Lecture 02

History of Psychology

1. Psychology and Philosophy
1. Mind-Body Problem
1. Are body and mind identical or distinct?
2. Is behavior reflexive and determined or freely chosen and willed?
2. Origins of Knowledge
1. Nativism vs. Empiricism
2. Associationism
2. Early Psychological Theories
1. Structuralism
2. Functionalism
3. Gestalt Psychology
4. Freud
5. Behaviorism
3. Contemporary Perspectives
1. Biological
2. Cognitive
3. Humanism
4. Sociocultural

Overview

Many people assume that psychology is primarily about the "diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems," but this topic was not part of the field when it began. Instead, psychology developed from the field of philosophy, and two philosophical issues were of particular importance to early psychologists: (1) The mind-body problem concerns two questions: To what extent is the mind separate from the brain and is behavior reflexive or subject to free will? (2) The second issue concerns the origins of knowledge. Here philosophers have disagreed about the degree to which all knowledge is acquired through the senses or whether some knowledge is innate, present at birth. Following Locke's assertion that "there is nothing in the intellect that is not first in the sense," early psychologists set about trying to identify the basic elements of psychological experience. Several schools of thought arose to address this issue, each adopting a particular perspective. Although the issues themselves are still debated and researched within the field, psychological research is now influenced by broader perspectives that make assumptions about human nature.

Specifics

1. Be familiar with four positions regarding the "mind-body" problem.
2. Distinguish two approaches to the origins of knowledge, and explain how, according to the empiricists, people can have thoughts of things never seen (e.g., a purple cow with wings).
3. Identify the central assumptions made by each of the five early schools of psychology.
4. Know four contemporary perspectives and the assumptions they make about human nature.

Mind-Body Problem

Position	Are body and mind identical or distinct?	Is behavior reflexive or is there free will?
Strict Dualism
Cartesian Interactionism
Willful Materialism
Absolute Materialism