History of Psychology Video Notes

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

Physiologist that coordinated the famous "Pavlov's Dog" experiment, which established the concepts of classical conditioning

Psychoanalytic Theory

Theory of personality organization and the dynamics of personality development that guides psychoanalysis

Evolutionary Psychology

A theoretical approach to psychology that attempts to explain useful mental and psychological traits as the adaptations, or as the functional products of natural selection

Aristotle (4th Century B.C.)

Believed in philosophical empiricism and nurture

John B. Watson (1878-1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)

Became famous for studying and researching on the behaviorism branch of psychology; were concerned with empirical studies of how animals learn and adapt based solely on observing their outer behavior; they were in charge of the infamous "Skinner Box Experiment"

Skinner Box Experiment

Used an operant conditioning chamber (Skinner Box) is a laboratory apparatus, which was used in the experimental analysis of animal behavior; it had a lever for rats or a disk on the wall for pigeons)

Psychoanalysis

A system of psychological theory and therapy that aims to treat mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind and bringing repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind by techniques (dream interpretation and free association)

Structuralism

An early school of thought in psychology that focused on breaking down mental processes into basic components and used introspection to understand the basic elements of consciousness

Introspection

Examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings; relies exclusively on observation of one's mental state (studied by Titchener)

René Descartes (1596-1650)

French philosopher that tried to understand how the inner world of subjective experience and the external physical world are linked; believed in dualism

Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828)

German physiologist that expanded Hobbes's theory and thought that the brain and mind were linked; but only by size rather than any one gland, which developed the idea of phrenology

Philosophical Empiricism

Knowledge is acquired through experience, or in other words, by nurture

Nativism

Knowledge is innate, or inborn (natural); or in other words, by biology (nature)

Phrenology

Primarily focused on measurements of the human skull; based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind and that certain brain areas have localized, specialized functions or modules

Classical Conditioning

Refers to a learning procedure in which a biologically potent stimulus (dog food) is paired with a previously neutral stimulus (bell)

Functionalism

Refers to a psychological philosophy that considers mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to the person's environment

Behaviorism

The theory that psychology can be accurately studied only through the examination of analysis of behavior or events

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

Began the school of thought of functionalism; refers to natural selection, adaptation, evolution, and the term "survival of the fittest"; influenced James in his work on functionalism; applied the evolutionary perspective to psychology and argued that mental abilities must have evolved because they were adaptive

Plato (4th Century B.C.)

Believed in nativism and nature

William James (1842-1910)

Defined a whole new school of thought and opposed Wundt's theories; argued that consciousness is more like a flowing stream, serving to adapt people to their environments; studied more of mental function, which is functionalism

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)

English philosopher that argued that the mind and body aren't separate and that "the mind is what the brain does"; opposed dualism (Descartes)

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

He had his own theories of mental illness and focused more on the origins of psychological diseases; used psychoanalysis as a form of therapy aimed at exploring the intricacies of the unconscious mind; his work was influential, but difficult to experiment with credibility

Social Psychology

Involves social interactions and culture, and interpersonal behavior; studied by psychologists Solomon Asch, Kurt Lewin, and Gordon Allport (important thinkers who studied the pressures and influences on the brain from the perspectives of its place in a complex society

Aristotle and Plato (4th Century B.C.)

Many basic ideas that we still examine in psychology can be traced back to these two Greek philosophers; who had a very logical, analytical form of psychology that treats behavior as something simple; analyzed reasons for actions and types of causes for the event; provided powerful insights into the theoretical structure of the human mind; sparked questions about nature vs. nurture debate

Pavlov's Dog Experiment

Pavlov studied the salivation in dogs in response to being fed, which resulted in him finding out that the dog would begin to salivate whenever he entered the room, whether he had dog food or not

John Garcia (1917-2012) and E. O. Wilson (1929-present)

Played a large role in studying behavior from the perspective of millions of years of evolution that has shaped it

Noam Chomsky (1928-present)

Studied the development in the life course of language and observed these mental processes behind it

Karl Lashley (1890-1958)

Surgically studied a rat's brain and located a site of learning (started the study method of dissection of animals)

Marie-Jean Pierre Flourens (1794-1867) and Paul Broca (1824-1880)

The first to demonstrate psychology through surgical techniques and postmortem examinations; believe that the mind is grounded in a material substance (brain); their work set the foundation for the scientific investigation of mental processes; they have psychology interest shift towards the understanding of what the brain is made of and whether mental material was stored in its mass

Cognitive Psychology

The study of mental processes including perception, memory, and reasoning; focuses on internal mental processes, which cannot be observed; pioneers in this field explored language acquisition, learning, and memory, and the brain's role in these processes; these pioneers include Max Wertheimer, Donald Broadbent, Ulric Neisser, and Noam Chomsky

Dualism

The theory that the body and mind are fundamentally different things, or in other words, separated/divided aspects; but interacted through pineal gland

Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) and Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

They led to the first psychology department in a university (first psychology laboratory) and founded the first schools of thought in psychology: structuralism and functionalism; sought to explain mental processes in terms of the elements and purpose of consciousness