Chapter  1  

Introducing  Psychology  

Psychologists  Point  of  View  They  study  complex  behavior  based  on  physiological,  cogni?ve,  emo?onal,  behaviorial  or  subconscious  

needs  

•  Physiological-‐  having  to  do  with  an  organism’s  physical  processes  

Cogni?ve-‐  having  to  do  with  an  organism’s  thinking  and  understanding  

What  is  Psychology?  

•  The  scien?fic  study  of  behavior  that  is  tested  through  scien?fic  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  systema?c  

Use  of  Systema?c  Method  

•  Usually  asks  and  answers  ques?ons  about  why  people  think,  act,  and  feel  as  they  do  

•  Blind  man  and  elephant  story  (page  9)  

•  Study  of  human  behavior  cannot  rely  on  simplis?c  explana?ons.    Many  studies/theories  must  be  examined  before  conclusions  should  be  drawn.  

The  Goals  of  Psychology  

•  Descrip?on  •  Explana?on    •  Predic?on  •  Influence  

Descrip?on  

•  Describe  or  gather  informa?on  about  the  behavior  being  studied  and  present  what  is  known  

Explana?on  

•  They  seek  to  explain  why  people  or  animals  behave  the  way  they  do  

•  Hypothesis-‐  an  assump?on  or  predic?on  about  behavior  that  is  tested  through  scien?fic  research  

•  Theory-‐set  of  assump?ons  used  to  explain  phenomena  (EVOLUTION)  

Predic?on  

•  Use  knowledge  and  predict  what  organisms  think  and  feel  in  various  situa?ons  

•  By  studying  past  behaviors,  psychologists  can  predict  future  behaviors  

Influence  

Psychologists  seek  to  influence  behavior  in  helpful  ways  

•  Basic  Science  

Babies  in  orphanages  have  delayed  development  

•  Applied  Science  

Applica?on  of  the  basic  science:        Consultant  to  a  toy  manufacturer  

 Orphanage:    S?mulate  babies  to  certain  degree  

Scien?fic  Method  –  the  general  approach  for  gathering  informa?on  

and  answering  ques?ons.  

1)  Ques?on  2)  Hypothesis  3)  Experiment    4)  Results  5)  Conclusions  6)  Theory  

Contemporary  Approaches  

•  Psychoanaly?c  •  Behavioral  •  Humanis?c  •  Cogni?ve  •  Biological  •  Sociocultural  

Psychoanaly?c  Psychology  •  Sigmund  Freud  

–  Interested  in  the  unconscious  mind  

–  Used  the  technique  of  free  associa?on,  which  is  s?ll  used  today  

–  Believed  that  dreams  are  expressions  of  the  most  primi?ve  unconscious  urges  

–  His  view  on  the  unconscious  is  a  powerful  influence  and  controversy  

Psychoanaly?c  Psychology  •  Psychoanalyst-‐  a  psychologist  who  studies  how  unconscious  mo?ves  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  Scien?st  •  Saliva?ng  dog  experiment  – Pavlov  rang  a  tuning  fork  each  ?me  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  condi?oned  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  

Skinner  Box  

Humanis?c  Psychology  

•  Humanist-‐  a  psychologist  who  believes  that  each  person  has  freedom  in  direc?ng  his  or  her  future  and  achieving  personal  growth  

•  Abraham  Maslow,  Carl  Rogers  are  humanis?c  psychologists  – Believed  human  nature  as  evolving  and  self-‐directed  

Hierarchy  of  needs  

Cogni?ve  Psychology  

•  Jean  Piaget  •  Cogni?vist-‐  a  psychologist  who  studies  how  we  process,  store,  retrieve,  and  use  informa?on  and  how  thought  processes  influence  our  behavior  

•  Believe  that  behavior  is  more  than  a  simple  response  to  a  s?mulus  

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  gene?c  factors  influence  our  behaviors  

– Discovered  a  link  between  chemicals  in  the  brain  and  human  behavior  

–  hfp://www.psypost.org/2011/10/violent-‐first-‐person-‐shooter-‐video-‐games-‐emo?onally-‐desensi?zing-‐7523    

Sociocultural  Psychology  

•  Sociocultural  psychologists  study:  –  the  influence  of  cultural  and  ethnic  similari?es  and  differences  on  behavior  and  social  func?oning  

– Leonard  Doob  –  Sneeze  ques?on  – The  impact  and  integra?on  of  millions  of  immigrants  entering  the  U.S.  every  year  

– Gender  and  socioeconomic  status  – Ajtudes,  values,  beliefs,  and  social  norms  and  roles  of  the  various  racial  and  ethnic  groups  

Sec?on  3  

Psychology  as  a  Profession  

What  is  a  Psychologist?  

•  Psychologists-‐  is  a  scien?st  who  studies  the  mind  and  behavior  of  humans  and  animals  

•  Psychiatry-‐  is  a  branch  of  medicine  that  deals  with  mental,  emo?onal,  or  behavioral  disorders  

•  These  two  professions  are  usually  confused  

Subfields  of  Psychology  

•  Clinical  psychologist-‐  is  a  psychologist  who  diagnoses  and  treats  people  with  emo?onal  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  emo?onal,  cogni?ve,  biological,  personal,  and  social  changes  that  occur  as  an  individual  matures  

•  Educa?onal  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  organiza?onal  psychologist-‐  a  psychologist  who  uses  psychological  concepts  to  make  the  workplace  a  more  sa?sfying  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  correc?onal  systems  

•  Health  psychologists-‐  study  the  interac?on  between  physical  and  psychological  health  factors  

•  Experimental  psychologists-‐  is  a  psychologist  who  studies  sensa?on,  percep?on,  learning,  mo?va?on,  and/or  emo?on  in  carefully  controlled  laboratory  condi?ons  

Source:  

•  Kasschau,  Richard,  A.    Understanding  Psychology.    McGraw-‐Hill,  Glencoe,  New  York,  New  York,  2008.