Psychology
, Chapter 1 PSYCHOLOGY : THE EVOLUTION
OF A SCIENCE
brain
Alan Turning biological computational device
•
: =
•
Charles Darwin ; theories explained why our minds work the way they do
1853
;
"
Psychology first
appeared in
not Science before
" "
↳ a
↳ unobservable workings of the human mind
+ lack of suitable methods of measurement
.
scientists an across Europa ( Germany ,
France
,
Britain ,
...
)
but USA
esp .
FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY
PSYCHOLOGY
-
The scientific Study Of mind and behavior .
MIND -
Our private inner experience
of perceptions ,
thoughts ,
memories and
Feelings
BEHAVIOR -
Observable actions of human beings and
nonhuman animals .
BIOLOGICAL The study of how biology interacts with
-
PSYCHOLOGY psychological processes .
" '
COGNITIVE -
The study of the mental processes .
Cognition
PSYCHOLOGY refers to
thinking and problem solving .
DEVELOPMENTAL The study of how psychological processes
-
PSYCHOLOGY the lifespan What
change over . causes
these ?
changes
INDIVIDUAL The study of how psychological processes
-
DIFFERENCES from to the next
Vary one person .
SOCIAL -
The study of the psychological processes that
PSYCHOLOGY operate when we interact with others and
how we behave in
groups .
p
Different fields of
psychology Overlap significantly in p
terms of the phenomena they describe ,
but approach o
°
and interpret them differently .
, Psychological facts
" "
•
all of our subjective experiences arise from the electrical
and chemical activities in our brains .
↳
today we have technologies to measure this ( e. g. FMRI
,
DTI )
•
psychological processes are said to be adaptive
of
↳
they promote reproduction organisms that
engage
in those processes
as there's no
thoroughly useless mental process that
we 'd be better off without
.
the mind often traits
accuracy for speed and versatility
" "
cos mind bugs can happen
↳ visual illusions
e.g.
automatic auto piloted behaviors
.
-
,
Psychology 's roots
William James ( 1860 )
•
s
Psychology
↳ no one could teach him about
•
Plato Aristotle ... had theories about the human mind
, ,
↳ )
Plato ( Nativism :
certain knowledge is innate I inborn
↳ Aristotle ( philosophical empiricism ) : tabula rasa ; all
knowledge is
gained through experience
=D Nature -
Nurture -
Debate is still topical
EPISTEMOLOGY
-
The study of how knowledge is acquired .
th
174118 century in Western Europe
;
-
Continental rationalism 8 British empiricism
↳ innate knowledge ↳
knowledge through experience
METAPHYSICS of
-
A branch philosophy that examines
nature of reality .
•
our inner experiences are not visible but seem real ,
"
where they ?
'
so are
DUALISM -
If mind and body are separated ,
how
interact ?
can they
, mind
body dualism widely unaccepted
.
-
Franz Joseph Aau mental
ability depends on size
.
:
of brain
characteristics
PHRENOLOGY -
Specific mental abilities and
are localized specific in regions
Of the brain .
°
mid - vsth century :
physiologists developed methods
for of nerve impulses
measuring speed
-
CD measure mental abilities
PHYSIOLOGY -
The study of biological processes ,
especially in the human body .
'
°
Helmholtz recorded participants reaction time when
a stimulus was applied .
STIMULUS -
Sensory input from the environment
REACTION
-
the amount of time taken to respond
TIME to a specific stimulus .
Wundt scientific to
Wilhelm approach psychology
•
:
and experiments ; 1879 .
.
official birth of Psychology
SENSORY The interpret and
way We process signals
-
PERCEPTION received via our senses .
CONSCIOUSNESS -
A person 's subjective experience of the
( World and the mind
to
study
.
a way
STRUCTURALISM The of the basic elements
analysis
-
to that constitute the mind
§
a way
analyze
's
INTROSPECTION -
The subjective observation of one own
experiences .
=D
analyzing the relation between
feelings and
perceptual sensations