Myers’ Psychology for AP
David G. Myers
Worth Publishers, © 2010
Unit 1:
Psychology’s History
and Approaches
• What is Psychology?
• Contemporary
Psychology
What is Psychology?
Psychology’s Roots
Prescientific Psychology
• Ancient Greeks
Socrates (knowledge
is innate)
Plato (like Socrates,
used logic & opinions)
Aristotle (instead,
derived principles from
observation)
How did each view
knowledge?
Psychology’s Roots
Prescientific Psychology
• Rene Descartes (how the immaterial
mind and physical body communicate)
• Francis Bacon (human understanding and
experience)
• John Locke (knowledge
originates in experience)
empiricism
Psychology’s Roots
Psychological Science is Born
• Wilhelm Wundt (1879)
• Established the first psychology
laboratory
• Hear sound, press key
Psychology developed into three
different branches, or schools of thought
• structuralism (looking inward, self reflect)
• functionalism (how functions enable use
•
to adapt, survive, and flourish)
behaviorism (observable action)
Psychology’s Roots
Thinking About the Mind’s
STRUCTURE (1890s)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Edward Titchener
Unreliable: vary from person to person
Don’t know why we feel and do what we do
Recollection errors
Introspection
Phased out: opinion, verify?
Apple example
Psychology’s Roots
Thinking About the Mind’s
FUNCTION (1890s)
• William James (different from Titchener
how?)
– Disconnected parts vs. evolved
functions
• Consciousness serves as a function
• Ties to Natural selection: adaptation,
(ideas, emotions, can extend beyond
physical traits)
– Showing emotions (frowning example)
Unit 1 Pop Quiz
(get a piece of paper)
A test of how you react to unexpected
situations
• Q#1: What did you experience when
you learned of the “pop” quiz?
• Q#2: Which thoughts and emotions
were helpful toward performance?
harmful?
• Q#3: What steps might you take to
overcome anxiety when faced with
unexpected situations?
Exercise: Psychologist as Scientist
(p. 6)
List three adjectives that describe a
typical scientist.
List three adjectives that describe a
typical psychologist.
Science:
Where is Psychology?
art
chemistry
___1_________2_________3_________4_________5_________6_________7___
philosophy
physics
Psychological Science
Develops (1960s)
• Behaviorists rooted in
observation-B.F. Skinner
• Can record people’s
behavior as they respond
to different situations
• Reinforces positive or
negative behavior
+
GET
something
REMOVE
something
“you be the parent”
(e.g., chores, homework, curfew, etc.)
Behavior Encouraged
Stimulus
presented
+
(get)
Stimulus
removed
or
withheld
–
(remove)
Behavior Suppressed
Psychological Science Develops
1960s
• Humanistic psychology (Carl Rogers and Abraham
Maslow)
– Importance of environmental influences on our growth
potential and having our needs satisfied
Psychological Science Develops
1960s
• Cognitive Neuroscience: ways we
perceive, process, and remember
information (1960s)
–This approach has led us to
understand and treat disorders like
depression
–Requires thinking
1
Stressful
Think / Feel / Do
Sinful
(Old Adam)
Godly 6
( New Man )
5
3
4
Peaceful
8th Comm.
Wronged
Thought
Anger
Feeling
Accepting /
Peaceful
REVENGE!
Action
Christian
LOVE
7
Example: Cut off by speeding, reckless motorist!
2
Psychological Science Develops
• Psychology
Behavior-?
mental processes-?
Contemporary Psychology
Psychology’s Biggest Question
• Nature-Nurture Issue
biology vs. experience
history
• Charles Darwin
natural selection
Psychology’s Three Main
Levels of Analysis
• Levels of Analysis: Biological,
psychological, & social-cultural
• Together, they form an integrated
biopsychosocial approach
– Complement one another, have their own limits, ask
different questions
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis
question on
bottom p. 11
Psychological
Approaches/Perspectives
biological
• how the body and brain enable emotions,
memories, and sensory experiences
evolutionary
• how natural selection of traits promoted the
survival of genes
psychodynamic
• how behavior springs from unconscious drives
and conflicts
behavioral
• how we learn observable responses
cognitive
• how we encode, process, store and retrieve
information
humanistic
social-cultural
• how we meet our needs for love and
acceptance, and achieve self-fulfillment
• How behavior and thinking vary across
situations and cutlures
LO #6
Psychology’s Subfields
• Psychometrics-measurement of human
abilities, attitudes, and traits
• difference between basic, applied, and
clinical science research?
basic research
biological
psychology
• investigates persistent
traits
developmental
psychology
• studies changing
abilities throughout the
life span
educational
psychology
• explores how we view
and affect one another
personality
psychology
• studies influences on
teaching and learning
social
psychology
• explores link between
brain and behavior
applied research
industrial/organizational
psychology
human factors
psychology
counseling
psychology
clinical
psychology
psychiatry
• helps people cope with
adjustments, challenges, and
crises
• used in the workplace to help
companies select and train
employees
• medical doctors who may
prescribe drugs in treatment
• assesses and treats mental,
emotional, and behavior
disorders
• focuses on interaction of
people, machines, and physical
environments
Clinical science and applications
• Counseling-help people cope with challenges and crises
• Clinical psychologists-assess and treat mental,
emotional, or behavior disorders
• Psychiatrists-medical doctors