Introduction

to
Psychology

What do we hope to gain

from studying psychology?

Gain insight into the mind

Understanding of people

Understanding yourself

So, What is Psychology?

Psychology relies on research to
lead to the development of theories
about Behavior, Cognition and the
Great Why

Scientific study
Behavior
Human process (mind) or (cognitive
activities)

Greek word mean

Psycho = mind or soul
Logo = study of

What is Behavior?

Any action that others can
observe and measures:
Walking
Talking
Physical movements

What are Cognitive Activities?

Emotion
Behavior or mental process

Feelings

Thoughts

Dreams
Brain waves or privates thoughts

Perception

Memories

5 Goals of Psychology

Observe
Exam, watch, or

interview a persons
behavior

Describe
Record specific

behavior under certain

situations

Explain
Give reasons for

behavior in terms of
feeling of anxiety or
distraction

Predict
Determine how a

person will behave

under a certain
situation based on
ODE

Control
Change the behavior or

mental process by
teaching patient new
ways of keeping their
anxiety under control

Why Psychology is considered a

Science?

Social Science
Study the structure, of human society and the
nature of the individual in the society.
anthropology, history, sociology, & economics

Natural Science
Study the nature of the physical world (Brain
or mind) must follow scientific research:
hypothesis conducting experiment, collecting
and analyzing data, draw conclusion.

The Helping Professions

People tend to view
psychology primarily as
a helping profession
Clinical psychologists,
focus on resolving
mental health
problems

Psychiatrists (M. D.),

also licensed to
prescribe drugs

LUPOSLIPAPHOBIA:
The fear of being
pursued by timber
wolves around a kitchen
table while wearing socks
on a newlynewly-waxed floor.

History of
Psychology

PRE - GREEK

Behavior is influenced
by gods/nature
thoughts, dreams,
madness

Mind centered in the

heart, or other organs

Brain throw out by
Egyptians

THE GREEK (300 BC)

SOCRATES & PLATO

Know Thyself
motto of

Learn about ourselves
by examining ones
thoughts and feelings

Introspection - modern
term meaning looking
within

ARISTOTLE

Student of Plato who
wrote Peri Psyches
means about the
mind

Human behavior is
subject to laws

Motivated to seek
pleasure, not pain

Addressed modern
issues

HIPPOCRATES

Father of Medicine

Suggested the brain
was root of
behavioral
problems
thoughts, and
feelings cause
behavior

Middle Ages/Age of
Enlightenment
500 - 1800 AD

DEMONIC POSSESSON

Devil / Demons
caused abnormal
behavior

Trial by Ordeal
Water Float Test

Idea that you are

motivated to do
bad behavior by
unseen forces

SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

John Locke (philosopher)
the mind is a blank slate
theorized that knowledge is not inborn but is
learned from experiences

Human behavior and mental processes

should be supported by evidence

In 1800s, psychological laboratories were
established in Europe and United States

History
of the
Modern Age
1879 - PRESENT

How it all started

PHILOSOPHY

PHYSIOLOGY

PSYCHOLOGY

William Wundt

Psychologys Roots


Early History
Trephining
hollow tubes
Bumps on the head

 Structuralism
Focused on the basic
building blocks of
perception, consciousness,
thinking, and emotions
Introspection

Gestalt Psychology
the whole is different
from the sum of its parts

Functionalism
Moved from structure to
what the mind does and
how behavior functions

STRUCTURALISM 1879:
Elements of the Mind

The study of the most basic elements,
primarily sensations and perceptions,
that make up our conscious mental
experiences, also involves
Introspection.
What are the elements of

Psychological processes?

WILHELM WUNDT

Father of Modern

1st psychology laboratory
(Germany, 1879)

Studied simplest mental
process (used measures of
reaction time)

Objective sensation reflects
the outside world
Example - Sight/ taste: the apple

Subjective feeling emotion

response and mental images
Example Emotion: the apple

FUNCTIONALISM 1890:
Functions of the Mind

The study of the function rather than the
structure of consciousness; was interested
in how our minds adapt to our changing
environment; behavioral observations
conducted in a laboratory.
What do certain behaviors and mental
processes accomplish for the person?

FUNCTIONALISM

Adoptive behavior patterns are learned and

maintain because they are successful.

Riding a bike and driving a car requires full
attention at first, through repetition and success,
they become automatic.

William James

1st American born
psychologist

Wrote The Principles of
Psychology
1st modern textbook

Experience is a fluid and
continuous stream of
consciousness

may have had the first
psychology laboratory in
America in 1876

Adoptive Action
Behavior + success = Habit

Gestalt Approach 1920s:

Sensation verse Perception

Emphasized that perception is
more than the sum of its parts
and studied how sensation are
assembled into meaningful
perceptual experiences

Max
Wertheimer

Several German Founders

Idea that the whole is greater than its parts

He believed that the mind must be studied in
terms of large meaningful units instead of the
small units of structuralism

Deals with perceptions
how we see and understand things

Insight
enables the individual to solve problem.

Psychoanalysis 1900s:
A look into the Early Mind

The belief that childhood
experiences greatly influences the
development of later personality
traits and psychological problems
people frequently associate this perspective
with psychology (the psychodynamic
perspective); emphasizes unconscious
conflict & past events (early childhood
traumas)

Sigmund Freud

A Viennese physician

One of the most famous
psychologists

Studied the unconscious to
understand behavior
The Interpretation of

Dreams

Developed Ideas:
Therapy
Internal conflict
Study of impulses, dreams,

wishes
Slip-of-the-Tongue

Behaviorism 1950s:
Observable Behaviors

Emphasized the objective, scientific
analysis of observable behaviors

Interested in behavior and its precise
measurement rather than
consciousness of Wundt and James

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John Watson

established radical
behaviorism in 1912 in
the United States

should be an objective,
experimental science

Analyze observable
behavior, predict and
attempt to control those
behavior

Can teach people to do
anything

B. F. Skinner

American, graduated
from Harvard

Contrasted
psychoanalysis

Environment factors
mold behavior

Behavior is reinforced
Reward & Punishment

Change behavior
through conditioning
similar to Ivan Pavlov

Founding Mothers of
Psychology

Leta Stetter Hollingworth
Child development and
womens issues

Mary Calkins
First female president of the
APA

Karen Horney
Social and cultural aspects to
personality

June Etta Downey

Personality trait theorist

Anna Freud
Continue her father work

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