The History of Psychology PDF

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Professor Steven Barnhart...

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The History of Psychology  Psychology refers to the scientific study of the mind and behavior o Scientific method is used to acquire knowledge  Researcher has question and proposes hypothesis (that should fit in the context of a scientific theory)  Researcher then makes observations or carries out experiment  Results published or presented in conference  Hard to study the mind since science measures matter/ energy and mind is neither  No organism exists in isolation and behavior is influenced by others so psychology is also social science  Experimental roots in 19th century (young science) o Wilhelm Wundt and William James credited for making psychology a scientific and academic discipline separate from philosophy  Wundt first "psychologist"; wanted to figure out components of consciousness that combine to form our conscious experience o Introspection used to make human mind like other aspects scientists studied  Used only very specific experimental conditions in which an external stimulus was designed to produce a scientifically observable (repeatable) experience of the mind o Voluntarism: free ill participants of experiments  Wundt's student Edward Titchener created idea of structuralism o Focus on contents of mental processes rather than their function  Trained observers and repeatable stimuli used to eliminate "interpretation" of results but often ended up with little agreement between individuals  William James first psychologist to propose different pov on how psychology should operate o Psychology purpose to study behavior in the world o Functionalism focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment  More interested in operation of whole mind rather than individual parts  How mind and body interacted to an organism's external environment o Agreed with introspection but needed more objective measurable methods  Structuralism influenced by chemistry and measurement; quantified aspects of mind such as sensation and perception  Functionalism influenced by biology (esp. Darwin's theory of natural selection); interested in explaining biologically how the mind functions; conscious thoughts evolving over time  Sigmund Freud Australian neurologist interested in patients who suffered "hysteria" and thought the problems arose from unconscious mind and needed to understand that in order to solve the problems

Unconscious mind accessed through dream analysis, first thoughts that cross peoples minds, slip of tongue o Psychoanalytic theory focuses on the role of a person’s unconscious, as well as early childhood experiences  Explanation to behavior/ personality o Id, ego, superego should all be in equilibrium or psychological distress arises o Freud’s psychosexual model of development includes five stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital  Model argued about now but can take from it that personality is shaped by childhood experience Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler were German psychologists who escaped to US from Nazi Germany o Credited for introducing psychologists in the US to various Gestalt principles  A major emphasis of Gestalt psychology deals with the fact that although a sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, how those parts relate to each other as a whole is often what the individual responds to in perception  Contributed to humanistic theory Learned of Freud's sexual model from lifespan development class Ivan Pavlov did early work in behavioral psychology o Studied (classical) conditioned reflex which is when subject produces unconscious reflex in response to stimulus and overtime conditioned to produce the response to different stimulus that the researcher associated with original stimulus o Classical conditioning involves learning through association  Experiment on salvia production to food and production as result of hearing food sound John B. Watson believed objective observation of mind as impossible and needed to focus on observable behavior o Helped in shift of psychology from mind to behavior Behaviorists focused on learned behavior and dominated experimental psychology for a while o Lead to research on environmental influence on human behavior B. F. Skinner a behaviorist interested in how behavior was affected by its consequences o Reinforced punishment as major factor is driving behavior o Skinner box used in research settings today (operant conditioning)  Chamber that isolates subjects from external environment and has a behavioral indicator such as button/lever; animal pushes button/lever and positive or negative reinforcement is indicated Psychologists did not like how simplistic and dumbed down behaviorism and psychoanalysis was, and therefore humanism was born Humanism focus on potential for good that is innate in all humans o

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Key proponents of humanism were Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers o Maslow proposed theory of needs in motivating behavior  As long as basic needs were met for survival, higher-level needs would begin to motivate behavior  Psychological > security > social > esteem > selfactualization o Rogers used client-centered therapy to solve issues that resulted in them seeking help  client-centered therapy involves the patient taking a lead role in the therapy session  Therapist needed to show positive regard, genuineness, empathy Behaviorism psychology based on idea that it is impossible to objectively study and of the elements of the mind so observable behavior should be studied Humanistic psychologist shifted attention from external behavior to human individual as a whole Cognitive revolution came about with technological advancements o No one exactly responsible but Noam Chomsky was influential  Wanted addition of mental functioning in behaviorism if they were going to make any meaningful contributions o Establish connection with European and American psychologists o Interdisciplinary connections made Cognitive psychology accepts the use of the scientific method and generally rejects introspection as a valid method of investigation; explicitly acknowledges the existence of internal mental states o Memory, language, perception Cultural psychology is understudied and remains a descriptive science rather than a cause and effect Francis Cecil Sumner first black PhD in psychology, lead to generations of black psychologists o Early diverse psychologists worked to challenge intelligence testing and promote innovative educational methods for kids  George I. Sanchez tested this with Mexican American kids: language and cultural barriers keeping children from equal opportunity  Mamie Phipps Clark and Kenneth Clark famous for black doll preference  Racial inferiority develop young Question of mind shifted from philosophers to distinct science thanks to Wundt (structuralist: cognitive experience broken down to components) and James (functionalist; mental activities as adaptive responses to environment). Freud came about believing the unconscious mind was key to understanding conscious behavior (psychoanalytical theory). Gestalt psychology influential in Europe and focused on sensation and perception. Behaviorism studied external behavior and deemphasized unobservable mental processes. Humanism emerged in opposition and focused on potential of all people for good. Emergence of neuroscience and computer science

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shifted behavior science to more mental processes and cognition was crucial to true understanding of behavior In early days, psychology was study of mind or mental processes, shifted to study of behavior, then another shift to focus on mental processes as necessary to understanding behavior...