Class notes
PSYCH 101 Modules 1-3
- Course
- PSYCH 101
- Institution
- Occidental College
This is an extensive document with notes from presentation slides and lectures given on Modules 1-3.
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MODULE 1The Scientific Attitude: Curious, Skeptical, and Humble
Curiosity - A passion to explore and understand the world using an empirical (using data)
approach
Skepticism - using critical thinking, analyze rather than simply accepting, examine assumptions,
identify biases, consider evidence for alternative explanations
Humility - acknowledging our vulnerability to error, openness to new ideas
Psychology’s Roots
(Not very scientific, but asked interesting questions) Early Greek philosophers: Socrates, Plato,
Aristotle
Ibn al-Haytham - sometimes called “first true scientist”
Wrote Book of Optics
Explained light travel in Pinhole camera
Early Psychological Science (late 1800s - early 1900s)
Wilhelm Wundt
Established first psych lab in germany
Interested in “atoms of the mind”, wanted to break down to the simplest mental
processes, structuralist approach
Conducted experiments, mainly involving responses to stimuli (something that evokes a
specific function or reaction)
Used introspective reports, asked subjects to look within their own mind for answers
Edward Titchener
Heavily influenced by Wundt
Used introspective reports: experimenter presents stimuli to a trained observer who
would report their experiences!!!!!!!!!!!
Like Wundt, structuralist, considered thoughts, feelings, and sensations as structural
components of the mind
William James
Functionalist approach: asks why (evolutionary) we think/behave the way we do
Influenced by Charles Darwin, natural selection
Largely responsible for bringing psychological science to the US
Mary Calkins
Student of William James at Harvard
Denied PHD bc she’s a woman
Studied dreams, visual perception
Started first psych lab for women
Margaret Washburn
Student of Edward Titchener
Yet still not allowed from his experimental psych organization bc she was a
woman
Wrote The Animal Mind
Behaviorism (starting in 1920s)
Rejected the introspection method as too subjective and unreliable
, Focused on objective measurements
Considered the mind as an impenetrable “black box”, no one knows what’s going on inside of it
Behaviorist researchers such as Watson and Skinner redefined psychology from a science of
internal “mental life” to a science of directly observable behavior
Heavily inspired by Pavlov
We know inputs (stimulants) and outputs (responses) but we don’t know how one causes the
other to occur!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Freudian (Psychoanalytic) Psychology (same time as Behaviorism)!!!!!!!!!!
Emphasized the unconscious and how early childhood experiences affect later behavior
Not very scientific, more philosophical
Uses “projective” methods (dream analysis)
~Behaviorism and Freudian psychology were the dominant movements in 20th century
psychology until the 1960s!!!!
The Cognitive Revolution (starting in the 1950s - 1960s)
Advances in a variety of fields (psych, linguistics, computer science) renewed interest in
studying mental processes scientifically
The interdisciplinary field of cognitive neuroscience ties the science of mind (cognitive
psychology) and the science of the brain (neuroscience) and focuses on brain activity
underlying mental activity
Humanistic Psychology (1960s)
Focused on the ways human potential is nurtured/stifled and on the importance of love and
acceptance
Led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow
Contemporary Psychology
Psychology has become a diverse field with many subfields and perspectives
Uses a biopsychosocial approach that considers 3 interacting sets of factors
Biological - genes, hormones, brain chemistry
Psychological - cognitive processes
Social-cultural - environment
Positive Psychology (21st century)
Humanizing psychology, point is to help people live more fulfilling lives
Somewhat like humanistic psychology, but more scientific
A few specific areas of study in Psychology
Cognitive - mental processes (thinking and learning)
Clinical - health-related (psychological illnesses)
Comparative - non human minds (animals)
Developmental - how psychology develops over the lifespan
Social - interactions between people
Industrial/Organizational - psychology in the workplace
Physiological - neuroscience, study of the brain
Some often confused professions
Counselors (short term) & therapists (long term) not necessarily psychologists
Clinical psychologists assess and treat people with psychological disorders
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe meds along with other treatments
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