The Science of Psychology Chapter 1 What is Psychology Scientific study of behavior and mental processes The study of everything we think and do What does it mean to be scientific Empirical approach o Gathering information through your senses o Only gather data about what we can hear see taste touch and feel Unbiased o o o Biased Your own opinions are influencing what you are observing Scientists want to remain objective facts about their research Subjective your opinion Critical thinking Is that completely accurate o o Are there alternate reasons o Everything on television and the internet is not always true Goals of Psychology Describe Behavior o What Explain Behavior o Why Predict Behavior o Under what circumstances Control Change Behavior o How we can change A brief history The origins of psychology Structuralism o Wilhelm Wundt 1832 1920 The father of psychology From Germany Established the very first psychological laboratory Wanted to study the structure of the mind and our consciousness Wundt s psychological approach o Structuralism Studying basic components of the mind Describing the mind by breaking thoughts down into their most basic ideas elements Wundt s psychological methods o Reaction time event time passes response Long reaction time Short reaction time A complex thought more elements A simple or basic thought element o Introspection Looking inward at our on thoughts and experiences Everyone s thoughts are different Person opinion The origins of psychology o Gestalt psychology Psychology in America o Functionalism The whole unit looking at the big picture Studying the whole mind Understanding the purpose of thoughts and behavior in a n individual s adaptation to the environment What are these thoughts for What purpose do they serve What is the mind for William James 1842 1910 Structuralism describing What is the mind Functionalism explaining What is the mind for o Behaviorism Emphasizes the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and the environments that determine those responses Wanted to make psychology a science Only trusted what they could see hear taste touch smell John B Watson 1878 1958 Thought we were born as blank slates Everyone is created equally Who you become depends on your environment Psychology today 7 approaches to the study of the mind behavior o Biological The mind and the brain are the same thing Human and animal behavior is seen as the direct result of events in the body o Behavioral see behaviorism above The scientific study of behaviorism responses Started by John B Watson The idea that you can modify behavior using various rewards and punishments o Psychodynamic o Humanistic Sigmund Freud Austrian Physician Mental and behavioral problems are caused by conflicts between acceptable behavior and unacceptable unconscious desires Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow Emphasizes free will self actualization and human natures as growth seeking experiences and motivations for behavior Everybody is striving to be the best person they can be to reach your full potential o Cognitive Study how we think remember store and use information from our environment using a vast array of mental processes Focus on natural selection adaptation and the evolution of behavior Causes of behavior are attributed to those that lead to greater reproductive success o Evolutionary o Sociocultural Emphasizes social interactions and cultural determinants of behavior and mental processes specifically ethnicity religion occupation and socioeconomic status as predictors of behavior
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