Lecture 2, Sept 13, Fall 2024 PSYC 1101 D Brightspace PDF

INSTRUCTOR: DR. LORENA RUCI [email protected] PSYC 1101 D INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY: FOUNDATIONS THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY INFLUENTIAL THEMES – NATURE VERSUS NURTURE Nature Genes and biology Some psychologists believe we are born with some knowledge The panda illustrates th...

INSTRUCTOR: DR. LORENA RUCI [email protected] PSYC 1101 D INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY: FOUNDATIONS THE HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY INFLUENTIAL THEMES – NATURE VERSUS NURTURE Nature Genes and biology Some psychologists believe we are born with some knowledge The panda illustrates the Gestalt psychologists’ law of closure Nurture Environment Knowledge we have from direct experience  EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOR Natural Selection The basic principle that traits which improve the likelihood of survival en route to reproduction are more likely to be passed down through generations Image courtesy of Elembis under CC BY-SA 3.0.  THE FIRST PSYCHOLOGY LABORATORY Who? Wilhelm Wundt “Father of Modern Psychology” Advocate for using scientific techniques to study the mind Where and when? 1879 – University of Leipzig, Germany What? Studied immediate conscious Wilhelm experience Wundt (1832-1920)  STRUCTURALISM Who? Edward Titchener What? Can study the structure of the mind by breaking it down into elementary https://www.flickr.com/photos/uwehermann/132244825 parts Author: Uwe Hermann CC BY-SA 2.0 How? Systematic introspection via self- reports Example – “elements” of taste perception https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucrose#/media/ File:Saccharose2.svg Author: NEUROtiker Public Domain FUNCTIONALISM Who? William James James Rowland Angell What? Interested in the purpose of a process rather than its components Influenced by Darwin Extended psychology into individual differences and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Inverted_qualia_of_colour_strawberry.jpg applied uses Author: Was a bee CC BY-SA 2.5  BEHAVIORISM Who? John B. Watson B.F. Skinner What? Reaction to introspection and the “unknowable” mind Focused on only observable behavior Helped discover principles of behavior change, reinforcement, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:CORI_Middle_School_Reading.jpg and extinction Author: John Guthrie CC BY-SA 3.0 "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select--doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.” John B. Watson  THE COGNITIVE REVOLUTION When and What? A shift away from behaviorism beginning in the 1950s Renewed focus on mental states and internal processes Why? Heavily influenced by the computer and other technology Reprioritized mental events as explanation for complex cognition  FREUD AND PSYCHOANALYSIS Who? Sigmund Freud A neurologist out of Vienna What? The first major movement in clinical psychology in modern history Focused on the influence of the unconscious mind Used psychoanalysis to help patients solve psychological problems through insight https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dickens_dream.jpg Public Domain Free association, dream analysis, etc.  HUMANISM AND POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Who? Carl Rogers Abraham Maslow Martin Seligman (positive psychology) What? A reaction to Freud’s pessimistic view of human nature Focused on positive aspects of the human condition and capacity for https://pixabay.com/en/yoga-outdoor-nature-woman-fitness- 2176668/ change Author: leninscape CC0 Creative Commons PSYCHOLOGY ADAPTS: THE EMERGENCE OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY Central premise: natural selection occurs for behavioural, as well as physical, characteristics Study adaptive value of behavioural processes. Buss, Daly, Wilson, Cosmides, and Tooby Studied natural selection of mating preferences, jealousy, aggression, sexual behaviour, language, decision making, personality, and development. E.G., Sex differences in jealousy.  REVIEW FOR CHAPTER 1 To help you review the content for chapter 1, make sure you can answer the following questions: 1. What are the origins of psychology? Consult the slides for the introduction I presented in class. 2. What did Descartes say about the relationship between behaviour and the mind? 3. What do psychologists do? Know the differences between the different areas of psychology and the different types of psychologists (clinical and research), psychiatrists. 4. Know about the different schools of thought and differentiate between them if described. What are their differences? 5. Know the following: who was Freud, what did he say and contrast his ideas with the Behaviourists, and the Humanists? CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODS  RESEARCH METHODS Psychology is an empirical science Scientific method: “ A systematic procedure of observing and measuring phenomena to answer questions about what happens, when it happens and what causes it and why?”  WHY DO WE CONDUCT RESEARCH ON BEHAVIOR? Behavior does not always match our expectations Research allows us to generate theories, hypotheses, and even determine causal relationships THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Steps involved Studying the effects of 1. Identify/observe the fatigue on performance problem 2. Gather information 3. Generate a hypothesis 4. Design and conduct experiments 5. Analyze data and formulate conclusions 6. Restart the process https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Human_fatigue_study.jpg Author: NASA Ames Research Center – Human Systems Integration Division Public Domain CAN YOU DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH? A model of interconnected ideas and concepts that explains what is observed Theory and makes predictions Hypothesis A prediction of what should be observed in the world if a theory is correct Conduct research/Design Collect data study Analyze data and draw conclusions Report the findings  EXAMPLE Phrenology Debunking a bad theory