THE DEVELOPMENT
OF PSYCHOLOGY
Chapter 2.2
We will learn:
Where & when psychology begin as a field of
study
How the understanding of personality
developed over time
Current topics of psychological study in
Canada today
Fields of Study in Psychology
Psychoanalysis
• Analyzes
inner
experiences
and the
mind
Behavioural
Psychology
• Analyzes
principles of
behaviour
Cognitive
Psychology
• Analyzes
perception,
learning,
memory &
reasoning
Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud
Probed the innermost experiences* of
people
*thoughts, feelings, fantasies, dreams
To help people deal with severe anxieties
& tensions
Behavioural Psychology
 Some psychologists became dissatisfied with
psychoanalysis
 Unreliable
 Depended on patient’s ability to describe own experiences
 Easier to study behaviour, since it is observable than
the invisible mind
 John Watson: “the prediction and control of behaviour”
 Used animals believing that their behaviour would help
us understand human behaviour
Experiments in Behaviourism
 Edward Lee Thorndike
 Put cats in a cage, left food outside it, timed them
to see how long it would take to learn to open a
small door
 They seemed to learn more and more quickly,
building on previous experience
 Law of effect: behaviours that result in a positive
outcome will be repeated; those that result in a
negative outcome will be avoided
Cognitive Psychology
Studies how people perceive and deal
with their environment
How people learn & remember
Where in the brain memories are
stored
How we gain and use language
How we reason & make decisions
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
 Generally recognized as the founder of
psychoanalysis
 His basic assumption:
 Human mind has two parts
 Conscious mind: memories we can recall
 Unconscious mind: memories we can’t recall
 Unconscious > conscious
 Unconscious needed to be explored to help deal with
mental disorders
How Freud “unlocked” memories
 Freud first believed in hypnosis, later doubted it
 Later developed: free association
 Patient very relaxed,
 Therapist read a list of words, patient responded with first
ideas that came to mind
 The responses helped discover the secrets of mind
 Dream analysis helped understand personality
Three elements of human mind
 Id
 Pleasure-seeking,
 Primitive parts of personality
 Aggression
 Sexual desire
(These can be self-destructive)
 Superego
 Urges us to do good things
 Ego
 “referees” between id & superego
 Acts as conscience, helps us judge right/wrong
 Urges us to strive for perfection
Defense Mechanisms
 Part of Freud’s most interesting work
 Defense mechanisms:
 Techniques used by the mind to deal with anxiety and to
maintain self-esteem
 E.g., denial, (refusing to acknowledge your own problem
behaviour
 Displacement, (shifting your anger/frustration  less threatening
person
 Repression, (hiding bad experiences from your consciousness)
 Using these too often might cause someone to lose touch with
reality
Sigmund Freud
One of the most important thinkers
of the 20th C
Certain followers rejected his
theories
His ideas played a huge role in
development of psychiatry
Alfred Adler (1870-1937)
Austrian (like Freud)
Initially followed & worked with Freud
Thought Freud’s ideas too rigid
Disagreed with him on the importance of
sexuality
Freud believed: people were driven by sexual
desire for conquest & excitement
Adler: people had desire for all kinds of power
Adler
Developed Individual Psychology therapy
He assumed: people were aware of their goals and
values
He introduced the idea of the Inferiority Complex,
i.e., since we “feel smaller” we compensate in ways
to give ourselves “power”
Also believed in analyzing dreams, but rejected the
idea that they revealed more about our sexuality
Carl Jung (1875-1961)
 Swiss psychoanalyst
 Founded Analytic Psychology
 Worked with Freud too
 Believed Freud’s ideas of the unconscious were too
simplistic
 Jung: unconscious mind has a personal & collective
aspect
Jung: Personal & Collective Unconscious
Personal
Unique to the
individual
Collective
Shared by all people
Contains memories of
our ancestors
More important than
personal unconscious
Jung: Four Psychological Functions & use of psychological
power
Sensation
Intuition
Thinking
Feeling
People are either
 INTROVERTS
 Look inward
 Emotionally self-sufficient
 Prefer to be alone…
 EXTROVERTS
 Draw closer to others
 Comfortable in large
groups
Ivan Pavlov
 Noticed:
 UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS (UCS)
UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE (UCR)
 E.g. FOOD
SALIVATION
 WE DO NOT NEED TO LEARN THIS CONNECTION: IT IS INSTINCTIVE / INNATE (i.e., inborn)
 If a CONDITIONED STIMULUS (CS) is added at the same time as the UCS
 FOOD (UCS) + BELL (CS)
UCR
SALIVATION (UCR)
 EVENTUALLY:
 CS (alone)
CONDITIONED RESPONSE (CR) SALIVATION
 UNCONDITIONED: not learned behaviour
CONDITIONED: LEARNED BEHAVIOUR
PSYCHOLOGY IN CANADA TODAY
Role of human error in accidents
Medical conditions, e.g., anorexia,
depression (physiological or emotional?)
Mental health…
Corrections Canada