Chapter 1 – Introducing Psychology
Section 1 – Why Study Psychology
Psychology can provide insight into behavior and give one the chance to acquire practical information
- Overview of Psychology
- Psychology – the scientific study of behavior and mental processes that are tested through scientific research
- 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.
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
Complete Section 1 Review
Section 2 – A Brief History of Psychology
- Origins of Psychology
- 5th and 6th century BC – the Greeks
- began to study human behavior and decided that people’s lives were influenced more by their minds than by gods
- Mid-1500’s – 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 person’s experiences
- 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
- 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
- Behavioral Psychology
- Ivan Pavlov
- Dog experiment with salivation/Classical Conditioning
- John B. Watson
- Believed that psychologists should only deal with observable facts of behavior
- Believed that all behavior was a result of conditioning and occurs because a stimuli is present
- B.F. Skinner
- Introduced the concept of reinforcement
- 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 don’t influence us
- Each person is unique and has a self-concept and potential to develop fully
- 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
Complete Section 2 Review
Section 3 – 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 Pysch
- 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
- 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
Complete Section 3 Review
Complete Chapter 1 Review (Reviewing Vocab, Recalling Facts)