Approaches to Psychology (L2 A Brief History of Psychology)

LESSON 2

A Brief History of Psychology

The study of human behavior began with the ancient Greeks. With the development of scientific methods, the field of psychology began to evolve.

Since the mid-nineteenth century, society has been affected in many ways by the development of scientific psychology.

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Historical Approach

• Phrenology-the practice of examining bumps on a person's skull to determine that person's intellect and character traits- became a practice in the United States in the mid-1800s.

• Although this pseudoscience appears ridiculous to us, modern scientists credit phrenology for encouraging study into the role of the brain in human behavior.

• Phrenology may have inspired scientists to consider the brain, instead of the heart, as responsible for human behavior.

• In the fifth and sixth centuries B.C., the Greeks began to study human behavior and decided that people's lives were dominated not so much by the gods as by their own minds: people were rational.

• These early philosophers attempted to interpret the observable world in terms of human perceptions-objects were hot or cold, wet or dry, hard or soft- and the influence of these qualities on people's experiences.

• The Greek philosophers did not rely on systematic study, but they did set the stage for the development of the sciences, including psychology, through their reliance on observation as a means of knowing their world.

What did the ancient Greeks rely on as a means of knowing their world?

The ancient Greeks relied on observation as a means of knowing their world

• Seventeenth-century philosophers popularized the idea of dualism, the idea that the mind and body are not acting together but separately and distinctly.

• The French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650) disagreed, based however, proposing that a link existed between mind and body.

• He reasoned that the mind controlled the bodys movements, sensations, and perceptions.

• His approach to human behavior was based on the assumption that the mind and body influence each other to create a persons experiences.

​Why did René Descartes disagree with the idea of dualism?

Dualism was the idea that the mind and body are separate, but Descartes believed there was link between them and that the mind controlled the body.

• By the nineteenth century, biologists had announced the discovery of cells as the building blocks of life.

• Chemists later developed the periodic table of elements.

• Physicists made great progress in furthering our understanding of atomic forces.

• Many natural scientists were studying complex phenomena by reducing them to simpler parts.

• It was in this environment of emerging modern science that the science of psychology was formed. The history of psychology is a history of alternative perspectives.

  
  

• As the field evolved, various schools of thought arose to compete and offer new approaches to the science of behavior

Functionalism is a psychological philosophy that describes the mind as a functional tool that allows us to adapt to our environments.

It posits that our mental states and behaviors are survival mechanisms, in line with our inherent biological goals.

​Functionalism

• William James (1842-1910) taught the first class in psychology at Harvard University in 1875. James is often called the "father of psychology" in the United States.

• It took him 12 years to write the first textbook of psychology, The Principles of Psychology published in 1890.

• James speculated that thinking, feeling, learning, and remembering- all activities of the mind- serve one major function: to help us survive as a species.

Functionalists studied how animals and people adapt to their environments.

Although James was not particularly interested in experimentation. his writings and theories are still influential.

James focused on the functions or actions of the conscious mind and the goals or purposes of behaviors.

How did Wilhelm Wundt’s method of self-observation, or introspection, work?

​In controlled situations, trained participants reported their thoughts, and Wundt tried to map out the basic structure of thought processes.

When was the first textbook of psychology written and what was it?

​The first textbook of psychology was The Principles of Psychology by William James, published in 1890

​Inheritable Traits

​Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911), English mathematician and scientist, wanted to understand how heredity, or biological traits passed from parents to children, influences abilities, character, and behavior.

• Galton traced the famous ancestors of various eminent people and concluded that genius is a hereditary trait.

• He did not consider the possibility that the tendency of genius to run in distinguished families might be a result of the exceptional advantages that also tend to surround such families.

• Galton suggested that "good" marriages should be encouraged to supply the world with talented or "fit offspring and eliminate the birth of less desirable offspring.

• Scientists all over the world later recognized the flaws in Galton's theory: heredity, along with environment, influences intelligence.

• Galton's writings raised the question of behavior as determined by heredity or environment a subject that remains controversial today.

​Who first raised the question of whether behavior is determined by heredity or environment?

​The first person to raise the question of whether behavior is determined by heredity or environment was the English mathematician and scientist, Sir Francis Galton.

Perception is more than the sum of its parts. it involves a "whole pattern" or, in German, a Gestalt.

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Gestalt Psychology

• A group of German psychologists, including Max Wertheimer (1880-1943), Wolfgang Köhler (1887-1967), and Kurt Koffla (1886-1941), disagreed with the principles of structuralism and behaviorism.

• They argued that perception is more than the sum of its parts--it involves a "whole pattern" or, in German, a Gestalt.

  • For example, when people look at a chair, they recognize the chair as a whole rather than noticing its legs, its seat, and its other components. A chair is not seen as simply wood and cushions.

• Another example includes the perception of apparent motion.

  • When you see fixed lights flashing in sequence as on some neon signs, you perceive motion rather than individual lights flashing on and off.

• Gestalt psychologists studied how sensations are assembled into perceptual experiences. This approach became the forerunner for cognitive approaches to the study of psychology.

Multiple Choice

Sir Francis Galton based his theory of inheritable traits on biographies.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

The French philosopher Descartes proposed that

• A. the mind and the body are separate and distinct.

• B. cells are the building blocks of life.

• C. the mind and the body are linked.

• D. the human mind should be studied by modeling research on the natural sciences.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following psychologists is associated with Gestalt psychology?

• A. Wolfgang Köhler

• B. John B. Watson

• C. Jean Piaget

• D. Leonard Doob

Multiple Choice

Believing that perception is more than the sum of its parts resulted in the which of the following approaches to studying human behavior?

• Gestalt psychology

• functionalism

• humanism

• cognitivism

Multiple Choice

______ is the acknowledged founder of psychology as a separate field of study.

• Sigmund Freud

• Wilhelm Wundt

• B. F. Skinner

• Jeane Piaget