AP Psychology
Growth of Psychology
Psych Immersions?
(Connections to something else in
psychology, another text, or your
world.)
Critical questions
from the reading?
EQ 1-2
Trace the growth of psychology.
Psychology’s Roots Are in Philosophy
Prescientific Psychology Do you have a soul?
Is the mind connected to the body or distinct?
Are ideas inborn or is the mind a blank slate filled by experience?
Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
Psychology’s Roots
Psychological Science Is BornEmpiricism – Thank you EnlightenmentKnowledge comes from experience via the senses
Science flourishes through observation and experiment
Psychology’s Roots
Wilhelm Wundt (vil´helm voont) opened the first psychology laboratory at the University of Liepzig (c. 1879)
Psychology’s Roots
Selective Attention
Wundt’s significance? By insisting on
measurement and experimentation he moves Psych from Philosophy to Science
Psychology As Science
Psychologists use the scientific method
Steps to the scientific method Collect data Generate a theory to explain the data Produce a testable hypothesis Systematically test the hypothesis
Psychology’s Roots
Bradford Titchener (tich´unur)
Emulates the analysis of compounds by looking at atoms
Structuralism used introspection (looking in) to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
What is this?
What is this?
What is this?
Psychology’s Roots
Structuralism – School of psychology
that stressed the basic units of experience (physical sensation, feelings, and memories) and the combinations in which they occur.
Study these ‘atoms of experience’ to get the structure of the mind
Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
William James Rejects
Structuralism Influenced by
Darwin Functionalism –
theory of mental life and behavior that is concerned with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to function in its enviroment.
Prologue: Psychology’s Roots
Figure 1- British Psychological Society membership
The Growth of Psychology
Sigmund Freud: Psychodynamic psychology Behavior results from forces at work
within the individual, often at an unconscious level
Late 1800s Hard to prove or disprove scientifically
Return to the observable in the early 1900s
John B. Watson: Behaviorism Studied only observable behaviors Expanded upon the work of Pavlov
B.F. Skinner: Behaviorism revisited Expanded behaviorism Viewed the mind as a “black box” that
was irrelevant
The Cognitive Revolution
The precursors to cognitive psychology: Gestalt psychology
Study of how we perceive objects as whole patterns
Therapy that wishes to treat the whole person
Humanistic psychologyEmphasizes realization of full potentialRecognizes importance of love, self esteem,
belonging, and self-actualization
The Cognitive Revolution of the 1960s
Study of mental processes Thinking Learning Feeling Remembering Decision making
New Directions in Psychology
Evolutionary psychology Studies the adaptive value of behaviors
and mental processesPositive psychology
Study of the subjective feelings of happiness and well-being
Focus is on positive attitude
Multiple Perspectives
There is no single right answer
Several perspectives can provide insight into behavior
Psychology’s Big Issues
Nature-nurture controversy Are we a product of innate, inborn tendencies controlled by
our genetic make-up? Are we a reflection of experiences and upbringing?
Person–Situation Is behavior caused by factors inside the person or outside?
Stability–Change Are behavior patterns learned in childhood permanent or do
people change over time? Diversity-Universality
How am I like every person, like some people, and like no one else?
Mind–Body What is the relationship between the mind and the body?
EQ 1-2
Trace the growth of psychology.