PSY100Y5 Final: PsychologyNotes for the Exam
Psychology Notes # 1
Psychologist’s study:
-Acrophobia (fear of heights)
-Zoophobia (fear of animals)
-Fighting
-Mating
-How hormones affect the brain.
“Psychology” comes from two Greek words
Psyche-soul logos- study
• The study of the mind
-Intellectual parents of psychology are the disciplines of philosophy and physiology.
-Wilhelm Wundt- German professor (1832) distinguished psychology as a independent discipline and not a
stepladder of philosophy and physiology.
-Thus Wilhelm Wundt is known as the founder of psychology.
-1879 first universities in research of psychology in Leipzig. Hence historians have stated that 1879 is the year
of birth for psychology.
According to Wundt:
-Primary focus of psychology was consciousness- the awareness of immediate experience.
- Between 1883 and 1893 Wilhelm’s students discovered about 24 new psychological laboratories.
- G Stanley Hall (1846-1924) studied with Wilhelm and important to the contribution of psychology in USA.
- Hall established America’s first research laboratory in psychology at Johns Hoping University in 1883.
- Driving force behind American psychology association (APA)
- Worlds largest organization with over 155, 000 members
Battle of the “schools” begins: Structuralism versus Functionalism
- First two major schools of thought were structuralism and functionalism entangled in psychology’s first great
intellectual battle.
Structuralism- emerged through the leadership of Edward Tither
- Englishman who earned his degree under Wilhelm Wundt Leipzig laboratory.
Structuralism
- Based on the notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and
investigate how these elements are related.
- How hearing is related to smelling/ how they connect with one another
Introspection- systematic self-observation of one’s own conscious experience.
Functionalism
- Based on the belief that psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than
its structure.
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William James
- Had a career in medicine but joined a faculty in Harvard University to peruse a career in academia.
- Wrote a book principals of psychology (1890)
- Did not support structuralisms
- Functionalists were more interested in how people adapt their behavior in the real world around them.
Mary Whiten Calkins (1863 1930)
- Studied under William James
- First woman to serve as president of the American psychological association in 1905.
Margaret Floyd Washburn (1871-1939)
- First woman to receive a P.H.D in psychology.
- Wrote a book called The Animal Mind.
- Second president of the American Psychological Association in 1921.
Let Stutter Hollingsworth (1886-1939)
- Mental work on adolescent development, mental retardation, and gifted children.
- First person to use the term gifted to refer youngsters who scored high on intelligence tests.
John B. Watson
Stated: behaviorism is a theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study
only observable behavior.
- Wanted scientists to study behavior they could observe directly rather than consciousness.
- Watson meant that scientific approach can always be disproved, and his method of studying behavior would
be the most objective.
Behavior- refers to any overt (observable) response or activity by an organism.
- Believed that behavior is not determined by genetics and is rather made through the environment we live
around.
-Behaviorists eventually came to study and view psychology as studying it by relating behavior with observable
events environment.
Stimulus- any detectable input from the environment
- Started to use animals in laboratories and studying their behaviors because the researches would have more
control over the subjects.
*Humans can request to go home at night, whereas animals can be kept in the laboratory as long as desired.
Unconscious mental processes
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) - Austrian physician
- Wanted to treat mental disorder
- Treated people with psychological difficulties with a procedure referred to as psychoanalysis.
- Stated that psychological disturbances are caused by personal conflicts existing at a unconscious level.
- Psychoanalytic theory attempted to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on
unconscious determinants of behavior.
B.F Skinner
- Supported John. B Watson on studying behaviorism of psychology
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- Believed that internal mental events could not be studied scientifically and therefore there was no reason to
study them.
- Believed that environmental factors mold behavior but also acknowledged that the biological endowment
influences behavior.
- Organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to positive outcomes, and hey tend not to repeat responses that
lead to neutral or negative outcomes.
- All behavior is determined by external stimuli, and no actions are a result of conscious decisions.
The Humanists Revolt
- Psychoanalytic theory criticized for its belief that behavior is dominated by primitive sexual urges and
behaviorism was criticized for its preoccupation with the study of simple animal behavior.
- New school of thought called “humanism”
- Humanism is a theoretical orientation that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their
freedom and their potential for personal growth.
Carl Rogers/ Abraham Maslow- human behavior is governed primarily by each individual’s sense of life or self
concept (which animals lack).
Believed that to understand people’s behavior you must understand their personal growth.
-Greatest contribution of humanists to psychology has been their treatment of psychological problems and
disorders.
Psychology Comes of Age As a Profession
Applied Psychology- the branch of psychology concerned with everyday, practical problems.
Clinical psychology- branch of psychology concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological
problems and disorders.
- Clinical psychology enlightened when World War 2 started for soldiers to treat their psychological scars.
- Researchers complaining that not enough study of psychology are going to the scientific portion and moreover
to clinical psychology.
- New organization formed in 1988 called the American Psychological Society (APS), which was to study the
science of psychology.
Psychology Returns to its Roots
- Psychologists these days are showing more interest in consciousness now referred to as “cognition”) and the
physiological bases of behavior.
Cognition- refers to the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge.
- Cognitive theorists argue that psychology must study internal mental events to fully understand behavior.
- Electrical stimulation of the brain could evoke emotional responses such as pleasure and rage in animals
(James Olds 1956)
- Right and left halves of the brain are specialized to handle different types of mental tasks (Roger Sperry 1981)
Psychology Broadens its Horizons: Increased Interest in Cultural Diversity
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Document Summary
Psyche-soul logos- study: the study of the mind. Intellectual parents of psychology are the disciplines of philosophy and physiology. Wilhelm wundt- german professor (1832) distinguished psychology as a independent discipline and not a stepladder of philosophy and physiology. Thus wilhelm wundt is known as the founder of psychology. 1879 first universities in research of psychology in leipzig. Hence historians have stated that 1879 is the year of birth for psychology. Primary focus of psychology was consciousness- the awareness of immediate experience. Between 1883 and 1893 wilhelm"s students discovered about 24 new psychological laboratories. G stanley hall (1846-1924) studied with wilhelm and important to the contribution of psychology in usa. Hall established america"s first research laboratory in psychology at johns hoping university in 1883. Driving force behind american psychology association (apa) Worlds largest organization with over 155, 000 members. Battle of the schools begins: structuralism versus functionalism.
