SFP - Introducing Psychology Lesson

Learning Targets:

  • Recognize how philosophical and physiological perspectives shaped the development of psychological thought. 
  • Identify the research contributions of major historical figures in psychology.

AP psychology course and exam description, effective fall 2020. (n.d.). https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-psychology-course-and-exam-description.pdf

What is Psychology?

The Origins of Psychology

Decorative Image: Beginning of Psychology; men in 19th century dress gathered around a table.Most of us have been psychologists for some portion of our lives. Every time you try and explain what someone else is doing and why you are thinking psychologically. Studying psychology will give you a general education that is useful in many fields. It makes you aware of how people work and how you work. The study of psychology will make you more effective as a student and will also help you in any career field you choose to enter where you work with people.

Psychology has a long history dating as far back as ancient times. Philosophers like Buddha and Confucius sought to understand how sensation and perception helped form ideas as well as how the body and mind are linked. In Ancient Greece philosophers, Socrates and Plato concluded that the mind and body were separate entities and the former continued after death. Aristotle later refuted these ideas with his own, which claimed that the soul is not separable from the body and grows through experience. British philosopher John Locke authored an essay titled An Essay Concerning Human Understanding in which he argues that at birth the mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) and is shaped by experience. His ideas helped form modern empiricism (The idea that knowledge comes from experience, and science theory should be based on observation or measurable data.).

Today psychology is defined as the science of behavior and mental processes. It seeks to describe, explain, and predict behavior through various measures of experimentation and observation.

Complete the History of Psychology Advancements activity below:

Historical Figures in Psychology

 

 

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