Chapter 1
Psychology
Psychology refers to the scientific study of the mind and behavior.
Psychologists use the scientific method to acquire knowledge. To apply the
scientific method, a researcher with a question about how or why something
happens will propose a tentative explanation, called a hypothesis, to explain
the phenomenon. A hypothesis should fit into the context of a scientific
theory, which is a broad explanation or group of explanations for some
aspect of the natural world that is consistently supported by evidence over
time.
Empirical method (empiricism)
- Acquire knowledge based on observation, including
experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of
logical argument or previous authorities
- Empirical definition: Grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can
be observed time & time again, regardless of who is observing.
Scientific method is a form of empiricism.
Wilhelm Wundt & Structuralism
• Wundt focused on
consciousness
• Used method of
introspection
Wundt viewed psychology as a scientific study of conscious experience, and
he believed that the goal of psychology was to identify components of
consciousness and how those components combined to result in our
conscious experience. Wundt used introspection (he called it “internal
perception”), a process by which someone examines their own conscious
experience as objectively as possible, making the human mind like any other
aspect of nature that a scientist observed.
Structuralism:
attempt to understand the structure or characteristics of the mind.
1879: Wilhelm Wundt created the first formal psychology research lab at the
University of Leipzig. Its focus was on the contents of mental processes
, rather than their function. In this laboratory, Wundt and his students
conducted experiments on, for example, reaction times. A subject,
sometimes in a room isolated from the scientist, would receive a stimulus
such as light, image, or sound. The subject’s reaction to the stimulus would
be to push a button, and an apparatus would record the time to reaction.
Wundt could measure reaction time to one-thousandth of a second.
William James & Functionalism
- First American psychologist
- Proponent of functionalism...
- Functionalism: study of the function of behavior in the world
- Focused on how mental activities helped an
organism fit into its environment
As James saw it, psychology’s purpose was to study the function of behavior
in the world, and as such, his perspective was known as functionalism.
Functionalism focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into
its environment. Functionalism has a second, more subtle meaning in that
functionalists were more interested in the operation of the whole mind rather
than of its individual parts, which were the focus of structuralism.
Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory
- Austrian neurologist
- Theorized that many problems arose from unconscious mind
- Many controversial ideas; but very influential in many areas of psych.
Psychoanalytic theory: focuses on the role of a person’s unconscious as
well as early childhood experiences
Behaviorism
Behaviorism: approach focusing solely on observing & controlling behavior.
- Largely responsible for establishing psychology as a scientific discipline
through its objective methods and experimentation.
Humanism
Humanism is a perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential
for good that is innate to all humans.
Psychology
Psychology refers to the scientific study of the mind and behavior.
Psychologists use the scientific method to acquire knowledge. To apply the
scientific method, a researcher with a question about how or why something
happens will propose a tentative explanation, called a hypothesis, to explain
the phenomenon. A hypothesis should fit into the context of a scientific
theory, which is a broad explanation or group of explanations for some
aspect of the natural world that is consistently supported by evidence over
time.
Empirical method (empiricism)
- Acquire knowledge based on observation, including
experimentation, rather than a method based only on forms of
logical argument or previous authorities
- Empirical definition: Grounded in objective, tangible evidence that can
be observed time & time again, regardless of who is observing.
Scientific method is a form of empiricism.
Wilhelm Wundt & Structuralism
• Wundt focused on
consciousness
• Used method of
introspection
Wundt viewed psychology as a scientific study of conscious experience, and
he believed that the goal of psychology was to identify components of
consciousness and how those components combined to result in our
conscious experience. Wundt used introspection (he called it “internal
perception”), a process by which someone examines their own conscious
experience as objectively as possible, making the human mind like any other
aspect of nature that a scientist observed.
Structuralism:
attempt to understand the structure or characteristics of the mind.
1879: Wilhelm Wundt created the first formal psychology research lab at the
University of Leipzig. Its focus was on the contents of mental processes
, rather than their function. In this laboratory, Wundt and his students
conducted experiments on, for example, reaction times. A subject,
sometimes in a room isolated from the scientist, would receive a stimulus
such as light, image, or sound. The subject’s reaction to the stimulus would
be to push a button, and an apparatus would record the time to reaction.
Wundt could measure reaction time to one-thousandth of a second.
William James & Functionalism
- First American psychologist
- Proponent of functionalism...
- Functionalism: study of the function of behavior in the world
- Focused on how mental activities helped an
organism fit into its environment
As James saw it, psychology’s purpose was to study the function of behavior
in the world, and as such, his perspective was known as functionalism.
Functionalism focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into
its environment. Functionalism has a second, more subtle meaning in that
functionalists were more interested in the operation of the whole mind rather
than of its individual parts, which were the focus of structuralism.
Freud & Psychoanalytic Theory
- Austrian neurologist
- Theorized that many problems arose from unconscious mind
- Many controversial ideas; but very influential in many areas of psych.
Psychoanalytic theory: focuses on the role of a person’s unconscious as
well as early childhood experiences
Behaviorism
Behaviorism: approach focusing solely on observing & controlling behavior.
- Largely responsible for establishing psychology as a scientific discipline
through its objective methods and experimentation.
Humanism
Humanism is a perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential
for good that is innate to all humans.
