Introducing Psychology. Chapter 1

Transcription

1 Introducing Psychology Chapter 1

2 The Scientific Method Identify a specific problem or question Formulate a hypothesis Collect data through observation and experiment Analyze the data

3 Hypothesis An educated guess about the relationship between two variables The researcher has some evidence for suspecting a specific answer The Researcher states what he expects to find, expressing it in such a way that it can be proved or disproved

4 Goals of Psychology Describe Gather info about behavior being studied to present what is known Explain Explain why people and animals behave the way the do Predict Predict what organisms will do, what people will feel or think in various situations Control Influence or control behavior in helpful ways

5 Basic Science The pursuit of knowledge about natural phenomena for its own sake

6 Applied Science Discovering ways to use scientific findings to accomplish practical goals

7 B.C. Ancient Greece and Rome

8 Roots of Psychology Philosophy a means of exploring and understanding the general nature of many aspects of the world, primarily through introspection Physiology the scientific study of living organisms and of life-sustaining functions and processes, primarily through observation

9 Roots of Psychology In ancient Greece, the two fields did not differ much. Both philosophers and physiologists believed that understanding could be reached without observations

10 Hippocrates B.C. Father of medicine Differed from philosophers and physicians of the day through his unorthodox belief that disease was not a punishment from the gods.

11 Hippocrates B.C. Speculated that biological malfunctions, not demons, caused mental illness.

12 Hippocrates B.C. Used empirical observations to study medicine Saw the mind as a separate distinct entity that controlled the body Thought the body was composed of physical substance, whereas the mind is ethereal

13 Hippocrates B.C. Proposed the mind resides in the brain. Based upon observations that when either side of the brain was injured, spasms were observed in the opposite side of the body.

14 Mind-Body Dualism The philosophical belief that the mind is qualitatively different from the body.

15 Plato vs. Aristotle Contemporaries of Hippocrates. Two very different views of reality

16 Plato on Reality Reality does not exist in the concrete objects that we see and touch, but reality only exists in the ideal, abstract forms of the objects in a timeless dimension of pure thought in our minds

17 Aristotle on Reality Reality lies only in the concrete world of objects. Plato s abstract forms were only derivations of the concrete objects.

18 Aristotle on Reality Did not believe in dualism. Believed the mind does not exist in its own right, merely a by-product of anatomical and physiological activity.

19 Empiricist One who believes that we acquire knowledge through empirical methods, obtaining evidence through experience, observation, and experimentation.

20 Rationalist One who asserts that knowledge is most effectively acquired through logical methods, using philosophical analysis to understand the world and people s relation to it.

21 Empiricist vs. Rationalist Both approaches have merit.

22 The Renaissance Period

23 The Renaissance The birth of science as we know it Direct observation was established as the basis for knowledge Theory should guide and give meaning to observations But theories should be amended or abandoned, based upon observations

24 The Early Modern Period

25 Rene Descartes ( ) French philosopher Agreed with Plato s rationalist view that the introspective, reflective method was better than the empirical method.

26 Rene Descartes ( ) Believed in mindbody dualism Believed that man has innate (versus acquired) knowledge

27 John Locke ( ) British empiricist philosopher Believed humans born without knowledge and therefore seek knowledge through empirical observation

28 John Locke ( ) His term for the human condition is tabula rasa, meaning blank slate in Latin Experience writes knowledge upon us

29 Schools or Approaches in Psychology

30 Structuralism First major school of thought in Psychology Goal was to understand the mind by analyzing its elements, such as particular sensations or thoughts. Less interested in how people think than it what they think

31 Wilhelm Wundt ( ) German, considered by many to be the founder of modern psychology Forerunner to structuralism Method of study a form of self-observation called introspection

32 Wundt set up the first laboratory for the study of psychology, but was limited to introspection as the sole method of research. Wundt Laboratory in Leipzig

33 Edward Titchner ( ) Studied under Wundt, then later at Cornell University Became a leader in structuralism with views similar, but not identical to Wundt s

34 Edward Titchner ( ) He changed his mind about structuralism later in life It proposed too many elementary sensations, no means for understanding thought processes

35 Edward Titchner ( ) And too rigidly tied to a single methodology: introspection Structuralism died out, but gave rise to functionalism

36 Functionalism First U.S.-born movement in Psychology Focuses on active psychological processes rather than on passive psychological structures or elements Ask the questions: What do people do, and why do they do it?

37 Functionalism Functionalists view humans as actively engaged in processing their sensations and formulating their actions Agree on questions to ask, but are widely diverse in the methods for finding those answers and in the answers they find.

38 William James ( ) Leader in the functionalist movement, guided functionalism toward pragmatism (a view of science and psychology that asserts that knowledge is validated by its usefulness).

39 William James ( ) Author of the very influential book Principles of Psychology (1890)

40 Influence of Functionalism Functionalism, like structuralism did not survive as an organized school of thought However, its influence remains widespread today, particularly in specializations that stress flexibility in research or the practical use of results.

41 Associationism More an influential way of thinking than a rigid school of psychology Mainly interested in middle- to higherlevel mental processes such as learning. Opposite of structuralism that insisted on studying only elementary sensations

42 Associationism Associationism examines how events or ideas can become associated in the mind, thereby resulting in learning.

43 Hermann Ebbinghaus ( ) First experimenter to apply associationist principles systematically. Studied the effect of repetition on memory and learning.

44 Hermann Ebbinghaus ( ) He only used himself as a subject Made break-through discovery about the role of active rehearsal (conscious repetition) in recollection.

45 Edwin Guthrie ( ) Guthrie did further work on Ebbinghaus ideas, testing animals. Showed that two observed events become associated through temporal contiguity

46 Edward Lee Thorndike ( ) Held that satisfaction rather than Guthrie s temporal contiguity is the key to forming associations. Called this principle the Law of Effect

47 The Law of Effect Over time the actions ( the effect ) for which an organism is rewarded ( the satisfaction ) are strengthened and therefore more likely to occur again in the future. In contrast, actions that are followed by punishment, are weakened, less likely to occur again in the future.

48 Influences of Associationism Ebbinghaus, Guthrie & Thorndike followed functionalist tradition of using various methods in research. Associationism in its strictest form has not survived because too simplistic Has had an influence on behaviorism

49 Psychology In the 20 th Century

50 Mary Whiton Calkins ( ) A forerunner of cognitivism. Argued that the self should be studied in its social context. Unable to attain a PhD because most schools refused to allow women at the time. Attended classes at Harvard & Clark as nonstudent.

51 Mary Whiton Calkins ( ) She became first female president of both the American Psychological Association and the American Philosophical Association

52 Ivan Pavlov ( ) Nobel prize-winning Russian physiologist Discovered classical conditioning while studying digestion in dogs

53 Classical Conditioning Discovered accidentally in 1927 by Ivan Pavlov while studying the process of digestion in dogs. Wanted to understand how a dog s stomach prepares to digest food when something is placed in its mouth.

54 Classical Conditioning Discovered that the mere sight or smell of food was enough to get the dog to start salivating.

55 Pavlov s Experiment Pavlov rang a tuning fork and then immediately placed meat powder on the dog s tongue. After a few repetitions, the dog would salivate as soon as it heard the tuning fork, even if the meat powder was not placed on his tongue.

56 Pavlov s Experiment Neutral stimulus The tuning fork, something that had nothing to do with the response to meat prior to conditioning

57 Pavlov s Experiment Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) an event that leads to a certain, predictable response without prior training. Food leads to salivation without the dog needed to be trained to salivate when smelling meat.

58 Pavlov s Experiment Unconditioned response (UCR) a reaction that occurs naturally and automatically when the unconditioned stimulus is presented. Conditioned stimulus (CS) an ordinarily neutral event that, after training, leads to a response such as salivation.

59 Pavlov s Experiment Conditioned response (CR) the response to a conditioned stimulus

60 classical conditioning Controlling an animal s or a person s responses in such a way that an old response becomes attached to a new stimulus

61 Classical Conditioning Occurs gradually Each pairing of the CS with the UCS strengthens the conditioning Timing is an issue. Conditioning is strongest when the CS is introduced just before the UCS +

62 Behaviorism Psychology should focus only on the relationship between the observable behavior and the environmental events or stimuli. Conjectures about internal thoughts and ways of thinking are just speculation

63 John Watson ( ) American founder of radical behaviorism Any behavior can be shaped or controlled

64 John Watson ( ) "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee you to take any one at random, and train him or her to become any type of specialist I might select - doctor, lawyer, merchant chief and, yes, even beggar man or thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and the race of his ancestors."

65 B.F. Skinner ( ) Radical behaviorism in modern times most closely tied to the work of Skinner Distinguished between two kinds of learned behavior: respondent & operant

66 B.F. Skinner ( ) Respondent behavior, the type studied by Pavlov, elicited by a definite stimulus, involuntary

67 B.F. Skinner ( ) Operant behavior, cannot be certainly elicited, largely voluntary, probability of behavior repeated when reinforced

68 Gestalt Psychology Psychological phenomenon are best understood when viewed as organized, structured wholes that is, holistically not when analyzed into myriad components. Movement grew as a reaction to behaviorism and structuralism

69 Max Wertheimer ( ) Started the Gestalt movement with fellow German psychologists Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler.

70 Gestalt Psychology Criticism Has produced an abundance of theory and very little data. Experimentation under the Gestalt approach tends to lack careful experimental controls. Unprecise definition of terms

71 Cognitivism Emphasizes the importance of thought as a basis for understanding much of human behavior The study of how people learn, structure, store, and use knowledge (Neisser, 1967)

72 Cognitivism How is knowledge acquired, stored, transformed, and used? What is consciousness, and where do conscious ideas originate? What is the nature of perception and memory? What is thought? How do these abilities develop?

73 Biological Psychology Also called psychobiology Attempts to study behavior by carefully studying physiology (the scientific study of living organisms and life-sustaining functions) and anatomy (the study of the structures of living organisms)

74 Biological Psychology Not really an organized school of thought but rather the affirmation that biological theorizing and experimentation are desirable bases for studying psychological problems

75 Evolutionary Psychology Based upon Darwin s theory of natural selection and evolution(1859), the goal is to explain behavior in terms of an organism s evolved adaptations to a constantly changing environmental landscape

76 Psychodynamic Psychology One of the oldest and most controversial and influential schools of psychology. Emphasizes the importance of conflicting unconscious mental processes Stresses the importance of early childhood experiences on the adult personality

77 Sigmund Freud ( ) Developed by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud Major contributions Significance of unconscious and dreams Free association Defense mechanisms

78 Levels of Consciousness Conscious - current awareness Preconscious - not aware of material but it s retrievable (via ordinary retrieval) Unconscious - not aware of material but it s not retrievable (via ordinary retrieval)

79 Conscious = Tip of Iceberg

80 The Structure of Personality ID EGO SUPEREGO

81 The Structure of Personality The Id Reservoir of Psychic Energy Most primitive part of the mind; what we are born with Source of all drives and urges Operates according to the pleasure principle and primary process thinking

82 The Structure of Personality The Ego- Executive of Personality The part of the mind that constrains the id to reality Develops around 2-3 years of age Operates according to the reality principle and secondary process thinking Mediates between id, superego, and environment

83 The Structure of Personality The Superego- Upholder of Values and Ideals The part of the mind that internalizes the values, morals, and ideals of society Develops around age 5 Not bound by reality

84 Neo-Freudians Several of Freud s disciples who rebelled and formulated their own versions of the theory. A greater emphasis on conscious as opposed to unconscious processing Influence of key human relationships on how one views the world

85 Humanistic Psychology In response to that rather negative view of psychodynamic theory which sees man controlled by environmental events in his childhood Humanistic psychology emphasizes free will and the importance of human potential

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87 Humanistic Psychology Holistic rather than analytical approach Emphasizes conscious rather than unconscious experience in development An analytic approach like that of Freud s attempts to break down a personality into its constituent components

88 Humanistic Psychology Humanistic approach doesn t attempt to divide a personality into smaller elements Argues that the essence of the personality is lost through such divisions

89 Abraham Maslow ( ) A leading humanistic psychologist Proposed that all people possess an innate drive toward self-actualization (striving to reach their potential)

90 Self-Actualized have in common An objective view of reality, acceptance of their nature (both of their strengths and their weaknesses) A commitment to their work A need for autonomy, coupled with empathy for humankind Resistance to blind conformity, and drive to be creative in work and in life

91 Carl Rogers ( ) Followed Maslow s emphasis on selfactualization, but stressed that it was dependent upon the relationship between the mother and child

92 Carl Rogers ( ) If the mother meets the child s need for unconditional love (unconditional positive regard), the child will probably be welladjusted. Many of the problems we have as adults are due to a lack of positive regard

93 Humanistic Psychology Humanistic approach has provided valuable insight into human nature It s theories are somewhat less comprehensive than some other approaches Research base supporting this approach is somewhat limited