can we get in someone’s head?
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Can We Get in Someone’s Head?Lecture 2: History and Methods
1/26/04
On human nature…
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle: pleasure, pain, imagination, desire, good vs. evil, free will
>16th century: studied soul, spirit, the “psyche”Descartes: body = physical; mind= spiritual
Scientifically study body not mind
Hobbes- NO! Entire human experience comes from brain- even thoughts & feelings
Meanwhile…
German physiologists studied bodily sensations and our subjective awareness How are bodily sensations turned into mental
awareness? Are our perceptions of the world accurate reflections
or reality? How do the mind and body interact?
Pioneer #1: Wilhelm Wundtdiscovering the laws of consciousness
Father of Psychology • Estd. first psychology laboratory in 1879
“Color blue, sound of an E chord, Taste of smoked salmon, meaning of a sentence - all psychological”
Developed introspection. Report on conscious, moment-to-moment rxns.
Psychological Contrasts & Psychic Relations Love on the rebound Draw an apple
Structuralism: Mental
Pioneer # 2: William JamesPlagued by depressionPrinciples of Psychology, 1890
Habit formation, Stream of consciousness, individuality, link btw. Body & mind, emotions, the ‘self’,
• 1892: “Jimmy”
“Cash value” of an idea, not T vs. F Functionalism
• Darwin: natural selection; characteristics of species with survival advantage are ‘selected’--- consciousness must serve important purpose
“Lab is a waste of resources”
Structure vs. FunctionThe first great debate
Functionalism Investigate purpose of
consciousness, not structure
Stream of consciousness• Consciousness is a
continuous flow of thoughts, not static
Mental testing, development, education, individual differences
Structuralism Analyze consciousness into
basic elements
Introspection• Systematic, self-
observation in response to tones, optical illusions, fruit…
Sensation & Perception
Gestalt Psychology
The whole is greater than the sum of the partsStructuralism = wrong!
Mind perceives world in organized fashion, can’t be broken down into elements
• Phenomenological approach• Unstructured reporting of experience
***tspces***
Pioneer # 3: FreudWhat about the unconscious?
People are driven by UNconscious forces
Human mind is an icebergClinical practice for patients with
ailments with no physical basis “cured” with hypnosis and talking
The Interpretation of Dreams, 1900.• Psychoanalysis- Freud’s theory of personality and
method of psychotherapy,
Controversy strikes again: It’s not all in your head!
A psychology of observable behavior?
Controversy strikes again: It’s not all in your head!
Can a science be based on introspective reports of a subjective experience or mental processes that supposedly reside inside the unconscious?
“Psychoanalysis is voodooism”
Psychology should be a purely objective, experimental branch of natural science NOT the invisible and elusive mind
The Behaviorist AlternativeFrom mind-body to nature-nurture
John B. Watson defined psychology as study of behavior; mind is irrelevant
Vary a stimulus in environment, observe response
Behaviorism Dominated from the 1920’s to the 1960’s
“Sensations, thoughts, feelings, and motivations may fuel speculation for the curious philosopher, but if it can’t be seen, it has no place in psychology”
Talk about controversy…
From ministry to philosophy to psychologyLearning in rats on mazes…
How young could they learn? Dabbled in neurology… what about people? “Crazed scientist, killer of rats, toasts and eats them”
Meets Mary Ickes, Intro PSY student “Ode to John B. Watson”
‘Robbing Psych’- No difference between rats and people Interest in children…
Affair with research assistant Rosalie Raynor On to advertising… impulse buys
“Made not born”
“Children should be awakened at 6:30 A.M. for orange juice and a pee. Play 'till 7:30. Breakfast should be at 7:30 sharp; at 8:00 they should be placed on the toilet for twenty minutes or less 'til bowel movement is complete. Then follow up with a verbal report. The child would then play indoors 'till 10AM, after 10:00 outside, a short nap after lunch, then "social play" with others. In the evening a bath, quiet play until bedtime at 8:00 sharp.”
The “Cognitive Revolution”But thought processes do influence outcomes
Behaviorism was too restrictive. Studies of child development, animal behavior,
brain studies, ‘self-actualization’, computers…• Thoughts, expectations, ‘soft stuff’ counts
Cognition• Mental processes such as thinking, knowing, and
remembering
And social situations too...
Asch, 1955
Which of the comparison lines is the same as the standard line?
76% went along with the clearly incorrect majority at least once
In all, P’s conformed 37% of the time
However, 24% NEVER conformed
What did participants do?
Doing PsychologyGetting in someone’s head
LIFE Questionnaire
What did you think? Stream of consciousness Frequency of behaviors Social desirability?
Did you learn anything about yourself?Was anything missing?
Think about:
History of psychology has tried to come up with the best ways of understanding people What do you think are the best ways?
What do you think are interesting phenomena to study (mental activity, behavior)?
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