Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
PSYCHOLOGY
• What is Psychology?
– Psychology is a word deriving from Greek roots:
– Psyche – “soul” or “mind,” Logos – “word”
• Psychology is the systematic study of behavior and
experience
1
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
The Goals of Psychologists
• Psychologists engage in the study of psychology in
order to understand, explain, predict and control
behavior
• What are the major philosophical issues that are
relevant to this study?
– Why we do what we do (causes of behavior).
– Relationship of brain activity and the “mind” (MindBrain Problem).
– Role of heredity and environment.
2
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
The Major Philosophical Issues
• Free will versus determinism – are the causes of
behavior knowable, and is behavior predictable?
– Free will is the belief that behavior is caused by an
individual’s independent decision-making
• What does independent mean?
– Determinism is the assumption that everything
that happens has a cause or determinant in the
observable world.
• We can isolate specific determinants of
behavior.
3
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Major Philosophical Issues
• Which perspective holds that behavior is fully
predictable?
– A determinist assumes everything that happens
has a cause that can be known
– A believer in free will assumes that even with
complete information regarding causes and
conditions, predictions regarding human behavior
can never be fully accurate
– How many of you believe you have free will?
4
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Major Philosophical Issues
• The mind-brain problem: - How is experience related
to the organ system called the brain?
– Thoughts versus Brain activity
• Dualism is the belief that the mind is separate
from the brain but somehow controls the brain
and through it also the rest of the body
• Monism is the view that conscious experience
is generated by and therefore is inseparable
from the brain
5
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Major Philosophical Issues
• The mind-brain problem
– Data from brain imaging research such as PET
(positron emission tomography) suggests that
brain activity and mental activity are two aspects
of the same thing
– Yet the question is far from resolved
6
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Major Philosophical Issues
• The nature-nurture issue
– How do differences in behavior relate to
differences in heredity and environment?
– Some scientists assume the larger proportion of
differences in potential and behavior are due to
the influence of genes
– Others assume that most differences are a result
of aspects of the environment such as culture,
expectations, and resources
– This issue arises in virtually every field of
psychology, and knowledge gained through
research seldom provides a simple answer
7
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Psychology is an academic, non-medical discipline
that includes many branches and specialties
– The educational requirements can vary, but
generally involve study beyond the bachelor’s
degree
– A master’s degree, or a Ph.D./Psy.D. (doctor of
psychology) are common terminal degrees in the
discipline
8
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Figure 1.2 More than one-third of psychologists work in academic settings. The
remainder find positions in a variety of settings (based on the data of Chamberlain,
2000).
9
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• There are many specialties in the broad science of
psychology. Psychologists practice within their
chosen specialty in 3 main areas:
– Teaching and research
– Service providers to individuals
– Service providers to organizations
10
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Teaching and research
– Most teaching psychologists work in colleges and
universities
– Most psychologists who teach also engage in
research and writing
– Some psychologists are employed in full-time
research positions
11
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Major categories of psychological research:
Biological psychology or neuroscience
– A bio-psychologist tries to explain behavior in
terms of biological factors, such as anatomy,
electrical and chemical activities in the nervous
system, and the effects of drugs, hormones,
genetics and evolutionary pressures
– Sample question: How do drug abuse, brain
damage, and exposures to environmental toxins
change nervous system functioning (and by
extension, behavior)?
12
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Major categories of psychological research:
Evolutionary psychology
– An evolutionary psychologist tries to explain
behavior in terms of natural selection pressures
promoting behaviors that lead to success in
reproduction and survival.
– Sample questions: What forces led to selection for
human language abilities? What specific
advantages in survival over other animals did
language give early humans in the ancestral
environment?
13
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Major categories of psychological research:
Learning and motivation
– A psychologist who studies and does research in
this area is interested in how behavior depends on
outcomes of past behaviors and on current
motivations
– Sample question: Do frequent or consistent
rewards for desired behaviors produce better
learning than less frequent or less predictable
rewards?
14
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Major categories of psychological research: Cognitive
psychology
– A cognitive psychologist studies the processes of
thinking and acquiring knowledge.
– Sample question: What do “experts” in a field
know or do that sets them apart from other
people?
15
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Major categories of psychological research:
Developmental psychology
– A developmental psychologist studies the
behavioral capacities typical of different ages and
how behavior changes with age.
– Sample questions: What do people do or know as
adults that they do not know as children? Why did
this change occur? Was the change due to
biological changes, increased experience, or a
combination of these?
16
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Major categories of psychological research: Social
psychology
– A social psychologist studies how an individual
influences and is influenced by other people
– Sample question: To what degree do the demands
and expectations of authority figures influence our
behavior? How strong is the human tendency to
conform?
17
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Concept Check
• Which area of psychology research is concerned with
whether or not punishment is an effective means of
eliminating undesirable behaviors?
– Learning and motivation
• Which would ask if people will obey an authority
figure even when that leader is demanding behavior
that might be classified as immoral or wrong?
– Social
18
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Concept Check
• Which psychologist wants to know when language
learning occurs most rapidly in children?
– Developmental psychologist
• Which psychologist would do research to determine
how memories are stored in the brain?
– Biological psychologist (Cognitive Neuroscientist)
• Which psychologist would do research to determine
how retention and recall of information in a collegelevel psychology course can be enhanced?
– Cognitive psychologist
19
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Service providers to individuals
– There are many types of psychotherapists,
professionals with training in psychology who
specialize in helping people with psychological
problem. Psychotherapists are trained in a variety
of disciplines.
20
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Table 1.1 several types of Mental Health Professionals
21
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Service providers to individuals
– Clinical psychologists have advanced degrees in
psychology, with a specialty in understanding and
helping people with mental and emotional
problems.
– They receive training in intellectual and
psychological testing used in the diagnosis and
treatment.
22
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Service providers to individuals
– Psychiatrists are trained as medical doctors.
– In addition to learning the principles of psychology,
they are educated in how to use prescription drugs
to treat psychological distress.
– Clinical Psychologist can also receive extensive
training in the use of prescription drugs to treat
behavioral disorders and can earn perscription
privileges.
23
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Service providers to individuals
– Psychiatric nurses receive standard nursing
education plus additional training in the care of
emotionally troubled individuals.
– They usually work in medical clinics and hospitals.
24
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Service providers to individuals
– Psychiatric and clinical social workers combine
training in traditional social work with specialized
knowledge of how to treat emotionally disturbed
people and advocate for their well-being within the
larger community.
25
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Service providers to individuals
– Psychoanalysts are psychotherapists who use
mental health treatment strategies that are based
on the theories and methods pioneered by
Sigmund Freud.
– Freud believed that an unconscious component of
the human mind affects our functioning in day-today life.
26
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Service providers to individuals
– Counseling psychologists have an advanced
degree in psychology and help people with
educational, vocational, marriage, health, and
other important life decisions. They receive
training in therapy and some types of
psychological testing.
27
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Service providers to individuals
– Forensic psychologists provide advice and
consultation to those who work in the criminal
justice system.
28
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Concept Check
• Which psychotherapist would help a middle-aged
woman trying to transition from work as a
homemaker to resuming her college education?
– Counseling psychologist
• Which psychotherapist would prescribe a mood
stabilizing medication to a patient who shows signs of
bipolar affective (emotional) disorder?
– Psychiatrist
29
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Concept Check
• Which psychotherapist might provide ongoing
counseling and support for residents of a halfway
house for recovering addicts?
– Clinical social worker
• Which psychotherapist might be part of the staff of a
hospital emergency room, and manage the intake of
a patient admitted with acute suicidal thoughts and
feelings?
– Psychiatric nurse
30
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Concept Check
• Which psychotherapist might be employed in an
inpatient facility for developmentally delayed children
and adolescents, doing assessment and
psychotherapy?
– Clinical psychologist
• Which psychotherapist would try to help a patient
discover his or her hidden motivations for an
apparently distressing and unacceptable behavior or
thought?
– Psychoanalyst
31
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Service providers to organizations
– Industrial/Organizational psychologists study
people’s behavior in the workplace using a
combination of social, cognitive, and motivational
psychology principles, and often employ
psychological tests.
Sample question: Workers in two departments at an
aerospace engineering firm have started to
withhold information from each other. This has
been detrimental to morale and productivity. How
can this behavior be stopped without terminating or
reassigning any employees? How evvective are
virtural meetings?
32
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Service providers to organizations
– An ergonomist, or human factors specialist,
attempts to facilitate the use of machinery and
appliances so that the average user can operate
them as efficiently and as safely as possible.
Sample question: How can the design of a clerical
workstation in an office be improved to minimize
the possibility of repetitive stress related injuries
occurring to the employee who occupies it?
33
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
What Psychologists Do
• Service providers to organizations
– A school psychologist specializes in the psychological
condition of the students, usually at the kindergarten
through secondary school levels.
– School psychologists draw upon a combination of
developmental, learning and motivational principles, and
often use educational and psychological tests to assist
with educational planning for individual students.
Sample question: Does a fourth grade student whose
grades have been declining over the past two years have
an identifiable learning disability, or is there an issue
related to the student’s emotional well-being affecting his
performance?
34
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Concept Check
• Which psychologist would consult in the design of an
airplane cockpit to maximize crew efficiency and
safety?
– Ergonomist
• Which psychologist would evaluate a student for
possible placement in a school’s program for gifted
children?
– School psychologist
35
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Concept Check
• Which psychologist would work with supervisors at a
software development company to improve
communication between departments and levels of
management?
– Industrial/Organizational psychologist
36
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Majoring in Psychology
• Should you major in psychology?
– Although psychology is a popular major, very few
jobs are listed specifically for people with
bachelor’s degrees.
– Jobs that would be appropriate for someone who
earns a bachelor’s degree in psychology include:
 Personnel or human resources specialist
 Halfway or transitional home staff or supervisor
 Community or social services outreach worker
37
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Majoring in Psychology
• Should you major in psychology?
– Psychology will be useful in careers that are not
closely related to psychology, and in your life apart
from work as well. Psychology can help you to:
 more effectively evaluate evidence presented to
you in a variety of situations
 improve your learning and retention
 be aware of the power of social influence and
cultural context
38
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Majoring in Psychology
• Should you major in psychology?
– It is also an excellent major for those who are
contemplating further professional education in
areas such as business, law, or divinity.
39
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Majoring in Psychology
• Should you major in psychology?
– If you want to become a psychologist…
 You will probably need a doctorate (Ph.D./Psy.D.)
 You will be in school for up to eight more years. It
is hard to anticipate how the job market will
change in the time it takes to complete your
degree
 You should have an interest in working in health
care or educational settings or a willingness to
work in a private practice or consulting role
40
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Majoring in Psychology
• Should you major in psychology?
– Why take this class or consider majoring in the field?
 Psychology offers exciting possibilities for improving the
quality of life in many aspects and levels of human existence
 Psychologists use information covered in this course to help
people understand themselves and make better use of their
skills and qualities
 It is currently attracting talented persons from an increasingly
diverse variety of backgrounds
41
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Majoring in Psychology
• Should you major in psychology?
– Whether or not you choose to do more advanced
work, we hope that you will find a long-lasting
benefit from your investment of time and energy in
this Introduction to Psychology course.
42
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– In all cultures, and for thousands of years, people
have wondered about the nature of human
thought, action and experience.
– The great writers of every civilization are widely
read because they provide us with compelling
descriptions and make profound observations of
human behavior.
43
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Figure 1.5a Dates of some important events in psychology and elsewhere. (Based
partly on Dewsbury, (2000a)
44
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Figure 1.5b Dates of some important events in psychology and elsewhere. (Based
partly on Dewsbury, (2000a)
45
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– The first psychological laboratory was established
by William Wundt, Leipzig, Germany in 1879
– William Wundt was trained as a physician and did
research on the workings of the senses.
– Although other psychology experiments had been
done, this was the first laboratory devoted
exclusively to the activities of psychological
research.
46
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– Wundt’s fundamental question was: What are the
components of experience, or mind?
– He presented his subjects with a wide variety of
stimuli, and asked them to look within themselves,
to introspect. He tried to measure the changes in
their experiences as the stimuli changes.
47
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– Wundt and his students did experiments in a wide
range of areas related to psychology, and they
wrote prolifically about their findings.
– Most importantly, Wundt demonstrated that it was
possible to perform meaningful experiments in the
science of psychology.
48
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– Edward Titchener was a student of Wundt who
immigrated to the United States in 1892.
– He developed the approach he called
structuralism.
– In structuralism, the researcher attempts to
describe the structures that compose the mind, its
sensations, feelings and images.
49
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– Titchener presented a stimulus to his subjects and
asked them to analyze its separate features
– After Titchener’s death in 1927, his research
methods were abandoned
– There was no feasible way to check the accuracy
of his subjects’ observations
– As psychology evolved through the 20th century,
psychological researchers became more
interested in describing and analyzing readily
observable behaviors
50
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– William James wrote The Principles of Psychology
(1890)
– He was keenly interested in what the mind does,
rather than the elements of mind
– He rejected the methods of Wundt and Titchener
– He wanted to learn how the mind produces
behaviors. He called his approach functionalism
51
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– Typical questions from a functionalist perspective
include:
 How does a person recall the answer to a
question?
 How does a person inhibit an undesirable
impulse?
 Can a person attend to more than one task at a
time?
52
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– Psychophysics is a term created by early
psychologists working on sensation and sensory
experience
– They noticed interesting aspects of the functioning
of the senses
– For example, the perception of a stimulus’
intensity is not directly proportional to the actual
physical intensity of the stimulus.
53
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– Psychophysics attempts to provide a
mathematical description of the relationship
between the actual physical properties of the
stimulus and its perceived properties
– A sound that is half as loud (in physical terms, in
decibels) as another sound may not sound that
way to the listener
54
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– The works of Darwin had an enormous impact: The
Origin of Species (1859); The Descent of Man (1871)
– By presenting compelling evidence that humans and
other animal species were related, Charles Darwin
forced scientists and thoughtful people working in
many disciplines to consider the basic features held in
common by many or all animals, such as thinking and
intelligence.
– Comparative psychologists, who use this perspective,
are specialists who compare different animal species.
55
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– Early comparative psychologists devised a
number of experiments to try to measure animal
intelligence, such as:
 The delayed response problem
 The detour problem
 The pattern recognition problems
56
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Figure 1.8 Early comparative psychologists assessed animal intelligence with the
delayed response problem. A stimulus was presented and a delay ensued; then the
animal was expected to respond to the remembered stimulus. Variations on this
delayed-response task are still used today.
57
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Figure 1.9 Another task popular among early comparative psychologists was the
detour problem. An animal needed to first go away from the food in order to move
toward it.
58
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Figure 1.10 Zebras learn rapidly when they have to compare stripe patters (Giebel 1958). How
“smart” a species is perceived to be depends on what ability or skill is being tested
59
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– According to the research of comparative
psychologists, some species appeared to be gifted
in one set of tasks and highly deficient in another.
60
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– Eventually the inconsistencies in performance
between different tasks across a single species
suggested to comparative psychologists that
questions about animal intelligence might be
meaningless.
– This issue is similar to problems that we currently
are encountering in the controversial area of
measuring human intelligence.
61
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– Francis Galton was one of the first scientists to try to
measure human intelligence and determine to what
extent heredity influenced variations in human
cognitive abilities.
– He studied the sons of accomplished men and found
that the offspring of the talented and famous had a
high probability of being accomplished too.
– He explained this as due chiefly to the influence of
heredity.
– Galton tried to develop an intelligence test, but did not
succeed.
62
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– Alfred Binet devised the first useful intelligence test in
1905, at the behest of the French government, for use
in identifying children in the public school system who
might be in need of special services
– His test was imported to the United States after his
death, and was the “template” for the development of
many IQ and other psychological tests
– Some of the most interesting questions you will
encounter in this course will involve whether it is truly
possible to measure these qualities, or to fully
understand what they are
63
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– While structuralism was abandoned because of
problems with subjectivity, behaviorism is a field of
psychology that concentrates on observable,
measurable behaviors and not mental processes
– Behaviorists primarily seek to study the
observable behaviors associated with what is
generally referred to as learning.
64
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– “Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely
objective experimental branch of natural science.
Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of
behavior.”
John B. Watson, 1913
65
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– The earliest researchers in the field of behaviorism
and learning expected to find that it operated using
simple, basic and predictable laws, comparable to
Newton’s physical laws of the universe
– Much as Newton’s “majestic clockwork” has given
way to the more random and unpredictable world of
modern quantum physics, the specialty of
behaviorism has revealed some laws of behavior, but
also major complications arising from other processes
(such as the influence of cognition and motivation)
66
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– The early questions posed by behaviorists in the mid-20th
century have given way to complex questions about how
humans learn to be aggressive and violent
– This is just one of many interesting questions with complex
answers that have yet to be fully revealed
– Even modern behaviorists have left behind the hope of
discovering “simple universal principles of behavior.” But the
principles of behaviorism are still interesting and useful, as
you will soon see
67
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Psychology Then and Now
• The early era and the roots of psychology
– In presenting psychoanalytic theory, Sigmund Freud
revolutionized psychology by proposing the existence of
an “unconscious mind” rooted in our animal origins
– He worked with his patients to understand how this
hidden part of the mind influenced their mood and
behavior by analyzing their dreams, fantasies, and
perceptions of their own early childhood experiences
– Although much of psychoanalytic theory has been
rejected as unscientific, psychology is still heavily
influenced by Freud’s ideas about treatment of
psychological distress
68
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Recent Trends in Psychology
• Modern clinical psychology
– The trauma experienced by so many soldiers in World War II
provided ample opportunity for the further development of
psychoanalysis and innovation in new methods of
psychotherapy.
– Behaviorists used rewards and other principles of learning in
treating psychological distress.
– Other fields of psychology that eventually made contributions
to therapy as the 20th Century progressed include humanistic
and cognitive psychology.
69
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Recent Trends in Psychology
• Academic and applied psychology
– Although many researchers have abandoned the
study of consciousnesses or self, there is still
abundant research being done on cognition.
– Applied fields of psychology are booming. These
include:
 Health psychology (addiction, stress, nutrition.)
 Forensic psychology (dealing with issues of
mental competence for trial, and accuracy of
eyewitness testimony.)
70
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Recent Trends in Psychology
• The role of women in psychology
– What about the history of women in psychology? In the
early days of psychology, opportunities for women were
limited as they were in so many areas at the time
– Mary Calkins was one of the pioneering women in the
field. Her graduate education in psychology at Harvard
was paid for as part of her teaching salary at Wellesley
College
– Calkins never received the Ph.D that she earned from
Harvard, but she went on to do research, study
memory, and serve as the president of the American
Psychological Association.
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Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Recent Trends in Psychology
• Cross-cultural psychology and human diversity
– In examining a variety of issues related to
psychology, scientists have become more
conscious of cultural context over the past three
decades
– Psychologists now recognize, for example that
mental illness is at least partly culturally and
socially defined
– What is considered psychologically adaptive is
defined by the culture in which one is raised
72
Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Recent Trends in Psychology
• Cross-cultural psychology and human diversity
– An observation that supports these ideas is that
homosexuality once was considered a
psychological disorder. It is no longer considered a
legitimate mental illness in our culture, whatever
controversy continues about issues of sexual
orientation.
– Psychoanalytic theories of child development
seem irrelevant in world cultures where children
are fathered by one man but raised by his brother.
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Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
Recent Trends in Psychology
• An evolving science:
– We have changed radically as a species, and we
have changed our world over the past century.
This fact is having major consequences for our
day-to-day functioning and long-term survival.
– Psychology cannot always provide simple
answers and solutions. But psychologists are
working to help us understand ourselves better,
find the best solutions and change ourselves when
it is in our best interest to do so.
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Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat
Chapter 1: What is Psychology?
• We will cover Chapter 2 tomorrow.
– After the Chapter 1 Quiz.
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