is a biological explanation of behavior.

18. Behavioral Genetics (2000’s) • How does our genetic makeup influence our behavior • Encouraged by newer technologies and developments • Human genome project • Level of analysis is the gene

19. Types of Psychologists Experimental vs. Applied Experimental: Use the scientific method to uncover principles of psychology. Applied: take the principles and apply them to help others

20. Biological psychology – also called physiological psychology, neuroscience, neuropsychology • Studies how the brain works. How does it produce the behavior that we show? • How are things learned in the brain? How are emotions generated? • Often study animals • Often study cases of brain damage • Very interdisciplinary

21. Learning / Animal Behavior • Very influenced by behaviorism • Study how animals (including humans) learn. • Typically use rats, mice, or pigeons Comparative psychology / evolutionary psychology • Based around evolution – how has behavior evolved. • Comparison is of species! • Study many different species • E.g., evolution of emotion • E.g., chimpanzees and language • E.g., lemur memory

23. Cognitive psychology– study of the mind • emphasizes internal mental processes • emphasizes the importance of cognitive processes, such as perception, memory, and thinking • E.g., how does memory work? • Think of your grandmother

24. Social psychology - study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by others • Study attitudes, conformity, helping behavior, etc. • E.g., Why does Bob like Coors light? • E.g., How does a jury reach a verdict?

25. Developmental psychology – studies how behavior changes over time • Studies children – lifespan approach • How do we change as we age? • E.g., when do infants start walking? • E.g., what can be done to help children that are not thriving. • E.g., is it healthy for teens to vent to their friends?

26. AppliedPsychologists • Clinical – PhD in clinical psychology • Tries to help individuals suffering from psychological maladjustment • Uses psychotherapy to treat psychological disorders • E.g., treat depression, anger management, etc. • Psychiatry – MD or DO – branch of medicine that specializes in psychological disorders • Can prescribe medication to help alleviate a problem • May also use psychotherapy • E.g., treat depression, anger management, etc.

27. Counseling psychology • Very similar to clinical • Typically deal with healthier individuals • career and vocational assessment • Industrial / Organizational • seek to apply psychological principles to practical problems of education, industry, marketing, etc. • E.g., implement leadership program • E.g., Help companies get the most out of employees – The two Bobs

29. School psychologist – help children in school • Address things like: • Learning disabilities • Attention-deficit disorder • Behavioral disorders • Sport psychologist – applies psychological principles to improve athletic performance

30. Forensic psychologist - applications of psychological knowledge to the understanding of crime and criminal justice • Study abnormal psychology • Personality psychology • Social psychology

31. Ethics • Immoral studies • Experiments in Nazi Germany • Other studies in the US and around the world • Research with humans and animals must now be carefully reviewed. • All research must be approved by an institutional review board (IRB). • IRB’s consist of both scientists and people in the community. • The IRB considers the risks and benefits of each research proposal and decides if it should be performed.

32. Requirements with Human Research • 1. Must have informed consent. • 2. Be advised of the possible risks and benefits of the procedure. • 3. Be told that they can withdraw from the study at any time without being penalized. • 4. After the experiment, participants must be debriefed. • 5. Deceiving participants is approved only when the participant will not be harmed and knowledge gained outweighs the use of dishonesty.

33. Research with Animals • All research with animals must have the approval of an IRB. • The IRB ensures that: • 1. Animals are housed properly • 2. Animals are not mistreated. • 3. Researchers may not cause animals pain unless that is what is explicitly being studied and there are potential benefits to humans of inflicting pain. • Labs may also inspected by USDA, OSCA, and must have a veterinarian in charge of care. • PETA may also have an eye on laboratories.