Psychology: The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Objective Introspection: Reactions to objects and descriptions of immediate experience.

Voluntarism: Active control by intention and motives.

Structuralism: The idea that experiences could be broken up into pieces (sensations and emotions).

Functionalism: Idea that mind allows function in the real world. Those survival-aiding behaviors are passed down through generations.

Behaviorism: Idea that psych should be a science of observable behavior

Humanistic Psychology: “Third Force”. subjective potential and human potential focus.

Cognitive Psychology: Study of mental processes

Evolutionary Psychology: Studies behavior, mental processes, and their adaptive value.

Positive Psychology: Focus on well-being, positive emotions, resilience, altruism, etc.

What is Psychology:

• the scientific study of mental processes and behaviors.

• can include both humans and animals

How old is the field of Psychology?

• Science of “psychology” is relatively new

• Study of metacognition is very old (Ancient Greek philosophers)

• roots of psych are extensive

Who developed the first Psych lab?

• Wilhelm Wundt in 1879

What methods did Wundt use?

• Wundt used objective introspection

What areas did Wundt’s lab study?

• Memory

• Selective attention w/ a focus on voluntarism

Who were some of Wundt’s students?

• Greenville Stanley Hall

• James McKeen Cattel

• Edward Titchner

Who was Titchner a student of?

• Titchner was a student of Wilhelm Wundt

What did Titchner believe in?

• Titchner believed in structuralism

What areas does Structuralism say experiences can be broken up into?

• sensations

• emotions

Who was the first woman to receive a PhD in Psychology?

• Margaret F. Washburn

Who are considered the “Early Pioneers"?

• William James

• Max Wertheimer

• Sigmund Freud

• Pavlov

• Watson

• B.F. Skinner

Who were the “Behaviorists?”

• Pavlov

• Watson

• B.F. Skinner

Who did William James disagree with? Why?

• James disagreed with Titchner

• James believed that “atoms of experience” could not be created.

• Titchner’s main belief was that experiences could be broken up into pieces

What were William James’ two focuses?

• The “stream of consciousness.”

• Functionalism

Who studied Gestalt Psychology?

• Max Wertheimer studied Gestalt psychology

What does Gestalt Psychology state?

• The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

What was Sigmund Freud’s theory?

• Psychodynamic Theory

What does Psychodynamic Theory entail?

• Psychoanalysis

• Role of the unconscious

Who did the “Little Albert” experiment?

• Watson

What was B.F. Skinner known for?

• Operant Conditioning

What is operant conditioning?

• The belief that behaviors that are reinforced increase and vice versa

Why was there backlash against behaviorism?

• “dehumanizing” perspective

• focus on environment-shaping behavior

• all “nurture”

What other branches of psych sprang up in light of the backlash against behaviorism?

• humanistic psych

• evolutionary psych

• cognitive psych

• positive psych