1 FOUNDATIONS HISTORY CH 1 What is Psychology The science of behavior and the mind o behavior observable actions of a person or animal o mind thoughts feelings sensations perceptions memories dreams motives and other subjective experiences hypothetical constructs unobservable explanatory variable o science an objective way to answer questions based on observable facts data and well described methods A set of questions about mental functioning trace back to philosophy o o Aristotle asked about memory personality emotions etc A set of theories and procedures for asking and answering questions the scientific method o o evolved over centuries first in physics A product of history o philosophy asked many of the basic questions o physiology used similar methods Three Foundational Ideas of Psychology 1 The idea that there is a physical causation of behavior 2 The idea that the mind and behavior are shaped by experience 3 The idea that the machinery of behavior and mind evolved through natural selection 2 Philosophical Developments Is there a separation between mind and body How would such an assumption change the way you think about behavior Are behaviors inborn or learned How would you test such a thing Question 1 How are mind and body related o Dualism body and soul are separate but interrelated origins in medieval religion mind is product of the soul soul is seat of intellectual function and will mind not subject to scientific inquiry o Ren Descartes 1596 1650 modified dualism since animals have no soul much behavior does not require soul the body can therefore control much behavior led him to study reflexes the soul s main function is thought a uniquely human attribute o Materialism Thomas Hobbes 1588 1679 mind is a product of the brain o Empiricism soul is not involved in human behavior knowledge and intellect are acquired elementary ideas become associated into complex thought and ideas sensory experiences produce elementary ideas Question 2 Empiricism vs Nativism o Nativism is the view that elementary ideas are innate o If knowledge is innate What is the purpose of education Can intellect be changed by experience o Are abilities determined by our genes or our experiences o This is known as Nature vs Nurture appears throughout modern psychology 3 Foundations of Modern Psychology Charles Darwin 1809 1882 Theory of natural selection 1859 o physical characteristics evolve through natural selection o behavioral patterns also influence selection o inborn knowledge and behavioral tendencies with survival value are passed on Human beings are part of nature and can be understood through the methods of science Darwin s theory encouraged scientific inquiry 19th century developments in physiology demonstrated the approach to use o based on scientific methods controlled laboratory experiments o influential beliefs from early physiology reflexology all human behaviors occur through reflexes i e the reflex chain localization of function specific structures of the brain serve specific functions in the control of mental experiences and behavior Separated from philosophy in 19th century influences from physiology remain o Wilhelm Wundt 1832 1920 o Leipzig Germany o wrote the first psychology textbook o applied laboratory techniques to study of the mind o structuralism identify atoms of the mind focused on basic sensory and perceptual processes measured reaction times functionalism influenced by Darwin to focus on how behaviors help us adapt to the environment Other Pioneers Edward Titchener 1867 1927 o Wundt s student professor at Cornell University William James 1842 1910 o started psychology at Harvard in 1870s o opposed Wundt and Titchener s approach o Sigmund Freud 1856 1939 o Austrian physician that focused on illness o psychoanalytic theory of mental disorders Alfred Binet 1857 1911 o French intelligence researcher o developed first intelligence test Ivan Pavlov 1849 1936 o Russian physiologist o discovered conditioned reflexes B F Skinner 1904 1990 o American psychologist at Harvard o studied learning and effect of reinforcement o behaviorism 4 Perspective is a way of viewing phenomena Psychology has multiple perspectives that can be classified into two main groups Perspectives Biological o Biological o Environmental o Neuroscience o Genetics o Evolution Environmental o Behavioral Learning o Cognitive o Social o Cultural o Developmental Clinical o Psychoanalytic o Humanistic Biological Perspectives Neuroscience o Study the physiological mechanisms in the brain and nervous system that organize and control behavior o Focus may be at various levels individual neurons areas of the brain specific functions like eating emotion or learning Genetics Evolution o Attempts to explain individual differences on the basis of differences in gene patterns o Assesses the relationship between degree of genetic relatedness and the degree of similarity in a given trait or set of traits o Uses the concept of natural selection to account for how and why certain traits are present in humans and animals addresses phylogenetic issues o Ethology The study of animal behavior in the natural environment rather than in a lab setting and Tinbergen Influenced by Darwin and the emphasis on innate adaptive behavior patterns European approach to studying behavior founded by animal researchers Lorenz 5 Environmental Perspectives Behavioral Learning o Focus is on observable environmental inputs and behavioral outputs o Organism conceptualized as a black box o Reference to mental process is eschewed Cognitive behavioral out Social o How is knowledge acquired organized remembered and used to guide behavior o Cognitions are the intervening explanatory variables between environmental input and o Memory Thinking Reasoning Beliefs Expectations Interpretations o Focus is on how the individual is influenced by the real or imagined presence of others Attitude formation and change Conformity Attributions Motivational and Emotional Processes o Many social psychological explanations are cognitively based Cultural o The study of psychological differences among people living in different cultural groups o How are people s thoughts feelings and behavior influenced by their culture o What are the common elements across culture Are these innate Clinical Perspectives Psychoanalytic approach Sigmund Freud o both a method of treatment and a theory of the mind o behavior reflects combinations of conscious and unconscious influences o drives and