I.
Prologue: The Story of Psychology
What is Psychology?
A.
Psychology’s Roots
1.
Psychological Science is Born a) Before 300 BC, Aristotle theorized about learning and memory, motivation and emotion, perception and personality b) Wrong, but asked right questions c) Birth of psych as we know it: Dec. 1879 in Germany’s University of Leipzig d) 2 men helping Wilhelm Wundt create experimental apparatus e)
Machine measured lag time between people’s hearing ball hit platform and pressing telegraph key f) 1/10 th of second when asked to press key as soon as sound occurred and 2/10ths of a second when asked to press key as soon as consciously aware of perceiving the sound g) Seeking to measure fastest and simplest mental processes h) 1 st
psychological experiment and launched first psychology lab i) Psychology organized into different branches: structuralism and functionalism, Gesalt psychology, behaviorism, and psychoanalysis
2.
Thinking About the Mind’s Structure a) Edward B. Titchener introduced structuralism: an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of human mind b) Introspection: looking inward: trained people to report elements of experience c) Required smart people, unreliable with results varying from person to person and experience to experience, don’t know why we feel/do, people’s recollections err and self-reports do too d) Introspection waned and structuralism did too
3.
Thinking About the Mind’s Functions a) William James considered evolved functions of thoughts/feelings b) Why does brain think? Influenced by Darwin, James assumed thinking developed because adaptive c) Consciousness serves function: enables us to consider past, adjust to present, and plan future d) Functionalism: a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function-how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish e) As functionalist, James encouraged explorations of down-to-earth emotions, memories, willpower, habits, and moment-to-moment streams of consciousness f) 1890, James admitted Mary Calkins into graduate seminar g) Finished requirements for Harvard Ph.D., Harvard wouldn’t give it to her h) Became great memory researcher and American Psychological
Association’s (APA’s) 1 st female president in 1905

i) 1 st
female psychology Ph.D.: Margaret Floy Washburn who wrote
The Animal Mind and became 2 nd
female APA president in 1921 j) Publisher Henry Holt offered contract to James for a textbook of psychology k) James agreed and began in 1878, took 12 years to finish Principles of Psychology
B.
Psychological Science Develops
1.
Psych developed from philosophy and biology a) Wundt-philosopher and physiologist, James-philosopher, Pavlov
(pioneered study of learning)-physiologist, Freud (theory of personality)physician, Jean Piaget (observer of children)-biologist b) Early days-Wundt and Titchener focused on inner sensations, images, and feelings; James-introspective examination of stream of consciousness and emotion; Freud emphasized ways emotional responses to childhood experiences and unconscious thought processes affect behavior c) Until 1920s, psych was defined as “the science of mental life” d) 1920s into 1960s, American psychologists led by John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner, dismissed introspection and redefined psych as “the scientific study of observable behaviors” e) Behaviorism: the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes.
Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not (2) f) Behaviorists-science rooted in observation; can’t observe sensation, feeling, thought, but can observe and record people’s behavior as they respond to different situations g) Humanistic psychology-historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and individual potential for personal growth h) Rebelled against Freudian psychology and behaviorism, Carl
Rogers and Abraham Maslow found behaviorism’s focus on learned behavior too mechanistic; rather than focusing on meaning of early childhood memories, humanistic psychologists emphasized importance of current environmental influences on growth potential and importance of having needs for love/acceptance satisfied i) 1960s: recapture initial interest in mental processes, cognitive revolution supported importance of how mind processes and retains info j) But cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience-the interdisciplinary study of brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language) explore scientifically ways we process, perceive, and remember info k) Psychology: science of behavior and mental processes l) B.F. Skinner rejected introspection and studied how consequences shape behavior

m) Behavior-does, mental process-internal, subjective experiences infer from behaviors-sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings n) Psychology is less a set of findings than a way of asking and answering questions
II.
Contemporary Psychology
A.
Psychology’s Biggest Question
1.
Biggest and most persistent: nature-nurture issue-the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors; today’s science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture a) Plato assumed that character and intelligence are largely inherited and that certain ideas are inborn b) Aristotle countered that there is nothing in the mind that does not first come in from the external world through the senses c) European philosophers rekindled debate in 1600s d) John Locke rejected notion of inborn ideas, mind is a blank sheet on which experience writes e) René Descartes disagreed, believed some ideas were innate f) 2 centuries later, Descartes’ views gained support from naturalist g)
1831, Darwin set sail, Darwin’s 1889
On the Origin of Species explained diversity of life by proposing natural selection: the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations h) Evolution important for modern psychology i) j)
Darwin believed theory explained structures and behavior
How debate dissolves: nurture works on what nature endows k) Humans biology endowed with huge learning capacity and adapt l) Every psychology event (thoughts and emotion) is also a biological event
B.
Psychology’s 3 Main Levels of Analysis
1.
Tiered body systems suggest different levels of analysis: the differing complementary views from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon a) Different levels of analysis form bio-psycho-social approach: an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and sociocultural levels of analysis b) Offers more complete picture of any given behavior c) Psychology helps understand why people think, feel, and act as they do d) Behavior/mental process
(1) Biological influences:
(a) Natural selection of adaptive traits
(b) Genetic predispositions responding to environment
(c) Brain mechanisms

(d) Hormonal influences
(2) Social-cultural influences:
(a) Presence of others
(b) Cultural, societal, and family expectations
(c) Peer and other group influences
(d) Compelling models (like media)
(3) Psychological influences:
(a) Learned fears and other learned expectations
(b) Emotional responses
(c) Cognitive processing and perceptual interpretations
C.
Psychology’s Subfields
1.
Psych is wide-ranging a) But unified by quest to describe and explain behavior and mind underlying it b) Basic research: pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base c) Basic researchers:
(1) Biological psychologists-explore link between brain and mind
(2) Developmental “- study changing abilities from womb to tomb
(3)
Cognitive “-experiment with how we perceive, think, and solve problems
(4)
Personality “-investigate persistent traits
(5)
Social “-explore how we view and affect one another d) Can also conduct applied research: scientific study that aims to solve practical problems e) Other psychologists do applied research too: industrial/organizational psychologists who use psychology’s concepts and methods in workplace to help organizations and companies select and train employees, boost morale and productivity, design products, and implement systems f) Psychology is helping profession devoted to practical issues like marriage, overcoming anxiety/depression, and children g) Psychology bases interventions on evidence of effectiveness h) Counseling psychologists: a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being i) They help people cope with stuff (including academic, vocational, and marital issues) and improve personal and social functioning j) Clinical psychologists: a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders k) Both counseling and clinical psychologists administer and interpret tests, provide counseling and therapy, and sometimes do basic and applied research

l) Psychiatry: a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medicine (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy m) Often provide psychotherapy, are MDs licensed to prescribe drugs and treat physical causes of psychological disorders n) Psychology relates to many fields, its methods and findings aid other disciplines, and they engage in interdisciplinary studies o) Influences modern culture, people less often judge psychological disorders as moral failings and treat women and children differently