Psychology

Psychology – The systematic, scientific study of behavior, experience, and mental life.

There are many misunderstandings and myths surrounding psychology. Some of these are tied to the history of

psychology.Psychology is rooted in philosophy

Psychology is striving to “prove” itself as a science

Many on-going issues in psychologyIssues #1 – Free will vs. Determinism

Issues #2 – Mind – Body Problem (Dualism)Issue #3 – Nature vs. Nurture

Issue #4 – Biological Reductionism

What do psychologists do?Clinical (42.4%) & Counseling Psychology (10.1%)

Research Psychology or Experimental Psychology (2.3%)School Psychology (3.9%)

Educational Psychology (2.3%)Biopsychology (0.5%)

Learning & Motivation (?)Cognitive Psychology (0.7%)

Developmental Psychology (roughly 4.0%)Gerontology (0.2%)

Child & Adolescent (1.5%)Social Psychology (2.4%) & Personality Psychology (5.0%)

Neuropsychology (?)Health Psychology (0.9%)

Environmental Psychology (?)Industrial Organizations Psychology (3.6%)

Mathematical Psychology (0.5%)

Who can practice psychology?

Psychotherapist (a very broad term) Clinical Psychologist (PhD., Ed.D, or Psy.D.) Counseling Psychologist (Ph.D., Ed.D., or Psy.D.) Psychiatrist (M.D. or D.O.) Psychoanalyst Mental Health Therapists (M.A. or M.S.) Social Workers (L.C.S.W.) Mental Health Technicians or counselors (B.A. or

B.S.) Nurses (A.A., B.A., M.A. or Ph.D.)

The History of Psychology

1. Antiquity Aristotle (Free-will & mental activity) Socrates Homer

Laid down the foundations of modern education

Early Demonology

In other parts of the world, religious/spiritual beliefs dominated thinking about behavior

Examples are found in the records of the Chinese, Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Jews.

This belief suggests that abnormal behavior is the result of demonic possession.

Somatogenesis

– Suggests that abnormal behavior results from some physical cause.

– Hippocrates (460-377) rejected religious or spiritual explanations and located the problems within the body and brain.

• Bodily dysfunction leads to dysfunction of thought and action

Psychogenesis

Suggests that abnormal behavior results from some psychological cause.

The three most common types of psychopathology were: Mania, melancholy, phrenitis (brain fever)

Hippocrates believed that psychopathology was the result of the body’s humors. Blood (lead to moodiness) Black bile (lead to melancholy) Yellow bile (lead to irritability and anxiousness) Phlegm (lead to dullness)

The notions of Hippocrates stood for centuries.

2. The Scientific Revolution & Dark Ages– The influence of the scientific movement

throughout Europe had a profound influence on the development of the science of psychology.

– Movement away from the influence of the church and religion toward a more secular society founded on scientific principles

– Organized religion was involved in some very “unscientific” pursuits. For example,

Dark ages and demonology

- With the decrease in the Roman and Greek civilizations, the “church” gained influence and the papacy gained status as an independent state. Monasteries replaced physicians with monks as the “healers” and authorities on mental disease. Monks and priests prayed for the mentally ill.

Persecution of Witches In the 13th century the fate of the mentally ill

was considered to be caused by demons as well. In 1484, Pope Innocent VII exhorted the church to look for witches in the book Malleus Maleficarium (meaning “the witches hammer”) and it became a legal and religious tool in the hunt for witches.

If accused witches didn’t confess….they were tortured until they did

If accused witches were convicted and penitent….they were imprisoned for life

If accused witches were convicted and unrepentant…they were executed by the law

During this era over 100,000 “witches” were victims of this purge!

Historically, however, most accused witches were NOT mentally ill. Many confessions were obtained under torture. And, witchcraft was typically not the primary cause of mental illness.

English law also allowed for a legally dangerous, insane, or incorrigible to be confined to hospitals and these individuals were not usually described as possessed.

In the 13th century trials were held all over Europe to determine if the individual was sane. It was usually determined that the insanity was linked to physical illness!

The Renaissance (1300’s – 1600’s) period covered several centuries and tremendous changes in scientific disciplines (a revolution) fueled the growth of this new discipline. This movement carried into the 19th century. Some notable discoveries that have influenced psychology include;

a. Astronomy & Mathematics (early influences)

– Newton (1669) – Laws of Mechanics– Galileo (1610) – Planetary movement, the structure of

the solar system, & structure of the universe– Copernicus (1543) – The heliocentric solar system

b. Biology– Mendel (1853) – Genetics– Pasteur (1885) – Germ Theory– Darwin (1858) – Evolutionary Theory

c. Chemistry– Alchemy (Newton!)– Mendeleyev & Meyer (1869) – The Periodic Law &

Periodic Table

Strong reductionistic influences

Early psychiatry Keep in mind that all of these clinicians were working

between the Renaissance and modern psychology, and between scientists and psychology.

Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) was a pioneer in American psychiatry. Used blood letting and water immersion as treatments for mentally ill individuals. He also used fear as a tactic for change.

Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) encouraged humane treatment for the mentally ill in Paris. Conditions changed considerably! The use of compassion, understanding, and encouraging individual dignity replaced confinement and isolation.

Very often these treatments were only for the upper class individual.

Asylums In the 15th century only a few mental hospitals

existed in Europe. More hospitals for lepers existed. In the ensuing century, lepersy decreased and the hospitals were then used for the mentally ill. In the 15th century, these asylums were used, primarily, to confine the mentally ill.

Bethlehem St. Mary’s of Bethlehem was founded in 1243 and

housed the mentally ill by the thousands! Today the chaos and conditions are revealed to tourists only as it is a popular attraction for visitors.

Moral treatment soon replaces the isolation of individuals. William Tuke (1732-1822) a Quaker, established the York Retreat in England. These retreats were peaceful, emphasized recovery, work, and aesthetics.

Hartford Retreat was established in Connecticut in 1824.

Outcome at these retreats was poor with only about 1/3 actually improving.

Dorothea Dix (1802-1877) helped in the establishment of 32 state hospitals.

Early Classification SystemsWilhelm Griesinger was instrumental in helping to develop the Medical Model. Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926) published a classification

system in 1893. Developed the concept of Syndromes. Recognized two major groups of severe mental illness

Dementia Praecox Manic-Depression

In 1825, Griesinger determined that general paresis, from syphilis, had a biological cause!

In 1860, Louis Pasteur developed the Germ Theory of Disease.

In 1905, the microorganism for general paresis was identified.

PsychogenesisA re-emergence of the notion of a psychic cause of abnormal behavior occurred in the early 19th century. Franz Anton Mesmer (1743-1815) suggested that

hysteria was caused by a disturbance in the magnetic fluids in the body.

He had bizarre treatments and was seen as a charlatan.

Jean Charcot (1825-1893) studied hysteria as well and, when fooled by a normal individual posing as an hysterical patient while under hypnosis, he was convinced that the cause of her malady was psychological in origin.

Josef Breuer developed the cathartic method in which the person simply talks about their problem/feelings and they improve. Relief through catharsis was the basis of his friend, Sigmund Freud’s, new theory, Psychoanalysis.

On to more Modern Psychology!

3. The Early Era of Psychology– Wilhelm Wundt (1879) at the University of Leipzig

developed the first laboratory of psychology.• Introspection – To look within one’s self.

– Titchner (Cornell University) & Structuralism (1920’s)• Structuralism is the attempt to describe the structures that

compose the mind. Consciousness can be analyzed in terms of sensations and feelings that form the structures of the mind.

• To get their data, the structuralist used introspection to examine what was happening in one’s mind and what one was thinking and feeling. Any problems with this?

• Reflects the early influence of sensory biologists• Translated many of Wundt’s original writings into English

– James (Harvard University) & Functionalism (1890’s)

• Functionalism looks at how the mind produces useful (functional) behaviors.

• The brain engages in a dynamic adaptation to the environment

• James had profound things to say about philosophy and neuroscience.

• Unfortunately, his close ties to the field of philosophy kept much of his work out of the main field of psychology.

• Developed the first American Psychological Laboratory

In addition, the fields of psychophysics, comparative psychology and ethology made significant contributions to the understanding of human and non-human behavior.

4. Modern PsychologyA. Psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud (1920’s)– Psychoanalysis is the first modern school of

psychology to emerge and it emphasized the importance of unconscious forces in the behavior of humans

– Psychoanalysis is a deterministic model and has significant problems with regard to observation and whether or not the theory can be tested, i.e., “Is the theory falsifiable?”

– Freud has had a profound influence on the entire field of psychology, sociology, criminal justice, and modern life in general!

B. Behaviorism Founded in the last 19th Century hitting its peak in the 1920's through the 1950's.- Based on the idea that all behavior is learned and that humans are a product of the learning environment.- Important contributors include Ivan Pavlov (1905), John Watson (1920's), and B.F. Skinner (1950's).- Quite a different theory than psychoanalysis rejecting mentalism, yet still a deterministic model.

C. Humanistic Psychology– Humanistic Psychology is a very broad

field that encompasses many psychological theories. They all, however, emphasize the importance of free will and the human condition.

– One major contribution is the development of psychological techniques.

– These theories are in stark contrast to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis.

– Some of the important humanistic psychologies include;

• Gestalt Psychology (Kohler, Wertheimer, & Perl's)

– Gestalt psychologists discount structure and focus on the totality of perceptions. One cannot understand something by breaking it up into pieces…it must therefore be taken in total!

• Existential Psychology (Sartre, Frankl, Kierkegaard, & Yalom)

• Humanistic Psychology (Sullivan, Rogers, & Maslow)

– Carl Rogers may have had the most significant impact developing what he called client-centered therapy in the 1950’s.

Recent trends in psychology– D. Cognitive Psychology, the fourth school of

psychology emphasizes the importance of mental activities, symbolic processing, learning, memory, thinking, and perception in normal and abnormal states.

– E. Neuroscience is the most recent school of psychology and suggests that all behavior is rooted, in some way, to the functioning of the nervous system.

• If we understand the nervous system then we can understand how all behavior emerges!

• This field is growing so quickly that it is difficult to keep up with the literature

• Neuroscience departments appear to be replacing

traditional psychology programs!