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Psychological Foundations

Module 1

History and Perspectives in Psychology

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Affirmations

I prioritize my time wisely.
I can overcome challenges and obstacles.
People support and appreciate me.

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Today’s Goals

Get to know one another
Define psychology
Describe the broad development of psychology including the major schools of thought within the field
Identify major milestones and players in the history of psychology
Discuss implications of psychology being “WEIRD”

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Recall

What do you already know about psychology?
What do you hope to learn about psychology?

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This slide provides a review from the first, introductory module of the course.

Domain 1: Biological (includes neuroscience, consciousness, and sensation)
Domain 2: Cognitive (includes the study of perception, cognition, memory, and intelligence)
Domain 3: Development (includes learning and conditioning, lifespan development, and language)
Domain 4: Social and Personality (includes the study of personality, emotion, motivation, gender, and culture)
Domain 5: Mental and Physical Health (includes abnormal psychology, therapy, and health psychology)

These five domains cover the main viewpoints, or perspectives, of psychology. These perspectives emphasize certain assumptions about behavior and provide a framework for psychologists in conducting research and analyzing behavior. They include some you have already read about, including the psychodynamic perspective stemming from Freud's work, the behavioral perspective with its focus on learning and conditioning, the humanistic perspective with its focus on the positive aspects of human nature, and the cognitive perspective, with a focus on internal thoughts and feelings. Other perspectives include the biological perspective (focusing on physiological causes for behavior), the evolutionary perspective (behaviors have an evolutionary cause), and the sociocultural perspective (the environment strongly influences thoughts and behaviors).

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Two Truths and a Lie

Which of these is the biggest lie about psychological foundations?

C. The science of psychology has contributed to positive social change.

B.Psychoanalysis, developed by Freud, is still relevant for modern psychologists.

A. The earliest modern psychologists focused on studying mental illness.

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Activity: Start class with this short game where students identify the false statement from this grouping.

Answer: A is the lie, though B and C both have nuanced answers.

Psychoanalysis as Freud developed it involved several unique theories—many of which are unfounded and discredited (for example, the theory of psychosexual development we’ll talk about later), but the basic ideas Freud brought forth that there are unconscious forces and deeply buried emotions or experience can affect behavior, and that by bringing those to the surface and addressing them, we can deal with those. This is still a component of psychoanalytic talk therapy today.

C is definitely true in that psychology has done a lot of good (reducing stigma around mental disorders, developing evidence-based therapies, improving mental health in general, etc.), but it’s important to mention that it has also done a lot of bad. Especially in early psychology, when “research” was conducted to prove harmful stereotypes or support racist views. Can mention any of the things brought up here: https://www.apa.org/about/apa/addressing-racism/historical-chronology

You could also pause here and have students play this game to introduce themselves, either to the whole class, or just in small groups or partners. A person thinks of two true statements about themselves and one lie and others have to guess which statement is untrue.

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Key Theme

F. Applying psychological principles can change our lives, organizations, and communities in positive ways

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Two Truths and a Lie

Your Turn.

Guess your classmates’ lies!

Tell a lie about your life. Present the truths or lies in random order.

Tell two truths about your own life.

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Can you spot a liar?

What does the research say?

Truth #2

LIE

Truth #1

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Have students get to know each other by playing this game.

After they play, ask how they did. Was it easy to spot the liar? What types of things were they looking for?

Explain that psychological science actually looks into these types of behaviors. Lie-spotting became quite trendy just over a decade ago alongside a popular tv show, but more recent research has shown mostly inconclusive results.

Do liars fidget? They don’t, they often make lots of eye contact, they still smile. Honest people more cooperative. Liars shift blink rate, use barrier objects, alter or raise their vocal tone. They might smile, laugh, etc. There is almost no backing for these non-verbal evidences.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-you-cant-spot-liar-just-looking-180977359/:

“Psychologists have long known how hard it is to spot a liar. In 2003, psychologist Bella DePaulo, now affiliated with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her colleagues combed through the scientific literature, gathering 116 experiments that compared people’s behavior when lying and when telling the truth. The studies assessed 102 possible nonverbal cues, including averted gaze, blinking, talking louder (a nonverbal cue because it does not depend on the words used), shrugging, shifting posture and movements of the head, hands, arms or legs. None proved reliable indicators of a liar, though a few were weakly correlated, such as dilated pupils and a tiny increase — undetectable to the human ear — in the pitch of the voice.”

“Samantha Mann, a psychologist at the University of Portsmouth, UK, thought that such police criticism had a point when she was drawn to deception research 20 years ago. To delve into the issue, she and colleague Aldert Vrij first went through hours of videotaped police interviews of a convicted serial killer and picked out three known truths and three known lies. Then Mann asked 65 English police officers to view the six statements and judge which were true, and which false. Since the interviews were in Dutch, the officers judged entirely on the basis of nonverbal cues.

The officers were correct 64 percent of the time — better than chance, but still not very accurate, she says. And the officers who did worst were those who said they relied on nonverbal stereotypes like “liars look away” or “liars fidget.” In fact, the killer maintained eye contact and did not fidget while deceiving. “

This guy was clearly very nervous, no doubt,” Mann says, but he controlled his behavior to strategically counter the stereotypes.”

So what CAN you do to spot a liar?

From Smithsonian: “Today, psychologists investigating deception are more likely to focus on verbal cues, and particularly on ways to magnify the differences between what liars and truth-tellers say.”

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/forensic-insights/202101/the-psychology-deception-asking-questions-spot-liars: Ask good questions! We’ll get to play this game again later today, and this time, everyone will get to ask one question to the participant.

https://nypost.com/2021/01/18/how-to-spot-a-liar-according-to-science/: “Researchers found that the liars tended to mirror the body language of the person with whom they spoke about the puzzle, whereas honest participants moved differently from their conversational counterpart.” (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.200839#d1e288)

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Can you spot a liar?

What does the research say?

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Explain that psychological science actually looks into these types of behaviors and conducts research to learn about them. Lie-spotting became quite trendy just over a decade ago alongside a popular tv show, but more recent research has shown mostly inconclusive results.

Do liars fidget? They don’t, they often make lots of eye contact, they still smile. Honest people more cooperative. Liars shift blink rate, use barrier objects, alter or raise their vocal tone. They might smile, laugh, etc. There is almost no backing for these non-verbal evidences.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-you-cant-spot-liar-just-looking-180977359/:

“Psychologists have long known how hard it is to spot a liar. In 2003, psychologist Bella DePaulo, now affiliated with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her colleagues combed through the scientific literature, gathering 116 experiments that compared people’s behavior when lying and when telling the truth. The studies assessed 102 possible nonverbal cues, including averted gaze, blinking, talking louder (a nonverbal cue because it does not depend on the words used), shrugging, shifting posture and movements of the head, hands, arms or legs. None proved reliable indicators of a liar, though a few were weakly correlated, such as dilated pupils and a tiny increase — undetectable to the human ear — in the pitch of the voice.”

“Samantha Mann, a psychologist at the University of Portsmouth, UK, thought that such police criticism had a point when she was drawn to deception research 20 years ago. To delve into the issue, she and colleague Aldert Vrij first went through hours of videotaped police interviews of a convicted serial killer and picked out three known truths and three known lies. Then Mann asked 65 English police officers to view the six statements and judge which were true, and which false. Since the interviews were in Dutch, the officers judged entirely on the basis of nonverbal cues.

The officers were correct 64 percent of the time — better than chance, but still not very accurate, she says. And the officers who did worst were those who said they relied on nonverbal stereotypes like “liars look away” or “liars fidget.” In fact, the killer maintained eye contact and did not fidget while deceiving. “

This guy was clearly very nervous, no doubt,” Mann says, but he controlled his behavior to strategically counter the stereotypes.”

So what CAN you do to spot a liar?

From Smithsonian: “Today, psychologists investigating deception are more likely to focus on verbal cues, and particularly on ways to magnify the differences between what liars and truth-tellers say.”

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/forensic-insights/202101/the-psychology-deception-asking-questions-spot-liars: Ask good questions! We’ll get to play this game again later today, and this time, everyone will get to ask one question to the participant.

https://nypost.com/2021/01/18/how-to-spot-a-liar-according-to-science/: “Researchers found that the liars tended to mirror the body language of the person with whom they spoke about the puzzle, whereas honest participants moved differently from their conversational counterpart.” (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.200839#d1e288)

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From The Smithsonian Magazine (Siegel) as summarized from

Vrij, A., Hartwig, M., & Granhag, P. A. (2019). Reading Lies: Nonverbal Communication and Deception. Annual Review of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103135

“In 2003, psychologist Bella DePaulo, now affiliated with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her colleagues combed through the scientific literature, gathering 116 experiments that compared people’s behavior when lying and when telling the truth. The studies assessed 102 possible nonverbal cues, including averted gaze, blinking, talking louder (a nonverbal cue because it does not depend on the words used), shrugging, shifting posture and movements of the head, hands, arms or legs. None proved reliable indicators of a liar, though a few were weakly correlated, such as dilated pupils and a tiny increase — undetectable to the human ear — in the pitch of the voice.”

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“Samantha Mann, a psychologist at the University of Portsmouth, UK, thought that such police criticism had a point when she was drawn to deception research 20 years ago. To delve into the issue, she and colleague Aldert Vrij first went through hours of videotaped police interviews of a convicted serial killer and picked out three known truths and three known lies. Then Mann asked 65 English police officers to view the six statements and judge which were true, and which false. Since the interviews were in Dutch, the officers judged entirely on the basis of nonverbal cues.

The officers were correct 64 percent of the time — better than chance, but still not very accurate, she says. And the officers who did worst were those who said they relied on nonverbal stereotypes like “liars look away” or “liars fidget.” In fact, the killer maintained eye contact and did not fidget while deceiving. “

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So, can you spot a liar?

Ask the right sorts of questions.
Make every question count.
Be tactical.
Listen rather than talk.
Be conversational and enquiring rather than aggressive,
Include some temporal element to your questions.
Ask clarifying questions.

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Send students to these articles to this article by Coral Dando Ph.D.: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/forensic-insights/202101/the-psychology-deception-asking-questions-spot-liars

Other options:

So what CAN you do to spot a liar?

From Smithsonian: “Today, psychologists investigating deception are more likely to focus on verbal cues, and particularly on ways to magnify the differences between what liars and truth-tellers say.”

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/forensic-insights/202101/the-psychology-deception-asking-questions-spot-liars: Ask good questions! We’ll get to play this game again later today, and this time, everyone will get to ask one question to the participant.

https://nypost.com/2021/01/18/how-to-spot-a-liar-according-to-science/: “Researchers found that the liars tended to mirror the body language of the person with whom they spoke about the puzzle, whereas honest participants moved differently from their conversational counterpart.” (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.200839#d1e288)

We’ll return to these ideas later on.

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Section 1 Learning Goals

Explain the early history of psychology and major schools of thought

Define psychology

Explain structuralism and functionalism

Describe the contributions of key researchers to the development of psychology, including Wundt, James, Calkins, Hall, Sumner, and Cattell

Describe Freud's influence on psychology and his major theoretical contributions

Describe the basic tenets of Gestalt psychology

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

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What is Psychology?

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior

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Psychology is now identified as the scientific study of the mind and behavior, but it wasn’t always defined this way. Let’s take a look at how it came to be.

credit “background”: modification of work by Nattachai Noogure; credit “top left”: modification of work by U.S. Navy; credit “top middle-left”: modification of work by Peter Shanks; credit “top middle-right”: modification of work by “devinf”/Flickr; credit “top right”: modification of work by Alejandra Quintero Sinisterra; credit “bottom left”: modification of work by Gabriel Rocha; credit “bottom middle-left”: modification of work by Caleb Roenigk; credit “bottom middle-right”: modification of work by Staffan Scherz; credit “bottom right”: modification of work by Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team

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Think It Over

What would a person need to know about you in order to really understand you?

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But first, a question.

From Noba Psychology

One of the more challenging aspects of teaching the history of psychology is trying to get students to understand its relevance. Consider asking students to take 3-5 minutes to write down what others would fail to understand about them without knowing their history. Let students know they won’t be forced to share this information with anyone, but may if they would like to.

Once students have completed writing, or the time limit has been reached, engage the class in a group discussion about what they wrote down. The goal of this introductory activity is to get students to engage with their own personal histories in an effort to see how much of the richness of what makes them who they are has come from past experience—the good, the bad, and the ugly experiences alike.

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Discussion:

What value is there in studying the history of psychology?

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Studying the history of psychology is a worthwhile endeavor for several reasons:

Understanding the development of theories and concepts: By studying the history of psychology, we can trace the development of key theories and concepts, and gain a deeper understanding of how they have evolved over time. This can help us to better appreciate the nuances of contemporary psychological research and to identify areas where further progress may be made.
Appreciating the social and cultural context of psychology: The history of psychology provides insight into the social and cultural context in which psychological research has been conducted. This can help us to understand the ways in which broader social and cultural forces have shaped the development of psychological theories and concepts.
Identifying the key figures and contributions to the field: Studying the history of psychology can help us to identify the key figures who have contributed to the field, and to understand the ways in which their ideas have influenced contemporary psychological research.
Recognizing the limitations and biases of past research: By studying the history of psychology, we can identify the limitations and biases of past research, and learn from the mistakes of earlier generations of researchers. This can help us to avoid repeating those mistakes, and to develop more rigorous and inclusive research practices.
Enhancing critical thinking skills: Finally, studying the history of psychology can enhance our critical thinking skills by teaching us to analyze and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different theories and concepts, and to develop a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of human behavior and psychology.

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The Earliest Schools of Psychology

School of Psychology	Description	Historically Important People
Structuralism	Focused on understanding the conscious experience through introspection	Wilhelm Wundt, Edward Titchener
Functionalism	Emphasized how mental activities helped an organism adapt to its environment	William James, John Dewey, G. Stanley Hall, James McKeen Cattell

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The History of Psychology: Psychology’s Beginnings

Wilhelm Wundt

Developed the first lab in 1879 in Leipzig, Germany
Promoted experimental psychology
Trained in medicine and physiology
Conducted experiments on sensation and perception
Wanted to understand the components of consciousness

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The history of psychology actually starts long before modern psychology, as civilizations everywhere all all through time have sought to understand the mind. Often these pursuits were undertaken by philosophers, like Aristotle, who in Greece around 30 BCE theorized about learning, memory, emotions, perception. In the early 1600s, Rene Descartes introduced the idea of dualism, that the mind and body were separate entities. Empiricism, the belief that knowledge comes from experience, was another significant influence on psychology, especially the ideas of British philosophers such as John Locke and David Hume.

Wundt focused on perception. Published textbooks in 1873 and 74. Created a machine to measure the time lag between people’s hearing a ball hit a platform and their pressing a telegraph key. People were faster when told to press a key “as soon as they heard it” than they were when told to press it “as soon as they were consciously aware of the sound”—this was 1/10ths slower.

Students in Wundt’s Laboratory:

G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924)*

Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926)

James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944)*

Oswald Külpe (1862-1915)

Hugo Münsterberg (1863-1916)*

Charles E. Spearman (1863-1945)

Edward Wheeler Scripture (1864-1943)

George Stratton (1865-1957)

E. B. Titchener (1867-1927)*

Vladimir Bekhterov (1867-1927)*

Lightner Witmer (1867-1956)

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The History of Psychology: Structuralism

Edward Titchener

Wundt’s student.
Taught at Cornell University.
Wanted to discover the elements of consciousness
Structuralism: Analyze sensations, images and feelings into their most basic elements.
Did this through introspection

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Soon after receiving his PhD in 1892, Edward Bradford Titchener joined Cornell University and expounded on Wundt’s idea. He called this field structuralism. (His first graduate student, Margaret Floy Washburn, became the first woman to be granted a PhD in psychology (1894))

Looking inward at one’s own mental processes.

Because it is not objective, it fails, though Titchener worked hard to standardize it. He wanted to understand the elements, or structures, of of the mind, by breaking it down into its component parts. Chemistry had the periodic table and physics had fundamental laws. Could they identify fundamental structures that could be used to explain behavior?

Titchener attempted to classify the structures of the mind in the way a chemist breaks down chemicals into their component parts—water into hydrogen and oxygen, for example. Thus, for Titchener, just as hydrogen and oxygen were structures, so were sensations and thoughts. He conceived of hydrogen and oxygen as structures of a chemical compound, and sensations and thoughts as structures of the mind. A sensation, according to Titchener,[3] had four distinct properties: intensity, quality, duration, and extent. Each of these related to some corresponding quality of stimulus, although some stimuli were insufficient to provoke their relevant aspect of sensation. He further differentiated particular types of sensations: auditory sensation, for example, he divided into "tones" and "noises."[4] Ideas and perceptions he considered to be formed from sensations; "ideational type" was related to the type of sensation on which an idea was based, e.g., sound or vision, a spoken conversation or words on a page.

From Wikipedia: Edward B. Titchener formulated his seven fundamental laws of attention. Law number four, the law of prior entry, postulated that “the object of attention comes to consciousness more quickly than the objects which we are not attending to.” (Titchener, 1908, p. 251) The law of prior entry has received a lot of interest over the last century and much debate ensued about the veracity of this law. It is not until recently that research has generated robust evidence that attention operates at a perceptual level. Behavioral studies[10] looking at the speed of perception of attended stimuli suggest that the law of prior entry holds true. Recent brain imaging studies[11] have been able to confirm these findings by showing that attention can speed up perceptual brain activation.

Followed the steps of : Stimulus exposure—internal examination—analysis

Titchener’s was more complicated. They had to search for the elemental parts of their experiences. If shown an apple, they would have to describe their sensations—color, size, etc. Report their sensations, experiences, thoughts, and perceptions. How do they describe this? Because people are different, they may not have the same feelings, thoughts, and perceptions even though the stimulus is the same. Apple looks, feels, tastes, etc. Frustratingly subjective. Wundt wanted to standardize these processes—people reported different things even though the experience was the same.

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The History of Psychology: William James

Claimed that searching for building blocks was futile because brain and mind are constantly changing
Focused on function: functionalism.
Influenced by Darwin’s ideas on evolution and natural selection
Expanded psychology to animal behavior.
Authored the monumental textbook, Principles of Psychology in 1890

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Believed consciousness serves a func

William James-wealthy family, taught at Harvard. Funny, when he wasn’t depressed. Brother and sister authors. Happily mentored Mary Calkins and thought she was a knockout student, though Harvard denied her a PhD. Taught WEB DuBois who studied history and sociology and became the first Black person to earn a phD from Harvard. He mentored:

James R. Angell

Mary W. Calkins

Edward L. Thorndike

William James’ book, Principles of Psychology, is widely regarded as one of the most important ever written in psychology. It was 1,200 pages and took 12 years to write. In it, James proposed that consciousness was not something that could be studied by breaking it down into its component parts. Instead, it must be studied as an ongoing and continuous whole. Once of James’ students, Mary Whiton Calkins, went on to become the first woman to serve as president of the APA.

Structural psychology was concerned with mental contents while functionalism is concerned with mental operations. It is argued that structural psychology emanated from philosophy and remained closely allied to it, while functionalism has a close ally in biology.

William James is considered to be the founder of functional psychology. But he would not consider himself as a functionalist, nor did he truly like the way science divided itself into schools. John Dewey, George Herbert Mead, Harvey A. Carr, and especially James Rowland Angell were the main proponents of functionalism at the University of Chicago. Another group at Columbia, including notably James McKeen Cattell, Edward L. Thorndike, and Robert S. Woodworth, were also considered functionalists and shared some of the opinions of Chicago's professors.

Life

first born son in wealthy Boston family
younger brother Henry born 15 months later; followed by three younger siblings
intellectually and culturally rich family environment
extensive travels and education abroad
but all children had unhappy adulthoods; Alice extensive illness
William himself suffered from digestive disorders, insomnia, eye problems, weak back, hypochondriasis, and bouts of depression in later life
first planned to become an artist (in 1860/18); studied painting for 6 months in studio of William Morris Hunt
then entered Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard to study chemistry (in 1861/19); but disliked lab work; often fatigued
then learned that family money running out; enrolled in Harvard medical school (in 1864/22)
interrupted medical studies (in 1865/23) to assist Louis Agassiz in expedition to Brazil; but left
traveled to Europe again (in 1867/25)
obtained Harvard MD in 1869 (27)

Career

Crisis; attack of intense insecurity; suicidal; two events led to recovery:

read French Kantian philosopher Charles Renouvier in 1870 (28) on free will
Harvard’s president Charles Eliot asked him to teach a new physiology course

1872(30) assistant professor of physiology (at $600/year); excellent instructor; teaching ratings�1875-76 (33-34): taught “The Relations Between Physiology and Psychology,” first psychology course in US�1875 (33): founded first psychology lab in US�1876 (34): publishing psychology articles in Mind�1878 (36): stopped teaching anatomy and physiology�1880 (38): signed contract to write textbook; made assistant professor of philosophy�1885 (43): full professor of philosophy�1889 (47): full professor of psychology in 1897 (55): full professor of philosophy to 1907�1910 (68): died

Principles of Psychology (1890/48)

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The History of Psychology: G. Stanley Hall

Established the first psychological lab in the U.S. in 1883, at Johns Hopkins University.
Founder and first president of the APA
Started the American Psychological Journal (1887) now the American Journal of Psychology

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1st American Ph.D. in psychology (under William James, 1878)

1st American student in the 1st year of the 1st lab in the world (Wundt’s)

1st psychology lab in US in 1883 at Johns Hopkins

1st psychology journal in US (American Journal of Psychology in 1887)

1st president of Clark University in 1888

1st President of the American Psychological Association in 1892 (which he organized)

Much of his work focused on child development and education

Much of Hall’s work focused on child development and education. Hall mentored Francis Cecil Sumner who became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in psychology in the U.S. in 1920.

Functionalism (what the mind does) emerged as an alternative to structuralism (how mind is structured).

Helping students distinguish between structuralism and functionalism is a crucial objective on this slide. Sometimes words mean exactly what students would assume by reading them, and indeed, that is the case here with structuralism focusing on the structure or composition of the mind and functionalism focusing on how the mind functions or what it does. Once students have a basic understanding of functionalism now the stage is set to discuss the work of William James, G. Stanley Hall, and James McKeen Cattell as laid out on this slide and the ones to follow.

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Other Early Psychologists

John Dewey
James McKeen Cattell
Mary Whiton Calkins
Margaret Floy Washburn
Leta S. Hollingworth
Francis C. Sumner
Inez Beverly Prosser
Ruth Winifred Howard

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Activity: Assign students to read more about one of these psychologists (or add more to the list) and play “Two Truths and a Lie” based on their early psychologist.

John Dewey: Dewey was a philosopher and psychologist who contributed to the development of functionalism. He emphasized the importance of context and experience in understanding behavior and mental processes, and his ideas influenced later approaches to psychology such as behaviorism and humanistic psychology.

James McKeen Cattell: Cattell was a student of Wundt and helped to establish psychology as a scientific discipline in the United States. He is known for his work in individual differences, mental testing, and the study of intelligence. James McKeen Cattell spent much of his career looking at individual differences, most specifically the idea that intelligence was inherited and could be measured. His beliefs about identifying and promoting society’s most intelligent were akin to those in the eugenics movement (selective breeding). Cattell’s work sparked much debate about the contributions of genetics and environment in intelligence.

Mary Whiton Calkins: Calkins was a pioneer in the field of psychology, being the first woman to complete requirements for a PhD in psychology at Harvard University. She also invented the paired-associate technique and studied self-psychology. Studied under William James and Hugo Münsterberg.

Margaret Floy Washburn: Washburn was the first woman to receive a PhD in psychology, and her book "The Animal Mind" was a landmark in comparative psychology. Her work on animal behavior and perception helped to establish psychology as a legitimate scientific discipline.

Leta S. Hollingworth: Hollingworth was a pioneering researcher in the areas of intelligence testing and gifted education. She was also one of the first psychologists to focus on the psychology of women, and her research on menstrual cycle effects was groundbreaking. Studied under Thorndike at Columbia and later taught there.

Mamie Phipps Clark: Clark was a social psychologist who, along with her husband, conducted research that helped to desegregate schools in the United States. Her famous doll studies showed that young children were aware of racial differences and the negative effects of discrimination, leading to important changes in civil rights law.

Francis C. Sumner (1895–1954) was the first Black American to receive a PhD in psychology in America, in 1920 (Gilbert Haven Jones had earlier earned a PhD in philosophy in Germany but returned to teach psychology in America). Sumner's dissertation focused on issues related to psychoanalysis. Sumner also had research interests in racial bias and educational justice. Sumner was one of the founders of Howard University’s department of psychology, and because of his accomplishments, he is sometimes referred to as the “Father of Black Psychology.”

Sumner's classmate J. Henry Alston became the first Black man to publish research in a journal–he published research on how skin receptors of warmth and cold work together to create the sensation of intense heat.

Inez Beverly Prosser

Thirteen years after Sumner, Inez Beverly Prosser (1895–1934) became the first Black woman to receive a PhD in psychology. Prosser’s research highlighted issues related to education in segregated versus integrated schools, and ultimately, her work was very influential in the hallmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional (Ethnicity and Health in America Series: Featured Psychologists, n.d.).

Around the same time, Ruth Winifred Howard (1900–1997) completed her psychology degree in child development and went on to open her own private practice, working alongside her husband, Albert Sidney Beckham (1897–1964), known for being the first Black school psychologist and a classmate of Francis Sumner.

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Gestalt Psychology

Can you read this?

This is bcuseae the huammn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Amzanig, huh?

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The History of Psychology: Gestalt Theory

Developed in the early 1900s in Germany and Austria as a response to structuralism

Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler

Examined perception
Explores the idea that although a sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, how those parts relate to each other as a whole is often what the individual responds to in perception

The “invisible” triangle you see here is an example of gestalt perception.

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This German school of thought came as a response to structuralism. Emerged in the early twentieth century in Austria and Germany as a theory of perception that was a rejection of basic principles of Wilhelm Wundt's and Edward Titchener's elementalist and structuralist psychology. Max Wertheimer (1880–1943), Kurt Koffka (1886–1941), and Wolfgang Köhler (1887–1967) founded Gestalt psychology in the early 20th century.

Gestalt ideas are often seen as a precursor to the cognitive psychology revolution that took place later in the 20th century.

History of Psychology. Authored by: OpenStax College. Located at: http://cnx.org/contents/Sr8Ev5Og@5.48:lAYBvVZM@5/History-of-Psychology. License: CC BY: Attribution. License Terms: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/4abf04bf-93a0-45c3-9cbc-2cefd46e68cc@5.48

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The History of Psychology: Freud and Psychoanalytic Theory

Developed in the late 1800s, early 1900s by Sigmund Freud
Focus on the unconscious and on childhood experiences
Theory of personality

Interaction between id, ego, superego

Theory of development

Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital stages

Today, controversial but still influential

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Section 2 Learning Goals

Describe the major developments in psychology through the 20th century

Define behaviorism and the contributions of Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner to psychology

2.1

Explain the basic tenets of humanism and Maslow's contribution to psychology

2.2

Describe the basics of cognitive psychology

2.3

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Other Schools of Psychology:

School of Psychology	Description
Biological perspective	Focuses on the connection between the body and behavior and the role of the body and brain in influencing behavior. Has increased in importance with advancing technology and understanding of neuroscience.
Evolutionary perspective	Focuses on traits and genes and the ways that natural selection of traits perpetuates certain behaviors and mental processes
Sociocultural perspective	Examines how social situations, culture, and other experiences shape our lives

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The History of Psychology: Behaviorism

Early to mid-1900s
John Watson and B.F. Skinner
Focuses on observing and controlling behavior

Conditioning
Reinforcement and punishment

Modified versions of the operant conditioning chamber, or Skinner box, are still widely used in research settings today

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The behaviorist movement, championed by psychologists B.F. Skinner and John Watson, focused on what was observable and measurable, thereby rejecting the idea that the mind could be studied. The ultimate goal was to predict and control behavior. Classical conditioning, made famous by Ivan Pavlov, was another behavioral construct that lent credence to the notion that learning and behavior could be studied without studying the mind, or consciousness.

Behaviorists like B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) and John Watson (1878-1958) focused on what was observable and measurable

The behaviorist movement, championed by psychologists like B.F. Skinner and John Watson, focused on that which was observable and measurable, thereby rejecting the idea that the mind could be studied.

Itwasn’tuntilthe1960’sinAmericathatbehaviorismbegantolosesomeofitsmomentum, when people began challenging the idea that a model that neglected mental processes could adequately explain human behavior. This ushered in the era of cognitive psychology, which paid special attention to language and memory, yielding research on flashbulb memory, the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, and working memory.

B[urrhus] F[rederic] Skinner (1904-1990)

Life

first-born in professional family; both parents well educated
displayed early talents and precocious interests; first literary publication at age 10
English major at Hamilton College; great practical joker
attended writer’s workshop
“Dark Year” after graduation: Greenwich Village for 6 months; summer in Paris
crystallizing experience: Watson’s Behaviorism and Pavlov’s Conditioned Reflexes
entered Harvard; PhD in 1931 (27)
returned to Harvard as professor in 1947 (43)

Credit a: modification of work by “Silly rabbit”/Wikimedia Commons. From: History of Psychology. Authored by: OpenStax College. Located at: http://cnx.org/contents/Sr8Ev5Og@5.48:lAYBvVZM@5/History-of-Psychology. License: CC BY: Attribution. License Terms: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/4abf04bf-93a0-45c3-9cbc-2cefd46e68cc@5.48

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The History of Psychology: Humanism

1950s
Focuses on the potential for good that is innate to all humans
Emphasizes the whole person and views people as able to take the lead in their own therapy
Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers

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The History of Psychology: Cognitive Psychology

Mid-1900s
Accepts the use of the scientific method and generally rejects introspection as a valid method of investigation

Acknowledges the existence of internal mental states, unlike behaviorist psychology

Major areas of research include perception, memory, categorization, knowledge representation, numerical cognition, language, and thinking

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Early Schools of Psychology: Still Active and Advanced Beyond Early Ideas

School of Psychology	Description	Earliest Period	Historically Important People
Psychodynamic perspective	Focuses on the role of the unconscious and childhood experiences in affecting conscious behavior.	Very late 19th to Early 20th Century	Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson
Behavioral perspective	Focuses on observing and controlling behavior through what is observable. Puts an emphasis on learning and conditioning.	Early 20th Century	Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner
Humanistic perspective	Emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans and rejects that psychology should focus on problems and disorders.	1950s	Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers
Cognitive perspective	Focuses not just on behavior, but on mental processes and internal mental states.	1960s	Ulric Neisser, Noam Chomsky, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky

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Other Schools of Psychology:

School of Psychology	Description
Biological perspective	Focuses on the connection between the body and behavior and the role of the body and brain in influencing behavior. Has increased in importance with advancing technology and understanding of neuroscience.
Evolutionary perspective	Focuses on traits and genes and the ways that natural selection of traits perpetuates certain behaviors and mental processes
Sociocultural perspective	Examines how social situations, culture, and other experiences shape our lives

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Apply It: Schools of Psychology

Choose the perspective that best fits the description:

1. The most important thing in explaining a person’s behavior is how they think and process information.

2. A person’s childhood experiences and subconscious desires affect their behavior.

3. A person’s brain chemistry and hormones have a huge impact on their behavior.

4. A person is capable of changing and reaching their full potential, no matter their background.

5. A person usually behaves a certain way because they have either been rewarded or punished for those behaviors in the past.

6. Why is it easier to remember some things and why does our memory fail us sometimes?

7. All of our actions have underlying unconscious influences.

8. Medications can be used to treat various mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression.

9. Psychology should focus on observable behaviors.

10. Children need to feel accepted and loved and should be given unconditional positive regard in order to grow up and become healthy adults.

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1. The most important thing in explaining a person’s behavior is how they think and process information. *cognitive*

2. A person’s childhood experiences and subconscious desires affect their behavior. *psychodynamic*

3. A person’s brain chemistry and hormones have a huge impact on their behavior. *biological*

4. A person is capable of changing and reaching their full potential, no matter their background. *humanistic*

5. A person usually behaves a certain way because they have either been rewarded or punished for those behaviors in the past. *behavioral*

6. Why is it easier to remember some things and why does our memory fail us sometimes? *cognitive*

7. All of our actions have underlying unconscious influences. *psychodynamic*

8. Medications can be used to treat various mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression. *biological*

9. Psychology should focus on observable behaviors. *behavioral*

10. Children need to feel accepted and loved and should be given unconditional positive regard in order to grow up and become healthy adults. *humanistic*

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What does it mean that psychology is WEIRD?

What impact does this have on the study of psychology?

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic

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Psychology’s WEIRD problem refers to the tendency of psychological research to rely heavily on participants who are Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. This phenomenon has been identified as a problem because it creates a bias in the research, leading to an overemphasis on the experiences and perspectives of people from these particular cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

There are several reasons why this is problematic:

Limited generalizability: Studies that rely solely on WEIRD participants may not accurately represent the broader population. This is because the experiences, values, and beliefs of people from non-WEIRD cultures can differ significantly from those of WEIRD cultures, and these differences can impact behavior and psychological processes.

Cultural bias: The emphasis on WEIRD participants can lead to a bias in the theories and concepts that emerge from psychological research. Theories and concepts developed using WEIRD samples may not apply to people from non-WEIRD cultures, leading to a limited understanding of human behavior and psychology.

Ethical concerns: The overreliance on WEIRD participants can also raise ethical concerns, as it can be seen as a form of cultural imperialism. This is because the research may be used to make claims about people from non-WEIRD cultures, without taking into account the unique cultural contexts and experiences of those individuals.

Overall, the WEIRD problem highlights the need for greater cultural diversity in psychological research, and for researchers to consider the unique experiences and perspectives of people from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

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WEIRD Psychology

Limited generalizability
Cultural bias
Ethical concerns

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History is Messy

View this historical chronology, published by the APA in 2021 around the same time the organization publicly apologized for its “Role in Promoting, Perpetuating, and Failing to Challenge Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Human Hierarchy in U.S.”

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Apply It: Chronology Game

Let’s create a timeline together. Good luck!

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What stands out to you from this timeline?
What are current evidence of these injustices?
How can psychological research help alleviate the wrongs that it’s done?

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Psychology’s WEIRD problem refers to the tendency of psychological research to rely heavily on participants who are Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. This phenomenon has been identified as a problem because it creates a bias in the research, leading to an overemphasis on the experiences and perspectives of people from these particular cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

There are several reasons why this is problematic:

Limited generalizability: Studies that rely solely on WEIRD participants may not accurately represent the broader population. This is because the experiences, values, and beliefs of people from non-WEIRD cultures can differ significantly from those of WEIRD cultures, and these differences can impact behavior and psychological processes.

Cultural bias: The emphasis on WEIRD participants can lead to a bias in the theories and concepts that emerge from psychological research. Theories and concepts developed using WEIRD samples may not apply to people from non-WEIRD cultures, leading to a limited understanding of human behavior and psychology.

Ethical concerns: The overreliance on WEIRD participants can also raise ethical concerns, as it can be seen as a form of cultural imperialism. This is because the research may be used to make claims about people from non-WEIRD cultures, without taking into account the unique cultural contexts and experiences of those individuals.

Overall, the WEIRD problem highlights the need for greater cultural diversity in psychological research, and for researchers to consider the unique experiences and perspectives of people from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

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Section 3 Learning Goals

Describe the five domains of psychology

List and define the five major domains, or pillars, of contemporary psychology
Describe the basic interests and applications of biopsychology and evolutionary psychology
Describe the basic interests and applications of cognitive psychology
Describe the basic interests and applications of developmental psychology
Describe the basic interests and applications of social psychology and personality psychology
Describe the basic interests and applications of abnormal, clinical, and health psychology

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

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The Five Psychological Domains

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The Biological Domain

Biopsychology: Explores how our biology influences behavior. The fields of behavioral neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, and neuropsychology are all subfields of biological psychology.

Evolutionary psychology: Explores how human behavior evolved.

Sensation and perception: Research is interdisciplinary, but there is a focus on the physiological aspects of sensory systems, as well as in the psychological experience of sensory information.

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The text introduced some of the ideas about mate selection and attractiveness: “Evolutionary psychologists have had success in finding experimental correspondence between observations and expectations. In one study of mate preference differences between heterosexual men and women that spanned 37 cultures, Buss (1989) found that women valued earning potential factors more than men, and men valued potential reproductive factors (youth and attractiveness) more than women in their prospective mates. In general, the predictions were in line with the predictions of evolution, although there were deviations in some cultures. More recent research (2022) on heterosexual friendships revealed that men prioritize physical attractiveness in opposite-sex friends, while women prioritize protection and economic resources. This supports the idea that mate preferences extend beyond romantic relationships.[footnote]Szymkow, A., & Frankowska, N. (2022). Moderators of Sexual Interest in Opposite-sex Friends. Evolutionary Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049211068672[/footnote]”

You could elaborate on this conversation and pull in things like this study: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/humor-sapiens/201106/are-women-more-attracted-men-who-court-them-humor.

Or this one: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1474704915623698

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The Cognitive Domain

Focuses on thoughts, and their relationship to experiences and actions
Studies language, cognition, memory, intelligence, and more

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The Developmental Domain

Includes behavioral psychology and learning/conditioning

Classical and operant conditioning

Developmental Psychology is the scientific study of development across a lifespan

Stages and milestones of development

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The Social and Personality Psychology Domain

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others
Personality psychology is the study of patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique

A personality trait is a consistent pattern of thought and behavior

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Five Factor Model of Personality

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The Mental and Physical Health Domain

Abnormal psychology focuses on abnormal thoughts and behaviors
Clinical psychology focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior
Health psychology focuses on how health is affected by the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors

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Branches of Psychology

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Section 4 Learning Goals

Explain modern psychology, the value of psychology, and possible careers in psychology

Define industrial-organizational psychology, sport and exercise psychology, and forensic psychology

4.1

Explain why an education in psychology is valuable

4.2

4.3

Describe educational requirements and career options for the study of psychology

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Other Subfields in Psychology

Industrial-Organizational psychology applies psychological theories, principles, and research findings in industrial and organizational settings.

Forensic psychology applies the science and practice of psychology to the justice system.

Sport and exercise psychology focuses on the interactions between mental and emotional factors and physical performance in sports, exercise, and other activities

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Why Study Psychology?

Learn critical thinking and communication skills
Develop an understanding of the complex factors that shape human behavior
Useful in all fields of work
Opens doors to a variety of career paths

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How would psychology be helpful in each of these careers?

Table 1. Top Occupations Employing Graduates with a BA in Psychology (Fogg, Harrington, Harrington, & Shatkin, 2012)

Ranking	Occupation
1	Mid- and top-level management (executive, administrator)
2	Sales
3	Social work
4	Other management positions
5	Human resources (personnel, training)
6	Other administrative positions
7	Insurance, real estate, business
8	Marketing and sales
9	Healthcare (nurse, pharmacist, therapist)
10	Finance (accountant, auditor)

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Quick Review

What is psychology?
Summarize the history of psychology
Describe the early schools of psychology
What are the approaches, fields, and subfields of contemporary psychology?
What major concepts are part of each field?
Why is studying psychology valuable?
What possible career paths are there in psychology?

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Speed-Dating

Receive a notecard with a historical figure name
Prepare a short bio
Spend 2 min talking with another student
Rotate
Write a reflection

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From Noba Psychology, the History of Psychology, CC-BY-NC-SA

This slide presents an activity called: Toasting the Greats

While this activity was originally designed for higher-level History and Systems courses with a focus on lesser-known historical figures, it can easily be tweaked for an introductory course. In fact, almost all of the people discussed in this module are lesser-known figures to the typical introductory psychology student!

Time: Approximately 15 minutes

Materials: A pen and paper

Source: Wight, R. D. (1993). Expanding the coverage in the history course by toasting significant but often overlooked contributors. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 112. doi:10.1207/s15328023top2002_12

Instructions for Students:

Pick (or assign) one historical figure and his or her ideas that you really identified with during the course of this module

Write a short toast (no more than two minutes) to the chosen person

Be specific in your toast so that it is clear why specifically you are honoring this person.

Who wants to share?

Directions for Instructors:

Ask each student to pick one person and his or her ideas that they really identified with during the course of this module.

Next, have them write a short toast (less than 2 minutes) as if they were honoring the person they chose at a formal dinner or banquet.

Remind students to be specific in their toasts such that there is a good understanding as to why they are honoring this person and their ideas. If there is time, students can actually write these in class. Students can also be assigned this in between classes and bring it with them to the next class meeting.

The activity concludes by having students share their toasts. This can be done with the larger class (for willing students) or in small groups.

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Toasting The Greats

Pick one historical figure that you really identified with
Write a short toast (no more than two minutes)
Be specific in your toast
Who wants to share?

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From Noba Psychology, the History of Psychology, CC-BY-NC-SA

This slide presents an activity called: Toasting the Greats

While this activity was originally designed for higher-level History and Systems courses with a focus on lesser-known historical figures, it can easily be tweaked for an introductory course. In fact, almost all of the people discussed in this module are lesser-known figures to the typical introductory psychology student!

Time: Approximately 15 minutes

Materials: A pen and paper

Source: Wight, R. D. (1993). Expanding the coverage in the history course by toasting significant but often overlooked contributors. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 112. doi:10.1207/s15328023top2002_12

Instructions for Students:

Pick (or assign) one historical figure and his or her ideas that you really identified with during the course of this module

Write a short toast (no more than two minutes) to the chosen person

Be specific in your toast so that it is clear why specifically you are honoring this person.

Who wants to share?

Directions for Instructors:

Ask each student to pick one person and his or her ideas that they really identified with during the course of this module.

Next, have them write a short toast (less than 2 minutes) as if they were honoring the person they chose at a formal dinner or banquet.

Remind students to be specific in their toasts such that there is a good understanding as to why they are honoring this person and their ideas. If there is time, students can actually write these in class. Students can also be assigned this in between classes and bring it with them to the next class meeting.

The activity concludes by having students share their toasts. This can be done with the larger class (for willing students) or in small groups.

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Attributions

Illustrations are from Storyset
Images from Pexels & Unsplash
Activities from various authors, including Lumen Learning and Noba Psychology

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