Psychology
Psychology – The systematic, scientific study of behavior,
experience, and mental life.
There are many misunderstandings and myths surrounding
psychology. Some of these are tied to the history of
psychology.
Psychology is rooted in philosophy
Psychology is striving to “prove” itself as a science
Many on-going issues in psychology
Issues #1 – Free will vs. Determinism
Issues #2 – Mind – Body Problem (Dualism)
Issue #3 – Nature vs. Nurture
Issue #4 – Biological Reductionism
What do psychologists do?
Clinical (42.4%) & Counseling Psychology (10.1%)
Research Psychology or Experimental Psychology (2.3%)
School Psychology (3.9%)
Educational Psychology (2.3%)
Biopsychology (0.5%)
Learning & Motivation (?)
Cognitive Psychology (0.7%)
Developmental Psychology (roughly 4.0%)
Gerontology (0.2%)
Child & Adolescent (1.5%)
Social Psychology (2.4%) & Personality Psychology (5.0%)
Neuropsychology (?)
Health Psychology (0.9%)
Environmental Psychology (?)
Industrial Organizations Psychology (3.6%)
Mathematical Psychology (0.5%)
Who can practice psychology?
Clinical Psychologist (PhD., Ed.D, or Psy.D.)
Psychotherapist (a very broad term)
Counseling Psychologist (Ph.D., Ed.D., or Psy.D.)
Psychiatrist (M.D. or D.O.)
Psychoanalyst
Mental Health Therapists (M.A. or M.S.)
Social Workers (L.C.S.W.)
Mental Health Technicians or counselors (B.A. or B.S.)
Nurses (A.A., B.A., M.A. or Ph.D.)
Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor (CADC)
Hypnotist
The History of Psychology
1. Antiquity Aristotle (Free-will & mental activity)
Socrates
Homer
Laid down the foundations of modern education
Early Demonology
In other parts of the world, religious/spiritual beliefs dominated thinking about behavior
Examples are found in the records of the Chinese, Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Jews.
This belief suggests that abnormal behavior is the result of demonic possession.
Somatogenesis
– Suggests that abnormal behavior results from some physical cause.
– Hippocrates (460-377) rejected religious or spiritual explanations and located the problems within the body and brain. • Bodily dysfunction leads to dysfunction of
thought and action
The three most common types of psychopathology were: Mania, melancholy, phrenitis (brain fever)
Hippocrates believed that psychopathology wastheresultofthebody’shumors. Blood (lead to moodiness)
Black bile (lead to melancholy)
Yellow bile (lead to irritability and anxiousness)
Phlegm (lead to dullness)
The notions of Hippocrates stood for centuries.
Psychogenesis
Suggests that abnormal behavior results from some psychological cause.
Developed later in history but was an interesting and controversial idea. More during the scientific revolution.
2. The Scientific Revolution & Dark Ages
– The influence of the scientific movement
throughout Europe had a profound influence
on the development of the science of
psychology.
– Movement away from the influence of the
church and religion toward a more secular
society founded on scientific principles
– Organized religion was involved in some very
“unscientific”pursuits.Forexample,
Dark ages and demonology
- With the decrease in the Roman and
Greekcivilizations,the“church”gained
influence and the papacy gained status as
an independent state. Monasteries
replaced physicians with monks as the
“healers”andauthoritiesonmental
disease. Monks and priests prayed for the
mentally ill.
Persecution of Witches
In the 13th century the fate of the mentally ill was considered to be caused by demons as well. In 1484, Pope Innocent VII exhorted the church to look for witches in the book Malleus Maleficarium (meaning“thewitcheshammer”)and it became a legal and religious tool in the hunt for witches.
Ifaccusedwitchesdidn’tconfess….theyweretortured until they did
If accused witches were convicted and penitent….theywereimprisonedforlife
If accused witches were convicted and unrepentant…theywereexecutedbythelaw
During this era over 100,000 “witches”werevictims of this purge!
Historically, however, most accused witches were NOT mentally ill. Many confessions were obtained under torture. And, witchcraft was typically not the primary cause of mental illness.
English law also allowed for a legally dangerous, insane, or incorrigible to be confined to hospitals and these individuals were not usually described as possessed.
In the 13th century trials were held all over Europe to determine if the individual was sane. It was usually determined that the insanity was linked to physical illness!
The Renaissance (1300’s1600 –’s)
period covered several centuries and
tremendous changes in scientific
disciplines (a revolution) fueled the growth of
this new discipline. This movement carried
into the 19th century. Some notable
discoveries that have influenced
psychology include;
a. Astronomy & Mathematics (early influences)
– Newton (1669) – Laws of Mechanics
– Galileo (1610) – Planetary movement, the structure of the solar system, & structure of the universe
– Copernicus (1543) – The heliocentric solar system
b. Biology
– Mendel (1853) – Genetics
– Pasteur (1885) – Germ Theory
– Darwin (1858) – Evolutionary Theory
c. Chemistry
– Alchemy (Newton!)
– Mendeleyev & Meyer (1869) – The Periodic Law & Periodic Table
Strong reductionistic influences
Early psychiatry
Keep in mind that all of these clinicians were working between the Renaissance and modern psychology, and between scientists and psychology.
Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) was a pioneer in American psychiatry. Used blood letting and water immersion as treatments for mentally ill individuals. He also used fear as a tactic for change.
Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) encouraged humane treatment for the mentally ill in Paris. Conditions changed considerably! The use of compassion, understanding, and encouraging individual dignity replaced confinement and isolation.
Very often these treatments were only for the upper class individual.
Asylums
In the 15th century only a few mental hospitals
existed in Europe. More hospitals for lepers
existed. In the ensuing century, lepersy
decreased and the hospitals were then used for
the mentally ill. In the 15th century, these
asylums were used, primarily, to confine the
mentally ill.
Bethlehem
St.Mary’sofBethlehemwasfoundedin1243 and
housed the mentally ill by the thousands! Today the
chaos and conditions are revealed to tourists only as
it is a popular attraction for visitors.
Moral treatment soon replaces the isolation of individuals. William Tuke (1732-1822) a Quaker, established the York Retreat in England. These retreats were peaceful, emphasized recovery, work, and aesthetics.
Hartford Retreat was established in Connecticut in 1824.
Outcome at these retreats was poor with only about 1/3 actually improving.
Dorothea Dix (1802-1877) helped in the establishment of 32 state hospitals.
Early Classification Systems
Wilhelm Griesinger was instrumental in helping to develop
the Medical Model.
Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926) published a classification system in 1893. Developed the concept of Syndromes.
Recognized two major groups of severe mental illness Dementia Praecox
Manic-Depression
In 1825, Griesinger determined that general paresis, from syphilis, had a biological cause!
In 1860, Louis Pasteur developed the Germ Theory of Disease.
In 1905, the microorganism for general paresis was identified.
Psychogenesis
A re-emergence of the notion of a psychic cause of
abnormal behavior occurred in the early 19th century.
Franz Anton Mesmer (1743-1815) suggested that hysteria was caused by a disturbance in the magnetic fluids in the body.
He had bizarre treatments and was seen as a charlatan.
Jean Charcot (1825-1893) studied hysteria as well and, when fooled by a normal individual posing as an hysterical patient while under hypnosis, he was convinced that the cause of her malady was psychological in origin.
Josef Breuer developed the cathartic method in which the person simply talks about their problem/feelings and they improve. Relief through catharsis was the basis of hisfriend,SigmundFreud’s,newtheory,Psychoanalysis.
On to more Modern Psychology!
3. The Early Era of Psychology
– Wilhelm Wundt (1879) at the University of Leipzig
developed the first laboratory of psychology.
• Introspection – Tolookwithinone’sself.
– Titchner (Cornell University) & Structuralism (1920’s)
• Structuralism is the attempt to describe the structures that
compose the mind. Consciousness can be analyzed in terms
of sensations and feelings that form the structures of the
mind.
• To get their data, the structuralist used introspection to
examinewhatwashappeninginone’smindandwhatone
was thinking and feeling. Any problems with this?
• Reflects the early influence of sensory biologists
• TranslatedmanyofWundt’soriginalwritingsintoEnglish
– James (Harvard University) & Functionalism (1890’s)
• Functionalism looks at how the mind produces useful (functional) behaviors.
• The brain engages in a dynamic adaptation to the environment
• James had profound things to say about philosophy and neuroscience.
• Unfortunately, his close ties to the field of philosophy kept much of his work out of the main field of psychology.
• Developed the first American Psychological Laboratory
In addition, the fields of psychophysics,
comparative psychology and ethology made
significant contributions to the understanding of
human and non-human behavior.
4. Modern Psychology
A. Psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud
(1920’s)
– Psychoanalysis is the first modern school of psychology to emerge and it emphasized the importance of unconscious forces in the behavior of humans
– Psychoanalysis is a deterministic model and has significant problems with regard to observation and whether or not the theory can betested,i.e.,“Isthetheoryfalsifiable?”
– Freud has had a profound influence on the entire field of psychology, sociology, criminal justice, and modern life in general!
B. Behaviorism
Founded in the last 19th Century hitting its
peak in the 1920's through the 1950's.
- Based on the idea that all behavior is
learned and that humans are a product of
the learning environment.
- Important contributors include Ivan Pavlov
(1905), John Watson (1920's), and B.F.
Skinner (1950's).
- Quite a different theory than
psychoanalysis rejecting mentalism, yet
still a deterministic model.
C. Humanistic Psychology
– Humanistic Psychology is a very broad
field that encompasses many
psychological theories. They all,
however, emphasize the importance of
free will and the human condition.
– One major contribution is the
development of psychological techniques.
– These theories are in stark contrast to both
behaviorism and psychoanalysis.
– Some of the important humanistic
psychologies include;
• Gestalt Psychology (Kohler, Wertheimer, &
Perl's)
– Gestalt psychologists discount structure and focus
on the totality of perceptions. One cannot
understand something by breaking it up into
pieces…itmustthereforebetakenintotal!
• Existential Psychology (Sartre, Frankl,
Kierkegaard, & Yalom)
• Humanistic Psychology (Sullivan, Rogers, &
Maslow)
– Carl Rogers may have had the most significant
impact developing what he called client-centered
therapy in the 1950’s.
Recent trends in psychology
– D. Cognitive Psychology, the fourth school of psychology emphasizes the importance of mental activities, symbolic processing, learning, memory, thinking, and perception in normal and abnormal states.
– E. Neuroscience is the most recent school of psychology and suggests that all behavior is rooted, in some way, to the functioning of the nervous system. • If we understand the nervous system then we can
understand how all behavior emerges!
• This field is growing so quickly that it is difficult to keep up with the literature
• Neuroscience departments appear to be replacing
traditional psychology programs!