History of Psychology

Modern Psychology’s Roots

What is Psychology?

The science of behavior and mental processes Behavior—observable actions of a person or animal Mind—thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, memories, dreams, motives and other subjective experiences Science--an objective way to answer questions based on observable facts/data and well-described methods • Separated from philosophy in 19th century – influences from physiology remain

Philosophical Developments

• A Question: How is mind and body related?

• René Descartes (1596–1650)—Interactive dualism • The mind and body interact to produce conscious experience

Philosophical Developments

• Another Question: Nature vs. Nurture • Are abilities determined by our genes or our experiences?

• What are the interactions between genetics and environment?

• What effect does it have on behavior?

Wilhelm Wundt –Leipzig, Germany –The “father of psychology” –Founder of modern psychology –Opened the first psychology lab in 1879 –applied laboratory techniques to study of the mind Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920)

E.B. Titchener

•Wundt’s student, professor at Cornell University •Analyzed the intensity, clarity and quality of the parts of consciousness •Proponent of structuralism E. B. Titchener (1867–1927)

Structuralism

• Studied the basic elements (structure) of thoughts and sensations.

– identify ‘atoms’ of the mind • focused on basic sensory and perceptual processes • measured reaction times

William James

•First American psychologist •Started psychology at Harvard in 1870s •Opposed Wundt and Titchener’s approach •Author of the first psychology textbook •Founder of Functionalism –functionalism – influenced by Darwin to focus on how behaviors help us adapt to the environment William James (1842–1910)

Functionalism • Emphasized studying the function of consciousness and how consciousness helped people adapt to their environment

DAILY DOUBLE

Explain the difference between Structuralism & Functionalism.

Structuralism – basic parts of a person’s thoughts and feelings. Focus on basic senses & perception.

Functionalism – how our consciousness helps us to

function

or adapt to our environment.

John B. Watson

•Founder of Behaviorism •Studied only observable and objectively described acts •Emphasized objective and scientific methodology John B. Watson (1878–1958)

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

• Behaviorist • Russian Physiologist • Studied learning through associations in animals • Emphasized the study of observable behaviors

B.F. Skinner

•Behaviorist •American psychologist at Harvard •Focused on learning through rewards and observation •studied learning and effect of reinforcement B. F. Skinner (1904–1990)

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

• Austrian physician that focused on illness • Founder of the psychoanalytic perspective • Believed that abnormal behavior originated from unconscious drives and conflicts

Freud’s Influence

• Influence on “pop culture” – Freudian slips – Anal-retentive • Influence on psychology – Psychodynamic theory – Unconscious thoughts – Significance of childhood experiences

Carl Rogers & Abraham Maslow (1902-1987) (1908-1970)

• Helped to create Humanistic Psychology • Stressed the study of conscious experience and an individual’s free will • Healthy individuals strive to reach their potential.

Wolfgang Kohler

• Created Gestalt Psychology • The whole is different from the sum of its parts.

• Integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Wolfgang Kohler (1865-1965)

What do you see?

You See the

whole individual dots

picture first rather than the that make it up. – Gestalt Psychology

How old is Psychology??

• The consideration of psychological questions is as old as the human being – Examples: • Democritus’ (around 400 b.c.) described the process of perception: – Small images move in the air – From eye to brain where it interacts with atoms and thus the experience of perception is created.

• Aristotle’s answer to why we are sleepy after heavy meal – Thinking in the heart, and after heavy meal all blood leaves the heart to go to digestive system… – But: Man in conflict between moral codes and drives. The conflict is negotiated by what within us is in touch with reality. (very similar to id, ego and superego conception).

• The age of scientific psychology: Since 1879 (Wundt’s opening of the first laboratory in Leipzig). • Our course: – Beginning in ancient Greece – 16 th-17th – The 19 th century : Descartes – British Empiricists: Locke, Hume etc., – early 20 th centuries: the 3 gates to modern psychology • The physiological gate (Franz Gal- Phrenology, etc.,). • The gate of “conscious processes” : Structuralism and Functionalism (Wundt and James) • The analytic gate: The question of levels of consciousness (Mesmer, etc., ). – Other major influences (e.g., Darwin).

• An important gate to the science of psychology in the 19 th century: The “Body-Mind” controversy.

– This question rose because of developments in the biological sciences • Galvani (18 th century) – electrical stimulation of a frog’s muscle.

• A second important gate: The controversy about levels of consciousness.

– This question “gathered steam” because of the cultural fascination with hypnosis (18 th century Franz Anton Mesmer) • A third important gate: How should we build our science? Like Chemistry? A new perspective?: The Wundt-James (structuralism-functionalism question).

A pre-paradigmatic/paradigmatic stage in scientific enterprise

• In the pre-paradigmatic stage there are many schools; there is disagreement on what are the basic questions we need to ask and what are the methodologies we need to use to answer these questions.

• In the paradigmatic stage there is a consensus within the scientific community on what we are exploring, and how we explore.

• Psychology still in the pre-paradigmatic stage. – A psychoanalyst • What is important to investigate?

» Unconscious processes • What specific phenomena you want to look at? » Personality dynamics • How will you look at these?

» Clinical research methods – A behaviorist • What is important to investigate? » Overt behavior • What specific phenomena you want to look at? » S-R chains • How will you look at these?

» Experimentation

• A physicist: – The important phenomenon: The structure of the universe – What do we look at?: Behavior of smallest particles – How do we do that?: Experimental methods and quantifiable theories.

• Psychology in a pre-paradigmatic stage. – What does this mean? May be there is no chance for a shared paradigm in psychology? Maybe it’s a question of level of analysis?

Schools in Psychology

• A school : A group of scientists who agree on the three questions: – What is the problem we deal with?

– What phenomena do we look at?

– How do we look at these phenomena?

• Six schools: – Structuralism; Functionalism; Psychoanalysis; Behaviorist; Humanist; Gestalt