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Psychology: Foundations, Methods, and Historical Perspectives

Psychology Foundations: Definition, Focus, and Practice

  • Psychology: the scientific study of behavior and mental processes (on midterm).
  • Focus: thoughts, emotions, behavior, and underlying processes.
  • It involves many different practices, ranging from basic research to applied research.

Types of Research

  • Basic Research
    • Gathers knowledge for its own sake.
    • Builds on existing knowledge.
  • Applied Research
    • Aims to change behaviors and outcomes.
    • Leads to real-world applications.

Goals of Psychology (on midterm)

  • 1. Describe – report what is observed.
  • 2. Explain – organize and make sense of research findings.
  • 3. Predict – anticipate behaviors or outcomes.
  • 4. Change Behavior – apply findings to modify behavior in beneficial ways.

Psychology vs. Common Sense

  • Not just common sense – relies on scientific methods.

Key Phenomena and Critical Thinking in Psychology

  • Bystander Effect – fewer people help when more are present.
  • Hindsight Bias – “I knew it all along”; creates false confidence and blocks learning.
  • Anecdotal Evidence – based on personal experience; valuable but not a substitute for scientific research.
  • Psychology as a Science
    • Knowledge is gained through careful observation and experimentation.
    • Requires analyzing data and sharing results.
  • Critical Thinking in Psychology (on midterm)
    • Weighing evidence.
    • Gathering reliable information.
    • Disciplined, logical reasoning.

Related Concepts

  • APA style – essential skill for psychology students.
  • Pseudoscience – practices that appear scientific but lack real scientific basis.

Roots of Psychology

  • Ancient & Medieval Thought
    • Plato: humans are born with some innate knowledge.
    • Aristotle: knowledge comes from experiences.
    • Both nature & nurture matter.
    • Al-Haytham (“father of optics”): emphasized experiments, replication, skepticism.

Philosophy to Science

  • Descartes: “I think, therefore I am”; mind and body are separate but interact (dualism).
  • Fechner: studied how mind & body connect through sensation.

Founders of Modern Psychology

  • Wilhelm Wundt – “Father of Psychology”; structuralism. (on test)
  • William James – functionalism (functions of thoughts, feelings, behaviors).
  • Mary Whiton Calkins – completed PhD at Harvard, denied degree.
  • Margaret Floy Washburn – 1st woman to earn PhD in psychology.
  • Mamie Phipps Clark – 1st Black woman with PhD in psychology (Columbia).

Major Perspectives in Psychology

  • Psychoanalytic – unconscious conflicts influence behavior.
  • Behavioral – behavior learned through associations, reinforcers, and observation.
  • Humanistic – people are naturally motivated to grow positively (Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow).
  • Cognitive – thoughts drive behavior; includes neuroscience (George Miller).
  • Evolutionary – traits evolve for adaptation and survival (David Buss).
  • Biological – behavior and mental processes arise from physiology.
  • Sociocultural – culture and social interactions shape behavior.
  • Biopsychosocial – integrates biological, psychological, and sociocultural influences.