INTRODUCTION

PSYCHOLOGY
Nuzsep Almigo

Life Before Psychology

Philosophy asks questions about the mind:
Does perception accurately reflect reality?
How is sensation turned into perception?
Ren Descartes
(1596-1650)

Problem - No scientific way

of studying problems

Physiology asks similar questions about the mind

Predict what will happen

SCIENTIFIC
Systematically observe events
METHOD
Do events support predictions

Psychology Is
Born
First Experimental Psych Lab (1879)
Focuses on the scientific study of the mind.
WW insists that Psych methods be as rigorous
as the methods of chemistry & physics.
Wilhelm Wundt
(1832-1920)

Wundts students start labs

across USA (1880-1900)
University of Leipzig
Harvard University
Yale University
Columbia University
Catholic University
Univ of Pennsylvania
Cornell University
Stanford University

Women of Psychology
Mary Calkins - student of William James at

Harvard but was not awarded a Ph.D.

Founded psych lab at Wellesley College (1891)

Maragaret Washburn - first woman to receive

Ph.D. in Psychology. Wrote The Animal Mind,
which helped begin the Behaviorist movement.

Leta Hollingworth - Debunked popular theories

that suggested women were inferior to men.

Did pioneering work on adolescent development
mental retardation & gifted children.

Psychology (pre-1920)
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
Physiologist & Perceptual Psychologist
Founder of Psychology as a Science

Introspection

Experiments

Edward Titchner (1867-1927)

Student of Wundt
Formed at Cornell

Psychology
Understanding
Mental Processes

William James (1842-1910)

Philosopher & Psychologist
Formed at Harvard

Behavioris
m

Scientific Psychology should focus on

observable behavior.
Psych

the Science of
Behavior
Mental Processes cannot
John Watson
be studied directly
(1878-1958)
Stimulus
Response
Psychology
Ivan

Psychology (1920s-1960s)
Behaviorism

Psychology
Science of Observable
Behavior

John B. Watson (1878-1958)

Behavior without Reference to Thought
The RAT & S-R Psychology
B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)
Behaviorism with a Twist
The PIDGEON & The Skinner Box

Structuralism vs Functionalism
Structuralism
Analyze consciousness into basic elements
and study how they are related
Introspection - self-observation
of ones own conscious experiences
Wilhelm Wundt

Functionalism
Investigate the function, or purpose
of consciousness rather than its structure
Leaned toward applied work
(natural surroundings)

William James
(1842-1910)

Gestalt Psychology

The whole is different than

the sum of its parts.
Phi Phenomenon

Max Wertheimer
(1880-1943)

WHY?

Illusion of movement created by

presenting visual stimuli in rapid
succession.
A reaction against Structuralism
An attempt to focus attention back
onto conscious experience
(i.e., the mind)

Freud & Psychoanalysis

Proposes the idea of the UNCONSCIOUS

Thoughts, memories & desires

exist below conscious awarenes
and exert an influence on our
behavior
Sigmund Freud
(1856-1939)

Unconscious expressed in
dreams & slips of the tongue

Psychoanalytic Theory attempts to explain

personality, mental disorders & motivation
terms of unconscious determinants of behav

Cognitive
Psychology
Cognition
the mental processes
involved in acquiring, processing,
storing & using information

Cognitive Psychologists return

to the study of learning,
memory, perception, language,
development & problem solving
Noam Chomsky
Language

Advent of computers (late 1950s) provides

a new model for thinking about the mind

Psychology (1960s1990s)
Psychology
Science of Behavior
& Mental Processes

Cognitive

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

The Dynamic Unconscious Mind
Psychoanalysis
Computers as Metaphor for Mind
Study Mind through Inferences Drawn
From Observable Behavior

Different Perspectives in Psychology

Biological Psychology
Behavioral/Clinical Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Social-Cultural Psychology

Biological Perspective
Focus
Focus
How
How the
the body
body and
and brain
brain create
create emotions,
emotions, memories,
memories,
and
and sensory
sensory experiences.
experiences.

Sample Issues
How do evolution and heredity influence behavior?
How are messages transmitted within the body?
How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?

Behavioral/Clinical Perspective
Focus
Focus
How
How we
we learn
learn from
from observable
observable responses.
responses.
How
How to
to best
best study,
study, assess
assess and
and treat
treat troubled
troubled people.
people.
Sample Issues
How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations?
What is the most effective way to alter certain behaviors?
What are the underlying causes of:
Anxiety Disorders
Phobic Disorders
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

Cognitive Perspective
Focus
Focus
How
How we
we process,
process, store
store and
and retrieve
retrieve information.
information.

Sample Issues
How do we use info in remembering and reasoning?
How do our senses govern the nature of perception?
(Is what you see really what you get?)
How much do infants know when they are born?

Social-Cultural Perspective
Focus
Focus
How
How behavior
behavior and
and thinking
thinking vary
vary across
across situations
situations
and
and cultures.
cultures.
Sample Issues
How are we, as members of different races and
nationalities, alike as members of one human family?
How do we differ, as products of different social contexts?
Why do people sometimes act differently in groups than
when alone?

Psychology is Empirical

nowledge acquired through observation

Psychologists must be skeptical
and think critically
What is the evidence?
How was it collected?

Psych conclusions based on research

NOT tradition or common sense

Psych Is Theoretically Diverse

Theory

A system of interrelated ideas used

to explain a set of observations

Biological
Clinical
Psychology Psychoanalytic
Perspective
Perspective

Dreams

Psych & Sociohistorical Context

Trends &
Issues In
Society

Advances In
Psychology

Psychology develops in both a

social & historical context
Early Psychology
Affected by
physics & physiology

Society Today
Affected by
psychological testing
(IQ, SAT, GRE)

What Causes Behavior?

a
h
e
B

r
o
vi

Behavior is Shaped by Culture

Personal Space
Value of
Education
Punctuality
Social Norms

Influence of Heredity &

Environment

Nature versus Nurture

Perception Is Subjective

Internal Information
Prior Expectations
Current Mental State
Experience

External Information
Actual Words/Actions
Image Reflected from Objects
Sound Waves

Both Determine
Our Experience
of the World

Work In Psychology (?)

Elementary/
Secondary
Schools
4.2%
Independent
Practice
33.1%
Hospitals,
Business,
Counseling,
Government or
Clinics, etc.
Consulting
22.3%
12.1%
Universities &
Colleges
27.2%

Specialties In Psychology
General/Quantitative
3.6%
Cognitive/Physio
5.2%
I/O
5.7%
Social/
Developmental
6.4%
Ed & School
19.4%

Clinical,
Community
& Counseling
51.1%

Other
8.6%

Human Behavior