Psychology 1A: The Missing History of Psychology PDF
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University of Glasgow
Gaby Mahrholz
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Summary
These lecture notes cover the history of psychology, from its philosophical roots to the development of modern psychological theories and schools of thought. Key terms like structuralism, functionalism, and behaviorism are discussed, along with notable thinkers like Freud and Piaget. The document discusses the historical context of these developments, including societal influences and controversies. This includes sections on eugenics and ethical considerations in psychological research.
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Psychology 1A: The (missing) history of psychology Dr Gaby Mahrholz (she/her) Student hours: [email protected] Check Moodle R428 62 Hillhead Street Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) By the end of this lecture, students will be able to: Describe the range of fields that p...
Psychology 1A: The (missing) history of psychology Dr Gaby Mahrholz (she/her) Student hours: [email protected] Check Moodle R428 62 Hillhead Street Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) By the end of this lecture, students will be able to: Describe the range of fields that psychology incorporates and how they have evolved over time Describe examples of controversies in the field of psychology Give examples of the positive contribution psychology has made to science and society What is psychology? The history of psychology Early psychology was philosophical in nature Plato, Aristotle → nature vs nurture Descartes, Locke, Hume → Questions about consciousness, the self, the mind, and what it meant to be human Or to be more precise, the history of psychology as a scientific discipline Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) opened the first scientific psychology lab in 1879 Interested in the structure of the mind Mind is built from elements Measured how changes in stimuli caused changes in the verbal reports of ‘observers’ → introspection Edward B. Titchener (1867-1927) took structuralism to USA Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939) first woman to earn PhD in psychology (1894) Functionalism William James (1842-1910) Stressed the purpose or function of natural processes Emphasis on overt, observable behaviour Ongoing debate: mental processes vs looking at behaviour Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930) James’ student Earned her doctorate in 1894 but Harvard refused to award her a PhD First woman president of APA (1905) Psychology as a profession British Psychological Society Founded 1901 Governing body for psychology in the UK American Psychological Association Founded 1892 APA style widely adopted Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Interested in unconscious structures of the mind → need a trained psychoanalyst able to interpret Highly influential, highly cited, highly criticised Frederick Crews (“Freud’s sharpest critic”): https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/why-freud- should-be-dead/ Anna Freud (1895-1982) Founded child psychoanalysis Defence mechanisms (denial, repression etc.) Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families Behaviourism Classical conditioning Operant conditioning Social Learning Theory B. F. Skinner Albert Bandura (1904-1990) (1925-2021) Ivan Pavlov Reinforcement & (1849-1936) Imitation Punishment Bobo Doll Skinner box Genetic epistemology Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Origin of knowledge in child development Interested in tracking development of cognitive stages in an empirical scientific manner Object permanence, e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt46WxdKUPQ Conservation tasks Administered tests at various stages to see progress Humanistic/positive psychology Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) Emphasises the positive side of human experience and our potential Social psychology Stanley Milgram (1933-1984) → Obedience Philip Zimbardo (*1933) → Deindividuation Kenneth B. Clark (1914-2005) & Mamie Phipps Clark (1917-1983) → Segregation and social identity Highlighted need for ethical guidelines in psychology (and much later issues about replicability) Psychometrics Psychological measurement Intelligence Francis Galton, James Cattell, Alfred Binet Heritability of IQ Flynn effect Personality Five Factor Model (Costa & McCrae) Cognitive psychology The mental processes that affect behaviour Attention, language, memory, perception, thinking, problem-solving, etc. “Information processing” Anne Treisman (1935-2018) – attention and perception Elizabeth Loftus (*1944) – false memories, eyewitness Steven Pinker (*1954) – language Neuropsychology & cognitive neuroscience The link between brain and behaviour is not new Phineas Gage (1823-1860; accident in 1848) Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas Advances in neurobiology and technology have led to growth of neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience Possible to study biological and neural basis of e.g., depression, addiction, dyslexia fMRI, EEG, MEG, etc. Social robotics and AI Part 2 The missing history of Psychology Eugenics The history of intelligence research is the history of eugenics Francis Galton founded eugenics and developed the first intelligence tests Alongside Galton at UCL, Karl Pearson invented many common statistics and argued against immigration from “inferior races” 30+ APA presidents linked to Eugenics organisations SAT developed by Brigham to prove racial superiority of white Americans Psychological research used to support forced sterilization Between 1907-1963 64,000 people were sterilised in the US North Carolina Eugenics Board in force until 1974 and sterilised 5000 African- American women Eugenics British and US psychological research influenced Nazi policies But not confined to history → Richard Lynn is on the editorial board of Personality and Individual Differences, a high-ranking psychology journal, and is editor-in-chief of Mankind Quarterly, a white supremacist journal. Gender and sexuality “Treatments” for homosexuality: Kinsey scale (1948) →Helped Electric shocks/induced vomiting understanding of sexuality as a Sex workers & pornography continuum Homosexuality declassified as a mental disorder: DSM – 1973 ICD – 1992 Statements opposing conversion Lesbian and gay parents provide therapy: supportive and healthy APA – 1998 environments BPS – 2017 Gender identity and gender bias Being transgender declassified as a disorder: DSM – 2013 ICD – 2019 But debate still rages about inclusion of gender dysphoria “Gender variance is not a psychiatric disease; it is a human variation that in some cases requires medical attention” Gender bias in recognition and diagnosis of developmental and mental health conditions. Autism & ADHD under-diagnosed, affective disorders over-diagnosed in women BPS Male Psychology Section/APA Psychology of Men & Masculinities Replication crisis Research is only meaningful if the results can be replicated Recent focus on testing how many published findings replicate and improving statistical methods and research integrity Open Science Collaboration. (2015). Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Science, 349(6251). Replication crisis Lots of “famous” findings now questioned: Power posing Marshmallow test Facial feedback hypothesis Plate size & portion control Zimbardo & Milgram Multiple reasons Questionable research practices Perverse incentives Fraud Lack of transparency The missing history of psychology Always look beyond what is presented (even in this lecture) Our history shapes our future Huge positive contribution of psychology Standardised testing Unreliability of eye eyewitness testimony Universality (or not) of facial expressions Health & safety and human factors Treatment & acceptance of mental health problems Key terms Structuralism Genetic epistemology Functionalism Humanistic/positive psychology British Psychological Society Social psychology American Psychological Association Psychometrics Psychoanalysis Cognitive psychology Behaviourism Neuropsychology & cognitive Classical conditioning neuroscience Operant conditioning Eugenics Social Learning Theory Conversion therapy Replication crisis
