Thinking Critically With
Psychological Science
PowerPoint®
Presentation
by Jim Foley
© 2013 Worth
Publishers
Module 1: The History and Scope of
Psychology
Topics and Questions
 The origins and growth of
psychology, from questions to a
science
 The big question: do our human
traits develop through
experience (nurture), or are we
born with them (nature)?
 Psychology’s biopsychosocial
levels of analysis
 Psychology’s subfields
 Applying psychology to learning
the text: SQ3R
Psychology is about
understanding mind,
self, and others.
Bring your curiosity to
class, with questions
like:
How do I explain
dreams? Anxiety? The
abilities and funny
behavior of babies?
How can I learn to use
my mind to be more
successful in my life? To
be more effective in
helping others?
From speculation to science:
The Birth of Modern Psychology
Aristotle (4th century BCE) had ideas
about how the body and mind work.
His method: making guesses.
Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) added
two key elements to help make
psychology a science:
1. carefully measured observations
2. experiments
Wilhelm Wundt’s 1879 experiment
measured the time it took for people to:
Push a button when a ball
dropped (based on when they
heard the ball hit a platform):
1/10th of a second.
Push a button when
consciously aware of hearing
the ball hit the platform:
2/10ths of a second.
Why were the
times different?
Structuralism
 Edward Titchener, like his teacher Wundt, used data from
introspection, reporting on sensations and other elements of
experience.
 Structuralism: Using these introspective reports to build a
view of the mind’s structure
Functionalism:
The school of thought that
Psychological processes have a function: helping us survive
as individuals, adapt as a species
William
James
 The developer of
functionalism, William
James (1842-1910),
asked: How did the
human style of thinking
and behavior enable our
ancestors to live long
enough to reproduce?
 James mentored another
pioneer
Psychology Pioneers
 Mary Whiton Calkins
(1863-1930) became a
memory researcher and
the first female president
of the APA.
 She studied with William
James but was denied a
Harvard PhD. Why?
Because of her gender.
Mary
Whiton
Calkins
Psychology Pioneers
Margaret Floy Washburn
(1871-1939):
 The first female to earn a
Psychology PhD
 The second female APA
president
 Author of The Animal
Mind.
Margaret Floy
Washburn,
PhD
Shifting definitions of “psychology”
Wilhelm
Wundt and
Edward
Titchener,
around 1900:
“The science
of mental life.”
Johncombine
B.
Now we
and
theseWatson
definitions:
B.F. Skinner,
behaviorists,
“The
science of
1920’s: “The
behavior
scientificand
study of
mental
observable
processes.”
behavior.”
Cognitive
psychologists,
1960’s,
studied
internal mental
processes,
helped by
neuroscience.
Trends in Psychological Science:
Behaviorism
Behaviorists study and
experiment with
observable behavior.
Watson experimented
with conditioned
responses.
John B. Watson
Skinner studied the way
consequences shape
behavior.
Like other behaviorists,
he saw little value in
introspection.
B. F. Skinner
Trends in Psychology:
Freudian/Psychoanalytic Psychology
Sigmund Freud, founder of
psychoanalysis:
 He studied and helped people with a
variety of mental disorders.
 More about Freud when we study
personality and therapy
Sigmund Freud
Trends in Psychology:
Humanism
Abraham Maslow
Carl Rogers
Humanists: Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers (1960s):
 studied people who were thriving rather
than those who had psychological
problems.
 developed theories and treatments to
help people to feel accepted and to reach
their full potential.
The Growth of
Psychology
 Psychology’s pioneers have come
from many fields: physiology,
philosophy, medicine, and biology.
 Advances in psychology also have
been made in many countries
 Psychology has spread rapidly;
there are 71 member nations in
the IUPS.
The subjects studied in
psychology have
multiplied too… as we
shall see in this course.
The Big Issue in Psychology: N-N
The NatureNurture
Question:
To what extent are
our traits already set
in place at birth (our
“Nature”)?
And to what extent
do our traits
develop in
response to our
environment/
experience (our
“Nurture”)?
Descartes:
Some ideas
are innate.
Plato:
Ideas such
as “the
good” and
“beauty”
are inborn.
Nature
Charles Darwin: Some
traits become part of
our nature through
natural selection: they
help us survive long
enough to pass the traits
to the next generation.
Aristotle:
All knowledge
comes through
the senses.
vs.
Nurture
John Locke:
The mind is a
blank slate (blank
chalkboard or
screen) “written
on” by experience.
We share a
common
origin that
Nature
gives us
an
inborn human
nature in
common.
+
We have
differences
Nurture
that are
shaped by our
environment.
The Roles of
Nature and
Nurture:
“Nurture works on what Nature endows.”
Biology Plus Environment..
are part of
psychology’s three
“biopsychosocial”
levels of analysis.
The deep level,
Biology:
genes, brain,
neurotransmitters,
survival,
reflexes,
sensation
In the middle,
Psychology:
thoughts,
emotions,
moods, choices,
behaviors, traits,
motivations,
knowledge,
perceptions
The outer level,
Environment:
social Influences,
culture,
education,
relationships
The three levels as influences on
some psychological phenomenon
Example:
Example:
Example:
Example:
Enjoying
Depression
Intelligence
Shyness
Soccer
There are many
perspectives for
describing
psychological
phenomena:
Cognitive
perspective
Social-cultural
Behavioral
genetics
Neuroscience
Psychodynamic
Behaviorist
Evolutionary
From different angles, you ask different questions:
How reliable is memory? How can we improve our
thinking?
Could our behavior, skills, and attitudes be
“downloads” from our culture?
Could our behavior, skills, and attitudes be
genetically programmed instincts?
What role do our bodies and brains play in
emotions? How is pain inhibited? Can we trust our
senses?
Do inner childhood conflicts still plague me and
affect my behavior?
How are our problematic behaviors reinforced?
How do our fears become conditioned? What can
we do to change these fears and behaviors?
Why are humans prone to panic, anger, and
making irrational judgments?
Different perspectives on a single issue:
Six Blind Men and an Elephant
Let’s play: “What’s my perspective?”
“Obsessivecompulsive
disorder is a
problem in the
orbital cortex.”
“No, OCD is
an
inherited
condition.”
“Compulsions start as habits
and are rewarded by the
anxiety relief they bring.”
“OCD comes
from our
natural instinct
to control our
environment.”
“No, OCD is a matter
of mental habits and
errors that can be
corrected.”
“No, it’s a sign
of unresolved
childhood
issues.”
“OCD thinking
and behavior is a
reaction to our
fast-paced, outof-control
lifestyles.”
Psychology’s Subfields
Basic research
Applied
Biological
Clinical Psychology
Developmental
Counseling Psychology
Cognitive
Educational Psychology
Personality
Industrial-Organizational
Social
Community Psychology
Positive Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Psychology’s Subfields
Research Examples
Type of research
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Personality
Social
Positive Psychology
Explore the structural problems
in the brain that may be part of
autism
Study how the stages of
cognitive and emotional
development vary in autism
Clarify the difficulties autistic
children have with
understanding sarcasm
Decide whether traits like
neuroticism need to be
measured differently in autism
Find how autistic children can
learn social skills as procedures
if not by intuition
Explore what motivates people
and contributes to life
satisfaction
Psychology’s Subfields
Applied
Applied
Clinical Psychology
Counseling Psychology
Educational Psychology
Industrial-Organizational
Community Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Use exposure therapy to
decrease phobic reactions in a
traumatized client
Help someone achieve career
goals despite family conflict and
self-doubt
Evaluate aptitudes and
achievement to plan for a
student with learning problems
Figure out how a factory can
improve coordination of tasks,
roles, and personalities
Help coordinate a city’s efforts
to understand and prevent
elder abuse
Use exposure therapy to
decrease phobic reactions in a
traumatized client
Psychology in context with
other professions
Psychiatrists are
physicians, M.D.s or
D.O.s. They can prescribe
medication.
In addition to
psychologists,
professionals in social
work, counseling, and
marriage and family
therapy may be trained
to do psychotherapy.
An Application of Psychology:
Improving your test performance
Scientific studies show us that:
Testing yourself boosts retention of material.
• The retrieval practice effect/testing effect
Actively processing material helps master it.
• Put it in your own words, make connections
Spaced rehearsal, interspaced with other
subjects, is more efficient than cramming.
• Spread studying over multiple days
People tend to overestimate their mastery.
• If the concept looks familiar… not good enough
Applying this knowledge:
Use SQ3R to master a textbook
Survey
Scan/Skim what you are about to
read, especially chapter outlines
and section heads.
questions that the text
Question Ask
might answer; write guesses.
Read
Look for the answer to your
questions, reading a
manageable amount at a time.
Recall what you’ve read in
Rehearse your own words. Test
yourself with quizzes.
Review
Look over text and
notes and quickly
review the main ideas
of the whole chapter.