9-23-2021 Class Notes
Thursday, September 23, 2021
9:29 AM
What is Psychology? Psychology can be defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental
processes. Scientific --> science-based field (but not always) Has been around for as long as there have been people, in different forms The Pre-Modern Origins Ancient Egypt - The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus Details the structure of the brain Talks about the relationship between the brain and the disfunction of the body 1st known document to contain the word "brain" Ancient Greece - Hippocrates Father of Modern Medicine Hippocratic Oath Using reason, they consider consciousness and the soul Roman and Hellenic Schools of thought Stoicism - concerned with judgement Epicureans - concerned with the good life Cynics - nature of man is selfish Skeptics - concerned with how we consider issues and ideas Tradition links mental illness and medicine Baghdad has the first mental asylum in 792 0 Progress halted by a number of factors (Black Death) 0 15th through 19th century - academic reawakening Interest in treatment of mental illness People to know: Rene Descartes "I think therefore I am" - nature of consciousness British thinkers - John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, etc. Question authority, question what is true (empiricism) Luigi Galvani - scientist Notices that dead frogs can move with electrical shocks
Chops off pig legs and attaches electrodes to the legs, observing that they move The nature/power of life is electricity (not the soul/spirit) Helps to inspire the field of neurology Franz Mesmer Starts to figure out how to manipulate the "transfer of energy' Mesmerism - mesmerizing (word comes from his name) French court physicians call him a quack Techniques are added to, altered --> hypnosis Wilhelm Wundt - founder of modern psychology First psychology lab - 1879 Creates his own academic department You can understand mental processes through deep introspection Measures internal mental events - brings science into Psychology Creates scientific journal - finds a vehicle for publishing research True academic science } Takes measurements } Publishes openly Leaves findings open to challenge Titchener - American disciple of Wundt Poorly translates Wundt's work into English Inserts his own commentary/takes/ideas Widely disseminated and studied Charcot - creates the first institute of neurology Brings in patients as examples Brings in 3 categories of patients Shows their symptoms 1st: Shows that their normal medical symptoms are caused by neurological issues 2nd: Shows that someone with neurological symptoms caused by medical illness rather than neurological issues 3rd: Looks healthy (others look clearly sick), but has no
ability to use her hand } Cutoff does not follow neurological pathways Hypnotizes her --> she regains feeling in her hand, Ioses it again D Cause her hand pain to prove she has no feeling Lost feeling in her hand due to shame and guilt (mental block) caused by masturbating Wanted a way out of her suffering --> lost hand Not neurological, not physical illness - Mind over body - Freud origin story
Joseph Breuer Classmate of Freud Idea to