WHS AP Psychology

Unit 1: Science of Psychology

Essential Task 1: Describe, compare, and contrast how different approaches to psychology explain behavior:

- psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, Gestalt, humanism and behaviorism

- cognitive, biological, evolutionary, and social as more contemporary approaches

We are here

The Science of Psychology

Approaches to Psych Growth

of Psych

Research Methods Statistics

Descriptive Correlation Experiment

Case Study

Survey

Naturalistic Observation

Descriptive Inferential

Ethics

Sampling

Central Tendency Variance

Careers

Essential Task 1: Approaches

• Definition of Psychology• Analyze the historical development of psychology• Define and describe how each approach explains behavior

– Biological• Evolutionary

– Behaviorism– Cognitive

• Gestalt– Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic– Humanism – Social

• Make comparisons• Highlight contrasting views

Outline

Approaches to Psychology Concept Map

What is Psychology?

• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

• Scientific? – Not just common sense or guesses – Psychology uses the scientific method – Scientific Method: careful observations and the

experimental testing of hypothesis• Behavior – what people do on the outside• Mental Processes – Thinking - we call this

cognition.• Psychology includes the study of both humans and

animals

Outline

Outline

What is Psychology?

• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

• It is the study of WHY.• Why do humans do the things they

do?• “Cause we crazy” • Please delete this word from your

everyday usage. It means nothing.

Outline

Outline

Psychology’s RootsPrescientific Psychology

• Ancient Greeks (450-300 BCE)– Socrates: knowledge is innate– Plato: “”– Aristotle: used observations;

knowledge not pre-existing (grows from experience)

Psychology’s RootsPrescientific Psychology

• Rene Descartes: early theories about nerves (way off)

• Francis Bacon: scientific approach; human desire to perceive patterns

• John Locke– Tabula Rasa (blank

(slate)• Led to Empiricism

Empiricism

= the view that knowledge originates in experience and that science should, therefore, rely on observation and experimentation.

Psychology’s RootsPsychological Science is Born

• Wilhelm Wundt (1879)– University of Leipzig– Father of Modern Psychology– Started the first psych lab

Psychology’s RootsThinking About the Mind’s Structure• Edward Titchener

– Structuralism•Introspection

– an early school of psychology that used introspectionto explore the structural elements of the

human mind.

Psychology’s RootsThinking About the Mind’s Function

• William James– Functionalism– Mary Calkins– Margaret Floy Washburn

• Experimental psychology– Explore behavior & thinking through experiments

Psychological Science Develops

• Sigmund Freud: how unconscious thought processes; emotional response to childhood behavior affect behavior

Psychological Science Develops

• Behaviorism– John B. Watson – B.F. Skinner– “scientific study of

observable behavior”– Science rooted in observation

Behaviorism

= the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

• Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Psychological Science Develops

• Humanistic psychology– Carl Rogers– Abraham Maslow

• Cognitive Neuroscience

current environmental influences can nurture or limit our growth potential; need for love and acceptance

Outline

More concerned about moving up

Contemporary Psychology

Psychology’s Biggest Question

• Nature – Nurture Issue– Biology versus experience– Charles Darwin

–Natural

selection

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’s Three Main Levels of Analysis• Levels of Analysis: differing

complementary views for analyzing any given phenomenon.– Biological– Psychological– Social-cultural

• Biopsychosocial Approach

Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

What are approaches to psych?

BiologicalEvolutionaryBehaviorismCognitivePsychodynamicHumanism GestaltSocial

Approaches are lenses through which to explain human behavior

Outline

Biological Psychology (neuroscience)

• This approach to explaining human behavior and mental processes focuses on biological mechanisms and structures. It looks to such things as the brain, neurotransmitters, hormones, drugs (both legal and illegal), and genetics.

Outline

A Biological Approach looks for Biological Answers?

Approaches are lenses through which to explain human behavior

Outline

BiologicalBiological BiologicalBiological crazy

Outline

Here is a view of how massive cell loss changes the whole brain in advanced Alzheimer's disease. 

Biological Psychology is Observable

Evolutionary Psychology• Explains human behavior by looking at

what made us most likely to survive/reproduce– Language – How did communication make

us more likely to survive?– Altruism – Why are we nice to each other

if this is just about survival of the fittest?– Sexual attraction – Is there a reason

certain aspects of a person are considered ‘attractive’ Why not sexy elbows?

Outline

Why do we find blue eyes attractive?

Outline

If only . . . .

Behaviorism• This approach only studies observable

human BEHAVIOR. It focuses on how we:– LEARN (or are conditioned)– React to our environment

• Since you can not observe the mind, behaviorists see it as a BLACK BOX. Can’t see it? Don’t study it.

• Big names– Pavlov – Dogs – Watson – Little Albert– Skinner – Operant Conditioning

Outline

This is odd behavior, right?

Would you do it?

Reward

Avoid Punishment?

Cognitive Psychology

• School of psychology that studies mental processes– Thinking, feeling, remembering, making

decisions/judgments and language• Studies how we encode, process, store, and

retrieve information.• Studies behavior and makes inferences about the

mental processes behind the behavior• Thanks to new technologies like CAT scans, MRIs

and fMRIs, we can open the black box.

Outline

Gestalt Psychology

• Gestalt is a German word that means “the whole”

• This approach to psychology looks at how your perceptions of the word come together to form you whole perception.

• This perception is often greater than the sum of its parts.

Gestalt Psychology

Psychodynamic Psychology• Personality theory that says behavior

springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

• The Unconscious is a dynamic cauldron of primitive drives, forbidden desires and nameless fears. It drags us down.

• Psychoanalysis – patient lies on a couch and recounts dreams and conducts free association.

• Sigmund Freud

Outline

Social Psychology (socio-cultural)

• Study of how people influence one another• Topics include:

– First impressions– Interpersonal attraction– Attitude formation– Prejudice– Behavior in a group– Obedience to Authority

• Some Applications include:– Support groups– Family Therapy– Sensitivity Training

Outline

Conformity

Compare and Contrast

• Compare two approaches– For example, both the biological and behavioral

approaches deal with things that are directly observable making them the most scientific of the approaches

• Contrast two approaches– While psychoanalysis focuses on how the

unconscious causes problems for the individual, humanism focuses on how individuals can achieve their full potential.

Outline

Psychology’s Subfields

• Applied Research– Industrial/organizational psychology– Human factors psychology– Counseling psychology– Clinical psychology– Psychiatry

Applied Research

= scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.

Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology

= the application of psychological concepts and methods to optimizing human behavior in workplaces.

Human Factors Psychology

= the study of how people and machines interact resulting in the design of machines and environments.

Counseling Psychology

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

Clinical Psychology

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

Clinical Psychology

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

Psychiatry

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