Chapter SummaryPsychology’s Roots
Psychology traces its roots back through recorded history to the writings of many scholars who spent their lives wondering about people—in India, China, the Middle East, and Europe. In their attempt to understand human nature, they looked carefully at how our minds work and how our bodies relate to our minds. Prescientific Psychology More than 2000 years ago, Buddha and Confucius focused on the powers and origin of ideas. In other parts of the world, the ancient Hebrews, Socrates, his student Plato, and Plato’s student Aristotle pondered whether mind and body are connected or distinct, and whether human ideas are innate or result from experience. In the 1700s, René Descartes and John Locke reengaged aspects of those ancient debates, and Locke coined his famous description of the mind as a “white paper.” Psychological Science Is Born Psychology as we know it today was born in a laboratory in Germany in the late 1800s, when Wilhelm Wundt ran the first true experiments in psychology’s first lab. Soon, the new discipline formed branches: structuralism, which searched for the basic elements of the mind, and functionalism, which tried to explain why we do what we do. William James, a pragmatist and functionalist, wrote the first text for the new discipline. Psychological Science Develops After beginning as a “science of mental life,” psychology evolved in the 1920s into a “science of observable behavior.” After rediscovering the mind in the 1960s, psychology now views itself as a “science of behavior and mental processes.” Psychology is growing and globalizing, as psychologists in 69 countries around the world work, teach, and do research. Contemporary Psychology Psychology’s Big Issues Psychologists wrestle with several recurring issues. One of these is stability and change over our lifetimes. Another is whether we are consistently rational or sporadically irrational. But the biggest and most enduring issue continues the debate of the early philosophers: the relative influences of nature (genes) and nurture (all other influences, from conception to death). In most cases, the debate is no debate: Every psychological event is simultaneously a biological event. Psychology’s Perspectives Psychologists view behavior and mental processes from various perspectives. These viewpoints are complementary, not contradictory, and each offers useful insights in the study of behavior and mental processes. Psychology’s Subfields Psychology’s subfields encompass basic research (often done by biological, developmental, cognitive, personality, and social psychologists), applied research (sometimes conducted by industrial/organizational psychologists), and clinical applications. Psychology’s methods and findings aid other disciplines, and they contribute to the growing knowledge base we apply in our everyday lives. Key TermsPsychology - the science of behavior and mental processes.
Empiricism - a view that (a) knowledge comes from experience via the senses, and (b) science flourishes through observation and experiement. Structuralism - an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural elements of the human mind. Functionalism - a school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function—how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish. Behaviorism - the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2). Humanistic Psychology - historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth potential of healthy people and the individual's potential for personal growth. Cognitive Neuroscience - the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language). Nature vs. Nurture Issue - the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Natural Selection - the principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations. Levels of Analysis - the differing complementary views, from biological to psychological to social-cultural, for analyzing any given phenomenon. Biopsychosocial Approach - an integrated approach that corporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis. Basic Research - pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base. Applied Research - scientific study that aims to solve practical problems. Counseling Psychology - a branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being. Clinical Psychology - a branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders. Psychiatry - a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy. |
People to KnowSocrates - mind is separate from the body and continues after
the body dies; knowledge is innate; derived principles from logic Plato - same as Socrates; also a student of Socrates Aristotle - derived principles from careful observation; the soul is NOT separate from the body; knowledge is not pre-existing but grows from experiences stored in memory; student of Plato (Empiricism) Rene Descartes - dissected animals and concluded the fluid in brain cavities was animal spirits; mind is distinct from the body; on the right path to nerves and nerve pathways; agreed with Socrates & Plato Francis Bacon - fascinated by the human mind and its failings; our minds hunger to perceive patterns in random events; spoke to the idea of superstitions John Locke - mind at birth is a blank slate; added to Bacon's idea; helped to form the idea of empiricism (Empiricism) Wilhelm Wundt - father of psychology; first lab experiment in Dec. 1879 in Germany; opened the door to a new science and many branches of psychology (Structuralism) Edward Titchner - introduced structuralism and used introspection to discover elements of the mind (Structuralism) William James - encouraged exploration of down to earth memories, emotions, will powers, habits, and moment to moment streams of consciousness; professor; mentor to Mary Calkins (Functionalism) Mary Calkins - studied under James; went to Harvard but was denied a degree because she was female; went on to become the APA president Margaret Washburn - first female to receive a degree from Harvard and second female APA president Sigmund Freud - Austrian physician; developed theory on personality; psychoanalytic theory; studied the unconscious John Watson - behaviorist; dismissed introspection and redefined psychology as the scientific study of human behavior; believed science was rooted in observation (Behaviorism) B.F. Skinner - same as Watson (Behaviorism) Abraham Maslow - humanist; emphasized the importance of current environmental influences on our growth potential, and the importance of meeting our needs for love and acceptance (Humanism) Carl Rogers - same as Maslow (Humanism) Charles Darwin - natural selection; his ideas have become the organizing principle of biology; evolution has become an important principle for 21st century psychology (Functionalism) Psych Sim 5 ActivitiesChartsTricky Spots
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