Brief history of Psychology PDF

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Chapter 1 – Introducing Psychology Section 1 – Why Study Psychology Psychology can provide insight into behavior and give one the chance to acquire practical information A. Overview of Psychology a. Psychology – the scientific study of behavior and mental processes that are tested through scientific research b. Psychologists differ in how much importance they place on specific types of behavior i. They do agree that the study of behavior must be systematic B. Goals of Psychology a. Description – 1st goal is to describe or gather information about the behavior begin studied and to present what is known b. Explanation – they seek to explain why. Hypothesis – an educated guess about some phenomenon. Theory – a complex explanation based on findings from a large number of experimental studies. Theories change as more information is gathered. c. Prediction – 3rd goal is to predict, form the knowledge gathered, what things will do, think or feel in various situations. By studying past behaviors, future behavior can be predicted. d. Influence – Basic Science – research as compared to Applied Science – discovering ways to use scientific findings to accomplish practical goals. Dr. Zimbardo Video #2 C. The Scientific Basis of Psychology a. Psychologists rely on the Scientific Method – a general approach to gathering information and answering questions so that errors and biases are minimized i. Identify a problem or question ii. Formulate a hypothesis iii. Collect data though observation and experimentation iv. Analyze the data Complete Section 1 Review Section 2 – A Brief History of Psychology A. Origins of Psychology a. 5th and 6th century BC – the Greeks i. began to study human behavior and decided that people’s lives were influenced more by their minds than by gods b. Mid-1500’s – Nicholaus Copernicus

i. Earth was not the center of the universe, during the Renaissance period, experimentation through observation c. 17th Century – Rene Descartes i. Others popularized dualism – the mind and body are separate and distinct ii. Descartes said there was a link, he assumed that the mind and body influence one another to create a person’s experiences B. Historical Approaches a. Structuralism i. Established modern psychology as a separate formal field of study ii. Wilhelm Wundt started this iii. Structuralism – the study of the basic elements of human experience iv. Introspection – a method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings b. Functionalism i. William James – the fathers of psychology in America ii. Functionalism – the study of how animals and people adapt to their environments c. Inheritable Traits i. Sir Francis Galton ii. Study of seeing if genetics/hereditary factors played a role in abilities, character and behavior iii. Debate is still ongoing regarding genetics versus environment d. Gestalt Psychology i. A group of German psychologists disagreed with the principles of structuralism and behaviorism ii. Believed that the whole pattern or Gestalt, was important C. Contemporary Approaches a. Psychoanalytic Psychology i. Sigmund Freud ii. Interested in the unconscious mind, beneath the surface are primitive biological urges that are in conflict with the requirements of society and morality iii. Believed that unconscious motivations and conflicts were responsible for most human behavior iv. Had a method for indirectly studying unconscious processes 1. Free Association – a patient says everything that comes to mind, no matter how absurd or irrelevant it may seem, without attempting to produce logical or meaningful statements 2. No editing or censoring their thoughts v. Psychoanalysis – the study of how unconscious motives and conflicts determine human behavior b. Behavioral Psychology

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i. Ivan Pavlov 1. Dog experiment with salivation/Classical Conditioning ii. John B. Watson 1. Believed that psychologists should only deal with observable facts of behavior 2. Believed that all behavior was a result of conditioning and occurs because a stimuli is present iii. B.F. Skinner 1. Introduced the concept of reinforcement a. Reinforcement – a response to a behavior that increase the likelihood the behavior will be repeated b. Wrote Walden 2 Humanistic Psychology i. Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Rollo May 1. Human nature is evolving and self-directed 2. Environment and outside forces are just the background to our own growth, they don’t influence us 3. Each person is unique and has a self-concept and potential to develop fully Cognitive Psychology i. Jean Piaget 1. Focuses on how we process, store and use information and how this information influences our thinking, language, problem solving, and creativity 2. Behavior is influenced by a variety of mental processes like perception, memories and expectations Biological Psychology i. Emphasizes the impact of biology on our behavior 1. Study how the brain, CNS, hormones and genetics influence our behavior 2. Use PET and CAT scans as tools Sociocultural Psychology i. The study of the influence of cultural and ethnic similarities and differences on behavior and social functioning ii. Our knowledge, ways of thinking, feeling and behaving are dependent on the culture we belong to Complete Section 2 Review

Section 3 – Psychology as a Profession A. What is a Psychologist a. Psychologist – people who have been trained to observe, analyze and evaluate behavior i. Usually have a doctorate in Pysch

ii. Psychiatrist differs in that it is a specialty of medicine. They are medical students who do their residency in a psych ward or psych hospital b. Clinical Psychologist – help people deal with their personal problems i. Work in mental hospitals, private offices, prisons and clinics ii. ½ of psychologists specialize in clinical psychology c. Counseling Psychologist – usually work in schools or industrial firms i. Help people adjust to the challenges of life ii. Most states require a doctorate to be a clinical and counseling psychologist d. Other types of Psychologists i. School psychologists – help students with emotional and learning problems ii. Social Psychologists – study groups and how they influence behavior iii. Developmental Psychologists – study physical, emotional, cognitive and social changes that occur throughout life 1. They study children, the elderly and the process of dying for example iv. Educational Psychologists – deal with topics related to teaching children and young adults, such as memory, intelligence, teaching methods, and develop new instructional devices. v. Experimental Psychologists – perform research to understand how humans (and animals) operate physically and psychologically Complete Section 3 Review Complete Chapter 1 Review (Reviewing Vocab, Recalling Facts)

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