The Early History and Scope of Psychology

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The Early History and Scopeof Psychology
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Define Psychology

• The science of behavior and mental processes

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Early History (around 387 B.C.)

• Socrates, and his student Plato (Greek
  Philosophers)

• The mind and the body are two separate entities,
  and do not influence each other.

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• Socrates, and Plato believed that
• Human behavior and knowledge is pre-disposed and
  genetically built-in (Nature).
• IE. If you are intelligent, you were born with a
  smart brain. If you are athletic, you were born
  with strong muscles and balance. If you are
  violent, depressed, or forgetful, you were born
  with a brain disorder.

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• Aristotle (335 B.C.)

The mind and the body are inseparable and each
influences the other with regards to behavior.
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• Aristotle (Greek Philosopher)
• Human behavior and knowledge is not preexisting
  it grows from the experiences stored in our
  memories (Nurture).
• IE. You are violent because you watched it on
  television. You are smart because you studied.
  You are kind because you were loved.

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• Rene Descartes (French Philosopher) (1600s)
• The body and the mind are separate entities,
  though they do interact and communicate through
  the spirits of the brain, and the passages of
  the body. Knowledge is inborn as well.

• Early dissections led to the early understanding
  of mind/body connections (biological psychology).

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1600s

• John Locke (British Philosopher)
• Tabula rasa (Empiricism) literally means blank
  slate
• Theory the mind is at birth a "blank slate"
  without rules for processing data, and that data
  is added and processed based solely by our
  sensory experiences.
• It also emphasized the individual's freedom to
  author his or her own soul.

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• IE. There are no inherited notions regarding the
  world. Therefore, my decision to drink or not to
  drink is based solely on my sensory experience of
  the taste and effects of a glass of wine, not my
  parents alcoholism. My grades in school and my
  professional goals are based on my study and work
  habits, not my parents idiocy.

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1600s

• Francis Bacon (English Scientist)

• Stressed the scientific principles of observation
  and experimentation when evaluating human
  behavior

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• Wilhelm Wundt

• 1879 establishes the first psychology laboratory
  at the University of Leipzig, Germany.
• This is generally considered the starting point
  of Psychology as a science.

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Psychology Comes to America

• G. Stanley Hall (1846-1924)
• A student of Wundt
• Establishes 1st American laboratory at Johns
  Hopkins (1883)
• Founded 1st American Psych. journal (1887)
• Founded American Psychological Association-APA
  (1892)

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1880s

• Edward Titchener (Structuralism)

• A student of Wundt
• Measured and compared individuals perceptions of
  smells, sights, memories, etc., Introspection
• Provides direct contact with the mind.

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• Structuralists break human experiences down into
  their smallest parts in order to understand the
  entire behavior.

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• William James (turn of the century)
  (Functionalism)
• Focused on the physical functions of the brain
  and the body, and how they worked together

• Also, reintroduced the Darwinist theory of human
  evolution, and that body and brain functions
  evolved as humans learned about and experienced
  the world

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Psychoanalytic Perspective

• Psychoanalysts believe that the unconscious mind
  (a part of our mind that we do not have conscious
  control over or access to) controls much or our
  thought and action.
• Sigmund Freud

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• IE. An introverted person avoids social
  situations because of a repressed memory of
  trauma in childhood involving an acutely
  embarrassing experience at a party.

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Behavioral Perspective

• Behavioral psychologists explain human thought
  and behavior by looking strictly at observable
  behaviors and what reaction organisms get in
  response to specific behaviors.
• Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, B.F. Skinner

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• IE. An introverted person may be withdrawn and
  shy because they are punished for speaking at
  home. An extrovert may get monetary rewards for
  garnering attention.

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Humanistic Perspective

• Humanists believe that we choose most of our
  behaviors and these choices are guided by
  physiological, emotional, or spiritual needs.
  Humanists stress free will and individual choice.
• Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

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• IE. An introverted person chooses to limit
  social contact with others because he or she
  finds that social needs are better satisfied by
  contact with a few close friends rather than
  large groups.

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Biopsychology (Neuroscience)

• Biopsychologists explain human behavior in terms
  of biological processes, including genetics,
  hormones, and brain (dys)functions.

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• IE. An introverted person may lack a certain gene
  for sociability, or an extroverted person may be
  producing an overabundance of a particular
  hormone. There may be a dysfunctional frontal
  lobe.

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Evolutionary Perspective

• Evolutionary psychologists (sociobiologists)
  examine human behavior in terms of natural
  selection and survival traits.
• Charles Darwin

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• IE. An extroverted person carries a social
  genetic trait based upon the need to make friends
  or allies, thus increasing their chances of
  survival. An introverted person may have a
  genetic quality that precludes isolation as a way
  to avoid predators, thus increasing their chances
  for survival.

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Cognitive Perspective

• Cognitive psychologists explain human behavior in
  terms of how we interpret, process, and remember
  environmental events.
• How we view the world plays a big role in what we
  do!

• Stimulus Mental process
  Behavior

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• IE. An introvert does not socialize much because
  they interpret friendship as pity, or whispered
  conversations as criticism. An extrovert may
  think that the world is a happy and safe place,
  and therefore all people are potential friends.

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Social-Cultural Perspective

• Sociocultural psychologists

• emphasize the influence of groups and culture on
  the way that we think and act.

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• IE. An female introvert lives in a society where
  women are not allowed to talk, vote, or own land.
  An extrovert lives in a society where gluttony
  and extravagance is encouraged.

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Fields in Psychology

• What do people do with a degree in Psychology?
• what can I do with a degree in Psychology?

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Fields in Psychology

• Applied v. Basic Psychology
• Applied refers to practical and interactive
  psychology.
• the use of psychological principles and theories
  to overcome problems in other areas
• Basic refers mainly to the research fields of
  psychology.

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Therapy

• Mental and physical rehabilitation regarding
  mental disorders.

• Can include medications, in/out patient services,
  counseling, etc.

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School

• Assisting school-aged children, adolescence
  issues, counseling, etc.

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Clinical

• Diagnosis and treatment of troubled people.
• Career, marriage, stress counseling.

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Industrial/Organizational

• Productivity, job stress, motivation,
  automation.

Practical issues of selecting and training a
workforce
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Forensic Psychology

• Provide advice to legislators, judges,
  correctional officers, lawyers and the police

• Called upon, for example, to serve as an expert
  witness, diagnose and treat incarcerated and
  probation offenders and screen and evaluate
  personnel in the law enforcement and judicial
  systems

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Sports Psychology

• Issues and techniques of sport-specific
  psychological assessment and mental skills
• Goal-setting, visualization and performance
  planning, self-confidence, eating disorders,
  overtraining and burnout counseling, team
  building, sportsmanship

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Developmental

• Study mental and physical growth from prenatal
  through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and
  into old age.

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Social

• Study how people influence each others attitudes,
  prejudices, norms, interpersonal attractions, etc.

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Cognitive

• Experiment with how we perceive, think, and solve
  problems

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Experimental

• Conduct research on learning, memory, sensation,
  perception, cognition, motivation, etc.

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Major Research Areas pie chart
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Careers in Psychology Percentage of Psychology
Degrees by Specialty
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Current Perspectives in Psychology
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Woman and Minorities

• Few woman and minorities in early 1900s
• Women
• ? Margaret Floy Washburn - first PhD 1894
• - Mary Calkins - first president of APA
• - Currently woman get about 70 of PhDs
• African Americans
• ? Francis Sumner - first PhD in 1920
• - Kenneth B. Clark- first PhD from Colombia in
  1940 - brown vs. white doll study - helped with
  desegregation of public schools

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• What is the difference between a psychologist
  and a psychiatrist?

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Psychology v. Psychiatry

• Psychiatry is the study of mental disorders.
• Psychiatrists are medical doctors and can
  prescribe medications to treat the physical and
  mental causes of psychological disorders.