The History of Psychology - Lecture Notes PDF

The History of Psychology What You Need to Know About Psychology Dr. Kimberley Campbell  Chapter Outline Terminology and Considerations The Philosophical Roots of Psychology Structuralism and Functionalism Moving to Modern Perspectives Chapter Wrap-Up Terminology a...

The History of Psychology What You Need to Know About Psychology Dr. Kimberley Campbell  Chapter Outline Terminology and Considerations The Philosophical Roots of Psychology Structuralism and Functionalism Moving to Modern Perspectives Chapter Wrap-Up Terminology and Considerations How will we approach talking about topics this term?  A Brief Note From Schacter et al (2023)1: “…the history of psychology is mainly the story of white men.” “…opportunities to contribute to psychology’s development were severely limited by gender norms, social conventions, sexism, and racism.” Be mindful of modern bias in reporting the history  A ‘New’ Science Psychology is new, compared to other sciences Roots in older ways of thinking Etymology: Derived from the Greek psyche, meaning ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’, and logos, meaning ‘to study’ Earliest known usage in the early 1500s by Marko Marulić Splićanin2 How Will We Define Psychology? The scientific study of the ‘intangible’ mind and physical behaviour Mind: internal, covert behaviours Behaviour: external, overt behaviours  What Are We Hoping to Do? Measure and describe behaviour What behaviours occur? Under which conditions? How often? Explain and predict behaviour Why does the behaviour occur? What triggers it? Modify behaviour Can we make a desirable behaviour more likely to occur? An undesirable one less likely? Three Ways of Framing Explanations 1. Psychological Explanations Thoughts, emotions, and internal motivations 2. Biological Explanations Genes, hormones, and physiological processes 3. Environmental Explanations External physical and social surroundings The Philosophical Roots of Psychology Where did this ‘new’ science start?  Very Distant Roots Greek philosophers asked questions about morality, the mind, and human nature Socrates (470 – 399 BC), Plato (427 – 348 BC), and Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) Early physiologists detailed the anatomy of the brain and it’s connection to behaviour Ali ibn al-‘Abbas al-Majusi (930 – 990 AD)  The Mind-Body Problem How can we study the mind if it is unobservable? What is the relationship between the body (behaviour) and the mind?  Monism vs Dualism René Descartes (1596–1650) Dualism of mind and body Mind is an intangible, non-physical thing Body is a physical and separate entity Philosophical Dualism: The mind and the body are different things Materialistic Dualism: The mind and body are different, and the body is specifically physical  Descartes’ Idea From Descartes’ “Treatise of Man” (1662)  Monism vs Dualism Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) The mind is not a separate, intangible entity; it is the product of the brain’s physical actions Monism: The mind and the body are the same thing, not separate entities Philosophical Materialism: Mental events are derived from physical events  Realism vs Idealism John Locke (1632–1704) Philosophy should focus on understanding the abilities and extent of the human mind Philosophical Realism: Perception of the world around us is produced by information sent from sensory organs  Realism vs Idealism Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) We are born with some innate knowledge of the world and our experiences add to that understanding Philosophical Idealism: Perception of the world around us comes from how the brain interprets incoming sensory information We see things based on existing knowledge that shapes what we are currently experiencing  Empiricism vs Nativism Philosophical Empiricism: Our knowledge of the world is gained entirely through experience I know that dogs are dangerous because I was bitten by one and it hurt Philosophical Nativism: Our knowledge of the world is innate, present from birth I know that snakes are dangerous because I recoil any time I encounter them (even the first time!) Structuralism and Functionalism Early stages of psychology  Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt (1832 - 1920) “Father of Modern Psychology” Psychology should use scientific techniques to study the rules that determine how the human mind combines and related various pieces of information Structuralism: School of thought focused on analyzing the basic elements of the mind and trying to determine what those elements were  Structuralism Edward Titchener (1867–1927) Student of Wundt Attempted to better understand our subjective experiences by applying empirical observations Introspection: a systematic process of “looking within” to allow for self-observation Focused on sensations, which they considered the basic elements of consciousness  Functionalism William James (1842–1910) Focused on investigating the function or purpose of consciousness Ask “what does the mind do?” Functionalism: School of thought focused on the adaptive significance of mental processes Influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution Adaptation allows organisms to survive and reproduce Moving to Modern Perspectives How do we approach psychological topics now? The Psychodynamic Perspective Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893) and Pierre Janet (1859–1947) French physicians seeking to treat patients with symptoms that had no apparent physical cause Condition called Hysteria The Psychodynamic Perspective Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) Austrian physician who focused on treating individuals with hysteria and nervous disorders Founded psychoanalytic school of thought Idea that the unconscious influences thoughts, feelings, and behaviours in hidden ways Psychoanalysis: Therapeutic approach to giving patients insight into their unconscious minds The Psychodynamic Perspective Take home: Perspective focused on how the unconscious mind influences human behaviour Freud and his psychoanalytic theory  Behaviourism Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) Russian physiologist studying digestion Classical (or Pavlovian) Conditioning Through experience (learning), a stimulus in the environment can come to elicit a physical response  Behaviourism John B. Watson (1878 - 1958) Thought that psychology should focus on observable behaviour, not unobservable inner consciousness Especially interested in predicting behaviour by understanding stimulus-response relationship Behaviourist definitions: Psychology: The scientific study of behaviour Behaviour: Overt or observable actions  Behaviourism B.F. Skinner (1904 - 1990) American psychologist inspired by Pavlov Interested in active, rather than passive, behaviour “No account of what is happening inside the human body, no matter how complete, will explain the origins of human behaviour”  Behaviourism Classical (or Pavlovian) Conditioning Through experience (learning), a stimulus in the environment can come to elicit a physical response Operant (or Instrumental) Conditioning Through experience (learning), an organism can modify their behaviour based on the consequences of having carried out those actions in the past  Behaviourism Take home: Perspective focused on the influence the environment has on physical, observable behaviour The mind and other internal conscious components are considered irrelevant  Gestalt Psychology Max Wertheimer (1880–1943) German psychologist interested in visual perception Intrigued by perceptual errors in which our interpretations distort sensory reality (i.e., illusions) Gestalt Psychology: Interested in understanding how the mind organizes and combines stimuli to create a wholistic perceptual experience  Gestalt Psychology Sir Frederic Bartlett (1886–1969) British psychologist interested in false memories Errors in recall show memory is not a simple recording device Expectations can affect recall  Gestalt Psychology Take home: The whole is more than the sum of its parts Perception is subjective  Developmental Psychology Jean Piaget (1896–1980) Swiss psychologist interested in understanding the mistakes children made as they grew up The types of mistakes made can provide insight into their mental abilities and how they think Developmental Psychology: Interested in how psychological phenomena and abilities change with age  Developmental Psychology Take home: Abilities are not static, they change with age Patterns of development are fairly stable across individuals  Social Psychology Kurt Lewin (1890–1947) German psychologist interested in understanding social behaviour in group settings Argued against the environment being the driving force of behaviour because individual’s subjective perception of the environment is more important in driving behaviour than reality  Social Psychology Solomon Asch (1907–1996) and Gordon Allport (1897–1967) Investigated how people come to make inferences about others and how those inferences affect their behaviour towards those individuals Social Psychology: Interested in how people interact with one another and how their behaviour can be influenced or influence others  Social Psychology Take home: People make assumptions that influence their actions People’s behaviour can influence others’ behaviour People are reactive  Cognitive Psychology Cognitive psychology: Interested in internal, mental processes such as thought, reasoning, memory, and perception Cognitive Revolution in 1960s in response to popularity of behaviourist theories View humans as information processors governed by thought  Cognitive Behaviourism Cognitive Behaviourism: Idea that learning experiences and the environment affect our behaviour by giving us the information we need to behave effectively  Evolutionary Psychology Evolutionary Psychology: Interested in how natural selection has shaped the human mind and it’s abilities  Neuroscience Neuroscience: Interested in function of the brain Cognitive neuroscience: Study of the relationship between the brain and the mind (especially in humans) Behavioural neuroscience: Study of the relationship between the brain and behaviour (especially in nonhuman animals)  Cultural Psychology Cultural Psychology: Interested in how culture influences behaviour Culture: Shared experiences, values, beliefs, etc. within a particular group Can be race, country of origin, age, etc. Chapter Wrap-Up  Important Concepts Psychological, biological, and environmental explanations of behaviour Monism and Dualism Empiricism and Nativism Structuralism and Functionalism Psychological Perspectives Core values; How are they similar? Different?  Citations 1. Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., Nock, M. K., & Johnsrude, I. S. (2023). Psychology: Sixth Canadian Edition. Worth Publishers. 2. d’Isa, R. & Abramson, C. I. (2023). The origin of the phrase comparative psychology: An historical overview. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1174115. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1174115