The History and Scope of Psychology

A. What is Psychology?

 Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior

o Psychology is more than common sense
o Why is psychology scientific?
 because it is based on empiricism
 the notion that all knowledge can be acquired through observation,
not on reasoning, tradition or common sense

 Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior

o mind
 the contents of subjective experience
 sensations, thoughts, and emotions
o behavior
 observable actions
 thought and feelings
 activities of cells

B. Roots of Modern Psychology

 in the late 1800's both physiologists and philosophers were investigating the
mind
o philosophy - "why"
o physiology - "how"
 philosophy - ideas of about the acquisition of knowledge
 physiology - progress in understanding the nervous system, senses, etc
o both came together to create the idea of applying the methods of science
to the study of human behavior

C. The First Schools: Psychology Emerges as a Science

 Wilhelm Wundt
o established psychology as an independent science
o first psychology lab, in Germany (1879)
o defined psychology as the study of conscious experience
o typical questions
  how are sensations turned into mental awareness of the outside
world?
 what are the basic elements of thought?

 Psychology comes to America

o Wundt's students start labs across USA (1880 - 1900)
 Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Stanford
 UW-Madison Psychology department formed 1888