PSYCHOLOGY HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

- Greek word, psyche meaning soul and mind
- Originally, study of soul and mind
- Generally, the science that studies
systematically behavioural process of the
individual human being and of other
animals
- Social science
- Systematized body of knowledge
- Behaviour means any actions/activities
- No definite date when it started
- 23rd letter of Greek alphabet (Ψ)
- Traditional – influenced by philosophers
- Scientific – help to develop
GREEK INFLUENCE
DEMOCRITUS

- Greek philosopher
- Theory of perception – how we organize or
Forms of behaviour interpret experiences
Overt – done openly, Covert – done away - Atoms emanating from objects penetrate
can be seen/observe from the public eye the brain – create ideas.
Ex. All verbs Ex. Feelings
Conscious – done w/in Unconscious – done PLATO
the level of awareness beyond awareness
- Student of Democritus
“Altered state of - Distinction between mind(soul) and body
awareness” – sleep, - Parts of soul
intoxication o Rational – reason
Rational – done w/ Irrational – done o Spirited – emotions
logical reasoning beyond reasoning o Appetitive – base desires
- Behaviour Ex. Insanity - Dualism – 2 parts – soul and body
pertaining to - Parts of the soul should work harmoniously
reason to give justice to yourself
Ex. Sanity
Voluntary – willful Involuntary – things ARISTOTLE
action that happen
- Father of modern science
whether we like it or
- Function of the Soul
not
o Vegetative – plant soul –
Ex. System w/in our
body. Circulatory maintenance of life
and Digestive o Appetitive – animal soul – motives
System and desires
Simple Complex o Rational – human soul – think,
reason
st
- 1 father of psychology
Goals of Psychology o Gave more ideas
1. Describe Identify o Learning memories, emotions,
2. Understand Study, analyse,
intelligence, motivation, sensation,
observe
perception
3. Predict Forecast
o Tabularasa – mind blank slate
consequences
4. Control To bring change - Alexander the great’s teacher
 GALEN John Locke

- Physiologist - Introduced the idea as the units into which

- Theory on the dependence of human all experiences may be analysed
temperament on physiological factors
- Differences in behaviour is attributable to
the humors or vital juices of the body Jan Jacque Rousseau
- Blood – sanguine – happy
- Phlegm – phlegmatic - Genes
- Black bile – melancholic – sadness - 1600, nature
- Yellow bile – choleric – impatient - 1700, nurture – environment
-

FIELDS OF SPECIALIZATION
MEDIEVAL PERIOD
THEORETICAL
St. Augustine
- General – fundamentals
- Introduced used the method of - Comparative – man and animals
introspection - Developmental – changes in an individual
- 2 parts - Dynamic – personality
o Matter - Physiological – involuntary related to
 Body physiological
 Dwell is on earth - Abnormal
 divine
o form – essence of a substance or
thing APPLIED

- Educational – children
St. Thomas Aquinas - Industrial
- Social
- idea of immortality - Therapy and Counselling
- body – imperfect, impermanent, mortal - Human engineering – man and machines
- soul – perfect, permanent, immortal - Clinical
- Psychometrics – assessment
- Legal psych – crimes/laws
PRE-MODERN PERIOD

Rene Descartes

- formulate theory on mind and body

interaction
- “the only thing that one cannot doubt is the
existence of self”
- Think, doubt. Think, exist.
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT o Behavior that is not reinforced, not
likely to be repeated
School-leader-tenet-method

Gestalt – Max Wertheimer – Behavior is dependent

Structuralism – Wilhelm Wundt – Structure of Mind of the organization of experiences –
– Introspection Phenomenology

- Elementarism – breaking it down to simple - Form, pattern, organization

elemental units - Perception – interpretation – response
- Introspective psychology - Study the possible occurrence
- German Psych - Sum of the whole > sum of the parts
- Psychology Lab (1879) (Leipzig, Germany)
- 1879 – start of psychology
- Father of modern psychology Humanistic – Abraham Maslow – uniqueness of
- Study of what the mind are made of – human beings – person-centered therapy
conscious experiences
- Capable of reaching our full potential
- Understand yourself, so others will
-
Psychoanalysis – Sigmund Freud – Unconscious
Functionalism – William James – Functions of the
Motives – Free Association
Mind – Observation
- Most influential psychology
- American
- Austrian
- How the mind works
- Behavior is product of those things that we
- Observe how it works
are not aware of
- Trace how it all began before understanding
- “the mind is like an iceberg it floats with 1/7
how it is made of
of its bulk above water”
- 1st course of psych w/ structuralism
-

Behaviorism – John B. Watson – behavior- Physiological Basis of Human Behavior

environment – Conditioning
Neurons
- SR Psych (Stimulus – Response)
- Stimulus – environment - Brain cells
- Response – behavior - Basic structural unit of the nervous system
- Behavior is the product of the environment - >< 100 billion
thru conditioning Soma
- Classical conditioning
o Learning thru association (dog- - Life sustaining of the neurons
salivate-meat(bell)) - Can receive signals
o Association of something to - Cell body
another Dendrite
- Operant Conditioning
o Behavior that is reinforced, likely to - Primary receiver of the signals
be repeated
Axon Hillock Spinal Column

- Signal’s last site before it goes to the axon - Back

Axon Spinal Cord

- Signal passes thru - Brain stem

o Pons – sleep, arousal/dreams
Terminal Buttons (Axon Terminal)
o Medulla Oblongata – emotions
- Releasing of signals o Reticular formation – breathing,
- Release chemicals in the brain swallowing, digesting
- Chemical messengers of the brain
(neurotransmitter)
Lobes Function Can be found:
Types of Neurons Frontal Movement, Motor cortex
speech,
- Sensory – input sensory organs to brain and thoughts
spinal cord
- Motor – output from the brain and spinal Broca’s Area
cord to the muscle and glands (left) – speech
- Interneurons – carry information between production –
other neurons only found in brain and Pierre Paul
spinal cord Broca
Parietal Sense of Somato
Glial Cells (helper of neurons) touch, pain, sensory cortex
pressure,
- Cleans the dirty neurons
temperature
Occipital Visual Vision Cortex
Temporal Auditory Auditory
Cerebrum Cortex
- Large part of the brain
- Corpus collosum – connects the left and Left Brain Right Brain
right cerebrum Number skills Insight
Written Language 3D Forms
Hypothalamus
Reasoning Art
- Controls/regulate hunger, thirst, Spoken language Imagination
feelings/emotions, temperature Scientific Music awareness
- Pea sized Right hand control Left hand control

Thalamus

- Relay station of brain

- Receive signals from neurons

Cerebellum

- Skilled body balance

- Memory