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1. Copyright McGraw-Hill, Inc. 2010
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Defining Psychology
Psychology
The scientific study of behavior and mental
processes
 Key terms:
 Science: psychology uses the scientific method to observe, describe, and predict
behavior.
 Behavior: is everything that a person does that can be directly observed.
 Mental processes: are the internal thoughts, feelings, and motives that cannot be
directly observed.

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Defining Psychology
Psychology is considered a science, but it
is different from the other sciences with
which students are familiar. Psychology,
as a science, focuses on the many facets
that make everyone who they are.

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Psychological Frame of Mind
Psychologists approach life questions as scientists.
 Attitudes of scientific approach:
 Critical thinking: Scientists are critical thinkers: They question what
others consider factual. They accept nothing at face value.
 Curiosity: Scientists practice curiosity. A scientist wants to know why things in the
world are the way they are and how they became that way. Science is concerned with asking
questions.
 Skepticism: Scientists practice skepticism. They ask questions about things that
other people take for granted.
 Objectivity: Scientists apply objectivity in conducting research using empirical
methods (through observation and logical reasoning) to gather data.

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Science of All Human Behavior
 The scope of psychology as a whole is much more than that of the clinical
psychologists who treat and study psychological disorders.
 Sigmund Freud studied the dark, unpleasant, and unconscious aspects of psychology.
His view influenced the way psychology is generally perceived.
 Psychology seeks to gain knowledge in all dimensions, both positive and negative, of
human behavior.
 Research on forgiveness (letting go of anger and resentment toward others who have
harmed us) has shown that good can come out of negative events or situations. (For
example, the Amish were able to forgive the person who killed their daughters in a
school shooting.)
 Psychology addresses all sides of being human and participates in healthy debate.

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Careers in Psychology

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Historical Perspective
 For thousands of years, people have been trying to answer the basic
questions of human behavior, such as (a) how do our senses perceive
the world? (b) how do we learn? (c) what is memory? (d) and why does
one person grow and flourish, whereas another struggles in life?
 Early philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, debated the
nature of thought and behavior, including the possible link between the
mind and the body.
 Psychology has its roots not only in philosophy but also in biology
and physiology. Wilhelm Wundt, a German philosopher-
physician, founded the academic discipline of psychology.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW6nm69Z_IE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3wjHWyf11s

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Structuralism
 Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
 German philosopher-physician
 First Psychology Laboratory (1879)
 Identify elements, or structures, of
mental processes
 Introspection

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Functionalism
 William James (1842-1910)
 American psychologist and philosopher
 Identify purposes, or functions, of the mind
 Why is human thought adaptive?
 Natural flow of thought, or stream of consciousness

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Contemporary Approaches
A. Biological (p. 8)
1. Brain and nervous system
2. Neuroscience
3. Thoughts and emotions
B. Behavioral (p. 9)
1. Observable behavior
2. Interactions between behavior and environment
3. John Watson and B. F. Skinner
C. Psychodynamic Approach (p. 9)
1. Unconscious thoughts, inner conflicts, early
childhood experiences
2. Freud
3. Beliefs
D. The Humanistic Approach (p. 10)
1. Positive qualities
2. Capacity for personal growth
3. Freedom to choose
E. Cognitive Approach (p. 10)
1. Mental processes such as remembering, making
decisions, planning, goal setting
2. Creativity
F. Evolutionary Approach (p. 10)
1. David Buss
2. Differences across cultures
3. Differences among people of the same culture
G. Sociocultural Approach (p. 11)
1. Behavior
2. Differences across cultures
3. Differences among people of the same culture