Psychology

Psychology – The systematic, scientific study of behavior,

experience, and mental life.

There are many misunderstandings and myths surrounding

psychology. Some of these are tied to the history of

psychology.

Psychology is rooted in philosophy

Psychology is striving to “prove” itself as a science

Many on-going issues in psychology

Issues #1 – Free will vs. Determinism

Issues #2 – Mind – Body Problem (Dualism)

Issue #3 – Nature vs. Nurture

Issue #4 – Biological Reductionism

What do psychologists do?

Clinical (42.4%) & Counseling Psychology (10.1%)

Research Psychology or Experimental Psychology (2.3%)

School Psychology (3.9%)

Educational Psychology (2.3%)

Biopsychology (0.5%)

Learning & Motivation (?)

Cognitive Psychology (0.7%)

Developmental Psychology (roughly 4.0%)

Gerontology (0.2%)

Child & Adolescent (1.5%)

Social Psychology (2.4%) & Personality Psychology (5.0%)

Neuropsychology (?)

Health Psychology (0.9%)

Environmental Psychology (?)

Industrial Organizations Psychology (3.6%)

Mathematical Psychology (0.5%)‏

Who can practice psychology?

Clinical Psychologist (PhD., Ed.D, or Psy.D.)‏

Psychotherapist (a very broad term)

Counseling Psychologist (Ph.D., Ed.D., or Psy.D.)‏

Psychiatrist (M.D. or D.O.)‏

Psychoanalyst

Mental Health Therapists (M.A. or M.S.)‏

Social Workers (L.C.S.W.)‏

Mental Health Technicians or counselors (B.A. or B.S.)‏

Nurses (A.A., B.A., M.A. or Ph.D.)‏

Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor (CADC)

Hypnotist

The History of Psychology

1. Antiquity Aristotle (Free-will & mental activity)‏

Socrates

Homer

Laid down the foundations of modern education

Early Demonology

In other parts of the world, religious/spiritual beliefs dominated thinking about behavior

Examples are found in the records of the Chinese, Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Jews.

This belief suggests that abnormal behavior is the result of demonic possession.

Somatogenesis

– Suggests that abnormal behavior results from some physical cause.

– Hippocrates (460-377) rejected religious or spiritual explanations and located the problems within the body and brain. • Bodily dysfunction leads to dysfunction of

thought and action

The three most common types of psychopathology were: Mania, melancholy, phrenitis (brain fever)‏

Hippocrates believed that psychopathology was‏the‏result‏of‏the‏body’s‏humors. Blood (lead to moodiness)‏

Black bile (lead to melancholy)‏

Yellow bile (lead to irritability and anxiousness)‏

Phlegm (lead to dullness)‏

The notions of Hippocrates stood for centuries.

Psychogenesis

Suggests that abnormal behavior results from some psychological cause.

Developed later in history but was an interesting and controversial idea. More during the scientific revolution.

2. The Scientific Revolution & Dark Ages

– The influence of the scientific movement

throughout Europe had a profound influence

on the development of the science of

psychology.

– Movement away from the influence of the

church and religion toward a more secular

society founded on scientific principles

– Organized religion was involved in some very

“unscientific”‏pursuits.‏‏For‏example,‏

Dark ages and demonology

- With the decrease in the Roman and

Greek‏civilizations,‏the‏“church”‏gained‏‏‏

influence and the papacy gained status as

an independent state. Monasteries

replaced physicians with monks as the

“healers”‏and‏authorities‏on‏mental‏‏‏‏‏‏‏

disease. Monks and priests prayed for the

mentally ill.

Persecution of Witches

In the 13th century the fate of the mentally ill was considered to be caused by demons as well. In 1484, Pope Innocent VII exhorted the church to look for witches in the book Malleus Maleficarium (meaning‏“the‏witches‏hammer”)‏and it became a legal and religious tool in the hunt for witches.

If‏accused‏witches‏didn’t‏confess….they‏were‏tortured until they did

If accused witches were convicted and penitent….they‏were‏imprisoned‏for‏life

If accused witches were convicted and unrepentant…they‏were‏executed‏by‏the‏law

During this era over 100,000 “witches”‏were‏victims of this purge!

Historically, however, most accused witches were NOT mentally ill. Many confessions were obtained under torture. And, witchcraft was typically not the primary cause of mental illness.

English law also allowed for a legally dangerous, insane, or incorrigible to be confined to hospitals and these individuals were not usually described as possessed.

In the 13th century trials were held all over Europe to determine if the individual was sane. It was usually determined that the insanity was linked to physical illness!

The Renaissance (1300’s1600 –‏’s)

period covered several centuries and

tremendous changes in scientific

disciplines (a revolution) fueled the growth of

this new discipline. This movement carried

into the 19th century. Some notable

discoveries that have influenced

psychology include;

a. Astronomy & Mathematics (early influences)‏

– Newton (1669) – Laws of Mechanics

– Galileo (1610) – Planetary movement, the structure of the solar system, & structure of the universe

– Copernicus (1543) – The heliocentric solar system

b. Biology

– Mendel (1853) – Genetics

– Pasteur (1885) – Germ Theory

– Darwin (1858) – Evolutionary Theory

c. Chemistry

– Alchemy (Newton!)‏

– Mendeleyev & Meyer (1869) – The Periodic Law & Periodic Table

Strong reductionistic influences

Early psychiatry

Keep in mind that all of these clinicians were working between the Renaissance and modern psychology, and between scientists and psychology.

Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) was a pioneer in American psychiatry. Used blood letting and water immersion as treatments for mentally ill individuals. He also used fear as a tactic for change.

Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) encouraged humane treatment for the mentally ill in Paris. Conditions changed considerably! The use of compassion, understanding, and encouraging individual dignity replaced confinement and isolation.

Very often these treatments were only for the upper class individual.

Asylums

In the 15th century only a few mental hospitals

existed in Europe. More hospitals for lepers

existed. In the ensuing century, lepersy

decreased and the hospitals were then used for

the mentally ill. In the 15th century, these

asylums were used, primarily, to confine the

mentally ill.

Bethlehem

St.‏Mary’s‏of‏Bethlehem‏was‏founded‏in1243‏ and

housed the mentally ill by the thousands! Today the

chaos and conditions are revealed to tourists only as

it is a popular attraction for visitors.

Moral treatment soon replaces the isolation of individuals. William Tuke (1732-1822) a Quaker, established the York Retreat in England. These retreats were peaceful, emphasized recovery, work, and aesthetics.

Hartford Retreat was established in Connecticut in 1824.

Outcome at these retreats was poor with only about 1/3 actually improving.

Dorothea Dix (1802-1877) helped in the establishment of 32 state hospitals.

Early Classification Systems

Wilhelm Griesinger was instrumental in helping to develop

the Medical Model.

Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926) published a classification system in 1893. Developed the concept of Syndromes.

Recognized two major groups of severe mental illness Dementia Praecox

Manic-Depression

In 1825, Griesinger determined that general paresis, from syphilis, had a biological cause!

In 1860, Louis Pasteur developed the Germ Theory of Disease.

In 1905, the microorganism for general paresis was identified.

Psychogenesis

A re-emergence of the notion of a psychic cause of

abnormal behavior occurred in the early 19th century.

Franz Anton Mesmer (1743-1815) suggested that hysteria was caused by a disturbance in the magnetic fluids in the body.

He had bizarre treatments and was seen as a charlatan.

Jean Charcot (1825-1893) studied hysteria as well and, when fooled by a normal individual posing as an hysterical patient while under hypnosis, he was convinced that the cause of her malady was psychological in origin.

Josef Breuer developed the cathartic method in which the person simply talks about their problem/feelings and they improve. Relief through catharsis was the basis of his‏friend,‏Sigmund‏Freud’s,‏new‏theory,‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏Psychoanalysis.

On to more Modern Psychology!

3. The Early Era of Psychology

– Wilhelm Wundt (1879) at the University of Leipzig

developed the first laboratory of psychology.

• Introspection – To‏look‏within‏one’s‏self.

– Titchner (Cornell University) & Structuralism (1920’s)‏

• Structuralism is the attempt to describe the structures that

compose the mind. Consciousness can be analyzed in terms

of sensations and feelings that form the structures of the

mind.

• To get their data, the structuralist used introspection to

examine‏what‏was‏happening‏in‏one’s‏mind‏and‏what‏one‏

was thinking and feeling. Any problems with this?

• Reflects the early influence of sensory biologists

• Translated‏many‏of‏Wundt’s‏original‏writings‏into‏English

– James (Harvard University) & Functionalism (1890’s)‏

• Functionalism looks at how the mind produces useful (functional) behaviors.

• The brain engages in a dynamic adaptation to the environment

• James had profound things to say about philosophy and neuroscience.

• Unfortunately, his close ties to the field of philosophy kept much of his work out of the main field of psychology.

• Developed the first American Psychological Laboratory

In addition, the fields of psychophysics,

comparative psychology and ethology made

significant contributions to the understanding of

human and non-human behavior.

4. Modern Psychology

A. Psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud

(1920’s)‏

– Psychoanalysis is the first modern school of psychology to emerge and it emphasized the importance of unconscious forces in the behavior of humans

– Psychoanalysis is a deterministic model and has significant problems with regard to observation and whether or not the theory can be‏tested,‏i.e.,‏“Is‏the‏theory‏falsifiable?”

– Freud has had a profound influence on the entire field of psychology, sociology, criminal justice, and modern life in general!

B. Behaviorism

Founded in the last 19th Century hitting its

peak in the 1920's through the 1950's.

- Based on the idea that all behavior is

learned and that humans are a product of

the learning environment.

- Important contributors include Ivan Pavlov

(1905), John Watson (1920's), and B.F.

Skinner (1950's).

- Quite a different theory than

psychoanalysis rejecting mentalism, yet

still a deterministic model.

C. Humanistic Psychology

– Humanistic Psychology is a very broad

field that encompasses many

psychological theories. They all,

however, emphasize the importance of

free will and the human condition.

– One major contribution is the

development of psychological techniques.

– These theories are in stark contrast to both

behaviorism and psychoanalysis.

– Some of the important humanistic

psychologies include;

• Gestalt Psychology (Kohler, Wertheimer, &

Perl's)‏

– Gestalt psychologists discount structure and focus

on the totality of perceptions. One cannot

understand something by breaking it up into

pieces…it‏must‏therefore‏be‏taken‏in‏total!

• Existential Psychology (Sartre, Frankl,

Kierkegaard, & Yalom)‏

• Humanistic Psychology (Sullivan, Rogers, &

Maslow)‏

– Carl Rogers may have had the most significant

impact developing what he called client-centered

therapy in the 1950’s.

Recent trends in psychology

– D. Cognitive Psychology, the fourth school of psychology emphasizes the importance of mental activities, symbolic processing, learning, memory, thinking, and perception in normal and abnormal states.

– E. Neuroscience is the most recent school of psychology and suggests that all behavior is rooted, in some way, to the functioning of the nervous system. • If we understand the nervous system then we can

understand how all behavior emerges!

• This field is growing so quickly that it is difficult to keep up with the literature

• Neuroscience departments appear to be replacing

traditional psychology programs!