PS1014 Approaches to Psychology

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PS1014Approaches to Psychology

• Dr Gug Calvini
• History of Psychology

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Essential readings

• Leahey T. H. (2000). A history of psychology
  Main currents in psychological thought. New
  Jersey Prentice Hall.
• Schultz, D. P. and Schultz, S. E. (1994). A
  history of modern psychology. Harcourt Brace
  Jovanovich.
• Brennan, J. F. (1994). History and systems of
  psychology. New Jersey Prentice Hall.

 Recommended readings

• History of Psychology Web Site http//elvers.stjoe
  .udayton.edu/history/welcome.htm
• Fancher, R.E. (1996). Pioneers of psychology. New
  York W.W. Norton and Company.

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History of Modern Psychology

• Introduction
• Why study history?
• Psychological ideas in early Philosophies
• Ancient times, Classical Era, Middle Age
  (Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome)
• Birth of Science (start of experimental approach
  and empirical ideas)
• Renaissance
• Birth of modern psychology
• Key European foundations

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Introduction

• Interest in exploring human mind and explaining
  behaviour has been a central theme throughout
  history
• Modern Psychology (as all Science) stems from
  early philosophical investigations in history
• Most early philosophers were scientists
• Important to understand psychology in terms of
  its initial philosophical inquiry, to keep in
  mind a sense of the bigger picture
• Emergence of Psychology as an independent
  intellectual trend in Western society with
  Renaissance (birth of Science)
• Modern Psychology is born in 1800s with
  application of experimental method to mind
  (Wilhelm Wundt)

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Psychology Timeline
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Introduction

• Timeline
• People in Psychology
• Encyclopaedia of Philosophy

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Ancient Times

• All ancient and modern cultures/societies have
  had perspectives on psychology (naïve psychology)
• Psychological ideas in ancient times embedded in
  religion and moral philosophy
• Anything falling outside these considered
  abnormal
• Hence abnormal behaviour around in all
  societies and would have led to psychological
  type inquiry
• 1st psychological experiment ancient Egypt
• 1st documented theories on mind by ancient Greeks

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Ancient Times

• Near East Persia
• Zarathustra (628-551 B.C.)
• Ahura-Mazda (Lord of Life) creates Good and Evil
• Huamns given Free Will to choose between the two
• Avesta (book of knowledge and wisdom) is given to
  help humans
• (direct influence on monotheistic religions
  Judaism, Christianity, Islamism)

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Ancient Times

• Indian sub-continent
• Hindu philosophy
• Upanishads (800-500 B.C.) collected works about
  the persons relation to the world
• Individual goal is to eliminate individual
  desires (successive reincarnations) to reunite
  into a whole Being
• Sensory and mental events are unreliable because
  earthly
• Hence no individual psychology because no
  individual being

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Ancient Times

• Indian sub-continent (cont.)
• Buddhism Siddartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.)
• Influenced by Hinduism (a Spirit lies as core of
  humans, it transmigrates)
• But no individual soul or mind exists
• Sensory input only source of knowledge
  (empiricism), it shapes individuality
• Habits, memories (some inherited), and
  environmental events determines (no free will)
  individual differences (personality)
• With death, individuality disappears and spirit
  is free again

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Ancient Times

• Far East China
• I-Ching (Book of Changes) (ca. 1120 B.C.)
• Puzzles that describe uncertainty of reality
• No absolute truth, must be practical to be
  balanced
• Taoism - Lao-tze (604-531 B.C.)
• Tao-Te-Ching must return to nature
• Only use intellect to live in harmony with nature
• Confucius (551-479 B.C.)
• Moral philosophy mainly practical
• Individual must commit to sincerity, honesty,
  harmony
• Good individual is conformist
• Other strands of thought
• No scientific ideal ever reached (cf. Renaissance)

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Psychology in Ancient Egypt

• Ca. 2900-500 B.C.
• Many believed the heart controlled mental
  activity
• Others understood importance of head (brain)
• they performed many psychosurgeries
• saw links between head injuries and behavioural
  deficits
• Religious attitudes guided explanation and
  treatment of abnormal psychology and illness
• Possession
• Punishment from gods
• Hysteria disorder described as womans disorder
  due to wandering womb! And treatment was to
  fumigate the vagina!!

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Ancient Egyptian Psychology

• Some understanding of brain and intellect link
• Psychosurgery
• Described mental illness and devised
  psychotherapies
• First psychological experiment 700 B.C.
• Heart more important than brain

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Psychology in Ancient Greece

• Birth of Western philosophical thought
• Very interested in natural sciences and very
  inquisitive about human activity
• Used logic and observation to gain knowledge and
  draw conclusions about psychological processes
• Different approaches and schools of thought
• Naturalistic
• Biological
• Mathematical
• Eclectic
• Humanist

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Naturalists

• look for natural cause of life and our activity
• THALES (Taylus) of Miletus (640-546 B.C.) all
  things in nature reducible to water stresses
  unity of all natural things (incl. humans)
• ANAXIMANDER (610-546 B.C.) all life from
  interaction of multiple basic elements humans
  evolved from other species (Darwin!)
• DEMOCRITUS (460-362 B.C.) our knowledge comes
  from the senses which get information from world
  also that life develops from atoms in matter
• Although no overt explanations of psychology,
  important as demonstrate a move away from God
  explanations for everything

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Biologists

• human activity developed from natural/biological
  causes
• ALCMAEON (fifth century B.C.) father of Greek
  medicine saw importance of brain in human
  behaviour separated sensory from mental activity
  (body vs. soul)
• EMPEDOCLES (500-430 B.C.) sensations due to
  stimuli falling onto sense organs (pores) so can
  be different intensities and can measure changes
  over time basic elements were fire, water,
  earth, air
• HIPPOCRATES (460-377 B.C.) father of modern
  medicine
• focused on brain and biological causes for
  illness (incl. mental)
• dreams represented activity of the soul
• classified psychological disorders (such as
  mania, melancholia, phobia, postpartum
  psychosis)
• mental illness and personality differences due to
  4 humours in body (phlegm, yellow bile, black
  bile, blood)

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Mathematical

• emphasised reasoning processes as basis of
  knowledge principles of life are not found in
  physical world per se
• PYTHAGORAS (582-500 B.C.) the sensory world
  gives us impressions, but these are distorted and
  not true reality
• true reality can only be known by reasoning (cf.
  deductivism)
• And described by formal explanations
  (mathematics)
• Founded a religion, became obsessed starved to
  death

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Eclectics

• emphasised experience over reasoning
• The sophists like PROTAGORAS (481-411B.C.) and
  GORGIAS (485-380 B.C.)
• Eclectism was a relativist approach to truth and
  knowledge
• Nothing exists eccept what senses perceive (cf.
  empiricism) (Gorgias)
• Or at least cant assume anything other than what
  each of us observes, i.e. world is all relative
  to individuals (Protagoras)

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Humanistic

• people are separate from other living things
  MUST look at humans, at what makes humans unique
• SOCRATES (470-399 B.C.), PLATO, ARISTOTLE
• Emphasised individuality and self-knowledge
• Must question and use logic to know ourselves
• PLATO (427-347 B.C.) mentions Psyche and
  struggle between impulses causing stress (cf.
  Freud)
• ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.) showed awareness of
  genetic inheritance and its role in psychology
  and behaviour
• Multiple causes and influences on behaviour, e.g.
  moral social, physiological, anatomical (similar
  to interaction models today)

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Plato and Aristotle

• in particular, investigated psychological aspects
  such as
• Intellectual abilities of memory, perception,
  motivation
• Plato described different forms of love from
  lowest level (sexual love/lust) to higher levels
  (love for people, love of knowledge)
• Plato - receive knowledge through senses, but
  this is unreliable and distorted, so need to use
  maths and logic to be able to see real world
  (senses reasoning)
• Aristotle - need to also understand role of
  physical world in knowledge

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Ancient Greek Psychology

• Birth of philosophical thought
• 5 different themes of explanation
• People like Plato, Aristotle and Hippocrates
  introduced many ideas later used in Science and
  psychological theories
• Is truth derived from sensory experience or
  reasoning?
• Maths as code to describe world!
• Some denial of real world

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Psychology in Ancient Rome

• Fall of Greek philosophical thought and focus
  on pragmatism (and conquering the world!)
• Interested in how to improve way of life in
  present rather than why and where behaviour from
• Stoicism (ca. 500-200 B.C.) versus Epicureanism
  (ca. 50 B.C.-A.D. 100)

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Stoicism

• belief system about how to live properly must
  resign to fate and fact that are governed by
  environment (and Gods) abdicate personal
  responsibility and live by the rules! (cf.
  determinism)
• EPICTETUS (ca. 55-135) distinguish between
  what can and cannot control in life (cf.
  dual-processes models) can control attitude and
  behaviour even if Gods control circumstances

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Epicureanism

• If everything governed by fate, then end goal of
  life is happiness! Therefore enjoy yourself!
  Focus on bodily sensations as nurturing the soul.
  
• LUCRETIUS (99-55 B.C.) sensation is basis of
  knowledge emphasise self discipline and simple
  life atomic theory of sensations (cf.
  associationism) evolution of language

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Psychology in Ancient Rome

• Treatment of mental illness
• CICERO (106-43 B.C.) designed first universal
  mental state assessment interview used for many
  years to follow classified according to
  demographics as well as life history
• GALEN (129-200) carried on from Hippocrates saw
  that normal emotions can influence physiological
  states
• Romans had physical therapies for metal illness
• massage and diet
• warm baths
• but also electric eels as shock therapy!

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Ancient Roman Psychology

• Forget all this philosophy stuff how do I
  improve my life now!
• Epicureans vs stoics debate
• Trust in senses otherwise will go around in
  circles!
• Classification of psychological disorders and
  treatments

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Middle Ages

• (fall of Rome in 476 to Renaissance in
  1300-1400s)
• Classical ideas lost (classical writings
  preserved under Islam)
• Very little advancement of scientific thought
• Very religious and superstitious
• God determines the world, goal is to understand
  God
• hence must follow Gods word (Gospel, Quran)
• No human free will
• founding of Universities/Madrasahs

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Middle Ages

• ST. AUGUSTINE (354-430) key figure for psychology
• inspired by Plato (soul imprisoned within body)
• senses unholy because belong to body
• introspect soul to know God who is in everyone
• used own experiences and self-awareness to gain
  insights into psychological processes (soul)
• understanding memories as elements of soul
  (recognition vs. recall for different types of
  memories)
• fear of punishment interferes with learning
  processes

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Middle Ages

• ABU IBN SINA (AVICENNA - 980-1037)
• physician inspired by Aristotle
• studies brain (without dissection) to understand
  faculties of soul
• identified mental faculties (seven) such as
  memory, imagination, emotion
• memories derived from experience, but abstract
  representations
• higher faculties of the soul lead us to God
• animals have brain, but lack higher faculties

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Middle Ages

• ST. THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274) - SCHOLASTICISM
• 5 powers of soul
• vegetative
• sensitive
• apetitive
• locomotive
• intellectual
• hence interaction of rationalism and sensory
  perceptions in forming knowledge (world soul)
• emphasised empiricism
• sensory knowledge is as important as mental
  activity
• used comparative techniques of animals and humans
• importance of empirical techniques to study mind!

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Middle Ages Psychology

• Superstition and religion stopped psychological
  speculation
• God rules human life no free will
• Birth of Universities/Madrasahsas centres for
  (religious) study
• Importance of reasoning (empirical focus) to
  understand God

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Renaissance

• (1300s 1500s)
• rediscovery of Classical philosophies
• rebirth of Humanism (human at centre of
  investigation)
• GALILEO GALILEI (1564-1642) Science is
  synonymous with measurement (!)
• FRANCIS BACON (1561-1626)Science must be
  inductive, from particular to general
• Start to look at individual differences in
  learning and intelligence
• Role of social environment on humans

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Renaissance

• JUAN VIVES (1492-1540)
• theory that emotion influenced by environment
  (e.g. climate social relationships)
• emotions affect physiological state and vice
  versa (reflected in Schachter Singer
  experiments)
• individual differences in emotions from inherited
  and social influences
• recognised phenomenon of associative learning and
  conditioning from observing animals and his own
  experiences

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Renaissance

• MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE (1533-1592)
• another observer of behaviour (rather than direct
  experiments)
• Individual differences
• saw differences in how one person behaves across
  situations therefore importance of social context
  on behaviour
• Social roles are important in shaping our
  behaviour and creations

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Renaissance Psychology

• rebirth of science interest
• Some key psychological theories
• Emphasis on observation for insight rather than
  experiments
• Mistrust and scapegoats
• Witch hunts and persecution
• Not a good time to be abnormal!

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Modern Era

• (1492-1815/1821)
• Scientific revolution (Galileo, Bacon, Newton,
  Descartes, Spinoza, Voltaire)
• Enlightment
• Industrial revolution (18th century)
• different strands of thought grouped by regions
• Start to see separation between philosophers and
  psychological science
• start of nature vs. nurture debate (mind vs.
  body, perception vs. reasoning)
• Varied attitudes to treatment of mental illness
• Thomas Willis (17th century) if people behave
  like animals need to be treated as animals!
• Robert Burton (17th century) aggression lies
  behind depression and so need help and comfort

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French tradition

• France neighbouring countries
• Sensationalism Positivism
• French were interested in sensory input
• Sensationalism study human nature via sensations
  and perceptions no mind input at all
• ETIENNE BONNOT DE CONDILLAC (1715-1780)
• The mind is just a receiver and store for sensory
  experiences, no active or independent functions
  of own
• JULIEN LA METTRIE
• materialism view that psychology is totally
  physiological

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British tradition

• British Isles
• Empiricism Associationism (Hobbes, Locke,
  Berkley, Hume)
• Emphasise experience in building knowledge
• mind put together single sensory perceptions to
  form whole experiences it looks for natural
  associations between perceptions to build wholes
• Mind determined by individual experience and the
  key process for this was associative learning

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British tradition

• THOMAS HOBBES (1588-1679)
• all knowledge derived through sensations
• but deduction (reasoning) from experience forms
  knowing
• by nature, human regulated by instincts (war of
  everyone against everyone)
• JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704)
• When we are born the mind is a tabula rasa
• mind as passive
• associations and reflections as passive reactions

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British tradition

• In contrast BERKELEY (1685-1753) and HUME
  (1711-1776) denied materialist world
• Agree that can only be sure of sensory
  experiences, but argue that this means is no
  external world outside of our perceptions
• i.e. things dont actually exist unless theres a
  mind/person there to perceive them!
• The mind generates the matter (Berkeley)
• The mind is only the ongoing sensory processes,
  no independent characteristics/function (Hume)
  mind as passive
• Therefore, human behaviour is purely reaction to
  environment no independent influence/control

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German tradition

• Germany central Europe
• still heavily influenced by spirituality (e.g.
  Kant, Schopenhauer, Liebniz)
• mental activity superior to sensory experience
• JOHANN HERBART (1776-1841)
• study of psychology should focus on observation
• empiricism rather than pure analysis
• BUT is not just pure physiological explanations
• psychology science should be independent of both
  philosophy and physiology

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Summary of Pre-Psychology

• Issues about mental functions and human
  experience seen since day one
• Mental illness conceived in all historical
  societies
• Hence some theories about cause and treatment of
  abnormal behaviour and mental stress
• Rationalism vs. empiricism a long running issue
  in the West

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Summary of Pre-Psychology

• Three key questions dominated history of
  psychological thought
• What and Where is the Mind (brain, heart etc)?
• How does mind interact or influence body or
  action?
• Is science of the mind (psychology) possible? Can
  we ever reliably investigate the nature of mind?

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Psychophysics

• How we perceive external stimuli
• e.g. many different frequencies, but we perceive
  only those within auditory range (different from
  animals with different sensory mechanisms)
• Measure thresholds of perceptual experience
• Absolute threshold upper and lower boundaries
  of awareness
• Differential threshold thresholds of
  differential awareness (just noticeable
  difference)
• e.g. two point threshold on skin using
  aesthesiometer

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Psychophysics

• Demonstrated there is a material world beyond our
  perception
• i.e. some stimuli can be presented, but not
  experienced
• Also that our perceptions are limited by
  measurable, physical laws

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Psychophysics

• ERNST WEBER (1795-1878) studied sense of touch
• Webers Illusionplace 2 points of compass on
  skin and move across skin, if is in an
  insensitive area the 2 points seem to get wider
  apart, but if is a sensitive area the points
  converge
• Just Noticeable Differencethe smallest
  detectable change

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Psychophysics

• GUSTAV FECHNER (1801-1887) extended Webers work
• Fechners Lawequal increments not always
  perceived equally i.e. difference between 100
  and 200 watt bulb seems greater than difference
  between 200-300 watts

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Psychophysics

• HERMANN VON HELMHOLTZ (1821-1894) visual
  perception
• Depth perceptionmonocular (size, shadows,
  contours) vs. binocular (differences between
  images gives depth and 3-D image)

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