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Slide 2 History and Perspectives in Psychological Science Unit 1- Module 1 Notes Slide 3 What is Psychology? Definition: Scientific study of behavior and mental process Scientific Study means that psychologists use scientific research methods to answer their questions Psychologists study things that we can see (human behavior) and things that we cannot (mental processes such as thoughts, dreams, and feelings) Slide 4 What is Psychology? Research types: Basic Research: Research done to increase knowledge Applied Research: Research intended to solve problems Slide 5 Roots of Modern Psychology Wilhelm Wundt Struggled as a student in his youth, eventually graduated from medical school Wasnt interested in practicing medicine- rather, he wanted to understand human consciousness Conducted experiments that tested how perceptions, sensations, and feelings related to human behavior Considered the Father of psychology because he used experimental methods to study consciousness Slide 6 Roots of Modern Psychology Wundt Experiment Task 1: when the picture below appears, raise your hand Slide 7 Roots of Modern Psychology Wundt Experiment Task 2: one of 2 pictures will appear below. If the picture is a PLHS logo, raise your LEFT hand. If the picture is a TITAN logo, raise your RIGHT hand. Slide 8 Roots of Modern Psychology Results: The response time for Task 2 was longer than Task 1. Why? Required more mental processes Slide 9 Roots of Modern Psychology Edward Titchener Created structuralism First major school of thought in psychology Tried to create a physical picture of consciousness Provided many theories, most of which were disproven, giving rise to other schools of psychology Slide 10 Roots of Modern Psychology Gestalt Psychology Emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes Examples: By itself, the bass line of a song is quite bland and boring When put with the rest of the pieces, the whole result is much different from the sum of its parts Slide 11 Roots of Modern Psychology William James First American psychologist, published first psychology textbook Functionalism: ways consciousness helps people adapt to their environment Example: washing hands has been proven to help prevent disease Slide 12 Roots of Modern Psychology Sigmund Freud Introduced psychoanalysis Our thoughts and actions are attributed to unconscious motives and conflict Example: A teenager might start smoking as a way to get back at their parents Freud started the practice of having his patients sit on a coach and share their thoughts Slide 13 Roots of Modern Psychology Sigmund Freud Freuds methods varied from other schools of study in two main ways: Psychoanalysis focused on abnormal behavior Psychoanalysis did not rely on controlled scientific experimentation While many of Freuds theories have been disproved over the years, he still has many followers who continue to work in the spirit of his original ideas Slide 14 Roots of Modern Psychology Behaviorism: Theory that psychology should only study observable behaviors, not mental processes Ivan Pavlov began the movement to study learning through observable behaviors John B Watson expanded Pavlovs ideas, concluding that our behavior was shaped by our lifes experiences Slide 15 Roots of Modern Psychology Humanistic Psychology Individuals have free will and strive to reach their full potential Influenced by Gestalt psychologists, in that the entire person was greater than any one part Maslow believed that humans went through stages that eventually led to reaching their fullest potential Slide 16 Slide 17 Roots of Modern Psychology Jean Piaget Observed that younger children made mistakes on psychological tests that older children did not Concluded that younger children think differently that older children Considered a pioneer in developmental psychology Slide 18