Chapter 1: The Nature and
Origins of Psychology

What is psychology?
- scientific investigation
- behavior and mental processes
- humans and lower animals
Basic Issues throughout the
History of Psychology
1.
mind (philosophy & theology) vs.
body (natural & physical sciences)
- dualism
* both mind and body exist
- monism
* denying the existence of mind
* mind and body as twin aspects of the
same underlying reality (parallelism)
2.
nature vs. nurture
- nature = heredity & genetics (nativism)
- nurture = environment, learning, &
experiences (empiricism)
3.
subjectivism vs. objectivism
- subjectivism
* qualitative (not easily quantified)
* private/inner experiences (introspection)
- objectivism
* directly & precisely measurable
* naturalistic tradition
4.
holism vs. elementalism
- holism (molar)
* study of whole organism
- elementalism (molecular or reductionist)
* examining organisms in their component parts
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5.
free will vs. determinism
- free will = freedom of choice (behavior not
determined by past or present events)
- determinism = person not the master of
his or her own fate
* past determines thought and behavior
(heredity or environment)
6.
utility vs. purity
- utility
* psychology applied to real life
* pragmatism or utilitarianism (practical)
* applied research
- purity
* psychology for psychology’s own sake
* “pure psychology” not contaminated with
pragmatic concerns
* basic research

The early years of scientific psychology
(Zeitgeist):
1. structuralism (pioneering Wilhelm Wundt & his
student, Edward B. Titchener):
* contents of mind
* introspection
2. functionalism (William James):
* functional processes
* stream of consciousness
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3. psychoanalytic (psychodynamic) view:
* Sigmund Freud
~ dynamic unconscious
~ instincts (sex & aggression)
~ early life experiences
4. behaviorism:
* nurture (tabula rasa)
* observable & measurable behavior
* S-R connections (Ivan Pavlov,
John B. Watson, & B. F. Skinner)
5. Gestalt psychology (Max Wertheimer):
* whole (perception) > sum of its
parts (sensory elements)
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6. humanistic theories (1960s):
* basic principles:
~ born good
~ strive for personal growth
~ self-determination
* pioneers:
~ Abraham Maslow (theorist)
~ Carl Rogers (psychotherapist)

Contemporary psychology (subfields):
- clinical & counseling = diagnose & treat
- school = test & diagnose children
- educational = optimize learning
- industrial/organizational (I/O) = psychology of
the business world
- social = individuals  groups
- biological = neuroscience
- sports = maximize sports performance
- forensic = psychology  law
- cross-cultural = culture, ethnicity, and gender
(individualist vs. collectivist cultures)
Scientific Methods of Psychology
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1. Naturalistic observation
* observe & record in natural settings
* avoid Hawthorne effect
2. Case study
* in-depth analysis of a single entity to
uncover universal patterns
* generalize from unique?
3. Survey method
* science of self-report (questionnaires,
interviews)
* validity = honesty of respondents
4. Correlation (statistical technique, not a
research method)
* observed statistical relationship
* cause-effect?
5. Experimental method
* controlled observation
* independent variable (possible cause)
* dependent variable (observed effect)
* group assignment (control vs. experimental)
* need for replication
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