The Science of Psychology Part 1 Outline What is Psychology Definition of Psychology Is Psychology a Science Goals of Psychology Brief History of Psychology Historical Roots Modern Perspectives Subfields and Specializations 1 WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY Psychology is 2 things The study of Behavior Mental processes Behavior Behavior is any activity that can be observed recorded and measured Psychology uses different methods Interviews Questionnaires Laboratory tasks Electrical recordings Mental Processes Mental processes are any conscious or unconscious activities Thoughts cognitions Emotions Unlike behaviors these can not be observed directly Psychologist make inferences about them based on behaviors Is Psychology a science Science of Psychology What makes a science A content area For instance chemistry biology A method of knowing NO YES Scientific Method The only legitimate form of psychology is scientifically driven psychology Anything else is just Goals of Psychology Psychology has 4 jobs Describe Explain Predict Control Behaviors and mental processes How With the use of Scientific Methods Goals of Psychology Describe behaviors mental processes Adam is a risk taker who demonstrates poor decision making Goals of Psychology Explain behaviors mental processes Adam s attraction to risky activities is genetically based but also influenced by his upbringing He has shown poor decision making since he was a child probably because he never had to suffer the consequences of his actions Goals of Psychology Predict behaviors mental processes Adam will likely hurt himself pretty badly while doing something risky because of his poor decision making Goals of Psychology Control or Change behaviors and mental processes To prevent Adam from hurting himself we teach him how to evaluate the potential consequences of his behaviors Brief History of Psychology Brief History of Psychology Early records date back 2000 years Stone age Trephining Philosophers Plato 427 347 B C Dualism soul can exist separately from the body Aristotle 384 322 B C soul and body as one intellect reason desire etc Decartes 17th Century Brief History of Psychology Early Psychologists Wilhelm Wundt 1879 first psychology lab Applied scientific principles to the study of the human mind Objective Introspection Structuralism Edward Titchener William James first American psych lab Functionalism Brief History of Psychology Gestalt Psychology The whole is greater than the sum of parts Max Wertheimer 1880 1943 its Objected to structuralism Sigmund Freud 1856 1939 Believed that disorders of the nervous system were the result of the unconscious Emphasized the importance of childhood experiences in the development of personality Unconscious motivations and sex drive Psychoanalysis formed the basis of what is now modern psychotherapy however was very unscientific Brief History of Psychology Behaviorism Ivan Pavlov 1849 1936 Classical Conditioning John Watson 1878 1958 founder of behaviorism or the science of behavior Focused on observable behavior ONLY Behaviorism emerged really as a reaction to the unscientific approach of psychoanalysis etc B F Skinner 1904 1990 Operant Conditioning Modern Perspectives Psychodynamic Behavioral Humanistic Cognitive Sociocultural Biopsychological Evolutionary BE SURE TO READ ABOUT THESE IN YOUR TEXT pp 13 16 Summary Psychology is the SCIENTIFIC study of behavior and mental processes Origins Philosophers physiologists physicians biologists Psychologists are still a varied group Subfields Specializations Perspectives International memberships and publications Questions Next Class Science of Psychology Part II Critical Thinking Psychology and the Scientific Method