Transcript The History and Scope of Psychology

The Early History and Scope
of Psychology
Define Psychology
•The science of
behavior and
mental processes
Early History (around 387 B.C.)
• Socrates, and his student
Plato (Greek Philosophers)
–The mind and the body
are two separate entities,
and do not influence
each other.
• Socrates, and Plato believed that:
• Human behavior and knowledge is
pre-disposed and genetically built-in
(Nature).
• IE. If you are intelligent, you were born with a
smart brain. If you are athletic, you were born
with strong muscles and balance. If you are
violent, depressed, or forgetful, you were born
with a brain disorder.
Aristotle (335 B.C.)
The mind and
the body are
inseparable and
each influences
the other with
regards to
behavior.
• Aristotle (Greek Philosopher)
• Human behavior and knowledge
is not preexisting; it grows from
the experiences stored in our
memories (Nurture).
• IE. You are violent because you
watched it on television. You are smart
because you studied. You are kind
because you were loved.
• Rene Descartes (French Philosopher)
(1600s)
• The body and the mind are separate
entities, though they do interact and
communicate through the “spirits” of the
brain, and the “passages” of the body.
Knowledge is inborn as well.
•Early dissections led to the
early understanding of
mind/body connections
(biological psychology).
1600s
John Locke (British Philosopher)
• Tabula rasa (Empiricism) – literally
means “blank slate”
• Theory: the mind is at birth a "blank slate"
without rules for processing data, and that data
is added and processed based solely by our
sensory experiences.
• It also emphasized the individual's freedom to
author his or her own soul.
• IE. There are no inherited notions regarding
the world. Therefore, my decision to drink or
not to drink is based solely on my sensory
experience of the taste and effects of a glass
of wine, not my parent’s alcoholism. My
grades in school and my professional goals
are based on my study and work habits, not
my parent’s idiocy.
1600s
•Francis Bacon (English Scientist)
• Stressed the scientific
principles of
observation and
experimentation when
evaluating human
behavior
•Wilhelm Wundt
• 1879 establishes the first
psychology laboratory at the
University of Leipzig,
Germany.
• This is generally considered
the starting point of
Psychology as a science.
Psychology Comes to America
• G. Stanley Hall (1846-1924)
– A student of Wundt
– Establishes 1st American laboratory at Johns
Hopkins (1883)
– Founded 1st American Psych. journal (1887)
– Founded American Psychological AssociationAPA (1892)
1880s
• Edward Titchener
(Structuralism)
• A student of Wundt
• Measured and compared individuals
perceptions of smells, sights, memories,
etc., Introspection
• Provides direct contact with the mind.
• Structuralists break human
experiences down into their
smallest parts in order to
understand the entire
behavior.
• William James (turn of the
century) (Functionalism)
• Focused on the physical
functions of the brain and the
body, and how they worked
together
• Also, reintroduced the Darwinist theory of
human evolution, and that body and brain
functions evolved as humans learned
about and experienced the world
Psychoanalytic Perspective
• Psychoanalysts believe
that the unconscious
mind (a part of our
mind that we do not
have conscious control
over or access to)
controls much or our
thought and action.
– Sigmund Freud
• IE. An introverted person avoids
social situations because of a
repressed memory of trauma in
childhood involving an acutely
embarrassing experience at a party.
Behavioral Perspective
• Behavioral
psychologists explain
human thought and
behavior by looking
strictly at observable
behaviors and what
reaction organisms get
in response to specific
behaviors.
– Ivan Pavlov, John
Watson, B.F. Skinner
• IE. An introverted person may be
withdrawn and shy because they
are punished for speaking at home.
An extrovert may get monetary
rewards for garnering attention.
Humanistic Perspective
• Humanists believe that we
choose most of our
behaviors and these choices
are guided by physiological,
emotional, or spiritual needs.
Humanists stress free will
and individual choice.
– Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers
• IE. An introverted person chooses
to limit social contact with others
because he or she finds that social
needs are better satisfied by
contact with a few close friends
rather than large groups.
Biopsychology
(Neuroscience)
• Biopsychologists
explain human
behavior in terms
of biological
processes,
including
genetics,
hormones, and
brain
(dys)functions.
• IE. An introverted person may lack
a certain gene for sociability, or an
extroverted person may be
producing an overabundance of a
particular hormone. There may be
a dysfunctional frontal lobe.
Evolutionary Perspective
• Evolutionary psychologists
(sociobiologists) examine human behavior
in terms of natural selection and survival
traits.
– Charles Darwin
• IE. An extroverted person carries a social
genetic trait based upon the need to make
friends or allies, thus increasing their
chances of survival. An introverted person
may have a genetic quality that precludes
isolation as a way to avoid predators, thus
increasing their chances for survival.
Cognitive Perspective
• Cognitive psychologists
explain human behavior
in terms of how we
interpret, process, and
remember environmental
events.
• How we view the world
plays a big role in what
we do!
Stimulus
Mental process
Behavior
• IE. An introvert does not socialize
much because they interpret friendship
as pity, or whispered conversations as
criticism. An extrovert may think that
the world is a happy and safe place,
and therefore all people are potential
friends.
Social-Cultural
Perspective
• Sociocultural psychologists:
emphasize
the
influence of
groups and
culture on
the way that
we think and
act.
• IE. An female introvert lives in a
society where women are not allowed
to talk, vote, or own land. An extrovert
lives in a society where gluttony and
extravagance is encouraged.
Fields in Psychology
What do people do with a
degree in Psychology?
…what can I do with a
degree in Psychology?
Fields in Psychology
• Applied v. Basic Psychology:
–Applied refers to practical and
interactive psychology.
– the use of psychological principles and theories to
overcome problems in other areas
–Basic refers mainly to the
research fields of psychology.
Therapy
• Mental and
physical
rehabilitation
regarding mental
disorders.
• Can include medications, in/out
patient services, counseling, etc.
School
• Assisting
school-aged
children,
adolescence
issues,
counseling,
etc.
Clinical
• Diagnosis and
treatment of
troubled people.
• Career,
marriage, stress
counseling.
Industrial/Organizational
Productivity, job stress,
motivation, automation.
Practical
issues of
selecting and
training a
workforce
Forensic Psychology
• Provide advice to legislators,
judges, correctional officers,
lawyers and the police
• Called upon, for example, to serve as an expert
witness, diagnose and treat incarcerated and
probation offenders; and screen and evaluate
personnel in the law enforcement and judicial
systems
Sports Psychology
• Issues and techniques of
sport-specific
psychological
assessment and mental
skills
• Goal-setting,
visualization and
performance planning,
self-confidence, eating
disorders, overtraining
and burnout counseling,
team building,
sportsmanship
Developmental
• Study mental
and physical
growth from
prenatal through
childhood,
adolescence,
adulthood, and
into old age.
Social
• Study how people influence
each others attitudes,
prejudices, norms,
interpersonal attractions, etc.
Cognitive
• Experiment with
how we
perceive, think,
and solve
problems
Experimental
• Conduct
research on
learning,
memory,
sensation,
perception,
cognition,
motivation,
etc.
Major Research Areas pie
chart
Careers in Psychology: Percentage of
Psychology Degrees by Specialty
Current Perspectives in
Psychology
Woman and Minorities
Few woman and minorities in early 1900’s
Women
 Margaret Floy Washburn - first PhD 1894
- Mary Calkins - first president of APA
- Currently woman get about 70% of PhD’s
African Americans
 Francis Sumner - first PhD in 1920
- Kenneth B. Clark- first PhD from Colombia in 1940 - brown
vs. white doll study - helped with desegregation of public
schools
What is the
difference
between a
psychologist
and a
psychiatrist?
Psychology v. Psychiatry
• Psychiatry is the study of mental disorders.
• Psychiatrists are medical doctors and can
prescribe medications to treat the physical
and mental causes of psychological
disorders.