What is Psychology?

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• Chapter 1
• What is Psychology?

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The Science of Psychology An Appreciative View,
2nd Edition (King) Overview

• The Science of Psychology An Appreciative View
  by Laura King (University of Missouri at
  Columbia) brings a truly appreciative view of
  psychology - as a science and for exploring
  behavior.
• students must study the discipline of psychology
  as a whole
• sub-disciplines are intricately connected
• human behavior is best understood by exploring
  its functioning state in addition to its
  potential dysfunctions

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Chapter Preview

• Defining Psychology
• Psychology in Historical Perspective
• Contemporary Approaches to Psychology
• What Psychologists Do
• Science of Psychology and Health and Wellness

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Psychology Defined

• Psychology is the scientific study of
• behavior and mental processes.
• Three Key Components
• science systematic methods
• behavior what can be directly observed
• mental processes thoughts, feelings, motives

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Science of Psychology

• Critical Thinking
• Skepticism
• Objectivity
• Curiosity
• CSOC

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Goals of Psychology

• to describe behavior
• to predict behavior
• to explain behavior
• Can we do this successfully without critical
  thinking, skepticism, objectivity and curiosity?
• and sometimes to manipulate or control behavior
  for either good or evil

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Psychology A General Science

• Psychology is not limited to the study
• of psychological disorders.
• Freuds view of human nature
• positive psychology a branch of psychology that
  emphasizes human strengths
• Example Amish forgiveness (p. 7-8)

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Narcissism Epidemic

• Narcissismunusually self-confident,
  self-assertive, and self-centered.
• Generation born since 1980s
• More narcissistic than early generations
• vs.
• Attitudes have been stable over time

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History of Psychology

• Western Philosophy
• Biology and Physiology
• Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
• 1879 established 1st psychology lab

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History of Psychology

• Western Philosophy
• Socrates, Plato and Aristotle
• Later Philosophers
• Rene Descartes
• Argued that the mind and body were completely
  separate

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Wilhelm Wundts Structuralism

• identified structures of the mind (mental
  processes)
• introspection (looking inside)
• systematic, detailed self-reports (science)
• VIL-HELM VOONT

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William James Functionalism

• identified the functions and purposes of the mind
• stream of consciousness
• human interactions with outside world
• why is human thought adaptive?
• Brother of author

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Psychology and Evolution

• Charles Darwin
• On the Origin of Species, 1859
• Natural Selection
• competition for resources
• genetic characteristics that promote reproduction
  and survival are favored
• environmental changes alter course of evolution

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Contemporary Approaches

• Current Psychological Perspectives
• Biological
• Behavioral
• Psychodynamic
• Humanistic
• Cognitive
• Evolutionary
• Sociocultural

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1. Biological Approach

• The biological approach focuses on the
• brain and nervous system.
• Neuroscience
• study of the structure, function, development,
  genetics, biochemistry of the nervous system
• thoughts and emotions have physical basis in
  brain
• allowed psychologists to better understand the
  brain

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2. Behavioral Approach

• The behavioral approach focuses on the
• environmental determinants
• of observable behavior.
• Notable Behaviorists
• John Watson
• B.F. Skinner
• rejected thought processes

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Noted Behaviorist John Watson

• "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed,
  and my own specified world to bring them up in
  and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and
  train him to become any type of specialist I
  might select--doctor, lawyer, artist,
  merchant-chief, and, yes, even beggarman and
  thief, regardless of his talents, penchants,
  tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his
  ancestors. I am going beyond my facts and I admit
  it, but so have the advocates of the contrary and
  they have been doing it for many thousands of
  years."
• John B. Watson, Behaviorism, 1930

• Notable Behaviorists
• John Watson
• B.F. Skinner
• rejected thought processes

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Noted Behaviorist B.F. Skinner
I did not direct my life. I didn't design it. I
never made decisions. Things always came up and
made them for me. That's what life is. -- B. F.
Skinner If you're old, don't try to change
yourself, change your environment. -- B. F.
Skinner

• Notable Behaviorists
• John Watson
• B.F. Skinner
• rejected thought processes

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Psychodynamic Approach Freud

• Known as the founding father of the psychodynamic
  approach
• Believed that there are unlearned biological
  instincts (especially of a sexual and/or
  aggressive nature) that can occur early in life
  and these instincts influence how a person
  thinks, feels, and behaves
• Had a couch ?

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4. Humanistic Approach

• Humanists emphasize
• positive human qualities
• capacity for positive growth
• free will
• Humanistic Theorists
• Carl Rogers
• Abraham Maslow

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Humanistic Approach Carl Rogers

• The only person who is educated is the one who
  has learned how to learn and change.
• -- Carl Rogers
• I believe that the testing of the student's
  achievements in order to see if he meets some
  criterion held by the teacher, is directly
  contrary to the implications of therapy for
  significant learning.
• -- Carl Rogers

• Humanists emphasize
• positive human qualities
• capacity for positive growth
• free will

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Humanistic Approach Abraham Maslow
What is necessary to change a person is to change
his awareness of himself. -- Abraham Maslow

• Humanists emphasize
• positive human qualities
• capacity for positive growth
• free will

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5. Cognitive Approach

• The cognitive approach emphasizes the
• mental processes involved in knowing.
• Information Processing
• how humans interpret incoming info, weigh it,
  store it, and apply it

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6. Evolutionary Approach

• The evolutionary approach uses ideas such
• as adaptation, reproduction, and natural
• selection to explain human behavior.
• Evolutionary Psychologists
• David Buss
• Leda Cosmides

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7. Sociocultural Approach

• examines how social and cultural environments
  influence behavior and mental processes
• studies differences between ethnic and cultural
  groups within and across countries

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Careers in Psychology

• Practice / Applied
• Research
• Teaching

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Areas of Specialization

• Physiological Psych / Behavioral Neuroscience
• Sensation and Perception
• Learning
• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Motivation Emotion
• Psychology of Women Gender
• Personality Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Industrial / Organizational Psychology
• Clinical Counseling Psychology
• Health Psychology

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Areas of Specialization

• Also (but not addressed in text beyond this
  chapter)
• Community Psychology
• School Educational Psychology
• Environmental Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Sport Psychology
• Cross-Cultural Psychology

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Career Settings in Psychology
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Influence of Culture

• Individualistic Cultures
• individuals viewed as unique and distinct from
  their social group
• value independence
• Collectivistic Cultures
• emphasize social group and the individuals role
  within that group
• value interdependence

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Influence of Culture

• Individualistic subjects
• prefer to work on tasks that they have had
  previous success with
• like to emphasize their successes
• Collectivistic subjects
• prefer to work on tasks that they have difficulty
  with
• self-critical view

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Science of Psychology andHealth and Wellness

• Mind-Body Connections
• how the mind impacts the body
• how the body impacts the mind

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Chapter Summary

• Explain what psychology is and how it differs
  from an every-day, informal approach to
  understanding human nature.
• Discuss the roots and early scientific
  foundations of psychology.
• Summarize the main themes of the seven approaches
  to psychology.
• List some of the areas of specialization and
  careers in psychology.
• Describe the connections between the mind and the
  body.

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Chapter Summary

• Defining Psychology
• scientific study of behavior and mental processes
• Historical Foundations of Psychology
• origins in philosophy and physiology
• structuralism Wilhelm Wundt
• functionalism William James
• evolutionary theory Charles Darwin

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Chapter Summary

• Contemporary Approaches to Psychology
• current approaches complementary
• Specializations and Careers in Psychology
• practice, research, teaching
• academic, clinic, private practice, industry,
  school
• Science of Psychology and
• Health and Wellness
• mind-body connection is a two-way street