Intro to PsychologyCh. 1.1: Why study Psychology?

Ch. 1.2: A Brief History of Psychology

PSYCHOLOGISTS

• DO NOW: What are some assumptions, traits, and functions of a Psychologist?

• A Psychologist is a person who _______?

PSYCHOLOGY’S ORIGIN

“Psychology” comes from two Greek words” Psyche – mind or soul Logia – study or investigation.

PSYCHOLOGY• Psychology is the scientific study of

behavior and mental processes.– involves both human and animal

behavior.

• Psychological behaviors are tested through scientific research

PSYCHOLOGY AND YOU• READ ONLY: Your friend makes a simple comment

about your hair, clothes, or favorite hobby and you blow up, getting violently angry. Why?

• Psychologists have determined that emotions occur as the result of physical stimulation coupled with some social or personal event.

• READ ONLY: Consider the following situation: You just drank two cans of heavily caffeinated soda. Your heart is beating hard, and your stomach is tense. Then your friend makes a critical comment. When you hear them, you get angry – but you get angrier than usual because you body is already stimulated. On the other hand, if you are very tired, you might not react to an emotional event so violently.

• QUESTION: What other types of physical stimulation can cause a strong emotional response?

How does your perspective of this painting change upon closer examination of it?

GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGYDescription, Explanation, Prediction, & Influence

Description: describe or gather information about the behavior being studied and present what is known.

EXPLANATION

• After describing behavior, Psychologists then seek to explain why people behave as they do by offering hypotheses.

• HYPOTHESIS: an assumption, educated guess, or prediction about behavior or phenomenon that is tested through scientific research.

• As research on each hypothesis is completed, more complex explanations called THEORIES are constructed. – A THEORY is a set of complex explanations based on

findings from a large number of experiments

PREDICTION

• The third goal of the psychologist is to predict what humans will do, think, or feel in various situations.

• By studying descriptive and theoretical accounts of past behaviors, psychologists can predict future behaviors.

INFLUENCE• Finally, psychologists seek

to influence behavior in helpful ways. They do this in two very different ways.

• First, they practice BASIC SCIENCE or research. Basic research (science) is the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. An example is the study of an infants ability to see visual patterns.

• Second, when a psychologist tries to correct a behavior he/she is practicing APPLIED SCIENCE. A.S. is a way to use scientific findings to accomplish practical goals.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD• Scientists investigate a question they have by

using the Scientific Method• Why do scientists use this method?

– To ensure their conclusions are not full or errors or bias

• Scientists reach their conclusions by identifying a problem or question, formulating a hypothesis, collecting data, and analyzing the data.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD MADE SIMPLE

EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY

• READ ONLY: It’s 4 A.M. and “Bob”, a 9th-grader is engulfed in his computer screen, one minute pretending he’s a cruel mafia lord organizing a gambling empire and the next minute imagining he’s an evil sorcerer or an alien life form. Bob is playing a Multiple User Dungeon game that is played by sending messages online to other players. After logging on for hours, Bob finds himself sleeping through classes, forgetting homework, and slipping into “Internet Addiction.”

LET’S TRY TO EXPLAIN BOB

• From a Psychologists perspective, Bob is demonstrating complex behavior.

• He ignores PHYSIOLOGICAL needs, or the needs having to do with such things as hunger and sleep and an organism’s physical processes.

• He engages in this behavior because of COGNITIVE or private, unobservable mental reasons that have to do with and organism’s thinking and understanding.

• QUESTIONS: 1)Why do you think Bob is spending so much time on the Internet when he knows that his schoolwork is suffering?

2) How might a psychologist doing basic science and a psychologist practicing applied science differ in their approach to the issue of internet addiction?

TRUE OR FALSE: TEST YOUR INTUITION1. THE BEHAVIOIR OF MOST LOWER

ANIMALS (INSECTS, REPTILES, RODENTS) IS INSTINCTIVE AND UNAFFECTED BY LEARNING

2. FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF LIFE A BABY SEES NOTHNG BUT A GRAY-BLUE REGARDLESS OF WHAT HE OR SHE LOOKS AT.

3. SLOW LEARNERS REMEMBER MORE OF WHAT THEY LEARN THAN FAST LEARNERS

4. IN SMALL AMOUNTS ALCOHOL IS A STIMULANT.

5. PSYCHIATRY IS A SUBDIVISION OF PSYCHOLOGY.

6. HIGHLY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE TEND TO BE PHYSICALLY FRAIL AND LONERS

7. MOST STEROTYPES ARE COMPLETELY TRUE.

8. IN ALL CULTURES, WOMEN ARE MORE EMOTIONAL AND SEXUALLY LESS AGGRESSIVE THAN MEN.

9. YOU CANNOT PREDICT FROM A PERSON’S GRADES AT SCHOOL AND COLLEGE WHETHER THEY WILL DO WELL IN A CAREER.

10. THE BEST WAY TO GET A CONSTANTLY NOISY CHILD TO SETTLE DOWN AND PAY ATTENTION IS TO PUNISH THEM.

11. A CHILD LEARNS TO TALK MORE QUICKLY IF ADULTS AROUND THEM REPEAT WORDS HE OR SHE IS TRYING TO SAY USING PROPER PRONUNCIATION.

12. A THIRD OR MORE OF PEOPLE WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS ARE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY

VOCABULARY:1) STUCTURALIST2) DUALISM3) INTROSPECTION4) FUNCTIONALIST5) PSYCHONANALYST6) BEHAVIORIST7) HUMANIST8) COGNIVIST9) PSHYCHOBIOLOGIST

Vocabulary will be defined throughout the PowerPoint. OBJECTIVES: To explain important trends in the history of psychology and to identify the various approaches to the study of psychology

DUALISM and the ORIGINS of PSYCHOLOGY

• Psychology is a history of alternative perspectives.

• Philosophers in the 17th century (1600’s) popularized the idea of DUALISM which is the concept that the mind and body are separate and distinct.

HISTORICAL

APPROACHES

• Wilhelm Wundt known as the person who established modern psychology as a separate science.

• Wundt developed a theory known as Structuralism. A STRUCTURALIST is a person (scientist) who is interested in the basic elements that make up conscious (aware, or mindful of) mental experiences.

INTROSPECTION• Wundt also

developed a technique known as INTROSPECTION: a method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings.

EXPERIMENT• This next activity (experiment) will explore the concept of

free association.• Directions: Write down the first thought that comes into

your minds as I read aloud the following list of words. Do not CALL OUT LOUD or write your name on your paper:TimeDeathRedMotherFearHomeSchoolFriendLoveHate

FUNCTIONALISM and WILLIAM JAMES

• William James is considered the father of American Psychology and developed the idea of Functionalism.

• A FUNCTIONALIST studies the “function” of the mind rather than the structure– not concerned with WHERE something occurs in the mind, but

HOW.

• "A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely re-arranging their prejudices."

SIR FRANCIS GALTON• Sir Francis Galton wanted to understand

how heredity influenced a person’s abilities, character, and behavior.

• Heredity includes all traits that are passed along biologically from parent to child.

• Studied the biographies of famous, well-known people and concluded that greatness runs in families.

• Declared that the “most fit” humans were those with high intelligence. – Darwinian

LET’S QUESTION SIR FRANCIS

• What factors did Galton fail to take into account in his studies?

• Galton failed to consider the stimulation in one’s environment – social and economic factors as influences on

intelligence. – A person’s heredity and that person’s environment

interact to produce intelligence.

GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY• Is perception more often different

from reality? • Some psychologists argued

perception is more than the sum of its parts.

• The German word Gestalt means a whole pattern or structure

• Gestalt psychology: looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole.– Founded by Max Wertheimer,

• Response to structuralism• A set of dots outlining the shape of

a star is likely to be perceived as a star, not as a set of dots.– We perceive the whole

HOW DO WE SEE THIS PICTURE, AS A WHOLE OR IN INDIVIDUAL PARTS?

THE MOST IMPORTANT APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

• Psychoanalytical

• Behavioral

• Humanistic

• Cognitive

• Biological

• Sociocultural

SIGMUND FREUD• Freud's approach to psychology is

often termed PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHOLOGY.

• A PSYCHOANLAYST studies how unconscious motives and conflicts determine human behavior.

• Unconscious mind is "part" stores repressed (held back) memories.– Freud: our behavior is determined

by unconscious processes.– Early experiences have an intense

influence on the development of the unconscious mind

• The unconscious could be accessed through analysis of dreams.– Freud believed that when

dreaming your unconscious is free.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lig53eW2ptg

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vFf5CS27-Y

BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGYand IVAN PAVLOV

• Psychologists who stress studying observable behavior: BEHAVIORISTS

• Behaviorism: primarily concerned with observable behavior

– Only observable behavior is worth studying

– How do behaviors result from stimuli within our environment and within ourselves? (Heffner)

– Only observable (i.e. external) behavior can be objectively and scientifically measured.

• Pavlov found that behavior may be the product of prior experience.

• Experiment:– Pavlov rang a tuning fork each

time he gave a dog some meat powder.

– Repeated the procedure several times

– Result: the dog would salivate when it heard the ring of the fork even if no food appeared.

JOHN B. WATSON • Watson first to consider how the

process of learning affects behavior

• Watson’s opinion: the analysis of behaviors and reactions to stimuli was the only objective method to get insight into human behavior.

• Believed that children had no inborn tendencies, but rather were shaped by their environments

• Psychology should "take as a starting point, first the observable fact that organisms, man and animal alike, do adjust themselves to their environment" and "secondly, that certain stimuli lead the organisms to make responses." (Watson, 1913)

B.F. SKINNER• Introduced the concept of reinforcement – or

operant conditioning – Response to a behavior that increases the

likelihood the behavior will be repeated.• Reinforcement can only occur when a behavior

is learned– "How can you get a new behavior to occur

so you can reinforce it…?" • Shaping: Begin by reinforcing any

approximation of the desired behavior. – For example: If a child can't pronounce the

word you desire for them to pronounce you begin by reinforcing any approximation of that word that they can make.

– Then slowly you provide reinforcement only for those approximations

– Gradually the pronunciation of the word is shaped until it becomes the correct pronunciation. (Hannon)

HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGYCarl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

• A Humanist emphasizes the study of the whole person. • Emphasizes how each person is unique, has a self-

concept and potential.– Rejected Behaviorist and Psychoanalytical theory =

dehumanizing– Humanism: Everyone is unique and has potential

• Rogers: Psychology is not about behavior– How individuals perceive and interpret events– Redirected Psychology towards the study of the self

• Maslow: Motivational Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yM8SwZkvCIY

– People are motivated by wants and needs– Theses wants and needs motivate us to do what we

do• Can you think of an example of a need that people are

motivated by?

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

• Cognitivists focus on how we process, store and use information – How does this information influences our thinking,

language, problem solving and creativity?

• Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky, and Leon Festinger:– Behavior is more than a simple response to a

stimulus.

• Behavior is influenced by a variety of mental processes:– Perceptions, memories, and expectations.

BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGYWilliam James

• Biological Psychology emphasizes the impact of biology on our behavior.

• Genetic factors and chemicals in the brain have a major influence on human behavior– ADD– ADHD– Depression– Anxiety Disorders

• Darwinian?

Cognitive and Sociocultural Psychology

Jean Piaget and Lev S.Vygotsky

• Cognitive Psych studies how we process, store and use information

– How learning the info influences our behavior– Based mainly on lab experiments

• S.P. studies the influence of culture and ethnic similarities and differences on behavior

– Structures and processes revealed by individuals can be traced to their interactions with others (Vygotsky)

• Ex. Ethnocentrism: belief in the fundamental superiority of a nation/people, culture, or group to which one belongs.

– Often a tendency to also look down upon others who are not members of a particular ethnic group.