William James- The Principles of PsychologyPsychology- the scientific study of the mind and behaviorMind- private inner experience, ever flowing stream of consciousness that is made of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelingsBehavior- observable actionsPsychology is an attempt to use scientific methods to address the fundamental questions regarding the mind and behavior1. What are the bases of perceptions, thoughts, memories, feelings, and our subjective sense of self?All of our subjective experiences arise from electrical and chemical activities of our brainsfMRI- allows scientists to scan a brain and see which parts are active when a person reads a word, sees a face, learns a new skill, or remembers a personal experience2. How does the mind usually allow us to function effectively in this world?a. The function of the mind is to help us do what we have to do in order to prosper such as food, shelter, and matesb. Perception allows us to recognize our families and not run into trafficc. Language allows us to organize our thoughts and communicated. Memory allows us to avoid solving the same problems over and overe. Emotions allow us to react quickly to events that have “life and death” consequences and form social bondsf. Ex. Elliots no emotions3. Why does the mind occasionally function so ineffectively?a. The mind often trades accuracy for speed and versatilityb. This can produce occasisonal malfunctionsc. Sometimes people go on “autopilot”Psychology’s Roots: The Path to a Science of MindGreek philos were among the first to ask fundamental questionsFor example, are cognitive abilities and knowledge inborn or are they acquired?Plato believed in nativism- certain kinds of knowledge are innateAristotle believed in tabula rasa (blank slate) on which experiences are writtenHe argued for philosophical empiricism­- all knowledge is acquired through experienceNature vs. nurture is still a debateFrom the Brain to the Mind: French ConnectionRene Descartes argued that body and mind are fundamentally different things- that the body is made of a material substance, whereas the mind (or soul) is made of an immaterial or spiritual substanceDilemma of dualism- how mental activity can be reconciled and coordinated with physical behaviorDescartes believed that the mind influences the body through the area near the bottom of the brain called the pineal gland (he was alone on this)Thomas Hobbes- argued the mind and body aren’t different and the mind is what the brain doesFranz Gall- thought brain and mind were linked by size rather than glandsHe observed that mental ability often increases with larger brain size and decreases with damage to the brain (ex disease)Went far beyond his evidence to develop phrenology- specific mental abilities and characteristics, ranging from memory to the capacity of happiness, are localized in specific regions of the brainThe idea that different parts of the brain are specialized for specific functions is right but his whole bump thing was wrongPaul Broca- worked with patient who had damage to the left side of his brain; could only say tan; but he can understand everything and this proved that the brain and mind were linked and that specific parts of the brain have specific functionsStructuralism: Applying Methods from Physiology to PsychologyPhysiology- study of biological processes, esp in human bodyDeveloped methods to measure nerve impulses and measure mental abilitiesWilliam James was drawn to Helmholtz and WundtHelmholtz- trained people to respond to stimulus to different parts of the leg and the peoples reaction timesHe was able to estimate how long it took a nerve impulse to travel to the brain (everyone at the time believed everything was instantaneous)Demonstrated that reaction time could be a useful way to study brain and mindWundt- taught the first university course on Physiological psychology, marks official birthBelieved that scientific psychology should focus on analyzing consciousness- a persons subjective experience of the world and the mindAdopted an approach called structuralism- the analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mindInvolved breaking consciousness down into elemental senesations and feelingsIntrospection- the subjective observation of ones own experiencePresented participants with stimuli and asked to report their introspections and analyzed the relation between feelings and perceptual sensationsDied out cause it was too subjectiveJames and the Functional ApproachTaught the first course at an American university to draw on the new experimental psychology developed by WundtAgreed with Wundt on immediate experience and introspectionHowever he disagreed that consciousness could be broken down into separate elementsHe believed that trying to isolate and analyze a particular moment of consciousness distorted the essential nature of consciousnessHe believed it is a flowing stream rather than a bundle of separate elementsDeveloped approach called functionalism- the study of the purpose mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environmentIn contrast to structuralism, which examined the structure of the mental processes, functionalism set out to understand the functions those mental processes servedThis was influenced by Darwin’s natural selection – the features of an organism that help it survive and reproduce are more likely than other features to be passed on to subsequent genenrationsJames concluded that mental abilities also must be adaptiveReasoned that consciousness must serve an important biological function and that the task for psychs are to understand what those functions areFunctionalism thrivedTHE DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGYPsychs begin to study mental disorders – realized that you can often understand how something works by examining how it breaksThe Path to Freud and Psychoanalytic TheoryPhysician Jean-Martin Charcot interview patients with Hysteria- temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as a result of emotionally upsetting experiencesCan lose vision, paralyzed, or lose memories even though nothing physical happenedHypnotic state thingWilliam James believed it was important to capitalize on these mental disruptions as a way of understanding the normal operation of the mindBrain can create many conscious selves that aren’t aware of eachothers existenceSigmund FreudVisited Charcot’s clinic in ParisWorked with hysteric patientsTheorized that many