Psychology Introduction Prof. BARAKAT Summer Term 1.
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Transcript of Psychology Introduction Prof. BARAKAT Summer Term 1.
What is Psychology
• The scientific study of behavior, mental processes, mind and cognitive activities
• Research leads to the development of theories about Behavior and Cognition
• The Greek word means
– Psycho = mind or soul – Logo = study of
• Psychologists are interested in every aspect of human thought and behavior
Gain insight into the mind
Understanding of people
Understanding ourselves
What do we hope to gain from studying psychology?
Any action that others can observe and measure:
–Walking–Talking (cognition)–Physical movements
What is Behavior?
Emotion Behavior or mental process Feelings Thoughts Dreams Brain waves or privates thoughts Perception Memories
What are Cognitive Activities?
A Social Science (Studies the structure of human society and the nature of the individual in the society)
Studies the nature of the physical world (Brain or mind)
Follows scientific principles (hypothesis, experimentation, data collection and analysis, and drawing conclusions)
Why is Psychology considered a Science?
Developmental Physiological Clinical and Counseling Industrial and Organizational Cognitive Psychology Comparative Psychology Forensic Psychology
Fields of PsychologyTable 1.4 p 30
Educational Psychology Evolutionary Psychology Health Psychology Social Psychology Positive Psychology Engineering Psychology Experimental Psychology
Fields of Psychology (Cont.)
Gods and nature
Pseudopsychology and the fallacy of positive instances (Phrenology, Graphology, Astrology)
Thoughts and dreams
Mind centered in the heart
Pre-greek
“Know Thyself” (Learn about ourselves by examining ones’ thoughts and feelings
Introspection (modern term meaning “looking within”)
Socrates and Plato
Student of Plato who wrote “Peri Psyches” (about the Mind)
Human behavior is subject to laws
Man seeks pleasure, not pain
Addressed modern issues
Aristotle
Father of Medicine
Suggested the brain was root of behavioral problems
Thoughts, and feelings cause behavior
Hyppocrates
John Locke (philosopher)
– “The mind is a blank slate” – Theorized that knowledge is not inborn
but is learned from experiences
Human behavior and mental processes should be supported by evidence
In 1800s, psychological laboratories were established in Europe and United States
Scientific Approach
Investigates the biological basis of human behavior:
– Neuropsychologists: brain vs nervous system, i.e. strokes, no taste when sick
– Psycho-biologists: body chemistry or hormones, i.e., how they interact with drugs; how stress influences behavior
– Behavioral geneticists: heredity factors, i.e., how alcoholism runs in families
Birth of Physiological Psychology
Personality psychologists study the differences among individuals
How personality traits differ between males and females
Behavior as a stable personality trait or a response to a social reaction or stressful situation
Personality Psychology
Father of Modern Psychology First psychology laboratory
(Germany, 1879) Studied simplest mental process
(used measures of reaction time)
Objective sensation reflects the outside world
– Example: Sight/ taste Subjective feeling, emotion,
response and mental images
Wilhelm wundt
The study of the most basic elements (sensations and perceptions) that make up our conscious mental experiences
Involves Introspection
– “What are the elements of Psychological processes?”
STRUCTURALISM 1879:Elements of the Mind
Study of the function rather than the structure of consciousness
How our minds adapt to our changing environment
Behavioral observations conducted in a laboratory
– “What do certain behaviors and mental processes accomplish for the person?”
Adaptive behavior patterns are learned because they are successful
FUNCTIONALISM
1st American born psychologist
Wrote “The Principles of Psychology”
Experience is a fluid and an ever-changing flow of images and sensations
Adaptive Action (Darwinism): – Behavior + success = Habit
William James
Emphasized the objective, scientific analysis of observable behaviors
Interested in behavior and its precise measurement rather than “consciousness” of Wundt and James
Behaviorism 1950s:Radical Vs. Cognitive
Stimulus/Response theory
Adopted Ivan Pavlov’s concept of Conditioning
Psychology as an objective, experimental science that analyzes observable behavior, predicts and attempts to control behavior
John Watson
Environmental factors mould behaviour
Mental events do not explain behavior (radicalism)
Behavior is reinforced:
- Positive reinforcement - Reward & Punishment
Misguided rewards (punishment) lead to destructive actions
B. F. Skinner (Skinner Box)Radical Behaviourism
A view that combines cognition (thinking) and conditioning to explain behaviour
Case study: Watching streaming videos
Radical B.: Agent is rewarded by the pleasure of watching interesting videos
Cognitive B.: Agent expects to find good videos at the Website
Cognitive Behaviourism
Gestalt means « form, pattern, or whole »
Emphasized that perception is more than the sum of its parts
The study of thinking, learning and perception as whole units instead of the small units of structuralism
Studied how sensations are assembled into meaningful perceptual experiences
Gestalt Approach 1920s
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”
Deals with perceptions
– How we see and understand things
– Enables the individual to solve problems
Max Wertheimer: Gestalt psychology
Childhood experiences influence the development of later personality traits and psychological problems
– This perspective is associated with the psychodynamic view (internal forces and impulses that are hidden)
Emphasizes unconscious (conflict & past events. i.e., early childhood traumas)
Psychoanalysis 1900s:A look into the Early Mind
Studied the unconscious to understand behavior
– The Interpretation of Dreams
Developed Ideas:
– Therapy – Internal conflict – Study of impulses
Sigmund Freud
Focuses on subjective human experience
- Unconscious forces and behavioral emphasis on conditioning have a strong undercurrent of determinism
Stresses free will
Humanists are interested in psychological needs for love, self-esteem, belonging and spirituality
Abraham Maslow: Humanistic Psychology
The Biological Perspective (Evolutionary view)
The Psychological Perspective (Cognitive & Psychodynamic)
The Socio-cultural Perspective (interactionism and relativity)
Complementary Perspectives on Behavior
Table 1.3 p 27