Welcome to Psychology
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1.1 Why Study Psychology?
Psychology provides tools to
help us gain insight into our
own behavior, as well as our
relationships with others.
Definition of Psychology: the
scientific study of behavior
and mental processes.
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4 Goals of Psychology:
(yes, write these down they will be on the test also located on pg. 10 in your text, if your text is
not open then you need to be opening it now)
1. Description
2. Explanation
3. Prediction
4. Influence
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Learning about psychology can help
you gain…
– a better understanding
of your own behavior.
– knowledge about how
psychologists study
human and animal
behavior.
fotosearch.com
– practical applications
for enriching your life.
Example: The child throws a fit
every time he goes to Wal-Mart
and his mom says no by the
candy aisle.
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Psychology is
Empirical that
means information is
obtained through
observation and
experimentation not
common sense or
guessing.
moisiadis.com
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 By accumulating knowledge we are able to predict what
people or animals will do or think in certain situations and
predict future behaviors.
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 Scientist seek to influence
behavior in helpful ways.
knychfamily.blogspot.com
Chains like Wal-mart have done these scientific observations and
place candy as you check out because when your kid is screaming
sometimes it is easier to just buy the candy bar.
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Basic Science:
Research Ex. Research on
drug effects on the brain.
There are two types of
science that influences
psychology.
Applied Science:
putting that research to use
for a purpose Example:
Using research on how drugs
effect the brain to come up
with a new antidepressant to
help people suffering from
depression.
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Last point:
Psychology is a behavioral
science. Psychologists rely on the scientific
method to obtain their data.
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Pseudoscience
Greek for “False Science” Examples:
Horoscopes, Astrology, Phrenology
24medialabs.com
scienceandsociety.emory.edu
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Chapter 1.2:
History of Psychology
Aristotle (384-322 BCE.)
Started asking how the mind
and the body were related??
Were the separate or related??
en.wikipedia.org
Are ideas inborn or is the
mind a blank slate filled by
experience?
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Rene Descartes “I think therefore I am”
 Pioneer philosopher.
He was brilliant.
Descartes also made
great strides in
geometry. Great
scientific mind, was
asked and asked again
by the Queen
Christinia of Sweden
to come teach her
philosophy. He
forcibly went and
caught ammonia while
waiting for her and
died.
plato.stanford.edu
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Dualism:
the concept of the mind and body
are separate and distinct.
Descartes held that, unlike
humans, animals could be
reductively explained as
automata – De homines 1622)
Rene Descartes' Illustration of
inputs passed on by the sensory
organs to the epiphysis in the
brain and from there to the
immaterial spirit.
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Dualism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEr8hnvzeHU
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Foundations of Modern
Psychology
 Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
 Theory of natural selection (1859)
 physical characteristics evolve through natural
selection
 behavioral patterns also influence selection
 inborn knowledge and behavioral tendencies with
survival value are passed on
 Human beings are part of nature and can be
understood through the methods of science
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Foundations of Modern
Psychology
 Darwin’s theory encouraged scientific inquiry
 19th century developments in physiology demonstrated
the approach to use
 based on scientific methods, controlled laboratory
experiments
 influential beliefs from early physiology
 reflexology - all human behaviors occur through reflexes
 localization of function - specific structures of the brain
serve specific functions in the control of mental
experiences and behavior
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Okay Psychology is going to go through a
transition. It actually goes through several
transitions to brace for the ride. (Epcot)
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3 Things you need to remember
about your daddy:
1. Wilhelm Wundt opened the
first psychology laboratory
in Germany.
2. Changed psychology from a
philosophy to a science.
3. Studied introspection.
Introspection means
looking within yourself.
How do you feel about this
or that. How does that rose
make you feel?
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G. Stanley Hall
(1844 - 1924)
 American student of Wundt.
 Created the field of Child
Psychology
 Founded the American
Psychological Association
 While at Clark University,
Hall organized a conference
in 1909 for 175 people, 40 of
which were American
Psychologists. Among the
attending psychologists were
Sigmund Freud and Carl
Jung,
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Structuralism vs.
Broke down consciousness to basic
thoughts.
Wilhelm Wundt
Introspection - self-observation
of one’s own conscious experiences
Functionalism
Investigate the function, or purpose
of consciousness rather than its
structure
Leaned toward applied work
(natural surroundings) Environment
William James
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(1842-1910)
William James
What
you have two daddies? Yes,
one is your American
Daddy. Known as the
Father of American
Psychology. You also need
to know he wrote the 1st
Psychology Book. Belonged
to the Functionalism
movement and disagreed
with Wundt.
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Other Pioneers
 Edward Titchener (1867-1927)
 Wundt’s student, professor at Cornell University
 William James (1842-1910)
 started psychology at Harvard in 1870s
 opposed Wundt and Titchener’s approach
 functionalism - influenced by Darwin to focus on how
behaviors help us adapt to the environment
 Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
 Austrian physician that focused on illness
 psychoanalytic theory of mental disorders
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sparkmuseum.com
Phrenology
led scientists to study
the bumps on the head
to determine human
behavior Phrenology
is considered a
pseudoscience (False
Science)
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Inherited Traits
Sir Francis Galton
said that heredity influences a
person’s abilities, character, and behavior. For example, if your
parents are mentally challenged then you should be sterilized so
that you don’t have mentally challenged children.
indyweek.com
His cousin was Charles Darwin, began eugenics movement.
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Gestalt Psychology
“The whole is different than
the sum of its parts.”
Max
Wertheimer
(1880-1943)
alexbinetti.wordpress.com
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What is it?? We like to fill in the gaps
so that we see objects as wholes.
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New Transition
Contemporary Approaches:
These are the ones we will use the rest
of the semester!! Yes write them
down!!!In fact put the list under your
pillow at night so that you can dream
about them and then unconsciously you
will remember them. This is also how
the book is broken up into.
Pg. 18
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Contemporary Psychology

Psychology’s Perspectives

A lot depends on your viewpoint
You have 6 to remember:
1. Psychoanalysis
2. Cognitive
3. Behaviorial
4. Biological
5. Socio-cultural
6. Humanistic
On your test you will have to write a
Paragraph about each one and
include a founding father.
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Psychoanalytic Psychology
 Study of unconscious motives and conflicts that
determine behavior.
 Freud used the technique called free association He
would say a word and you would say the first word
that popped in your head and he would then
analysis what is going on in your unconscious.
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Sigmund Freud:
Father of Psychoanalysis NOT psychology!!!!
Unconscious expressed in
dreams & “slips of the tongue”
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CARL JUNG
1875 – 1961
 Student of Freud
 Complexes
 The importance of
religion
 Personality Types:
 Thinker
 Feeler
 Sensor
 Intuitor
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Cognitive Approach
Cognition is the mental processes
involved in acquiring, processing,
storing & using information
Cognitive Psychologists return
to the study of learning,
memory, perception, language,
development & problem
solving Example: Is your boyfriend
child-development-guide.com
sciencedaily.com
dumping you traumatic or do you just
think it is therefore you are depressed?
Or..your ability to do math compared to a
5 year old. You can understand abstract
thinking that goes along with statistics.
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Cognitive Approach
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JEAN PIAGET
1896 – 1980
 Worked in France
administering Binet’s
IQ test.
 Children do not think
like adults. Why?
 Created 4 stages of
cognitive ability that
accurately explain the
behavior of children.
 Influenced teachers
and school system.
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LAWRENCE KOHLBERG
1927-1987
Built on the work of
Piaget to create a
theory of moral
development.
Used moral
dilemmas to
analyze the moral
level of children
and adults.
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Howard Gardner
(July 11, 1943 - )
American Psychologist and Educator
 There are 8
different types of
intelligence, each as
important as the
other.
 Michael Jordan
 Einstein
 Mozart
 Ronald Reagan?
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ERIK ERIKSON
1902 – 1994
 Our personality is
formed as we resolve 8
social crises in our lives.
 Examples: learning trust,
intimacy, and industry
 Created the idea of an
identity crisis
 First psychologist to take
a life-span approach to
psychology.
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Alfred Binet
(July 8, 1857- October 18, 1911)
French Psychologist
 He was employed by
French school system
to create a way of
determining which
students needed more
help academically.
 Developed the first IQ
test.
 Cognitive PsychologyHow humans think and
solve problems.
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Albert Ellis
1913  Created Rational Emotive
Behavior Therapy (REBT)
 Humans create their own
depression by how they
cognitively deal with
situations.
 Is it OK to fail?
 Treatment involves
challenging the irrational
thoughts the patient has.
 INTROSPECTION is required
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Elizabeth F. Loftus
(1944 - )
The most horrifying
idea is that what
we believe with all
our hearts is not
necessarily the
truth.(Loftus, 1996,
Memory is
malleable and
easily altered.
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Biological Approach
Focus
How the body and brain
create emotions, memories,
and sensory experiences.
Sample Issues
• Depression and antidepressants. Problems
with thyroids.
• How are messages transmitted within the
body?
• How is blood chemistry linked with moods
and motives?
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Behavioral Approach
Scientific Psychology
should focus on
observable behavior.
John Watson
(1878-1958)
B.F. Skinner
If you do a trick I will
give you a treat.
Ivan Pavlov
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DR. IVAN PAVLOV
(1849-1936)
Begins the school of
Behaviorism
through his work
with dogs and
digestion.
All behavior is the
result of external
stimuli. Free will
and decision
making is ignored.
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John B. Watson
(1878 - 1958)
 The “Father of
Behaviorism”
 To be a true science,
psychology must study
only observable
behaviors.
 Human emotions are
learned through
conditioning.
 Little Albert
Demonstration
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B. F. SKINNER
1904 – 1990
 Operant ConditioningOrganisms learn
behavior through the
consequences of that
behavior.
 Reinforcement vs.
Punishment
 Shaping-learning
complex behaviors
through learning small
steps of that behavior.
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Social-Cultural Approach
Focus
How behavior and thinking
vary across situations
and cultures.
Sample Issues
• How are we, as members of different races and
nationalities, alike as members of one human family?
• How do we differ, as products of different social contexts?
• Why do people sometimes act differently in groups than
when alone?
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Socio-Cultural Psychologists
Include…
 Albert Bandura
Stanley Milgram
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Humanistic Approach
 Founders: Carl
Rogers, Abraham
Maslow
 Emphasizes how
each person is
unique and has a
self-concept and
potential to develop
fully. This potential
for personal growth
and development
can lead to a more
satisfying life.49
Women of Psychology
Mary Calkins - student of William James at
Harvard but was not awarded a Ph.D.
Founded psych lab at Wellesley College (1891)
Maragaret Washburn - first woman to receive
Ph.D. in Psychology. Wrote The Animal Mind,
which helped begin the Behaviorist movement.
Leta Hollingworth - Debunked popular theories
that suggested women were inferior to men.
Did pioneering work on adolescent development,
mental retardation & “gifted” children.
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What Causes Behavior?
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Work In Psychology (?)
Elementary/
Secondary
Schools
4.2%
Independent
Practice
33.1% Business,
Hospitals,
Counseling,
Government or
Clinics, etc.
Consulting
22.3%
12.1%
Universities &
Colleges
27.2%
52
The Profession of
Psychology
American Psychological Association had
52 divisions in 1998
Some represent areas of training and
specialization (e.g., developmental,
clinical)
Some are applied (i.e., teaching in
psychology, psychology and the law)
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Areas of Specialization
 Clinical
 abnormal behavior and
psychological disorders
 psychologist vs.
psychiatrist
 Health psychology
 psychological factors in
physical health
 Counseling
 dealing with normal life
situations
Industrial/Organizational 3%
Social and
Biological and
Personality 8%
Experimental
16%
Educational 3%
Other
Developmental 6%
Psychology
15%
School 3%
Clinical
36%
Counseling 10%
 provide guidance
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Areas of Specialization
 Developmental
 psychological change over
the life span
 social, cognitive,
personality
 School
 counseling and guidance
in school settings
 Educational
Industrial/Organizational 3%
Social and
Biological and
Personality 8%
Experimental
16%
Educational 3%
Other
Developmental 6%
Psychology
15%
School 3%
Clinical
36%
Counseling 10%
 learning and teaching
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Areas of Specialization
 Psychobiology
 brain and behavior
 studied at many levels
 often uses animals as research
model
 Experimental
 basic laboratory focus
 animals or humans
 learning, memory, motivation
 Cognitive
 experimental
Industrial/Organizational 3%
Social and
Biological and
Personality 8%
Experimental
16%
Educational 3%
Other
Developmental 6%
Psychology
15%
School 3%
Clinical
36%
Counseling 10%
 human memory, perception, etc.
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Areas of Specialization
 Social
 social influences on
cognition and emotion
 attitudes and beliefs
 Personality
 individual differences
 perception by others
 Industrial/organizational
Industrial/Organizational 3%
Social and
Biological and
Personality 8%
Experimental
16%
Educational 3%
Other
Developmental 6%
Psychology
15%
School 3%
Clinical
36%
Counseling 10%
 people and work
 job satisfaction
 training and selection
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Professional Work Settings
Colleges and
universities
Clinical settings
Elementary and
secondary schools
Business
Government
Employment Settings of Psychologists
Business
& Industry
School
Private
Practice
Universities &
College
Government
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Specialties In Psychology
General/Quantitative
3.6%
Cognitive
5.2%
I/O
5.7%
Social/
Developmental
6.4%
Ed & School
19.4%
Clinical,
Community
& Counseling
51.1%
Other
8.6%
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