PSYC 2000 Chapter : PSYC2000 Chapter1
Behavior
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all of our outward or overt actions and reactions, such as talking, facial
expressions, and movement
Mental processes
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internal, or covert (hidden) activity of our minds, such as thinking,
feeling, and remembering
To study behavior and mental processes, researchers must observe them
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
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With observation, there is always a possibility that an observer will only see what
he/she wants to see
Psychologists don’t want to let possible biases cause them to make faulty observations
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Description
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observing a behavior and noting everything about it
Explanation
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to make a theory or a general observation for a set of observations or
facts
Prediction
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determining what will happen in the future
Control
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the modification of some behavior to change the behavior from an
undesirable one to a desirable one
The goal of psychology is to uncover the mysteries of human and animal behavior by
description, explanation, prediction, and control
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Psychology
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Only 135 years old
Psychology is a relatively new field in the realm of sciences
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Philosophers
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people who seek wisdom and knowledge through thinking ad
discussion
Physiologists
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scientists who study the physical workings of the body and its systems
Philosophers, Medical Doctors, & Physiologists thought about why people and animals do
the things they do
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Psychology Then: The History of Psychology
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1.1
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What is psychology?
Father of Psychology
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Began to apply scientific principles to the study of the human mind
Germany in 1879
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Objectivity
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expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as they really are without
allowing the influence of personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations
Objectivity is important because scientists need to remain unbiased
Objective introspection
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the process of objectively examining and measuring one's own
thoughts and mental activities
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Wilhelm Wundt
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Edward Titchener
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Englishman
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Expanded on Wundt's ideas
Structuralism
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every experience can be broken down into individual emotions and
sensations
Believed objective introspection could be used on thoughts as well as physical
sensations
Student of Wundt
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Titchener and Structuralism in America
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Principles of Psychology
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still in print
Taught the first classes in psychology in America at Harvard
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William James and Functionalism
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1.2
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In the beginning: Wundt, Introspection, and the Laboratory
Book Notes
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Ch. 1
Monday, September 5, 2016 2:48 PM
Chapter 1 Page 1
Principles of Psychology
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still in print
More interested in the importance of consciousness on daily life instead of just analysis
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Heavily influenced by Charles Darwin's ideas on natural selection
Functionalism
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how the mind allows people to function in the real world; how people work,
play, and adapt to their surroundings
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Was not awarded a PhD from Harvard despite taking all of the classes because she
was a woman
Successful researcher and professor
First female president of American Psychological Association
Mary Whiton Calkins
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African American
Father of African American psychology
PhD in psychology from Clark University
Negative effects of school segregation on African American children
Francis Cecil Sumner
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Hispanic psychologist
Research in the area of intelligence testing; focused on cultural biases in tests
George (Jorge) Sanchez
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Believed that perceiving and sensing could not be broken down into any smaller
elements and still be properly understood
Gestalt psychology
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"an organized whole"; "configuration"; focus on studying whole
patterns rather than small pieces of them
Objected structuralist point of view
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A field that focuses on perception, learning, memory, thought processes, and problem
solving
Today, Gestalt ideas are a part of cognitive psychology
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Psychological therapy
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Gestalt therapy
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Max Wertheimer
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Neurologist who specialized in the disorders of the nervous system
Sigmund Freud was a noted physician in Austria
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Repressed urges created the nervous disorders in his patients
Proposed that there is an unconscious mind into which we push, or repress, all of our
threatening urges and desires
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Basis of modern psychotherapy: a process in which a trained psychological
professional helps a person gain insight into and change his/her behavior
Freudian psychoanalysis
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the theory and therapy based on Freud's ideas
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Sigmund Freud's Theory of Psychoanalysis
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Russian physiologist who showed that a reflex, involuntary action, could be caused to
occur in response to a formerly unrelated stimulus through a process called
conditioning
Pavlov
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Behaviorism or "science of behavior"
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wanted to bring psychology back to a focus on
scientific inquiry by focusing only on the observable behavior, something that can be
seen or measured
Watson believed that behavior is learned; unlike Freud
"Little Albert"
Mary Cover Jones, a student of Watson, repeated the "Little Albert" study on a white
rat named "Little Peter"
Watson
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Behaviorism is still a major perspective in psychology that has influenced cognitive
psychology
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Pavlov, Watson, and the Dawn of Behaviorism
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1.3
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Gestalt Psychology: The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its parts
Chapter 1 Page 2
psychology
Influenced by Freud's theory
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Less emphasis on sex and sexual motivations
More emphasis on the development of a sense of self, social, interpersonal
relationships, and the discovery of other motivations behind a person's behavior
Focus on the unconscious mind and its influence over conscious behavior and on early
childhood experiences
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Psychodynamic Perspective
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Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
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behavioral responses that are followed by pleasurable
consequences are strengthened, or reinforced; how voluntary behavior is learned
Watson and Skinner
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Behavioral Perspective
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Reaction to psychoanalytic theory and behaviorism
"third force"
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Exists as a form of psychotherapy aimed at self
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understanding and self
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improvement
People have free will or the freedom to choose their own destiny and strive for self
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actualization, the achievement of one's full potential
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Humanistic Perspective
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Influenced by Gestalt psychology
Focuses on how people think, remember, store, and use information
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Development of computers and discoveries in biological psychology stimulated an interest
in studying the process of thought
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Focus on memory, intelligence, perception, thought process, problem solving, language, and
learning
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Use of MRI, fMRI, PET
Cognitive neuroscience
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the study of the physical workings of the brain and nervous system
when engaged in memory, thinking, and other cognitive processes
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Cognitive Perspective
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Social psychology
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the study of groups, social roles, and rules of social actions and
relationships
Cultural psychology
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the study of cultural norms, values, and expectations
The effect that people have on one another, either individually or in a larger group
such as a culture
Combines social psychology and cultural psychology
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Cross
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cultural research
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comparison of cultures
Reminds people that the way they and others behave is influenced not only by whether they
are alone, with friends, in a crowd, or part of a group, but also by the social norms, fads,
class differences, and ethnic identity concerns of a particular culture in which they live
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The tendency to feel that someone else is responsible for taking action when others
are present
"Bystander effect"
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the presence of other people lessened the chances that a person in
trouble would receive help
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Sociocultural Perspective
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Biopsychology
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the study of the biological bases of behavior and mental processes
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The study of the physical structure, function, and development of the nervous system
Part of the larger field of neuroscience
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Hormones, heredity, brain chemicals, tumors, diseases
Human and animal behavior is seen as a direct result of the events in the body
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Sleep, emotions, aggression, sexual behavior, learning, memory, and disorders
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Biopsychological Perspective
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Evolutionary Perspective
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1.4
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Psychology Now: Modern Perspectives
Chapter 1 Page 3
Document Summary
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Behavior - all of our outward or overt actions and reactions, such as talking, facial expressions, and movement. Mental processes - internal, or covert (hidden) activity of our minds, such as thinking, feeling, and remembering. To study behavior and mental processes, researchers must observe them. Psychologists don"t want to let possible biases cause them to make faulty observations. With observation, there is always a possibility that an observer will only see what he/she wants to see. The goal of psychology is to uncover the mysteries of human and animal behavior by description, explanation, prediction, and control. Description - observing a behavior and noting everything about it. Explanation - to make a theory or a general observation for a set of observations or facts. Prediction - determining what will happen in the future. Control - the modification of some behavior to change the behavior from an undesirable one to a desirable one.
