The document provides an overview of the history and major perspectives in psychology. It discusses how psychology evolved from early philosophers like Marmaduke Samson who studied phrenology, to Wilhelm Wundt who established the first psychology laboratory and focused on structuralism. It then shifts to William James who focused on functionalism and the goals and functions of behavior. The major perspectives discussed include biological, behavioral/clinical, cognitive, humanistic, psychodynamic, social-cultural, and evolutionary psychology.

2.  Provides useful insight into behavior
› Physiological- having to do with physical
processes
› Cognitive- having to do with thinking and
understanding

3. 1. Describe- how is a person behaving?
2. Explain- why do they behave this way?
- Hypotheses and theories
3. Predict
4. Influence or control
using applied
science
› Use of scientific
method

4.  Marmaduke Samson
and phrenology-
› Examining bumps on a
person’s skull to
determine intelligence
and character traits
(mid 1800s)

6.  Wilhelm Wundt- established modern psychology
(first laboratory- Leipzig, 1879)
 Structuralism- study the basic elements that
make up conscious mental experience

7.  Use of introspection- self-observation in
which participants report their thoughts
and feelings
 First use of a systematic
procedure to study human
behavior

8.  William James- “father of psychology”
(first textbook)
› All activities of the mind (thinking, feeling,
learning, and remembering) have one major
function- survival as a species.

9.  Wundt focused on structure of the mind;
James focuses on the functions or actions
of the mind and the goals of behavior
 Functionalism- study of how people and
animals react to their environments

10. Structuralism
• Wundt
• Concerned with the
STRUCTURE of
something
• What’s it made of?
• Why do we think
this way?
Functionalism
• James
• Concerned with the
FUNCTION of
something
• What does it do?
• What are the
results of thinking
this way?

11.  Francis Galton (1822-
1911)-Heredity
› Concluded that
intelligence and
prominence are
hereditary traits.
› Did not consider the role
of environment when
making this conclusion.

12.  Perception is more than a sum of parts, but it
involves a “whole pattern”
 How sensations are assembled into
perceptual experiences
 Example- chair

13.  Sigmund Freud
(1856-1939)-
› Our conscious
experiences are only
the tip of the iceberg
 Beneath the surface are
primitive biological
urges in conflict with
society and morality

14. Different Perspectives in
Psychology
Biological Psychology
Behavioral/Clinical Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Humanistic Psychology
Psychodynamic Psychology
Social-Cultural Psychology
Evolutionary Psychology

15. Biological Perspective/ Neuroscience
Focus
How the body and brain create emotions, memories,
and sensory experiences.
Sample Issues
• How do evolution and heredity influence behavior?
• How are messages transmitted within the body?
• How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?

16.  Study of how physical and chemical changes
in our body influence our behavior
› PET scans and CAT scans
› Twins and autism

17. Behavioral/Clinical Perspective
Focus
How we learn from observable responses.
How to best study, assess and treat troubled people.
Sample Issues
• How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations?
• What is the most effective way to alter certain behaviors?
• What are the underlying causes of:
 Anxiety Disorders
 Phobic Disorders
 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

18.  Ivan Pavlov
› rang a tuning fork
each time he gave a
dog meat powder
› dog began to salivate
to the tune of the fork

19.  Psychologists began to
account for behaviors as
 The product of prior
experience
 Could explain how
differences among
individuals were the
result of learning

20.  Behaviorism- how organisms learn or
modify their behavior based on their
response to events in the environment (John
Watson)
› Reinforcement (Skinner) – response to a
behavior that increases the likelihood a behavior
will be repeated

22. Cognitive Perspective
Focus
How we encode, process, store and retrieve
information.
Sample Issues
• How do we use info in remembering and reasoning?
• How do our senses govern the nature of perception?
(Is what you see really what you get?)
• How much do infants “know” when they are born?

23.  Study of how we process, store, retrieve,
and use information and how cognitive
processes influence behavior (Piaget,
Chomsky)
› Behavior is influenced by a variety of mental
processes, including perceptions, memories, and
expectations

24. Humanistic Perspective
 Contradictory to Behaviorism
› Maslow, Rogers and May
› We are evolving and self-directed with the
ability to develop our full potential
› Believe we have free will and are not controlled
by the environment or our past

25.  Belief that each person has freedom in
directing his or her future and achieving
personal growth (Maslow, Rogers)
› Humans are not controlled by events in the
environment or by outside forces- these things
just serve as a background to our own internal
growth
› Potential for personal growth

27. Psychodynamic/Psychoanalysis
Perspective
› Study of behavior springs from
unconscious drives and conflicts
› Study of the unconscious mind,
motives and behaviors
› Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
› Internal conflicts
› Free association

28.  Unconscious
motivations and
conflict are
responsible for
medically
unexplainable
physical symptoms

29.  A patient says everything
that comes to mind no
matter how absurd
 As a psychoanalyst, he
sat and interpreted
 Dreams are expressions
of primitive unconscious
urges
 Use of case studies

30. Social-Cultural Perspective
Focus
How behavior and thinking vary across situations
and cultures.
Sample Issues
• How are we, as members of different races and
nationalities, alike as members of one human family?
• How do we differ, as products of different social contexts?
• Why do people sometimes act differently in groups than
when alone?

31.  Studies the influence of cultural and ethnic
similarities and differences on behavior and
social functioning
› Shared cultures and perspectives across culture
(ex- sneezes)
› Immigration
› Gender, socioeconomic status

32. Evolutionary Perspective
 How the natural selection of traits
promoted the survival of genes.
 Focus on the evolution of behavior and
mental processes.
 Suggests that many kinds of behavior
patterns, such as aggressive behavior,
also have an hereditary basis.
 Belief that inherited tendencies influence
people to act in certain ways.

33. Psychology Bingo
 Physiological
 Cognitive
 Psychology
 Structuralism
 Introspection
 Wilhelm Wundt
 Functionalism
 William James
 Sir Francis Galton
 Physiological
 Gestalt
 Psychoanalytic
Psychology
 Sigmund Freud
 Free Association
 Case Study
 Ivan Pavlov
 Behaviorism
 B.F. Skinner
 Phrenology
 Cognitive