Chapter 1
The Evolution of Psychology
The Development of Psychology:
From Speculation to Science
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Prior to 1879
– Physiology and philosophy scholars studying questions
about the mind
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Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) University of Leipzig,
Germany
– Campaigned to make psychology an independent discipline
– Established the first laboratory for the study of psychology in
1879
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Psychology was born
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Wilhelm Wundt’s International
Influence
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Leipzig, the place to study psychology
– Graduates of Wundt’s program set up new labs across
Europe and North America
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G.Stanley Hall (1846-1924), Johns Hopkins
University
– Established the first psychology laboratory in the U.S. in
1883
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Between 1883 and 1893, 24 new laboratories in
North America
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The Battle of the “Schools” in the
U.S.: Structuralism vs. Functionalism
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Two intellectual schools of thought regarding the
science of psychology
– Structrualism – led by Edward Titchener
• Focused on analyzing consciousness into basic elements
• Introspection – careful, systematic observations of one’s own
conscious experience
– Functionalism – led by William James
• Focused on investigating the function or purpose of consciousness
• Led to investigation of mental testing, developmental patterns, and sex
differences
• May have attracted the first women into the field of psychology
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Who Won the Battle?
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Most historians give the edge to James and the
functionalists
– Today, psychologists are not really categorized as
structuralists or functionalists
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Applied psychology and Behaviorism - descendants
of functionalism
– Behaviorism - early 1900’s
• The next major school of thought to influence the development of
psychology
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Behaviorism: Redefining Psychology
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John B. Watson (1878-1958): United States
– Founder of Behaviorism
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Psychology = scientific study of behavior
 B.F. Skinner – No freewill
 Behavior = overt or observable responses or
activities
– Radical reorientation of psychology as a science of
observable behavior
– Study of consciousness abandoned
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BEHAVIORAL
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We should look for the causes of our
If you bit your
behavior in our environment rather than in
fingernails when you
our biology or in our minds.
were nervous, a
They have made their greatest contribution
behaviorist would not
by giving us a detailed understanding of
focus on calming you
how the environment affects learning –
down, but rather focus
especially through rewards and
on how to stop you from
punishments.
biting your nails.
They only care about behaviors that impair
our living, and attempt to change them.
To change behaviors, we have to
recondition the client.
This was the approach started by John
Watson and B.F. Skinner.
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Advantages? Disadvantages?
Sigmund Freud and the Concept of
the Unconscious Mind
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Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): Austria
Founded Psychoanalytic (Psychodynamic) school
of thought
Emphasis on unconscious processes influencing
behavior
– Unconscious = thoughts, memories, and desires that are
outside conscious awareness
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PSYCHODYNAMIC
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The term psychodynamic comes from the belief
that the mind (psyche) is a reservoir of energy
(dynamics).
If a man has intimacy issues and
We are motivated primarily by the energy of
irrational desires generated in our unconscious cannot form relationships with
others, what do you think someone
minds.
from this perspective may think?
We repress many of our true feelings in our
unconscious mind and are not aware of them. In
order to get better, we must bring forward the
feelings we have in our unconscious so that they
can be dealt with.
Sigmund Freud is the best known representative
of this approach.
The mind is a sort of mental boiler that holds the Perhaps they may delve into the
rising pressure of unconscious sexual and
man’s unconscious and discover
destructive desires, along with memories of
that he was bullied when he were
traumatic events.
Stressed early childhood experiences determine younger. The bullying may have
caused fear in getting close to
later behavior
others.
Negative view of humanity (aggression, sex)
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Use dreams, hypnosis, inkblots, Freudian slips to
access the unconscious
Freud’s Ideas: Controversy and
Influence
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Behavior is influenced by the unconscious
Unconscious conflict related to sexuality plays a
central role in behavior
Controversial notions caused debate/resistance
Significant influence on the field of psychology
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REVIEW:
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WHO WAS THE FOUNDER OF
PSYCHOLOGY?
– WUNDT
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WHO STARTED THE FUNCTIONALIST
PERSPECTIVE?
– JAMES
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WHAT EARLY PERSPECTIVE DID
TITCHENER START?
– STRUCTURALISM
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REVIEW:
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WHO STARTED THE BEHAVIORIST
PERSPECTIVE?
– WATSON
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WHAT IS THE MAJOR THEME OF THE
BEHAVIORIST PERPECTIVE?
– THE ENVIRONMENT CONTROLS YOU
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NAME ANOTHER MAJOR FIGURE IN THE
BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE?
– B.F. SKINNER
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WHAT IS THE MAJOR THEME OF THE
PSYCHOANALITIC PERSPECTIVE?
– UNCONSCIOUS MOTIVATION
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HUMANISTIC
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Carl Rogers founder, Abraham Maslow also a big name
Emerged as a revolt against behaviorism and psychoanalytic approaches
This perspective peaked in the late 1960s and ’70s, so it focused on
spirituality and free will.
Our actions are hugely influenced by our self-concept and by our need for
personal growth and fulfillment. We have to strive to be the best we can
be (“self-actualization”).
Humanists emphasize the positive side of our nature: human ability,
growth, and potential.
Believe in the inherent goodness of human beings
Emphasize the free will people have to make choices affecting their lives,
and press psychology to take a greater interest in feelings and the selfconcept.
Happiness is defined by the distance between our “self-concept” and our
“ideal self”.
Unconditional Positive Regard
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COGNITIVE
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CHANGE THOUGHTS FIRST, BEHAVIOR WILL
FOLLOW
 You are what you think
 Our thoughts and actions arise from the way we interpret
our experiences.
 Concerned with the processes of thinking and memory,
attention, imagery, creativity, problem solving, and
language use.
 Discuss the mental processes which determine what
humans can perceive, or communicate, as well as how
they think.
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 Your mind is like a computer
BIOLOGICAL
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Sometimes also referred to as biopsychological
or the neuroscience approach.
 Emphasizes how our physical makeup and the
operation of our brains influence our
personality, preferences, behavior patterns, and
abilities. In other words, all of our feelings and
behaviors have an organic root.
 Search for the causes of behavior in heredity,
the nervous system, the endocrine (hormone)
system, and disease.
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 More likely than other views to recommend
medication
Evolutionary
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A variation on the biological view that draws
on Darwin’s ideas.
Suggests that many human traits arise from
hereditary characteristics established in our
remote ancestral past.
Our genetic makeup – including our most
deeply ingrained behaviors – were shaped by
the conditions our ancestors faced thousands
of years ago.
In other words, we behave the way we do
because we inherited those behaviors; thus,
those behaviors must have helped ensure
our ancestors’ survival.
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Advantages? Disadvantages?
SOCIOCULTURAL
Even in the same high school,
behaviors can change in accordance to
the various subcultures.
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Focus on the idea of social influence.
As a complex blend of human language, beliefs,
customs, values, and traditions, culture exerts
powerful influences on all of us.
 Much of our behavior and our feelings are
dictated by the culture we live in.
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Contemporary Psychology: Cultural
Diversity
Ethnocentrism – viewing one’s own group as
superior and as the standard for judging
 Historically: middle and upper class white males
studying middle and upper class white males
 1980’s – increased interest in how cultural factors
influence behavior
 growing global interdependence
 increased cultural diversity
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Psychology Today: A Thriving Science
and Profession
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Psychology is the science that studies behavior and
the physiological and cognitive processes that
underlie it, and it is the profession that applies the
accumulated knowledge of this science to practical
problems.
Research: Seven major areas - developmental,
social, experimental, physiological, cognitive,
personality, and psychometrics.
Applied Psychology: Four major areas - clinical,
counseling, educational/school, and
industrial/organizational.
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