Discovering Psychology

Chapter 1

What is psychology?
PSYCHOLOGY is the systematic, scientific study of behaviors and mental processes. BEHAVIORSobservable actions or responses in humans or animals. MENTAL PROCESSESnon-observable, complex cognitive activities, such as thinking, imagining, studying, and dreaming.

Goals of Psychology
DESCRIBE Psychological research begins with describing how organisms behave. Can involve describing desirable and undesirable behaviors. Allows researcher to begin to comprehend the mental processes underlying the observed behaviors

Goals of Psychology
DESCRIBE EXPLAIN The next step in psychological research is to explain the causes behind the organism s behavior. Extensive research is usually required to develop an accurate explanation of the causes of behavior. Explanations often change over time.

Goals of Psychology
DESCRIBE EXPLAIN PREDICT After finding an explanation for the behavior, psychologist attempt to predict how organisms will behave in certain circumstances. The accuracy of these predictions is a good measure of the explanations of the behavior.

Goals of Psychology
DESCRIBE EXPLAIN PREDICT CONTROL
Utilizing accurate predictions, psychologists can control an organism s behavior. This control can be used positively to help people manage or eliminate undesirable behaviors. Contrarily, the possibility exists that this control can be used to control people s behavior without their knowledge or consent.

Approaches to Psychology
PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH a particular focus or perspective that utilizes a particular research method or technique. By using various approaches psychologists are more likely to achieve all four goals of psychology.

Historical Approaches
Structuralism Functionalism Gestalt Approach Behaviorism

Historical Approaches Structuralism

Focused on the study of the most basic elements, primarily sensations and perceptions, that make up conscious experience. Felt that by analyzing these sensations they were analyzing the structure of the mind. Attempted to construct a complete model our conscious experience by combining hundreds of our individual sensations.

Historical Approaches Structuralism

Pioneered by Wilhelm Wundt, the father of psychology, who developed the technique of introspection to study our sensations. INTROSPECTION method of exploring conscious mental processes by asking subjects to look inward and report their sensations & perceptions. The technique was criticized as an unscientific method lacking objective measurement that relied solely on subject s subjective reports. Ultimately, structuralism was too narrow of an approach, only studying subjective sensations.

Historical Approaches Functionalism

Focused on function, rather than the structure, of consciousness & how our minds adapt to our changing environment. Interested in the goals, purposes, and functions of the mind. Mental activities viewed as having developed through evolutionary processes due to their adaptive functions, i.e., helping humans survive.

Historical Approaches Functionalism

Pioneered by William James, who wrote the first psychology book, which included topics such as learning, sensation, memory, reasoning, attention, feelings, consciousness, and emotions all of which are still major subjects of study today. James s ideas fathered current research efforts in emotions, attention, and memory. Educational psychology also influenced by James s application of psychological principles to teaching. James considered the father of modern psychology.

Historical Approaches The Gestalt Approach

Strong emphasis on perceptions being representing more than the sum of its parts & focused on the study of how sensations are constructed into meaningful perceptual experiences. Gestalt, German for whole pattern. Perception of apparent motion in the Phi Phenomenon cannot be explained by summarizing sensational experience.

Historical Approaches Behaviorism

Emphasis on observable, scientific analysis of observable behaviors. Pioneered by John Watson, who felt 1.that psychology should be considered an objective, experimental science & 2.that psychology should strive to analyzing observable behaviors and be able to predict and control these behaviors.

Modern Approaches
Biological Cognitive Behavioral Psychoanalytic Humanistic Cross-cultural Evolutionary Eclectic

Modern Approaches The Biological Approach

Examines our genes, hormones, and nervous system. Genes write the instructions for the brain, body, and the manufacturing of all of the chemicals that that affect mental health, learning, emotions, & everything we do. Biological approach focuses on how these factors interact with our environment to influence learning, personality, memory, motivation, emotions, and other traits and abilities. Studies how our brain affects the mind and how that mind affects the body

Modern Approaches The Cognitive Approach

Emphasizes researching how we process, store, and use information and how this information influences what we attend to, perceive, learn, remember, believe, and feel. Cognitive neuroscience imaging and identifying the structures and functions of the living brain during performance of a variety of mental or cognitive processes, such as thinking, planning, naming, and recognizing objects. Due to recent success answering questions about emotions, personality, cognitive skills, & social behaviors both approaches have become quite popular. Cognitive components can either help or hinder our mental performance depending on how they are channeled.

Modern Approaches The Behavioral Approach

Analyzes how organisms learn new behaviors or modify existing ones, depending on whether events in the environment reward or punish these behaviors a basic behavioral principle. Events in the environment can modify, change, or control behavior depending on whether the behavior is rewarded or punished.

Modern Approaches The Behavioral Approach

Strict Behaviorism Social Cognitive Approach Pioneered by Albert Bandura. Pioneered by B.F. Skinner. Stresses:
the study of observable behaviors. the importance of environmental reinforcers (rewards & punishments.) the exclusion of mental processes.

Incorporates mental or cognitive processes with observable behavior. Stresses the importance of observation, imitation, and thought processes in addition to environmental events.

Modern Approaches The Psychoanalytical Approach

Based on the belief that childhood experiences greatly influence the development of later personality traits and psychological problems. Unconscious fears, desires, and motivations are stressed as significant influences on behavior. Pioneered by Sigmund Freud, who asserted that the first five years have a profound effect on later personality development.

Modern Approaches The Psychoanalytical Approach

Freud s reasoning: Often one will have thoughts or feelings that -produce feelings of fear or guilt, -threaten one s self-esteem, or -result from unresolved sexual conflict. These thoughts and feelings are automatically placed deep into the unconscious. These inaccessible unconscious thoughts will then produce anxiety, fear, or psychological problems

Modern Approaches The Humanistic Approach

Emphasis on the power of the individual. Individuals have great freedom in directing their own future, achieving personal growth, have considerable selfworth, and enormous potential for self-fulfillment. Only the individual has control over their fate and the individual is free to become whatever they are capable of being. Requires believing in one s abilities and potential to achieve success.

Modern Approaches The Humanistic Approach

Unique in its emphasis on our individual freedom and the positive sides of human nature, our creative tendencies, and our inclination to build caring relationships. Often used for counseling and psychotherapy. Regarded as more of a philosophy of life than a science of human behavior due to lack of experimental methods and free-will concept of human nature.

Modern Approaches Additional Approaches

CROSS-CULTURAL APPROACH investigates the influence of cultural and ethnic similarities and differences on psychological and social functioning. EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH attempts to explain human behaviors and mental processes through the study of evolutionary ideas, such as adaptation and natural selection.

Modern Approaches Additional Approaches

ECLECTIC APPROACH the utilization of multiple approaches to study the same behavior. By combining information from different approaches, psychologists are more likely to achieve the four goals of psychology.

Areas of Specialization
Clinical/Counseling assessing and treating people with psychological problems, e.g., grief, anxiety, & stress. Socialstudy of social interactions, stereotypes, conformity, group behaviors, aggression, and attraction. Developmentalexamines moral, social, emotional, and cognitive development throughout a persons entire life. Experimentalfocused on areas such as sensation, perception, learning, human performance, motivation, & emotion.

Areas of Specialization
Biological/Psychobiology researches the physical and chemical changes that occur during stress, learning, & emotions in addition to how our genetic makeup, brain, and nervous system interact with the environment and influence behavior. Industrial/Organizational examines the relationships of people with their work environment.

Psychometricsfocused on the measurement of individuals abilities, skills, intelligence, personality, & abnormal behaviors. Cognitiveresearches how we process, store, and retrieve information and how cognitive processes influence behaviors.

Careers in Psychology
PSYCHOLOGIST individual with a PhD, PsyD, or EdD in psychology. CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST also has a specialization in a clinical sub-area and an additional year in a supervised therapy setting to gain experience in diagnosing and treating a wide range of abnormal behavior. Counseling psychologist specialized with working with problems involving marriage, family, or career counseling.

Careers in Psychology
PSYCHIATRIST medical doctor (MD) with several years of clinical training, including diagnosing possible physical and neurological causes of abnormal behavior, treating these behaviors, & often prescribing drugs. Most psychologists work as therapists, clinical and counseling, but also find careers in academic, career, industrial, and secondary school & other settings