Chapter 1 - history of psychology

what is psychology

•The scientific study of the ‘intangible’ mind (diff thought processes) and physical behaviour

• Mind: internal, covert behaviours (not observable)

• Behaviour: external, overt behaviours

what are we hoping to do with behaviour

• measure and describe behaviour - how often, which conditions

• explain and predict behaviour - why and what triggers it

• modify behaviour - can you make one more desirable

what are the three ways of framing explanations

1. Psychological Explanations - why someone would pick a certain class to take

• Thoughts, emotions, and internal motivations

2. Biological Explanations - why does someone prefer sweet or savoury

• Genes, hormones, and physiological processes

3. Environmental Explanations

• External physical and social surroundings

what are the historical roots with psychology

• greek philosophers asked about morality, the mind, and human nature - in the BC era

• early physiologists detailed the anatomy of the brain and its connection to behaviour in the AD era

what is the mind-body problem

• how can we study the mind if its unobservable - before we thought the mind was intangible and separate from the body

• what is the relationship between the body behaviour and the mind

what is dualism and who started it

•Philosophical Dualism: The mind and the body are different things

• Materialistic Dualism: The mind and body are different, and the body is specifically physical

• Rene descartes (1596-1650) - dualism of the mind and body and said it should be kept separate, said the mind is intangible and the body is physical

what is monism and who started it

• Monism: The mind and the body are the same thing, not separate entities

•Philosophical Materialism: Mental events are derived from physical events

Thomas hobbes (1588-1679) - the mind is not separate, its the product of the brains physical actions

what is philosophical realism and who started it

•Philosophical Realism: Perception of the world around us is produced by information sent from sensory organs - what we see is what we get

john locke (1632-1704) - philosophy should focus on understanding the abilities and extent of the human mind

what is philosophical idealism and who started it

•Philosophical Idealism: Perception of the world around us comes from how the brain interprets incoming sensory information - we see the world through a filter that is their from the beginning or experience

Immanuel Kent (1724-1804) - we are born with innate knowledge of the world and our experiences add to that understanding - you have a built in framework

what is empiricism

Our knowledge of the world is gained entirely through experience

• I know that dogs are dangerous because I was bitten by one and it hurt

• with scientific method, based on evidence, born as blank slates

what is nativism

Our knowledge of the world is innate, present from birth - innate concepts on how it means to be human

• I know that snakes are dangerous because I recoil any time I encounter them (even the first time!)

what is structuralism and who started it

•Structuralism: School of thought focused on analyzing the basic elements of the mind and trying to determine what those elements were

•Wilhelm Wundt (1832 - 1920) - “Father of Modern Psychology”, Psychology should use scientific techniques to study the rules that determine how the human mind combines and relate various pieces of information, you need empirical evidence

who was edward titchener

(1867-1927) - student of wundt, wanted to understand our subjective experiences better by applying empirical observations (introspection - systematic process of looking within to allow for self observation)

• focused on sensations which they considered the basic elements of consciousness

what is functionalism and who started it

•Functionalism: School of thought focused on the adaptive significance of mental processes - Influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution (natural selection), Adaptation allows organisms to survive and reproduce

• start with big picture and not really thinking abt the individual

•William James (1842–1910) - Focused on investigating the function or purpose of consciousness, what does the mind do

who were the psychodynamic perspective theorists

• Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893) and Pierre Janet (1859–1947)

• Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)

what did Jean-Martin Charcot and Pierre Janet do with the psychodynamic perspective

• French physicians seeking to treat patients with symptoms that had no apparent physical cause - Condition called Hysteria

what is sigmund freud say abt the psychodynamic perspective

• Austrian physician who focused on treating individuals with hysteria and nervous disorders

• Founded psychoanalytic school of thought - Idea that the unconscious influences thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in hidden ways

• Psychoanalysis: Therapeutic approach to giving patients insight into their unconscious minds (internal minds)

what is classical/pavlovian conditioning for behaviour and who started it

• Classical (or Pavlovian) Conditioning - Through experience (learning), a stimulus in the environment can come to elicit a physical response

• Ivan pavlov (1849-1936) - russian physiologist studying digestion

what did john B. watson focus on with behaviour

(1878 - 1958)

• Thought that psychology should focus on observable behaviour, not unobservable inner consciousness, Especially interested in predicting behaviour by understanding stimulus-response relationship, focus on what we can see instead of internal mind

•Behaviourist definitions:

• Psychology: The scientific study of behaviour

• Behaviour: Overt or observable actions

who did pavlov inspire

• B.F. Skinner (1904 - 1990) - American psychologist inspired by Pavlov

• Interested in active, rather than passive, behaviour

• “No account of what is happening inside the human body, no matter how complete, will explain the origins of human behaviour”

what is the difference between classical and operant condioning with behaviour

• Classical (or Pavlovian) Conditioning - Through experience (learning), a stimulus in the environment can come to elicit a physical response - how to associate 2 stimuli in our environment like bell and food

•Operant (or Instrumental) Conditioning - Through experience (learning), an organism can modify their behaviour based on the consequences of having carried out those actions in the past

what is gestalt psychology and who started it

•Gestalt Psychology: Interested in understanding how the mind organizes and combines stimuli to create a wholistic perceptual experience

• Max Wertheimer (1880–1943) - German psychologist interested in visual perception, Intrigued by perceptual errors in which our interpretations distort sensory reality (i.e., illusions with 2 pics and it depends on perspective)

who was sir frederic barlett

• with gestalt psychology

(1886–1969)

• British psychologist interested in false memories

• Errors in recall show memory is not a simple recording device

• Expectations can affect recall

what is developmental psychology and who started it

• Developmental Psychology: Interested in how psychological phenomena and abilities change with age

• Jean Piaget (1896–1980) - Swiss psychologist interested in understanding the mistakes children made as they grew up, The types of mistakes made can provide insight into their mental abilities and how they think

what did kurt lewin do

1890-1947

• social psychology

• German psychologist interested in understanding social behaviour in group settings

• Argued against the environment being the driving force of behaviour because individual’s subjective perception of the environment is more important in driving behaviour than reality

what is social psychology and who started it

•Social Psychology: Interested in how people interact with one another and how their behaviour can be influenced or influence others

•Solomon Asch (1907–1996) and Gordon Allport (1897–1967) - Investigated how people come to make inferences about others and how those inferences affect their behaviour towards those individuals

what is cognitive psychology

Interested in internal, mental processes such as thought, reasoning, memory, and perception

• Cognitive Revolution in 1960s in response to popularity of behaviourist theories

• View humans as information processors governed by thought

what is cognitive behaviourism

Idea that learning experiences and the environment affect our behaviour by giving us the information we need to behave effectively

what is evolutionary psychology

Interested in how natural selection has shaped the human mind and its abilities

what is neuroscience

Interested in function of the brain

what is cognitive and behavioural neuroscience

• Cognitive neuroscience: Study of the relationship between the brain and the mind (especially in humans)

• Behavioural neuroscience: Study of the relationship between the brain and behaviour (especially in nonhuman animals)

what is culture and cultural psychology

• Culture: Shared experiences, values, beliefs, etc. within a particular group - Can be race, country of origin, age, etc.

• Cultural Psychology: Interested in how culture influences behaviour