Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. [1] The science of psychology is relatively new, originating in ancient Greece but most advances occurring in the last 150 years. [2] Two early perspectives in psychology were functionalism, developed by William James who argued that the mind is constantly changing and psychologists should study the underlying causes and processes of behavior, and structuralism pioneered by Wilhelm Wundt which relied on introspection as a research method. [3]
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. [1] The science of psychology is relatively new, originating in ancient Greece but most advances occurring in the last 150 years. [2] Two early perspectives in psychology were functionalism, developed by William James who argued that the mind is constantly changing and psychologists should study the underlying causes and processes of behavior, and structuralism pioneered by Wilhelm Wundt which relied on introspection as a research method. [3]
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. [1] The science of psychology is relatively new, originating in ancient Greece but most advances occurring in the last 150 years. [2] Two early perspectives in psychology were functionalism, developed by William James who argued that the mind is constantly changing and psychologists should study the underlying causes and processes of behavior, and structuralism pioneered by Wilhelm Wundt which relied on introspection as a research method. [3]
UNIT 1 Psychology? Discussion 1. What is psychology? Can you give your own definition? 2. Is psychology important to you? Why? Why not?
Reading Read the article below and answer these questions: 1. How old is the science of psychology? 2. What is functionalism?
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychology is a multifaceted discipline and includes many sub-fields of study such areas as human development, sports, health, clinical, social behavior and cognitive processes. Psychology is really a very new science, with most advances happening over the past 150 years or so. However, its origins can be traced back to ancient Greece, 400 500 years BC. The emphasis was a philosophical one, with great thinkers such as Socrates influencing Plato, who in turn influenced Aristotle. Philosophers used to discuss many topics now studied by modern psychology, such as memory, free will, attraction etc. The earliest known reference to the word psychology in English was by Steven Blankaart in 1694 in The Physical Dictionary which refers to "Anatomy, which treats of the Body, and Psychology, which treats of the Soul. In the early days of psychology there were two dominant theoretical perspectives: An American psychologist named William James (1842-1910) developed an approach which came to be known as functionalism. He argued that the mind is constantly changing and it is pointless to look for the building blocks of experience. Instead, focus should be on how and why an organism does something. It was suggested that psychologists should look for the underlying cause of behavior and the mental the processes involved. Structuralism was the name given to the approach pioneered by Wilhelm Wundt and it relied on trained introspection, a research method whereby subjects related what was going on in their minds while performing a certain task. However, it proved to be unreliable method because there was too much individual variation in the experiences and reports of research subjects. Because psychology is a science it attempts to investigate the causes of behavior using systematic and objective procedures for observation, measurement and analysis, backed-up by theoretical interpretations, generalizations, explanations and predictions. The classic contemporary perspectives in psychology to adopt these strategies were the behaviorists, who were renowned for their reliance on controlled laboratory experiment and rejection of any unseen or subconscious forces as causes of behavior. And later, cognitive psychology adopted this rigorous, scientific, lab based scientific approach too. With its broad scope, psychology researchers investigate an enormous range of phenomena: learning and memory, sensation and perception, motivation and emotion, thinking and language, personality and social behavior, intelligence, child development, mental illness, and much more. Some conduct detailed biological studies of the brain, others explore how we process information; others analyze the role of evolution, and still others study the influence of culture and society. (adapted from McLeod, S. A. 2011. What is Psychology? - Simply Psychology) Group work
According to the text, functionalism and structuralism are the first perspective in the study of psychology. Name other perspectives that followed in the history of psychology and pick one which you agree upon and consider it the most suitable for present times. T Th he e w wo or rd d p ps sy yc ch ho ol lo og gy y l li it te er ra al ll ly y m me ea an ns s, , " "s st tu ud dy y o of f t th he e s so ou ul l" " ( ( , , p ps su uk kh h , , m me ea an ni in ng g " "b br re ea at th h" ", , " "s sp pi ir ri it t" ", , o or r " "s so ou ul l" "; ; a an nd d - - - -l lo og go os s, , t tr ra an ns sl la at te ed d a as s " "s st tu ud dy y o of f" " o or r " "r re es se ea ar rc ch h" ") ). .
A. Perez & A. Cmpanu English for Psychology Students
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Language
A. Find the proper definition according to the text.
n. free will a) honesty and the ability to do or know what is morally acceptable b) inner power that leads you to make your own decision without outside influence c) therapeutic technique through which clients are encouraged to imagine the scenes connected with their feelings of anxiety d) put up with; wait; comply; obey
n. building block a) a block used as a building material, especially a cinder block. b) a small wooden or plastic cube used as a building toy. c) a basic element or part of something d) a component that fits with others to form a whole n. introspection a) assuming that your group is superior to all others b) the theory which holds that the origin of all knowledge is sense experience; the method of observation and experiment used in the natural sciences c) refusing to accept an unpleasant truth, usually unconsciously d) thinking about your own thoughts and feelings
adj. renowned a) fresh b) revocable c) obsolete d) famous
B. Now complete the following sentences using the words from the previous exercise.
a) Traditionally, those who deny the existence of .. look to fate, supernatural powers, or material causes as the determinants of human behavior. b) Frequent ................................... is not always good for the person as it may arouse doubts and lack of confidence. c) Amino acids are the .................................. of proteins. d) He is ............................... for his paintings.
Discussion 1. Together with your colleague, read the following paragraph and answer the question.
Despite the failing of introspection Wundt is an important figure in the history of psychology as he opened the first laboratory dedicated to psychology in 1879, and its opening is usually thought of as the beginning of modern psychology. Wundt was important because he separated psychology from philosophy by analyzing the workings of the mind using more objective and standardized procedures.
Do you agree with the separation of psychology from philosophy?
2. Use your critical mind upon this:
Thomas Kuhn considers that a field of study can only legitimately be regarded as a science if most of its followers subscribe to a common perspective or paradigm. He believes that psychology is still pre-paradigmatic, while others believe its already experienced scientific revolutions (Wundts structuralism being replaced by Watsons behaviorism, in turn replaced by the information-processing approach). (McLeod, 2011)
Can psychology be considered a science if psychologists disagree about what to study and how to study it?