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Psychology 101

What is psychology?

Were does psychology come from?

How was psychology born?

Who were the first psychologists?

What are the main psychological theories?


Psychology is

The study of the mind and behavior. The discipline


embraces all aspects of the human experience from the
functions of the brain to the actions of nations, from child
development to care for the aged. In every conceivable
setting from scientific research centers to mental healthcare
services, "the understanding of behavior" is the enterprise of
psychologists. (APA)

memory, perception; intelligence, language, and thought;


creativity, sensation, emotions, learning process.

Practical applications

Understand Measure - Explain


The Field of Psychology

Biopsychology Nervous system influence on behavior


Clinical Psychology Asses and treat mental illness
Cognitive Psychology How do people think and learn?
Comparative Psychology Focuses on animal behavior
Developmental Psychology How do people grow and change?
Educational Psychology Look into how people learn
Forensic Psychology Provide testimony or advice
Human Factors Psychology Workplace
Personality Psychology Study how personality develops
Social Psychology Perception and interaction with others
Sports Psychology Motivation and athletic performance
Psychology's Main Questions

Our conducts are caused by internal processes or by


Person-Situation situational factors?

Nature-Nurture Are we born or do we become?

Stability-Change Are we condemned to be a certian way or can we change?

Diversity-Universality Are all human beings the same?

How do biological processes connect with our thoughs and


Mind-Body feelings?
Philosophy: Where it all comes from

Since Antiquity, people have


wondered about human behavior
and have tried to provide
explanations.

Socrates: People act immorally


because they lack knowledge.

Plato: Moral Psychology (rational,


spirited and appetitive).

Aristotle: Wrote about


perception, thinking and soul-
body relationship.
Philosophy: where it all comes from

Descartes (1596-1650): I think, therefore I am or Cartesian


Dualism. Wrote about the connection of body and mind.
Voluntary and involuntary behavior.

John Locke (1632-1704): All knowledge comes from experience.


The mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa).

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)


Origin of Species (1859): All species on earth change over time, and
that process is governed by natural selection.
The Descent of Man (1871): Human beings are descended from
animal ancestors.
Biographical Sketch of an Infant (1877): Wrote about the
development of his eldest child. It is a milestone of developmental
psychology.
Psychology
A Scientific Endeavor

Wilhelm Wundt a.k.a. The father of psychology

Opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the


University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879.

Marked the birth of the new psychology.

His greatest contribution was to show that psychology


could be a valid experimental science.
Structuralism

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) and

Eduard B. Titchener (1867-1927)

The analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind.


Studied thoughts, images and feelings. They wanted to
know how these elements interacted.

Conscious mental states could be scientifically studied


using introspection:
When we reflect on our thoughts, emotions, and memories
and examine what they mean, we are engaging in
introspection.

Proved to be too subjective.


Functionalism

William James (1842-1910)

Reacted against structuralism: Argued that the atoms of


experience (pure sensations without association) that
Titchener talked about did not exist in real life experience.

Focused on the function or purpose of consciousness and how


it serves the organism in adapting to its environment.

Stream of consciousness: images, perceptions and emotions


cannot be separated because consciousness is always flowing
and changing.

Video
Behaviorism

John B. Watson (1878-1958)


The whole idea of consciousness, of mental life, is simply a
superstition.
One cannot see or define what the conscious mind is.

Psychological theory that ONLY studies behavior that can


be observed and measured.

Human behavior is learned; thus all behavior can be


unlearned and replaced by another.
Behaviorism

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)


Russian physiologist who went on to win the 1904 Nobel Prize for
his work studying digestive processes.

While studying digestion in dogs Pavlov noted an interesting


occurrence that led him to discover classical
conditioning.

It remains important today for numerous applications,


including behavioral modification and mental health
treatment.

Funny Video
Pavlovs Dog

1. Pavlov noted that the dog


salivated at the sight of food. This
reflex is hard wired into the
dog.
Food = Unconditioned Stimulus
Salivation = Unconditioned Response

2. Any object or event which the


dogs learnt to associate with
food would trigger the same
response.
Lab Assistant
1. Neutral Stimulus / NO response
2. Conditioned Stimulus / Conditioned Response
Pavlovs Dog
Behaviorism

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)


Radical Behaviorist
Thought that free will was simply an illusion. All human action,
was the direct result of conditioning.

He added another important concept to classical


conditioning => Operant Conditioning and Reinforcement
Actions that are followed by good consequences are
reinforced and therefore those behaviors are more likely to
occur again in the future. Behaviors that result in negative
consequences, on the other hand, become less likely to occur
again.
Behaviorism

The Operant Conditioning Chamber


aka The Skinner Box

When a lab rat presses a blue


button, he receives a food pellet
as a reward, but when he presses
the red button he receives a mild
electric shock. As a result, he
learns to press the blue button
but avoid the red button.

Funny video
Homework

Bring three everyday examples of classical conditioning.


Write them down on your notebook and be ready to explain
to your classmates.
Psychodynamic Theory

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)


Most influential and controversial thinkers of the twentieth
century
Freuds work has shaped societys views of childhood,
personality, sexuality and therapy.

He concluded that most of his patients difficulties were due


to mental rather than physical problems.

Human beings are not as rational as we think. Our behavior


is motivated by instincts and unconscious impulses.

His research is based on case studies and clinical


observations; rather than empirical, scientific research.
Psychodynamic Theory

Psychoanalysis
The talking cure + free association + dreams

Unconscious: A reservoir of
feelings, thoughts, urges and
memories outside of our conscious
awareness.

Nearly all of our impulses are


sexual and aggressive in nature.
Because we cannot accept them
in our conscious, thoughts find
their expression in dreams, slips of
the tongue that appear as
accidents, and even jokes.
Theory of
Personality

Id - The personality component made up of unconscious


psychic energy that works to satisfy basic urges, needs and
desires.

Ego - The ego is the part of personality that mediates the


demands of the id, the superego and reality. The ego
prevents us from acting on our basic urges (created by the
id), but also works to achieve a balance with our moral and
idealistic standards (created by the superego).

Superego - The component of personality composed of our


internalized ideals that we have acquired from our parents
and from society. The superego works to suppress the urges
of the id and tries to make the ego behave morally rather
than realistically.
Psychosexual Development
Psychosexual Fixations
Psychodynamic Theory: Criticisms

Does not focus on observable behavior. Most of his theory


cannot be proven or disproven. Small sample of patients,
including himself. Treated only rich women.

Sexist
Penis envy
Thought that women had an underdeveloped superego and
would always be morally inferior to men.

Psychodynamic theory currently concentrates on the study


of memory, perception, and thinking in our unconscious
mind.
Carl Jung
Alfred Adler
Videos
Humanistic Theory (Humanism)

1950s 1960s

Reacted against behaviorism and psychoanalysis.


Thought these were pessimistic and deterministic.

What about free will?

People are able to control their own choices and


destinies to achieve full human potential.

Growth and self-actualization are key motivators of


human behavior.
Humanistic Theory (Humanism)
Abraham Maslow (1908-
1970)
Looked at development of
healthy individuals.

People are motivated to fulfill


basic needs before moving
on to other, more advanced
needs.

Problems
Used small samples in
research.
Biopsychology (Neurobiology)
Studies how the brain and
neurotransmitters influence our
behaviors, thoughts and
feelings.

Combination of basic
psychology and neuroscience.
Influences of genetics and
chemical imbalances on our
behavior.

Anatomy & Biology determine


behavior.
Cognitive Theory

Cognition literally means knowing.

Studies how we attend, perceive, think, remember, and


solve problems. It also looks at how these thought
processes influence how we understand and interact
with the world.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)


Theory of child cognitive development
Small research sample
Influenced curriculum design
Cognitive Theory
Gestalt
Laws of Perceptual Organization

Law of Similarity: When parts of the configuration are


perceived similar, they are perceived as belonging
together.

Law of Proximity: Elements that are near each other will be


perceived as part of the same configuration.

Law of Closure: People tend to close the open edges or fill in


gaps.

Law of Continuity: People link individual elements together


so they form a continuous pattern.
Sociocultural Psychology

Seeks to understand human behavior and personality


development by examining the rules of the social groups
and subgroups in which the individual is a member.

Race and ethnicity, religion, gender, social class, family


traditions, peer groups, and age are some of the
subgroups that may influence someone's behavior
Homework

Research Methods in Psychology


Case Studies
Interview
Naturalistic Observation
Experimental Research
Surveys

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