- Roots of psychology can be traced back to 2000 years ago to the early philosophers, biologists, and physiologists of ancient Greece.
- Hippocrates - mind and soul resides in the brain not composed of a physical substance.
- Mind-Body Dualism - the mind and body are two different things.
- Plato (360 BC) - Greek philosopher that believed that who we are and what we know are innate (inborn)
- Aristotle - Plato's student believed that who we are is from experience. He also believed in monism, seeing the mind and body as different aspects of the same thing.
- John Locke - believed that knowledge comes from observation and what we know comes from experience. he coined the term "tabula rasa" meaning blank slate. "The mind is like a blank slate in which the environment writes upon."
- Rene Descartes - believed that what we know is innate. "I think therefore I am."
Nature vs. Nurture
- Nature - certain elementary ideas are innate to the human mind, not gained through experience.
- Nurture - anything we know , we learn from experience. "Tabula rasa" "Men are made, not born"
The Birth of Psychology
- Willhelm Wundt (1879; University of Leipzig) - Psychology's first experiment; the birth of science. Estimated to have the first psych lab. Believed in introspection, the art of looking inward.
- Edward Titchner - n/a
Schools of Psychology
Structuralism
- Wundt, Titchner, Hall
- introspection to explore the structural elements of the mind
- breakdown mental processes into the most basic part
Functionalism
- reaction to structuralism
- sought to explain how our mental and behavioral processes function
- How do they enable us to adapt, survive and flourish?
- focused on purpose of behavior
The Seven Perspectives
Biological
- seeks to understand the interaction between anatomy (brain/nervous system) and behavior.
- how body and brain enable emotions, memory and sensory experiences
- what affects your body affects your behavior
Behavioral
- argues psychology is the study of observable behavior
- behavior is determined by your environment and experience, not genetics.
- mind and mental events are not important because they cant be observed (feelings don't matter)
- everything is trained and learned, nothing is born
- Key People: Watson, Skinner, Pavlov
Cognitive
- understand how they think
- Key Person: Jean Piaget
Evolutionary
- how adaptive that behavior is to survival - inherited
- must have helped ensure our ancestors survival
- selects physical and behavioral characteristics to promote survival
- Key Person: Charles Darwin
Humanistic
- humans have unique qualities of behavior, different from other animals
- free will and potential for personal growth guide behavior and mental processes
- emphasize the importance of feelings, love, and acceptance
- self-actualization
- Key Person: Abraham Maslow
Sociocultural
- much of feelings and behavior is dictated by the culture you live in
Psychoanalytical/Psychodynamic
- interaction between conscious and unconscious behavior
- stresses the importance of childhood experiences to the development of personality
- focus is to resolve the unconscious conflicts through uncovering information that has been repressed
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