chapter 1: history and approaches
the study of psychology is as old as our species
scientifically, studying psychology seriously dates back to 1879
that year, Wilhelm Wundt set up the first psychological laboratory
Wundt would ask his test subjects to record their reactions to events that cause certain behaviors, otherwise known as stimuli
Wundt created the idea of structuralism, which was the idea that the mind operates by combining subjective emotions and objective sensations
1890 - William James published the first psychology textbook
James created the theory of functionalism and examined how structures, which Wundt identified, had function in our lives
Mary Whiton Calkins - studied with William James and became president of the APA
Margaret Floy Washburn - the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology
G. Stanley Hall - focused on the study of child development and was the first president of the APA
introspective theories helped establish the science of psychology
gestalt psychologists would argue against human thought and behavior being different structures
gestalt psychology examines someone’s whole experience
they would argue saying that the whole experience is more than the sum of the parts in the experience
analogy: painting is seen as just points of color, but the experience is more than that
therapists would use this by examining both the client’s difficulty and the context in which this difficulty occurs
Sigmund Freud created the psychoanalytic theory
he discovered the unconscious mind, which we don’t have control over, but it can control how we think and behave
he thought this formed through repression, which is where events and feelings cause so much anxiety/tension that the conscious mind can’t deal with then
Freud would use dream analysis, word association, and other techniques to examine this, but was often criticized for being unscientific
John Watson declared that for psychology to be a science, we should only use observable phenomena which eliminates the concept of the unconscious mind, as it is unobservable
behaviorists believe that psychologists should only look at behavior and causes of behavior, or stimuli (environmental events) and responses (physical reactions)
B.F. Skinner - another behaviorist who added the idea of reinforcement which is environmental stimuli that either encourage or discourage responses
there is no one way to think of human thought and behavior in today’s age
psychologists call themselves eclectic, which is using multiple perspectives
humanists would stress the idea of individual choice and free will. some humanists could include Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
deterministic behaviorists think that behaviors were caused by past events, whereas humanists believe that we choose our behaviors
this can’t be easily tested with the scientific method but it does assist therapists in aiding clients
psychologists using this perspective believe that the unconscious mind controls much of our thought and actions
psychoanalysts would try to find impulses or memories that were pushed into the unconscious mind because of repression
this perspective thinks that to fully understand human thought and behavior, we should examine the unconscious mind through various psychoanalytic techniques
biopsychologists believe that human thought and behavior are caused by biological processes
the reaction could be caused by genes, hormones, and/or neurotransmitters in the brain
evolutionary psychologists use natural selection to examine human thoughts and actions
some psychological traits could be beneficial for survival and therefore passed down to the next generation
this is based on Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection
behaviorists look at observable behaviors and what reactions could occur from these behaviors
a behaviorist would look at environmental factors at how a behavior occurred
cognitive psychologists examine human thought and behavior through how we interpret, process, and remember environmental events
a cognitive psychologist would explain how a person behaves the way they do through how they interpret social situations
social-cultural psychologists look at thought and behavior through how people are affected by their culture
a person being influenced by their cultural norms would help a social-cultural psychologist explain behaviors
this perspective implements biological, psychological, and social factors.
a biopsychosocial psychological could agree with a cognitive psychologist, but would bring up the biological and psychological aspects
the study of psychology is as old as our species
scientifically, studying psychology seriously dates back to 1879
that year, Wilhelm Wundt set up the first psychological laboratory
Wundt would ask his test subjects to record their reactions to events that cause certain behaviors, otherwise known as stimuli
Wundt created the idea of structuralism, which was the idea that the mind operates by combining subjective emotions and objective sensations
1890 - William James published the first psychology textbook
James created the theory of functionalism and examined how structures, which Wundt identified, had function in our lives
Mary Whiton Calkins - studied with William James and became president of the APA
Margaret Floy Washburn - the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology
G. Stanley Hall - focused on the study of child development and was the first president of the APA
introspective theories helped establish the science of psychology
gestalt psychologists would argue against human thought and behavior being different structures
gestalt psychology examines someone’s whole experience
they would argue saying that the whole experience is more than the sum of the parts in the experience
analogy: painting is seen as just points of color, but the experience is more than that
therapists would use this by examining both the client’s difficulty and the context in which this difficulty occurs
Sigmund Freud created the psychoanalytic theory
he discovered the unconscious mind, which we don’t have control over, but it can control how we think and behave
he thought this formed through repression, which is where events and feelings cause so much anxiety/tension that the conscious mind can’t deal with then
Freud would use dream analysis, word association, and other techniques to examine this, but was often criticized for being unscientific
John Watson declared that for psychology to be a science, we should only use observable phenomena which eliminates the concept of the unconscious mind, as it is unobservable
behaviorists believe that psychologists should only look at behavior and causes of behavior, or stimuli (environmental events) and responses (physical reactions)
B.F. Skinner - another behaviorist who added the idea of reinforcement which is environmental stimuli that either encourage or discourage responses
there is no one way to think of human thought and behavior in today’s age
psychologists call themselves eclectic, which is using multiple perspectives
humanists would stress the idea of individual choice and free will. some humanists could include Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
deterministic behaviorists think that behaviors were caused by past events, whereas humanists believe that we choose our behaviors
this can’t be easily tested with the scientific method but it does assist therapists in aiding clients
psychologists using this perspective believe that the unconscious mind controls much of our thought and actions
psychoanalysts would try to find impulses or memories that were pushed into the unconscious mind because of repression
this perspective thinks that to fully understand human thought and behavior, we should examine the unconscious mind through various psychoanalytic techniques
biopsychologists believe that human thought and behavior are caused by biological processes
the reaction could be caused by genes, hormones, and/or neurotransmitters in the brain
evolutionary psychologists use natural selection to examine human thoughts and actions
some psychological traits could be beneficial for survival and therefore passed down to the next generation
this is based on Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection
behaviorists look at observable behaviors and what reactions could occur from these behaviors
a behaviorist would look at environmental factors at how a behavior occurred
cognitive psychologists examine human thought and behavior through how we interpret, process, and remember environmental events
a cognitive psychologist would explain how a person behaves the way they do through how they interpret social situations
social-cultural psychologists look at thought and behavior through how people are affected by their culture
a person being influenced by their cultural norms would help a social-cultural psychologist explain behaviors
this perspective implements biological, psychological, and social factors.
a biopsychosocial psychological could agree with a cognitive psychologist, but would bring up the biological and psychological aspects
