The ABCs of AP Psychology

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Chapter 1
History and Approaches
AP Exam Info
• 2-4% of total questions
• mostly MCQs

• 4 main areas tested

• 1. Important Figures and Contributions
• 2. Early Schools of Psychology
• 3. Modern Psychological Perspectives
• 4. Psychological Careers
 What is Psychology?
- scientific study of behavior and mental processes

• Mental processes are internal workings of the mind; includes

thoughts and feelings

• Behaviors refer to any observable action

Pre-Psychology
The Early Thinkers...
Origins in philosophy
~ 350 B.C. Ancient Greek Philosophers
• Plato and Socrates: Dualism - mind and body are separate entities
- knowledge is innate
- "Nature" - our biology shapes who we are
• Aristotle: Monism - mind and body are one
- knowledge acquired from experience
- "Nurture" - outside factors (social encounters, environment,
experiences) shape who we are
• Nature vs Nurture Controversy
Pre-Psychology
The Early Thinkers...
~ 1650
• John Lock
- Tabula Rasa (blank slate): idea that human mind is empty, and
experiences shape us (nurture)
• Rene Descartes
- knowledge is innate
- believed that our minds possess animal spirits, which guide
behavior
Early Days of Psychology
Early Approaches and People
• Wilhelm Wundt (German)
- established first psychology research lab
- "founder of modern psychology"
- founded structuralism
• Structuralism: examines consciousness by breaking it down into manageable parts
(structures)
- uses introspection to identify most basic components of conscious
experience
• Introspection: self reports
- uses "self-reflection“
- subjects report details of their own conscious mental experiences
Early Days of Psychology
Early Approaches and People
• Edward Titchener
- worked with Wundt to develop structuralism
- Structuralism proved unreliable because introspection is too
subjective
- can't be used to study children, animals, or mental disorders

end of Structuralism
Early Days of Psychology
Early Approaches and People
• Margaret Washburn
- studied under Titchener
- first woman to receive a PhD in psychology

Key Structuralists
“WTW”
Example of Structalism
Describe the experience…
• although interesting, structuralists aren't able to analyze the data in
any meaningful way
Early Days of Psychology
Early Approaches and People
• William James
- published first psych textbook
- first American psychological lab at Harvard
- rejected Structuralism
- founded Functionalism
- goal is to study the function of behavior in the environment
- adaptive and survival element
- Not used today, but principles still found in evolutionary
psychology
Early Days of Psychology
Early Approaches and People
• Mary Calkins
- studied under William James (Harvard)
- First female president of American Psychological Association
(APA)
Other Early Psychological Approaches…
• Psychoanalysis
- Founded by Sigmund Freud
- focus is on the unconscious mind (part of our minds we don't have access
to)
- built on idea that behavior is determined by experiences from past that
are repressed in the unconscious mind, which creates conflicts with
conscious mind
- conflicts are aggressive and sexual
- goal is to resolve conflicts by uncovering repressed memories
- used dream interpretation, "Freudian slips" (slips of the tongue), and
talk therapy
Other Early Psychological Approaches…
• Gestalt Psychology
- Founded by Max Wertherimer
- emphasizes the role of the "perceptual whole"
instead of parts
- believed human thought cannot be studied by
analyzing individual elements
- human experience is an accumulation of all
individual perceptual experiences
- "the whole is more than the sum of the parts"
Modern Perspectives
Behavioral Perspective
• Behavioral Perspective
- focuses on observable behaviors that can be measured
- believes human behavior is learned and can be conditioned
(trained) and controlled through rewards and punishments

Important Behaviorists
• founded by Ivan Pavlov - worked with dogs; showed that behavior
is learned rather than instinctive (more on chapter 6)
Modern Perspectives
Behavioral Perspective
• John Watson
- applied Pavlov's theories with human behavior
- believed all human behavior could be learned

• B.F. Skinner
- famous experiments showed behaviors can be
learned through rewards and punishment (more on
ch. 6)
Modern Perspectives
Humanistic Perspective
• Humanism
- believes in the concept of "free will" (personal agency)
- we have control over the choices we make in life, the paths we go down and
their consequences.
- people are basically good, and have an innate desire to make themselves and the
world better
- People have the ability to "self-actualize“
- to reach their full potential
Important Humanists
- Abraham Maslow
- theory of motivation
- Carl Rogers
- work on personality
Modern Perspectives
Psychodynamic Perspective
• Psychodynamic Perspective
- Modern version of psychoanalysis
- examines the role of unconscious influences
- places less emphasis on sexual instincts
- focuses more on repressed memories, free association, and
dream interpretation

Important Psychodynamic Psychologists

• Carl Jung, Alfred Adler
Modern Perspectives
Biological Perspective
• Biological Perspective
- examines the interaction between biological
bases (brain, nervous system, endocrine system)
and behavior
- explains the causes of behavior through
genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters
Modern Perspectives
Cognitive Perspective
• Cognitive Perspective
- focuses on human cognition (conscious thought processes) to
explain behavior
- emphasizes the importance of gathering, storing, and
processing information
Modern Perspectives
Evolutionary Perspective
• Evolutionary Perspective
- Based on the theories of Charles Darwin
- believes that Darwin's theory of natural
selection plays a key role in explaining human
behavior
- nature selects the traits that best
enable an organism to survive and reproduce
- these traits are passed down to future
generations
Modern Perspectives
Sociocultural Perspective
• Sociocultural Perspective
- focuses on how culture and social groups affect the way
people think, feel, and behave
ex. "social norms" at school
ex. "cultural values" in US vs. Korea
Modern Perspectives
Eclectic Perspective
• Eclectic Perspective
- adopts ideas from multiple
perspectives to explain human behavior

• Biopsychosocial Perspective
- evaluates behavior from the biological,
psychological, and sociocultural
perspectives
- offers a more complete picture of
behavior or mental processes
Psychological Careers
What’s the Difference?
• Psychologist vs. Psychiatrist
- medical doctors
- can prescribe medicine (drugs)

- mainly provide talk therapy to

treat patients
Psychological Careers
Careers as a Psychologist
• Clinical Psychologist
- evaluate and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral
disorders; typically work in big hospitals and clinics
- ex. patients with ADHD
• Counseling Psychologist
- help people adapt to big changes in their lifestyle
- ex. quitting smoking / transition to new job
• Educational Psychologist
- focuses on how effective teaching and learning take place
- ex. school curriculum, textbook selection
Psychological Careers
Careers as a Psychologist
• School Psychologist
- works with individual students and parents in a
school setting
- ex. school counselors

• Social Psychologist
- focuses on how social interactions affect a
person's mental health and behaviors
- ex. family expectations, gang life
Psychological Careers
Careers as a Psychologist
• Industrial/Organizational Psychologist (I/O)
- aims to improve work efficacy and quality of work life
through the application of psychological principles in the
workplace
- ex. company culture, mission, work attitude, how
to talk to your coworkers
Review - MCQs
1. What type of psychologist is primarily interested in the thinking process?
A. Evolutionary
B. Biological
C. Cognitive
D. Behavioral
E. Sociocultural

2. Like Carl Rogers, this type of psychologist believes that people can grow and have the choice
to live meaningful lives?
A. Behavioral
B. Humanistic
C. Biological
D. Psychodynamic
E. Sociocultural
Review - MCQs
3. Jack gives $10 to his son for every A his son receives on his report card. What psychological
approach is Jack mainly using?
A. Evolutionary
B. Biological
C. Cognitive
D. Behavioral
E. Sociocultural

4. Who would be most likely to agree with the statement, "Psychology should investigate only
behaviors that can be observed"?
A. Sigmund Freud
B. Carl Jung
C. William James
D. Wilhem Wundt
E. Carl Rogers
Review - MCQs
5. Freud believed that all thoughts and actions are determined by _________. A. the
drive for self-actualization
B. a blank slate
C. birth
D. unconscious desires
E. culture you grew up in
6. Who among the following would most likely study the interaction between customers,
employees, and company culture?
A. Counseling psychologist
B. Work psychologist
C. School psychologist
D. Human-factors psychologist
E. Industrial-organizational psychologist
Review - MCQs
7. A humanistic psychologist working with a group of poets might ask which
of the following questions?
A. How do society's attitudes affect their choice of writing topics?
B. How do their brains differ from those of other people?
C. How did their childhood experiences impact their current behavior?
D. How can we get them to reach their highest potential?
E. How have rewards and punishments shaped their behavior?
Review - MCQs
8. Betsy works in a human resources department. She plans training sessions,
recruits people to work for the company, and implements techniques to boost
morale around the office. Of the following, Betsy is most likely a(n):
A. Developmental psychologist
B. Personality psychologist
C. Counseling psychologist
D. Industrial-organizational (I/O) psychologist
E. Personality psychologist
Review - MCQs
9. By seeking "the atoms of the mind," who established the first psychology
laboratory?
A. Wilhelm Wundt
B. Sigmund Freud
C. G. Stanley Hall
D. John V. Watson
E. William James