Transcript Power Point - TeacherWeb

Origins and History
of Psychology
AP Psychology
Gloucester High School
Mr. Perreault
Psychology
• The science of behavior and mental processes
(Meyers 7)
• psyche: Greek: Mind
• ology: Study of
• Study of the mind
Is there a difference between brain
and mind?
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Brain
Physical organ
Survival
Storage of memories
Processing sensory
input
• Thinking
• Mind
• Non physical part of
brain that encompasses
all of our experiences,
emotions and thoughts
• “Makes us who we are”.
How We Got to Modern Psychology
• Aristotle: the four humors (bodily fluids)
• The color and viscosity of these fluids dictate
person’s state
• Right thought, wrong reason
The Dark Ages: When The Cure Was Worse
Than the Disease
• Trepanning
• Chiseling the skull to release the evil spirits
• Used for migraines, seizures, and all sorts of
disorders
Early Attempts
Belief that the brain reflected the heavens
Brain was divided into zones controlling
different functions
Thoughts flowed like water through the
brain: Sensory, Reasoning, and Memory
Time, Your Brain: A User’s Guide, 2009
Phrenology
• Belief that the size and
shape of a person’s skull
dictated skills,
personality and
aptitude. Done by
“reading” the bumps on
the skull
• Believed they had
located the location of
individual character
traits
Greene, Sanford. Psychology: A way to Grow, 175. 2005
The Transition to Modernity
• Feel free to applaud
• https://screen.yahoo.com/medieval-barber000000006.html
Enlightenment
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Rebirth of reason
Anatomy: A forbidden discipline by the church
Anatomists turned criminals
While they could begin explaining how the
body worked, they were at a loss to explain
the human psyche
Religion vs. Reason
• Spirit possession
• Superstition
• Like the Mind of
God, mysterious and
unknowable
• Rene Descartes
Philosopher,
Mathematician, and
all around cool guy
argued that
sensations and
behaviors were a
result of activity in
the nervous system
Origins of Modern Psychology
• Developed from various
branches and ideas
• Structuralism
• Functionalism
• Gestalt
• Behaviorism
• Psychoanalysis
http://www.caspercollege.edu/psychology/images/psychology_01.jpg
Scientific Message
http://www.tomatosphere.org/teacher-resources/teachers-guide/images/scientific-method.jpg
Structuralism
• Wilhelm Wundt
• Identifying the basic
structures of the brain
and the elements of
conscious thought
• Introspection: reporting
one’s conscious mental
experiences
http://www.fidnet.com/~weid/wundt.gif
Functionalism
• William James
• Critique of Structuralism
• Looked at why the brain
adapted traits (what
function did they serve)?
• How do people adapt or
not in real life not
laboratory
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/William_James_b1842c.jpg
Gestalt Psychology
• German: Form or Whole
• Looking at the whole instead of the parts
• The organization of sensations into
perceptions
• The whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts
Behaviorism
• True and objective science of psychology
should only deal with observable events: John
B. Watson
• Stimuli from the environment and the
subject’s response to the stimuli
• Classical and Operant Conditioning
Psychoanalysis
• Founded by Sigmund Freud
• Disorders are caused by unconscious
thoughts, feelings and memories
• Behavior is driven by the Id, Ego, Super Ego
interactions as well as unconscious
motivations
Today’s Perspectives
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Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
Behavioral
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Humanism
Sociocultural
Evolutionary
Trait Theory
Biological View
• Examines physiological impact of our brains
on personality, preference, behavior and
ability
• Behavior is a result of heredity
• Neurobiology
• Nature v. Nurture: NATURE
Developmental
• Examines the changes that occur over our life
• Environmental factors are more important
than biological factors
• Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
• We cannot perform certain tasks until we hit
certain biological markers, however, even
when those markers are reached, without
adequate stimulation from the environment
we will not be able to demonstrate those
behaviors or abilities
Cognitive View
• Amalgam of Structuralists, Functionalists, and
Gestalt
• Behavior results from how we process
information, thoughts, expectations,
perceptions, and memories
• Basic language is prewired
Psychodynamic View
• Examines the dynamic relationship between
the conscious and unconscious
• Behavior is motivated by irrational desires
generated by the unconscious/Id
• Movement of mental energy from
Libido(sexual energy) into other behaviors
Humanism
• Focuses on our ability to grow, reach our
potential and exercise free will
• Positive view of humanity
• Criticized due to its lack of empirical data
Behaviorism
• Behavior is based on our reactions to stimuli
not internal processes
• Classical Conditioning: We learn how to
respond to stimuli
• Operant Conditioning: We learn how to
behave based on the reinforcement of
behavior
Sociocultural View
• Emerging theory
• Focuses on interaction of culture and the
development of the individual
• “Parents, caregivers, peers and the culture at
large were responsible for the development of
higher order functions.” Kendra Cherry
• Until recently, virtually all psychologists were
WASPs
• Reveals the problem of bias and cultural
perspective
Evolutionary
• Based on Darwin’s Natural Selection
• Behaviors and mental processes have evolved
to serve various functions
• Those with benefit remain and are passed
down
• But humans have developed and adapted
physiological structures and psychological
responses to suit their environment and needs
Trait Theory
• Trait: A characteristic pattern of behavior or a
disposition to feel and act (Meyers)
• Behavior is a result of an individual’s unique
combination of traits
http://education-portal.com/cimages/multimages/16/Hans_Eysencks_4_Personality_Types.gif
Shift in Focus
• Modern technology has allowed for greater
biological understanding
• Neuroscience, Evolutionary, and Cognitive
approaches have been making great strides in
determining roots of problems
• Less “scientific” disciplines have become less
dominant in the field
• A healthy balance of the two is probably going
to be the “ideal” approach (eventually).