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.

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Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

• Psychoanalytic Theory studies the influence of
  the unconscious on behavior.

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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.

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Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

• Cognition studies mental processes.

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Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

• Biological studies the biological bases of mental
  processes and behavior.

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Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

• Evolutionary studies the evolutionary bases of
  mental processes and behaviour. Behaviour has
  evolved to solve adaptive problems.

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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

• 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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Advanced Placement Psychology

• The History of Psychology

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The New Science

• Wilhelm Wundt made psychology independent of
  philosophy and physiology.

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The New Science

• 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

• 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 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 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.
• 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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Watson Behaviorism

• 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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Freud Psychoanalyis

• 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

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

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Freud Psychoanalysis

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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.