Psychology: Intellectual Roots, Psychodynamic Perspectives, and Behaviorism

PSYCHOLOGY

CHAPTER 1

We can define psychology as the scientific study of behavior and the mind. The term behavior refers to actions and responses that we can directly observe, whereas the term mind refers to internal states and processes (such as thoughts and feelings) that cannot be seen directly and that must be inferred from observable, measurable responses.

Psychology as a basic and applied science

Science involves two types of research:

• basic research, which reflects the quest for knowledge purely for its own sake,
• and applied research, which is designed to solve specific, practical problems.

The goals of psychology

As a science, psychology has five central goals:

1. To describe how people and other species behave
2. To understand the causes of these behaviors
3. To predict how people and animals will behave under certain conditions
4. To influence behavior through the control of its causes
5. To apply psychological knowledge in ways that enhance human welfare

Level of analysis: behavior and its causes can be examined

• at the biological level (e.g., brain processes, genetic influences),
• the psychological level (e.g., our thoughts, feelings, and motives), and the environmental level (e.g., past and current physical and social environments to which we are exposed).

Psychology's intellectual roots

Humans have long sought to understand themselves, and at the center of this quest lies an issue that has tested the best minds of the ages, the so called mind-body problem. Is the mind-the inner agent of consciousness and thought-a spiritual entity separate from the body, or is it a part of the body's activities?

• mind-body dualism, the belief that the mind is a spiritual entity not subject to physical laws that govern the body
• monism (from the Greek word monos, meaning "one"), holds that mind and body are one and that the mind is not a separate spiritual entity
• British empiricism, which held that all ideas and knowledge are gained empirically-that is, through the senses

Early schools of thought

Structuralism

The infant science of psychology emerged in 1879, when Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) established the first experimental psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany. He believed that the mind could be studied by breaking it down into its basic components, as a chemist might do in studying a complex chemical compound. This approach came to be known as structuralism, the analysis of the mind in terms of its basic elements. In their experiments, structuralists used the method of introspection ("looking within") to study sensations, which they considered the basic elements of consciousness.

How structuralists studied sensations

They exposed participants to all sorts of sensory stimuli (lights, sounds, tastes) and trained them to describe their inner experiences.

Functionalism

With William James, structuralism eventually gave way to functionalism, which held that psychology should study the functions of consciousness rather than its structure. Here's a rough analogy to explain the difference between structuralism and functionalism: Consider your arms and hands. A structuralist would try to explain their movement by studying how muscles, tendons, and bones operate. In contrast, a functionalist would ask, "Why do we have arms and hands? How do they help us adapt to our environment?" The functionalists asked similar questions about mental processes and behavior. In part, they were influenced by Darwin's evolutionary theory, which stressed the importance of adaptation in helping organisms survive and reproduce in their environment. Functionalists did much of the early research on learning and problem solving. Although functionalism no longer exists, its tradition endures in two modern fields:

• cognitive psychology, which studies mental process
• evolutionary psychology, which emphasizes the adaptiveness of behavior2

Psychodynamic perspectives

Searches for the causes of behavior within the inner workings of our personality, emphasizing the role of the unconscious processes.

• developed by Sigmund Freud and others, like Melanie Klein.

Psychoanalysis

Freud was confronted with patients who experienced physical symptoms such as blindness, pain, or paralysis without any apparent bodily cause. Over time he treated patients who had other problems, such as phobias (intense unrealistic fears).

• Freud reasoned that the causes must be psychological, their origin is hidden from awareness in the unconscious.

Use of hypnosis: At first Freud treated his patients by using hypnosis. Use of free association: Later he used a technique called free association, in which the patient expressed any thoughts that came to mind. To Freud's surprise, his patients eventually described painful and long-"forgotten" childhood experiences, often sexual in nature. Often, after recalling and figuratively reliving these traumatic childhood experiences, the patients' symptoms improved. Freud became convinced that an unconscious part of the mind profoundly influences behavior, and he developed a theory and a form of psychotherapy called psychoanalysis: the analysis of internal and primarily unconscious psychological forces. This leads us to develop defense mechanisms, which are psychological techniques that help us cope with anxiety and the pain of traumatic experiences:

• Repression, a primary defense mechanism, protects us by keeping unacceptable impulses, feelings, and memories in the unconscious depths of the mind

Other traits of psychoanalysis

• strong emphasis on childhood sexuality and aggressive, inborn drives
• recalling and 'reliving' them improves symptoms

This ongoing psychological struggle between conflicting forces is dynamic in nature, hence the term psychodynamic. Extremely controversial theory

• mixed empirical research inspired additional research

Other psychodynamic thinkers

• Carl Jung
• Melanie Klein

The behavioral perspective

The behavioral perspective focuses on the role of the external environment in governing our actions. From this perspective, our behavior is jointly determined by habits learned from previous life experiences and by stimuli in our immediate environment.

Origins of behaviorism

According to the early empiricist John Locke, at birth the human mind is a tabula rasa

• a "blank tablet" or "slate", upon which experiences are written. In this view, human nature is shaped purely by the environment.

In the early 1900s, experiments by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov revealed one way in which the environment shapes behavior. through the association of events with one another.

• classical conditioning

Meanwhile, in the United States, Edward Thorndike examined how organisms learn through the consequences of their actions. According to Thorndike's

• law of effect, responses followed by satisfying consequences become more likely to recur, and those followed by unsatisfying consequences become less likely to recur.

Behaviorism, a school of thought that emphasizes environmental control of behavior through learning; J. B. Watson argued that the proper subject matter of psychology was observable behavior, not unobservable inner consciousness. Skinner, leading modern figure in behaviorism, believed that the real causes of behavior reside in the outer world and that behavior is shaped by the rewarding and punishing consequences that it produces.

> 'A person does not act upon the world, the world acts upon him' Skinner believed that society could harness the power of the environment to change behavior in beneficial ways and that the chief barrier to creating a better world through "social engineering" is an outmoded conception of people as free agents. Skinner's approach, known as radical behaviorism.3

The Monster Study

What is the Monster Study?

The Monster Study was conducted by Dr. Wendell Johnson (a speech pathologist) to learn more about why children developed a stutter. Johnson developed the Monster Study to see if stuttering was a result of learned behavior or Biology, however, there are many ethical problems with the study.

Ethical issues of the Monster Study

This study violated a lot of ethical issues because the children were psychologically harmed, informed consent was not given and the subjects were deceived.

The humanistic perspective

Known as the humanistic perspective (or humanism), it emphasized free will, personal growth, and the attempt to find meaning in one's existence. Humanistic theorists such as Abraham Maslow proposed that each of us has an inborn force toward self-actualization, the reaching of one's individual potential

• when the personality develops in a supportive environment, the positive inner nature of the person emerges
• when environment frustrates self-actualisation = misery & pathology

Humanists emphasized the importance of personal choice and responsibility, personality growth, and positive feelings of self-worth. They insisted that the meaning of our existence resides squarely in our own hands. A way to satisfy what Maslow called "belongingness," our basic human need for social acceptance and companionship:

Self- actualisation achieving one's full potential, including creative activities

Self-fulfillment needs

Esteem needs prestige, feeling of accomplishment

Psychological needs

Belongingness & love needs intimate relationships, friends

Safety needs security, safety

Basic needs

Physiological needs food, water, warmth, rest

Humanism's focus on self-actualization and growth is also seen in today's growing positive psychology movement, which emphasizes the study of human strengths, fulfillment, and optimal living (Carl Rogers). In contrast to psychology's long-standing focus on "what's wrong with our world" (e.g., mental disorders, conflict, prejudice), positive psychology examines how we can nurture what is best within ourselves and society to create a happy and fulfilling life.

The cognitive perspective

Derived from the Latin word cogitare ("to think"), the cognitive perspective examines the nature of the mind and how mental processes influence behavior.

Origins of the cognitive perspective

By the 1920s, German scientists had formed a school of thought known as Gestalt psychology, which examined how elements of experience are organized into wholes. The word gestalt may be translated roughly as "whole" or "organization." Instead of trying to break consciousness down into its elements, Gestalt psychologists argued that our perceptions are organized so that

• "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

Gestalt psychology stimulated interest in cognitive topics such as perception and problem solving.

Renewed interest in the mind

• Jean Piaget, cognitive development
• Vygotsky, human language in cognitive development