Unit One – What is Psychology?
The Origins of Psychology
• Psychology: commonly defined today as “the
study of human thought and behavior”
• Written records of psychological thought can
be traced back over 1000 years ago
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Ancient Egypt studied the brain and its illnesses
Greeks (Plato) philosophized on the mind/body link
China, 600AD: first record of intelligence tests
Arabia, 7th cen.: first insane asylums, identified
both physical and mental causes to physical ills
• Other Arab contributions: dream interpretation,
experiments in sensation & perception, many others
– European Renaissance and Enlightenment
philosophy debated the nature of the mind/soul
• 19th Century Psychology: “pseudo-science”
– Astrology, Animal Magnetism, Phrenology
• 1879: W. Wundt opens first psychological
research laboratory in Leipzig, Germany
– Marks the beginning of modern era of psychology
“Psychology has a long past,
but a relatively short history.”
- Herrman Ebbinghaus
Historic Schools of Thought
• Structuralism (Wilhelm Wundt)
– Argues the mind consists of sensations, feelings, &
images that combine to form experience.
– Introspection: one’s own thoughts & emotions
• Functionalism (William James)
– Focuses on the uses or functions of the mind rather
than the elements of experience
– Notes evolutionary principles of adaptive behaviors
• Behaviorism (John B. Watson)
– Psychology ought to be a natural science, thus only
observable behaviors should be studied
– Centers on learning (reinforcement, punishment)
• Gestalt Psych. (Wertheimer, Koffka, Kohler)
– Emphasizes tendency to organize perceptions into
wholes. Integrate separate stimuli into patterns.
• Psychoanalysis (Sigmund Freud)
– Emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives
and conflicts as the root of our behaviors
Contemporary Approaches
• Evolutionary & Biological Perspectives
– E: Interested in influence of heredity, instincts
– B: focused on brain structures & chemistry,
hormones, & their effects on thought & behavior
– Arguably the most-popular approach today
• Cognitive Perspective
– Focus on mental processes like perception,
learning, memory, problem solving, language, etc.
– “Cognitive Revolution”: rapid expansion in past
couple of decades
• Humanistic/Existential Perspectives
– Cognitive in nature, emphasizes a more subjective
(personal) experience of consciousness
– Humanism: capacity to chose, “invent ourselves”
– Existentialism: people free to choose, responsible
• Psychodynamic Perspective
– Psychotherapy focused less on unconscious mind,
more on conscious choice and direction
– See value in dreams, unusual thoughts & desires
Psychological Research
• Process of scientifically collecting data to test
hypotheses & form psychological theories
• Psychology aims to be an empirical science…
– must be tested, supported by observable evidence
• Scientific Method: Putting Ideas to the Test
– An organized way of using experience and testing
ideas in order to expand or refine knowledge
– Experiments attempt to identify cause-and-effect
• Hypothesis: specific statement about behavior or
mental processes that is tested through research
• Independent variable: change that occurs in an
experiment directly controlled by the experimenter
• Dependent variable: change that occurs as a result of
the I.V. that are measured by experimenter
• Experimental group: receives independent variable
• Control group: does not receive independent variable
• Correlational Method: identify statistical links
– Measure the degree in which variables are linked
– Can be positive or negative, range from +1 to -1
– DO NOT indicate cause and effect relationships
Psychological theory
Daily experiences
Commonly held beliefs
Research
Question
Hypothesis
Test Research
Question
Hypothesis
Testing
Evidence
(observations)
Drawing
Conclusions
Theory Construction
or Modification
New Research
Question/Hypothesis
Issues in Experimental Design
• Researchers go to great lengths in hopes that
their findings generalize to non-participants
– Sample: individuals that are being studied
– Population: a group that is being targeted for study
• Problems in Generalizing from Research
– Sampling Error: study participants do not reflect the
intended population one or more characteristics
– Volunteer Bias: those who offer to participate may
be substantially different than those who refuse
• Methods of Observation
– Case study: carefully drawn biography that may be
obtained through interviews, questionnaires, tests
• Often used to investigate rare occurrences that would
impossible or unethical to create in laboratory setting
– Survey: a large sample answers questions (interview,
questionnaire) about their attitudes or behavior
• Used to learn about behavior and mental processes
that cannot be observed or studied experimentally
– Naturalistic Observation: organisms closely watched
in their natural environments (least obtrusive)
“All generalizations are
dangerous, even this one.”
- Alexandre Dumas
Ethical Issues in Psychological Research
• Commitment to a belief in human dignity
– Right to make their own decisions, choose behavior
– Psychologists aim to better understand—not
control—influences on how we think and act
– Pop culture, historic experiments create stigma
• Ethical Safeguards in Research with Humans
– Institutional review boards weigh potential risks
– Informed consent: subjects agree to participate after
learning of the purpose and nature of research
• The use of deception is acceptable when the potential
gains outweigh the potential harms (Milgram Study)
– Subjects are debriefed after completion of study
– Collected personal data is confidential, in most cases
• Ethics in Research with Nonhuman Animals
– Used when human subjects impractical, unethical
• i.e. monkeys used to study maternal attachment
– Major advances have resulted from animal research
– APA guidelines: animals may be harmed only when
no alternative & belief that benefits outweigh harm