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Thinking Critically With PsychologyM1
Thinking Critically With PsychologyM1
WITH PSYCHOLOGY
Module 1
What is Scientific
Psychology
Psychology is the science of
behavior. (Professors Definition)
Descartes 1637
Descartes proposed the idea of
mind- body interaction. Concept
of innate ideas at birth people
are born with an inborn
tendency to think about oneself
and ones existence.
Locke 1690
Locke rejected the idea of an inborn
tendency to think of self and argued that
at birth the mind is a tabula rasa or a
blank slate upon which experience
writes.
Argued for empiricism what we know
about the world comes through experience
and observation, not through intuition.
Empiricism is at the philosophical base of
modern science.
Mesmer 1774
Mesmer performs experiments on
animal magnetism to cure
mental illness. This was the
earliest work on hypnosis.
Wilhelm Wundt
1879 Wilhelm Wundt establishes the
first
experimental psychology
laboratory at
the University of
Leipzig to study psychophysics.
Wundts emphasis was on
consciousness (awareness of an
external stimulus and mental
processes)
Wundts Method
Used a method called
Introspectionism subjects
described their sensations or
feelings after being exposed to a
stimulus
Broad Approaches in
Psychology
Introspectionism
Gestalt Psychology
Structuralism
Functionalism
Introsepctionism
Subject reports conscious
experience of events or stimuli
Method developed by Wundt
Structuralism
Wundts student Edward Titchner
started an approach at Cornell called
Structuralism.
Gestalt Psychology
Conscious experience is more than the
sum of its parts.
For example a neon sign or the phi
phenomenon - we perceive movement
of light when it is only lights going on
and off
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Functionalism
William James proposed the
Functionalist approach.
Affected by the evolutionary theory of
Charles Darwin, James was concerned
with the function of behavior (e.g.
smell, thinking, emotion and vision.)
In essence, their function is to adapt to
the environment.
Contemporary Psychology
An international scientific enterprise with
500,000 psychologists around the world.
Growing Discipline that has become
global with increased communication via
internet, international meetings, and
international journals.
http://icps.psychologicalscience.org /
Example of an International Conference
Approaches in Modern
Psychology
Psychodynamic -- How behavior is
determined by early childhood experiences.
Behavioral -- How behavior is learned
Cognitive -- How information is taken in,
organized, and retrieved from the brain.
Social-Cultural How people affect the
behavior of other people and how culture
shapes the behavior of people.
Approaches in Modern
Psychology
Humanistic Approach Behavior is due
to the choices that people make in
their lives based on how the world is
perceived.
Each person has a unique perception
of the world based on their unique set
of experiences.
If people are treated with
unconditional positive regard, they will
Specialties in Psychology
A student typically specializes in an
area while a graduate student and
does the Ph.D. thesis in that area.
There are two general categories:
basic research and applied psychology.
Applied Research
Examples
- Clinical Psychology
- Health Psychology
- Industrial/Organizational
Psychology
Cognitive Bias
- illusory correlation: rare,
improbable events are perceived
by people as being more common
than they are.
- a case of bubonic plague in
America
-terrorist attack by radical
Jihadists
Cognitive Expectations
If you order fish in a
restaurant who do you
expect to get?
Typical fish in
Spain
Typical Breakfast
In Morocco
Expectancy Violation
We tend to react negatively
when expectations are
violated - we consider things
weird or gross
Other people would feel the
exact opposite about the
same stimulus or event
1. Curiosity
2. Skepticism
3. Critical Thinking
Scientific Method
Deductive Science
1. Case Study
2. Survey
3. Naturalistic Observation
4. Correlational Study
5. Experimental Study