This document provides an overview of the foundations and early influences that shaped the development of psychology. It discusses key figures like Wundt, James, Freud, and Skinner who established schools of thought in structuralism, functionalism, psychoanalysis, and behaviorism. The document also outlines the major perspectives that currently influence psychology, including the psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, biological, evolutionary, sociocultural, and biopsychosocial approaches. Overall, it examines how philosophy, theory, and influential individuals have shaped psychology into the diverse field it is today.

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.