1.2 History of Psychology

Who is considered the first person to be called a psychologist?

Wilhelm Wundt

What book did Wilhelm Wundt publish in 1873?

Principles of Physiological Psychology

What was Wundt’s goal for psychology?

To identify components of consciousness and how they combine to form conscious experience.

What method did Wundt use to study the mind?

Introspection (or “internal perception”).

What concept did Wundt emphasize about free will?

Voluntarism - the idea that people have free will and should know the intentions of an experiment.

Who developed structuralism?

Edward Titchener (a student of Wundt).

What was the focus of structuralism?

The contents of mental processes rather than their function.

Who is considered the first American psychologist?

William James

What school of thought did William James develop?

Functionalism.

What does functionalism focus on?

How mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment.

Which evolutionary theory influenced functionalism?

Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

What is Freud best known for in psychology?

Developing psychoanalytic theory.

According to Freud, where did many psychological problems come from?

The unconscious mind.

How did Freud attempt to access the unconscious?

Dream analysis, free association, and slips of the tongue.

What does psychoanalytic theory emphasize?

The unconscious mind and early childhood experiences.

Who were the founders of Gestalt psychology?

Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler.

What is the main idea of Gestalt psychology?

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Give an example of a Gestalt idea.

A song is perceived as a whole (melody, rhythm, harmony), not just separate notes.

Who studied conditioned reflexes and classical conditioning?

Ivan Pavlov.

Who is the father of Behaviorism?

John B. Watson

What did Watson argue psychology should study?

Observable behavior, not consciousness.

What did B.F. Skinner study?

How behavior is affected by reinforcement and punishment (operant conditioning).

What device did Skinner invent for studying behavior?

The operant conditioning chamber (Skinner box).

What perspective emerged as a response to psychoanalysis and behaviorism?

Humanism.

Who are two key figures in humanistic psychology?

Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.

What is Maslow best know for?

The hierarchy of needs, culminating in self-actualization.

What therapy method did Carl Rogers develop?

Client-centered therapy.

What three traits did Rogers believe therapists should display?

Unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy.

What major shift in psychology occurred during the 1950s-1960s?

The cognitive revolution, which reintroduced the study of the mind and mental processes.

Which disciplines helped spark the cognitive revolution?

Linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science.

Who published the first textbook titled Cognitive Psychology in 1967?

Ulric Neisser.

Which linguist was especially influential in the early cognitive revolution?

Noam Chomsky.

What was Chomsky’s main critique of behaviorism?

That focusing only on behavior was short-sighted; psychology must include mental functioning.

What interdisciplinary field grew out of this period?

The cognitive sciences, combining psychology with anthropology, linguistics, neuroscience, computer science, etc.

What was psychology like before the 1960s in terms of representation?

It was largely dominated by White, Western, male academics = “womanless psychology”

Who published a landmark critique in 1968 that helped spark feminist psychology?

Naomi Weisstein.

What did Weisstein argue?

That male psychologists built theories about women based on cultural bias and not scientific evidence.

What are some goals of feminist psychology?

• Reevaluate women’s contributions to psychology.

• Study gender differences scientifically.

• challenge male bias in research and practice.

What does WEIRD stand for in psychology research?

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic.

Why is studying only WEIRD societies a problem?

Results are not generalizable to non-WEIRD populations (differences in perception, cooperation, moral reasoning, etc).

What is the difference between multicultural and cross-cultural psychology?

• Multicultural: studies diverse groups within one country.

• Cross-cultural: compares groups across countries.

Who was the first African American to earn a PhD in psychology (1920)?

Francis Cecil Sumner. - looked at intelligence and IQ

Which Mexican American psychologist challenged biased intelligence testing and segregation?

George I. Sanchez.

Which African American psychologists conducted the “doll studies” that influenced Brown v. Board of Education?

Mamie Phipps Clark and Kenneth Clark.