Unit 1: Psychologys History and Approaches

Key Terms and Concepts

Empiricism is the idea that what we know comes from experience, and that observation and
experimentation enable scientific knowledge.
Structuralism used introspection to reveal the structure of the human mind.
Functionalism explored how mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable the
organism to adapt, survive, and flourish.
Experimental psychology is the study of behavior and thinking using the experimental
method.
Behaviorism is the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies
behavior without reference to mental processes.
Humanistic psychology is a historically significant perspective that emphasized the growth
potential of healthy people.
Cognitive neuroscience is an interdisciplinary study that has enriched our understanding of
the brain activity underlying mental activity, and has given us new ways to understand
ourselves and to treat disorders such as depression.
Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes.
The nature-nurture issue is the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that
genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors.
Natural selection is Charles Darwins principle that from among the range of inherited trait
variations, nature selects traits that best enable an organism to survive and reproduce in a
particular environment.
Levels of analysis are the differing complementary views for analyzing any given
phenomenon.
Biopsychosocial approach is an integrated approach that incorporates biological,
psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis.
Psychometrics is the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and
traits.
Basic research is pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base.
Applied research is the scientific study that aims to solve practical problems.
Psychiatry is a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders; practiced by
physicians who sometimes provide medical treatments as well as psychological therapy.
Positive psychology is the scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of
discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to
thrive.
Community psychology is a branch of psychology that studies how people interact with
their social environments and how social institutions affect individuals and groups.
Testing effect is a phenomenon that causes enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than
simply rereading information. Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or
test-enhanced learning.
SQ3R is a study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, and
Review.
Key Contributors
Contributor Contribution
Socrates Mind is separable from body and continues
after the body dies.
Knowledge is innate - born within us.
Derived principles by logic.
Plato Mind is separable from body and continues
after the body dies.
Knowledge is innate - born within us.
Derived principles by logic.
Aristotle Derived principles from careful
observations.
Knowledge is not preexisting; instead, it
grows from the experiences stored in our
memories.
Ren Descartes Agreed with Socrates and Plato.
After dissecting animals, concluded that
the fluid in the brains cavities contained
animal spirits, which flowed from the
brain through nerves (which he thought
were hollow) to the muscles, provoking
movement. Memories formed as
experiences opened pores in the brain into
which the animal spirits also flowed.
John Locke Argued that the mind at birth is a tabula
rasa - a blank slate - on which
experience writes.
Wilhelm Wundt Established the first psychology laboratory
at the University of Leipzig, Germany.
Tested reaction times of humans.
Supporter of structuralism.
Edward Bradford Titchener Supporter of introspection and
structuralism.
Trained people to report elements of their
experience of daily activities.
William James Promoted functionalism
Encouraged explorations of down-to-earth
emotions, memories, willpower, habits, and
moment-to-moment streams of
consciousness.
Wrote the Principles of Psychology (1890)
Mary Whiton Calkins A student of William James
Denied a Harvard Ph.D. because of gender
Distinguished memory researcher and the
APAs first female president in 1905.
Margaret Floy Washburn First woman to receive a psychology Ph.D.
Wrote The Animal Mind
Became the second female APA president
in 1921.
B.F. Skinner Dismissed introspection, and supported
behaviorism.
Studied how consequences shape behavior.
John B. Watson Along with Rosalie Rayner, championed
psychology as the science of behavior
Sigmund Freud Emphasized the ways our unconscious
thought processes and our emotional
responses to childhood experiences affect
our behavior.

Chronological Listing of Schools of Thought in Psychology
School Main Beliefs Proponents
Structuralism Sought to understand the
conscious mind by studying
all of its individual elements.
Relied on introspection
(looking inward) to gather
data. Approach was
reductionist (relied on logic
instead of observations) and
physiological in emphasis.
Wilhelm Wundt

Edward Titchener
Functionalism Influenced by Charles Darwin
and Theory of Natural
Selection. Thought it would be
more productive to think of
consciousness as a stream that
could be understood if one
learned the function of each of
its abilities. Concerned with
the usefulness of learning to
the survival of the individual.
William James

John Dewey
Gestalt Believed that the sum of
consciousness was greater
Max Wertheimer
than its parts. Attempted to
study the whole of perception.
Behaviorism Rejected all attempts to study
mental processes as the
unscientific recording of
individual experience - data
which could never be verified.
Focused on the study of
observable behavior. Believed
that all behavior is controlled
by environmental forces.
Ivan Pavlov

John Watson

B.F. Skinner
Psychoanalytic Insights were based on the
observations of patients.
Believed that behavior is
motivated by instinctual drives
that are often in conflict with
family and society approved
behaviors.
Sigmund Freud
Humanistic People are naturally good and
strive toward health and full
potential. Client-centered
therapy provides support to
overcome self-limiting
thoughts.
Carl Rogers

Abraham Maslow
Cognitive A return to the study of mental
process but is aided by new
technologies as well as new
ways of thinking. Thought
initiates action.
Albert Ellis

Psychologys Approaches
Perspective Focus
Behavioral How we learn observable responses.
Biological How the body and brain enable emotions,
memories, and sensory experiences; how genes
combine with environment to influence
individual differences.
Cognitive How we encode, process, store, and retrieve
information.
Evolutionary How the natural selection of trains has
promoted the survival of genes.
Humanistic How we meet our needs for love and
acceptance and achieve self-fulfillment.
Psychodynamic How behavior spring from unconscious drives
and conflicts.
Social-cultural How behavior and thinking vary across
situations and cultures.

Research Psychologists
Title Research Interest
Biological psychologist (or behavioral
neuroscientist or psychobiologist)
The physiological mechanisms underlying
behavior and mental disorders.
Clinical psychologist (research emphasis) The diagnosis, causes, and treatment of
abnormal or maladaptive behavior.
Cognitive psychologist Mental processes like thinking, memory,
problem solving, and decision making.
Developmental psychologist Process of change during the life span,
primarily during infancy and childhood but
also during adolescence and adulthood.
Educational psychologist The application of psychological principles to
educational practice, including classroom
teaching methods, testing, and curriculum
design.
Experimental psychologist Processes involved in perceiving, learning,
motivation, and the emotions.
Personality psychologist Factors that make individuals unique, causing
them to behave with some consistency in many
different situations.
Psychometrician (or quantitative psychologist) The theory and practice of testing to measure
personality, intelligence, and various mental
abilities; statistical procedures for analyzing
data.
Social psychologist How the presence of another person or groups
of people influences a persons behavior.

Psychologists Who Provide Services
Title Description
Clinical psychologist (therapy emphasis) Diagnoses and treats people both with severe
mental disorders and less severe psychological
problems. Clinical psychologists may work in
private practice or in clinic setting.
Counseling psychologist Like clinical psychologists, counseling
psychologists help people deal with
psychological problems, working in both
private practice and clinic setting.
School psychologist Works with students in elementary through
high school to help them with their academic
performance, social adjustment, and career
choices.
Industrial and organization psychologist (I/O
psychologist)
Often works in industrial or organizational
settings, running personnel departments or
designing training programs, for instance. I/O
psychologists are usually trained as
psychometricians or social psychologists, and
some do research on organizational behavior in
university departments.