Introduction to the Perspectives +.pptxx

Introduction to the Perspectives +.pptxx

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  Introduction to the Perspectivesof Psychology
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  What is PSYCHOLOGY? •Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. • Behavior is what can be observed from outside. • Mind refers to our thoughts, feelings, private sensations, and various internal processes. • Let’s look at the history of psychology to understand how it became defined as it is today. Psi is the official symbol of psychology.
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  History of Psychology •When did psychology originate? • You could say we’ve always wondered...“Who am I?” and “Who are you?” • Ex. Trephination (6500 BC) • Most early philosophers had opinions on the relationship between thought and behavior Socrates (450 BC) Aristotle (350 BC) Plato (400 BC) Bacon (1600 AD) “The mind is separate from the body. Also, we are born with all knowledge. We learn nothing that we did not already have in our mind at birth.” “I am a dualist like Socrates.” “Teach, I love you but you’re wrong. The soul and body are one. And, we learn everything after birth through experience.” “Knowledge is power. And the only way to gain knowledge is to study things through the scientific method.”
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  • The varioustheorists and theories in psychology’s history can be organized into distinct “waves” (or schools of thought). • Wave One - Introspection • Wave Two - Gestalt Psychology • Wave Three - Psychoanalysis • Wave Four - Behaviorism • Wave Five - Multiple Perspectives History of Psychology
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  Wave One -Introspection • Most psychologists date the beginning of scientific psychology to the year 1879 with... • Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) • In 1879, Wundt set up the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany • Wundt trained subjects in introspection • Subjects were asked to record accurately their cognitive reactions to simple stimuli • Wundt focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components • Wundt eventually called his theory structuralism, which became the first school of thought in psychology.
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  Wave One -Introspection • William James (1842-1910) • James reacted to structuralism by advocating the second school of thought known as functionalism • examined how mental activities assist us in adapting to our environment. • In 1890, James published The Principles of Psychology, the science of psychology’s first textbook. • These introspective theories were important in establishing the science of psychology, but they do not significantly influence current psychological thinking.
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  Wave Two -Gestalt Psychology • Max Wertheimer (1880-1943) is the father of the Gestalt perspective. • Wertheimer argued against dividing human thought and behavior into discrete structures. • It would be like trying to understand a painting in terms of each and every brushstroke. Impossible. • The Gestalt (organized whole) approach holds that the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
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  Wave Three- Psychoanalysis •Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is the father of psychoanalytic theory which revolutionized psychology. • While working with patients, Freud believed he discovered the unconscious mind • Part of our mind, which we are unaware of and over which we have no conscious control, that guides how we think and behave • Our unconscious mind builds up over the years through repression • We push anxious/tense events and feelings into our unconscious so that we don’t have to deal with them consciously.
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  Wave Three- Psychoanalysis •How do psychologists study our unconscious? • Dream Analysis • Word Association • Other psychoanalytic techniques • Many therapists still use Freud’s techniques today and his influence on psychology (and beyond) cannot be overstated. • Freud’s theories have many critics as well? Why?
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  Freud’s Influence onthe Arts
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  Wave Four -Behaviorism • John Watson (1878-1958) • Studied the conditioning experiments of Ivan Pavlov. • Watson believed that for psychology to be considered a science, it needed to only study what can be observed. • Watson thought untestable theories, like Freud’s unconscious mind and Wundt’s focus on consciousness were bunk. • Watson and his followers wanted behaviorism to be the dominant standard of psychology. Watson
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  Wave Four -Behaviorism • B.F.Skinner (1904-1990) • Took the ideas of behaviorism to new heights • Skinner studied the power of reinforcement - environmental factors that either encourage or discourage behaviors • Skinner is seen by many as the most influential psychologist of all time!!! Rewards and Punishments shape our actions throughout our life.
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  Wave Five -Multiple Perspectives • Today, there is no one way of thinking about human thought and behavior that all or even most psychologists share. • Many psychologists are eclectic - drawing from many perspectives.
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  Contemporary Perspectives • Let’slook at current major perspectives that psychologists use to examine human thought and behavior (some old perspectives are still prevalent today). • Behavioral • Psychoanalytic • Cognitive • Humanist • Biopsychology (Neuroscience) • Social-Cultural (Sociocultural) • Evolutionary (Darwinian) How would each of these perspectives look at Stewie’s unquenchable desire to kill his mother?
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  Behavioral Perspective • Recapfrom earlier... • 1st described by John B. Watson (1913) and later influenced by B.F. Skinner • Behaviorists focus on our OBSERVABLE behaviors • Claims heredity and genetics are not important If you bit your fingernails when you were nervous, a behaviorist would not focus on calming you down, but rather focus on how to stop you from biting your nails. If were addicted to video games, how might a behaviorist explain your addiction? How would they try to help you overcome your addiction?
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  Psychoanalytic Perspective • Recapfrom earlier... • Developed by Sigmund Freud • Human behavior is primarily determined by unconscious processes that develop during one’s lifetime • Theories are not based on experimental evidence. Many aspects of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory are untestable. What might a psychoanalyst say is the reason someone always needs to be chewing gum?
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  Cognitive Perspective • Cognitivepsychologists focus on how we interpret, process, and remember environmental events. • The rules in our mind that we use to view the world are important to understanding why we think and behave as we do. • Promenant figures: • Jean Piaget • Noam Chomsky Meet girl Get Rejected by girl Did you learn to be depressed Or get back on the saddle
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  Humanist Perspective • Inreaction to the reductionism of behaviorism, humanist psychologists in the 1950s wanted to focus on the mysterious aspects of consciousness again. • They are the feel good hippie psychologists • Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) • Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
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  Biopsychology Perspective • Biopsychologistsexplain human thought and behavior strictly in terms of biological processes. • Human cognition and reactions might be caused by effects of our genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters in the brain or a combo of all three. If you could not remember the names of your parents and went to a psychologist who adheres to the biological perspective, what might they say?
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  Social-Cultural Perspective • Social-Culturalpsychologists look at how our thoughts and behaviors vary from people living in other cultures. • Our culture plays a huge role in shaping our thought and behavior. • For example, the behavioral norms in one’s culture can be totally different from the norms in another’s culture
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  Evolutionary Perspective • Psychologistsfrom this school think all behavior is simply a process of natural selection. • Some psychological traits are beneficial to survival and are passed on from one generation to the next.
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  Contemporary Perspectives • Again,most psychologists today have an eclectic approach to psychology. • These perspectives do not contradict each other, they are simply various ways of looking at psychology. • Cognitive • Behavioral • Humanist • Psychoanalytic • Biopsychology (Neuroscience) • Evolutionary (Darwinian) • Social-Cultural (Sociocultural) It’s like choosing from a tasty pizza buffet! It’s all good!