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Psychology

Module 1: The History and Scope of Psychology

Roots, Time-line of Psych, perspectives of Psych

Psych has its root in both philosophy and biology.

Empiricism- the view that knowledge comes from experience via the sense

Science flourishes through observation and experiment.

Trailblazers in Psych:

Aristotle: a Greek naturalist asked the same questions psychology does today

William Wundt: A German physiologist who founded the first psychology lab in 1879

William James: American philosopher that wrote the first psych textbook.

Bio Roots:

Charles Darwin: English Naturalist that proposed evolutionary psychology.

Ivan Pavlov: Russian physiologist who discovered principles of learning.

Sigmund Freud: Austrian Physician and famous for theories on personality.Jean Piaget: a Swiss biologist and developmental psychologist.

Diversity:

Mary Calkins: Studied under William James, First female APA president.Mamie Phipps Clark: researcher on racial identity.

Egas Moniz: Portuguese doctor who published work on the first frontal lobotomies(remove part of brain) in humans in 1936.

Time Line

1920: Introspection endorsed by Wundt. James Freuds emphasis on unconsciousness.1920-1960: Behaviorism was born led by Waston Throndike, Skinner and Pavlov.

Humanistic Psychology focused on current environmental influences on growth potential.

1960: Cognitive psych emerged which focused on how the mind processes and retainsinformation.

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Nature Versus Nurture

Is behavior a result of genes or a result of how we are raised?? Who knows

PSYCHOLOGY!!

Nature Versus Nurture PhenomenonThe longstanding controversy over the relative contributions of biology and experience

Psychologys Levels of Analysis

(See book)

Levels of Analysis: the differing complementary views, from biological to psychologicalto social cultural for analyzing any given phenomenon.

Psychology's Perspectives:

Neuroscience: How the body and brain create emotions, memories and sensory

experiences.

Evolutionary: How nature selects traits that promote the perpetuation of one's genes.Behavioral Genetics: How much our genes and our environment influence our individual

differences.

Psycho-dynamics: How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflict.Behavioral: How we learn observable responses.

Cognitive: How we encode process store and retrieve information.

Social-Cultural: How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures.

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY!!!!

Well it is the science of behavior and mental processes.