PSYCHOLOGY
(8th Edition)
David Myers
PowerPoint Slides
Aneeq Ahmad
Henderson State University
Worth Publishers, © 2006
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Unit I:
History and Approaches
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Prologue: The Story of Psychology
Psychology’s Roots
 Prescientific Psychology
 Psychological Science is Born
 Psychological Science Develops
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Prologue: The Story of Psychology
Contemporary Psychology
 Psychology’s Big Debate
 Psychology’s Three Main Levels
of Analysis
 Psychology’s Subfields
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In the beginning …
•
•
•
•
•
Who are we?
Where do our thoughts come from?
What makes our body move?
How and why do we “feel” ?
What happens to us (mind/body) after
death?
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Psychology
“The study of human
behavior and mental
processes.”
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Psychology’s Roots
Prescientific Psychology
www.bodydharma.org/photo/buddha.jpg
In India, Buddha wondered how sensations and
perceptions combined to form ideas.
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Prescientific Psychology
Confucius (551-479 B.C.)
home.tiscali.be/alain.ernotte/livre/confucius.jpg
In China, Confucius stressed the power of ideas
and the importance of an educated mind.
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Prescientific Psychology
Hebrew Scriptures
www.havurahhatorah.org/images/hebrewbible.jpg
Hebrew scriptures linked mind and emotion to the
body.
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Monism vs Dualism
• Philosophical debate
• Deals with the relationship of the mind and
the body
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Dualism
• The mind and body are distinct
(separate) but interact with
each other
• Mental AND Physical side
• “ghost in a machine”
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Monism
• The mind and the body are
different aspects of the same
thing
• The “mind” is just the product of
complex physical activity in the
brain.
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Prescientific Psychology
Plato
http://www.law.umkc.edu
http://www.law.umkc.edu
Socrates
Socrates (469-399 B.C.) and Plato (428-348 B.C.)
Socrates and his student Plato believed the mind
was separate from the body, the mind continued to
exist after death, and ideas were innate.
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Prescientific Psychology
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
http://faculty.washington.edu
Aristotle suggested that the soul is not separable
from the body and that knowledge (ideas) grow
from experience.
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Prescientific Psychology
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
http://ocw.mit.edu
http://www.spacerad.com
Descartes, like Plato, believed in soul (mind)-body
separation, but wondered how the immaterial
mind and physical body communicated.
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EMPIRICISM
• Knowledge originates in experience;
science should rely on observation and
experimentation
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Prescientific Psychology
Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
http://www.iep.utm.edu
Bacon is one of the founders of modern science,
particularly the experimental method.
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Prescientific Psychology
John Locke (1632-1704)
biografieonline.it/img/bio/John_Locke.jpg
Locke held that the mind was a tabula rasa, or
blank sheet, at birth, and experiences wrote on it.
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Prescientific Psychology
What is the relation of mind to the body?
Mind and body are
connected
Mind and body are
distinct
The Hebrews
Socrates
Aristotle
Plato
Augustine
Descartes
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Prescientific Psychology
How are ideas formed?
Some ideas are inborn
The mind is a blank
slate
Socrates
Aristotle
Plato
Locke
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Psychological Science is Born
Structuralism
Titchner (1867-1927)
Wundt (1832-1920)
Wundt(first psych lab) and Titchener studied the
elements (atoms) of the mind by conducting
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experiments at Leipzig, Germany, in 1879.
Psychological Science is Born
Structuralism
•Focuses on the
basic elements
of the mind
•Like a builder
would focus on
the wood, brick,
mortar, nails,
frame of a
house
Introspection Activity
• Hershey Kiss Activity
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INTROSPECTION
• Wundt used the technique of introspection.
• Introspection means inward looking.
Subjects were specially trained to describe
the sensations and feelings a stimulus
created.
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Psychological Science is Born
Functionalism
Mary Calkins
James (1842-1910)
Influenced by Darwin, William James established
the school of functionalism, which opposed
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structuralism.
Psychological Science is Born
Functionalism
•Focuses on the
function of the
conscious mind
•Like an architect
focuses on the
functions of each
room of a house
and how it serves
the needs of the
people living in it.
FUNCTIONALISM
• James established the first American
laboratory.
• Functionalism concentrates on how the
understanding of how consciousness
functions to help people adapt to their
environments.
• The “WHY?” (ex. Why do we feel fear?)
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Psychological Science is Born
The Unconscious Mind
Freud (1856-1939)
Sigmund Freud and his followers emphasized the
importance of the unconscious mind and its effects
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on human behavior.
FREUD AND PSYCHOANALYSIS
• All behavior is motivated by psychological
processes, especially unconscious
conflicts within the mind.
• Early childhood experiences are very
important.
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Psychological Science Develops
Behaviorism
Skinner (1904-1990)
Watson (1878-1958)
Watson (1913) and later Skinner emphasized the
study of overt behavior as the subject matter of
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scientific psychology.
John Watson and Behaviorism
• Started with the study of animals.
• Overt behavior not unconscious processes
is the most important in understanding
behavior.
• Learning is the most important
determinant of behavior. We learn
through punishments and rewards.
• B.F. Skinner contributed ideas.
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Psychological Science Develops
Rogers (1902-1987)
http://www.carlrogers.dk
http://facultyweb.cortland.edu
Maslow (1908-1970)
Humanistic Psychology
Maslow and Rogers emphasized current
environmental influences on our growth potential
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and our need for love and acceptance.
Humanistic
• Love, support, recognition, self-esteem
• Everyone gets a trophy
• “I ___ because I wasn’t loved enough.”
• “I would have been great if my
coach/teacher wasn’t such an idiot.”
Which comes 1st?
Self-esteem or achievement
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Psychology Today
We define psychology today as the scientific
study of behavior (what we do) and mental
processes (inner thoughts and feelings).
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Psychological Associations &
Societies
The American Psychological Association is the
largest organization of psychology with 160,000
members world-wide, followed by the British
Psychological Society with 34,000 members.
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Psychology’s Big Debate
Nature versus Nurture
Darwin (1809-1882)
Darwin stated that nature selects those that best
enable the organism to survive and reproduce in a
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particular environment.
Psychology’s Three Main Levels of
Analysis – “BioPsychoSocial”
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SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY
• Complete handout “Schools of
Psychology”
• 1 = strongly agree to 7 = strongly disagree
• Add your numerical score for questions
#3,#4, #8, and 10 = Psychodynamic
• Add your numerical score for questions
#2, #5, #9, and #11 = Behavioral
• Add your numerical score for questions
#1, #6, #7, and #12 = Humanistic
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SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY
• Your lowest number equals your school of
psychology
• Your guru is
– Psychodynamic = Freud
– Behavioral = Skinner or Watson
– Humanistic = Maslow or Rogers
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APPROACHES TO
PSYCHOLOGY
• Approaches = perspectives = theories
• An organized way of explaining behavior.
• Generally developed by a group of
individuals rather than one person
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Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
Neuroscience
How the body and brain
enables emotions?
How are messages
transmitted in the body? How
is blood chemistry linked with
moods and motives?
Evolutionary
How the natural selection
of traits the promotes the
perpetuation of one’s
genes?
How does evolution influence
behavior tendencies?
Behavior genetics How much our genes and
our environments
influence our individual
differences?
To what extent are
psychological traits such as
intelligence, personality,
sexual orientation, and
vulnerability to depression
attributable to our genes? To
our environment?
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Psychology’s Current Perspectives
Perspective
Focus
Sample Questions
Psychodynamic
How behavior springs
from unconscious drives
and conflicts?
Based on the work of
Freud.
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?
Behavioral
How we learn observable
responses?
Based on the work of
Watson and Skinner.
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?
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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?
Social-cultural
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?
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DIRECTIONS
Read “Andrea Yates” case study.
Complete worksheet relating Andrea Yates
case study to Approaches to Psychology
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Perspectives vs. Subfields
• Perspectives (approaches)
• General theory: “lens” through
which one views psychology
• Neuroscience (biological)
• Evolutionary
• Behavior Genetics
• Psychodynamic
• Behavioral
• Cognitive
• Social –Cultural
• Humanistic
• (could be different # or
name)
• Subfields
• Psychologists focus
(specialize) on certain
behaviors or mental processes
• Basic research – experiments,
collect data to expand
knowledge in field
• Applied research – solving
specific, practical problems
• * Subfields change as new
research develops or trends
change (ex. psychometrics –
study of the measurement of
human abilities, attitudes, &
traits.)
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Psychology’s Subfields: Research
Psychologist
Biological
Developmental
Cognitive
Personality
Social
What she does
Explore the links between brain and
mind.
Study changing abilities from womb to
tomb.
Study how we perceive, think, and solve
problems.
Investigate our persistent traits.
Explore how we view and affect one
another.
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Psychology’s Subfields: Research
Other
11.5%
Experimental
14.1%
Psychometrics
5.5%
Biological
9.9%
Developmental
24.6%
Social 21.6%
Cognitive 8.0%
Personality
4.8%
Data: APA 1997
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Psychology’s Subfields: Applied
Office space: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/living/2014/12/08/perfect-office-be-a-champms-orig.cnn.html
Psychologist
Clinical
What she does
Studies, assesses, and treats people with
psychological disorders
Counseling
Helps people cope with academic, vocational, and
marital challenges.
Educational
Studies and helps individuals in school and
educational settings
Industrial/
Organizational
Human Factors*
Positive*
Community*
Studies and advises on behavior in the workplace.
Interaction of of people, machines, & physical
environments
Human functioning (going from zero to +)
How people interact w/social environments & how
social institutions affect individuals and groups 48
Careers in Psychology* pp.20-24
Basic Research
• Cognitive
• Developmental
• Educational
• Experimental
• Psychometric &
Quantitative
• Social
Applied Research
• Forensic
• Health
• Indust./Organizational
• Neuropsychologists
• Rehabilitation
• School
• Sport
Helping Professions
• Clinical
• Community
• Counseling
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Psychology’s Subfields: Applied
Industrial
6% Other
3%
Educational
9%
Counseling
15%
Data: APA 1997
Clinical
67%
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Clinical Psychology vs. Psychiatry
A clinical psychologist (Ph.D.) studies, assesses,
and treats troubled people with psychotherapy.
Psychiatrists on the other hand are medical
professionals (M.D.) who use treatments like drugs
and psychotherapy to treat psychologically
diseased patients.
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Close-up
Your Study of Psychology
Survey, Question, Read, Review and Reflect (SQ3R)
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
Survey: What you are about to read, including chapter
outlines and section heads.
Question: Ask questions. Make notes.
Read: Make sure you read outlines, sections and
chapters in entirety.
Review: Margin definitions. Study learning outcomes.
Reflect: On what you learn. Test yourself with quizzes.
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Close-up
Additional Study Hints
 Distribute your time.
 Listen actively in class.
 Overlearn. Talk / read / view
Psychology (immerse yourself! “burn the ships!”)
 Be a smart test-taker.
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NY Times - Psychology
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