What is Psychology

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What is Psychology?

• The science of behavior and the mind
• behavior - observable actions of a person or
  animal
• mind - thoughts, feelings, sensations,
  perceptions, memories, dreams, motives and other
  subjective experiences
• science
• an objective way to answer questions
• based on observable facts / data and well
  described methods

2
What is Psychology?

• A set of questions about mental functioning
• trace back to philosophy
• Aristotle asked about memory, personality,
  emotions, etc.
• A set of theories and procedures for asking and
  answering questions
• the scientific method
• evolved over centuries, first in physics
• A product of history
• philosophy asked many of the basic questions
• physiology used similar methods

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Philosophical Developments
BIG

• A Question How are mind and body
  related?

• Dualism - body and soul are separate but
  interrelated
• origins in medieval religion
• soul is seat of intellectual function and will
• mind is product of the soul
• mind not subject to scientific inquiry
• to challenge this was punishable by death

4
Philosophical Developments
BIG

• A Question How are mind and body
  related?

• Rene Descartes (1596-1650) - modified dualism
• since animals have no soul, much behavior does
  not require soul
• the body can therefore control much behavior
• led him to study reflexes
• the souls main function is thought, a uniquely
  human attribute

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Philosophical Developments
BIG

• A Question How are mind and body
  related?

• Materialism Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
• mind is a product of the brain
• soul is not involved in human behavior
• Empiricism
• knowledge and intellect are acquired
• sensory experiences produce elementary ideas
• elementary ideas become associated into complex
  thought and ideas

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Philosophical Developments
BIG

• Another Question Empiricism vs.
  Nativism

• Nativism is the view that elementary ideas are
  innate
• If knowledge is innate
• What is the purpose of education?
• Can intellect be changed by experience?
• Are abilities determined by our genes or our
  experiences?
• This is known as Nature vs. Nurture
• appears throughout modern psychology

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Foundations of Modern Psychology

• Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
• Theory of natural selection (1859)
• physical characteristics evolve through natural
  selection
• behavioral patterns also influence selection
• inborn knowledge and behavioral tendencies with
  survival value are passed on
• Human beings are part of nature and can be
  understood through the methods of science

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Foundations of Modern Psychology

• Darwins theory encouraged scientific inquiry
• 19th century developments in physiology
  demonstrated the approach to use
• based on scientific methods, controlled
  laboratory experiments
• influential beliefs from early physiology
• reflexology - all human behaviors occur through
  reflexes
• localization of function - specific structures of
  the brain serve specific functions in the control
  of mental experiences and behavior

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Foundations of Modern Psychology

• Separated from philosophy in 19th century
• influences from physiology remain
• Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
• Leipzig, Germany
• wrote the first psychology textbook
• applied laboratory techniques to study of the
  mind
• structuralism - identify atoms of the mind
• focused on basic sensory and perceptual processes
  
• measured reaction times

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Other Pioneers

• Edward Titchener (1867-1927)
• Wundts student, professor at Cornell University
• William James (1842-1910)
• started psychology at Harvard in 1870s
• opposed Wundt and Titcheners approach
• functionalism - influenced by Darwin to focus on
  how behaviors help us adapt to the environment
• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
• Austrian physician that focused on illness
• psychoanalytic theory of mental disorders

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Other Pioneers

• Alfred Binet (1857-1911)
• French intelligence researcher
• developed first intelligence test
• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
• Russian physiologist
• discovered conditioned reflexes
  
• B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
• American psychologist at Harvard
• studied learning and effect of reinforcement
• behaviorism

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Perspectives

• Perspective is a way of viewing phenomena
• Psychology has multiple perspectives
• ethological
• biological
• psychoanalytic
• cognitive
• cross- cultural
• social

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Ethology

• The study of animal behavior in the natural
  environment rather than in a lab setting
• Influenced by Darwin and the emphasis on innate,
  adaptive behavior patterns
• European approach to studying behavior founded by
  animal researchers, Lorenz and Tinbergen

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Biological Perspective

• Study the physiological mechanisms in the brain
  and nervous system that organize and control
  behavior
• Focus may be at various levels
• individual neurons
• areas of the brain
• specific functions like eating, emotion or
  learning
• Interest in behavior distinguishes biological
  psychology from many other biological sciences

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Clinical Perspective

• View of behavior based on experience treating
  patients
• Psychoanalytic approach (Sigmund Freud )
• both a method of treatment and a theory of the
  mind
• behavior reflects combinations of conscious and
  unconscious influences
• drives and urges within the unconscious component
  of mind influence thought and behavior
• early childhood experiences shape unconscious
  motivations

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Clinical Perspective

• View of behavior based on experience treating
  patients
• Humanistic approach
• developed by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
• behavior reflects innate actualization
• focus on conscious forces and self perception
• More positive view of basic forces than Freuds

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Cultural Psychology

• The study of psychological differences among
  people living in different cultural groups
• How are peoples thoughts, feelings and behavior
  influenced by their culture?
• What are the common elements across culture? Are
  these innate?

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Cognitive Perspective

• How is knowledge acquired, organized, remembered,
  and used to guide behavior ?
• Influences include
• Piaget - studied intellectual development
• Chomsky - studied language
• Cybernetics - science of information processing

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The Profession of Psychology

• American Psychological Association had 52
  divisions in 1998
• Some represent areas of training and
  specialization (e.g., developmental, clinical)
• Some are applied (i.e., teaching in psychology,
  psychology and the law)

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Areas of Specialization

• Clinical
• abnormal behavior and psychological disorders
• psychologist vs. psychiatrist
• Health psychology
• psychological factors in physical health
• Counseling
• dealing with normal life situations
• provide guidance

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Areas of Specialization

• Developmental
• psychological change over the life span
• social, cognitive, personality
• School
• counseling and guidance in school settings
• Educational
• learning and teaching

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Areas of Specialization

• Psychobiology
• brain and behavior
• studied at many levels
• often uses animals as research model
• Experimental
• basic laboratory focus
• animals or humans
• learning, memory, motivation
• Cognitive
• experimental
• human memory, perception, etc.

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Areas of Specialization

• Social
• social influences on cognition and emotion
• attitudes and beliefs
• Personality
• individual differences
• perception by others
• Industrial/organizational
• people and work
• job satisfaction
• training and selection

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Professional Work Settings

• Colleges and universities
• Clinical settings
• Elementary and secondary schools
• Business
• Government