Psychology is the scientific study of behaviors and mental processes. Its main goals are to describe, explain, predict, and control behaviors. There are several modern approaches to psychology including biological, cognitive, behavioral, psychometric, humanistic, and cross-cultural. The biological approach examines how genes, hormones, and the nervous system influence behaviors and mental processes. The cognitive approach studies how information is processed, stored, and used. The behavioral approach looks at how learning and conditioning shape behaviors. A psychologist requires a PhD and studies behaviors, while a psychiatrist is a medical doctor who can prescribe medication to treat abnormal behaviors.

1. Discovering
Psychology
Module 1

2. Psychology:
The systematic,scientific study of behaviors
and mental processes.

3. Goals of Psychology:
1) Describe
2) Explain
3) Predict
4) Control

4. 1)Describe:
• First goal is to describe the different ways
that organisms behave.
2)Explain:
2nd goal is to explain the causes of
behavior.
3)Predict:
3rd goal is to predict how organisms will
behave in certain situations.
4)Control:
4th goal is to control an organism’s behavior.

5. Modern Approaches:
•1) Biological Approach
•2) Cognitive Approach
•3) Behavioral Approach
•4) Psychometric Approach
•5) Humanistic Approach
•6) Cross Cultural Approach

6. Biological Approach:
• It focuses on how our genes, hormones, and
nervous system interact with our environment to
influence learning, personality, memory,
motivation, emotions and coping techniques.

7. Cognitive Approach:
• It examines how we process, store, and use
information and how this information influences
what we attend to, learn, remember, believe and
feel.

8. Behavioral Approach:
• It studies how organisms learn new
behaviors or modify existing ones, depending on
whether events in their environments reward or
punish these behaviors.

9. Psychometric Approach:
• It stresses the influence of unconscious
fears, desires, and motivations on thoughts,
behaviors, and the development of personality
traits and psychological problems later in life.

10. Humanistic Approach:
• It emphasizes that each individual has
great freedom in directing his/her future, a large
capacity for personal growth, a considerable
amount of intrinsic worth, and enormous
potential for self-fulfillment.

11. Cross Cultural Approach:
• It examines the influence of cultural and
ethnic similarities and differences on
psychological and social functioning of a culture’s
members.

12. Diff. b/w Psychologist &
Psychiatrist:
Psychologist
A psychologist is usually
someone who has
completed 4 to 5 years
of postgraduate
education and has
obtained a Ph.D., PsyD.,
or Ed.D. in psychology .
Psychiatrist
A medical doctor who
has spent several years
in clinical training
including diagnosing
possible physical and
neurological causes of
abnormal behaviors and
treating these behaviors
often with prescription
drugs.

13. Clinical Psychologist:
• A clinical psychologist has Ph.D., PsyD.,
or Ed.D. has specialized in clinical subarea and
has spent an additional year in a supervised
therapy setting to gain experience in diagnosing
and treating a wide range of abnormal
behaviors.
•Counseling Psychologist:
• They provide same services but usually
work with different problems, such as those
involving marriage, family or career couselling.
* Both don’t have authority to prescribe drugs

14. Branches of Psychology:
Social
Psycholo-
gy
Develop-
mental
Psycholo-
gy
Experime
-ntal
Psycholo-
gy
Biological
Psycholo-
gy
Cognitive
Psycholo-
gy
Psychom-
etric
Psycholo-
gy
It involves
the study
of social
interaction,
stereotype,
prejudices,
attitudes,
conformity,
group
behavior,
and
suggestion.
It examines
moral,
social,
emotional,
and
cognitive
developme
nt through-
out a
person’s
entire life.
It includes
areas of
sensation,
perception,
learning,
human
performan
ce,
motivation
and
emotion.
It involves
research
on physical
and
chemical
changes
that occur
during
stress,
learning
and
emotions.
It involves
how we
process,
store, and
retrieve
informatio
n and how
cognitive
processes
influence
our
behaviors.
It focuses
on the
measurem
ent of
people’s
abilities,
skills,
intelligence
,
personality,
and
abnormal
behaviors.