History and approaches
2-4% of the exam
Can-Do Statements for History and
Approaches:
*I can describe how different thoughts, beliefs,
and theories throughout history have shaped
the development of modern psychological
thought.
*I can describe and compare different
theoretical approaches to explaining behavior
and point out the pros and cons of these
theories.
Ancient ideas - not all bad…..
China - Confucius: power of ideas in an educated mind
Israel: linked mind and body - think with heart, feel with gut
Greece - Socrates (428-348bc) and Plato: Mind is
separable from the body,knowledge is innate.
Greece - Aristotle (384-322bc): develop knowledge from
observations, it grows from our experiences in stored
memories
And then…...
Nothing until the 1600’s! WHY?
René Descartes (1595-1650): mind and body
separate, mind can survive beyond death. He
saw fluid in the brain cavity of dissected animals
as “animal spirits” - fluid went from brain through
nerves to the muscles to cause movement.
Memories formed as experiences opened pores
in the brain…….hmmmm. Any truth to this? Ah,
Meanwhile in England:
Sir Francis Bacon - a founder of modern science,
influential in psych.
John Locke - (1632-1704) - British philosopher:
Concept of “Tabula rasa” = mind is a blank slate
for experiences to imprint……..
Empiricism = what we know comes from
experience, observation and experimentation
enable scientific knowledge.
And then…..
Wilhelm Wundt Leipzig Germany. First
psychology lab (1879),
wanted to measure
“atoms of the mind”.
Led to spread of psych
and different disciplines in the field.
At first...
Structuralism = Titchener (Wundt’s student), influenced by
chemists and physicists, who determine the structure of
matter, he wanted to know about the structure of the mind.
Introspection = “tell me what you hear, feel…” What are your
immediate feelings, sensations, images, associations?
Why???”......
Requires smart, verbal subjects to get good experimental
answers / results. We don’t often know why, and we don’t
often self-report well.
Structuralism practice:
Look at the picture. Write
down your thoughts,
feelings, associations, and
physical reactions.
Structuralism practice:
Look at the picture. Write
down your thoughts,
feelings, associations,
and physical reactions.
Compare to your notes from
the previous slide.
Functionalism
William James (Harvard, 1880’s)- What are the evolved
functions of our thoughts and feelings? Our nose smells,
and our ears hear...what does our brain do for us? most
importantly, WHY does it do what it does? (Darwin)
*explore everyday emotions, memories, willpower, habits,
and streams of consciousness.
*First psych lecturer, admitted a woman to his grad.
program. First psych book (Holt)
Mary Whiton Calkins
* James’ student
*admitted to program in 1890 - all men quit
*earned her degree...Harvard wouldn’t give it to
her
*specialist in memory research
*APA’s first female president (1905)
Margaret Floy Washburn
*Actually was the first female PhD from Harvard
*Second female APA President 1921
*First foreign article published in Wundt’s
journal
*Titchener was her grad advisor, but she
couldn’t join the experimental psych
organization.
The 1920s and beyond
Early days - “The science of mental life”
*Wundt and Titchener - inner sensations, images, and
feelings (which theory?)
*James - introspection of streams of consciousness and
emotions (which theory?)
*Freud - how emotional responses to childhood
experiences and unconscious thought impacts our
behavior. Used psychoanalysis to discover this (which
theory?)
and then came:
BEHAVIORISM: Watson and Skinner!!!! late 1920s through
the 1960s
“Psychology is the study of observable behavior”
- You cannot observe a sensation or an emotion so you
cannot study it. You can only observe how people behave
or RESPOND TO different STIMULI in various situations.
You can elicit different behavior by presenting different
stimuli.
and:
PSYCHOANALYTICAL (Freud) PSYCHOLOGY:
unconscious thoughts and and emotional responses from
childhood impact our behavior as adults.
These two theories - behaviorism and Freudian psychology
- dominated the field until late 1960s……..
**Psychodynamic theory today
Enter Carl Rogers and Abraham
Maslow:HUMANISM
*Response to “cold”, limiting approaches
*How does our environment nurture or limit our growth
potential?
*How do we get our needs for love and acceptance
satisfied?
**This is the “cognitive revolution” in psychology - back to
basics of how does the mind function and how do we learn
and retain information?
This question led to:
COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE:
how brain activity is linked with cognition
(perception, memory, thinking, and language)
Out of all of this came a new definition:
Psychology: the science of behavior and
mental processes.
Modern Perspectives:
Behavioral View
Pavlov - dogs, bell, classical conditioning Watson - operant
conditioning, consciousness only, observable, all behavior
is learned = stimulus / response (Watson vs Freud = Baby
Albert)
**Baby Albert - conditioned response
Mary Cover Jones - Little Peter (counterconditioning)
Replace original response
Modern perspectives
Psychodynamic view
Based in Freud but evolved…
Focus on unconscious mind and its influence over
conscious behavior and early childhood experiences
*less emphasis on sexual motivations and more on
discovering motivations for individual behavior.
Still can’t test the theory……
Modern perspectives
Humanistic View
The “THIRD FORCE” -followed psychodynamic and
behaviorism
*Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers:people can direct their
own lives. What makes us human? Uniquely human? We
have limitless potential, and we have free will to achieve it.
*self-actualization = Be all you can Be!
Modern Perspectives
Cognitive view
Focus on how we think, remember, store and use information
Roots in behaviorism and Gestalt, influenced by computer age (1960s)
Studies memory, intelligence, perception, problem-solving, language, and
learning
Cognitive neuropsychology - the brain at work PET and MRI scans help the
study
Albert Ellis, Beck
Modern Perspectives
Biological View
*looks for biological bases for behavior
*studies how heredity, hormones, brain
chemical, tumors, and diseases impact
behavior and mental events.
*
Modern perspectives
Sociocultural view
Lev Vygotsky (we will see again in the cognitive chapter)
We are all part of a society that exerts influence on our
behavior.
Studies social groups, actions and relationships and their
interactions.
Can illustrate the nature vs nurture issue in different
cultures
Modern Perspectives:
Biopsychosocial view:
George L. Engel
behavior is a result of the interactions of
biology, psychology, and social interactions.
Each interacts with the other and cannot be
separated.
Modern perspectives
Evolutionary view
examines the biological bases for universal
mental characteristics that we all share, the
usefulness of behaviors (like lying), choosing a
mate, why we all fear snakes, etc..
Darwin - our behavior allows us to solve
problems...like staying alive
What is missing?
Your text mentions
Gestalt psychology - sum of parts (WHOLE)
Necker Cube
What are they and how do they fit into what you already
know?......it’s all a matter of perspective. How do you
integrate all the parts into “one whole”?
Scenario:
You are taking the train to Chicago, and you
see a young man knock a woman to the
ground, take her purse, and run away. Clearly,
it is a crime, but how would the following
theories seek to explain the young man’s
behavior?
Perspectives:
psychodynamic
behavioral
humanistic
cognitive
sociocultural
biological
biopsychosocial
evolutionary
Tips: START NOW!!! DO NOT
WAIT!!!
Multiple choice:
-
the easy questions are usually first - get them right.
underline important parts / words in the question.
ask / answer the question again in your own words.
eliminate choices you know aren’t right
Think about it, circle POSSIBLE choices, and come
back later.
FRQ: points based on how many
points you answer in the question
- Read the WHOLE question and identify each part.
- Pre-write / organize quickly.
- Paragraph form, one opening sentence if you feel you
need it.
- IDA ….A = “for example” (but not personally)
- Get it on the paper in order of the question. Address all
parts of the question.
- Count your points.
- Less is more. Keep it simple and direct. Don’t overdo.
- One summary sentence if you feel you need it.
Review questions:
Which perspective would a researcher be
taking if he/she were studying the way children
store and retrieve information?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
psychodynamic
behavioral
humanistic
cognitive
sociocultural
Review questions:
Dr. Rhodes works in a hospital assessing and treating
patients who present various symptoms of mental illness.
The treatments can involve prescribing medications and
counseling. The Dr. is most likely a:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
developmental psychologist
psychiatric social worker
psychiatrist
guidance counselor
clinical psychologist
Review questions:
Which early perspective would have been least
likely to agree with the structuralist
perspective?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
introspection
functionalism
psychoanalysis
Gestalt
evolution
Review Questions:
Watson wanted to prove that all behavior was a
result of:
a.a person’s desires
b.stimulus-response models
c.a longing for cohesive wholeness
d.cognition
e.the need to belong
Review questions
What method would you use to determine if
research subjects experienced a shift in
perception while looking at a Necker Cube?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
behaviorism
structuralism
introspection
sensation
humanism
Review Questions
Who established the first psych. lab?
Which perspective does NOT study mental processes like
sensation and perception?
Name a humanist
Name a behavioralist