INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY - the scientific study of BEHAVIOR and MENTAL PROCESSES
Psyche – soul and mind
GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY
➢ Describe
➢ Explain
➢ Predict
➢ Control
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
1. Structuralism — Wilhelm Wundt
- Focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components
- Built a laboratory in 1879 to study conscious experience
- Observing reactions to stimuli
- Examining own conscious experience as objectively as possible (introspection/internal
perception)
2. Functionalism — William James
- Focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment
- Influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection
- Studied how the mind, perception, habits, and emotions help us adapt and survive
- Brought the study of animals into psychology, educational psychology, and industrial
psychology
3. Behaviorism — john b. Watson
- Focused on objective, observable and measurable aspects of behavior
- All behavior can be explained by environmental causes rather than by internal forces.
- All behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment.
4. Gestalt psychology — Wertheimer, Koffka, & Köhler
- Focused on analyzing things as a whole rather than by individual elements
- Although a sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, how those parts
relate to each other as a whole is often what the individual responds to in perception.
- The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
5. Psychodynamic psychology — Sigmund Freud
- Focused on the unconscious thoughts, desires, and drives that influence behavior
PSYCHOLOGY - the scientific study of BEHAVIOR and MENTAL PROCESSES
Psyche – soul and mind
GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY
➢ Describe
➢ Explain
➢ Predict
➢ Control
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
1. Structuralism — Wilhelm Wundt
- Focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components
- Built a laboratory in 1879 to study conscious experience
- Observing reactions to stimuli
- Examining own conscious experience as objectively as possible (introspection/internal
perception)
2. Functionalism — William James
- Focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment
- Influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection
- Studied how the mind, perception, habits, and emotions help us adapt and survive
- Brought the study of animals into psychology, educational psychology, and industrial
psychology
3. Behaviorism — john b. Watson
- Focused on objective, observable and measurable aspects of behavior
- All behavior can be explained by environmental causes rather than by internal forces.
- All behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment.
4. Gestalt psychology — Wertheimer, Koffka, & Köhler
- Focused on analyzing things as a whole rather than by individual elements
- Although a sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, how those parts
relate to each other as a whole is often what the individual responds to in perception.
- The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
5. Psychodynamic psychology — Sigmund Freud
- Focused on the unconscious thoughts, desires, and drives that influence behavior
