Western Psychology and Psychological Diversity: Summary Presentation #4 Jazmine Tinsley Dr. E.

Fernandes May 2nd, 2011

The roots of western Psychology can be traced back to Greek philosophy. In fact, the word psychology is derived from the Greek words psyche, meaning soul, and logos, meaning study. Psychology started as a part of philosophy and much later became an independent discipline. The Greek philosopher Plato was born in 427 BC. He believed that body and mind are two separate entities and that the mind could exist even after death. Plato was a student of Socrates who is known for the phrase, know thyself. Plato also believed that education can bring change to the basic nature of the mind. He is rumored to have died at a wedding feast in 347 BC. One of Platos most notable students, Aristotle, was born in 384 BC. He also believed in what has been coined as the concept of body-mind duality. However, Aristotle thought that each of these is the manifestation of the other. Unlike Plato, Aristotle was not as positive about the role of education in changing the fundamental nature of humans. Both Plato and Aristotle believed that knowledge is a unity. Thus, whatever facts one gathers must be placed into a single whole, in order to be regarded as knowledge. Platos influence on Aristotle helped to make Aristotle the founder of logic as we know it today. Rene Descartes, a French philosopher and mathematician who lived from 1596-1650 originated the Cartesian system of coordinates (coordinate geometry). He also believed in the body-mind duality which is commonly referred to as Cartesian Dualism. However, Descartes differed from Aristotle and Plato in that he believed although mind and body are different entities, they can occasionally interact. He suggested that mental events cause physical events, and vice-versa. John Locke (1632-1704), who came along shortly after Descartes, was a British national. He proposed that knowledge is based on experience and that thinking is not innate. Locke also considered that the mind of a newly-born child to be like a clean-slate on which anything could

be written. He believed that knowledge occurs only when the sense organs interact with the outer world. For many decades the body-mind duality and the clean-slate mind served as strong roots of western Psychology. However, in the 20th century, western psychologists like Jung, Maslow and others, broke free from these limiting concepts. Carl Jung (1875-1961) proposed the idea of the Collective unconscious and argued that it was made up by what Jung referred to as archetypes. An archetype is a model of a person, personality, or behavior. It is an ideal example, or a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated, and a symbol universally recognized by all. Archetypes are symbols and themes that are so universal that they seem to be part of human psychic inheritance. 2 examples of archetypes are the Anima/Animus, which is our true self as opposed to the masks we wear, and the Self, which unifies the conscious and unconscious. It makes up a persons wholeness Following behind Jung, Abraham Maslow (1908 1970) came onto the scene. He suggested that there is a Hierarchy of Needs of which all humans ascribe to. The Hierarchy of Needs is a pyramid depicting the levels of human needs, psychological and physical. When an individual reaches the top of the pyramid he reaches self actualization. At the bottom of the pyramid are the basic needs or physiological needs of a human being, which are food, water and sex. In the 20th century a clear merging of Western Psychology and Science came into view. E. H. Weber, a German scientist and physician, used a scientific approach in the study of the mind by finding what is now known as Webers Law of Just Noticeable Difference (JND). The JND is the difference between two stimuli that is barely big enough to be noticed. This has been studied in instances of brightness of lights, loudness of sounds, weight, line length, and others. Gustav Fechner, a German experimental psychologist, came along shortly after Weber and

coined the term psycho-physics. Psycho-physics is the scientific study of the relation between stimulus and sensation. Fechner is a prime figurehead in the foundations of quantitative psychology. Charles Darwin added to the scientific aspect of Western Psychology when he wrote his book, The Origin of Species. This piece gave an account of Darwins theory of evolution. Also during the 20th century, Wilhelm Wundt established worlds first psychological lab at Leipzig, Germany in 1879. In much of his studies, Wundts goal was to prove that there is a physical activity for every mental activity. He believed that psychologists should study sensation, perception, and emotions. Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov studied the digestion process in dogs. A bell was sounded before the experimental dog was given food. When this was repeated several times, the dog started salivating every time it heard the bell sound. Pavlov called this the conditioned response. This finding made radical changes in the field of psychology. Some of the major schools of western psychology include structuralism, psychoanalysis, analytical psychology, behaviorism, and humanistic psychology. Structuralism describes the structure and components of the mind. Edward Titchner and his followers said that consciousness can be divided into three partssensation, perception and feeling. For structuralists, the main method for study of the mind was introspection (thinking about thinking). Functionalism came about as a result of William James, J.R. Angels and John Dewey arguing that psychologists should study the function of the mind and not its structure. Psycho-Analysis was initiated by Sigmund Freud. He argued that the mind has three parts the conscious, the preconscious and the unconscious, which makes up 90% of the mind. Freud also divided the personality into three parts, the id, the ego, and the superego. The Id is the pleasure center and is based on instincts. The ego separates out what is real. It helps us to organize our thoughts and make sense of them and the world around us. The superego is the moral seat/conscience. Later,

Erich Frome, Karan Horney, Erik Erikson, Harry Sullivan and Otto Rank improved upon the ideas of Freud. These individuals and their followers are known as Neo Freudians. Individual Psychology came about as a result of Alfred Adlers studies. His work focused on society and he believed the will to power and superiority are more important than sex or will to pleasure. Thus, an individual will try to overcome the deficits he has or thinks he has. He will try to show superiority or ambition. This is known as the Inferiority complex and is one of the most important concepts Adler added to psychology. Carl Gustav Jung dismissed the Freudian theory that the only motive that drives the unconscious is sex. He extended the concept of the unconscious beyond the individual and said that there is a collective unconscious besides the individual unconscious. Analytical Psychology came as a result of his studies. Behaviorism came about when John B. Watson proposed that psychologists as scientists should study observable human nature and not the concepts like mind, consciousness etc. He and his followers tried to explain behavior based on stimulus and response. Tolman, Hull and B.F. Skinner are the later behaviorists. Skinner originated operant conditioning (the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of behavior). Operant conditioning is one of the most used techniques for psychological therapy today. Gestalt Psychology looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole. It is based in the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Gestalt Psychology originated in the work of Max Wertheimer. It was formed partially as a response to the structuralism of Wilhelm Wundt and Titchener. Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Kafka were the first proponents of this school psychology. Humanistic Psychology focuses on human experience. Humanists argued that man is a subjective animal. The humanists counted that the motives for development and to become perfect are more important than sex, power etc. They brought back the dignity of man that Freud and others had degraded. They

denied the Freudian concept of the unconscious and said that man is not a slave of either the unconscious or the situation. Gordon W Allport, Carl Rogers, and Abraham Maslow are some of the early proponents of humanistic psychology. Psychological diversity refers to the way in which people think and operate. Michael Kirton, a British Clinical Psychologist created the Kirton Adaption-Innovation (KAI) in 1994. It looks at different ways people approach problem solving, decision making, and the act of creativity. KAI refers to Adaptor vs. Innovator. Adaptors are methodical and conforming. They approach problems in tried and understood ways and are more likely to initiate change that improves the current system. Conversely, innovators are undisciplined and nonconforming. They approach problems from unsuspected perspectives. Innovators are more likely to introduce change that challenges the current system. Innovators and Adaptors view each other in very different ways. Adaptors are viewed by Innovators as dogmatic, compliant, stuck in a rut, timid, conforming, and inflexible. Innovators are viewed by Adaptors as unsound, impractical, abrasive, undisciplined, insensitive, and those who loves to create confusion. Most people are not strictly either one but somewhere in between. Some are farther than others on each end of spectrum. Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is another part to diverse psychology. The test was developed by Isabel Briggs Myers (1898-1980), and her mother, Katharine Briggs. It was developed in the context of World War II. The MBTI is referred to as a people sorter and is used to help people find what kind of jobs they would enjoy doing during war effort. It was designed to operationalize Carl Jung's theory of psychological types (1921)Extroversion and Introversion. There are four dimensions to the MBTI. Favorite world asks the question, do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner world? This is called Extraversion (E) or

Introversion (I). Information asks, do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is called Sensing (S) or Intuition (N). Decisions asks the question, when making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency or first look at the people and special circumstances? This is called Thinking (T) or Feeling (F). Structure asks: in dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? This is called Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).