Introduction to Psychology
Philosophical Foundations of
the Psychological Sciences
What comes to mind when you
think of psychology?
Common myths from psychological
psuedo-science
• Our lives are determined by our
childhood experiences (it’s all Mom’s
fault)
• Our desires are hidden in our
unconscious and emerge in our
dreams
Science can answer some questions
but not others
• The best things in life are free.
• Shakespeare’s Richard III is a better play
than Romeo and Juliet.
• The death penalty is wrong.
• There is a genetic predisposition to
schizophrenia.
• Attitudes affect the course of cancer.
•2+2=4
Folk wisdom can be contradictory
• “Opposites attract” vs “birds of a feather
flock together”
• “Better safe than sorry” vs “nothing
ventured, nothing gained”
• “Look before you leap” vs “he who
hesitates is lost”
• “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” vs
“out of sight, out of mind”
True or False?
• Opposites generally attract
• We use only 10 percent of our brain power
• If you don’t vent your anger you’ll ‘explode’
• Most of us suffer from low self-esteem
• Talking about your depression only makes it
worse
• Women crave chocolate when they have
PMS
Psychology is:
• A set of questions
• A set of theories and procedures for
asking and answering questions
• A product of history
What is psychology?
• The science of behavior and
mental processes
• Also…
• Explanation
• Understanding
• Scientific investigation
Before Psychology:
A classical view of the body’s
control centers
• Liver  metabolic processes
• Heart  emotions & perception
• Brain  thought & reason
Personality determined by bodily
fluids
The theory of Humors
• Black bile 
• Blood 
• Yellow bile 
• Phlegm 
moody
optimistic
hot-tempered
passive
Philosophical developments
• Descartes
– Dualism: human body contains 2 distinct entities:
• Material body
• Mind/soul
– What separates man from animals is thought
(which requires having a soul)
• Soul and mind are used interchangeably, here.
Mind-body movie
Problems with Descartes
• How can a non-material entity (soul/mind) have
a material effect on the body?
• How can the body follow natural laws, yet be
moved by a mind that does not?
• Precludes a scientific investigation of the mind.
Hobbes: Materialism
• Basic axiom: everything (behavior, thought,
etc.) can be understood in terms of the body’s
physical processes, especially the brain.
– Sort of the anti-Descartes
– Paved the way for empiricism
– Founder of materialism
Roots of Psychology
Philosophy
Rationalism
Empiricism
Emphasis on reason
and logic
Emphasis on data
Emphasis on theory
Emphasis on data
Psychology
Willhelm Wundt
• Considered the founder of scientific
psychology
• Interested in the speed of mental
processes
– Used reaction-time tests to determine the
amount of time it took to perform cognitive
tasks.
– Basis for cognitive psychology
Wilhelm Wundt
• "we learn little about our minds from casual,
haphazard self-observation...It is essential
that observations be made by trained
observers under carefully specified conditions
for the purpose of answering a well-defined
question
Experimental Psychology Begins
with Structuralism
• Edward Titchener used methods such as
introspection to develop a new school of
thought that became known as
structuralism.
• The basic idea of structuralism is that
conscious experience can be studied when
it is broken down into its underlying
components or elements.
• Focused on sensation using introspection
Rules of Introspection
• 1. Be impartial. Do not form a preconceived idea of what
you are going to find by the experiment; do not hope or
expect to find this or that process. Take consciousness as
it is.
• 2. Be attentive. Do not speculate as to what you are doing
or why you are doing it, as to its value or uselessness,
during the experiment. Take the experiment seriously.
• 3. Be comfortable. Do not begin to introspect till all the
conditions are satisfactory; do not work if you feel nervous
or irritated, if the chair is too high or the table too low for
you, if you have a cold or a headache. Take the
experiment pleasantly.
• 4. Be perfectly fresh. Stop working the moment that you
feel tired or jaded. Take the experiment vigorously.
What are the problems with the
method of introspection?
• The problem with this approach is that
experience is subjective.
• Each person brings to introspection a
unique perceptual system, and it is
difficult to determine whether subjects are
using the criteria in a similar way.
• Accordingly over the course of time
introspection was largely abandoned in
psychology.
Functionalism Addresses the
Purpose of Behavior
• Functionalism, was more concerned
with how the mind operates than with
what the mind contains.
• The mind came into existence over the
course of human evolution, and it works
the way it does because it is useful for
preserving life and passing along genes to
future generations
William James and Functionalism
• Inspired by biology, Darwinism
• What is the purpose of the behavior?
– Focused on the purpose and function of the
mind.
• Behaviors serve “adaptive” function
• Influenced by Darwin
• Paid lip service to the experimental
method, but relied on introspection
William James
A great many people think they are thinking when
they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
Believe that life is worth living and your belief will
help create the fact.
The greatest discovery of any generation is that a
human being can alter his life by altering his
attitude.
Gestalt Psychology
• Mind must be understood in terms of organized
wholes, not parts.
– Looking at a duck, you first recognize it as “duck”,
not a collection of wings, feathers, and a bill.
Gestalt Psychology Emphasizes
Patterns and Context in Learning
Psychodynamic Approach
 Founded by Freud
 Emphasizes unconscious
motivations (often sexual) & early
childhood experiences
3 levels of mind
Id
Ego
Superego
Behaviorism
• Took over psychology for the first half
of the 20th century
• Experience “reinforces” behavior
• Possessed scientific qualities
Behaviorist Approach
Skinner
(“smiling”)
•Rejected Freud’s dependence on
unobservable phenomena
• Should study directly observable
behaviors
Watson
Cognitive Approach
George Miller
 Displaced behaviorism
 Focuses on ability to acquire,
organize, remember, and use knowledge to
guide behavior
 Magic number 7
Modern Psychology
• Return to cognitive psychology in late
20th century
• Cognition = mental processing
• Fundamental cognitive abilities
Current fields in psychology
• Biopsychology
• Cognitive
• Developmental
• Health
• Clinical
• Social
• Evolutionary