1. The Science of
Psychology
Chapter 1

2. Historical Overview
• The word "psychology" is the combination of
two terms - study (ology) and soul (psyche), or
mind
• The word psychology literally means, "the study
of the soul" (ψυχή, psukhē, meaning "breath",
"spirit", or "soul"; and -λογος -logos, translated
as "study of" or "research")
• The study of psychology in a philosophical
context dates back to the ancient civilizations of
Egypt, Greece, China, India, and Persia.

3. Historical Overview
• Historians point to the writings of ancient Greek
philosophers, such as Thales, Plato, and Aristotle
(especially in his De Anima treatise), as the first
significant body of work in the West to be rich in
psychological thought.
• As early as the 4th century BC, Greek physician
Hippocrates theorized that mental disorders
were of a physical, rather than divine,
nature.1879 was the year The First Psychology
Laboratory opened by Wilhelm Wundt at the
University of Leipzig, Germany.

4. What is Psychology?
• Psychology - scientific study of
behavior and mental processes.
▫ Behavior - outward or overt actions and
reactions.
▫ Mental processes - internal, covert
activity of our minds.
• Psychology is a science
▫ Prevent possible biases from leading to
faulty observations
▫ Precise and careful measurement
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5. Psychology’s Four Goals
1. Description
▫ What is happening?
1. Explanation
▫ Why is it happening?
▫ Theory - general explanation of a set of
observations or facts
1. Prediction
▫ Will it happen again?
1. Control
▫ How can it be changed? Menu

6. Is Psychology a Science ?
• The adoption of scientific method has
made psychology as a science
• Scientific method is an approach
which involves the use of several key
values and standards in acquiring
knowledge

7. Values and standards of the scientific
method
• Accuracy: A commitment to gathering and
evaluation information about the world in as
careful, precise and error free manner as possible
• Objectivity : A commitment to obtaining and
evaluation information in a manner free from
bias
• Skepticism : Accepting findings as accurate only
after it being verified over and over by many
scientists
• Open Mindedness :In the face of evidence a
commitment to changing one’s views – even views
that are strongly held

8. Early battles over what
psychology should study
• Structuralism
• Functionalism
• Gestalt Psychology
• Psychoanalysis
• Behaviorism

9. Structuralism
• Structuralism - focused on structure or basic
elements of the mind.
• Wilhelm Wundt’s psychology laboratory
▫ Germany in 1879
▫ Developed the technique of objective
introspection – process of objectively
examining and measuring one’s thoughts and
mental activities.
• Edward Titchener
▫ Wundt’s student; brought structuralism to
America
• Margaret Washburn
▫ Titchener’s student; first woman to earn a
Ph.D. in psychology.
• Structuralism died out in early 1900s. Menu

10. Functionalism
• Functionalism - how the mind
allows people to adapt, live, work,
and play.
• Proposed by William James.
• Influenced the modern fields of:
▫ Educational psychology
▫ Evolutionary psychology
▫ Industrial/organizational
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psychology

11. Gestalt Psychology
• Gestalt psychology is a school of thought
that looks at the human mind and behavior
as a whole. Originating in the work of Max
Wertheimer, Gestalt psychology formed
partially as a response to the structuralism
of Wilhelm Wundt.
• Gestalt ideas are now part of the study of
cognitive psychology, a field focusing not
only on perception but also on learning,
memory, thought processes, and problem
solving.
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12. Gestalt Psychology
• E.g. Have you ever noticed how a series of
flashing lights often appears to be
moving, such as neon signs or strands of
Christmas lights? According to Gestalt
psychology, this apparent movement
happens because our minds fill in missing
information. Belief that the whole is
greater than the sum of the individual
parts

13. Psychoanalysis
• Psychoanalysis - the theory and therapy
based on the work of Sigmund Freud.
• Freud’s patients suffered from nervous
disorders with no found physical cause.
▫ Freud proposed that there is an unconscious
(unaware) mind into which we push, or repress, all
of our threatening urges and desires.
▫ He believed that these repressed urges, in trying to
surface, created nervous disorders.
▫ Freud stressed the importance of early childhood
experiences.
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14. Psychoanalysis
• Freud suggest that some of these desires
or thoughts can become conscious through
therapeutic techniques such as ‘free
association’, ‘dream interpretation’ and
‘transference’.

15. Structure of the mind
• Freud developed a structure of the mind, which
includes three components:
1. Id
2. Ego
3. Superego
• Id : This is the part of personality or mind that a
person is born with. It is the largest part of the
unconscious structure of the mind. The id holds the
sexual and aggressive instincts of the person and
demands instant gratification. It is sometimes
referred to as the psychic energy.

16. Structure of the mind cont…
• Ego : This part of the personality or mind is the
largest part of the conscious mind but at least half of
it is preconscious. The ego develops in childhood
and fulfils a function of balancing the desires of the
id with the social constraints of the world which are
internalised by the superego.
• Superego : The superego is often referred to as the
conscience of the person, which is developed at
about the age of five. The superego uses guilt and
pride to facilitate compliance with social norms. The
superego is partly conscious but also exists in the
preconscious and unconscious

17. Behaviorism
• Behaviorism - the science of behavior that
focuses on observable behavior only.
▫ Must be directly seen and measured.
• Proposed by John B. Watson.
▫ Based much from work of Ivan Pavlov who
demonstrated that behavior is conditioned
(learned).
▫ Watson argued that psychology should
focus not on consciousness or experience
but only on observable behavior
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18. Behaviorism
•The behaviorists are concerned with
learning. They propose that all of a
person’s behaviour, including their
personality, is learnt.
•There are a number of processes by
which this happens and they have
become the building blocks of learning
from the foundational level of
habituation to the more complex
learning of social learning theory(e.g.
Classical conditioning, operant
conditioning , social learning ).

19. Challenges to Behaviorism and emergence
of Modern Psychology
• Behaviorism dominated psychology for many
decades . When the behaviorists were calling for
a focus on ‘Overt’ behaviors , Psychologists were
listening with growing interest to the theories of
Sigmand Freud .
• Freud argued strongly for the role of
unconscious and other internal processes in
human behavior and mental disorders
• Another challenge to behaviorism occurred in
1950s, with Humanistic Psychology

20. Humanistic Psychology
• Humanistic Psychologists argued that contrary
to what behaviorists proposed, people have
“Free Will”
• They do not simply repeat behaviors that
produce positive outcomes and while avoiding
behaviors that produce negative ones.
• People are strongly motivated by future plans
and goals, and by the desire for personal growth
• Humanists also rejected Freud’s view that much
of our behaviors stem from innate aggressive
and sexual urges.

21. Humanistic Psychology
• Within the context of the three different
approaches to psychology: behaviorism,
psychoanalysis, and humanism it is
sometimes referred to as "the third
force".
• It adopts a holistic approach to human
existence through investigations of
creativity, free will, and human potential.
Its ideas were picked up by spirituality. It
believes that people are inherently good.

22. Challenges to Behaviorism and
emergence of Modern Psychology
• The ultimate challenge to Behaviorism and the
narrow definition to psychology it proposed ,
were influenced by the “Cognitive Revolution”
• A renewal of interest in all aspects of cognition –
and divert towards studying aspects such as
memory, reasoning, problem solving
• Development of computers provided important
new tools for psychologists/ researchers to study
internal mental processes ( e.g. : measure speed
of reaction time of different persons in great
precision)

23. • Processes that early behaviorists once
thought to be unobservable became
observable, and the behaviorists
objection to studying them faded away
• The study of cognitive processes are one
of the most vigorous areas in psychology

24. Major Modern Perspectives (mental
view /outlook) of Modern Psychology
1. Psychodynamic perspective
Modern version of psychoanalysis.
▫ Argued strongly for the role of
unconscious and other internal processes
in human behavior and mental processes.
▫ More focused on the development of a
sense of self and the discovery of other
motivations behind a person’s behavior
than sexual motivations.
▫ E.G: Behavior is explained in terms of past experiences and motivational
forces. Actions are viewed as stemming from inherited instincts, Menu
biological drives, and attempts to resolve conflicts between personal
needs and social requirements

25. Major Perspectives
2. Behavioral perspective
▫ Focuses on overt behavior
▫ They propose that all of a
person’s behavior, including their
personality, is learnt.

26. Major Perspectives
3.Humanistic perspective
▫ Owes far more to the early roots of
psychology in the field of philosophy.
▫ Humanists held the view that people
have free will, the freedom to choose
their own destiny.
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27. Major Perspectives
4.Bio psychological
perspective
Attributes human and animal
behavior to biological events
occurring in the body, such as
genetic influences, hormones,
and the activity of the nervous
system.
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28. Major Perspectives
5. Cognitive perspective
Focuses on memory,
intelligence, perception,
problem solving, and
learning.

29. Major Perspectives
6.Sociocultural
perspective
Focuses on the relationship
between social behavior and
culture. Social and cultural
factors that can influence
behavior
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30. Major Perspectives
6.Evolutionary perspective (relatively
a new field & still a bit controversial)
Focuses on the possible role of
evolved psychological mechanisms
(inherited tendencies shaped by
evolution) in human behavior
▫ Looks at the way the mind works
and why it works as it does.
▫ Behavior is seen as having an
adaptive or survival value.

31. Evolutionary perspective cont..
• Our species like all others on the planet,
has been subject to the process of
biological evolution throughout its
history, and as its result we now possess a
large number of evolved psychological
mechanism that help us to deal with
important problems relating to survival
• Process of evolution (first hypothesized by
Charles Darwin ) involves 3 basic elements
- Variation
- Inheritance
- Selection

32. Evolutionary perspective
• Variation : organisms belonging to a species
vary in many different ways
• Inheritance : some of these variations can be
passed from one generation to the next
• Selection : some variations gives the individual
who possess them an edge in terms of
reproduction . These individuals are more likely
to survive , find mates , and pass these variations
onto succeeding generations . Overtime more
and more members of this species possess this
variation

33. Major Perspectives
7. Developmental
Perspective :
Focuses on changes in behavior
and cognitive processes over the
life span

34. • In the past, psychologists often identified
themselves exclusively with one single
school of thought. Today, most
psychologists have an eclectic outlook on
psychology. They often draw on ideas and
theories from different schools rather than
holding to any singular outlook.

35. Major Subfields of Psychology
• Clinical Psychology : studies diagnosis and
treatment of mental disorders
• Counseling Psychology : assists
individuals in dealing with many personal
problems that do not involve psychological
disorders

36. Major Subfields of Psychology
• Developmental psychology: studies how
people change physically, cognitively and
socially over the entire life span
• Educational Psychology: studies all
aspects of the educational process
• Experimental psychology : studies all
psychological processes, including
perception, learning and motivation

37. Major Subfields of Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology : investigates all
aspects of cognition -> memory , thinking,
reasoning, language, decision-making and so
on
• Industrial/ Organizational Psychology:
studies all aspects of behavior in work
settings

38. Major Subfields of Psychology
• Psychobiology and evolutionary
Psychology: investigates biological bases of
behavior and the role of evolution in human
behavior
• Social Psychology : studies all aspects of
social behavior and social thought- how we
think about and interact with others

39. Types of Psychological Professionals
• Psychiatrist - a medical doctor who has specialized in the
diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.
• Psychoanalyst - either a psychiatrist or a psychologist who has
special training in the theories of Sigmund Freud and his
method of psychoanalysis.
• Psychiatric social worker - a social worker with some training
in therapy methods who focuses on the environmental
conditions that can have an impact on mental disorders, such
as poverty, overcrowding, stress, and drug abuse.
• Psychologist - a professional with an academic degree and
specialized training in one or more areas of psychology.
▫ Can do counseling, teaching, and research and may
specialize in any one of a large number of areas within
psychology.
▫ Areas of specialization in psychology include clinical,
counseling, developmental, social, and personality, among
others.
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40. Growth of psychology