Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology & Research Methods

Unconscious mind

A part of our mind of which we aren't aware

Stimulus-Response

A stimulus is something in the environment we can sense. For instance, seeing the writing on the board. A response would be a behavior in reaction to a stimulus.

Behavior

An objective action that can be visibly/clearly observed, it's on the outside (external)

Consciousness

An ongoing mental activity which shifts and changes

Structuralism

Became the first major school of thought in psychology. It held that even our most complex conscious experiences could be broken down into sensations and feelings. To identify the structures of conscious thought, Titchener developed the method of Introspection.

Francis C. Sumner (1895-1954)

First African American to receive a PHD in Psychology.

Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939)

First American woman to complete and be awarded a Psychology PHD. Second woman to be elected president of the American Psychological Association, which is still an active organization today.

Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930)

First woman to complete PHD requirements for Psychology. First woman to be elected president of the American Psychological Association, which is still an active organization today.

Dreams

Freud said dreams are the royal road to the unconscious, meaning when we dream our dreams give us a glimpse of what is in our unconscious mind

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) & Psychoanalysis

Freud, a physician from Vienna, Austria, developed a theory of personality based on uncovering causes of behavior that were unconscious (or hidden from the person's conscious awareness) called psychoanalysis, emphasized the role of unconscious conflicts in determining behavior and personality.

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

German physiologist credited as being the founder of psychology. In 1879, he established the first psychology research laboratory. He promoted his belief that psychology should be established as a separate scientific discipline that would use experimental methods to study mental processes.

Memory blocks

Huge gaps in our memory of time periods in our life. Freud's theory says we have these huge gaps because something so bad happened we repressed the whole time period.

William James (1842-1910) & Functionalism

Main proponent of American psychology, William James's idea became an early school of psychology that emphasized the adaptive role of behavior. How behavior functions to allow people and animals to adapt to their environments.

Edward B. Titchener (1867-1927)

One of Wundt's students, Englishman credited for his approach of Structuralism.

Repression

Process where starting from childhood, when bad things happen to us, in order to protect ourselves we put that memory in our unconscious mind.

Reinforcement vs Punishment (unfavorable outcome-> weakens behavior).

Reinforcement (favorable outcome-> strengthens behavior) and Punishment (unfavorable outcome-> weakens behavior). Reinforcement more influential by encouraging energizing. Punishment can be debilitating, can make us not want to even try to do the right thing. Plus, we don't always make the connection between behavior and punishment because in real life people don't always get caught so they aren't punished.

Slips of tongue

Saying something when we weren't thinking about that. Freud's theory says this information is coming from the unconscious mind.

Behaviorism

School of psychology and theoretical viewpoint that emphasizes the study of observable behaviors, especially as they pertain to the process of learning. Behaviorism contended that psychology should focus its scientific investigations strictly on overt behavior—observable behaviors that could be objectively measured and verified.

B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)

Skinner systematically used reinforcement or punishment to shape behavior in animals.

What were the early schools of thought and approaches in psychology, and how did their views differ?

Structuralism and Functionalism. Structuralism was the first school of psychology and focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of consciousness using a method known as introspection. Functionalism formed as a reaction to structuralism and was heavily influenced by the work of William James and the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin. Functionalists sought to explain the mental processes in a more systematic and accurate manner. Rather than focusing on the elements of consciousness, functionalists focused on the purpose of consciousness and behavior. Functionalism also emphasized individual differences, which had a profound impact on education.

Psychology

The scientific study of human and animal behavior and mental processes. It is a social science.

What is the scope of contemporary psychology?

The scope is broad, it ranges from the behavior of a single brain cell to the behavior of a crowd of people or even entire cultures.

Disorders

The unconscious mind, when overloaded with so many things, can't contain it all and it comes out in the form of disorders (mental illness)

Mental processes

Thoughts that are inside (internal) and cognitive (mental abilities) we can't see someone's thoughts, it's subjective, it's not clear what they are

Method of Introspection

Titchener's procedure where he would train subjects to stare at an object or stimulus (psychological term for anything perceptible to the 5 senses) for a period of time, then try to reconstruct their sensations and feelings immediately after viewing it. Problems with Introspection: Too limited and based on self-report! a. Can't study other creatures and young children who don't speak yet b. Can't study complex processes or phenomena such as mental illness c. The person may lie about what they thought d. The person may leave out some things they thought e. The person may not remember what they thought f. We don't know what they thought!

Social - humans

We are social creatures, we crave connection and interaction to some degree (ex. turn on music/radio to hear voices)

Science vs Humanities

We follow the scientific method when performing psychological research. It is different from humanities because it follows a method, whereas the purpose of humanities is human expression such as art, literature, and music, which doesn't follow one set of rules

What roles did Wundt and James play in establishing psychology?

Wilhelm Wundt is a german physiologist credited as being the founder of psychology, as an experimental science. William James

Other social sciences

anthropology, criminology, archeology, sociology, political science, economics?, philosophy?