Introduction and History of Psychology

Lesson 1

Many things that happen to us leave no record in memory

True or False?

True: Most of the information around us never reaches memory, and what does reach memory often gets distorted

You are born with all the brain cells you will ever have

True or False?

False: Recent research shows that some parts of the brain continue producing new cells throughout life

Intelligence is a purely genetic trait that does not change throughout a person’s life

True or False?

False: Intelligence is the result of both heredity and environment, and may change throughout your life

The most common form of mental disorder occurs in 30% of the population

True or False?

True: Depression, the single most common disorder, may affect up to a third of the population at some point in their lives

Repeated exposure to the same face leads us to like it less

False: Familiar people (and their faces) are generally liked more than less familiar people

True or False?

What Is Psychology – and What Is It Not?

Psychology is a broad field, with many specialties, but

fundamentally, psychology is the science of the brain and

mental processes

What Is Psychology – and What Is It Not?

Psychology – The scientific study of the brain and mental processes

Psychology is not Mere speculation about human nature A body of folk wisdom about people

that “everybody knows” to be true

Pseudopsychology –Erroneous assertions of practices set forth as being scientific psychology

What Is Psychology – and What Is It Not?

Psychology disputes unfounded claims from pseudopsychology

What DoPsychologists Do?

Psychology is a broad field with many specialties, grouped

in three major categories: experimental psychology,

teaching of psychology and applied psychology

What DoPsychologists Do?

Experimental psychologists• Conduct most research across

psychological spectrum• May work in private industry or for the

government • Often teach at college or university

I/O Sports

School

Counseling

Forensic

Psychobiology

Use knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to solve human problems

Clinical

What DoPsychologists Do?

Applied psychologists

What Are Psychology’s Historical Roots?

Modern psychology developed from several

conflicting traditions, including structuralism, functionalism, Gestalt

psychology, behaviorism, and psychoanalysis

Devoted to uncovering basic structures that make

up mind and thought

History

Structuralism

Functionalism

Psychoanalysis

Gestalt psychology

Behaviorism

Structuralism

German Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)Generally acknowledged as

establishing modern psychology as a separate field of study

Structuralist: Focused on the basic elements of human mental experience

Very important was his systematic approach to draw others to psychology

Believed mental processes could best be understood in

terms of their adaptive purpose and function

Tradition

Structuralism

Functionalism

Psychoanalysis

Gestalt psychology

Behaviorism

Functionalism

American William James (1842-1910) ‘Father of Psychology’ in the USAFunctionalist: focused on the actions

of the conscious mind and goal of behaviours

Functionalists study how animals and people adapt to their environments

Interested in how we construct “perceptual

wholes”

Tradition

Structuralism

Functionalism

Psychoanalysis

Gestalt psychology

Behaviorism

Gestalt Psychology

A group of German psychologists who disagreed with the structuralism and functionalism

Argued that perception looks at the whole not a sum of its parts; “whole pattern” is Gestalt in German

Studied how sensation is assembled into perceptual experiences

A forerunner to other, later, cognitive approaches

Argued psychology should deal solely with observable

events

Tradition

Structuralism

Functionalism

Psychoanalysis

Gestalt psychology

Behaviorism

Behavioralism

Russian Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) started the movement

Famous for Pavlov’s Dog’s experiment -- conditioning

Led to research exploring the development of behaviour

Behaviourists: believe psychology should concern itself only with observable facts of behaviour

Asserted mental disorders arise from conflicts in the

unconscious mind

Tradition

Structuralism

Functionalism

Psychoanalysis

Gestalt psychology

Behaviorism

Psychoanalysis

Austrian Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)More interested in the unconscious

mind unlike other psychologists of the time

Theorized to use free-association to reveal unconscious processes

Psychoanalyst: studies how unconscious motives and conflicts determine human behaviour

His views remain a tool in many applications today

END