Overview of
Psychology
• Framework in Psychology
• Psychological Perspectives
“As long as our brain is a mystery, the universe – a reflection of the
structure of the brain – will also be a mystery.”
- Santiago Ramon y Cajal
“There is no scientific study more vital to man than the study of his
own brain. Our entire view of the universe depends on it.”
- Francis H.C. Crick
Psychology's Big Debate
Nature vs. Nurture
Genetics
Society
Chemistry
Observation
Biology
Parenting
Enduring Issues in
Psychology
•
•
•
•
•
Person — Situation
Heredity —Environment
Stability — Change
Diversity
Mind — Body
Scientific Revolutions
• Copernican
“Earth is not the center of the cosmos; it is just a spec of dust.”
• Darwinian
“Far from being the pinnacle of creation we are actually a species of
ape and derive from the same family as everything else.”
• Freudian
“Even though we claim to be in complete control of ourselves, our
behavior is actually governed by a cauldron of chemicals and
psychological processes that we are completely unaware of.”
• DNA
“Life is basically chemicals”
Scientific Revolutions
•
Potential (greatest revolution)
–
–
–
Understanding the very brain itself. This will change our view of who we are and how
we understand the cosmos.
This will bridge science and all other fields-theology, art, music, sociology, economics,
government…etc.
Neuroecology or neurotheology for example.
What is Psychology?
• Discipline concerned with behavior and mental processes and
how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental
state, and external environment.
•
Psychology: (Greek)
– Psyche (mind/soul)
– Logia (study)
Areas by Profession
Clinical
Counseling
Education/
School
Industrial/
Organizational
Other
Hermann Ebbinghaus
“Psychology has a long past, but only a short
history.”
– Though psychology is relatively new as a formal academic
discipline, scholars have pondered the questions that psychologists
ask for thousands of years.
Beginnings
•
Psychology gets its roots from physiology and philosophy.
– Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Hippocrates among others.
•
Pondered Questions:
What is free will?
How does the mind work?
What is the relationship of people to their society?
Beginnings Continued
•
John Lock: (18th Century) Knowledge depends upon the
experience of the sense organs.
– Tabula Rasa
Structuralism and
Functionalism
• Two Great Schools Started by Two Great Minds:
Versus
Structuralism: What is Consciousness?
Principles
Wilhem Wundt
• Interprets sensations, images,
and feelings.
• Introspection.
• Basic structures of mental life:
• “Father of Psychology”
• Established the first
psychology lab in Germany in
1879. (University of Leipzig)
– Perception, Sensation, Affection
Success:
• Created a model for studying
mental processes scientifically.
Problem:
• Can not be used to study
children, animals, and
disorders.
Functionalism: What is consciousness used for?
Principle
• Influenced by Charles Darwin.
• How the mind functions aide in
adaptation.
• Expanded psychology to
include emotions and
observable behavior.
• Initiated the psychological
testing movement.
William James/John Dewey
G. Stanley Hall: (1883)
• First psychology lab in U.S.
• Johns Hopkins University
Europe vs. United States
Early Dominant Schools after the death of
Structuralism and Functionalism:

Europe: Gestalt Theory (Max Wertheimer)
Psychoanalysis (Sigmund Freud)
“We must succumb to the will of an all powerful unconscious”

United States: Behaviorism (John B. Watson)
“Humans are pawns of the environment”
Three Major Forces in Psychology
Psychoanalysis: (First Force)
Behaviorism: (Second Force)
Humanism: (Third Force)
• (1950’s) Many psychologists believed that these more radical
approaches were dehumanizing and thus created a more
human condition oriented school.
– “Humans are inherently good”
Seven Powerful Perspectives
Five Main
Biological
Behavioral
Cognitive
Humanistic
Psychodynamic
Modern Additions
Sociocultural
Evolutionary
Prognosis
Biopsychosocial
Biological Perspective
Methods
Theory
• Genetics
• Study biological processes in
the brain.
• Localizing functions in specific
areas in the brain.
• How internal events interact
with external events to produce
perceptions, memories, and
emotions.
Other Names:
• Neuropsychological
• Physiological
• Neurological
Major Theorists:
• Johannes Muller
• Karl Lashley
• David Hubel
Behavioral Perspective
Methods
Theory
• Controlled laboratory settings
ensuring all variables are
accounted for.
• Conditioning
• Primarily uses an animal
model to prove theories.
• Token Society
How organisms learn new
behaviors or modify existing
ones, depending on whether
events in their environments
reward or punish these
behaviors.
Other Names:
• Learning Perspective
• Black-Box Psychology
Major Theorists:
• Ivan Pavlov
• B.F. Skinner
• Albert Bandura
Humanistic Perspective
Methods
Theory
• Focuses on such issues as the
self and self-actualization.
• Evaluates topics such ashealth, hope, love, creativity,
nature, being, becoming,
individuality, and meaning.
• Montessori Schools.
Humans are naturally good
and naturally strive to be the
best.
Practical Applications:
• Army “Be all you can be”
• Navy “Accelerate your live”
Major Theorists:
• Carl Rogers
• Abraham Maslow
• Rollo May
Cognitive Perspective
Methods
Theory
• Memory, language, problem
solving, volition, sensation,
and perception.
Examines how we process, store,
and use information and how this
information influences what we
attend to, perceive, learn,
remember, believe, and feel.
Interesting Note:
• Primarily created as an attack
against learning theory
because of its inability to prove
language acquisition at a
logical and acceptable level.
Major Theorists:
• Jean Piaget
• Noam Chomsky
Psychodynamic Perspective
Methods
Theory
• Dream analysis
• Psychoanalysis
• Analyze past experiences
Evaluates unconscious dynamics
and internal conflicts regulate
human behavior. Childhood
experiences greatly influence
human development.
Other Names:
• Psychosexual
• Psychoanalytical (Practical)
• Psychosocial (Ericksonian)
Major Theorists:
• Sigmund Freud
• Erick Erickson
• Carl Jung
Evolutionary Perspective
Methods
Theory
• Naturalistic observation
• Cameras and recorders
• Comparison of behaviors
across species
Chaotic environment desires tools
and behaviors geared towards a
dynamic accommodation process.
Major Theorists:
• Konrad Lorenz
• Karl von Frisch
• Nikolas (Niko) Tinbergen
• Charles Darwin
Sociocultural Perspective
Methods
Theory
• Analyze social settings and
look for similarities in human
behavior across cultures.
Evaluates social forces and
how the social variables
change behavior.
Major Theorists:
• Phillip Zimbardo
• Stanley Milgram