The Scientific Attitude 3 Main Components

The Scientific Attitude 3 Main Components: EMPERICAL verifiable evidence Curious, Skeptical but not cynical, Humble (humility) Curious Skepticism - "What do you mean?" and "How do you know?" Humility-awareness of our own vulnerability to error and openness to surprises and new perspectives. Critical Thinking: thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions o examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence. and assesses conclusions. Psychology's Roots Aristotle (Greek Philosopher, before 300 B.C.E) - theorized learning and memory, motivation and emotion, perception and personality. December 1879: Wilhelm Wundt (German professor) - Experiment tested the time it took for people to press a telegraph key after hearing a ball hit a platform People responded in 1/10th of a second when asked to press the key as soon as the sound occurred 2/10 of a second when asked to press the keys as soon as they were consciously aware of perceiving the sound (to be aware of one's awareness takes a little longer) Wundt was seeking to measure "atoms of the mind" He began the first Pscyh. Laboratory First Schools of Thought: Functionalism and Structuralism: Edward Bradford Titchener - wanted to discover the mind's structure Promoted introspection Wanted to know their immediate sensations, images, and feelings. Introspection failed because the self-reports varied, depending on experience, intelligence, and verbal ability. Myers. Exploring Psychology, 100, © 2016 Warth Publishers William James Philosopher-psychologist Influenced by Charles Darwin - believed that our brain's functions were adaptive Adaptive Functions he studied down-to-earth emotions, memories, willpower, habits, and moment-to-moment streams of consciousness. Psychology's First Women pioneers of psych were mostly men 1890: James admitted Mary Whiton Calkins into his graduate seminar (over the objection's of Harvard's president) When she joined all the other men dropped out James tutored her alone She finished all of Harvard's Ph.D. requirements (outscoring all the male students on the exams) Because she was a woman, Harvard denied her the degree, and offered her a degree from Radcliffe College (it's sister school for women) Calkins refused the degree She became first memory researcher and the first female president of the American Psychological Association (1905) Margaret Floy Washburn: became first OFFICIAL female psych. Ph.D. Wrote an influential book The Animal Mind 1921: Became 2nd female president of APA (American Psych. Association) Her thesis was the 1st foreign study Wundt published, HOWEVER, she couldn't join the all-male organization of experimental psychologists (founded by Titchener, her grad. Advisor) Psychological Science Develops: Early pioneers definition of psychology: the science of mental life (used until 1920s) John B. Watson and B.F Skinner (left to right) Behaviorism (one of two major forces of psych. In the 196fts) John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner dismissed introspection and redefined psychology: the scientific study of observable behavior According to them, you cannot observe a sensation, feeling, or thought you can observe/record people's behavior as they are conditioned: responding to and learning different situations Behaviorism: psych. Should be an objective science that studies behavior w/o reference to mental processes (many psychologists agree) Freudian Psychology (2nd major force of psych in the 196fts) Emphasized the ways our unconscious thought processes and emotional responses to childhood experience affect out behavior Humanistic Psychology Led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow drew attention to ways that current environmental influences can nurture or limit our growth potential The importance of having needs for love and acceptance satisfied Modern Definition of Psychology: The science of behavior and mental processes. Behavior: anything an organism does- any action that can be observed or recorded Mental Processes: internal, subjective experiences we infer from behavior -sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings Contemporary Psychology The Cognitive Revolution Pioneered by psychologists in the 1960s Today we explore how we perceive/process/remember info and roots of anxiety, depression, and other psych disorders Cognitive Neuroscience cognitive psych (science of mind + neuroscience (science of brain) Studies brain activity underlying mental activity Evolutionary Psychology and Behavior Genetics Plato (Greek Philosopher, 428-348 B.C.E.) - believed that we inherit character/intelligence and certain ideas are inborn In contrast, Aristotle believe that all things in the mind come from the external world via senses Cross Cultural and Gender Psychology Culture: shared ideas and behaviors that one generation passes on to the next Researchers report gender differences in our dreams, expressions, how we detect emotions, and our risk for alcohol use, depression/eating disorders NOTE: Even when specific at Ytudes and behaviors vary by gender or across cultures, as they often do, the underlying processes are much the same. Positive Psychology: study of human flourishing, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.