General psychology Introduction to Psychology, Definition, What is Psychology : Nature of Psychology, Psychology as a science, The challenges of studying psychology, Schools of Psychology

1. DEFINITION,
NATURE,
PSYCHOLOGY AS A
SCIENCE
Made by
Psychologist
Stella

2. DEFINITION:
 Psychology is the scientific study of mind and
behavior. The word “ psychology” comes from
the Greek words “psyche”, meaning life, and
“logos”, meaning explanation.
 The scientific study of behavior and mental
processes.
 –Physical state
 –Mental state
 –Environment

3.  Behavior = outward or avert actions and
reactions
–Talking, facial expressions and movement
 Mental Process = internal, covert activity
 –Thinking, feeling and remembering

4.  What is Psychology?
 Psychology is the scientific study of mind
and behavior
◦ Psychology is more than common sense
◦ Why is psychology scientific?
 because it is based on empiricism
 the notion that all knowledge can be acquired
through observation, not on reasoning, tradition or
common sense

5.  Psychology is the scientific study of mind
and behavior
◦ mind
 the contents of subjective experience
 sensations, thoughts, and emotions
◦ behavior
 observable actions
 thought and feelings
 activities of cells

6.  Although it is easy to think that everyday
situations have commonsense answers,
scientific studies have found that people are
not always as good at predicting outcomes as
they often think they are.
 The hindsight bias leads us to think that we
could have predicted events that we could not
actually have predicted.

7.  Hindsight bias, also known as the
knew-it-all-along effect
 Hindsight bias may cause memory
distortion, where the recollection and
reconstruction of content can lead to false
theoretical outcomes.

8.  Employing the scientific method allows
psychologists to objectively and
systematically understand human
behavior.
 Psychologists have also found that there
are a variety of cognitive and motivational
biases that frequently influence our
perceptions and lead us to draw
erroneous conclusions

9.  We can label the scientific method as the set
of assumptions, rules, and procedures that
scientists use to conduct empirical research.
 Empirical methods include the processes of
collecting and organizing data and drawing
conclusions about those data. The empirical
methods used by scientists have developed
over many years and provide a basis for
collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data
within a common framework in which
information can be shared.

10.  Although scientific research is an important
method of studying human behavior, not all
questions can be answered using scientific
approaches. Statements that cannot be
objectively measured or objectively
determined to be true or false are not within
the domain of scientific inquiry.
 Scientists therefore draw a distinction
between values and facts. research can
sometimes provide facts that can help people
develop their values.

12.  Although science is not perfect, the
requirements of empiricism and objectivity
result in a much greater chance of producing
an accurate understanding of human
behavior than is available through other
approaches.
 The study of psychology spans many
different topics at many different levels of
explanation, which are the perspectives that
are used to understand behavior.

13. The Challenges of Studying Psychology
 Individual differences are the variations
among people on physical or psychological
dimensions.
 Another reason that it is difficult to predict
behavior is that almost all behavior is multiply
determined, or produced by many factors.

14.  Furthermore, these multiple causes are
not independent of one another; they are
associated such that when one cause is
present other causes tend to be present as
well. This overlap makes it difficult to
pinpoint which cause or causes are
operating

15.  Another difficulty in studying psychology is
that much human behavior is caused by
factors that are outside our conscious
awareness, making it impossible for us, as
individuals, to really understand them.

16.  The role of unconscious processes was
emphasized in the theorizing of the
Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud
(1856–1939), who argued that many
psychological disorders were caused by
memories that we have repressed and
thus remain outside our consciousness.

17. KEY TAKEAWAYS
 Psychology is the scientific study of mind
and behavior.
 Though it is easy to think that everyday
situations have commonsense answers,
scientific studies have found that people are
not always as good at predicting outcomes
as they think they are.
 The hindsight bias leads us to think that we
could have predicted events that we actually
could not have predicted.

18.  People are frequently unaware of the
causes of their own behaviors.
 Psychologists use the scientific method to
collect, analyze, and interpret evidence.
 Employing the scientific method allows the
scientist to collect empirical data
objectively, which adds to the accumulation
of scientific knowledge.

19. ROOTS OF PSYCHOLOGY
 in the late 1800's both physiologists and
philosophers were investigating the mind
◦ philosophy - "why"
◦ physiology - "how"
 philosophy - ideas of about the acquisition of
knowledge
 physiology - progress in understanding the
nervous system, senses, etc
◦ both came together to create the idea of applying the
methods of science to the study of human behavior

20.  The First Schools:
Psychology Emerges as a Science
 Wilhelm Wundt
◦ established psychology as an independent science
◦ first psychology lab, in Germany (1879)
◦ defined psychology as the study of conscious
experience
◦ typical questions
 how are sensations turned into mental awareness of the
outside world?
 what are the basic elements of thought?

21.  Psychology comes to America
◦ Wundt's students start labs across USA (1880 - 1900)
 Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Stanford
 UW-Madison Psychology department formed 1888
 Structuralism
◦ Edward Titchner
◦ analyze consciousness into basic elements and study
how they are related
◦ introspection - systematic self-observation of one's
own conscious experiences

22.  Functionalism
◦ William James (1842 - 1910)
◦ investigate the function, or purpose of consciousness,
rather than its structure
 e.g., bricks and mortar of a house versus its usefulness
◦ Functionalist activities
 leaned toward applied work and more natural settings
◦ development in children
◦ educational practices
◦ usefulness of memory techniques
 Structuralism vs Functionalism
◦ Structuralism - What? Analyze consciousness into
basic elements
◦ Functionalism - Why? Investigate the function, or
purpose of consciousness

23.  Gestalt Psychology
◦ Max Wertheimer (1880 - 1943)
◦ phi phenomenon: The phi phenomenon is the
optical illusion of perceiving a series of still images,
when viewed in rapid succession, as continuous
motion.
◦ reaction against structuralism
◦ elementary thought particles don't capture
experience
 "the whole is different than the sum of its
parts“

24.  Behaviorism
◦ John Watson (1878 - 1958)
 attack on introspection
 psychology, as a science, should focus on observable behavior
 mental processed cannot be studied directly, so don't try!
 often referred to as Stimulus-Response psychology
◦ B.F. Skinner (1904 - 1990)
 like Watson, all behavior can be explained by stimulus-
response pairing
 emphasized the importance of reinforcement and punishment
◦ Psychology (1920's - 1960's)
 Behaviorism: Psychology is the science of observable behavior
 John Watson: Behavior without reference to thought
◦ the rat and SR psychology
 BF Skinner: Behaviorism based on consequences
◦ the pigeon and the Skinner box

25.  Freud and the Humanists: The Influence of
the Clinic
 Freud and Psychoanalysis
◦ The Unconscious
 thoughts, memories, and desires exist below conscious
awareness and exert an influence on our behavior
◦ Psychoanalytic theory
 personality, mental disorders and motivation explained in
terms of unconscious determinants of behavior
 unconscious expressed in dreams and "slips of the
tongue"
 emphasis on the role of childhood experienced in
shaping adult behavior

26.  The Humanistic response
◦ rejects pessimistic view of Freud
◦ potential for self-awareness, responsibility and
growth
◦ Carl Rogers' client-centered therapy
◦ Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs and self
actualization

27.  . Understanding the Focus of Modern Psychology
 The cognitive revolution (1960's)
◦ Noam Chomsky and Language
◦ Advent of computers (late 1950's) provides a new model
for thinking about the mind
◦ a return to the study of learning, memory, perception,
language, development and problem solving

 Developments in biology
◦ physiological recording devices - single cell recording,
EEG, CT, PET, MRI
◦ understanding neurotransmitters

 Recognizing Culture
◦ before - searched for universal principles
◦ now - cross-cultural factors important
◦ culture - shared values, customs, and beliefs

28.  . What Psychologists Do Today
 Research Psychologists
◦ conduct experiments or collect observations designed to
uncover the basic principles of behavior and mind
◦ Biopsychologists
 investigate the biological basis of behavior
◦ Personality Psychologists
 study the differences between individuals
◦ Cognitive Psychologists
 conduct research on memory, language, problem-solving
◦ Experimental Psychologists
 conduct research on sensation, perception, and basic learning
◦ Developmental Psychologists
 study human mental and physical growth from conception to
death
◦ Social Psychologists
 study how people influence one another

29.  Applied Psychologists
◦ try to extend the principles of scientific psychology to
the practical, everyday problems of the world
◦ School Psychologists
 assist in children's educational, intellectual and social
development
◦ designing programs for special need children
◦ testing
◦ teaching
◦ Industrial/Organizational
 use psychological principles to improve work
environment
◦ predicting job performance, assessing leadership, factors
contributing to job satisfaction
◦ Human Factors/Engineering
 design and engineering of new products
◦ how best to design new keyboard or telephone touch pad
◦ best place to put knobs on stove

30. ◦ Environmental
 the relationship between the physical environment and
psychological processes
◦ functioning of workers in different environments
◦ people's sense of personal space
◦ Forensic Psychologists
 interface between psychology and the law
◦ assisting victims of crime
◦ profiling criminals
◦ selecting jurors for trials

31.  Clinical Psychologists
◦ specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of
psychological disorders
 clinical psychologists versus counseling psychologists
 clinical psychologists versus psychiatrists
 What holds it all together?
◦ the desire to describe, predict, understand, and
control behavior