Introduction to Psychology (Chapter 1)

What is psychology?

The study of the mind/soul in humans; the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes

Aristotle

observation and questioning to understand the body-psyche relationship

Greek philosophers

rational

Phrenology

medical practice for examining the bumps of someone's head to determine their character/intellect

Sir Francis Galton

studied heredity; wealthy & fit = intelligent

Structuralism

basic elements of human experience; self-reported data; one's own experience

Willheim Wundt

believed in the "science of mental life", studied sensations and feelings

Functionalism

survival/adaptation; functions of the conscious mind

William James

Father of American Psychology - functionalist

Mary Caulkins

studied with William James; first female president of the APA

Margaret Washburn

first female psychologist

Behaviorism

believes that psychology should be an objective science; studies behavior without reference to mental processes

John Watson & B.F. Skinner

Behaviorists; Little Albert Experiment

Ivan Pavlov

classical conditioning; dog experiments

Psychoanalytic Psychology

second major force in psychology; Sigmund Freund - interested in the unconscious mind

Humanistic Psychology

ways one's current environment can nature/limit our growth potential, along with a focus on our need for love and acceptance

Abraham Maslow & Carl Rogers

Humanists

Cognitive Psychology

how our mind processes and retains information

Jean Piaget

focused on cognitive development of children

Nature vs Nurture

genetic traits (nature) vs environment/experience (nurture)

Positive Psychology

ways to discover and promote strength/virtues that help people thrive/flourish

Martin Seligman

contributed to positive psychology by conducting experiments with dogs that led to the concept of "learned helplessness"