AP Psychology

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AP Psychology

• Approaches to Psychology

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Psychology is...

• the science that studies mental processes and
  behavior in humans and other animals.
• the profession which applies the knowledge of
  this science to practical problems.

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Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

• Behaviorism studies the effects on the
  environment on behavior. Only observable events
  are studied scientifically. Sometimes called
  stimulus-response (S-R) psychology. (6, 8)

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Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

• Psychoanalytic Theory studies the influence of
  the unconscious on behavior. (8)

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Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

• Humanism studies the unique aspects of humans.
  Humans are free, rational, and have potential for
  personal growth. (9)

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Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

• Cognition studies mental processes.
• (8, 10)

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Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

• Biological studies the biological bases of mental
  processes and behavior (9-10).

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Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

• Evolutionary studies the evolutionary bases of
  mental processes and behavior. Behavior has
  evolved to solve adaptive problems (10).

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Research Areas in Psychology

• Cognitive Psychology focuses on higher mental
  processes such as memory, reasoning, problem
  solving, decision making, creativity, language,
  and information processing.
• Developmental Psychology studies human
  development across the life span.

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Research Areas in Psychology

• Experimental Psychology focuses on
  sensation/perception, motivation, emotion, and
  learning. However, psychologists in all areas of
  research do experiments.
• Personality studies individuals consistency in
  behavior and factors which shape personality.

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Research Areas in Psychology

• Physiological Psychology (Biological) studies
  genetics, chemistry, and the role of the nervous
  and endocrine systems in behavior.
• Psychometrics is the measurement of behavior and
  mental processes, usually through the use and
  development of psychological tests.
• Social Psychology studies interpersonal behavior
  and the social forces which govern behavior.

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Professional Specialties in Psychology (15)

• Clinical Psychologists evaluate, diagnose, and
  treat people with psychological disorders, as
  well as less severe behavioral and emotional
  problems.

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Professional Specialties in Psychology

• Do not confuse a PSYCHOLOGIST with a
  PSYCHIATRIST!
• A psychologist normally has a PhD in psychology
  and approaches therapy from a mostly non-medical
  standpoint.
• A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (who has an
  MD) who has specialized in psychiatry and
  approaches therapy from a medical standpoint.

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Professional Specialties in Psychology

• Counseling Psychologists do similar work as
  clinical psychologists, but tend to work with
  people dealing with more common and less severe
  problems.
• Some of the areas counselors are specialized in
  include marriage, family, grief, and career
  counseling.

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Professional Specialties in Psychology

• Educational Psychologists improve curriculum,
  teacher education, and standardized tests.
• School Psychologists test and counsel children
  with school related problems.

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Professional Specialties in Psychology

• Industrial and Organizational Psychologists work
  in business and industry to improve HR
  departments, improve staff morale, and increase
  worker productivity.

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Weitens Seven Key Themes in Psychology

• Psychology is empirical.
• Psychology is theoretically diverse.
• Psychology develops in a sociohistorical context.
• Behavior is determined by multiple causes.

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Weitens Seven Key Themes in Psychology

• Behavior is shaped by culture.
• Both heredity and environment influence behavior.
• Peoples experience of the world is highly
  subjective.

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• The History of Psychology

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The New Science

• Wilhelm Wundt made psychology independent of
  philosophy and physiology (5).

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The New Science (5)

• Wundt insisted that psychology be a science and
  that the scientific method be used to study
  consciousness.
• Wundt is considered the founder of psychology.
• Wundt opened the first psychology lab in Germany
  in 1879.

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The New Science (5)

• G. Stanley Hall studied under Wundt.
• Hall opened the first psych lab in the USA.
• Hall established the American Psychological
  Association (APA).

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Structuralism vs Functionalism The First Debate
in Psychology

• The goal of (5)structuralism was to break
  consciousness down into its basic parts so it
  could be analyzed. Structuralists tended to work
  in labs, using techniques like introspection.

• Functionalists (5-6) believed that psychology
  should study the function of consciousness, not
  analyze its parts. Functionalists began studying
  intelligence, child development, sex roles, and
  other aspects of the real world.

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Structuralism vs Functionalism The First Debate
in Psychology

• The most prominent functionalist was William
  James (5-6).
• James was influenced by Charles Darwins work on
  natural selection evolution.
• James argued that consciousness serves a purpose,
  and that purpose or function should be
  investigated.

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The office (clip)
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Watson Behaviorism (6-7)

• John B. Watson argued that consciousness couldnt
  be studied, but behavior could.
• Watson wanted psychology to be the science of
  behavior.

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Watson Behaviorism

• Behaviorism focuses on relating a behavior (a
  response) to the environment (a stimulus).

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Pavlov Behaviorism

• Ivan Pavlov first demonstrated the strength of
  behaviorism by teaching dogs to salivate at the
  sound of a bell.

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Nature or Nurture?

• Behaviorism led to one of the fundamental
  questions in psychology
• Is behavior determined by heredity (nature) or
  by environment experience (nurture)?
• How big a role does each play in determining a
  certain behavior?

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Gestalt oh, Fritzy.

• Gestalt therapy is a phenomenological-existential
  therapy founded by Frederick (Fritz) and Laura
  Perls in the 1940s. It teaches therapists and
  patients the phenomenological method of
  awareness, in which perceiving, feeling, and
  acting are distinguished from interpreting and
  reshuffling preexisting attitudes.

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Gestalt oh, Fritzy.

• Explanations and interpretations are considered
  less reliable than what is directly perceived and
  felt. Patients and therapists in Gestalt therapy
  dialogue, that is, communicate their
  phenomenological perspectives. Differences in
  perspectives become the focus of experimentation
  and continued dialogue. The goal is for clients
  to become aware of what they are doing, how they
  are doing it, and how they can change themselves,
  and at the same time, to learn to accept and
  value themselves.
• Gestalt therapy focuses more on process (what is
  happening) than content (what is being
  discussed). The emphasis is on what is being
  done, thought and felt at the moment rather than
  on what was, might be, could be, or should be.

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Gestalt oh, Fritzy.

• Gestalt therapy focuses more on process (what is
  happening) than content (what is being
  discussed). The emphasis is on what is being
  done, thought and felt at the moment rather than
  on what was, might be, could be, or should be.

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Freud Psychoanalyis (7)

• Psychoanalytic theory was developed by Sigmund
  Freud.
• Psychoanalysis is a therapy that focuses on
  unconscious conflicts, motives, and defenses.

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Freud Psychoanalysis(7)

• The unconscious contains thoughts, memories, and
  desires of which we are not consciously aware but
  still influence behavior.

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Freud Psychoanalysis(7)

• Freuds approach was controversial because 1) it
  is antithetical to behaviorism and 2) it often
  has an emphasis on sex, a topic which scientists
  were uncomfortable studying at the time.

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Psychology World War I

• The First World War led to psychological tests
  being administered to soldiers.
• Alfred Binet had developed the first practical
  intelligence test for educational use in France
  before the war.

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Psychology World War II

• World War II led to an increase in clinical
  psychology as many veterans required mental
  health care.
• By the 1950s, clinical and counseling psychology
  had developed into a profession.

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Skinner Behaviorism (9)

• BF Skinner argued that organisms tend to repeat
  responses that lead to positive outcomes and tend
  not to repeat responses that lead to negative
  outcomes.
• In other words, all behavior can be understood
  and modified by examining the patterns of rewards
  and punishments.

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Humanism (9)

• Humanism developed as a reaction to behaviorism
  and psychoanalytic theory.
• Humanism holds that humans are fundamentally
  different than animals.
• Humanism argues that people are governed by a
  self concept and grow toward their potential.
• Carl Rogers was one of the early humanists. He
  developed client-centered therapy and the idea of
  the self-concept.

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Cognition Biology (10)

• Also a reaction to behaviorism, cognitive
  psychologists argued that behavior cant be
  understood without understanding the underlying
  mental processes that control behavior.
• Biological psychologists insist that we also have
  to understand the physical structures and
  biochemistry that allow cognition.

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Famous Cognitive Psychologists

• Jean Piaget studied mental development in
  children.

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Famous Cognitive Psychologists

• Noam Chomsky studied how child acquired language.

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Famous Biological Psychologists

• Roger Sperry studied split brain patients to
  determine such things as cerebral hemispheric
  specialization.

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Cultural Diversity Psychology

• Psychology has been primarily a western European
  and North American science.
• In the last 25 years, more effort has gone into
  studying the behavior and mental processes of
  people from other cultures.

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Buss Evolutionary Psychology

• The newest approach to psychology examines
  behavior and mental processes in terms of their
  adaptive value to the species.
• Behaviors that help the species survive become
  dominant over many generations.
• David Buss is the leading expert in this field.

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PROJECT Who are these people?

• David Buss
• Sigmund Freud
• Stanley Hall
• William James
• Jean Piaget
• Carl Rogers
• BF Skinner
• John Watson
• Wilhelm Wundt

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Some Dates

• 1879--Wundts first psych lab
• 1883--Halls first US psych lab
• 1890--James first major work
• 1892--Hall founded the APA
• 1904--Pavlovs first experiments
• 1905--Binets first intelligence test
• 1909--Freuds work gains recognition
• 1913--Watsons work gains recognition

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Some More Dates

• 1914--WWI leads to growth of intelligence testing
• 1916--Lewis Terman developed the Stanford-Binet
  IQ test
• 1936--Canadian Hans Selye develops the concept of
  stress
• 1942--WW2 lead to the growth of clinical and
  counseling psychology
• 1951--Rogerss work gains recognition
• 1953--Skinners work gains recognition

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Even More Fun Dates

• 1950s--Cognitive psychology gains recognition
  with Piaget, Chomsky, George Miller (short term
  memory) and others
• 1961--Sperry began his split brain research
• 1980--psychologists begin to consider cultural
  factors
• 1990s--Busss work gains recognition