Intro to Psychology

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Intro to Psychology

• History of Psychology, Types of Psychologists

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What is Psychology?

• Psychology is the science of behavior and mental
  processes
• Mental processes what the brain does when we
  think, remember, feel, etc.
• Behavior outwardly observable acts of an
  individual, alone, or in a group.
• Goals
• Describe
• Explain
• predict
• control mental processes and behavior.
• The experimental study of behavior and the
  practical applications that arise from them
• A very broad and interdisciplinary field

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Brief History of Psychology

• Earliest roots philosophy
• E.g., Descartes
• What is the mind? Is it different from the body?
• Cartesian dualism
• studied reflexes
• Focus on existence of mind

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Toward a Scientific Psychology Biology

• Pierre Flourens - Experimental Ablation
• Case of Phineas Gage
• Hermann von Helmholtz Studied neuronal
  transmission.
• Ernst Weber and psychophysics

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Scientific Study of Psychology Structuralism
(ca 1870s -1900)

• Wilhelm Wundt the father of psychology
• Set up the first psychology lab in 1879.
• Created the approach of structuralism
• Wanted to know what the structure of the mind was
• Used introspection
• Edward Titchener student of Wundt, introduced
  experimental psychology to the USA.

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Functionalism (ca 1880s current)

• Arose in protest to the private mental events
  studied by structuralists
• Focused on the process of conscious activity
• Had its roots with evolution. How is a particular
  behavior adaptive?
• William James Not what mind does, but why it
  does it
• Became incorporated into all of psychology

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Gestalt Psychology

• School of thought that emphasized the total
  experience of the individual and not just parts
  of the mind or behavior
• The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
• Wanted to stay away from reductionism
• Lacked scientific rigor and was displaced
• Major influence in sensation and perception

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Psychoanalysis

• Sigmund Freud
• Focused on the causes and treatment of emotional
  disturbances, and particularly the unconscious.
• Assumed that psychological maladjustment is a
  consequence of unresolved conflict
• Important in the history of psychotherapy

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Behaviorism (ca 1915 current)

• Rejected mental events.
• Psychology should only study observable and
  verifiable events.
• John Watson Father of behaviorism.
• Simplicity belief in reductionism.
• Stimulus response
• Used animals (pigeons and rats)
• B. F. Skinner
• Dominated psychology for over 50 years.

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The Cognitive Revolution (mid 1970s)

• A return to the studies of the mind and how it
  worked
• The computer largely influenced theories of the
  mind.
• Study of perception, representation, decision
  making, memory, etc.

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Evolutionary Psychology

• Relies heavily on Darwinian evolution.
• Traits and behaviors exist because they were
  selected during evolution.
• Individuals who possessed the particular trait
  had a reproductive advantage on individuals who
  did not.
• Behaviors exist for a reason.
• Compare human behaviors with other animals.
  Comparative psychology.

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Behavioral Neuroscience (1990s especially)

• The Decade of the Brain
• Technological advances
• Goal is a biological explanation of behavior.

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Behavioral Genetics (2000s)

• How does our genetic makeup influence our
  behavior
• Encouraged by newer technologies and developments
• Human genome project
• Level of analysis is the gene

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Types of Psychologists

• Experimental vs. Applied
• Experimental Use the scientific method to
  uncover principles of psychology.
• Applied take the principles and apply them to
  help others

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• Biological psychology also called
  physiological psychology, neuroscience,
  neuropsychology
• Studies how the brain works. How does it produce
  the behavior that we show?
• How are things learned in the brain? How are
  emotions generated?
• Often study animals
• Often study cases of brain damage
• Very interdisciplinary

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• Learning / Animal Behavior
• Very influenced by behaviorism
• Study how animals (including humans) learn.
• Typically use rats, mice, or pigeons
• Comparative psychology / evolutionary psychology
• Based around evolution how has behavior
  evolved.
• Comparison is of species!
• Study many different species
• E.g., evolution of emotion
• E.g., chimpanzees and language
• E.g., lemur memory

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• Cognitive psychology study of the mind
• emphasizes internal mental processes
• emphasizes the importance of cognitive processes,
  such as perception, memory, and thinking
• E.g., how does memory work?
• Think of your grandmother

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• Social psychology - study of how people's
  thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by
  others
• Study attitudes, conformity, helping behavior,
  etc.
• E.g., Why does Bob like Coors light?
• E.g., How does a jury reach a verdict?

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• Developmental psychology studies how behavior
  changes over time
• Studies children lifespan approach
• How do we change as we age?
• E.g., when do infants start walking?
• E.g., what can be done to help children that are
  not thriving.
• E.g., is it healthy for teens to vent to their
  friends?

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Applied Psychologists

• Clinical PhD in clinical psychology
• Tries to help individuals suffering from
  psychological maladjustment
• Uses psychotherapy to treat psychological
  disorders
• E.g., treat depression, anger management, etc.
• Psychiatry MD or DO branch of medicine that
  specializes in psychological disorders
• Can prescribe medication to help alleviate a
  problem
• May also use psychotherapy
• E.g., treat depression, anger management, etc.

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• Counseling psychology
• Very similar to clinical
• Typically deal with healthier individuals
• career and vocational assessment
• Industrial / Organizational
• seek to apply psychological principles to
  practical problems of education, industry,
  marketing, etc.
• E.g., implement leadership program
• E.g., Help companies get the most out of
  employees The two Bobs

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• School psychologist help children in school
• Address things like
• Learning disabilities
• Attention-deficit disorder
• Behavioral disorders
• Sport psychologist applies psychological
  principles to improve athletic performance

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• Forensic psychologist - applications of
  psychological knowledge to the understanding of
  crime and criminal justice
• Study abnormal psychology
• Personality psychology
• Social psychology

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Ethics

• Immoral studies
• Experiments in Nazi Germany
• Other studies in the US and around the world
• Research with humans and animals must now be
  carefully reviewed.
• All research must be approved by an institutional
  review board (IRB).
• IRBs consist of both scientists and people in
  the community.
• The IRB considers the risks and benefits of each
  research proposal and decides if it should be
  performed.

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Requirements with Human Research

• 1. Must have informed consent.
• 2. Be advised of the possible risks and benefits
  of the procedure.
• 3. Be told that they can withdraw from the study
  at any time without being penalized.
• 4. After the experiment, participants must be
  debriefed.
• 5. Deceiving participants is approved only when
  the participant will not be harmed and knowledge
  gained outweighs the use of dishonesty.

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Research with Animals

• All research with animals must have the approval
  of an IRB.
• The IRB ensures that
• 1. Animals are housed properly
• 2. Animals are not mistreated.
• 3. Researchers may not cause animals pain unless
  that is what is explicitly being studied and
  there are potential benefits to humans of
  inflicting pain.
• Labs may also inspected by USDA, OSCA, and must
  have a veterinarian in charge of care.
• PETA may also have an eye on laboratories.