Intro to Psych 250 - Chapter 1, The Science of Psychology

Based off of Understanding Psychology 12th edition by Charles G. Morris and Albert A. Maisto for the Intro to Psych 250 class at Sonoma State University for the learning objectives 1.1-1.15 of chapter 1.

Psychology

the science of behavior and mental processes

The Five Enduring Issues of Psychology

1. Person-situation 2. Nature-nurture 3. Stability-change 4. Diversity-universality 5. Mind-body

Person-Situation

To what extent is behavior caused by internal processes (emotions, genes, motivations), and to what extent is it caused by external factors (environmental cues, presence of others)?

Nature-Nurture

To what extent are we a product of innate characteristics decided at birth, and to what extent are we a reflection of our environmental?

Stability-Change

Are characteristics developed in childhood fixed, or do we change significant over the course of our lives?

Diversity-Universality

Does our understanding of human psychology apply equally well to every human being? Ex) Across cultures, only to men or women, particular racial or ethnic groups, or particular societies (especially our own)?

Mind-Body

How are our minds (thoughts and feelings) and body (activity in the nervous system) connected?

What does psychology have in common with other sciences?

The application of the scientific method

Scientific Method (psych-focused, probably

1. Developing a hypothesis

2. Performing a controlled test

3. Gather objective data,

4. Analyze results

5. Publish, criticize, and replicate the results

Theory

an explanation of a natural phenomenon supported by many observations and experiments over time

Hypothesis

A testable question about the theory in question

Critical Thinking, various steps

1. Define the problem/question you're investigating

2. Suggest a theory

3. Collected and examine data

4. Analyze assumptions

5. Avoid oversimplifying

6. Draw conclusions carefully

7. Consider every alternative explanation

8. Recognize how results generalize

Topic 1.5

No one cares about this one

Voluntarism (Wundt)

School of thought founded by Wilhelm Wundt around the idea of selective attention---the idea that attention is actively controlled by intentions and motives, and that attention in turn controls other processes as perceptions, thoughts, and memories. Basically treats "will" as the driver of human thought.

Structuralism (Titchener)

School of psychology that stresses that even the most complex thoughts and feelings can be reduced to basic units of experience: physical sensations, feelings, and images

Functionalism (James)

A direct challenge to the ideas of Titchener; arguing that perceptions, emotions, and images cannot be separated---stating that consciousness is adaptive.

Psychodynamic Psychology (Freud)

Personality theories stating that we are motivated by unconscious instincts and primitive desires.

Behaviorism (Watson)

Theory that all mental experiences are nothing more than physiological changes in response to accumulated experiences. Focused on studying measurable and observable behavior rather than things than can't be measured, such as psychodynamic and psychoanalysis theories. Linked to the changing of behavior through experience

Behaviorism Revisited (Skinner)

B.F. Skinner also believed in changing behavior through training, but he added a new element to behaviorism: reinforcement. Reinforcement was used as a tool to make the trainee an active agent in it's own training---learning through reward

Cognitive Revolution

The shift away from behaviorism toward a broad interest in mental processes such as memory, decision-making, and informational process.

Gestalt Psychology (Wertheimer, Kohler, Koffka)

School of psychology that studies how people perceive objects and patterns. Basically they study perception.

Humanistic Psychology

Emphasizes the realization of the full human potential through self-esteem, self-expression, becoming so involved self-consciousness fades, and self-actualization.

Cognitive Psychology

School of psychology that studies mental processes in the broadest sense.

Seven Moden Perspectives of Psychology

1. Biological

2. Development

3. Cognitive

4. Clinical

5. Behavioral

6. Trait

7. Sociocultural

Biological Perspective

We are complex systems; therefore, we respond to both hereditary and environmental influences. Behavior is determined by neural structures, biochemistry, and innate responses to external cues.

Focus of study: nervous and endocrine systems; evolutionary advantages to behaviors.

Developmental Perspective

We undergo predictable patterns of change throughout our lives. Behavior is determined by interactions between heredity and environment.

Focus of study: Patterns of developmental changes and their underlying influences

Cognitive Perspective

We are information processing systems. Behavior is determined by means of mental processing.

Focus of study: mental processes such as sensation, perception, learning, memory, learning memory, and language.

Clinical Perspective

We are driven by unconscious motives.

Psychodynamic view - stresses unconscious conflicts

Humanistic view - concept of self and need for individual growth

Focus of study: Counseling and psychotherapy

Behavioral Perspective

We respond to our surroundings according to principals of behavioral learning. Behavior is determined by stimulus cues, and history of reward and punishment.

Focus of study: "laws" that govern our responses to stimuli in the environment.

Trait Perspective

Individual differences result from from differences in our underlying patterns of stable characteristics. Behavior is determined by a person's combination of unique traits.

Focus of study: Fundamental traits, using trait patterns to predict behavior.

Sociocultural Perspective

We are social animals, therefore, human behavior must be interpreted in social context. Behavior is determined by culture, social norms, expectations, and social learning.

Focus of study: Social interaction, socialization, and cross-cultural differences.