Introduction to Psychological Theories
Lecture 1 – The Science of Psychology A"er studying the chapter and this
Reading – Chapter 1 lecture, you can:
o Explain the founda'ons of
What is Psychological Science? psychology
® The name (Psykhe + Logia): the study o Demonstrate the use of scien'fic
of the Soul: what does that mean? method in psychology
o Experience the shortcomings of
® Humans are ‘intuiAve psychologists’: we intui;on and using common sense
tend to seek paFerns in the behavior of o Recognize the dynamic
developments of psychological
(non-) humans. An example is the animaAon
science
of Heider/Simmel (1944), where geometric forms show
apparent behavior that we observe as a story.
What is the Scien2fic Scope of Psychology?
® Psychological science is the study through
research of mind, brand, and behavior.
® The aim of the science of Psychology is understanding and
predicAng behavior and mind.
What is mind?
What is behavior?
The observable Ap of the iceberg that shows what we do:
through behavior we can infer the mind.
® There are many levels at which you can study psychology. These levels are all
complementary.
What are the Founda2ons of Psychology?
® The ancient Greeks form the starAng point of psychology as a scienAfic study.
® The core lies in the 15th century when Descartes described dualism: the separaAon of
soul and body as two different enAAes.
® The nature/nurture debate is one of the greatest areas of controversy in the study of
human behavior.
® Structuralism (Wundt) analyzes the mind in terms of the simplest definable
components. Wundt’s aim was to record and analyze thoughts and sensaAons in
much the same way as a chemist analyses chemical compounds to get at the
underlying structure (the mind as a whole).
® A method Wundt used is introspec;on as a highly The basic elements
of an orange (its
pracAced form of self-examinaAon to develop a (subjecAve) theory shape/color) make
of conscious thought. up the percep8on
® He also used reacAon Ame to measure the speed of percepAon. of the orange as a
whole.
, ® The Stroop-Task suggests there is a lag in the brain's
ability and reacAon Ame to switch between congruent
and incongruent sAmuli.
® The brain reads words faster than it recognizes colors. This
is based on the idea that word processing is significantly
faster than color processing.
® Func;onalism, on the contrary, does not look at the elements of the mind (percepAon)
but the adapAve purpose of it. According to funcAonalists (such as James), mental states
are idenAfied by what they do rather than by what they are made of.
® The pinpoint of Psychology as a science is the building of the first psychology labs by
Leipzig / Harvard.
Schools of Thought
Nature: our gene;cs Nurture: our environment
determine our behavior, and life experiences
most things are inmate. determine our behavior.
Biological approach Psychoanaly' Cogni've Humanis'c Behaviorism
Darwin/evolu;on: our cal approach psychology psychology Pavlov: behavior can
behavior helps to Freud/psycho- Exploring mental Posi;ve psychology: be acquired through
survive and reproduce. analysis: processes (that beliefs that a person condi;oning
Humans are organisms Unconscious are believed to be is in the process of (interac;on with our
with a lot of varia;on drives result in constantly becoming though environment). Only
(muta'ons): the mental changing) by values such as observable behavior
benefits of sexual processes. inferring how the crea;vity, quality of can be subject of
reproduc;on. Evolu;on mind works by rela;onships, scien;fic
has no foresight and is looking at graitude and faith. inves;ga;on,
influenced by behavior cogni;on/emo;ons
environmental (cogni;ve are too subjec;ve.
pressures. neuroscience).
® EvoluAon can provide answers to the ‘why’ quesAons (funcAonalism): if you think about
the purpose of certain behavior, it o\en reflects back to evoluAon.
® Gestalt: seeing paFerns, the world is not unorderly
Lecture 1 – The Science of Psychology A"er studying the chapter and this
Reading – Chapter 1 lecture, you can:
o Explain the founda'ons of
What is Psychological Science? psychology
® The name (Psykhe + Logia): the study o Demonstrate the use of scien'fic
of the Soul: what does that mean? method in psychology
o Experience the shortcomings of
® Humans are ‘intuiAve psychologists’: we intui;on and using common sense
tend to seek paFerns in the behavior of o Recognize the dynamic
developments of psychological
(non-) humans. An example is the animaAon
science
of Heider/Simmel (1944), where geometric forms show
apparent behavior that we observe as a story.
What is the Scien2fic Scope of Psychology?
® Psychological science is the study through
research of mind, brand, and behavior.
® The aim of the science of Psychology is understanding and
predicAng behavior and mind.
What is mind?
What is behavior?
The observable Ap of the iceberg that shows what we do:
through behavior we can infer the mind.
® There are many levels at which you can study psychology. These levels are all
complementary.
What are the Founda2ons of Psychology?
® The ancient Greeks form the starAng point of psychology as a scienAfic study.
® The core lies in the 15th century when Descartes described dualism: the separaAon of
soul and body as two different enAAes.
® The nature/nurture debate is one of the greatest areas of controversy in the study of
human behavior.
® Structuralism (Wundt) analyzes the mind in terms of the simplest definable
components. Wundt’s aim was to record and analyze thoughts and sensaAons in
much the same way as a chemist analyses chemical compounds to get at the
underlying structure (the mind as a whole).
® A method Wundt used is introspec;on as a highly The basic elements
of an orange (its
pracAced form of self-examinaAon to develop a (subjecAve) theory shape/color) make
of conscious thought. up the percep8on
® He also used reacAon Ame to measure the speed of percepAon. of the orange as a
whole.
, ® The Stroop-Task suggests there is a lag in the brain's
ability and reacAon Ame to switch between congruent
and incongruent sAmuli.
® The brain reads words faster than it recognizes colors. This
is based on the idea that word processing is significantly
faster than color processing.
® Func;onalism, on the contrary, does not look at the elements of the mind (percepAon)
but the adapAve purpose of it. According to funcAonalists (such as James), mental states
are idenAfied by what they do rather than by what they are made of.
® The pinpoint of Psychology as a science is the building of the first psychology labs by
Leipzig / Harvard.
Schools of Thought
Nature: our gene;cs Nurture: our environment
determine our behavior, and life experiences
most things are inmate. determine our behavior.
Biological approach Psychoanaly' Cogni've Humanis'c Behaviorism
Darwin/evolu;on: our cal approach psychology psychology Pavlov: behavior can
behavior helps to Freud/psycho- Exploring mental Posi;ve psychology: be acquired through
survive and reproduce. analysis: processes (that beliefs that a person condi;oning
Humans are organisms Unconscious are believed to be is in the process of (interac;on with our
with a lot of varia;on drives result in constantly becoming though environment). Only
(muta'ons): the mental changing) by values such as observable behavior
benefits of sexual processes. inferring how the crea;vity, quality of can be subject of
reproduc;on. Evolu;on mind works by rela;onships, scien;fic
has no foresight and is looking at graitude and faith. inves;ga;on,
influenced by behavior cogni;on/emo;ons
environmental (cogni;ve are too subjec;ve.
pressures. neuroscience).
® EvoluAon can provide answers to the ‘why’ quesAons (funcAonalism): if you think about
the purpose of certain behavior, it o\en reflects back to evoluAon.
® Gestalt: seeing paFerns, the world is not unorderly
