Chapter 1: the Science of Psychology Module 1: Psychology’S Domains Early Leaders and Approaches in the Study of Psychology
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Chapter 1: The Science of Psychology Module 1: Psychology’s Domains Early Leaders and Approaches in the Study of Psychology "Speaking of fruitcakes, any plans for the holidays?" Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) “the father of psychology” Structuralism “What are the pieces that make up thinking and experience?” To apply scientific principles for study of human mind and behavior, establishes first laboratory in Germany,1879. Proposed School of Structuralism: approach of psychology that mind consists of three basic elements – sensations, feelings, and images. Believed brain was made of up of nonphysical elements – thoughts, emotions, experiences, feelings, etc. Subjects required to look inward (introspection) to describe their emotions or feelings. William James (1842-1910) Harvard professor; pioneer of American psychology. Functionalism Consciousness – awareness - is a stream of ever- changing thoughts; impossible to break it down into individual elements. Most interested how humans function (School of Functionalism Psychology) and adapt to and organize their environment. Thinking developed because it is adaptive. Adaptive behaviors become habits: the “To the infant the world is “flywheel of society.” just a big, booming, buzzing confusion.” Like physical traits, useful behavioral traits could be passed to future generations. Gestalt Germany, 1930s School of Gestalt Psychology: emphasizing how we organize information wholes and integrate separate stimuli into meaningful patterns. Focus on perception – the organization and interpretation of stimuli received and within its context on how it influences behavior and problem solving. “Perceptions are more than the sum of their parts.” Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Psychoanalysis Austrian, develops first complex personality theory. School of Psychoanalysis Psychology: importance of unconscious motives and conflicts as determinants of human behavior. Humans are motivated by primitive sexual drives, forbidden desires, and traumatic childhood experiences. Focused on the effects of these conflicts – buried in the unconscious – on our conscious. “The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one- seventh of its bulk above water.” John B. Watson (1878-1958) Behaviorism One of the first American psychologists to study the impact of learning on human emotion Made scientific inquiry a primary focus of research. School of Behaviorism: study of observable behavior and studies the relationship between stimuli and responses. We feel or do because of the association we have made. “Give me a dozen healthy infants, …to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select—doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents.” The Field of Psychology Psychology: The scientific study of mental processes and behavior Mental processes: anything the brain is capable of doing (thinking, learning, believing, forming attitudes, imagining, etc.). Behavior can mean most any activity (blinking, sweating, smoking, etc.). Psychologists vs. Psychiatrists Psychologists: study the physical and the psychological aspects of behavior Research Psychologists: study the origin, cause or results of behaviors Applied Psychologists: make use of findings of research psychologists Psychiatrists: medical doctors with training to treat medical disorders A Few Famous “Psychiatrists” Bob Newhart Show Dr. Frasier Crane Dr. Lucy Van Pelt Calvin and Hobbes Subfields of Psychology Clinical: diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders Counseling: diagnosis and treatment of less severe problems Developmental: Personality: changes over a life span comparing and contrasting personalities Physiological: Experimental: conducting research and studies Finding biological reasons for behavior Social: Industrial/Organizational: behavior affected by presence of others Relationship between people and their work environment What items will you not find in a gaming hall of any casino? how stores are spying on you General Themes of Psychology 1. Nature v. Nurture Is our behavior influence greater by our genes or by our environment? 2. Determinism (“hardwired”) v. Freewill How much control over our behavior do we have? 3. Methodology What is the best approach in the scientific study of human behavior? Modern Approaches Used in Psychology Today Biopsychological Approach Biopsychological: views behaviors as the result of nervous system functions and biology. Advantages Disadvantages Understanding biological aspects It does little to explain social of behavior can help in developing influences on behavior. medical treatment for some disorders; observable behavior. Hormones, heredity, brain chemicals, tumors, etc. football concussions Vitruvian Man, Da Vinci, 1490 Behavioral Approach Behavioral: behavior is product of learning and associations. Advantages Disadvantages It can help parents teach children It takes away our “free will.” appropriate behavior; strengthening or weakening observable behaviors. Classical and Operant Conditioning B.F. Skinner John B. Watson Humanistic Approach Humanistic: people are basically good and capable of helping themselves. Advantages Disadvantages The “human potential;” It gives No one is good all the time. people power over their own lives and behavior; the importance of environment. Achieving “self actualization – the ideal self. Carl Rogers Albert Maslow Psychoanalytic Approach Psychoanalytic: a system that views the individual as the product of unconscious forces. Advantages Disadvantages A framework for examining It focuses on how people are only thought process below the products of mostly negative consciousness. unconscious impulses. Less emphasis today on early Sigmund childhood experiences and Freud more on the motivations behind behavior. Cognitive Approach Cognitive: emphasizes how humans use mental processes to handle problems or develop certain personality characteristics. Advantages Disadvantages It analyzes how thoughts affects It downplays the role of emotions. behavior; how information is stored, recalled and utilized. Use of brain scanning technology to observe the living brain. Using marijuana impedes left/right brain communication – a negative impact on cognition Roden’s “The Thinker” (1882) Sociocultural Approach Sociocultural: behavior is strongly influenced by the rules and expectations of specific social groups or cultures. Advantages Disadvantages It helps psychologists to counsel people It does not address physiological from different cultures and to understand influences on behavior. social influences on behavior. Peer pressures and expectations of a culture – how to look, act behave. Eclecticism Eclecticism: process of making your own system by borrowing from other systems; not always one answer to explain a behavior. Dr. Frasier Crane Rick Ankiel Steve Blass Disease.