1: Scientific Foundations of Psychology

Dorthea Dix (1802-1887)

Activist who worked to improve the inhumane treatment of those with mental illness. She lobbied state legislatures and the US Congress for corrective action, and as a result 15 states opened new hospitals for the mentally ill and supervision of those in asylums and prisons improved.

G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924)

American psychologist who established the first psychology research laboratory in the U.S.; founded the American Psychological Association.

Behavioral Perspective

Behaviorists explain human thought and behavior in terms of conditioning (learning). Behaviorists look strictly at observable behaviors and what reaction organisms get in response to specific behaviors. Dominant school of thought in psychology from the 1920s through the 1960s.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Believed he discovered the unconscious mind-a part of our mind over which we don't have conscious control that determines, in part, how we think and behave. Proposed that we must examine the unconscious mind through dream analysis, word association, and other psychoanalytic therapy techniques if we are truly understand human thought and behavior. Has been criticized for being unscientific and creating unverifiable theories.

Biopsychology (or Neuroscience) Perspective

Biopsychologists explain human thought and behavior strictly in terms of biological processes. Neuroscientists believe that human cognition and reactions might be caused by effects of our genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters in the brain or by a combination of all three.

John Watson (1878-1958)

Father of Behaviorism - declared that psychology must limit itself to observable phenomena, not unobservable concepts like the unconscious mind, if it is to be considered a science. Wanted to establish behaviorism as the dominant paradigm of psychology. Behaviorists maintain that psychologists should look at only behavior and causes of behavior - stimuli (Environmental events) and responses (physical reactions) - and not concern themselves with describing elements of consciousness.

Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939)

First woman to earn a PhD in psychology (1894)

Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology

The application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces

Empiricism

The view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation

Psychiatry

A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychological therapy

Counseling Psychology

A branch of psychology that assists people with problems in living (often related to school, work, or marriage) and in achieving greater well-being.

Community Psychology

A branch of psychology that studies how people interact with their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups.

Developmental Psychology

A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.

Clinical Psychology

A branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders.

Human Factors Psychology

An I/O psychology subfield that explores how people and machines interact and how machines and physical environments can be made safe and easy to use.

Biopsychosocial Approach

An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

British biologist who wrote "On the Origin of Species." Concluded that every living plant and animal takes a part in a constant "struggle for existence" in which only the "fittest" survive. Argued that the fittest are determined by a process of natural selection.

Cognitive Perspective

Cognitive psychologists examine human thought and behavior in terms of how we interpret, process and remember environmental events. Cognitive psychologists believe that the rules or methods we us to view the world are important to understanding why we think and behave the way we do.

Psychoanalytic Perspective

Described by Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysts believe the unconscious mind-a part of our mind that we don't have conscious control over or access to-controls much of our thoughts and actions; they would look for impulses or memories pushed into the unconscious mind through repression Psychoanalysts think we must examine our unconscious mind through dream analysis, word association and other psychoanalytic therapy techniques in order to understand human thought and behavior.

Structuralism

Early school of thought promoted by Wundt and Titchener; used introspection to reveal the elements of the human mind.

Evolutionary (or Darwinian) Perspective

Evolutionary psychologists examine human thoughts and actions in terms of natural selection. Natural selection in this context refers to the idea that some psychological traits might be advantageous for survival and that these traits would be passed down from the parents to the next generation. Similar to (and in some ways a subset of) the biopsychology perspective.

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

Expanded the basic ideas of behaviorism to include the idea of reinforcement and punishment - environmental stimuli that either encourage or discourage certain responses Helped establish and popularize the operant conditioning model of learning.

Max Wertheimer (1880-1943)

Gestalt psychologist; argued against dividing human thought and behavior into discrete structures.

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

Performed pioneering conditioning experiments on dogs These experiments led to the development of the classical conditioning model of learning.

William James (1842-1910)

Published "The Principles of Psychology," the science's first textbook. Established the theory of functionalism.

Basic Research

Pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

Albert Bandura (1925-2021)

Researcher famous for work in observational or social learning including the famous Bobo doll experiment.

Applied Research

Scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

Set up the first psychological laboratory in an apartment near the university at Leipzig, Germany. Trained subjects in introspection.

Educational Psychology

The study of how psychological processes affect and can enhance teaching and learning.

Social-Cultural (or Sociocultural) Perspective

Social-cultural psychologists look at how our thoughts and behaviors vary from people living in other countries. Sociocultural psychologists emphasize the influence culture has on the way we think and act. For example, social-cultural psychologists are interested in the emphasis some cultures place on the value of the group (collectivism) or the individual (individualism)

Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930)

Student of William James; became president of American Psychological Association (1905). Completed her doctoral studies but Harvard refused to award her a Ph.D because, at the time they didn't grant doctoral degrees to women.

Introspection

Technique used by Wilhelm Wundt who asked subjects to accurately record their cognitive reactions to simple stimuli. Through this process, Wundt hoped to examine basic mental processes.

Cognitive Neuroscience

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

Nature-Nurture Issue

The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today's science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.

Natural Selection

The principle that, among the range of inherited trait variations, those contributing to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Social Psychology

The scientific study of how we think about, influence, and relate to one another

Positive Psychology

The scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

Personality Psychology

The study of an individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Experimental Psychology

The study of behavior and thinking using the experimental method.

Humanist Perspective

Theorists of this perspective, including Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and Carl Rogers (1902-1987), stressed individual choice and free will. This contrasts with the deterministic behaviorists who theorized that all behaviors are caused by past conditioning. They believe that we choose most of our behaviors and that these choices are guided by physiological, emotional, or spiritual needs.

Functionalism

Theory described by William James; examines how the mental processes described by Wilhelm Wundt function in our lives

Gestalt Psychology

Tried to examine a person's total experience because the way we experience the world is more than just an accumulation of various perceptual experiences. These theorists demonstrated that the whole experience is often more than just the sum of the parts of the experience.