What is Psychology?

1. What is Psychology?

2. Psychology = Study of the Mind • Two Greek Words • Psyche = “essence of life”, soul, mind, spirit • Logos = “the study of”, discuss

3. Definition of Psychology • Scientific study of behavior and mental processes • Relies on empiricism • Based on actual evidence directly observed & recorded (data) rather than on philosophical speculations or intuitions

4. Definition of Psychology • Behavior • Directly observable overt actions • Mental Processes • Private thoughts, emotions, feelings, motives (not observable)

5. The Four Goals of Psychology • DESCRIBE • Depression • PREDICT • Suicide Potential • UNDERSTAND • Violence – School Shootings • INFLUENCE • Marital Relationships

6. Scope of Behavior & Mental Processes • Biology (cell activity, hormones, genetics) • Sensory Stimuli (people receive input to the brain via the sensory organs) • Responses (people must analyze, interpret sensory stimuli & decide on responses) • Behavioral • Cognitive • Emotional • Physiological

7. Scope of Behavior & Mental Processes • Personality (each person is somewhat consistent in his or her behavior & mental functioning) • Culture (individuals belong to many groups; other people influence a person’s sense of identity, behavior, & mental abilities in many ways)

8. The History of Psychology • Philosophy (Late 6th, 5th centuries B.C.) • Greek Philosophers • Plato • Aristotle • Socrates • Hippocrates • Logic & Reasoning • “What is the basic nature of humans?” • Major Debate: Mind-Body Problem

9. Dualists Socrates & Plato Mind (spirit) & body are separate entities No direct interconnections between them Mind-Body Problem

10. Mind-Body Problem • Monists - Materialists • Aristotle • Believed in the existence of the body ONLY • Mind is part of the body

11. Aristotle (384-322 BC) • Plato’s student • Monist who believed that the mind was part of the heart & the brain was used to cool the blood • All knowledge must be acquired through experience (empiricism) • Wrote the 1st book on psychology • “Para Psyche” (about the mind or soul)

12. Aristotle (384-322 BC) • Plant Soul • the essence of which is nutrition • Animal Soul • contains the basic sensations, desire, pain, pleasure & ability to cause motion • Human Soul • REASON

13. Aristotle (384-322 BC) • Every object has potentiality & can move to actuality (always reaching for perfection) • Foundation for Freud’s ideas of id & ego “There are two powers in the soul which appear to be moving forces--desire and reason. But desire prompts actions in violation of reason…desire…may be wrong.”

14. Hippocrates (460-377 BC) • Monist • Good Health • 4 bodily fluids • Black bile • Yellow bile • Phlegm • Blood

15. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) • Founder of scientific psychology as an independent discipline

16. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) • Established the 1st laboratory at Leipzig, Germany, in 1879 • Offered the 1st academic course in psychology in 1862 • Found the 1st psychological journal (“Studies in Philosophy”) in 1881

17. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) • New science of psychology is to be concerned with the analysis of consciousness as its primary subject matter • The task of researchers is to reduce consciousness to more elemental states of sensations, images (memories), & feelings

18. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) • Technique of INTROSPECTION (“inward perception”) • Highly trained subjects carefully describe each aspect of their conscious sensory experiences • Problems with introspection • The very act of introspection altered the conscious experience • Different researchers were obtaining different results

20. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) • STRUCTURALISM • Focused on describing each of the separate elements that make up conscious experience • English student Edward Titchener • Liked to add & change things as he translated from German to English, still claiming that they were Wundt’s psychological theories

21. Gestalt Psychologists in Germany • Max Wertheimer • Wolfgang Kohler • Kurt Koffka • GESTALT=“whole forms”

22. Gestalt Psychologists in Germany • Phi Phenomenon: The perception of motion, in particular the illusion of movement achieved by presenting stationary objects in quick succession

23. Gestalt Psychologists in Germany • Opposed Wundt’s introspection • The whole experience of consciousness is greater than the sum of its parts • Something essential is lost when only the parts are examined

24. Gestalt Psychologists in Germany • Saw consciousness as a totality, arguing that study of its separate elements does not give a true picture of conscious experience • Example: A song is more than just musical notes and words

25. William James (1842-1910) • American psychology began with the publication of James’ Principles of Psychology in 1890

26. William James (1842-1910) • Influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution • Human consciousness has evolved & must have a function • Psychological abilities exist to help the organism adapt to the environment

27. William James (1842-1910) • Conscious mind enables people to make rational choices, to survive from generation to generation • Consciousness=“an organ added for the sake of steering a nervous system grown too complex to regulate itself”

28. William James - FUNCTIONALISM • How & why a thought or behavior occurred rather than what a thought or behavior was • What is it good for? • Emphasized the study of what consciousness does, how it functions, rather than focusing on the parts that make up consciousness

29. William James - FUNCTIONALISM • Used the term, “stream of consciousness” to indicate the impossibility of finding isolated mental elements • Consciousness is like a river, every attempt to isolate it only modifies it • No limitations were placed on what psychologists could study as long as the process played a role in adaptation

30. John Watson (1878-1958) • Trained as a functional psychologist, yet believed that James hadn’t gone far enough in his rebellion against structuralism

31. John Watson (1878-1958) • Criticized the earlier approaches as unscientific • Rejected the study of conscious thought & mental activity because they were not directly observable

32. John Watson (1878-1958) • BEHAVIORISM • Emphasized the study of only what one can directly observe • Argued that human behavior is the sole product of experience

33. John Watson (1878-1958) • Recognized the existence of consciousness but considered it useless as a target of research since it would always be private & unobservable by scientific methods • Hypothetical argument: Take healthy babies & make them have any kind of adult personality solely based upon experience

34. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) • In Austria, Freud developed psychoanalysis

35. A functionalist, influenced by Darwin Believed that conscious mental processes are of trivial importance Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

36. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) • Unconscious served a function • Keeping unacceptable thoughts & desires repressed or hidden from the conscious mind • Psychoanalytic theory emphasized that many aspects of behavior & conscious experience stem from unconscious conflicts & desires

37. Carl Rogers (1902-1987)Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) • Humanistic Psychology: 3rd force in modern psychology • People are free agents, having free will • People are creative, conscious, & born with an inner motivation to fulfill their potential (SELF ACTUALIZATION)

38. Approaches to Psychology • Biological • Evolutionary (Charles Darwin) • Psychodynamic (Sigmund Freud)

39. Approaches to Psychology • Behavioral (John Watson) • Cognitive • Humanistic (Maslow & Rogers)

40. Subfields of Psychology • Experimental Psychologists • Study the main building blocks of behavior & mental processes • Cognitive Psychologists • Study aspects of cognitions (thoughts) such as perception, memory, & problem-solving • Biological or Physiological Psychologists • Study how biological structure & function effect behavior & mental processes

41. Subfields of Psychology • Social Psychologists • Study how behavior is effected by interacting with others

42. Subfields of Psychology • Industrial-Organizational Psychologists • Examine how social interactions effect human behavior in the workplace • Personality Psychologists • Study the mechanisms that allow individuals to remain consistently unique among one another

43. Subfields of Psychology • Developmental Psychologists • Study systematic changes in behavior that occur over one’s lifetime

44. Subfields of Psychology • Clinical & Counseling Psychologists • Try to identify, explain, & treat “abnormal” patterns of behavior • Educational Psychologists • Examine how teaching effects students’ learning

45. Subfields of Psychology • School Psychologists • Focus on factors shaping students’ educational development • Quantitative Psychologists • Use mathematics & statistical analysis to describe, analyze, & interpret behavioral data • Health Psychologists • Study how human behavior & mental factors effect physical health

46. Subfields of Psychology • Sport Psychologists • Describe how behavior changes during athletic competition

47. Subfields of Psychology • Environmental Psychologists • Examine how the physical environment alters how people behave

49. Psychology vs. Psychiatry • Psychiatrist • Psychologist

50. What We Know About Human Behavior • Human beings are biological creatures • Every person is different, yet much the same • People can be understood fully only in the context of their culture, ethnic identity, and gender identity