LECTURE 1

Week 1 and ii
 Reference:
Name of Text Book:
An Introduction to the History of Psychology (6th Edition) by
B.R. Hergenhahn.
 Psychology’s Diversity

Is it justified to have a single definition of Psychology?

WHY STUDY HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY?
 • Ancients attempted to account for dreams, mental illness, emotions and fantasies,
was that Psychology?
Where to • Did Psychology commence when explanations of human cognitive experience
Start? such as those proposed by early Greeks became more systematic?
• Does Psychology begin when it became known as a separate science in 19 th
Century?

Psychology was a branch of philosophy until the 1870s, when it

developed as an independent scientific discipline in Germany
Problems in Writing History of Psychology
and the United States. Psychology borders on various other
fields including physiology neuroscience, artificial
intelligence, sociology, anthropology as well as philosophy and
other components of the humanities

• Do we include all causes of an idea?

• Do we include the history of everything? What to
• Do we include only those who were loud Include?
and lucid enough?
 Problems in What & How Much to Include.
• Literally Psychology means study of
the psyche or mind and this study is as
old as the human species.
• It is common to begin writing history
of Psychology from the point where it
became a separate science.
The problem with that will be:
• It ignores the vast philosophical
heritage that molded psychology in to
the type of science that it eventually
became
• It omits important aspects of
psychology that are outside the realm
of science. Even though Psychology is
thought to be in the realm of science
there are many people who believe it
is not that limited.
• Maybe a way to write history could be
based on what is important now and
tracing events that lead to it.
• Stockings (1965) calls this approach
presentism.
• Historicism is the opposite of
Presentism
• In Historicism we study the past for its
own sake without attempting to show
the relationship between the past and
present.
• Coplestone (2001) describes historicism
as it applies to Philosophy
• Presentism, on the other hand, implies
that the state of development and that
earlier events led directly to this state.
In this view the latest is the best.
 CLASS DEBATE.
Presentism
Attempting to understand the
past through the present state
of discipline, supposing it to be VS.
the highest stage of
development and the past
merely facilitating this stage.
Historicism
Study past for its own sake
without attempting to show the
relationship between the past
and present
 At present psychology is exploring many topics, methods and
assumptions. Which of these would survive for inclusion in future
history books is impossible to say. Using the present as a frame of
reference, therefore does not necessarily assume that
Psychology’s past evolved into its present or that current
psychology represents the best psychology.
However, no matter how much historicism is emphasized,
presentism cannot be completely avoided when reporting history.
As Lovett puts it: “Without the present the very concept of
‘history’ would be meaningless”
Moving Forward….
 APPROACHES TO USE
Zeitgeist
Aka spirit of the time. Emphasizing the
influence of non-psychological factors
such as development in other sciences,
political climate, technological
advancement and economic conditions.
Great Person Approach
Emphasize the work of individuals
such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes,
Darwin or Freud. Some say that
History in fact resolves itself very
easily into the biography of few stout
and earnest people.

Historical Development Approach ECLECTIC

Showing how various individuals or events APPROACH
contributed to changes in an idea or concept through Choosing whatever
the years. For example how the idea of mental illness approach seems best
has changed over the years able to illuminate an
aspect of history.
WHY STUDY THE HISTORY OF
PSYCHOLOGY?
WHY STUDY THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY?
1. Perspective
2. Deeper Understanding
3. Recognition of Fads and Fashions
4. Avoiding Repetition of Mistakes
5. A Source of Valuable Ideas
6. Curiosity
 Perspectives
Seeing ideas in their historical perspective allows
us to more fully appreciate the subject matter of
modern psychology.
If psychology’s problems have been worked on for
centuries, should they not be solved by now?
Knowing our current studies have been
contributed to by some of the greatest minds in
human history is exciting.
Deeper Understanding
With deeper perspective comes deeper understanding. Just
as to understand a human their past experiences is of value
so is studying a subject matter. As Boring (1950) said that
without the knowledge of history people may see present
in distorted perspective, mistaking old facts and old views
for new, remaining unable to evaluate the significance of
new movements and methods

Why Study History of Psychology?

Recognition of Fads and Fashions.
It’s striking to know that a viewpoint didn’t just fade because it is incorrect; rather, some viewpoints disappear
simply because they become unpopular. When Psychology emerged as a science the emphasis was on ‘pure’ science-
on gaining knowledge without any concern for its usefulness. Later after Darwin’s theory psychology shifted its
attention to human processes that were related to survival or to live more effective lives. Now one major emphasis
is on cognitive processes in part due to recent advances in computer technology. “Hedonism and Reinforcement”

Avoiding Repetition of
Mistakes
Phrenology- Trying to understand personality
characteristics through bruises and bumps in head
was something that was eventually found to be
faulty. The entire school of thought of structuralism
was found to be sterile and unproductive. It was
important for Psychology to make such efforts
otherwise important lessons would have been lost.
Curiosity
Instead of asking why study history,
we could also ask why not?
Source of Valuable Ideas
Zeitgeist approach identifies that some
conditions are better suited than others.
The notions of evolution, unconscious
motivation and conditioned responses
had been proposed and re-proposed
several times before they were offered in
an atmosphere that allowed their critical
evaluation.
Lateralization of brain function;
Many believe that the idea that the two
cerebral hemispheres function in radically
different ways is a new one. However,
over 100 years ago Brown-Sequard’s
article “Have We Two Brains or One?”
(1890) was one of many written on the
topic.
Is Psychology a Science???
What Is Science???
 Knowledge in the past was dependent on:

Superstitions
Abstract Thought Process
Past Authorities
Church Dogma

Later,
Science came into existence as a way of answering questions about
nature by examining nature directly
 From science’s inception its ultimate authority has
been empirical observation

Empirical Observation= Direct Observation of

Nature (Is it Enough?)
There is more to science than simply observing nature. To be useful, observations must be
organized or categorized in some way, and the ways in which they are similar to or different
from other observations must be noted. After noting similarities and differences among
observations, many scientists take the additional step of attempting to explain what they
have observed.

These steps further led to the idea of Science having two

components:
 COMPONENTS OF
SCIENCE

Empirical Theoretical
Observation Explanation
 REVIEW….:
✘ What is Science?
✘ What is Science Made of:
* Empirical Observation
* Theoretical Explanation
✘ Ways of Attaining Knowledge in Science?
 What makes science such a powerful tool is that it
combines two ancient methods of attaining knowledge:

RATIONALISM EMPIRICISM
any view appealing knowledge comes
to reason as a only or primarily
source of from sensory
knowledge or
experience.
justification".
Apply the rule of
logic
 EMPIRICISM RATIONALISTS

• The notion of tabula rasa ("clean slate" or • have claimed that the ultimate starting point
"blank tablet") connotes a view of mind as for all knowledge is not the senses but
an originally blank or empty recorder on reason.
which experience leaves marks. • They maintain that without prior categories
• This denies that humans have innate ideas. and principles supplied by reason, we
• After centuries of inquiry
Empiricists have always claimed that sense it was found thatorganize
couldn't by themselves
and interpret our sense
rationalism and empiricism
experience is the ultimate starting point for had little usefulness. It was
experience in any way.
all our knowledge. science that combined the two positions
• We would and be
knowledge
faced with just one huge,
• has been
The senses, they maintain, give us all our accumulating at
undifferentiated, whirl of sensation,
an
raw data about the world, and without this exponential signifying nothing.
raw material, there would be no knowledgerate ever since.
• Rationalism in its purest form goes so far as
at all. to hold that all our rational beliefs, and the
• Perception starts a process, and from this entirety of human knowledge, consists in
process come all our beliefs. first principles and innate concepts
(concepts that we are just born having).
 The rationalist’s aspect of science prevents it from simply
collecting an endless array of disconnected empirical facts.
Because the scientist must somehow make sense out of what
he or she observes, theories are formulated.
A scientific theory has two main functions:
1) It organizes empirical observations
2) It acts as a guide for future observations. This generates
confirmable propositions.
A theory suggests propositions that are tested experimentally.
If proposition is confirmed through experiment, the theory gains
strength, if the proposition is not confirmed, it loses strength. Thus
scientific theories must be testable otherwise they are either revised or
abandoned based on erroneous propositions.
In science, then, the direct observation of nature is important, but
such observation is often guided by theory.
 REVIEW….:
✘ What is Science?
✘ What is Science Made of:
* Empirical Observation
* Theoretical Explanation
✘ Ways of Attaining Knowledge in Science?
*Empiricism Vs Rationalism
✘ Scientific Laws
Another feature of science is that it seeks to discover lawful
relationships. Therefore a scientific law would mean:

SCIENTIFIC LAW
a consistently observed relationship between
two or more classes of empirical events.
For example, when X occurs, Y also tends to
occur. Science, then, uses theories to find and
explain lawful, empirical events
 By stressing lawfulness, science is proclaiming an interest in
the general case rather than the particular case. Traditionally, science
is not interested in private or unique events but in general laws that
can be publicly observed and verified. That is, a scientific law is
general and, because it describes a relationship between empirical
events, it is amenable to public observation. The concept of public
observation is an important
aspect of science. All scientific claims must be
verifiable by any interested person. In science, there
is no secret knowledge available only to qualified
authorities.
 Two kinds of Scientific Laws:

Causal Laws Correlational laws

How events are causally related.
E.g. if we knew the causes of a
disease we could predict and
control that disease-preventing the
disease from occurring.
How classes of events vary
together in some systematic way.
E.g. scores on intelligence tests
tend to correlate positively with
scores on creativity tests
REVIEW….:
✘ What is Science?
✘ What is Science Made of:
* Empirical Observation
* Theoretical Explanation
✘ Ways of Attaining Knowledge in Science?
*Empiricism Vs Rationalism
✘ Scientific Laws
*Causal- Correlational Laws
✘ Scientific Determinism
 Because a main goal of science is to discover lawful
relationships, science assumes that what is being investigated
is lawful. For example, the chemist assumes
that chemical reactions are lawful, and the
physicist assumes that the physical world is lawful.
The assumption that what is being studied can be
understood in terms of causal laws is called determinism.
the doctrine that all events, including human action, are
ultimately determined by causes regarded as external to the will.
 DETERMINISM

The philosophical doctrine that ‘states that for everything

that ever happens there are conditions such that, given
them, nothing else could happen.’ (Taylor, 1967)

A scientific assumption that states that everything that occurs

is a function of finite number of causes and that, if these
causes were known these events could be predicted with
complete accuracy.

What’s the opposite of Determinism?

 FREE WILL/NON DETERMINISM

Free will is the idea that we are able to have some choice
in how we act and assumes that we are free to choose our
behavior, in other words we are self determined.

What School of Thought Can be Called as based

on Free will? Which could be based on
determinism?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYWiIWpcCIM
 HARD DETERMINISM & SOFT
DETERMINISM
✘ With hard determinism, the causes of human behavior are thought to
function in an automatic, mechanistic manner and thus render the
notion of personal responsibility meaningless.
✘ With soft determinism however, cognitive processes such as intentions,
motives, beliefs, and values intervene between experience and
behavior.
✘ The soft determinist sees human behavior as resulting from thoughtful
deliberation of the options available in a given situation.
✘ Because rational processes manifest themselves prior to actions, the
person bears responsibility for those actions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS8rSJr9bhI
SO….. To sum up, SCIENCE is:
▪ The traditional view is that science involves;
1. empirical observation,
2. theory formulation,
3. theory testing,
4. theory revision,
5. prediction,
6. control,
7. the search for lawful relationships,
8. and the assumption of determinism.
Some claim Psychology is not a
science while others say it is.
However, it is widely agreed
upon that Psychology if not a
hard science, it is in fact a soft
science.
PERSISTENT QUESTIONS IN
PSYCHOLOGY
 Yes, say
Are we inherently
aggressive?
Freudians. Is Human Nature
basically good
Yes, say and non-violent?

Humanistic

What is the nature of human nature?

Yes, say
existential
Is Human Nature
neither good nor
psychologists, Do Humans
bad? Yes, say no say the possess free
Behaviorists scientifically will?
. oriented
psychologist.
 Materialists- matter is the only
reality, therefore everything in
the universe, including behavior
must be explained in terms of
matter(Materialist Monists)
Inclination towards-Body
Idealists- everything can be
explained in terms of
consciousness. Even the so-
called physical world consists of
ideas.(Idealists Monists)
Inclination towards-Mind

How Are The Mind & Body Related?

Psychological Parallelism Interactionism
Environmental experience causes both Mind influences body
mental events and bodily responses Dualists-there are
and body influences
simultaneously and the two are physical events and mind hence they
independent of each other. Harmony-
minds and bodies are set in motion
mental events. How interact
and coordinated from the beginning of are the mind and
time by a divine being that creates the body related then?
universe
 Nativists- emphasize
human attributes to be
determined by heredity

To what extent are human attributes determined by

heredity as opposed to experience?

Empiricism- emphasize
human attributes to be
determined by experience.
 Rationalist- Postulate an active mind,
where data is transformed from experience
in some important way. Information is
organized, pondered, understood or
valued. Mind adds material to the physical
environment.

What is the origin of human knowledge?

Empiricists- Have a passive mind

where they feel environment helps
shape behavior, we take in whatever
we see.
 Objective versus
Subjective Reality

The difference between what exists physically and

what is experienced mentally
Problem of Reification- tendency to believe that because
something has a name it also has an independent
existence.
Souls, minds, gods, demons, spirits and
selves?
 Universalism versus Relativism

Are there knowable universal truths about the world in general or

about people in particular or must truth always be relative to
individuals or group perspective