Why, hello there Psychology!
Getting to know this b**chin’ science of yo’ mind
Definition:
PSYCHOLOGYThe study of the soul.
Definition:
PSYCHOLOGYThe science of behavior and mental processes.
A crazy long time ago…
Seat of human consciousness is in the heart (awwww), not the head
2000 years ago…
First psychological exams for public officials
Late 800s…
One of the first people to describe mental illness
Treated patients in a very early psych ward in his Baghdad hospital
BIG QUESTIONS
How can humans commit genocide or torture other humans?
Do we have free will, or are we driven by our env’t, biology and nonconscious influences?
What is mental illness, and what can we do about it?
What is consciousness? Or the notion of self?
What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear the (big)
word
PSYCHOLOGY?
Psych(o) Folks
One of the most influential and controversial thinkers of the 20th century
Freud
Childhood
Personality
Dreams
Sexuality
Psychology’s Schools of ThoughtWe’re you enrolled in any of them?
STRUCTURALISMFUNCTIONALISM
PSYCHOANALYSIS
Where & when did Ψ become a SCIENCE?
Set up the first psych lab at the University of Leipzig, Germany (1879)
With E.B. Titchener: “If chemists & physicists could break down all matters into STRUCTURES, why can’t we do the same for your sexxxy mind? ”
STRUCTURALISM
Relied on introspection
FUNCTIONALISM
“Why we feel, think & behave;” function of behavior
Inspired by no other than…
EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
Adaptive behaviors are conserved in the evolutionary process
FUNCTIONALISM
Published The Principles of Psychology (Psychology – science of mental life)
It’s so nice bumpin’ into you again, Dr. Freud!
PSYCHOANALYSIS
Published The Interpretation of Dreams (1900s)
Unconscious motives (dreams, projections & free association)
This could be you if not for Freud…
BEHAVIORISM
Focused on observable behavior
Skinner box
Published Behaviour of Organisms
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES
Importance of early experiences in shaping the
UNCONSCIOUS
Thoughts +Feelings +
Behaviors +Personality
Other major major forces in Psych
Humanistic psychology (Humanism)
Cognitive psychology
Gestalt psychology
Behavioral neuroscience
Sociocultural psychology
Definition:
PSYCHOLOGYThe science of behavior and mental processes.
Recognizes the need for observing and recording behavior and gives credit to our mental processes
PSYCHOLOGY is an integrative
science.
What is the essence of being a Psychology? Huehue.
Asking different questions
Attempting to answer them through all kinds of data-gathering methods
The human mind is complicated…
…therefore, there is no single way to crack your heads open. It must be pried at from all sides.
“THE HUMAN BRAIN IS BY FAR THE MOST COMPLEX PHYSICAL OBJECT KNOWN TO US IN THE ENTIRE COSMOS.”
- Random witty Harvard astronomer
And you see, YOU HAVE ONE!
But how do we explain different topics within psychology?
Through the
PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
Say, Markova, a flamboyant transgender woman punched Bruno, a bully, after he insulted her. How are you going to explain Markova’s behavior using:
the biological perspective? the behavioral perspective? the cognitive perspective? the psychoanalytic perspective? the subjectivist perspective?
FIVE PERSPECTIVES WITHIN PSYCHOLOGY
Biological perspective
An orientation toward understanding the neurobiological processes that underlie behavior and mental processes
Behavioral perspective
An orientation toward understanding observable behavior in terms of conditioning and reinforcement
Cognitive perspective
An orientation toward understanding mental processes such as perceiving, remembering, reasoning, deciding, and problem solving and their relationship to behavior
Psychoanalytic perspective
An orientation toward understanding behavior in terms of unconscious motives stemming from sexual and aggressive impulses
Subjectivist perspective
An orientation toward understanding behavior and mental processes in terms of the subjective realities people actively construct