chapter 1 understanding mind and behavior psychology the scientific study of mind and behavior...
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Understanding Mind and Behavior
PsychologyPsychology
• The scientific study of mind and behavior
• Psyche– Greek: soul, spirit, mind– Mind and Consciousness
• Depends on an intact functioning brain - can be studied scientifically
Studying the MindStudying the Mind
• Motivation
• Learning and Memory
• Perceptions
• Personality
• Social Interactions
• Abnormal Behavior
• All defined in terms of observable behavior
The Mind-Body ProblemThe Mind-Body Problem
• What is the relationship between mind and body?
• Dualism:
– The idea that the mind and body are distinct entities• Aristotle• Descartes
The Mind-Body ProblemThe Mind-Body Problem
• What is the relationship between mind and body?
• Monism:
– The idea that the mind and body are different aspects of the same substance• Spinoza• Most current psychologists
– Brain activity = mind
Major Perspectives in PsychologyMajor Perspectives in Psychology
• Biological/Behavioral
• Perceptual/Cognitive
• Developmental/Individual Differences
• Social Cultural/Health
The Nature-Nurture IssueThe Nature-Nurture Issue
• The relative effect of hereditary influences (nature) and environmental influences (nurture)
• Which is most important for behavior?– Genes– Learning– Both
DeterminismDeterminism
• The philosophical position that everything (and every behavior) has some cause– Cause might be immediate environment or
genetic history
Common SenseCommon Sense
• Is psychology a science of the obvious?– Are humans innately endowed with the ability
to analyze behavior?– People vary in background knowledge,
intellectual abilities, general understanding
Common SenseCommon Sense
• In analyzing behavior, people tend to:– Overgeneralize– Oversimplify– Show a self-serving bias
The Roots of PsychologyThe Roots of Psychology
Philosophy Biology
Psychology
The Roots of Psychology: PhilosophyThe Roots of Psychology: Philosophy
• John Locke: Empiricism– “Nothing is in the intellect that has not been in
the senses”– Tabula Rasa - “blank slate”
• Empiricism– A method of obtaining knowledge through
observation and experimentation
The Roots of Psychology: PhilosophyThe Roots of Psychology: Philosophy
• The Associationists (Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Hartley)– The formation of complex ideas is
accomplished through the association of simpler ideas
– An empiricist viewpoint
The Roots of Psychology: PhilosophyThe Roots of Psychology: Philosophy
• Gottfried von Leibniz: Nativism– “Nothing is in the intellect that has not been in
the senses except the intellect itself”
• Immanuel Kant– Humans are endowed with a priori knowledge
• Nativism– Some kinds of perception and forms of thinking
are innate
The Roots of Psychology: BiologyThe Roots of Psychology: Biology
• How does the brain relate to behavior?
• Francis Gall: Phrenology (early 19th century)– Discredited– Localized Function?
The Roots of Psychology: BiologyThe Roots of Psychology: Biology
• Johannes Muëller: Law of Specific Nerve Energy (early 19th century)– each sensory nerve carries information for that
sense
• Hermann von Helmholtz: Doctrine of Mechanism (late 19th century)– all physiological processes can be explained by
physics and chemistry
The Roots of Psychology: BiologyThe Roots of Psychology: Biology
• Paul Broca & Carl Wernicke (mid 19th century)– damage to specific brain areas results in specific
language deficits
• Gustav Fritsch & Eduard Hitzig (late 19th century)– Applying current to brain results in muscle
movement
The Roots of Psychology: BiologyThe Roots of Psychology: Biology
• Charles Darwin (late 19th century): The Origin of Species– Humans are part of a biological continuum
Psychology Becomes a SciencePsychology Becomes a Science
• Wilhelm Wundt: Structuralism– the study of consciousness in terms of its basic
elements• a “chemistry” of the mind
– examining consciousness through introspection
Psychology Becomes a SciencePsychology Becomes a Science
• William James: Functionalism– the study of the usefulness of consciousness and the
utility of behavior– wrote first psychology textbook– influenced by Darwin
• Other Functionalists:– Angell– Dewey– Carr
Psychology Becomes a SciencePsychology Becomes a Science
• John B. Watson: Behaviorism– environment is the primary determinant of
behavior– based theories on the work of Pavlov
• B.F. Skinner– psychology is the science of behavior– consciousness unimportant, because it cannot
be observed directly
Other Advances in the 20th CenturyOther Advances in the 20th Century
• Gestalt Psychology– the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
• Psychoanalytic Psychology– Sigmund Freud and the unconscious mind
• Humanistic Psychology– humans are unique in the potential for self-
improvement
• The Neurosciences– interdisciplinary approach to the study of the brain
What do Psychologists do?What do Psychologists do?
Education
Consulting
Administration
ProfessionalSales
Management
R&D
Health Services
Occupations with a BA in Psychology
Advanced Degrees in PsychologyAdvanced Degrees in Psychology
• Masters of Arts• Ph.D.
– required to perform original research– degree granted by university
• Psy.D.– required to undergo supervised training
• Ed.D.– degree granted by school of education
Specialty Areas in PsychologySpecialty Areas in Psychology
• Clinical• Cognitive• Comparative• Counseling• Developmental• Industrial/
Organizational• Quantitative
• Educational/School Psychology
• General Experimental Psychology
• Personality• Neurosciences/
Physiological• Social