PSYC 1100:
Intro to Psychology
Kurt Penner
Standing in for Dr. Levente Orban
1. Introductions
2. Your Course Syllabus (still under minor revisions)
3. What is Psychology and how did it develop?
4. Introduction to the Brain
5. BRAIN LAB – active learning experience (in class)
BBA Psyc KPU
PhD from U. of Ottawa
Evolutionary Psychology,
honeybees…
In Transylvania now
And
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
You…
Name
Program and year at KPU
Where do you commute from?
Where did you grow up?
Possible career interest(s)?
What languages do you know?
What is a favourite:
a. Hobby
b. TV Show
c. Movie
d. Sport
COURSE SYLLABUS
1. Read a course syllabus carefully!
2. How to contact Levente, office & hours
3. The textbook, course website, Exams, Assignments, Bonus
Marks and Calendar of Topics and Readings
Other Notes:
1. Student life, leadership & volunteer opportunities
2. Student Support – Various Services at KPU
Any specific or syllabus questions: email Levente at llo@kpu.ca
Small group activity:
Discuss strategies you have done or heard
of that students use to manage their
time/projects, and have more success at
university.
Pick a strategy you will try out this semester.
How exactly will you attempt it, monitor, adjust?
What is Psychology?
Scientific
Answering questions
objectively based on
observable facts, data,
and established
methods
Today’s definition:
The scientific study of behavior and
mental processes
Behavior
Observable actions
Mental
Processes
Thoughts, feelings,
sensations, perceptions,
motivations, dreams,
subjective experiences
The Origins of Psychology
as a discipline
Roots of Psychology: Philosophy
Ancient philosophers asked questions about human existence.
Plato (to 347 BC)
Nativism, or the idea that
certain kinds of knowledge
are inborn or innate
Aristotle (to 322 BC)
Philosophical empiricism, or
the idea that all knowledge
is acquired through
experience
Rene Descartes
1596 – 1650
“The Father of Modern
Philosophy”
Dualism: the idea that
the mind and body are
separate entities that
interact
Do you know Descartes’ most famous quote?
Latin: Cogito Ergo Sum
English: I think, therefore I am.
A better translation: I am thinking, therefore I exist.
Roots of Psychology:
Physiology
The branch of biology that
studies the functions and
parts of living organisms
 In the 1600s, physiologists
begin to study the workings of
the brain and its relation to
behavior.
 By the 1700s, physiologists find
that specific bodily functions
can be traced to specific brain
areas.
 What is “phrenology”?
Psychology:
A Discipline Is
Founded
 Uses scientific
methods to study
psychological
processes
 Writes first psychology
textbook (1874)
 Establishes first
psychology research
laboratory at the
University of Leipzig,
Germany (1879)
 “Structuralism”
Wilhelm Wundt
(1832-1920)
Leipzig, Germany
Called himself a “Psychologist” – first one?
Early Schools of Psychology
Functionalism
Advocated by William James and influenced by Darwin, functionalism focuses on how
behaviors function to allow people and animals to adapt to their environment.
As a professor and
philosopher, William
James was influential
in establishing
psychology in the
United States.
William James
(1842-1910)
Charles Darwin
(1809-1882)
New Schools:
Psychoanalysis
 The Unconscious is
the part of the mind
that operates outside of
conscious awareness
 Unconscious conflicts
determine behavior and
personality
Psychoanalytic Theory
Unconscious mental processes shape
feelings, thoughts, and behaviors
Sigmund Freud
1856-1939
Why do people do things “out of character?”
Freudian Slip Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLHr_S6_OX8
Just the first 30 seconds…
New Schools
Develop:
Behaviorism
Psychology redefined
as the scientific study
of observable
behavior
External environment
affects our behavior
Learning from reward
and punishment
“operant conditioning,
behavior modification”
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
discovers conditioned reflexes
(involuntary learning)
John Watson (1878-1958)
extends approach to human
behavior.
B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)
further experiments on
behavior, learning, and
conditioning.
Behavioral / Learning Perspective
Pavlov
Watson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMnhyGozLyE
B.F. Skinner
15
Brain Lab!