Psychology

1. AP Psychology
Unit 1: Foundations

2. Foundations and Perspectives
Unit EQ: How have philosophical perspectives and theoretical approaches
shaped the development of psychology?
EQ 1: What is Psychology?
EQ 2: How have historical figures, philosophical perspectives and various
theoretical approaches shaped the development of psychology?
EQ 3: How is psychology distinguished by different domains?
Vocabulary
• Psychology
• Structuralism
• Functionalism
• Introspection
• Gestalt

3. Early Influence
• “What is the nature of the mind and soul?”
• “What is the relationship between the mind and the body?”
Psyche = Soul ology = Study of

4. What is psychology?
Psych = Soul -ology = Study of
Assessment Prompt: Create a definition for Psychology
Definition: The scientific study of mental processes and
behavior.

5. Psychological Fields
Applied vs Research
How does a psychiatrist differ from a psychologist?
A psychiatrist has a medical degree and can prescribe medicine
in addition to therapy.

6. Early Influence
Gustav Fechner
• German physiologist
• Realized that one could study mental
process by observing sensory stimuli
• Discovered complex and predictable
relationship between changes in
physical characteristics of stimuli and
changes in psychological experience
• Paved the way for perception research

7. Early Influence
Wilhelm Wundt
• Father of Psychology
• Developed concept of
introspection
• 1st Psychology Laboratory for
studying humans
• Moved from the philosophy of
mental process to the science
of mental process
Edward Titchener
• Expanded on Wundt’s
teaching calling it
structuralism
Margaret Washburn
G. Stanley Hall
• Receives first Ph.D.
based on psychological
research
• Establishes first U.S.
psychology lab at
John’s Hopkins
• Founder of A.P.A

8. Early Influence
William James
• Father of American
Psychology
• Rejected structuralism
• Founder of functionalism
• Wrote first psychology
textbook
Mary Whinton CalkinsCharles Darwin
• Proposed idea of
Natural Selection.
Physical trait that
aid in survival are
passed on.

9. Early Influence
• Objected to structuralist point
of view. Experiences couldn’t
be broken down into parts and
be properly understood.
• Founders of Gestalt
psychology.
• Gestalt (German)
• “organized wholes” or “whole
shape”
• People naturally seek out patterns
(“wholes”) in sensory information
• “The sum is greater than its parts”

10. Early Influence
Carl Jung
Alfred Adler
Anna Freud
Erik Erikson
Sigmund Freud
• Founder of
Psychoanalysis
• Sought to help
patients (therapy)
• Idea of the
unconscious mind

11. Early Influence
Ivan Pavlov
• His early medical
research focused on
stimulus / response
relationship
John Watson
• Mental events should
be ignored
• Founder of behaviorism
• Psychology should
focus on observable
behavior.
• Most important
determinate of
behavior is learning
B.F. Skinner
• Focused on the effects of
rewards and punishments on
behavior
• Founder of operant
conditioning
Mary Cover Jones
• Early pioneer of behavioral
therapy
• Began the process of
“counterconditioning”

12. Early Influence
Hermann Ebbinghaus
• Believed the focus of structuralism
wasn’t as important as exploring
capacities and limitations of mental
processes
• Established a laboratory to study
memory and learning.

13. Diversity in Psychology
Gilbert Haven Jones
• Taught at the local black high school in Carlisle, Pa
• Masters degree in philosophy from Dickinson College.
• Completed his Ph.D. in philosophy two years in Germany.
• Jones returned to the United States where he taught at First
African American professor of psychology
Mary Whinton Calkins
• Denied degree by Harvard due to gender
• 1st female president of the American Psychological Association
Margaret Washburn
1st Women to receive a Ph.D. in psychology

14. Diversity in Psychology
George (Jorg) Sanchez
• Father of “Chicano Psychology”
• Worked to show cultural bias in intelligence testing
Kenneth and Mamie Clark
• Worked to show the negative effects of school segregation
Francis Cecil Sumner
• First African American to receive a Ph.D. in psychology (1920)
• Referred to as the "Father of African American Psychology“

15. Structuralism
• Wilhelm Wundt
• Focused on the basic elements of consciousness
• “What are the elements of psychological
processes?”
• Broke consciousness down (Human Mind)
• Objective sensations
• Accurately reflect outside world
• Subjective sensations
• Included emotional experiences
• Introspection: a person carefully examines and
reports their own experiences

16. Functionalism
• William James
• Stated conscious experience can’t be broken
down
• Focused on how mental processes help
organisms adapt to their environment
• “What is the purpose of behavior and process?”
• Used introspection and observation
• Evolution

17. Foundations and Perspectives
Unit EQ: How have philosophical perspectives and theoretical approaches
shaped the development of psychology?
EQ 1: How is psychology distinguished by different domains?
Vocabulary
• Gestalt
• Psychodynamic Approach
• Behavioral (Learning)
Approach
• Biological Approach
• Humanistic Perspective
• Sociocultural Perspective
• Biopsychosocial Approach
• Cognitive Approach
• Evolutionary Approach

18. Psychodynamic Approach
• Rooted in the ideas of Sigmund
Freud and Psychoanalysis
• Behavior and mental process
reflects the unconscious
struggle
• Unconscious desires vs the
need to follow rules
• Not as focused on unconscious
sexual desires as Psychoanalysis
• More focus on sense of self and
discovery of other motives

19. Behavioral (Learning) Approach
• Rooted in the ideas of Watson and Skinner
• Focus is on observable behavior and how behavior is
learned
• Rewards and punishments affect behavior
• Many now also try to understand thoughts/cognition

20. Cognitive Approach
• Focuses on
• How we take in, mentally
represent, and store
information
• How we perceive and
process information
• How the cognitive process
affects behavior
• Text Example-Butting in line
(pg. 22)

21. Humanistic Approach
• Influenced by Carl Rogers and
Abraham Maslow
• Behavior is the result of people
choosing how to think and act
• Unique experiences guide
thoughts and actions
• Choices are steered by individual’s
unique perspectives
• See the world as friendly ->
optimistic and secure
• People have a natural tendency to
grow toward their highest
potential

22. Bio(psycho)logical Approach
• Behavior and Mental Process
shaped by the biological
process
• Study the effects of hormones,
genes, and the activity of the
nervous system
• They would examine brain
activity using brain scans when
examining thinking
• Treatment through medications
• Highly influential today

23. Evolutionary Approach
• Based on Darwin’s Ideas of
evolution and natural selection
• Focus on Evolution’s impact on
genes
• Genes result in characteristics and
behaviors that are useful and
adaptive
• Assumes behavior and mental
process are the result of evolution.
• Ex. Aggression is a form of
territorial protection

24. Sociocultural
• Study the effect that people
have on each other whether it
is individually or in large groups
• Combines:
• Social Psychology – study of
groups, social roles, and rules
of social action
• Cultural Psychology – studies
cultural norms, values, and
expectations

25. Biopsychosocial Approach
• An integrated viewpoint that incorporates various levels of
analysis and offers a more complete picture of any given
behavior or mental process.