Transcript Psychology`s Three Big Debates

An Introduction to the stuff you
will be learning this year.
What is it?
Psychology
The definition has changed
over time. Today it is:
The science of behavior and
mental processes.
Do our feelings always match our behaviors?
If you call me stupid,
I may feel sad inside.
But I will
still act
tough.
(but I will be
crying on the
inside, so be
gentle).
History of Psychology
• Although the science of psychology
started in the late 1800’s, the concept has
been around a lot longer.
• There was evidence of trephination
(cutting holes into a skull to let evil spirits
out) back in the stone age.
It was like a bad SAW movie!!!!
Psychology’s History
Prescientific Psychology
• Ancient Greeks
– Socrates
– Plato
These two guys thought alike
dualism - the mind is separate from the
body and continues after the body dies
-
– Aristotle
some ideas innate (nature)
monism – mind and body are connected
- knowledge results from memories of
past experiences (nurture)
Psychology’s Roots
Prescientific Psychology
• Rene Descartes – mind and body
separate; innate ideas (nature)
• Francis Bacon – founder of modern
science and the scientific method
• John Locke –
mind is a blank slate
• Empiricism –
knowledge comes from
(nurture)
experience
– Locke’s and Bacon’s ideas
Psychology’s Early Debates
Waves of Psychology
• The science of psychology has gone
through about 6 different waves since
it started.
• Waves are different ways of thinking
over time.
Wave One: Introspection
•2 Ideas:
•Structuralism - Wundt
and Titchner
•Functionalism – James
• Both used introspection –
self reflective observation
of one’s own sensations and
feelings
These guys were
considered hot, back in
the day!!!!
Wave One - Introspection
• Structuralism -
early school of
psychology that used introspection to explore
the structural elements of the human mind.
– Wilhelm Wundt (Leipzig)
• 1st Psych Lab - Reaction time experiment
– G. Stanley Hall (Baltimore)
• 1st Lab USA -Johns Hopkins University
• 1st Pres. APA
– Edward Titchner
• Introspection to study inner sensations and
mental images
Wave One - Introspection
• Functionalism
– Focused on the adaptive value of
conscious thoughts and emotions
(how they enable us to survive and
reproduce - added the importance
of the environment )
–Started by Wm. James
–Mary Calkins
–Margaret Floy Washburn
Wave Two: Gestalt Psychology
• Focused on human perceptions of the world
• The whole of an experience can be more than the sum
of its parts.
– Led by Max Wertheimer
This may seem like
one picture, but it can
be perceived as 2
different faces. Can
you find them?
Think for a moment of all the reasons that you love your mom.
If you add all those reasons up, do they equal your love for your mom?
Hopefully not!!!
Wave Three: Psychoanalysis
• Sigmund Freud - personality
theories
• Feelings come from a hidden place
in your mind called the unconscious.
• Behavior is driven by unconscious
drives and conflicts and childhood
experiences
• We protect ourselves from our
real feeling by using defense
mechanisms.
Wave Four: Behaviorism
• During this time period (early to mid 1900s), people
started to ignore how you feel inside.
• All that mattered was how you acted.
• If they could change your behavior, who cares how
you feel.
• Very popular during the conservative 1950’s when
social appearance mattered more than self
expression.
Wave Four: Behaviorism
• Behaviorism – ignored mental
processes and studied only observable
behavior
• Classical Conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
– Pavlov
– John B. Watson
– B.F. Skinner
Wave Five: Eclectic
Biopsychosocial Approach
• We are now in wave six….which is about variety.
• Psychologists pick and choose what theories to
use depending on the situation and the client.
Just like Ben 10 choosing the right alien to
fight the bad guy depending the situation.
Modern Psychology’s Three Main
Levels of Analysis
• Levels of Analysis
– Biological
– Psychological
– Social-cultural
• Biopsychosocial Approach - integrated
approach that incorporates biological,
psychological, and social-cultural levels of
analysis.
• Evaluates both nature and nurture
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
Wave 5 -Biopsychosocial
Approach is made up of 7
different perspectives.
In other words, psychologists today, pick
and choose from about 7 schools of
thought to help you with your problems.
Thus we have:
THE SEVEN MODERN SCHOOLS OF
PSYCHOLOGY
1. Biopsychology (Neuroscience)
Perspective
• All of your feelings and behaviors
have an organic root – ie. they come
from your brain, neurotransmitters,
hormones etc…
• To change behavior the biological
problem must be addressed, usually
through medication or surgery
Let us imagine for a second that your dog died
(sad but it will happen). You become
depressed. You stop eating and sleeping.
What would a psychologist from this school say
is going on and how might they help you?
2. Evolutionary Perspective
• Based on ideas of
Charles Darwin –
natural selection,
survival of the
fittest.
• Our behavior is driven
by inherited traits
from our ancestors
that help us survive How could this behavior ensured
and reproduce.
Homer’s ancestors survival?
3. Psychoanalytic Perspective
• Focuses on the
unconscious mind.
• Our behavior is
driven by our
hidden/unconscious
drives and conflicts.
• We repress many of
our true feelings and
are not aware of
them.
• In order to get
better, we must bring
forward the true
feelings we have in
our unconscious.
If a man has
intimacy issues
and cannot form
relationships
with others.
What do you
think someone
from this school
may think?
Perhaps they may
delve into the man’s
unconscious and
discover that he was
bullied when he were
younger. The bullying
may have caused fear
in getting close to
others.
4. Behavioral Perspective
Pretend that you
fail psychology
class. You become
depressed. In turn,
you begin to binge
and gain weight.
• Focuses on observable
behaviors while putting
feelings to the side.
• We behave in ways
because we have been
What do you think a
conditioned by rewards
behaviorist may do?
and punishments to act
They would probably ignore
a certain way.
the fact that you are
depressed and just focus on • To change behaviors,
your overeating.
we have to recondition
the client.
Maybe make you run a mile every time you eat over 2000 calories.
5. Humanist Perspective
• emphasizes the growth potential
of healthy people and the
individual’s potential for personal
growth.
• Ideas came from Carl Roger’s and
Abraham Maslow.
• Behavior comes from our needs
for love and acceptance and
striving to be the best we can be
- aka“self-actualization”.
• Therapists attempt to increase
awareness of a clients current
feelings and actions and
facilitate a client’s growth
I possess
the
resources to
grow
6. Cognitive Perspective
• Focuses on how we
think (encode,
process, store and
retrieve
She rejects
information)
You meet a girl…
you…don’t even
Hopes are high!!!
get digits.
• Behavior is
How do you react to the rejection?
influenced by the
way we remember
and process
information
• Cognitive Therapist
attempt to change Some react by getting back Some react by giving up
live a lonely life of
the way you think. on the horse and try again. and
solitude.
7. Social-Cultural Perspective
• Behaviors and feelings are
dictated by friends,
family, society and the
culture you live in.
• Examples:
Is this part of your
culture?
• Some cultures kiss each
other when greeting, some
just bow.
• Does your culture place
value on individual or the
group?
• In our culture is it better to
be fat or thin?
Examples of the Biopsychosocial
Approach
• How would a psychologist approach someone
with a low self-esteem, who is teased for
being over-weight?
Biological – genetic, hormones (thyroid)
Psychological – feelings of low self-esteem,
perceptions of self
Social Cultural– societies images of the “perfect
body”, influence of peers, family
• How would a psychologist approach
the problems of Andrea Yates?
Psychology’s Three Big Debates
• Nature Versus Nurture
– Are our behaviors/traits influenced more by our
genes (nature) or by our experiences (nurture)
– Ex. Intelligence- genes or home environment?
• Stability Versus Change
– Do our behaviors/traits remain stable or do they
change?
– Ex. Does a person’s shyness stay stable or could
the degree of shyness change over a life span?
• Continuity Versus Discontinuity
– Is our development over our life span smooth and
orderly (continuous) or is it abrupt (discontinuous)
– Ex. Do we learn to add 2 numbers in small steps
over time or do we just get it around the age of 4
Psychology’s Subfields
• Psychometrics – measurement of human abilities.
Ex. Creates aptitude tests like SAT, personality questionnaires
• Basic Research – research in psychology to
increase our knowledge of the field. Examples:
– Developmental psychologythroughout the human life span
– Educational psychology –
affect teaching and learning
change
how psych processes
– Personality psychology – individual traits
– Social psychology – how humans relate to one
another
Psychology’s Subfields
• Applied Research – using what you’ve learned
to help others
– Industrial/organizational psychology –
help improve performance and well-being in the workplace
– Human factors psychology – designing machines
and work environments that are best for people – ergonomics
– Counseling psychology
– assists people in problems
with work, family school (Masters Degree)
– Clinical psychology
disorders (PhD)
– treats people with psych
– Psychiatry – prescribes medicine and treats psych
disorders (Medical Doctor – M.D.)