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
Psychodynamic Perspective
• 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
Psychodynamic Perspective
• 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
Psychodynamic Perspective
• 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
Psychodynamic Perspective
• 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
Psychodynamic Perspective
• 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
Behaviorist Perspective
• 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
Behaviorist Perspective
• 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
Behaviorist Perspective
• 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
Evolutionary Perspective
• 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 Perspective
• 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
Evolutionary Perspective
• 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
Psychology’s Subdisciplines
• 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
Psychology’s Subdisciplines
• Industrial/Organizational PsychologyHuman behavior within a work environment
• Educational Psychology- Human behavior
in learning environments
• Health Psychology- Psychological issues
related to health and disease