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Chapter 9 history of psychology
History and nature of psychology
The important concepts of operant conditioning
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Psychology is define as the study of human and animal behavior and of the mind. Psychology is a science because new use research and empirical data to answer theories and make predictions to explain different phenomena. In science we use observation, experiment, analysis and asking questions. You also must do your background research and form a hypothesis. In psychology there are typically several different hypotheses. Framework is one of them, it’s when a particular outcome is predicted based on a set of particular facts. A psychologists would test the hypothesis by using experiments for a scientific method. What makes psychology a science is the fact that they test their theories and modify them to fit new things.
Psychology originated during the 17th century. A French philosopher named Rene Descartes introduced the idea of dualism. This philosopher asserted that the mind and body was two separate entities that interacted to form the human experience. Earlier philosophers relied on methods like observation and logic, while today’s psychologist use scientific methods to study and come to a conclusion about human behavior and their thought process. In 1879 a psychologist named Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology lab at University of Leipzig. Wundt viewed psychology as the study of human consciousness and sought to apply experimental methods to studying internal mental process. Wundt work in psychology helped set the stage for future experimental methods. Even though Wundt influence has dwindled over the years, the impact he had on psychology is unquestionable.
Edward B. Titchener founded psychology’s first major school of thought. Titchener was Wundt’s most famous student. Titchener thought that human consciousness could b...
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...han those of Watson. Skinner believed that humans did have a mind and that it would be easier to study the behavior of a human by looking at their actions and consequences, which Skinner called operant conditioning. Skinner is regarded as the father of operant conditioning.
References:
McLeod, S. A. (2007). Skinner - Operant Conditioning. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html
McLeod, S. A. (2008). Independent, Dependent and Extraneous Variables. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/variables.html
McLeod, S. A. (2008). . Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/science-psychology.html
McLeod, S. A. (2007). Pavlov's Dogs. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html
McLeod, S. A. (2008). Classical Conditioning. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html
Psychology represents the field that deals in the study of the ‘mind’ and how acquired experiences get expressed within and without the emotional and physical body. In the analogy of psychology, one of the original and keen researchers of the mind was a mental-scientist; Wilhelm Wundt (Pomerleau, 2008). One of his significant identifiers as a ‘master psychologist’ is his opening of the first dedicated trial psychology laboratory in 1879, held to be a key step in the culmination of the ‘science’ in modern psychology (McLeod, 2008). In his exertions, he defined the dissimilarity between the fields of psychology and the prior invented philosophy. Wundt provided a clearer disambiguation of the mind in a systematic measurement and organized control. He studied in depth the responsive trait of the mind to stimuli, while describing contemplations and sensorial repulsions, bringing forth a sumptuous knowledge on voluntarism.
Skinners studies included the study of pigeons that helped develop the idea of operant conditioning and shaping of behavior. His study entailed making goals for pigeons, if the goal for the pigeon is to turn to the left, a reward is given for any movement to the left, the rewards are supposed to encourage the left turn. Skinner believed complicated tasks could be broken down in this way and taught until mastered. The main belief of Skinner is everything we do is because of punishment and reward (B.F. Skinner).
Schultz, Duane P., and Sydney Ellen. Schultz. A History of Modern Psychology. 9th ed. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. Print.
Edward Bradford Titchener, born January 11, 1867, had big plans ahead of him put together by his family. Titchener’s family intended on him becoming a clergy member, but his heart was somewhere else (Cherry, 2014). Titchener had bigger plans for himself. While attending Oxford University, he began studying comparative psychology and began translating Wilhelm Wundt’s Principles of Physiological Psychology into the English language. After graduating from Oxford, Titchener went to study with Wundt and soon after earned his Ph.D. in the study of Psychology (Cherry, 2014). While there, Wundt taught Titchener everything about his introspective psychology and how it helped determine one’s own emotions through their physical reactions. Titchener returned with an American perspective on Wundt’s ideas. He went on to become a professor at Cornell University where he taught Wundt’s ideas using his own technique known as structuralism, starting the first psychology program at the university (Kardas, 2014).
Rieber, R. W. (2001). Wilhelm Wundt in history: the making of a scientific psychology. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
There is great reward in the study of psychology; the study of the Homo sapiens species. Their minds that include intellect, intelligence, habits and behavior rationalizing just as the quote at the beginning advocates—the entire world, history and future, revolves around them. Psychology, not limited to contemporary, “is a rich and varied subject that can simulate theoretical questions while at the same time offering practical application in almost all areas of everyday life” (Cherry). This is the gift that Leon Festinger was born with in New York City on May 8th, 1919. From there, he would go on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree from City College of New York in 1939 (Cherry). Psychology is a science. It has its methodology and asks for phenom...
My choice of research was in the play behaviors of children as well as aggression. Breaking the topic down more, behavior relates to the psychology and the psyche of each individual. The definition of psychology is “science of mind and behavior” (Clavijo, 2013). After reading the article by Clavijo, I have realized that psychology can be defined in three ways such as the study of the mind, the study of behavior, and the study of the mind and behavior. In the text “The Developing Person” by Berger, behavior is learned through social learning. Children learn different behaviors through the observation of others, others being children and adults. Different people have affects on a child’s life that can affect their behavior. A child’s behavior is heavily influenced by their parents. A son may speak aggressively and without respect towards his mother because this is the way that his father speaks to her therefore he feels that is how to communicate with his mother (Berger, 200, 2012). Moving into play behaviors, children learn from other children in how to play. Most believe cognitive growth relies on child’s play time. Vygotsky and Piaget both believe that when children play it is beneficial, but according to Vygotsky, playing enables a child to think outside the box and create their own meaning from objects, using their imagination. Piaget believes that child benefit from playing together because children and sharing their knowledge and making it more concrete ideas and thoughts. There are four stages of plays, with the fourth stage being the highest most complicated play which consists of rules and guidelines for the game. The lowest level or play would be functional play being infants shaking rattles, clapping their hands, or blow...
Psychology is the study of the behavior of living organisms. The people that study the behaviors are called psychologists. There have been many studies done by these people to try and figure out why people or animal do the things they do. Psychology's four main goals are to describe what occurred, explain why it occurred, predict what event is likely to occur next, and to change to prevent unwanted outcomes. Psychologists study the process of thinking, learning, cognition, emotions, motivations, and personalities. An example of one study that has been done would be why a dog salivates to the sound of a bell and show. This behavior is due to a conditioned stimulus becoming a conditioned response. Another experiment done was with a baby and a white mouse to see if the baby would be scared if something happened while grabbing for the mouse.
My paper is based on an article from the text’s web site (chapter 9) entitled “Lack of sleep ages body’s systems.” The basic claim of the article is that sleep deprivation has various harmful effects on the body. The reported effects include decreased ability to metabolize glucose (similar to what occurs in diabetes) and increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone involved in memory and regulation of blood sugar levels). The article also briefly alludes (in the quote at the bottom of page 1) to unspecified changes in brain and immune functioning with sleep deprivation.
Abstract Wilhelm Wundt is recognized as the first official philosopher. Many look to his insights as a skeleton for the basic principles of psychology established to this day. The influence of American culture on the globe ins inflatable, therefore this paper will highlight the contributions to the understanding of psychology from the first American Psychologist; William James. In further detail, the following paper will highlight his personal background, accomplishments, and awards.
Psychology started, and had a long history, as a topic within the fields of philosophy and physiology. It then became an independent field of its own through the work of the German Wilhelm Wundt, the founder of experimental psychology and structuralism. Wundt stressed the use of scientific methods in psychology, particularly through the use of introspection. In 1875, a room was set-aside for Wundt for demonstrations in what we now call sensation and perception. This is the same year that William James set up a similar lab at Harvard. Wilhelm Wundt and William James are usually thought of as the fathers of psychology, as well as the founders of psychology?s first two great ?schools? Structuralism and Functionalism. Psychologist Edward B Titchner said; ?to study the brain and the unconscious we should break it into its structural elements, after that we can construct it into a whole and understand what it does.? (psicafe.com)
Public Safety Officials have been battling the difficult question of profiling for quite a while. The question is how do they know the suspected individual fit the category associated with an offense? While it has been proven that many profiling cases are somewhat directed to a racial profile, it can be proven that people, given the discretion, are able to identify explanations for a series of behavioral events by identifying what that behavior accredits to. This theory, identified by Frite Heider, “suggested that we have a tendency to give casual explanations for someone’s behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person’s disposition,” called the attribution theory. Until recently, a study of the like was considered to be a branch of sociology and not a form of psychology. Social psychology essentially became the focus on the individual rather than the group as a whole. Many thoughtful ideas are collected in response to the studies of social psychology. Human cognition is understood to arise from interacting socially; highlighting the importance of socialization. We use social cognition to develop our explanations and our ideas on why a person’s behavior is/does what it is/does.
Psychology is the study of the mind, its biology, and behavior of the individual. The father of psychology, Wilhelm Wundt, used objective measurement and controlled analysis to find and emphasize separation between psychology and philosophy (McLeod). Wundt opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879, using his background in physiology to study reactions and sensations (McLeod). There is no doubt that he, along with the later help of Sigmund Freud, launched what is now modern psychology. Psychology and its research help the world understand the inner workings of the mind and how it affects everyone around us.
Prior to the founding of Wundt's school and his theories, psychology existed. It was not seen as a science, however, they were other pioneers in the field.
Psychology as a self conscious field was believed to have been founded in 1879 when German physiologist and philosopher Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology laboratory at...