A History of Psychology

How prevalent are How prevalent are psychological disorders?psychological disorders?

Out of every 100 people:Out of every 100 people: 13 have significant anxiety 13 have significant anxiety

disordersdisorders 6 have profound depression6 have profound depression 5 display a personality 5 display a personality

disorderdisorder 1 is schizophrenic1 is schizophrenic 1 has Alzheimer’s disease1 has Alzheimer’s disease 10 significantly abuse 10 significantly abuse

alcohol or other drugsalcohol or other drugs

Is Our Society Crazy?• Things to consider:

– Americans have fewer “safety nets” and support systems than ever before

• fewer stable families• Fewer religious groups• Fewer clubs• Fewer social organizations

• BUT– Some psychological disorders

occur at the same rate in every society

– Societies throughout history have documented abnormal behavior

– What we consider abnormal may be perfectly normal in another culture, past or present

Ancient TimesAncient Times

Explanation of Behavior• Prehistoric people

probably believed abnormal behavior was caused by evil spirits

• The body and the mind was constantly at battle with both good and sinister beings

• Good beings produced good behavior, evil beings produced bad behavior

TreatmentTreatment Force the evil spirits Force the evil spirits

to leave the bodyto leave the body Trephination – a stone Trephination – a stone

instrument was used instrument was used to cut a circular hole to cut a circular hole in the skull in the skull

Evil spirits would Evil spirits would leave through the holeleave through the hole

Shamans also Shamans also performed exorcisms performed exorcisms to expel evil spiritsto expel evil spirits

Ancient Greece and Rome

Explanation of BehaviorExplanation of Behavior All behavior had natural causesAll behavior had natural causes Abnormal behavior was caused by an internal medical Abnormal behavior was caused by an internal medical

problemproblem Most abnormal behavior could be explained as an Most abnormal behavior could be explained as an

imbalance of bodily fluidsimbalance of bodily fluids 4 main bodily fluids caused most problems: yellow 4 main bodily fluids caused most problems: yellow

bile, black bile, blood, and phlegmbile, black bile, blood, and phlegm

Treatment

• Make changes to your lifestyle to get rid of abnormal behavior

• Change diet, exercise patterns, limit alcohol and sex, listen to soothing music

• If this does not work, the excess fluids would be removed (ex: bleeding)

The Middle AgesThe Middle Ages

Explanation of Behavior• Good and bad behavior

was the result of superstition and demonology

• Abnormal behavior was the work of Satan

• People could also be possessed by animals like spiders and wolves

• The moon could also control human behavior

TreatmentTreatment More superstitionsMore superstitions Exorcism, prayer, Exorcism, prayer,

chanting, dancingchanting, dancing In more severe cases, In more severe cases,

people displaying people displaying abnormal behavior would abnormal behavior would be burned, starved, be burned, starved, tortured, scalded, tortured, scalded, whipped, or stretchedwhipped, or stretched

Hospitals were first used Hospitals were first used at the end of the Middle at the end of the Middle AgesAges

The Renaissance

Explanation of BehaviorExplanation of Behavior Doctors began to believe that the mind Doctors began to believe that the mind

could be sick even when the body was notcould be sick even when the body was not The mind and the body were separateThe mind and the body were separate

Treatment• People with abnormal behavior were often kept at home and

cared for by their family• Some people visited psychic healers and created colonies of

mental patients• Eventually people with mental disorders were put into asylums• Asylums were initially like hospitals, but over time they turned

into virtual prisons• Filthy conditions and cruel tortures were used• Tourists would pay to gawk at those in the asylum

The Nineteenth The Nineteenth CenturyCentury

Explanation of Behavior

• Phrenology- different parts of the brain were responsible for various behaviors

• Psychological function was caused by physical conditions

• Viruses and micro-organisms were responsible for many mental disorders

PhrenolPhrenologyogy

Treatment• Doctors returned to

treating the mentally ill humanely

• Medicines prescribed• Hypnotism was widely

used• “Snake oil” treatments

became more popular• Freud introduced

psychoanalysis

The Early 20The Early 20thth Century Century

Structuralism• Created by Wilhelm Wundt

• Believed consciousness could be divided into 2 categories of elements– Objective sensations

(sight, taste, etc.) that accurately reflect the outside world

– Subjective feelings – our emotional responses and mental images

• Structuralists believe the human mind works by combining these elements to experience the world

FunctionalismFunctionalism Created by William Created by William

JamesJames Focused on how mental Focused on how mental

processes help processes help organisms adapt to their organisms adapt to their environmentenvironment

They ask “what are the They ask “what are the purposes of behavior and purposes of behavior and mental processes? What mental processes? What do certain behaviors or do certain behaviors or processes accomplish for processes accomplish for a person?”a person?”

Successful actions are Successful actions are repeated and become repeated and become habitshabits

Behaviorism• Created by John Watson• Treats psychology like a natural science,

focuses on actions, not on states of consciousness or thinking processes

• Limited study to observable, measurable events - behavior

ReinforcementReinforcement Studied by B.F. SkinnerStudied by B.F. Skinner When an animal is When an animal is

rewarded for an action or rewarded for an action or behavior, it is more likely behavior, it is more likely to repeat itto repeat it

Skinner believed people Skinner believed people learned in the same way learned in the same way animals doanimals do

They learn to behave in They learn to behave in certain ways because certain ways because they have been they have been reinforced to do soreinforced to do so

The Gestalt School• Gestalt means “shape” or

“form”• Perceptions are more than

the sums of their parts – how we perceive of the whole gives meaning to the individual parts

• Gestalt psychologists believe learning is active and purposeful

• You can’t break learning into individual parts like the structuralists

• Learning is not mechanical like the behaviorists argue

Freud and PsychoanalysisFreud and Psychoanalysis Emphasizes the importance of Emphasizes the importance of

unconscious motives and unconscious motives and internal conflicts on human internal conflicts on human behaviorbehavior

Freud conducted research Freud conducted research through consultations with his through consultations with his patients, not in a laboratorypatients, not in a laboratory

Most of what exists in an Most of what exists in an individual’s mind is individual’s mind is unconscious and consists of unconscious and consists of conflicting impulses, urges, conflicting impulses, urges, and wishesand wishes

When people are made aware When people are made aware of their unconscious thoughts, of their unconscious thoughts, they can find socially they can find socially acceptable ways of expressing acceptable ways of expressing their wishes and meeting their their wishes and meeting their needsneeds