What is Psychology?

A long past but a short

history!
 What it is not.
■Be wary of “pop psychology”

–Psychobabble - language loaded with

psychological terminology
–Pseudoscience - set of ideas based on
theories put forth as scientific when they
are not

–Main difference: Empiricism

observation, explanation, prediction, testing
■
 Common sense?

–Isn’t a lot of psychology just common

sense?
–description versus explanation
–“why” versus “what”—echoes the
difference between science and common
sense

–Critical thinking! - thinking that mirrors the

values of the scientific method
 Critical thinking

■Critical thinking – reflective

thinking
–Discerning and wise
–Examines assumptions
–Evaluates evidence
–Assesses conclusions
 From speculation to
science
■Prior to 1879
–Physiology and philosophy scholars
studying questions of the mind
■Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) University
of Leipzig, Germany
–Campaigned to make psychology an
independent science
–Established the first laboratory for the
study of psychology in 1879.
■Psychology was born
 The Dual Roots of
Psychology

Ideas about how

Philosophy knowledge can
be acquired The idea
of applying
the methods of science
Progress in to the study of human
Natural Science understanding behaviour
the nervous system,
senses, etc.
 Wundt’s International
Influence
■Leipzig, the place to study psychology
–Graduates of Wundt’s program set up new
labs across Europe and North America
■G.Stanley Hall (1846-1924), Johns
Hopkins University
–Established the first psychology laboratory
in the U.S. in 1883.
■Between 1883 and 1893, 24 new labs
in North America
 The science of the mind:
The Battle of the
“Schools”
■Two intellectual schools of thought
regarding the science of psychology
–Structuralism -led by Edward
Titchener
■focused on analyzing consciousness into
basic elements
–sensations
■Introspection - careful, systematic

observations of one’s conscious

experience
 The Battle of the
“Schools”

■Functionalism - led by William James

–strongly influenced by Darwin
–Focused on investigating the function or
purpose of consciousness
–led to investigation of mental testing,
developmental patterns, and sex
differences
–may have attracted the first women into
the field of psychology
The Battle of the
“Schools”
 The Battle of the
“Schools”

■ Gestalt psychology
– Wholes vs. multiple individual
elements
■ You shouldn’t dissect an experience
into separate elements to discover
truths – instead, look at the ‘whole’
– Max Wertheimer
■ Phi phenomenon
 Behaviorism: Redefining
Psychology
■John B. Watson (1878-1958): U.S.
–Founder of Behaviorism
■Psychology = scientific study of
behavior
■Behavior = overt or observable
responses or activities
–radical reorientation of psychology as a
science of observable behavior
–study of consciousness abandoned
The Cognitive Revolution:
The Return of Cognition
■Puttingthe psyche back in psychology
■1950s and 60s:
–computers
–memory research
–Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky, and Herbert
Simon
Contemporary Psychology
■Psychology= the scientific study of
mind and behaviour
–behaviour - any observable action or
reaction by a living organism
–cognitive processes - every aspect of
mental life
–permits study of virtually every aspect of
human behaviour and human experience
–given its complexity, have variety of
perspectives
–multiple determinants require multiple
 Contemporary
Perspectives

■Behaviourism/Learning
–focuses on overt behaviour
–environmental contingencies and stimuli
–abc’s
–Social-Cognitive Learning Theory
■Cognitive
–focuses on cognitive processes such as
memory, thought and reasoning
–person’s subjective reality more important
than objective reality
 Contemporary
Perspectives

■Biological
–attempts to explain behaviour in terms of
the influence of genes, the brain,
hormones, etc. by examining underlying
physical structures and processes
■Socio-Cultural
–focuses on all aspects of social behaviour
and on the impact of cultural factors
–investigate cross-cultural differences
 Contemporary
Perspectives

■Psychodynamic (Freud, 1856-1939)

–behaviour is determined by powerful inner
forces, such as instincts and biological
drives
–unconscious conflicts between personal
needs and society’s demands; personality
and early childhood experiences
■Evolutionary
–focuses on the possible role of inherited
tendencies in various aspects of behaviour
 Improving the Field of
Psychology
■The Humanistic Movement
–emphasizes a person’s positive qualities,
the capacity for positive growth, and
freedom to choose a destiny
■Feminist Movement
–A psychological approach that analyzes
the influence of social inequities on gender
relations and on the behaviour of the two
sexes
Goals of Psychology
Goals of Psychology
Goals of Psychology
1. Even the most subtle behaviors tell you something about
a person. (bahkan perilaku yang paling tidak jelas dapat
menggambarkan individu)
2. Our behaviors are a product of our history as a species.
(perilaku kita adalah hasil dari riwayat sebagai spesies)
3. Nothing makes you angry; you choose to become angry.
(tidak ada yang membuat anda marah; anda memilih
untuk marah)
4. Consciousness is the same thing as nervous system
activity. (kesadaran sama dengan aktifitas sistem saraf)
5. You cannot fully understand a person without knowing
where they came from. (anda tidak dapat sepenuhnya
memahami individu tanpa mengetahui darimana mereka
berasal)
6. Many of our activities are designed to propagate our
genes. (banyak dari aktifitas kita dirancang untuk
melestarikan gen-gen kita)
7. Our actions are caused by events in our environment.
(perilaku kita disebabkan oleh peristiwa di lingkungan
kita)
8. Criminals sometimes leave evidence because
they really want to get caught. (pelaku kriminal
kadangkala meninggalkan bukti karena mereka
ingin ditangkap)
9. The language you speak influences the way you
process other information. (bahasa yang
digunakan mempengaruhi cara memproses
informasi)
10. You really can’t know what goes on in someone’s
mind, all you can know is how they act. (anda
tidak bisa tahu apa yang ada di pikiran
seseorang, yang bisa diketahui hanyalah
bagaimana mereka berperilaku)
11. It is important for each individual to develop a
clear sense of who he/she is. (penting bagi setiap
orang untuk mengembangkan pemahaman yang
jelas akan dirinya sendiri)
12. People make rational choices by weighing the
alternatives. (orang membuat pilihan rasional
dengan menimbang alternatif-alternatif)
14. We don’t often realize the real reason we do something.
(kita sering tidak menyadari alasan yang sebenarnya kita
melakukan sesuatu)
15. Our behavior reflects our thoughts. (perilaku kita
mencerminkan pikiran-pikiran kita)
16. People process information much in the same way that
computers do. (orang mengolah informasi sebagaimana
komputer)
17. Men and women behave differently due to ancient
environmental pressures. (perilaku laki-laki dan
perempuan berbeda karena tekanan lingkungan dari
masa lalu)
18. To understand behavior, you have to understand how the
nervous system works. (untuk memahami perilaku, anda
harus memahami bagaimana cara kerja sistem saraf)
19. Much of our behavior is genetically determined. (banyak
dari perilaku kita ditentukan secara genetis)
20. People from collectivist and individualist societies differ
in terms of what they find morally acceptable.
(masyarakat kolektif dan individualis berbeda dalam
menentukan apa yang diterima secara moral)
21. You can discover a lot about your
unconscious mind by interpreting the
symbols that appear in your dreams.
(ketidaksadaran dapat ditemukan dengan
mengartikan simbol-simbol yang muncul
di mimpi)
22. To be happy, you need to live up to your
fullest potential. (
23. Humans share several important
behaviors with apes. (manusia berbagi
perilaku penting dengan kera)
24. Ultimately, each person is responsible for
his or her actions. (setiap orang
bertanggung jawab untuk perilakunya)
25. Sometimes people behave irrationally
because they think irrationally.
(kadangkala orang berperilaku tidak
rasional karena mereka berpikir tidak
 Your preferred
If you chose items perspective is

■ 1, 8, 14, 21 ■ Psychoanalytic
■ 7, 10, 13, 27 ■ Behavioral
■ 3, 11, 22, 24 ■ Humanistic
■ 12, 15, 16, 25 ■ Cognitive
■ 4, 18, 19, 28 ■ Biological
■ 2, 6, 17, 23 ■ Evolutionary
■ 5, 9, 20, 26 ■ Cultural