Pages 3 - 32
Chapter 1: The Evolution of Society
From Speculation to Science: How Psychology Developed
Psychology Psyche (soul) and Logos (refers to study of a subject)
Meaning: the study of the mind
a) A New Science is Born: The Contributions of Wundt and Hall
Psychology’s intellectual parents: philosophy and physiology
Wundt mounted a campaign to make psychology an independent discipline
rather than a stepchild of philosophy and physiology
1879: Wundt established the first formal laboratory for research in
psychology; referred to as Psychology’s “date of birth”
1881: Wundt established first journal devoted to publishing research on
psychology
He declared the new psychology should be a science modelled after fields
such as physics and chemistry using scientific methods
Today, he’s considered as founder of psychology primary focus on
conscious experience (mind and mental process)
New psychological research labs quickly sprang in US
1892: he established American Psychological Association (APA) as
president. (Today, one of world’s largest organization devoted to the
advancement of psychology)
b) The Battle of the “Schools” Begins: Structuralism vs. Functionalism
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
o Structuralists identify + examine the fundamental components of
conscious experience (ex. sensations, feelings, images)
o Introspection – the careful, systematic self observation of one’s own
conscious experience (used to examine contents of consciousness)
Subjects: exposed to auditory tones, optical illusions then asked
to analyze what they experienced
Functionalism based on belief that psychology should investigate the
function or purpose of consciousness, rather than its structure
o James (founder) illustrates how psychology is deeply embedded in a
network of cultural and intellectual influences
Impressed by Charles Darwin’s concept of natural selection
heritable characteristics that provide a survival or reproductive
advantage are more likely than alternative characteristics to be
passed on to subsequent gens. thus come to be “selected” over
time
Shows that those characteristics must have served a purpose.
Hence, James argued psychology should investigate the
functions rather than structure of consciousness Pages 3 - 32
o Argued that structuralists’ approach missed the real nature of
conscious experience
Consciousness consists of a continuous flow of thoughts. In
analyzing consciousness into its “elements”, structuralists
looked at static points in that flow
He wanted to understand the flow itself (stream of
consciousness)
c) Watson Alters Psychology’s Course as Behaviourism Makes Its Debut
School of thought: Behaviourism by John Watson
o A theoretical orientation based on premise that scientific psychology
should study only observable behaviour
o Stated: psychologists should abandon the study of consciousness and
focus exclusively on behaviours that they could observe directly
To him, scientific method rested on the idea of verifiability
o Scientific claims can always be verified by anyone who is able and
willing to make the required observations which depends on
studying things that can be observed objectively
Believed mental processes were not proper subject for scientific study
o Are private events that can’t be seen or touched
o Believed: if psychology is science give up consciousness and
become the science of behaviour
Behaviour – any observable response/activity by an organism
o Behaviourists viewed psychology’s mission as an attempt to relate
overt (observable) behaviours responses to observable events in
the environment (stimuli)
Stimulus – any detectable input from the environment
Stimulus-response r/s stimulus-response psychology
Psychologists believed animals are better research subjects
o Experimental research often more productive if experimenters can
exert considerable control over their subjects
Ex. more control over lab rats vs humans since humans would
want to go home at night
d) Freud Brings the Unconscious into the Picture
Approach to psychology treating mental disorders
Believed: unconscious contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are
well below the surface of conscious awareness but that nonetheless exert
great influence on behaviour
o Ex. seemingly meaningless slips of the tongue “I decided to take a
summer school curse” often revealed a person’s true feelings
o Patients’ dreams expressed important feelings they were unaware of
o Result: psychoanalytic theory attempts to explain personality,
motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious
determinants of behaviour Pages 3 - 32
e) Skinner Questions Free Will as Behaviourism Flourishes
Redefined internal, mental events as private events + shouldn’t be used to
explain behaviour believed in observable behaviour
Emphasized how environmental factors mould behaviour
His fundamental principle: organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to
positive outcomes, and tend to not repeat responses that lead to
neutral/negative outcomes
o Showed he can exert control over behaviour of animals by
manipulating the outcomes of their responses
o Able to train animals to perform unnatural behaviours (Ex. trained
pigeons to play ping pong)
o Result: people are controlled by their environment, not by themselves
or “free will is an illusion”
f) The Humanists Revolt
1950s: behaviourism and psychoanalytic theory most influential schools
of thought in psychology
Believed both schools were “dehumanizing” suggested that people
aren’t masters of their own destinies
o Psychoanalytic Theory: criticized for belief that behaviour is
dominated by primitive, sexual urges
o Behaviourism: criticized for its preoccupation with the study of
simple animal behaviour
More
Less
