Chapter 1Chapter 1

Understanding Mind and Behavior

PsychologyPsychology

• The scientific study of mind and behavior

• Psyche– Greek: soul, spirit, mind– Mind and Consciousness

• Depends on an intact functioning brain - can be studied scientifically

Studying the MindStudying the Mind

• Motivation

• Learning and Memory

• Perceptions

• Personality

• Social Interactions

• Abnormal Behavior

• All defined in terms of observable behavior

The Mind-Body ProblemThe Mind-Body Problem

• What is the relationship between mind and body?

• Dualism:

– The idea that the mind and body are distinct entities• Aristotle• Descartes

The Mind-Body ProblemThe Mind-Body Problem

• What is the relationship between mind and body?

• Monism:

– The idea that the mind and body are different aspects of the same substance• Spinoza• Most current psychologists

– Brain activity = mind

Major Perspectives in PsychologyMajor Perspectives in Psychology

• Biological/Behavioral

• Perceptual/Cognitive

• Developmental/Individual Differences

• Social Cultural/Health

The Nature-Nurture IssueThe Nature-Nurture Issue

• The relative effect of hereditary influences (nature) and environmental influences (nurture)

• Which is most important for behavior?– Genes– Learning– Both

DeterminismDeterminism

• The philosophical position that everything (and every behavior) has some cause– Cause might be immediate environment or

genetic history

Common SenseCommon Sense

• Is psychology a science of the obvious?– Are humans innately endowed with the ability

to analyze behavior?– People vary in background knowledge,

intellectual abilities, general understanding

Common SenseCommon Sense

• In analyzing behavior, people tend to:– Overgeneralize– Oversimplify– Show a self-serving bias

The Roots of PsychologyThe Roots of Psychology

Philosophy Biology

Psychology

The Roots of Psychology: PhilosophyThe Roots of Psychology: Philosophy

• John Locke: Empiricism– “Nothing is in the intellect that has not been in

the senses”– Tabula Rasa - “blank slate”

• Empiricism– A method of obtaining knowledge through

observation and experimentation

The Roots of Psychology: PhilosophyThe Roots of Psychology: Philosophy

• The Associationists (Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Hartley)– The formation of complex ideas is

accomplished through the association of simpler ideas

– An empiricist viewpoint

The Roots of Psychology: PhilosophyThe Roots of Psychology: Philosophy

• Gottfried von Leibniz: Nativism– “Nothing is in the intellect that has not been in

the senses except the intellect itself”

• Immanuel Kant– Humans are endowed with a priori knowledge

• Nativism– Some kinds of perception and forms of thinking

are innate

The Roots of Psychology: BiologyThe Roots of Psychology: Biology

• How does the brain relate to behavior?

• Francis Gall: Phrenology (early 19th century)– Discredited– Localized Function?

The Roots of Psychology: BiologyThe Roots of Psychology: Biology

• Johannes Muëller: Law of Specific Nerve Energy (early 19th century)– each sensory nerve carries information for that

sense

• Hermann von Helmholtz: Doctrine of Mechanism (late 19th century)– all physiological processes can be explained by

physics and chemistry

The Roots of Psychology: BiologyThe Roots of Psychology: Biology

• Paul Broca & Carl Wernicke (mid 19th century)– damage to specific brain areas results in specific

language deficits

• Gustav Fritsch & Eduard Hitzig (late 19th century)– Applying current to brain results in muscle

movement

The Roots of Psychology: BiologyThe Roots of Psychology: Biology

• Charles Darwin (late 19th century): The Origin of Species– Humans are part of a biological continuum

Psychology Becomes a SciencePsychology Becomes a Science

• Wilhelm Wundt: Structuralism– the study of consciousness in terms of its basic

elements• a “chemistry” of the mind

– examining consciousness through introspection

Psychology Becomes a SciencePsychology Becomes a Science

• William James: Functionalism– the study of the usefulness of consciousness and the

utility of behavior– wrote first psychology textbook– influenced by Darwin

• Other Functionalists:– Angell– Dewey– Carr

Psychology Becomes a SciencePsychology Becomes a Science

• John B. Watson: Behaviorism– environment is the primary determinant of

behavior– based theories on the work of Pavlov

• B.F. Skinner– psychology is the science of behavior– consciousness unimportant, because it cannot

be observed directly

Other Advances in the 20th CenturyOther Advances in the 20th Century

• Gestalt Psychology– the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

• Psychoanalytic Psychology– Sigmund Freud and the unconscious mind

• Humanistic Psychology– humans are unique in the potential for self-

improvement

• The Neurosciences– interdisciplinary approach to the study of the brain

What do Psychologists do?What do Psychologists do?

Education

Consulting

Administration

ProfessionalSales

Management

R&D

Health Services

Occupations with a BA in Psychology

Advanced Degrees in PsychologyAdvanced Degrees in Psychology

• Masters of Arts• Ph.D.

– required to perform original research– degree granted by university

• Psy.D.– required to undergo supervised training

• Ed.D.– degree granted by school of education

Specialty Areas in PsychologySpecialty Areas in Psychology

• Clinical• Cognitive• Comparative• Counseling• Developmental• Industrial/

Organizational• Quantitative

• Educational/School Psychology

• General Experimental Psychology

• Personality• Neurosciences/

Physiological• Social