Introduction to Psychology: Definition, History, and Schools of Thought

Psychology Defined: Psychology is defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
Behavior: Refers to any action an organism does that is observable.
Mental Processes: Refers to internal, subjective experiences that we infer from behavior. Examples include: * Perceptions. * Thoughts. * Dreams. * Beliefs. * Feelings.

Social Sciences: Focuses on the structure of the human within societies and the interactions with others. * Examples: History, anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology.
Natural Sciences: Concerns the nature of the physical world. These sciences seek to find answers through the scientific method. * Scientific Method Steps: Conducting surveys and experiments, analyzing data, and then drawing conclusions. * Examples: Biology, chemistry, and physics.

Theory: * Helps answer the question of "WHY?". * Consists of statements about behavior. * Used to help predict behaviors. * Theories are dynamic: As research continues, they are subject to being changed or disregarded.
Principles: Defined as rules or laws.

Confucius: Focused on the power of ideas and the importance of an educated mind.
Socrates and Plato: Philosophers who believed the mind is in control and that knowledge is innate (individuals are born with it).
Aristotle: A student of Plato who used careful observations. He believed that knowledge is not preexisting and instead grows from experiences.
René Descartes: Through the dissection of animals, he discovered that nerves control reflexes. He incorrectly theorized that nerves were hollow and that "animal spirits" flowed through them.
Francis Bacon: Known as the founder of modern science. He researched the human mind and its failings, specifically focusing on how humans notice and remember things to confirm their existing beliefs.
John Locke: Proposed that the mind at birth is a "blank slate," also known as tabula rasa.
Empiricism: The concept that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation.

Wilhelm Wundt: Established the first psychological laboratory. * Concept: Referred to his work as studying the "Atoms of the mind." * First Psychological Experiment: Involved measuring reaction time based on different stimuli. * Reaction Time Results: Subjects responded in approximately $0.1$ seconds for hearing and $0.2$ seconds for seeing. * Resource: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr7O41r8uEI

Structuralism: * Associated with Wilhelm Wundt. * Methodology: Used introspection (looking inward) to explore the elemental structure of the mind (e.g., asking a subject to describe a rose). * Objective Sensations: Sight, smell, and other observable/measurable inputs. * Subjective Feelings: Emotional responses to the stimuli. * Outcome: This school was not extremely successful because, as noted, "Often we don’t know why we feel the way we feel."
Functionalism: * Associated with William James. * Focus: How mental and behavioral processes function—specifically how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish. * Scope: Investigated senses, feelings, emotions, willpower, habits, and memories. * Key Inquiry: What are the functions of each body part and how does that help us?

Mary Calkins: * Became the first woman president of the American Psychological Association (APA) in $1905$ . * She was denied her Ph.D. from Harvard University despite completing the requirements.
Margaret Floy Washburn: * The first woman to officially receive a Ph.D. in psychology. * Served as the second female president of the APA in $1921$ . * Author of The Animal Mind. * Known as an experimental psychologist (one who explores behavior and thinking through experiments).

Psychology Defined: Scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
Behavior: Observable actions of organisms.
Mental Processes: Internal experiences inferred from behavior (e.g., perceptions, thoughts, dreams, beliefs, feelings).

Social Sciences: Study of human society (e.g., history, anthropology, economics, political science, sociology).
Natural Sciences: Study of the physical world through the scientific method (e.g., biology, chemistry). - Scientific Method Steps: Conducting surveys and experiments, analyzing data, drawing conclusions.

Confucius: Power of ideas; importance of an educated mind.
Socrates and Plato: Mind controls; knowledge is innate.
Aristotle: Knowledge grows from experiences.
René Descartes: Nerves control reflexes; "animal spirits" theory.
Francis Bacon: Founder of modern science; human mind and failings.
John Locke: Mind at birth is a "blank slate" (tabula rasa).
Empiricism: Knowledge originates in experience; science relies on observation.

Wilhelm Wundt: Established first psychological laboratory; studied "Atoms of the mind"; reaction time experiment results: hearing (0.1s) and seeing (0.2s).

Structuralism: Associated with Wundt; used introspection; objective sensations vs. subjective feelings.
Functionalism: Associated with William James; focus on how processes function/enable adaptation and survival.

Mary Calkins: First female APA president (1905); denied PhD from Harvard.
Margaret Floy Washburn: First woman with PhD in psychology; second female APA president (1921); author of The Animal Mind.