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Wilhem Wundt
Father of psychology
established the first psychology lab
Created an experiement to measure “atoms of the mind”
measured how long it took for people to press a telegraph key after hearing a ball drop
G. Stanley Hall
One of Wundt’s (and Psychology’s) first American students
Established the first formal U.S. Psych Laboratory at John Hopkins University
Edward Titchner
Wundt’s student at Cornell
Introduced Structuralism
Aimed to classify and understand elements of the mind’s structure
Focused on inner sensations, images, and feelings
Structuralism
Engaging people in self-reflective introspective (looking inward)
training them to report elements of their experience as their senses were exercised
Introspection was unreliable - varied each time depending on the person
William James
Philosopher-psychologist
assumed that thinking developed because it was adaptive as a functionalist
An outgoing Harvard teacher-writer who wrote a textbook
called Principles of Psychology
took him 12 years
Functionalism
Consideration of the evolved functions of our thoughts and feelings
Consciousness serves as a function
It enables us to consider our past, adjust to our present, and plan our future
Mary Whiton Calkins
Student of William James
All men dropped out when she joined but she outscored them on the exams
Harvard denied her degree but she was offered one from the sister school which she refused
Became a memory researcher and first female president of the American Psychological Association
Margaret Floy Washburn
First official female psychology Ph.D.
Wrote an influential book, The Animal Mind
Became the second APA female president
Wundt’s first foreign study published in his psych journal was her thesis
Wasn’t allowed to join all-male experimental psychologists although it was founded by Titchner, her advisor
John B. Watson
redefined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior
Performed a controversial study on a baby called Little Albert (with Rosalie Rayner)
Believed that a child’s environment is the factor that shapes behavior
psycho-analytic
B.F. Skinner
redefined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior
Proposed a method of learning called operant conditioning psychology, which occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior
behavioral
Behaviorists
Observe and record people’s behavior as they are conditioned (respond to and learn in different situations)
They believe our actions are shaped by environmental stimuli
Sigmund Freud
Psychologist who focused on psychoanalytic psychology
emphasized the way our unconscious mind and childhood experiences affect behavior along with thoughts and urges
Freudian Psychologists
emphasized the way our unconsious mind and childhood experience affect behavior
repressed feelings are psychologically surpressed and manifested into dreams
Psychodynamic Approach
focuses on the psychological drive and forces within individuals that explain human behavior and personality
Humanistic Psychologists
psychologists who focus on our potential for personal growth
emphasize the study of the whole person
look at human behavior through the eyes of the person doing the behaving
Carl Rogers
humanistic psychologist
believed that humans were capable of becoming whole persons through self-discovery
Developed the person-centered approach to psychotherapy and the concept of unconditional positive regard
Abraham Maslow
humanistic psychologist
developed a hierarchy of needs to explain human motivation
food and clothing
job security
friendship
esteem
self-actualization
believed that these needed to be met before they pursue more social self-actualizing needs
Cognitive Psychology
how we percieve, process and remember information and how thinking and emotion interact with anxiety, depression, and other decisions
Empiricism
the mind at birth is a tabula rasa (a “blank slate”)
the theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience
Introspection
looking inward, used by structuralists
Experimental Psychologists
use scientific methods to collect data and perform research
Cognitive Neuroscience
intersection of psychology and neuroscience
Psychology
Behavior
anything an organism does
any action we can observe and record
Psychology
Mental Process
internal, subjective experiences we infer from behavior — feelings, dreams, sensations
Ivan Pavlov
Russian Psysologist
pioneered the study of learning
tested the concept of conditioned reflex
trained a hungry dog to salivate at a sound when it was presented food
Jean Piaget
Swiss biologist
last century’s most influential observer of children
worked on child development
developed theory of cognitive development
genetic epistemology
Charles Darwin
proposed the evolutionary process of natural selection after encountering species variation on his world journey
Argued that natural selection explained behaviors and bodies/structures
Nature vs. Nurture Debate
example
Are our human traits inherited, or do they develop through experience?
Some assume we inherit character and intelligence while others believed that there is nothing in our mind that does not come first through our senses
For example, when a person achieves a high level of academic success
Did they do so because they are genetically predisposed to elevated levels of intelligence, or is their success a result of an enriched environment?
That is the focus of behavior genetics
General conclusion of nature vs. nurture
Nurture works on what nature provides
Different levels of analysis of psychology
biological, psychological and social-cultural
Biopsychosocial approach
Together, the biological, psychological and social cultural viewpoints form an integrated biopsychosocial approach
Behavioral Approach Focus
we learn observable responses based on punishment or reward for a behavior
Behavioral Approach Sample Question
What is the most effective way to alter our behavior for example, to lost weight?
Biological Approach Focus
how our genes and environment influence individual differences
Biological Approach Sample Question
How do pain messages travel from the hand to the brain?
Cognitive Approach Focus
How we encode, process, store and retrieve information
Cognitive Approach Sample Question
How do we use our information in reasoning?
Evolutionary Approach Focus
How the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of genes
Evolutionary Approach Sample Question
How does evolution influence behavior tendencies?
Humanistic Approach Focus
How we achieve personal growth and self fufillment
Humanistic Approach Sample Question
How can we overcome barriers to our personal growth?
Psychodynamic Approach Focus
How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflict
Psychodynamic Approach Sample Questions
How can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained by unfulfilled wishes and childhood trauma?
Social-Cultural Approach Focus
How behavior and thinking vary across situations and culture
Social-Cultural Approach Sample Question
How are we affected by the people around us, and our surrounding culture?
Psychometrics
the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, altitudes and traits
Basic research
pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base
Applied research
Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
Difference between psychiatrists and psychologists
psychiatrists are medical doctors licensed to prescribe drugs while psychologists help people overcome their struggles
Dorothea Dix’s contribution to psychology
she was a pioneer that led the way to humane treatment of those with psychological disorders (mentally ill patients and mental institutes)
Martin Seligman
founding father of positive psychology
Positive Psychology
the scientific study of human strengths and virtues and belief that happiness is a by-product of a pleasant, engaged, and meaningful life
Cognitive psychologists
Study human thinking
Focus on things like memory, judgment, problem solving, and perception
Developmental psychologists
conduct research on age-related behavioral changes
apply scientific knowledge to education and child-care
specialize in a specific stage of life
Educational psychologists
study the relationship between learning and the physical and social environments
develop strategies to help learning
Psychometric psychologists
a diverse group of scientists who investigate a variety of basic behavioral processes in humans and other animals
Social psychologists
interested in our interactions with others
study how our beliefs, feelings, and behaviors are affected by and influence other people
Forensic Psychologists
apply psychlogical principals to legal issues
Health Psychologists
researchers and practitioners concerned with psychology’s contribution to promoting health and preventing disease
Industrial-organizational psychologists
study the relationship between people and their working environment
Neuropsychologists
psychologists who investigate the relationship between neurological processes and behavior
Rehabilitation psychologists
researchers and practitioners who work with people who have lost optimal function after an accident, illness, or other event
School psychologists
involved in the assessment of and intervention for children in educational settings
Sports Psychologists
study the psychological factors that influence and are influenced by participation in sports and other physical activity
Clinical psychologists
promote psychological health in individuals, groups, and organizations
often provide therapy
Community psychologists
move beyond focusing on specific individuals or families and deal with broad problems of mental health in community settings
counseling psychologists
help people adjust to life transitions or make life-style changes