What is Psychology? The SCIENCE that seeks to answer how and why we think, feel, and act the way we...

What is Psychology?

• The SCIENCE that seeks to answer how and why we think, feel, and act the way we do

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What is Psychology NOT?

• The study of psychology does not give us “the purpose of life.”

• It does not replace faith and morals.

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“Pre-Science” Psychology

• 400-350 B.C.• Plato: Character & intelligence are

largely inherited; certain ideas are inborn.

• Aristotle: Everything of the mind comes 1st from the external world

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“Pre-Science” Psychology

• Early 1600s• Rene Descartes: “Cogito ergo sum”• Some ideas are inborn• “Dualism”• Father of modern philosophy

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“Pre-Science” Psychology

• Late 1600s• John Locke• Rejected the notion of

inborn ideas• Proponent of “tabula rasa”

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“Pre-Science” Psychology

• Late 1600s• Thomas Hobbes• Human behavior is directed by

self-interest• Psychological “hedonism”

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“Pre-Science” Psychology

• Late 1700s• Franz Mesmer• “Animal magnetism”• Precursor of hypnosis

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“Pre-Science” Psychology

• Early 1800s

• Francis Gall

• “Phrenology”

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Phrenology9

The Birth of the Science of Psychology

• Late 1800s• Wilhelm Wundt• Father of Experimental

Psychology• University of Leipzig

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Early “Schools” of Psychology

“Structuralism” vs. “Functionalism”

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“Structuralism”• Wundt & his graduate student, Titchener• Titchener, late 1800s, lab at Cornell • Idea: engage people in introspection; have

them report their sensations/feelings• Learn about “structural” elements of the mind

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“Functionalism”• William James, late 1800s• How do our mental and behavioral

processes enable us to survive, adapt and flourish?

• Heavily influenced by Darwin, 1859• 1st psychology textbook: Principles of

Psychology

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A “Taste” of Psychology History”

• What would the structuralists ask?

• What would the functionalists ask?

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“Functionalism”• G. Stanley Hall, late 1800s• Graduate student of William James• Focused on childhood development and

evolutionary theory• First President of the American

Psychological Association (APA)

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“Early Sexist Views!”• Mary Culkins, James’ graduate student• 1890, Harvard denied her a Ph.D.• 1st female president of APA in 1905• Pioneering memory researcher

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First Female to Get a Ph.D in Psychology

• Margaret Washburn• Ph.D. advisor was Titchener (Structuralism)• “The Animal Mind”• 2nd female president of APA in 1921

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Is It the Same or Different?

• Weber and Fechner• 2-point sensory threshhold• “just-noticeable-difference”

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I Wonder What Happens if…?

• Pierre Flourens (mid 1800s)• Used lesion (ablation) method

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Broca’s Aphasia

• Paul Broca (mid 1800s)• Studied individuals who had strokes

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Cookie Theft Picture

• Broca's Aphasia

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Operationalization

• Ebbinghaus (late 1800s)• First to study mental processes in a

measurable way• Non-sense syllables: CAZ, KIB, BLE• Pioneer of memory studies• Established a “forgetting curve”

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?• Ivan Pavlov, early 1900s• Pioneered the study of learning• Classical conditioning

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?• E. L. Thorndike, mid 1900s• Law of Effect• Cats in Puzzle Boxes

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?• Freud, Adler & Jung• Pioneered the psychoanalytic movement

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?• John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner and

Edward Tolman• “Behavioral” school of psychology

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?• John B. Watson• The Little Albert Experiment

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?• Wolfgang Kohler

• “Gestalt” psychology

• "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts"

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Illustration of the Gestalt Theory

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?• Jean Piaget• 4 Stages of Childhood Development

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?• Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow• “Humanistic” school of psychology

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?• Karen Horney• One of the first female psychiatrists• “Neo-Freudian”• Essay: The Problem of Feminine

Masochism• Feminist movement would not have

occurred without her!

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?

• Alfred Bandura

• Social Learning Theory

• The Bobo Doll Experiment

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?• “Cognitive Neuropsychology”• Interdisciplinary study of how brain

activity is linked to perception, thinking, memory and language (cognition)

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How did Psychology Develop from 1920s to

Present Day?• “Behavioral Genetics”• The scientific study of the

interrelationship of genetic mechanisms and behavior, both human and animal

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