Psychology Chapter 1: Introducing Psychology

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Psychology Chapter 1Introducing Psychology
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Why Study Psychology?
Psychology can provide insight into behavior and
give one the chance to acquire practical
information 1. Psychology the scientific study
of behavior and mental processes that are
tested through scientific research 2.
Psychologists differ in how much importance they
place on specific types of behavior They do
agree that the study of behavior must be
systematic

• Goals of Psychology
• Description 1st goal is to describe or gather
  information about the behavior begin studied and
  to present what is known
• Explanation they seek to explain why.
  Hypothesis an educated guess about some
  phenomenon. Theory a complex explanation based
  on findings from a large number of experimental
  studies. Theories change as more information is
  gathered.
• Prediction 3rd goal is to predict, form the
  knowledge gathered, what things will do, think or
  feel in various situations. By studying past
  behaviors, future behavior can be predicted.
• Influence Basic Science research as compared
  to Applied Science discovering ways to use
  scientific findings to accomplish practical goals.

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Why Study Psychology cont.
Dr. Zimbardo Video 2

• The Scientific Basis of Psychology
• Psychologists rely on the Scientific Method a
  general approach to gathering information and
  answering questions so that errors and biases are
  minimized
• Identify a problem or question
• Formulate a hypothesis
• Collect data though observation and
  experimentation
• Analyze the data

Section 1 Review
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A Brief History of Psychology

• Origins of Psychology
• 5th and 6th century BC the Greeks
• began to study human behavior and decided that
  peoples lives were influenced more by their
  minds than by gods
• Mid-1500s Nicholaus Copernicus
• Earth was not the center of the universe, during
  the Renaissance period, experimentation through
  observation
• 17th Century Rene Descartes
• Others popularized dualism the mind and body
  are separate and distinct
• Descartes said there was a link, he assumed that
  the mind and body influence one another to create
  a persons experiences

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A Brief History of Psychology cont.

• Historical Approaches
• Structuralism
• Established modern psychology as a separate
  formal field of study
• Wilhelm Wundt started this
• Structuralism the study of the basic elements
  of human experience
• Introspection a method of self-observation in
  which participants report their thoughts and
  feelings
• Functionalism
• William James the fathers of psychology in
  America
• Functionalism the study of how animals and
  people adapt to their environments
• Inheritable Traits
• Sir Francis Galton
• Study of seeing if genetics/hereditary factors
  played a role in abilities, character and
  behavior
• Debate is still ongoing regarding genetics versus
  environment
• Gestalt Psychology
• A group of German psychologists disagreed with
  the principles of structuralism and behaviorism
• Believed that the whole pattern or Gestalt, was
  important

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A Brief History of Psychology cont.

• Contemporary Approaches
• Psychoanalytic Psychology
• Sigmund Freud
• Interested in the unconscious mind, beneath the
  surface are primitive biological urges that are
  in conflict with the requirements of society and
  morality
• Believed that unconscious motivations and
  conflicts were responsible for most human
  behavior
• Had a method for indirectly studying unconscious
  processes
• Free Association a patient says everything that
  comes to mind, no matter how absurd or irrelevant
  it may seem, without attempting to produce
  logical or meaningful statements
• No editing or censoring their thoughts
• Psychoanalysis the study of how unconscious
  motives and conflicts determine human behavior

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A Brief History of Psychology cont.

• Behavioral Psychology
• Ivan Pavlov
• Dog experiment with salivation/Classical
  Conditioning
• John B. Watson
• Believed that psychologists should only deal with
  observable facts of behavior all behavior is a
  result of conditioning and occurs because a
  stimuli is present
• B.F. Skinner
• Introduced the concept of reinforcement/Operant
  Conditioning
• Reinforcement a response to a behavior that
  increase the likelihood the behavior will be
  repeated
• Wrote Walden 2
• Humanistic Psychology
• Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Rollo May
• Human nature is evolving and self-directed
• Environment and outside forces are just the
  background to our own growth, they dont
  influence us
• Each person is unique and has a self-concept and
  potential to develop fully

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A Brief History of Psychology cont.

• Cognitive Psychology
• Jean Piaget
• Focuses on how we process, store and use
  information and how this information influences
  our thinking, language, problem solving, and
  creativity
• Behavior is influenced by a variety of mental
  processes like perception, memories and
  expectations
• Biological Psychology
• Emphasizes the impact of biology on our behavior
• Study how the brain, CNS, hormones and genetics
  influence our behavior
• Use PET and CAT scans as tools
• Sociocultural Psychology
• The study of the influence of cultural and ethnic
  similarities and differences on behavior and
  social functioning
• Our knowledge, ways of thinking, feeling and
  behaving are dependent on the culture we belong to

Section 2 Review
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Psychology as a Profession

• What is a Psychologist
• Psychologist people who have been trained to
  observe, analyze and evaluate behavior
• Usually have a doctorate in Pyschology
• Psychiatrist differs in that it is a specialty of
  medicine. They are medical students who do their
  residency in a psych ward or psych hospital
• Clinical Psychologist help people deal with
  their personal problems
• Work in mental hospitals, private offices,
  prisons and clinics
• ½ of psychologists specialize in clinical
  psychology
• Counseling Psychologist usually work in schools
  or industrial firms
• Help people adjust to the challenges of life
• Most states require a doctorate to be a clinical
  and counseling psychologist

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Psychology as a Profession cont.

• Other types of Psychologists
• School psychologists help students with
  emotional and learning problems
• Social Psychologists study groups and how they
  influence behavior
• Developmental Psychologists study physical,
  emotional, cognitive and social changes that
  occur throughout life
• They study children, the elderly and the process
  of dying for example
• Educational Psychologists deal with topics
  related to teaching children and young adults,
  such as memory, intelligence, teaching methods,
  and develop new instructional devices.
• Experimental Psychologists perform research to
  understand how humans (and animals) operate
  physically and psychologically

Section 3 Review
Chapter 1 Study Guide
Chapter 1 Test