Define psychology and describe the goals and levels of analysis psychologist’s use.
• Psychology is the study of mental processes and behavior.
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• The goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and control behavior and mental processes. Psychologists vary in the degree to which they focus on some of these goals more than others.
• The study of psychology must occur at multiple levels, including the level of the brain (the biological activity associated with mental processes and behavior), the level of the person (the content of mental processes), and the level of the group (social influences on behavior).
2. Describe the influences of early myths and ancient Greek philosophies on psychology.
• Early explanations of human behavior were rooted in superstition and magic.
• Later, philosophers, beginning with the ancient Greeks, tried to develop more objective theories of human consciousness and reality.
• The work of such early philosophers as Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle contributed to the later formation of psychology as a natural science.
3. Name important early psychologists and describe their major theories and research methods.
• The development of psychology has been strongly influenced by shifts in the social environment and development of new technology.
• The first psychology laboratory was founded in Leipzig, Germany, by physiologist Wilhelm Wundt. Wundt was interested in human consciousness and will, which he studied through small, structured activities that could be easily watched and replicated.
• Structuralism, a school of thought developed by one of Wundt’s students, relied upon the use of introspection, the careful observation of human perception. The goal of the structuralizes was to find the smallest building blocks of consciousness.
• William James established the first psychology laboratory in the United States at Harvard.
He helped shift the field’s focus to the functions of mental events and behaviors, forming a school of thought known as functionalism.
• Gestalt psychologists studied human tendencies to perceive pattern rather than dividing consciousness into its smallest parts. They focused on putting together the “parts,” or [Show Less]