Psychology Chapter 1
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Transcript of Psychology Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Introducing Psychology
Section 1
Why Study Psychology?
Psychologists Point of View
They study complex behavior
• Physiological- having to do with an organism’s physical processes
• Cognitive- having to do with an organism’s thinking and understanding
What is Psychology?
• Is the scientific study of behavior that is tested through scientific research– the study can involve both animal and human
behaviors– Some believe our thoughts, feelings, and
fantasies are important, but not always observable
– the study of behavior must be systematic
Use of Systematic Method
• Usually asks and answers questions about why people think, act, and feel as they do reduces the chances of coming to false conclusions
• Blind man and elephant story
The Goals of Psychology
• Description
• Explanation
• Prediction
• Influence
Description
• Describe or gather information about the behavior being studied and present what is known
Explanation
• Are not content with the facts• They seek to explain why people or
animals behave• Hypothesis- an assumption or prediction
about behavior that is tested through scientific research
• Theory- a set of assumptions used to explain phenomena and offered for scientific study
Prediction
• Use knowledge and predict what organisms think and feel in various situations
• By studying past behaviors, psychologists can predict future behaviors
Influence
• Psychologists seek to influence behavior in helpful ways
• Basic Science- the pursuit of knowledge about natural phenomena for its own sake
• Applied Science- discovering ways to use scientific findings to accomplish practical goals
Scientific Method
1) Question
2) Hypothesis
3) Experiment
4) Results
5) Conclusions
6) Theory
Wilhelm Wundt
• Set up the first psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany
• Two types of element: sensations and feelings
• Believes an individual observes, analyzes, and reports his or her mental experiences
Section 2
A Brief History of Psychology
Marmaduke Sampson
• Studied “why crime occurs”• Believed behavior was the result of the
shape of the head• Phrenology- the practice of examining
bumps on a person’s skull to determine that person’s intellect and character traits
• Inspired scientists to consider the brain instead of the heart as responsible for human behavior
The Origins of Psychology
• 5th and 6th Centuries– Greeks studied human behavior and decided
people were rational and not dominated by gods
– Greeks set the stage for the development of sciences
The Origins of Psychology
• 1500 and 1600s– Copernicus- published idea that the earth was
not the center of the universe, the sun was.– Galileo Galilei- used a telescope to confirm
the predictions of Copernicus– Descartes- proposed a link between the body
and mind
Historical Approaches
• Structuralism– Wilhelm Wundt- is acknowledged for
establishing modern psychology as a separate field of study
– Structuralist- a psychologist who studied the basic elements that make up conscious mental experiences
– Introspection- a method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings
Functionalism
• William James- taught the first class in Psychology at Harvard University– Wrote the first textbook “The Principles of
Psychology”
• Functionalist- a psychologist who studied the function instead of the structure of consciousness
Inheritable Traits
• Sir Francis Galton– Wanted to understand how heredity
influences a person’s abilities, character, and behavior.
– His study focused on genius being a hereditary trait
– Did not consider that distinguished families may also have exceptional environments and socioeconomic advantages
Inheritable Traits
• Scientists recognized flaws in Galton’s research
• They came up with the theory that “a person’s heredity and environment interact to influence intelligence”
Gestalt Psychology
• German Psychologists – Max Wertheimer– Wolfgang Kohler– Kurt Koffka
• Disagreed with the principles of structuralism and behaviorism
• Believed perception was more than a sum of its parts
• Studied how sensations are assembled into perceptual experiences
Contemporary Approaches
• Psychoanalytic
• Behavioral
• Humanistic
• Cognitive
• Biological
• Sociocultural
Psychoanalytic Psychology
• Sigmund Freud– Interested in the unconscious mind– Used the technique of free association, which
is still used today– Believed that dreams are expressions of the
most primitive unconscious urges– His view on the unconscious is a powerful
influence and controversy
Psychoanalytic Psychology
• Psychoanalyst- a psychologist who studies how unconscious motives and conflicts determine human behavior, feelings, and thoughts.
• Case study- is an analysis of the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, experiences, behaviors, or problems of an individual
Behavioral Psychology
• Ivan Pavlov- Russian Scientist• Salivating dog experiment
– Pavlov rang a tuning fork each time he gave a dog some meat powder.
– The dog would normally salivate when the power reached his mouth
– He repeated the experiment, the dog would salivate when it heard the ring
– The dog was conditioned to associate sound with food
Behavioral Psychology
• Behaviorist- a psychologist who analyzes how organisms learn or modify their behavior based on their response to events in the environment
• John Watson– Believed psychology should only concern itself with
the observable facts of behavior
• B.F. Skinner– Introduced the concept of reinforcement– Is a response to a behavior that increases the
likelihood for the behavior to be repeated
Humanistic Psychology
• Humanist- a psychologist who believes that each person has freedom in directing his or her future and achieving personal growth
• Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Rollo May are humanistic psychologists– Believed human nature as evolving and self-
directed
Cognitive Psychology
• Jean Piaget• Noam Chomsky• Leon Festinger• Cognitivist- a psychologist who studies
how we process, store, retrieve, and use information and how thought processes influence our behavior
• Believe that behavior is more than a simple response to a stimulus
Biological Psychology
• Known today as behavioral neuroscience
• Psychobiologist- a psychologist who studies how physical and chemical changes in our bodies influence our behavior– Have found that genetic factors influence our
behaviors– Discovered a link between chemicals in the
brain and human behavior
Sociocultural Psychology
• Sociocultural psychologists study:– the influence of cultural and ethnic similarities
and differences on behavior and social functioning
– The impact and integration of millions of immigrants entering the U.S. every year
– Attitudes, values, beliefts, and social norms and roles of the various racial and ethnic groups
Section 3
Psychology as a Profession
What is a Psychologist?
• Psychologists- is a scientist who studies the mind and behavior of humans and animals
• Psychiatry- is a branch of medicine that deals with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders
• These two professions are usually confused
Subfields of Psychology
• Clinical psychologist- is a psychologist who diagnoses and treats people with emotional disturbances
• Counseling psychologist- is a psychologist who usually helps people deal with problems of everyday life– School psychologist
Subfields of Psychology
• Developmental psychologist- a psychologist who studies the emotional, cognitive, biological, personal, and social changes that occur as an individual matures
• Educational psychologist- a psychologist who is concerned with helping students learn
Subfields of Psychology
• Community psychologist- a psychologist who may work in a mental health or social welfare agency
• Industrial or organizational psychologist- a psychologist who uses psychological concepts to make the workplace a more satisfying environment for employees and managers
Subfields of Psychology
• Environmental psychologists- work in a business or with the government to study the effects of the environment on people
• Psychobiologists- study the effect of drugs or try to explain behavior in terms of biological factors
Subfields of Psychology
• Forensic psychologists- work in legal, court, and correctional systems
• Health psychologists- study the interaction between physical and psychological health factors
• Experimental psychologists- is a psychologist who studies sensation, perception, learning, motivation, and/or emotion in carefully controlled laboratory conditions
Source:
• Kasschau, Richard, A. Understanding Psychology. McGraw-Hill, Glencoe, New York, New York, 2008.