A description of three of the major discoveries in the field of psychology.

1. Three Major Discoveries in Psychology<br />Daniel Fishman<br />Fielding Graduate University<br />Three Major Discoveries in Psychology<br />Introduction<br />Psychology as a distinct field of philosophic and scientific inquiry is relatively new; however, the philosophical roots of psychology can be traced back thousands of years. Evidence of psychological observations, that is observations of people’s thoughts and behaviors, can be found in literary sources dating back to Sumeria, Mesopotamia, ancient India, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and Rome ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {quot;
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]}]} (Adamson & Taylor, 2005; Dollie, 1974; Fishman, 2009; Grim, 2009; Grubin, 2002; Kandel, Schwartz, & Jessell, 2000; Millon, 2004; Nasser, 1987). As with many disciplines, psychology has advanced in fits and starts, at times progressing rapidly while at others almost stagnating. Furthermore, although we often give final credit to one individual at a given time, most major advances take place over a period of time and among a group of individuals. The task of this paper is to present an opinion, the author’s, of the three greatest discoveries of psychology. Accepting the position that the true origins of psychology can be found in our ancient philosophical past, the enormity of identifying only three discoveries becomes apparent. In fact, naming any three discoveries as “the greatest three” might be a mistake. Each new discovery stands on the shoulders of those before it, few if any concepts prove to be true endpoints of discussion and research. Therefore, this paper will discuss three great discoveries, not the three greatest. In addition, one highly influential discovery that is not exclusive to psychology but has been vastly influential will be briefly mentioned.<br />Discovery One: The Brain as the Seat of Consciousness<br />One of the greatest discoveries of psychology is both ancient and ever evolving. For much of human history the essence of a person was thought to reside in their heart, while the brain was thought to be extraneous or to serve other functions. Throughout most of their history the ancient Egyptians (approximately 3500 BCE to 332 BCE) were considered the pinnacle of civilization. They possessed elaborate philosophies covering a wide range of subjects, based on which they established intricate ceremonies and practices. Moreover, as demonstrated by the monuments and papyri, they possessed the most advanced technical (scientific and medical) knowledge of their day. One of the better-known practices of the ancient Egyptians was that of embalming, the procedure whereby a person’s body was painstakingly preserved for the afterlife. Egyptians believed that the essence of an individual, their “Ba”, continued on after death and that the Ba required both sustenance, in the form of offerings, and shelter, in the form of the mummified corpse. During the mummification procedure all internal organs except the heart were carefully removed and preserved in specially designed clay jars. The brain was somewhat liquefied and extracted through sphenoid bone and nasal passageways and often discarded. In the ancient Egyptian afterlife the brain was not necessary, however, the heart was essential. The heart was thought to be the seat of the Ba during life. After death it was thought that the deceased’s heart was literally weighed against the weight of a feather. If the individual was worthy and had lived a righteous life the heart would be lighter than the feather and the person would gain entry to the afterlife. If not, the individual was judged evil, the heart literally weighed down by his/her misdeeds in life ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {quot;
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]}]} (Dollie, 1974; Fishman, 2009; Grim, 2009; Grubin, 2002; Nasser, 1987). Interestingly, this is a metaphor we still use today. When we say a person “has a heavy heart” or is “heavy-hearted” we are referring to a psychological weight that has produced a very real somatic sensation felt in the chest near the heart. Often our psychological state is manifested by vague sensations within our chests with some, such as anxiety, underwritten by physical change (tachycardia), and others, such as heavy-hearted sadness, purely a psychological phenomenon. In either case, it is easy to see how the ancients without the modern technical capacity we have today could draw the conclusion that the heart is the seat of consciousness.<br />Remarkably, although cardiocentric philosophy predominated throughout ancient Egypt, there is some evidence that as early as 1550 BCE revisions had been made to incorporate some role for the brain. The Ebers and Edwin Smith papyri, authored circa 1550 BCE, contain references to the gross anatomy of the brain as well as a role in consciousness. It does not appear, however, that the ancient Egyptians ever fully discarded the notion of a cardiocentric mind. Still, when one considers that the rest of the developing world would not approach a brain theory of mind for almost another 1200 years this accomplishment becomes truly exceptional ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {quot;
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into the scientific vocabulary. Willis' work led future neuroscientists to examine other localization phenomena in the human brain and earned him the reputation as the initiator of the new science of the brain (Fishman, 2009; Grubin, 2002).<br />The exact nature of the mind-brain relationship has yet to be fully elucidated. As will be discussed shortly, it is currently an active area of empirical and theoretical research that has offered many of the most wide reaching discoveries in psychology. However, the realization that the mind is located in the brain was a first crucial step in truly understanding how our minds work, the ultimate goal of psychology.<br />Discovery Two: Internally Rather Than Supernaturally Based Pathology<br />In many ways the history of this discovery parallels the course of the heart-brain debate just discussed. Ancient societies often held that psychopathology was the result of possession by demonic entities, magic, curses from the gods or G-d, or any other of a number of supernatural origins. Such supernatural attributions afforded people a sense of order and control over a seemingly chaotic and random world. As with the first developments toward the brain as the seat of consciousness, the first advancement toward an internally based theory of psychopathology occurred circa 700 to 600 BCE in ancient Greece. This period saw the development of various internal theories of psychopathology such as humoral balance and corpuscular theories. Humoral balance as advocated by individuals such as Alcmaeon, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Herophilus and Erasistratus posited that pathology arose from an imbalance of one or more of the four essential humors - blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {quot;
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However, he also emphasized that one could achieve purification from these inner demons by rational exploration of the self in an effort to acquire self-knowledge. Hippocrates advocated dream interpretation as a window into mental processes. Plato (429-347) advocated correction of maladaptive thought through rational argument, as did Cicero (103-43 BCE). Although he did not specifically suggest rational exploration of mental illness, Asclepiades ardently advocated for naturalistic diagnosis and humane treatment (Millon, 2004).<br /> Unfortunately, not long after this exploration began, in the early part of the first millennium CE, the majority of the Western world fell back into supernatural explanations of psychopathology. Although portions of the Middle East and Far East maintained Hippocratic and Galenistic humoral views, Western society fell under the influence of the nascent and conservative Christian church. Individuals, such as Aurelius Augustine, led the church in reframing mental illness once again originating from supernatural sources ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {quot;
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I think therefore I amquot;
, thus emphasizing the importance of cognition. Remarkably, the method Descartes utilized in determining this axiom draws attention to a phenomenon that has plagued philosophy for centuries and is also an area where cognitive neuroscience has provided valuable insight. Similar to many philosophers before him, Descartes did not trust his perceptions and as recent research has demonstrated he was wise to remain skeptical. Research conducted on perception, first in the field of cognitive psychology and now within cognitive neuroscience, has demonstrated numerous biases that regularly affect our perception ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {quot;
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]}]} (Harley, Carlsen, & Loftus, 2004; Loftus, 2005). Only by gaining an understanding of how we are affected by such biases can we ever hope to overcome them. In recent times this work has been extended through the use of functional imaging to examine underlying physiology. These studies have led to the development of a narrow plastic theory of the brain that envisions the brain is ever-changing in response to the organism’s behavior and environment. Our brain's inherent capacity to change in response to environmental stimuli and behavior offers amazing opportunity for the successful treatment of a variety of disorders. For example, Vilayanur Ramachandran has made a discovery remarkable for both its efficacy and simplicity. Ramachandran sought to help individuals afflicted with the extremely debilitating condition known as phantom limb pain. He reasoned that present with in our brains is a cognitive proprioceptive map of our bodies and that this map is constantly updated by afferent signals from the periphery. In the event of the loss of a limb these afferent signals stop, without new input the brain concludes that the limb has not moved. Ramachandran observed that extended periods of non-movement in healthy individuals often resulted in pain, a mild form presenting as the classic sensation of a limb falling asleep. This led him to wonder if he could somehow quot;
tellquot;
the brain of an individual with phantom limb pain that in fact the afflicted limb had moved. Utilizing only some wood and a mirror Ramachandran built a mirror box within which a healthy individual could place their limb and move about freely. He reasoned that absent proprioceptive input the individual’s brain would see the mirrored reflection and infer that the missing limb was simply damaged, but still mobile. Therefore, if the pain was simply the result of an inference on the part of the brain secondary to lack of perceived movement, the pain would dissipate. Astonishingly, this is precisely what happened. In many individuals Ramachandran is able to successfully remove debilitating pain that has grown resistant to all other intervention with this simple and cheap behavioral intervention - truly amazing ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {quot;
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]}]} (Doidge, 2007; Ramachandran & Rogers-Ramachandran, 2000).<br />It is clear that the field of cognitive neuroscience offers hope to many individuals; however, we have yet to discuss one of the most tantalizing aspects that it offers. Alan Turing (1912-1954) was a British mathematician and, at the time, the first in over 100 years to propose a computational machine. His theories and work in the first half of the twentieth century provided the basis for modern day computer technology as well as artificial intelligence (AI) research ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM {quot;
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:[{quot;
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]}]} (Grim, 2009). The manifold ways computers have affected our lives is readily evident, however, the benefits of AI research are not as readily appreciated. Work in AI has broadened our understanding of how our brains process sensory input and information, and in so doing helped to generate a new theory of mental processes along a connectionist philosophy known as neural networking or wet mind. Wet mind theory offers hope into understanding many disorders such as agnosias, aphasias, perceptual biases, and memory disorders, but perhaps one of its most fascinating potentials is the ability to address the origin and functioning of consciousness in a concrete manner. A truly explanatory framework for consciousness promises the ability to better understand complex mental functions and states such as the formation of personality both normal and aberrant. Additionally, it offers the prospect of artificially supporting, accentuating, or extending consciousness: an area both exciting and frightening. It may sound fanciful but increasingly scientists, futurists, and philosophers are pondering the possibilities of what has become known as singularity – the merging of human thought with machine. To listen to some speak, it is more a question of when, not if this will happen. Reserving judgment on the merits of such endeavors, this final discovery has the potential to alter the very nature of what it means to be human.<br />References<br />Adamson, P., & Taylor, R. C. (2005). The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy. Cambridge University Press.<br />Doidge, N. (2007). The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science. New York, NY, US: Penguin (Non-Classics).<br />Dollie, F. (1974). Psychiatric concepts in ancient Egyptian, Greco-Roman and Arabic civilizations. Le Journal Médical Libanais. The Lebanese Medical Journal, 27(5), 523-530.<br />Fishman, D. (2009). Review of Selected Topics in the Field of Neuroplasticity. Unpublished, Fielding Graduate University - Biological Bases of Behavior.<br />Fishman, D. (2010). Explorations of aspects of consciousness and applications of artificial intelligence. Unpublished, Fielding Graduate University - Cognitive Bases of Behavior.<br />Grim, P. (2009). Philosophy of Mind. Philosophy of Mind, Brain and Thinking Machines (Vols. 1-24). State University of New York at Stony Brook. Retrieved from http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=4278<br />Gross, C. (1995). Aristotle on the Brain. The Neuroscientist, 1(4), 245-250.<br />Grubin, D. (2002). The Sercet Life of the Brain. The Secret Life of the Brain. PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/index.html<br />Harley, E. M., Carlsen, K. A., & Loftus, G. R. (2004). The “saw-it-all-along” effect: demonstrations of visual hindsight bias. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 30(5), 960-968. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.30.5.960<br />Kandel, Schwartz, J. H., & Jessell, T. M. (2000). Principles of Neural Science (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Medical.<br />Loftus, E. F. (2005a). Searching for the neurobiology of the misinformation effect. Learning & Memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), 12(1), 1-2. doi:10.1101/lm.90805<br />Loftus, E. F. (2005b). Planting misinformation in the human mind: a 30-year investigation of the malleability of memory. Learning & Memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), 12(4), 361-366. doi:10.1101/lm.94705<br />Millon, T. (2004). Masters of the Mind: Exploring the Story of Mental Illness from Ancient Times to the New Millennium (1st ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.<br />Nasser, M. (1987). Psychiatry in Ancient Egypt. Bulletin of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, 3(10), 167-186. doi:10.1177/0957154X9200301002<br />Ramachandran, V. S., & Rogers-Ramachandran, D. (2000). Phantom limbs and neural plasticity. Archives of Neurology, 57(3), 317-320.<br />Rich, A. N., & Mattingley, J. B. (2002). Anomalous perception in synaesthesia: A cognitive neuroscience perspective. Nat Rev Neurosci, 3(1), 43-52. doi:10.1038/nrn702<br />Robinson, D. (1997). Great Ideas of Psychology. Great Ideas of Psychology (Vols. 1-48). The Teaching Company. Retrieved from http://www.teach12.com/tgc/courses/Course_Detail.aspx?cid=660<br />Spector, F., & Maurer, D. (2009). Synesthesia: A New Approach to Understanding the Development of Perception. Developmental Psychology, 45.<br />