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The Story of Psychology (so far…)
The Story of Psychology (so far…)
What is Psychology?
What is Psychology?
• Psychology is the scientific study of mind and
behavior
– Science – we’ll describe this process next time…
– Mind – the private inner experience of
perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings
– Behavior – the observable actions of human
beings and nonhuman animals
A couple of problems…
• Mind... a problem
– How can anyone tell you about your own private
and subjective experiences?
A couple of problems…
• Behavior… another
problem
– How does behavior
relate to subjective
inner experiences?
What is Psychology?
• Psychology is the scientific study of mind and
behavior
– It is a systematic process of answering questions
about the mind and behavior
– There are other ways of answering these
questions…
Psychology’s Ancestors:
The Great Philosophers
• Before the mind and
behavior were studied in
a scientific way, they
were studied in a
philosophical way
– Plato
– Aristotle
• They debated many of
the questions that are
being scientifically tested
today
Psychology’s Ancestors:
The Great Philosophers
• Are cognitive abilities and knowledge inborn,
or are they acquired only through experience?
– For example, is the ability to learn language
“hardwired” or does it depend on experience?
Psychology’s Ancestors:
The Great Philosophers
• Nativism – the
philosophical view that
certain kinds of
knowledge are innate or
inborn
– Plato was in favor of this
view
Psychology’s Ancestors:
The Great Philosophers
• Philosophical empiricism – the philosophical
view that all knowledge is acquired through
experience
– Aristotle believed that the mind was a “blank slate”
on which experiences are written
Mind or Brain? The French Connection
• Here’s what we know
– That our brain and our bodies are physical,
tangible objects
– That the subjective contents of our minds (i.e. our
perceptions, thoughts, and feelings) are not
physical*
• If our experiences are real… where the hell are
they?!
Mind or Brain? The French Connection
• Here’s what we know
– That our brain and our bodies are physical, tangible
objects
– That the subjective contents of our minds (i.e. our
perceptions, thoughts, and feelings) are not physical*
• If our experiences are real… where the hell are
they?!
– Dualism – how mental activity can be reconciled and
coordinated with physical behavior
Mind or Brain? The French Connection
• Dualism - “The Ghost in
the Machine”
– The argument for the
distinction between the
physical brain and the
non-physical mind
Mind or Brain? The French Connection
• Dualism - “The Ghost in
the Machine”
– The argument for the
distinction between the
physical brain and the
non-physical mind
– Descartes (right) posited
that the non-physical
was connected to the
physical via the pineal
gland
Mind or Brain? The French Connection
• Materialism
– The view that the mind
and body are one and
the same
Mind or Brain? The French Connection
• Franz Joseph Gall (1758)
– Phrenology – a now
defunct theory that
specific mental abilities
and characteristics are
localized in specific
regions of the brain.
– The more capacities and
traits a person has, the
greater area they take
up in their brain
Mind or Brain? The French Connection
• Don’t laugh so fast…
Mind or Brain? The French Connection
• Paul Broca (1824-1880)
– Worked with a patient who lacked the ability to speak, but
retained the ability to comprehend speech
– Broca surmised that this impediment might be related to a
specific part of the brain
• This was extremely insightful
Psychology’s Roots
• William James (18421920)
– First to take a scientific
approach to study
Psychology
– Wrote The Principles of
Psychology
• “An attempt to mark out
psychology as a new
domain of science.”
Psychology’s Roots
• Wilhelm Wundt (18321920)
– Founded the first
laboratory devoted
exclusively to psychology
– University of Leipzig,
Germany
Psychology’s Roots
• Two original movements within Psychology
– Structuralism – analyzes the mind by breaking it
down into its basic components
• Wilhelm Wundt took a structuralist approach
– Functionalism – the study of the purpose mental
processes serve in enabling people to adapt to
their environment
• James, influenced by Darwin, took a functional
approach
Structuralism and the Bridge from Physiology
to Psychology
• In the middle of the 19th
century, psychology saw
a breakthrough within
the related field of
physiology
– Physiology – the study of
biological process,
especially in the human
body
Structuralism and the Bridge from Physiology
to Psychology
• Hermann von Helmholtz
(1821-1894)
– Developed a method for
measuring the speed of
nerve impulses
– Applied a stimulus and
measured reaction time
• Stimulus – sensory input
from the environment
• Reaction time – the amount
of time taken to respond to
a specific stimulus
Structuralism and the Bridge from Physiology
to Psychology
• Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894)
– Compared responses to stimuli applied to either
• The toe
• The thigh
– Found that participants took longer to respond to
stimulations of the toe in comparison to stimulations of
the thigh
• This suggested that mental processes do not occur
instantaneously, but
– Over time
– Dependent on nerve length
– Most importantly, this was an empirical study that
demonstrated what could be done in psychology
Structuralism and the Bridge from Physiology
to Psychology
• Wundt wanted to study consciousness scientifically
– Consciousness – a person’s subjective experience of the
world and the mind
– Noted that chemists study things by breaking down natural
substances into basic elements
– Structuralism – the analysis of the basic elements that
constitute the mind
• Aimed to study consciousness by breaking it down into elemental
sensations and feelings
– Introspection – the subjective awareness of one’s own
experiences
• In a typical study, participants were given a stimulus and asked to
report their subjective experiences
Structuralism and the Bridge from Physiology
to Psychology
• Introspection
– Fundamental difficulties
• Invalid – different people see different things
• Unreliable – the same person may see different things
at different times
• People are often mistaken about their experiences
• Many events happen outside of our conscious
awareness
• Sometimes examining something is enough to change it
• Williams James was aware of these limitations
James and the Functional Approach
• James thought it impossible to break consciousness
down into component parts
– Consciousness is more like a stream than a bundle of
constituent parts
• Functionalism – the study of the purpose mental
processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their
environment
– This approach was highly influenced by Charles Darwin’s
On the origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
– The functional approach is an evolutionary approach
Reverse-Engineering for Function
• What is this?
Reverse-Engineering for Function
• What is this for?
Reverse-Engineering for Function
• Let’s treat it as a mental or
physical aspect of a human
– One that we don’t know
what it is
– One that we don’t know
what it does
• How might we best
understand it?
Reverse-Engineering for Function
• Design features make it
good at what it does
– Two open slots
• Large enough for one slice of
bread each
• Small enough to deliver heat
efficiently to the sides of the
bread
– Clever plastic handle
• Allows me to lower bread
• Stays fairly cool itself while
the bread heats
Reverse-Engineering for Function
• Design features make it
good at what it does
– Timer
• Automatically ejects the toast
(or whatever) when a certain
amount of time has gone off
– Power cord
– Heating elements
Reverse-Engineering for Function
• Various parts contribute to
the overall function of the
toaster
– They make it good at
toasting bread
• The features of the toaster
provide evidence
regarding its function
– Its construction is too well
suited for precisely this for
it to be anything else
Reverse-Engineering for Function
• Contrast a toaster with a
butane torch
– You could toast bread with a
torch, but it’d be much less
efficient
• Heat would be wasted
• Bread would not be toasted evenly
• The toaster is good at what it
does for the same reason the
constituent parts of our bodies
are… and our minds
– They “assume” facts about the
problems they have to solve
– Same thing with good computers
Reverse-Engineering for Function
• Narrow function
– A toaster is great at making
toast
– Horrible at washing dishes,
opening cans, brewing
coffee, etc.
– Just like the constituent
parts of our bodies… and
our minds
Reverse Engineering for Function
• Of course a toaster
could be used for other
functions…
–
–
–
–
A paperweight
A weapon
A mirror
A “crumb-maker”
• But it does a poor job at
each of these other
functions
Reverse Engineering for Function
• Brains are machines with functions… just like
toasters
– “to the extent there is a problem whose solution has
regularities, an efficient solution to that problem will
embody those regularities, making the mechanism
specialized for the task and efficient in solving the
problem.” – Kurzban, 2011
• In the context of organisms
– These regularities are the environment
– Natural selection has shaped designs that reap
advantages of function and specialization
Reverse Engineering for Function
Charles Darwin
William James
• Inspired James; wrote On
the Origin of Species by
Means of Natural Selection
• Natural Selection: the
features of an organism that
help it survive and
reproduce are more likely
than other features to be
passed on to subsequent
generations
• First to take a scientific
approach to study
Psychology; wrote The
Principles of Psychology
• Functionalism: study of the
purpose of mental
processes serve in enabling
people to adapt to their
environment
The Development of Clinical Psychology
• Meanwhile… in France
• Two physicians were treating
patients with hysteria
– Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893)
– Pierre Janet (1859-1947)
• Hysteria – a temporary loss of cognitive
or motor functions, usually as the result
of emotionally upsetting experiences
• They found that, when hypnotized,
hysteric patients experienced relief
from physical and emotional symptoms
The Development of Clinical Psychology
• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
– The work of Charcot and
Janet amazed Freud
• These observations inspired one
of the most influential theories
in all of psychology
– Psychoanalytic theory
– Although inspired, Freud’s
theory was all his own
– Psychoanalysis – therapeutic
approach focusing on bringing
unconscious material into
conscious awareness
Challenge accepted!
Psychoanalytic Theory
• Freud
– Was studying hypnosis in 1890’s with Josef Breuer
– Found that hysterical patients experienced catharsis with when
talking about problems in a hypnotic state
• Catharsis – emotional release
– Theorized that hysterical symptoms resulted from early sexual
molestation
• Leaving memories that were intentionally forgotten
– Discovered that symptoms disappeared when memories were
completely recalled
– Theory of neuroses
• Behind every neurotic conflict lies a forgotten childhood trauma
• Mind defends against painful experiences by actively excluding them
from conscious awareness
Psychoanalytic Theory
• The Topographic Model – the idea that the mind has an
organization or architecture that overflows
consciousness and can be described in terms of
different levels or compartments
– Unconscious* – the only part of the mind that exists at birth
– Preconscious – everything that can be summoned to
consciousness on command (e.g. phone number)
– Conscious awareness – the part of our mind that forms our
waking lives
• The desire to bring satisfaction to our unconscious
instincts continues to be the main motivator in human
behavior throughout the life span
Psychoanalytic Theory
• Difficulties
– Dark view of human nature
• Emphasis on limitations and problems
– Many ideas were difficult to test
• In science, any hypothesis that can’t be disproven can be worse
than useless
• … still there can be no doubt of the enduring
influence of psychoanalytic thought
– “He has a big ego.”
– “I was pissed.”
– “She’s anal.”
Humanistic Response
• Humanistic Psychology
– Pioneered by Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and Carl
Rogers (1902-1987)
– This approach emphasized the positive potential of
human beings
• Direct reaction to the darker tones of psychoanalytic theory
• Both Maslow and Rogers made distinct
contributions
– Maslow is most well known for his “hierarchy of needs”
– Rogers is most well known for his “Client-Centered”
approach to therapy
Behaviorism
• Thus far, psychologists have attempted to study the mind
• The same problem persists…
– How can anyone tell you about your own private and subjective
experience?
Behaviorism
• Underlying inner-workings of the mind
– Conscious perceptions
– Thoughts
– Memories
– Feelings
– Reports of unconscious material
• Each of these is subjective
– Thus vulnerable to mistake and bias
Behaviorism
• Behaviorists challenged the idea that
psychology should be interested in mental life
at all
• Behaviorism
– Advocates that psychologists restrict themselves
to the scientific study of objectively observable
behavior
– Represented a dramatic departure from all
previous schools of thought within psychology
Watson and the Emergence of Behaviorism
• John Watson (1878-1958)
– Science requires replicable and objective measures
– Methods used by structuralists and functionalists are
subjective
• Private experiences are too idiosyncratic and vague
– Lack validity and reliability
– Proposed that psychologists focus entirely on what
people do rather than what they experience
– If psychology is the study of the mind and behavior…
• Watson wanted to take out the “mind”
Watson and the Emergence of Behaviorism
• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
– Studied digestion
– Striking observation
• Dogs naturally salivated to the smell of dog food
– This stimulus was “unconditioned,” that is, not learned
• After several feedings, dogs began salivating at the sight of
the person who fed them
– This stimulus was “conditioned,” that is, learned
– What other stimuli might be “conditioned” to elicit
natural responses?
• Tones, lights, etc.
• Marijuana, tennis balls, teachers, boyfriends
Watson and the Emergence of Behaviorism
• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
– Studied the physiology of digestion and founded classical
conditioning (stimulus-response learning)
• Response – action or physiological change elicited by a stimulus
• John Watson (1878-1958)
– Influenced by Pavlov
– Goal to predict and control behavior through the study of
observable behavior
• Margaret Washburn (1871-1939)
– Studied behavior in different animal species
– Published The Animal Mind
– Developed theory of consciousness
Behaviorism
• John Watson
– “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed and my
own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll
guarantee to take any one at random and train him to
become ay type of specialist I might select – doctor,
lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes, even beggarman
and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants,
tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his
ancestors. I am going beyond my facts and I admit it,
but so have the advocates of the contrary and they have
been doing it or many thousands of years.”
B.F. Skinner and the Development of
Behaviorism
• Not all learning is based off of paired
associations
• What about
– Instruction? Trial and error? Reinforcement…
B.F. Skinner and the Development of
Behaviorism
• B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
– Built a conditioning
chamber (“Skinner Box”)
– Allowed him to study
reinforcement
• Reinforcement states
that:
– The consequences of a
behavior determine
whether it will be more or
less likely to occur again
B.F. Skinner and the Development of
Behaviorism
• Is free will an illusion?
– Skinner stated that our
behaviors are a product of
past and present patterns
of reinforcement
– How much “choosing” do
we actually do?
Technology and the Development of
Cognitive Psychology
• Not all learning is based off of paired associations or
reinforcement
• What about
– Completely novel behaviors?
– What about… language?
Technology and the Development of
Cognitive Psychology
• Noam Chomsky b. 1928)
– Children generate
sentences that they could
never have heard before
– Thus, language cannot be
learned solely by
reinforcement
• This was HUGE
– It brought the mind back to
psychology
The Emergence of Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
– An approach to psychology that links psychological
processes to activities in the nervous system and
other bodily experiences
• Behavioral Neuroscience
– The field of study that attempts to understand the
links between cognitive processes and brain
activity
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