Module 2.3 - 2.6: History and Perspective 

2.3: Psychology in the 20th Century
  • Sigmund Freud
    • Psychoanalysis
    • compared the human mind to an iceberg
    • Behavior is greatly influenced by feelings and wishes buried deep inside a person
    • unconscious, sex, death
  • Ivan Pavlov
    • DogExperiment**Dog Experiment**: Classical Conditioning
    • Expected dogs to salivate when given food. Instead, they salivated before
      • ex: when seeing their food bowl
  • John B Watson
    • Behaviorism**Behaviorism**: Observable behavior only
    • We are the product of our environment (“Little Albert“)
2.5: Psychological Perspective
  • 6 Perspectives
    • Psychodynamics**Psychodynamics**: How we are affected by unconscious drive & conflicts
    • Behavioral**Behavioral**: How we learn through rewards, punishment & observation
    • Humanistic**Humanistic**: How healthy people strive to reach their full potential
    • Cognitive**Cognitive**: How we process information & interpret events of situations
    • Biological**Biological**: How biological structures & chemicals underline a behavior, thought, of feeling
    • SocialCultural**Social-Cultural**: How thinking/behavior change depending upon the situation or because of cultural influences
  • Multiple perspectives are necessary to understand all of the varied influences on human behavior & mental processes
    • BiopsychosocialApproach:**Biopsychosocial Approach:** Nature, Nurture, & self
2.6: 21st Century
  • BehaviorGenetics**Behavior Genetics**: How genes & environment influence individual differences
    • Learning & inherited genetic traits
  • EvolutionaryPsychology**Evolutionary Psychology**: Principles of Natural Selection & study of roots & mental process
    • how behaviors helped ancestors strive
    • combines biological, psychological & social aspects
  • PositivePsychology:**Positive Psychology:** Movement that focuses on the study of optimal human functioning & facts that allows individuals & communities to thrive (facts & science)
    • Focuses on wellness & healthy people
    • similar to humanistic psychology
    • %%Relies on facts & science based%%