What is Psychology?

Chapter 1

Why Study Psychology?

Section 1

Why Study Psychology?

Psychology= the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes

Behavior= actions that can be measured and observed

Cognitive Activities= mental processes (dreams, perceptions, thoughts and memories)

Psychological Constructs= used to talk about something we cannot see, touch or measure directly

Goals of Psychology:

1. Explaining BehaviorObserve and describeExplain behavior in terms of anxiety and

performance 2. Predicting and Controlling

Do best when anxiety is low/moderatePositive Visualization= imagine a difficult

situation and a positive outcome

Goals of Psychology:

3. Psychological ResearchSurveys= method of collecting data that

involves asking questionsExperimentation= controlled environment

with subjects

4. Psychological TheoriesTheory= statement that attempts to explain

why things are the way they are and why they happen the way they do

Principle= basic truth or law that governs behavior and mental processes

What Psychologists

doSection 2

Major Fields in Psychology

1. Clinical Psychology Largest group Interviews and psychological tests Try to change ineffective and harmful behavior Psychiatrists= medical doctors who can

prescribe medications 2. Counseling Psychology

Interviews and tests Treat people with adjustment disorders (not as

serious) Help clarify goals, overcome adjustment problems

and meet challenges

Major Fields in Psychology… 3. School Psychology

Identify and help students who have problems that interfere with learning

Talk to teacher, student, administer tests and observe them in the classroom

Make recommendations for class placement 4. Educational Psychology

Focus on course planning and instructional methods for all students

Learning is affected by:Psychological factors: motivation, emotions, creativity and

intelligenceCultural factors: religious beliefs and languageEconomic factors: level of family income Instructional methods used in the classroom

Major Fields in Psychology…

5. Developmental Psychology Study changes throughout the life span

Physical= height and weight, adolescent growth, sexual maturity and physical aspects of aging

Emotional= development of concept and self esteem

Cognitive= changes from childhood to adulthood mental image of outside world and how children learn right from wrong

Social= bonds between parents and children, relationships with peers or intimate relationships between adults

6. Personality Psychology Identify human characteristics or traits

Look for trait development

Major Fields in Psychology… 7. Social Psychology

Concerned with people’s behavior in social situations

Focus on external influences:

Ways women and men typically behave

Physical and psychological factors of attraction

Reasons people conform to group standards/expectations

How behavior changes when a member of a group

Reasons for and effects of prejudice and discrimination

Situations in which people are hostile/help each other

8. Experimental Psychology

Explore the biological/psychological reasons for cognitive behavior

Basic research= has no immediate application and is done for its own sake

What Psychologists Do- Applied Fields in Psychology

1. Industrial and Organizational

Focus on people and work

Improve working conditions and worker output

May assist in HR

2. Human Factors Psychology

Find best ways to design products for use

How people will use it

How it affects daily life

Physical characteristics

Safe and comfortable to use

What Psychologists Do- Applied Fields in Psychology

3. Community Psychology

Study and create social systems; promote individual well-being

Promote change in social environment

Help powerless social groups

Prevents threats to mental health

4. Forensic Psychology

Work with criminal justice system

Identify competence of defendants

Explain how psych problems give rise to criminal behavior

Police: select officers, job stress and train for dangerous situations

What Psychologists Do- Applied Fields in Psychology

5. Health Psychology

Examine the ways in which behavior and mental processes are related to physical health

Work with healthcare professionals

Study the effects of stress on health problems

6. Rehabilitation Psychology

Work with patients who are struggling with a disability

Help patients develop strategies to compensate for the disability and live a meaningful life

7. Cross-Cultural Psychology

Study behavior and mental processes under different cultural conditions

Examine depression and anxiety to gauge differences in cultures

History of Psych- Early Views

Ancient Greece:

Socrates- “Know Thyself”

Introspection= learn about ourselves by examining our own thoughts and feelings

Associationism= experiences remind us of past

Aristotle= Human behavior is guided by principle “seek pleasure and avoid pain”

Gods punished people by causing them confusion and madness

Hippocrates= problems caused by abnormalities in the brain

Middle Ages:

Problems caused by demons

Possession was punishment

Pioneers in Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt (Structuralism):

Focus: discover the basic elements of consciousness

Objective sensations= reflect the outside world

Subjective feelings= emotional responses and mental images

Introspection= look inside oneself

William James (Functionalism):

Focus: relationship between experience and behavior

Functionalism= concerned with how mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment

Adaptive behaviors maintained because they are successful

Pioneers in Psychology…

Sigmund Freud (Psychoanalysis):

Focus: emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives and internal conflicts in determining and understanding behavior

People are driven by hidden impulses (verbal slips and dreams)

“Talking cure”

Psychodynamic Thinking= most of mind is unconscious and consists of conflicting impulses, urges and wishes (sexual and aggressive)

SuperegoId Ego

Modern Developments in Psych:

John B. Watson (Behaviorism):

Focus: Psychology must be limited to observable and measureable events

Agreed with Functionalism about importance of learning

Conscious can be known only to the individual

B.F. Skinner (Reinforcement):

Focus: People learn because of positive and negative reinforcement

Same ideas as Behaviorism but added reinforcement

Looked at external causes of behavior

Modern Developments in Psych: Gestalt School (Wertheimer, Koffka and Kohler)

Focus: our perceptions of objects are more than the sum of their parts

Principles:

Similarity= when objects look similar, people recognize a pattern and see them as a whole

Closure= people fill in missing information when enough of the shape of an object is indicated

Reject Behaviorist ideas:

Psychologists should focus on observable behavior

Learning is mechanical

Gestalt beliefs:

Learning is accomplished through insight

Reorganization of perceptions that enables individual to solve problems

http://faculty.uca.edu/lglenn/gestaltimages.htm

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/illusion/illusions.htm

Perspective Subject Matter Key Belief Influenced By

Biological

Evolutionary

Cognitive

Humanistic

Psychoanalytic

Learning

Sociocultural

Biopsychosocial

Contemporary Perspectives:

Nervous system, glands and hormones, genetic factors

Physical traits, social behavior

Interpretation of mental images, thinking and language

Self-concept

Unconscious processes, early childhood experiences

Environmental influences, learning, observational learning

Ethnicity, gender, culture, religion and socioeconomic status

Biology, psychology and social factors

Biological processes influence behavior and mental processes

Adaptive organisms survive and transmit their genes to future generations

Perceptions and thoughts influence behavior

People make free and conscious choices based on their unique experiences

Unconscious motives influence behavior

Personal experiences and reinforcement guide developmentSociocultural, biological and psychological factors create individual differences

Mental processes are influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological and social factors

Associationism and neuroscience

Charles Darwin and evolution

Structuralism, functionalism and Gestalt psychology

Introspection and free will

Sigmund Freud

John B. Watson and behaviorismSocial, environmental and cross-cultural psychology

Holistic health and social psychology