Intro & History – Week 1 & 2
History of Psychology Lecture
Psyc 101 – Eva Zysk
- Philosophers pondered over the workings of human minds
- Plato (428 – 347 BCE) – ‘nativism’ (knowledge as innate or inborn)
Mind & Brain connection (1600’s)
- Descartes (1596 – 1650) argued the body and mind are different things (material vs. spiritual substances)
– “dualism”
Realism vs. Idealism (1600 – 1700’s)
- Locke (1632 – 1704) believed that how we view the real world is an exact replication produced by our
sensory organs (i.e. “realism”)
- Kant (1724 – 1804) thought that how we see the physical world are the brains interpretation of
information from the sensory organs (i.e. “idealism)
Phrenology (1700’s)
Gall (1758 – 1828)
- Believed parts of the brain correspond to human character & abilities, and that the size and location of
bumps or indentations in the skull marks these.
Mind & Body connection (1800’s)
Flourens (1794 – 1867)
- Animal brain surgeries evidence of localization
Broca (1824 – 1880)
- Patient with brain damage evidence of localization
Structuralism
Helmholtz (1821 – 1894)
- Measured reaction time of nerve impulses in frog legs
- Concluded mental processes are not instantaneous
- Scientific study of the brain
Wundt (1832 – 1920)
- Helmholtz’s former research assistant
- Credited for the emergence of scientific psychology
- Opened first psychology lab (Germany) – marked “birth” of psychology
- Believed psychology should center around scientific study of consciousness, and he tried to do this using
structuralism – analysis of the basic elements that make up the mind.
Functionalism
James (1842 – 1910)
- Believed consciousness cannot be broken down into separate elements
- Founder of functionalism – study of how mental processes enable us to adapt to our environments
, - Based on Darwin’s 1859 theory of natural selection
- Structuralist + Functionalist perspectives are both important in modern psychology
Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)
- Developed etiological theories based on his work with hysteric patients
- Believed problems stemmed from painful (forgotten) childhood experiences
- Unconscious mind: operates outside of conscious awareness, but influences conscious thoughts,
emotions, and actions
- Developed Psychoanalytic theory, and from that psychoanalysis (therapy)
Humanistic Psychology
Maslow (1908 – 1970) & Rogers (1902 – 1987)
- Understanding human nature though looking at their positive potential
- Humans as free agents with inherent need to grow, develop, and reach full potential
Behaviourism
Psychology should be restricted to using the scientific method for objectively observable behaviour
Pavlov (1849 – 1936)
- Dogs salivating to bells
- Classical conditioning
Watson (1878 – 1958)
- Little Albert
- Classical conditioning
Skinner (1904 – 1990)
- Skinner box
- Operant conditioning
What can the scientific method tell us?
History of Psychology Lecture
Psyc 101 – Eva Zysk
- Philosophers pondered over the workings of human minds
- Plato (428 – 347 BCE) – ‘nativism’ (knowledge as innate or inborn)
Mind & Brain connection (1600’s)
- Descartes (1596 – 1650) argued the body and mind are different things (material vs. spiritual substances)
– “dualism”
Realism vs. Idealism (1600 – 1700’s)
- Locke (1632 – 1704) believed that how we view the real world is an exact replication produced by our
sensory organs (i.e. “realism”)
- Kant (1724 – 1804) thought that how we see the physical world are the brains interpretation of
information from the sensory organs (i.e. “idealism)
Phrenology (1700’s)
Gall (1758 – 1828)
- Believed parts of the brain correspond to human character & abilities, and that the size and location of
bumps or indentations in the skull marks these.
Mind & Body connection (1800’s)
Flourens (1794 – 1867)
- Animal brain surgeries evidence of localization
Broca (1824 – 1880)
- Patient with brain damage evidence of localization
Structuralism
Helmholtz (1821 – 1894)
- Measured reaction time of nerve impulses in frog legs
- Concluded mental processes are not instantaneous
- Scientific study of the brain
Wundt (1832 – 1920)
- Helmholtz’s former research assistant
- Credited for the emergence of scientific psychology
- Opened first psychology lab (Germany) – marked “birth” of psychology
- Believed psychology should center around scientific study of consciousness, and he tried to do this using
structuralism – analysis of the basic elements that make up the mind.
Functionalism
James (1842 – 1910)
- Believed consciousness cannot be broken down into separate elements
- Founder of functionalism – study of how mental processes enable us to adapt to our environments
, - Based on Darwin’s 1859 theory of natural selection
- Structuralist + Functionalist perspectives are both important in modern psychology
Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)
- Developed etiological theories based on his work with hysteric patients
- Believed problems stemmed from painful (forgotten) childhood experiences
- Unconscious mind: operates outside of conscious awareness, but influences conscious thoughts,
emotions, and actions
- Developed Psychoanalytic theory, and from that psychoanalysis (therapy)
Humanistic Psychology
Maslow (1908 – 1970) & Rogers (1902 – 1987)
- Understanding human nature though looking at their positive potential
- Humans as free agents with inherent need to grow, develop, and reach full potential
Behaviourism
Psychology should be restricted to using the scientific method for objectively observable behaviour
Pavlov (1849 – 1936)
- Dogs salivating to bells
- Classical conditioning
Watson (1878 – 1958)
- Little Albert
- Classical conditioning
Skinner (1904 – 1990)
- Skinner box
- Operant conditioning
What can the scientific method tell us?
