Why Study Psychology?

1. Why Study Psychology?

2. Psychology • Is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

3. The Realities of Our Study-2 differing approaches

4. The Realities of Our Study-2 differing approaches

5. A History of Psychology

6. Roots from Ancient Greece • The Ancient philosopher Plato said, “Know thyself” • It has become motto of psychology • His student Socrates encouraged people to learn has much as they could about themselves

7. Cont. • Psychologists call this method introspection • The method of learning by looking within

8. Cont. • The Greeks believed strange behavior to super natural forces • The Greek gods and goddesses played a major role in how people acted

9. The Middle Ages • People in the Middle Ages believed all odd behaviors were caused by demons or the devil • Tests were performed to see if a person was possessed • Most who passed the tests were dead at the end of them

10. Some that were thought to be demon-possessed may have actually had epilepsy or Torrette’s syndrome But mental illness can be linked to demonic oppression or possession Exorcism Video: Is it Mental Illness? Demonic Possession or both? The Middle Ages

11. The Birth of Modern Science • Between 1500s-1700s, drastic changes in the way people thought allowed for the birth of Modern Science • The scientific approach was used to explain events in the world • In 1879 psychology became a science

12. Wilhelm Wundt • In 1879 Wundt established his laboratory of psychology in Leipzig, Germany • His field became known as structuralism • The discovering of the basic elements of the consciousness- sensation and feelings

13. William James: “The Father of Psychology” in the USA • In 1889 James est. his own lab • Was the first to teach a psychology class • James believed experience “…is a continuous stream of consciousness

14. 1890 he published, The Principles of Psychology This credited as the first psych text book James was founder of functionalism How mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment Functionalism stressed behavioral observation-people are like animals trying to survive Thinking, learning, feeling and remembering serve 1 function-to help us survive Cont.

15. Sir Francis Galton • Studied heredity • Traits passed along from parent to child • Greatness runs in families-the rich and talented are they way they are because of hereditary genes • Invented personality and intelligence tests

16. Is it Heredity or Environment?

17. Approaches to Psychology

18. The Different Approaches • There are perhaps as many different ways to study psychology as there are psychologists, though it is generally agreed that there are 6 basic approaches to psychology.

19. 6 Approaches • 1. Psychoanalytic • 2. Behavioral • 3. Humanistic • 4. Cognitive • 5. Neuro-Biological • 6. holistic

20. 1. Sigmund Freud and the School of Psycho analysis • supported psychoanalysis • unconscious motives and the internal conflicts determine human behavior • people were driven by their hidden impulses

21. Cont. • conducted his research through consultations with patients-used free association (patients said whatever came to mind and he sat there objectively and listened) • unconscious thinking is more important than the conscious experiences • The unconscious mind is full of impulses, urges, and wishes

22. Freud 3. Human behavior is therefore aimed at satisfying these urges (good and bad) 4. Freud wanted to help people uncover these and find socially acceptable ways of expressing their feelings 5. Dream Analysis- dreams are expressions of our urges

24. Anna Freud • began her professional career in her father’s footsteps, but was a very independent thinker. • how to apply psychoanalysis to children. • founded the Hampstead Child Therapy Clinic. • built upon her father’s ideas relating to defense mechanisms, which people use to relieve stress or anxiety and to deceive themselves about the causes of stressful situations.

25. The Behavioral Approach

26. What Is Behaviorism? Pioneered by Russian Ivan Pavlov Focuses on observable behavior and the role of learning in behavior • Behaviors are learned • The role of reward and punishment in learning

27. Ivan Pavlov • a Russian psychologist who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his research on digestion. • discovered what later became known as “psychic reflexes.” • most famous experiment, he conditioned dogs to salivate at the sound of a certain tone. The dogs had come to associate the tone with receiving food. • The classical conditioning techniques pioneered by Pavlov have had major application in therapeutic situations. In addition, many of today’s advertisers also use classical conditioning techniques to sell products. • McDonald video

28. John Watson • The father of behaviorism • Psychology should become a science of behavior • Environment molds the behavior of us all • by controlling a healthy child’s environment, it was possible to influence that child to develop in a number of different directions

29. B.F. Skinner • the most prominent and strict behaviorist, B.F. Skinner spent most of his career at Harvard. • believed that behavior is strongly influenced by rewards and punishments. • used rats and pigeons. • Food was the major reward in his experiments and frequent electric shocks were the punishment.

30. The Humanistic Approach

31. The “Third Force” in Psychology • Rejected the views of both behaviorism and psychoanalytic thought • Its all about choice, feeling and free-will • Humans are evolving from a lower state and control their own destinies • Refuses to acknowledge our human limitations and bent towards sin

32. Humanistic Approach • Choices are not dictated by instincts, the biological process, or rewards and punishments • The world is a friendly, happy, secure place • Humans are evolving and becoming better

33. Carl Rogers • In the 1940s, humanism began to receive attention because of Rogers • Human behavior is governed by each individual’s sense of self • The drive for personal growth

34. Abraham Maslow • believed that all humans have a “hierarchy of needs” that begins with basics such as food, shelter, comfort, warmth, and security. • After those come “higher” needs such as love, self-esteem, knowledge and understanding, and the need for beauty and order. • called this top level “self-actualization.” He saw Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt as two prime examples of truly self-actualized individuals.

35. Criticisms of the Humanistic Approach • doubt that all people necessarily meet their needs according to some hierarchical structure such as that proposed by Maslow. • concept of self-actualization as overly idealistic and unrealistic. • Leaves God out of the picture totally-believes humans are almost god-like in controlling their own destinies

36. The Cognitive Approach

37. The Cognitive Perspective • Studies people’s mental processes in an effort to understand how humans gain knowledge about the world around them • How we learn, form concepts, solve problems, make decisions, use language • Our behavior is influenced by our memory, expectations and how we see the world

38. Jean Piaget • a Swiss child psychologist. • children think in very different ways than adults do. • first psychologist to take children’s thinking seriously. • not merely “blank slates” upon which experience writes • children create their own logic and often acted like miniature scientists. • came to the conclusion that knowledge (nurturing) builds as children grow.

39. Noam Chomsky • theorized that children are born with a mental “program” that enables them to learn language, basic grammar, and sentence structure. • saw this ability as innate (inborn)

40. 5. The NeuroBiological Approach • Behavior and mental processes are largely shaped by biological processes • The neurobiological approach gained momentum in the 1950s and is still going strong today. • Sixty years ago, the psychodynamic approach was in favor. Today, psychologists often look for biological explanations for behavior.

41. The Neurobiological Focus • The brain and central nervous system • Sensation and perception • Autonomic nervous system • Heredity and genetics • It also looks carefully at the significance of brain chemistry, body chemistry, and the endocrine system. • Note: The drawing in this slide shows a synapse, the space between the neurons in the brain.

42. Neurobiological Focus (cont.) • The physiological basis of how we learn and remember • Motivation and emotion • Understanding the physical bases of mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia

43. Howard Gardner • Studied brain damage and neurological disorders • Created the theory of multiple intelligences • The 9 different types of intelligence

44. The nine intelligences are: • 1. linguistic • 2. logical/mathematical • 3. musical • 4. spatial • 5.bodily/kinesthetic • 6. interpersonal • 7. intrapersonal • 8. naturalistic • 9. existential

45. But to get even more profundo…. • The Christian perspective of Pscyholohy • Man is a trinity

46. The Definition of theThree (3) Parts of Humans: • The Human Spirit • The Soul • The Body

48. We are a trinity (made in God’s image) • man as a “trinity” made up of body, soul, and spirit. • Man was made in the “Image of God” and God is a Trinity. • The difference between plant and animal life is, that the plant has not “conscious” life, while the animal has a “living (conscious) soul.” • The difference between animal life and human life is, that while animals have a “living soul” man has more, he has a “spirit”

49. The Spirit • First and most crucial is the spirit, the faculty that enables us to communicate with God if His Spirit is in us • With our human spirit, we can worship God, serve God, and know God intuitively • However, w/o the Holy Spirit, our spirits can be open to demonic influence or/and controlled by our body and soul.