AP Psychology Notes

Chapter 1: History and Approaches

  1. Introspection
    1. Trephination
      1. Stone Age humans carving holes through the skull to release evil spirits
    2. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
      1. 1879- set up the first psychological laboratory
        1. near university at Leipzig, Germany
      2. Trained subjects in introspection
        1. asked them to accurately record their cognitive reactions to sample stimuli
      3. Developed the theory of structuralism
        1. the mind operates by combining subjective emotions and objective sensations
    3. William James (1842-1910)
      1. 1890- published the first psychology textbook “The Principles of Psychology”
      2. Examined how the structures Wundt identified function in our lives (functionalism)
  2. Gestalt Psychology
    1. Max Wertheimer (1880-1943)
    2. Principles
      1. The whole is more than the sum of its parts
      2. Argued against dividing human thought and behavior into discrete structures
      3. Tried to examine a person’s total experience
        1. the way we experience the world is more than an accumulation of perceptual experiences
  3. Psychoanalysis
    1. ​Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
      1. ​Revolutionizes psychology with his psychoanalytic theory
      2. Believed he discovered the unconscious mind
        1. ​builds up through repression
      3. ​To understand human thought and behavior, we must examine the unconscious mind through:
        1. ​dream analysis
        2. word association
        3. psychoanalytic theory
    2. ​​Definitions of Terms
      1. ​Unconscious mind
        1. ​a part of our mind over which we do not have conscious control
        2. ​​determines, in part, how we think and behave
      2. ​Repression
        1. ​the pushing down into the unconscious the events and feelings that our conscious mind can’t handle
  4. ​​​Behaviorism
    1. ​1920s-1960s
      1. ​Dominant school of thought
    2. ​John Watson (1878-1958)
      1. ​Studied Pavlov
      2. For psychology to be a science, it must limit itself to observable phenomena
      3. Behaviorist
    3. ​Principles
      1. ​Psychologists should look only at behavior and the causes of it
        1. ​stimuli (environmental events)
        2. responses (physical reactions)
        3. NOT consciousness
    4. ​​B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
      1. ​Expanded behaviorism to include reinforcement
      2. Reinforcement
        1. ​​​environmental stimuli that either encourage or discourage certain responses
  5. ​​​Humanist Perspective
    1. ​Principles
      1. ​Stressed individual choice and free will
      2. ​​We choose most of our behaviors
        1. ​these choices are guided by psychological, emotional, and spiritual needs
      3. ​The theories are not easily tested by the scientific method
    2. ​Figures
      1. ​Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
      2. Carl Rogers (1902-1987)
    3. ​Deterministic Behaviorists
      1. ​Contrast with humanists
      2. All behaviors are caused by past conditioning
  6. ​​Psychoanalytic Perspective
    1. ​Characteristics
      1. ​Holds all of Freud’s beliefs
      2. ​​Very controversial
  7. ​​Biopsychology (Neuroscience) Perspective
    1. ​Principles
      1. ​Explain human thought and behavior strictly in terms of biological processes
      2. Human cognition and reactions
        1. ​caused by genes, hormones, neurotransmitters
  8. ​​​Evolutionary (Darwanian) Perspective
    1. ​Principles
      1. ​Examine human thoughts and actions in terms of natural selection
        1. ​traits that benefit survival get passed on
      2. ​“Socialbiology”
  9. ​​Behavioral Perspective
    1. ​Principles
      1. ​Explain human thought and behavior in terms of conditioning
      2. Look strictly at observable behaviors and what reactions organisms get in response to them
  10. ​​Cognitive Perspective
    1. ​Principles
      1. ​Examine human thought and behavior in terms of how we interpret, process, and remember environmental events
      2. The rules that we use to view the world are important to understanding why we think and behave the way we do
  11. ​​Social-Cultural (Sociocultural) Perspective
    1. ​Principles
      1. ​Look at how our thought and behaviors vary from people living in other cultures
      2. Emphasize the influence culture has on the way we think and act
  12. ​​Eclectic Perspective
    1. Principles
      1. ​Claims that no one perspective has all the answers to the variety of human thought and behavior
      2. Each perspective has valid explanations

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How to cite this note (MLA)

Aboukhadijeh, Feross. "Chapter 1: History and Approaches" StudyNotes.org. Study Notes, LLC., 12 Oct. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.apstudynotes.org/psychology/outlines/chapter-1-history-and-approaches/>.

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