Understanding General Psychology Senior High School - HUMSS Strand Jose Rizal University

1. General Concepts
of Psychology

2. Ethymological Basis of Psychology
▰PSYCHOLOGY comes from the two Greek words:
Soul/Mind Study
Psyche
Logos

3. Definitions of Psychology
▰According to Wilhelm Wundt,
“Psychology is the study of
Conscious Experience”.
▰This Concept keeps
Psychology focused in the mind
but it requires that the method
used is scientific.

4. Definitions of Psychology
▰William James attests that
“Psychology pertains to finding out how
psychological nature helps people
adapt themselves to a complex and
changing world”.

5. Definitions of Psychology
▰John B. Watson asserts that
“Psychology is focused on the study of
covert (unobservable) and overt
(observable) behavior that one can
see and can be measured
scientifically”.

6. ▰The Human Behavior relates
to stimulus and response.
Human
Behavior
Stimulus
Internal
External
Response Mental
Glandular
Physical

7. Psychology pertains not just on what people do but
includes their thoughts, feelings, perceptions, reasoning
and memories.
Psychology tries to explain, predict, modify, and
ultimately improves the lives of the people and the world
where they live.

8. Historical Beginning
of Psychology
Psychology is a new science. Its
development involves the following
concepts:

9. Psychology: Its Historical Beginning
▰Animism – is the belief that everything in the
surrounding is inhabited by supernatural being.
▰Example: Even Gravity is attributed in an animistic term:
things fall to the ground because the spirit within the object
wanted it to be reconciled by the Mother Nature.

10. Psychology: Its Historical Beginning
Rene Descartes- The Father of Modern Philosophy.
Psychology started as a component of Philosophy
hence the attribution is given to Descartes.
Plato – believed that human awareness was a
continuation of pre-existing consciousness.
Aristotle – philosopher who based his study on the
mental life of man through observation, experience
and memory.

11. Psychology: Its Historical Beginning
Francis Bacon - discovered and popularized the scientific method,
whereby the laws of science are discovered by gathering and
analyzing data from experiments and observations.
Wilhelm Wundt – founded the first formal psychological
laboratory in Leipzig, Germany which marked formal birth of
Psychology as a Science. He also became the “Father of
Modern Psychology”
Gustav Theodore Fechner – and is considered the founder of
experimental psychology, which applies the scientific method
to the research of behavior and mind

12. Psychology: Its Historical Beginning
Herman Von Helmholtz – has peculiar interest in the speed of neural
impulses, audition and vision that contributed to the knowledge of sensation.
Gustav Theodore Fechner and Herman Von Helmholtz –
Considered to be the “Grandfathers of Psychology”.
Ernst Weber – one of the Fathers of Psychophysics. His studies on
sensation and touch, along with his emphasis on good experimental
techniques gave way to new areas of study for future psychologists,
physiologists, and anatomists.

13. Psychology: Its Historical Beginning
William James – an American Philosopher transplanted
psychology to the United States. This made him the first
American Psychologist.
Sir Francis Galton – his influence in psychology has
fathered mental test and the study of individual
differences.
Sigmund Freud – an Austrian who expounded
the theory of Personality and the interpretation of
dreams.

14. Psychology: Its Historical Beginning
Ivan Pavlov – Russian physiologist who pioneered the
study of learning.
Jean Piaget – Swiss biologist who was
concerned with the observation of children.

15. Goals of Psychology
Specifically the aims of
Psychology as a Science are:
▰To describe behavior.
▰To understand behavior.
▰To predict behavior.
▰To control behavior.

16. Schools of Psychology
Structuralism — was expounded by Edward
Bradford Titchener, an outstanding pupil of
Wilhelm Wundt. Structuralism is based on the idea
that the concern of psychology is to analyze
consciousness into basic unit of experiences.

18. Schools of Psychology
Functionalism — Functionalism was
established by William James, the first
American recognized psychologist. This
school is concerned with the utility of
how conscious processes function in
the adjustment of man to his
environment. James believed that
psychology should focus on true-to-life
everyday experiences.

20. Schools of Psychology
▰Gestalt Psychology —The "credo" is that the
whole is greater than the sum of all the parts
because the whole has a meaning derived from
the relationship of the part to its other.
▰Gestalt is a German word that is simply
translated into "unified form” or “overall shape”
(configuration), it is a school of psychology that
is attributed mainly to Max Wertheimer, who is
a German.

21. Schools of Psychology
▰Psychoanalysis — This school of
psychology was founded by Sigmund
Freud an Austrian.
▰This school was based on his theory
of unconscious motivation and its effect
on human behavior. Freud's theory
states that much of our behavior is
governed by hidden motives and
unconscious desires.

22. Branches of Psychology
▰General Psychology studies the underlying principles of human behavior.
It tries to interpret how and why people behave the way they do in specific
situation.

23. Branches of Psychology
▰Experimental Psychology borders
on pure research. It points to the
methodology by which behavioral
processes are studied and
experimented. It studies the process of
sensation, perception, learning and
thinking.

24. Branches of Psychology
▰Developmental Psychology focuses on the various stages of development
from pre-natal to old age, specifically how people grow and change throughout
the course of their lives.

25. Branches of Psychology
▰Comparative Psychology investigates the behavioral differences of
various organisms and species to discover similarities and differences
between animals and humans.

26. Branches of Psychology
▰Educational Psychology
deals with psychological
problems in the field of education
and how the educational process
affects the students.

27. Branches of Psychology
▰Social Psychology is the study that
centers on all aspects of people's
interpersonal behavior— social thoughts,
feelings, attraction, aggression and social
influence.

28. Branches of Psychology
▰Industrial-Organizational
Psychology (Feldman, '93) is the study
that deals with the psychology of the
workplace, the employees' motivation
and productivity, job satisfaction and
leadership.

29. Branches of Psychology
▰Environmental Psychology
is concerned with the
relationship of people to the
physical environment.
▰

30. Branches of Psychology
▰Personality Psychology (Bacon '93)
is founded on sound individual
differences, characteristics or traits, a
person displays across a vast range of
situations.

31. Branches of Psychology
▰Clinical Psychology involves the
application of clinical method of
diagnosis and treatments to persons
who are severely disturbed and those
suffering from emotional and adjustment
problems. Mental illness, delinquency,
drug addiction are the concerns of
Clinical psychology.

32. Branches of Psychology
Cognitive Psychology focuses directly
on, the study of higher mental processes
like thinking, learning, reasoning,
decision making, language and memory.
This includes Computer Science as a
tool for information processing model and
“artificial intelligence” (AI).

33. Branches of Psychology
▰Forensic Psychology is a
division of applied psychology that
studies legal issues like knowing
what criteria determine whether an
accused person is mentally
competent to stand trial. It is,
likewise concerned with the
collections, examinations and
presentations of psychological
evidences for judicial purposes.

34. Branches of Psychology
▰Community Psychology is a
field of specialization that
focuses on mental health of the
community, not on individuals. It
is concerned with the problems
of the aged, drug problems and
rehabilitation; and the treatment
of prisoners.

35. Branches of Psychology
▰Health Psychology is a branch of psychology that examines the relationship of
psychological factors and physical illnesses or diseases. It also deals with the
prevention of diseases and promotions of good health.

36. Branches of Psychology
▰Counseling Psychology is concerned with normal problems of everyday living
and guides individuals in their normal development.

37. Branches of Psychology
▰Engineering Psychology is a developing
specialized area in psychology. It is
concerned with the development of man –
machine system. It is fitting man and
machine together, such that both function
well. This branch of psychology is referred to
as "human engineering"

38. Branches of Psychology
▰Consumer Psychology is a specialized branch of Psychology which is concerned
with the buying habits of consumers and the effects of advertisements on people.

39. Branches of Psychology
▰Legal Psychology is another new developing field in psychology which involves
the application of psychology in legal proceedings.

40. Branches of Psychology
▰Sport Psychology studies psychological factors in sports and other
exercises.

41. METHODS OF RESEARCH
▰INTROSPECTION
Introspection or self-
observation is a
procedure employed to
study the component of
the mind, here the
respondent is asked to
relate in detail what he is
experiencing when
exposed to a specific
situation.

42. METHODS OF RESEARCH
▰OBSERVATION
This is the most widely
employed method in
psychology. In fact
psychology is referred to
as observation of
behavior.
▰ Field Observation
▰ Free Observation
▰ Direct Observation

43. METHODS OF RESEARCH
▰INTROSPECTION
Introspection or self-
observation is a
procedure employed to
study the component of
the mind, here the
respondent is asked to
relate in detail what he is
experiencing when
exposed to a specific
situation.
▰OBSERVATION
This is the most widely
employed method in
psychology. In fact
psychology is referred to
as observation of
behavior.
▰ Field Observation
▰ Free Observation
▰ Direct Observation
▰BIOGRAPHICAL
▰This method traces
the development of the
individual in order to
understand his
behavior at different
stages of life.
▰Day Book Method
▰Case History Method
▰Biography Study
▰EXPERIMENTA
L
▰This is the most
scientific and modern
method used in trying
to understand
behavior. This method
uses mechanical aid
and other accurate
measuring devices to
make the findings
reliable.

44. METHODS OF RESEARCH
▰INTROSPECTION
Introspection or self-
observation is a
procedure employed to
study the component of
the mind, here the
respondent is asked to
relate in detail what he is
experiencing when
exposed to a specific
situation.
▰OBSERVATION
This is the most widely
employed method in
psychology. In fact
psychology is referred to
as observation of
behavior.
▰ Field Observation
▰ Free Observation
▰ Direct Observation
▰BIOGRAPHICAL
▰This method traces
the development of the
individual in order to
understand his
behavior at different
stages of life.
▰Day Book Method
▰Case History Method
▰Biography Study
▰EXPERIMENTA
L
▰This is the most
scientific and modern
method used in trying
to understand
behavior. This method
uses mechanical aid
and other accurate
measuring devices to
make the findings
reliable.

45. “PSYCHOLOGY IN THE
PHILIPPINES
▰Psychology in the Philippines started in 1910. Two
years after the founding of the University of the
Philippines, Psychology was taught at the Department of
Philosophy and Psychology in the College of Liberal
Arts.

46. Psychology in the Philippines
▰Dr. Henry S. Townsend, an American who headed the Department of
Philosophy, also taught General Psychology, Genetic Psychology, Educational
Psychological and Test and Measurement in the University of the Philippines.
▰Dean Francisco Benitez, under his able leadership, the University of the
Philippines modeled in the entire country the curricular utilization of psychology
in Education. The Department of Psychology established in the University of Sto.
Tomas in 1930.

47. Psychology in the Philippines
▰Sinforoso Padilla organized the Psychological Clinic at the University of the
Philippines in 1932.
▰Jesus Perpinan started the Psychological Clinic at the Far Eastern University' in
1933.
▰Angel de Blas OP, put up the Experimental Psychological Laboratory in the
University of Sto. Tomas in 1938.
▰Estefania Aldaba-Lim started the Institute of Human Relations at the Philippine
Women's University in 1948.

48. Psychology in the Philippines
▰Joseph Goertz established the Psychology Department at the San Carlos
University in 1954.
▰Fr. Jaime Bulatao opened the Department of Psychology and the Central
Guidance Bureau at the Ateneo de Manila University and other subjects & services
in Psychology.
▰Virgilio Enriquez founded the Pambansang Samahan ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino in
1975. Other universities in the Visayas and Mindanao likewise established
Psychology Department in 1975 and onward.