psychology

1. HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY
Section 1: Why Study Psychology?
Section 2: What Psychologists Do
Section 3: A History of Psychology
Section 4: Contemporary Perspectives

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Section Reading Questions
1. What are the goals of psychology, and how
is psychology a science?
2. What do psychologists do, and what are their
areas of specialization?
3. How has the study of psychology developed
over time?
4. What are the seven main contemporary
perspectives in psychology?

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Section 1: Why study psychology?
 Why did you take this class?
 What is psychology? Do you
know?
 “…the scientific study of behavior and
mental processes.”
 How? Observe and measure.
 COGNITION (another word you will
see is cognitive)
 thought processes
 emotions

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Question: What are the goals of psychology?
Psychologists have the same goals as scientists.
 Observe
 Describe behavior
 Explain
 Predict
 Control
Section 1: Why Study Psychology?

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Question: How is psychology a science?
Section 1: Why Study Psychology?
 Psychology is a social science.
 History, anthropology, economics, political
science, sociology
 …all deal with the structure of human society
and the nature of the individuals
 But is this REAL science like biology or
chemistry?
 …. answer questions by applying the steps
involved in scientific research
 … conducting experiments, collecting and
analyzing data, drawing conclusions
 Research
 Surveys and experiments

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Section 2: What do psychologists do?
 Psychologists accept that something is true ONLY if
the evidence shows it is so.
 Some are interested in RESEARCH – investigating and
forming theories – and finally testing those theories
 Others apply knowledge through THERAPY to help people.
 And finally there are those who TEACH in classrooms and
workshops.

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Question: What are their areas of specialization?
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
 Clinical – the largest group – treat psychological
problems
 Counseling – treat adjustment problems
 School – deal with students who have problems that
interfere with learning
 Educational Psychologist – focus on course planning
and instructional methods
Section 2: What Psychologists Do

8. HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Question: What are their areas of specialization?
 Personality Psychologist – identify characteristics or
traits
 Social Psychologist – concerned with people’s
behavior in social situations
 Experimental Psychologist – conduct research into
basic processes
Section 2: What Psychologists Do
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION (continued)

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Question: What are their areas of specialization?
 Industrial and Organizational Psychologist – focus on
people in work and business
 Environmental Psychologist – focus on ways in
which people influence and are influenced by
physical environment
 Consumer Psychologist – study the behavior of
shoppers to explain and predict behavior
Section 2: What Psychologists Do
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION (continued)

10. HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Question: What are their areas of specialization?
 Forensic Psychologist – are concerned with how
psychological problems give rise to criminal behavior
 Health Psychologist – study the ways in which
behavior and mental processes are related to physical
health
Section 2: What Psychologists Do
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION (continued)

11. HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Psychology Today: Psychology as a Profession
Section 3: A History of Psychology

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Psychology Today: Where are psychologists employed?
Section 3: A History of Psychology

13. HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Question: How has the study of psychology developed over
time?
Section 3: A History of Psychology
Psychology is
as old as
human history.

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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Roots from Ancient Greece
 Socrates (469-399 CE)
 “Know thyself.”
 Learn about yourself through
self-examination ~
introspection
 Aristotle (384-322 CE)
 Human behavior is subject to
certain rules and laws.
…really began with ancient philosphy.

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
 The ancient Greeks theorized
about various psychological
problems.
 …believed that the gods
punished people by causing
them confusion and madness.
 Hippocrates (460-377 CE)
 …caused by abnormalities in
the brain

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
The Middle Ages
 …believed that agitation and
confusion were signs of
possession by demons
 …punishment for sins or
deals made with the devil
 Tests were used to determine
if a person was possessed.

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
The birth of modern science
 In the mid 16th
century,
Copernicus looked to the skies
and Versalius wrote about the
workings of the human body –
est. the basis for modern science.
 …leading to the birth of modern
psychology in the 1800s.
 …ideas about human behavior
and mental processes should be
supported by EVIDENCE.

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Wilhelm Wundt and
the School of Structuralism
 1879~first formal psychological
laboratory in the world (Leipzig)
 …founded structuralism
 the study of the elements of
consciousness
 what was it? What was it
made of? What was its
structure??

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
William James and
the School of Functionalism
 … how mental processes
help organisms adapt to
their environment – what
were their functions??
 The Principles of
Psychology (1890)
considered by many as the
first modern psychology
textbook

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
John B. Watson and
the School of Behaviorism
 …believed that it is unscientific to study
consciousness
 claimed that psychology was not
concerned with the mind or with human
consciousness
 …study should be limited to observable,
measurable events – BEHAVIOR
 humans could be studied objectively, like
rats and apes
 Defined psychology as the scientific
study of observable behavior.

21. HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
B.F. Skinner and Reinforcement
 …when an animal is reinforced (rewarded),
for performing an action, it is more likely to
perform that action again in the future
 …people learn the same way animals do
 People learn to behave in certain ways because
they have been reinforced for doing so.

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PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
The Gestalt School
 …context influences people’s
interpretation of information
 …much learning, especially
problem solving, is accomplished
by insight, not by mechanical
repetition

23. HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
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Chapter 1Chapter 1
Sigmund Freud and the School of Psychoanalysis
 …emphasizes the importance of unconscious
motives and internal conflicts in determining
human behavior
 …most of what fills an individual’s mind is
unconscious and consists of conflicting impulses,
urges, and wishes
 People’s behavior is aimed at satisfying these
impulses – even though some may be socially
inappropriate or unacceptable
 People often fool themselves about the real
motives for their behavior.

24. HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
24
Chapter 1Chapter 1
Question: What are the seven main contemporary
perspectives in psychology?
Each perspective emphasizes different
topics of investigation and has different
approaches.
Section 4: Contemporary Perspectives

25. HOLT, RINEHART AND WINSTON
PPSYCHOLOGYSYCHOLOGY
PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
25
Chapter 1Chapter 1
Question: What are the seven main contemporary
perspectives in psychology?
 Biological – nervous system, glands, hormones, genetic factors
 Evolutionary – physical traits, social behavior
 Cognitive – interpretation of mental images, thinking,
language
 Humanistic – self-concept
 Psychoanalytic – environmental influences, learning,
observational learning
 Learning – effects of experience on behavior
 Sociocultural – ethnicity, gender, culture, socioeconomic status
Section 4: Contemporary Perspectives