psychology
scientific study of mental processes and behaviour (thinking and doing)
mental processes
activities of our brain when thinking, observing and using language
behaviour
observable activities of an organism
3 levels of analysis
1.) the brain - brain structure and function
2.) the person - thoughts and feelings
3.) the group - family, friends, culture
what did wilhelm wundt do?
- opened the first psychology lab in 1879 in germany
- made psychology a science
- studied consciousness
what did G. Stanley Hall do?
- established the first psychology lab in North America
- launched America’s first psychology journal
- a major played in establishing the American Psychology Association (APA
what did James Mark Baldwin do?
- established the first psychology lab in Canada at U of T
- birth of psychology in Canada
- was influenced by the scientific perspective
battle of the schools
structuralism vs functionalism
- structuralism – led by Edward Titchener = sought to understand the basic elements of consciousness and Relied on introspection
- functionalism – led by William James = sought to understand the function of the mind and led to other schools of thought
what did gestalt psychologists do?
- said consciousness cannot be broken down into elements
- We perceive things as whole perceptual units
- learning is tied to what we perceive
5 major perspectives in psychology
- Psychoanalysis
- Behaviourism
- Humanistic psychology
- Cognitive psychology
- Psychobiology/neuroscience
behaviourism perspective
- dominant school of thought in early 1900’s
- founded by John B Watson
psychoanalysis perspective
- focused on the role of the unconscious (drives, wishes, needs, and desires of which we are not aware)
- emphasized the importance of early childhood experiences
contribution of John B. Watson on behaviourism perspective
- emphasized psychology’s focus on observable behaviour from mental processes
- disgusted with introspection
- showed that phobias can be learned (Little Albert)
contribution of Ivan Pavlov on behaviourism perspective
- studied classical conditioning in dogs
- Found that dogs would salivate to a bell that reliably predicted the arrival of food
contribution of Edward Thorndike on behaviourism perspective
- studied operant conditioning in cats and came up with the Law of Effect
- behaviours that are followed by good things will more likely be repeated in the future, and behaviours that are followed by bad things will less likely be repeated in the future
contribution of B.F skinner on behaviourism perspective
- showed how consequences of behaviour can influence future behaviour → what comes after a behaviour affects what you do next time
- studied rats and pigeons
contribution of Albert Bandura on behaviourism perspective
described learning by social observation → you can watch other people and determine consequences from others
humanistic psychology perspective
- led by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
- argued that psychoanalysis and behaviourism were de-humanizing
- emphasized the unique qualities of humans (focused on freedom and personal growth)
contributions of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers on humanistic perspective
Abraham Maslow = developed term “self actualization” and the needs we need to fill
Carl Rogers = revolutionized therapeutic methods, client centered therapy, how to make them comfortable
cognitive psychology perspective
- cognition = mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge
- Neisser, Miller and Chomsky applied the scientific method to study mind/mental processes (language, memory, decision making, intelligence)
- became the dominant perspective in psychology
psychobiology/neuroscience perspective
explained behaviour in terms of physiological processes and highly dependent on technology
contribution of Karl Lashley to psychobiology/neuroscience perspective
- observed behavioural changes in rats after removing parts of their brain
- believed that memory is found in one part of the brain but is actually distributed across the brain in a network
contribution of Donald Hebb to psychobiology/neuroscience perspective
- cell assemblies describe neural networks
- discovered changes in the brain at a cellular level when you learn
contribution of Wilder Penfield to psychobiology/neuroscience perspective
mild electrical stimulation of different areas of the brain evokes different responses
