Transcript Document
CHAPTER 1 Introduction and History of Psychology WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY – AND WHAT IS IT NOT? Psychology – The scientific study of behavior and mental processes Psychology is not Mere speculation about human nature A body of folk wisdom about people that “everybody knows” to be true WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY – AND WHAT IS IT NOT? Pseudopsychology: Erroneous assertions of practices set forth as being scientific psychology • Psychology disputes unfounded claims from pseudopsych • Psychology is empirical – objective, scientific, observations WHAT DO PSYCHOLOGISTS DO? Experimental • • • psychologists: Conduct most research across psychological spectrum May work in private industry or for the government Often teach at college or university WHAT DO PSYCHOLOGISTS DO? Applied psychologists: Use knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to solve human problems I/O Sports Engineering/Human Factors School Rehabilitation Counseling Clinical Tradition Structuralism Functionalism Devoted to uncovering basic structures that make up mind and thought Wilhelm Wundt: 1st Research Lab (1879) Gestalt psychology Psychoanalysis Behaviorism Introspection: reporting own conscious mental experiences; subjective Tradition Structuralism Believed mental processes could best be understood in terms of their adaptive purpose and function Functionalism Gestalt psychology Psychoanalysis Behaviorism William James Psychology should explain how people adapt or fail to adapt to their environment; flowing stream of consciousness Tradition Structuralism Interested in how we construct “perceptual wholes”, unlike structuralists Functionalism Gestalt psychology Psychoanalysis Behaviorism Phi Phenomenon Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Kohler Tradition Structuralism Functionalism Gestalt psychology Psychoanalysis Behaviorism These two perspectives carry into the contemporary perspectives still used today. OTHER EARLY CONTRIBUTORS • • • • American Psychological Association: devoted to the advancement of psychology G. Stanley Hall: 1st president of APA; 1st psych lab in U.S.(1882) Mary Whiton Calkins: 1st woman president of APA; focused on conscious self Margaret Floy Washburn: president of APA; 1st PhD in psych awarded to a woman 9 Perspectives Psychodynamic • Behavioral Humanistic Cognitive Biological Evolutionary/ Sociobiological Sociocultural Developmental Trait • • • Focus How behavior is influenced by unconscious factors and early life experiences Disorders Sigmund Freud Question How does the energy from the unconscious mind motivate us or account for psychological disorders? 9 Perspectives Psychodynamic • Behavioral Humanistic Cognitive Biological Evolutionary/ Sociobiological Sociocultural Developmental Trait • • • Focus How our behavior is learned from our environment (associations, rewards/punishments) Disregards mental processes and biology Observable responses John B. Watson Question • How do we learn to fear particular objects? Perspective Psychodynamic Behavioral Humanistic Cognitive Biological Evolutionary/ Sociobiological Sociocultural Developmental Trait Focus • Influence of self-concept, interpersonal relationships, and need for growth • Free will, choice Question • How can we overcome barriers to our personal growth? • http://www.hulu.com/#!watch/272735 Perspective Psychodynamic Behavioral Humanistic Cognitive Biological Evolutionary/ Sociobiological Sociocultural Developmental Trait Focus • How we encode, process, store, and retrieve information • How our interpretation of our experiences affects our behavior Question • What influences our memory of an event? Perspective Psychodynamic Behavioral Humanistic Cognitive Focus • How the body and brain work together to influence behavior and mental processes • How genes may influence individual differences Biological Evolutionary/ Sociobiological Sociocultural Developmental Trait Question • To what extent are traits such as intelligence, personality, and psychological disorder attributed to genes? Perspective Psychodynamic Behavioral Humanistic Cognitive Biological Evolutionary/ Sociobiological Sociocultural Developmental Trait Focus • How behavior and thinking have developed and adapted over time • Influence of natural selection Question • How does evolution influence behavior tendencies? Perspective Psychodynamic Behavioral Humanistic Cognitive Biological Evolutionary/ Sociobiological Sociocultural Developmental Trait Focus • How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures • Influence of social interaction and social learning Question • How do expressions of anger differ across cultures? Perspective Psychodynamic Behavioral Humanistic Cognitive Biological Evolutionary/ Sociobiological Sociocultural Developmental Trait Focus • How we change across the lifespan • The interaction of nature (heredity) and nurture (environment) Question • What are the patterns that characterize developmental change? Perspective Psychodynamic Behavioral Humanistic Cognitive Biological Evolutionary/ Sociobiological Sociocultural Developmental Trait Focus • Individual differences result from differences in our underlying patterns of stable characteristics Question • How can we use trait patterns to predict behavior?