What is Psychology?
The scientific study of behavior (what we do) and
mental processes (inner thoughts and feelings).
It is the science that strives to answer questions
about how we think, feel and act as we do.
1
The Goals of Psychology…
Observe, describe, explain, predict and control
behaviors or mental processes through theories
and research.
2
Early Days of Psychology
Structuralism
vs.
Functionalism
3
Early Days of Psychology
Structuralism
• First school of thought, broke down mental
processes into basic parts.
• Wanted to learn about the building blocks of the
conscious mind (like studying elements in
chemistry)
• Used introspection – people look into themselves
and report out what they felt about exterior stimuli
• Did not have credible results
• Relied on internal behavior, which is not observable
and can’t be measured well
4
Structuralism
• Studied elements of mind by conducting
experiments in Germany
• Titchener established school based on his
work with Wundt
• Sought to identify what the mind and
consciousness were
5
Early Days of Psychology
Functionalism
• Followed as response to Structuralism.
• Real task of psychology – is to investigate the
function, or purpose of consciousness, not the
structure
• Thinking develops because it adapts, so we need to
study it over humans’ lives and along with the
evolution of all people
• They developed longitudinal research; interviewing
, testing and observing one person over a long
period of time (watch development and how person
reacts to different circumstances
6
Functionalism
•Influenced by Darwin
•opposed structuralism.
•Based on James’ ideas about
psychology having practical
applications to life
•sought to identify how the mind and
consciousness worked
7
Quietly, write down what you see here…
8
Early Days of Psychology
Gestalt
• Also as a response to Structuralism
• Focus is on perceptions and how we construct
perceptual wholes
• Ex: perceptions of face rather than lines, colors
• Understanding perception was means to
understanding the brain
• Our mind fill in missing information (why flashing
lights appear to be moving)
• The whole is greater than the sum of the parts
9
Gestalt
The phi phenomenon
http://www.psychologynoteshq.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phiphenomenon.gif
10
Cube will trick your eye
Perspective changes
See it as if from upper right
Then shifts and appears as though you
were seeing it from the lower left
Once you see it change you wont be able
to prevent it from alternating back and
forth at random
11
Contemporary Theories of Psychology
Behaviorism
Skinner (1904-1990)
Watson (1878-1958)
Watson and Skinner:
They emphasized the study of overt behavior as
12
subject matter of scientific psychology.
Contemporary Theories of Psychology
Psychoanalytic
Freud:
The importance of unconscious mind and its effects on
human behavior.
13
)
Contemporary Theories of Psychology
Humanistic
Maslow and Rogers:
They emphasized the environmental influences on
growth potential and need for love and acceptance.14
15
Psychology’s Big Debate: Nature vs Nurture
Darwin (1809-1882)
•nature selects those that best enable organism to
survive and reproduce in a particular
environment.
16
Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
Neuroscience
(Brain)
How the body
and brain
enable
emotions?
How are messages
transmitted in the
body? How is
blood chemistry
linked with moods
and motives?
17
Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
Behavior
genetics
How much our
genes and our
environment
influence our
individual
differences
(studies on twins)
To what extent are
psychological traits
such as intelligence,
personality, sexual
orientation, and
depression
attributable to our
genes? To our
environment?
18
Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Humanistic Reaching one’s
full potential by
meeting a
hierarchy of
needs
Sample Questions
How do self worth,
realizing one’s full
potential and self
esteem affect our
behavior?
19
Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
Psychodynamic
How behavior
springs from
unconscious
drives and
conflicts?
How can someone’s
personality traits
and disorders be
explained in terms
of sexual and
aggressive drives or
as disguised effects
of unfulfilled
wishes and
childhood traumas?
20
Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
Behavioral
/ Learning
How we learn
observable
responses?
How do we learn to
fear particular
objects or
situations? What is
the most effective
way to alter our
behavior, say to lose
weight or quit
smoking?
21
Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
Cognitive
How we encode,
process, store
and retrieve
information
How do we use
information in
remembering?
Reasoning?
Problem solving?
22
Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
SocialCultural
How behavior
and thinking vary
across situations
and cultures
How are we — as
Africans, Asians,
Australians or North
Americans – alike as
members of human
family? As products
of different
environmental
contexts, how do we
differ?
23
Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Evolutionary How does
natural selection
and evolution
influence
behavior and
personality
Sample Questions
Why are facial
emotions inherited?
24
25