Psychology: The Study of Mental Processes and Behavior

Psychology:

The Study of Mental Processes

and

Behavior

Psychology

• Scientific= Systematic approach

• Mental Processes – Our inner processes, how the brain works and

what we think about

• Behavior – Our outward behavior

Limitations

• Individual Biology– Biological limitations on our range of behaviors

• Psychological Experience – Helps shape our thinking, feeling, behavior

• Cultural Context – We function within a societal setting

Boundary with Biology

• Behavioral Neuroscience– Focus on the electrical and chemical process in the

nervous system that underlie mental processes and behavior

– Connection between the brain and behavior

• Localization of Function– Different parts of the brain control different aspects of

our thinking and our behavior• Left part of the brain associated with language• Recent research disputes the preposition that behavior is

localized

Boundary with Culture

• Explores the extent cultural differences impact psychological differences

– Why do British soccer fans and NFL fans differ in their stadium behavior?

• Psychological Anthropologists

– Study impact of society on behavior

– What happens to families when an economy evolves from an industrial to an information focus

Boundary with Culture

• Cross-Cultural Psychology

– Attempts to differentiate between universal psychological processes from those that are specific to particular cultures

– Every culture encourages dancing

• Southern Europe cultures have a group dance in which everyone holds hands in one continuous line so that all present are physically joined together

• In the USA we have line dancing in which participants stand alone in straight lines with no one touching the other dancers

Boundary with Philosophy

• Philosophy address concepts and the meaning of life

– Explores topics such as the nature of thought using logic and argumentation

• Psychology studies the nature of behavior

– Uses systematic methodology to explore behavior

Scientific Nature of Psychology

• Wilhelm Wundt– Considered father of psychology

– First psychology laboratory

– Focused on Introspection:

• Looking inward and reporting on one’s conscious experience

• Subjects reported everything that went through their minds when presented with a stimulus or task

Structuralism

• Structuralism

– Focuses on the contents of the mind

– Use of introspection with the goal of creating a periodic table of the elements of human consciousness

– Suggests that experimentation is the only true methodology of any value

Functionalism

• Emphasized the role of psychological process in helping individuals adapt to their environment

• Our thoughts are generated by our need to cope with reality

• The idea to run away is a “function” of perceiving a threat

Perspectives in Psychology• Paradigm:

– A set of theoretical assertions that provide a model (abstract picture) of the object of study such as an atom

– Includes a set of shared metaphors that compare the object under investigation to something else that is readily comprehended

• An atom under pressure is like gunpowder being lit

– Includes a set of methods that, if used correctly, produce valid and useful data

• A safe way for studying atoms without causing explosions

– Rather than a set paradigm, psychology has several “perspectives”

Psychodynamic Perspective

• Our actions are determined by the interplay of our thoughts, feelings and wishes

• Many of our mental events occur outside of our conscious awareness

• Our mental processes may conflict with one another leading to the need for compromise among competing motives

Perspectives

• We’ll review these four perspectives:

• Psychodynamic

• Behavioral

• Cognitive

• Evolutionary


• Sigmund Freud– Viennese physician at beginning of the 20th century

– Developed theory of mental life and behavior

• Psychoanalysis – Approach Freud developed for treating psychological

disorders

– Freud emphasized the psychodynamic interaction of conflicting desires


• Symptoms affecting a patient may come from:

• Organic source- A physical symptom that we can identify– Patient has an advanced stage of syphilis

• Conscious source- Something the patient is aware of– Patient experienced recent job loss

• Unconscious source- According to Freud the patient is unaware of– Patient doesn’t know what is causing their negative feelings


• Id– Unconscious source of our desires for immediate

fulfillment

• Superego – Unconscious source of all our “oughts” and “shoulds”

we learn through the socialization process

• Ego – Balances urges from the Id with social restrictions from

the Superego. Controls our actual behavior


• Psychoanalysis – Therapists attempts to interpret meaning of

underlying wishes, fears and patterns of thought– Goal is to identify what is driving the observed

behavior

• Case study– In depth exploration of history and symptoms

of a given individual– Each patient is unique


• Criticisms of the psychodynamic approach include:

• Case study is open to very different interpretations

• Lack of empirical data

• Unreliable measures and approaches

• Falsifiablility Criterion– No way to demonstrate the failure of an hypothesis

Behaviorist Perspective

• Suggests that all behavior is the result of previous learning– No need to explore internal states such as thoughts and feelings

• Focus on external (environmental) events and observable behavior

• Maintains that at birth the mind is a tabula rosa (blank slate) ready to be imprinted by the learning process

• Key event in the development of this perspective was Ivan Pavlov’s research


• Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, noticed a peculiar phenomenon while studying the digestive systems of dogs

• When Pavlov presented food (UCS) to a dog it would salivate (UCR)

• Pavlov then rang a bell (neutral stimulus) just before presenting food to the dog

• Almost immediately the dog would salivate to the sound of the bell (CS), with or without food present


• A driving force behind the behaviorist perspective was the desire by psychologists to separate the discipline from philosophy and thus be perceived as a science

• A psychologist as scientist can observe, record and report on observable behavior but cannot employ the scientific process with unconscious motives

• The behaviorist's goal was to focus on behavior and the use of established scientific methods


• Key metaphor is that humans are like machines that can be programmed

• Experimental methods are the focus of research efforts

Cognitive Perspective

• Cognitive (thought) perspective focuses on the way information is:

• Perceived-processed-retrieved

• This perspective perceives the human mind as similar to a computer in the manner by which the mind processes information– Environment provides input– Our minds interpret, store and retrieve the input

to shape our behavior

Cognitive Perspective

• Cognitive psychologists study the we– form abstract concepts – combine the known into new combinations

• Primary research tool is the experimental method– Focus on internal mental processes

Evolutionary Perspective

• The evolutionary perspective suggests that effective behavior adapts to the environment

• Those who adapt well survive and pass along their genes to future generations

• Those who fail to adapt are less likely to pass their genes to future generations


• Charles Darwin suggested that those who have effective adaptive traits adjust and prosper in their evolving environments

• Darwin used the term “natural selection” to describe the adaptive process (adaptive traits)

• This leads us to one of psychology’s enduring debates

Nature & Nurture

• Nature= Behavior is determined by inborn processes

– Tiger Woods’ dad was physically strong and an excellent golfer

• Nurture= Behavior is determined through learning and socialization

– Tiger’s father began teaching him to play golf early in life and to practice often

• Behavior seems to be a combination of nature and nurture

_- How much of Tiger’s success can be ascribed to his impressive physical build (nature) and how much to his work ethic (nurture)?


• Evolutionary methods often focus on deduction

– Observe what already exists and then attempt to explain it using evolutionary theories

• Inclusive Fitness is a term used by evolutionary psychologist that refers not only to a person’s reproductive success and his or her influence on the reproductive success of related individuals

– We devote more resources to our own offspring than we do to those who are not our offspring


• Other fields that address the evolutionary perspective and reproductive success in passing on adaptive genes, include:

– Behavioral genetics-Genetic and environmental bases of differences among individuals on psychological traits

– Ethology- Evolution and animal behavior

– Sociobiology-Evolutionary and biological bases of human social behavior

Four Perspectives

• Let’s recall the four perspectives we have reviewed:

• Psychodynamic • Behavioral• Cognitive• Evolutionary

• Now let’s consider three key issues facing psychology as we move forward into the 21st Century:

Big Picture Questions

• To what extent is human nature particular versus universal?

• To what extent are psychological processes the same in men and women?

• What is the relation between nature and nurture in shaping psychological processes?

Psychology’s Subdisciplines

• Let’s briefly review where psychologists focus their efforts:

• Biopsychology- Physical bases of behavior

• Developmental psychology- Human life span

• Social Psychology- Individual within a group


• Clinical Psychology- Nature and treatment of emotional distress

• Cognitive Psychology- Nature of mental process such as thought and memory

• Personality Psychology- Enduring patterns of thought, feeling and behavior


• Industrial/Organizational Psychology- Human behavior within a work environment

• Educational Psychology- Human behavior in learning environments

• Health Psychology- Psychological issues related to health and disease

Documents

Psychology: The Study of Mental Processes and Behavior