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Prologue How Psychology Became a Science

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Lecture Preview
What

is psychology? Historical perspectives of the field The great theoretical frameworks Modern psychology Great debates of psychology
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What Is Psychology?

What scientific psychologists do - study the mind and brain

Spans many levels of explanation, from biological to social influences

Gain new knowledge from each vantage point

Attempts to answer many exceptionally difficult questions (e.g., consciousness)

Mysterians - believe that certain questions regarding human nature are unanswerable
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Ten Things That Make Psychology Challenging


1) behaviour is difficult to predict Meehls maxim 2) behaviour is multiply determined

Question single-variable explanations

3) Psychological influences are rarely independent of one another

Multicollinearity - overlap among different causes of behaviour


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Ten Things That Make Psychology Challenging


4) Psychological influences are often unknown 5) People affect each other (reciprocal determinism) 6) Many psychological concepts are difficult to define (e.g., intelligence)
- jangle fallacy

7) The brain didnt evolve to understand itself


(paradox of reflexivity)
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Ten Things That Make Psychology Challenging


8) People in psychological experiments usually know theyre being studied

Problem of reactivity

9) People differ from each other - individual


differences in thinking, emotion, behaviour

10) Culture influences peoples behaviour

Emic (insider) vs. etic (outsider) approaches to studying a cultures behaviour


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Psychologys Liberation from Philosophy


For many centuries, psychology was indistinguishable from philosophy In the late 1800s, William Wundt followed William James lead and developed the first official psychology laboratory in Germany, launching psychology as an experimental science

Said mental events could be quantified, via introspection and other techniques (measure reaction times) Attempted to emulate the methods of the traditional sciences

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Psychologys Liberation from Spiritualism


In the 1800s, Americans were obsessed with the paranormal The general public saw psychology and spiritualism as inextricably linked Some psychologists investigated spirit mediums and psychics, but never uncovered scientific evidence Psychology distanced itself from spiritualism by forging a new field: the psychology of human error and selfdeception (Jastrow) Parapsychology still exists as a tiny branch of the field
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Psychology Today

A diversity of approaches: from clinical psychology to neuroscience to sport psychology, and many others Controversy: scientist-practitioner gap

The role of recovered memories APA (clinical) vs. APS (research)

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Great Theoretical Frameworks of Psychology


1) Structuralism - aimed to identify the basic
elements of psychological experience Map the elements of consciousness (sensations, images, feelings) using introspection Two major problems:

Findings lacked reliability Imageless thought

Underscored importance of systematic observations

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Great Theoretical Frameworks of Psychology


2) Functionalism - aimed to understand the
adaptive purposes of psychological characteristics (thoughts, feelings, behaviours) Psychologists must act as detectives to discover these purposes Founded by William James Evolutionary aspect still influences modern psychology (influenced by Darwin)
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Great Theoretical Frameworks of Psychology


3) Behaviourism - focuses on uncovering the
general laws of learning by looking outside the organism to rewards and punishments delivered by the environment Psychological science must be objective, not relying on subjective reports Founded by John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner was follower Black box - their view of the mind: an unknown entity which we need not understand in order to explain behaviour
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Great Theoretical Frameworks of Psychology


4) Cognitivism - proposes that our thinking (cognition) affects our behaviour in powerful ways

Rewards and punishments cant fully explain behaviour because our interpretation of these is a crucial determinant of behaviour We also learn by insight Jean Piaget and Ulric Neisser are cognitivists

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Great Theoretical Frameworks of Psychology


5) Psychoanalysis - focuses on internal
psychological processes (impulses, thoughts, memories) of which were unaware Maintains that our everyday lives are filled with symbols, which psychoanalysts must decode Emphasis on the role of early experiences Problem: unconscious processes are difficult to verify
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Modern Psychology

Critical Multiplism - approach of using many different methods in concert (surveys,


laboratory experiments, real-world observation, etc.)

Basic and applied research Translating research findings into real-world applications (e.g., third brake light, sequential
police lineups, etc.)

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Types of Psychologists
1) Clinical - assessment, diagnosis, causes and treatment of mental disorders

Except in NM and LA, they cannot prescribe medication (though psychiatrists (M.D.s) can) Therapists may have different degrees (Psy.D., M.S.W., Ph.D., etc.)

2) Counselling - work with normal people experiencing temporary or self-contained problems (e.g., marital or occupational difficulties)
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Types of Psychologists
3) School - assess schoolchildrens psychological problems and develop intervention programs

Differs from educational psychology

4) Developmental - study why and how people change over time

Most work with infants and children

5) Experimental - use sophisticated research methods to study memory, language, and thinking of humans
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Types of Psychologists
6) Biopsychologists - examine the physiological basis of behaviour in animals and humans

Most work in research settings

7) Forensic - assess, diagnose, and assist with rehabilitation and treatment of prison inmates

Others conduct research on eyewitness testimony or jury decision making

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Types of Psychologists
8) Industrial-organizational - work in businesses to assist in employee selection and evaluation, examining the effects of working conditions on employee behaviour, designing equipment to maximize performance and minimize accidents, etc.

Requires extensive statistical and mathematical training

Other areas of psychology include social, personality, quantitative, cross-cultural, and sport Most psychologists rely on scientific methods

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Copyright 2011 Pearson Canada Inc.

Apply Your Thinking

Why do we study psychology in non-human animals?


One reason: to better link the brain and behaviour. In order to identify which areas of the brain are responsible for particular behavioural functions, we can manipulate a precise brain area and examine the behavioural response (or lack of).
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True or False?
Criminal profiling, a technique used by the FBI to track down serial killers, is one of the most effective means of catching criminals. FALSE. Theres relatively little evidence that criminal profiling is effective for solving crimes.

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The Great Debates of Psychology

Nature - Nurture

(Locke)? Tabula rasa No, research conducted by behaviour geneticists and others suggests that most psychological traits are substantially influenced by genes behaviour is attributable to both genes and environment, but the relative balance of the two depends on which characteristic we measure (e.g., risk for ADHD vs. religious affiliation) Evolutionary psychology - applies Darwins theory of natural selection to human and animal behaviour

Just-so stories - superficial explanations made up after the fact (e.g., male baldness serves an evolutionary function because women perceive these men as more mature)

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The Great Debates of Psychology

Free Will - Determinism: to what extent are our behaviours freely selected rather than caused by factors outside of our control?

Some psychologists argue most behaviours are generated automatically, without conscious awareness, though we perceive them as under our control Compatibilism - free will and determinism arent mutually exclusive

Our genes and environment limit our behavioural choices, but we may still freely select or reject certain options

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Is Free Will Imaginary? Our brain readies itself before we become aware.

Copyright 2011 Pearson Canada Inc.

The Great Debates of Psychology

Mind - Body Debate: Are our behaviours due entirely to the actions of our nervous system or are they also due to the action of another entity, like a soul?

Mind-body monists - include scientific psychologists, assert that the mind is the brain and nervous system in action Mind-body dualists - the mind is more than the brain and nervous system (Descartes) Impossible to resolve scientifically

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Apply Your Thinking

Thinking of the mind - body debate, what is wrong with distinguishing between organic (known brain basis) versus psychogenic (no known brain basis) amnesia? The term psychogenic implies that the amnesia is caused by psyche that is separate from the brain.
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