HISTORY X CONTEMPORARY PSYCH

• Goals of Psychology

  • Describe
  • Explain
  • Predict
  • Control
• Historical Approaches

  • Structuralism - The study of the most basic elements that make up our conscious mental experiences
• Charles Darwin

  Evolution and adaptation (link to biological approach)
• Aristotle wrote a book on psychology entitled "Peri Psyches" more than 2,000 years ago
• Socrates suggested a research method called Introspection, based on his concept of "Know Thyself"
• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
• Psychology links well with other sciences like sociology and anthropology, requiring similar skills in critical thinking and writing
• Wilhelm Wundt is considered one of the founders of psychology
• Psychology can be described as the systematic, scientific study of behaviors and mental processes
• Psychiatry is the study and treatment of mental illness. While psychology looks at mental disorders, it is the study of the mind and behaviour
• Wilhelm Wundt


  Established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany (Father of experimental psychology)
• Descartes


  Mind can be studied in its own rights (Dualism)
• STRUCTURALISM - Breaks conscious experience into objective sensations (sight/taste) and subjective feelings (emotional responses, mental images)
• BEHAVIORISM - Emphasized the objective, scientific analysis of observable behaviors
• BEHAVIORISM - Behavior Modification is a therapeutic approach that utilizes principles of operant conditioning to bring about desired changes in behavior
• GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY - Principle of Closure is the tendency to perceive incomplete or fragmented stimuli as whole objects
• Innate Behaviors


  • Instinctive behaviors that are genetically programmed
• FUNCTIONALISM - The study of the function rather than the structure of consciousness; interested in how our minds adapt to our changing environment
• FUNCTIONALISM - Adaptive behavior patterns are learned and maintained
• BEHAVIORISM


  Emphasizes the study of observable behavior, rejecting the study of consciousness
• STRUCTURALISM


  Focuses on analyzing the basic elements of consciousness through introspection
• Cross-Cultural Universal


  • Aspects of behavior or psychology that are common across different cultures
• STRUCTURALISM


  Methodology involves trained individuals reporting their conscious experiences in response to stimuli
• BEHAVIORISM

  Favors controlled experiments and objective observation of behavior
• STRUCTURALISM


  Emphasizes the study of sensations, feelings, and images as building blocks of conscious experience
• BEHAVIORISM


  Emphasizes the influence of external stimuli on observable responses
• STRUCTURALISM - The study of the most basic elements, primarily sensations and perceptions, that make up our conscious mental experiences
• STRUCTURALISM - The mind functions by combining the objective and subjective elements of the experience
• GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY - Principle of Wholeness (Gestalt) emphasizes that individuals perceive objects as whole entities rather than isolated parts
• FUNCTIONALISM - Make use of direct observations in the laboratory
• FUNCTIONALISM - Streams of consciousness are fluid and continuous, influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution
• BEHAVIORISM - Behaviorism is largely responsible for establishing psychology as a scientific discipline through its objective methods and experimentation
• FUNCTIONALISM


  Shifted the focus to understanding the adaptive functions of behavior and mental processes
• GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY - Principle of Proximity suggests that elements close to each other are perceived as a group
• Evolutionary Explanation of Mental Processes


  • Understanding mental processes in the context of evolution and adaptation
• FUNCTIONALISM


  Uses observational methods, introspection, and naturalistic observations to study behavior and mental processes
• GESTALT


  Focuses on the holistic nature of perception and cognition
• FUNCTIONALISM


  Emphasizes the study of how mental processes function in helping individuals adapt to their environment
• GESTALT


  Uses experimental methods to study how the mind organizes and perceives wholes or patterns
• GESTALT


  Emphasizes how the mind actively organizes stimuli