The document introduces behavioral sciences as the study of human actions, habits, and intentions, encompassing areas like psychology, sociology, and economics. It highlights the role of behavioral sciences in understanding decision-making and communication while distinguishing it from social sciences which focus more on societal structures. The text also covers the historical development of psychology as a science, its methodologies, and its applications in fields such as medicine.

1. PSC 422
Introduction to Behavioural Sciences
H. Zwide 2015

2. Introduction
• Behavioral science is the study of human habits, actions, and
intentions; it spans the fields of psychology, social work, human
resources, economics, sociology and organizational behavior.
• The field is versed in psychometric methods and the social sciences,
and who uses this expertise and interest to examine the observable
actions of living beings.

3. Introduction cont’d
• Behavioural science also focuses on psychometric methods and the
social sciences and uses this expertise and interest to examine the
observable actions of living beings.
• In general, behavioural science falls into two main categories: neural-
decision and social-communication. Neural-decision science studies
the way humans make choices or decisions, while social-
communication science looks at how humans communicate, both
verbally and non-verbally

4. Introduction cont’d
• Behavioural sciences includes two broad categories: neural — Information
sciences and social — Relational sciences.
• Behavioral science as a field of study helps people make positive changes to
society, and further the empirical and theoretical knowledge base in this regard.
• It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal
behaviour through the study of the past, controlled and naturalistic observation
of the present, and disciplined scientific experimentation.

5. Introduction cont’d
• It attempts to accomplish legitimate, objective conclusions through
rigorous formulations and observation.
• Examples of behavioral sciences include psychology, psychobiology,
and cognitive science.
• The term behavioral sciences is often confused with the term social
sciences.

6. Introduction cont’d
• Though these two broad areas are interrelated and study systematic
processes of behavior, they differ on their level of scientific analysis of
various dimensions of behaviour.
• Behavioral sciences abstract empirical data to investigate the decision
processes and communication strategies within and between organisms in
a social system.
• This involves fields like psychology, social neuroscience ethology, and
cognitive science.

7. Introduction cont’d
• In contrast, social sciences provide a perceptive framework to study
the processes of a social system through impacts of social
organization on structural adjustment of the individual and of groups.
• They typically include fields like sociology, economics, public health,
anthropology, demography and political science.
• Many subfields of these disciplines cross the boundaries between
behavioral and social sciences.
• For example, political psychology and behavioral economics use
behavioral approaches, despite the predominant focus on systemic
and institutional factors in the broader fields of political science and
economics.

8. Main focus of behavioural science course
Some of the key areas of focus in behavioral science as it related to the
study of medicine
• Mind–body interactions in health and disease
• Patient behavior
• Physician role and behavior
• Physician–patient interactions
• Social and cultural issues in health care
• Health policy and economics

9. Main focus cont’d
• Close link between behaviour and health
• Adverse health effects can be created or exacerbated by harmful
behaviors (smoking, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, excessive alcohol
consumption, and risky sexual behaviors)
• Similarly, psychological, social, biological, and behavioral factors have
been shown to influence disease risk and illness recurrence
• Similarly, psychological, social, biological, and behavioral factors have
been shown to influence disease risk and illness recurrence.

10. Main focus cont’d
• Students should also graduate with an understanding of how their
background and beliefs can affect patient care and their own well-
being; how they can best interact with patients and their families;
how cultural issues influence health care; and how social factors, such
as health policy and economics, affect physicians' ability to provide
optimal care for their patients.
• Because medical education is a continuum, it is neither necessary nor
desirable for medical students to become experts in every topic in
behavioral science but every students should be able to demonstrate
competency and at a minimum have an understanding of behaviour
and how it affects or is affected by health of a human being.

11. Psychology as a science
 Etymologically, the word psychology means the study the study of the
soul on account of its derivation from two Greek words ‘psyche’ (soul)
and ‘logos’ (study).
 Psychology - the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes .
 Scientific study means using systematic and objective techniques such as
observation, description, and experimental investigation to collect
information and then organising this information

12. Psychology as a science cont’d
• Psychology is one of the youngest sciences which did not emerge as a
formal discipline until the late 19th century though its roots extend to
the ancient past
• For centuries, philosophers and religious scholars have wondered
about the nature of the mind and the soul.
• Thus, the history of psychological thought begins in philosophy.

13. Psychology – History
• Psychology is one of the youngest sciences which did not emerge as a
formal discipline until the late 19th century though its roots extend to
the ancient past
• For centuries, philosophers and religious scholars have wondered
about the nature of the mind and the soul.
• Thus, the history of psychological thought begins in philosophy.

14. History cont’d
• Psychology as a self-conscious field of experimental study began in
1879, when Wilhelm Wundt founded the first laboratory dedicated
exclusively to psychological research in Leipzig.
• Modern psychology can be traced to the study of physiology and
medicine
• During the first decades of psychology, two main schools of thought
dominated the field: structuralism and functionalism

15. History cont’d
• Structuralism was a system of psychology developed by
Edward Bradford Titchener, an American psychologist who
studied under Wilhelm Wundt
• Structuralists believed that the task of psychology is to identify
the basic elements of consciousness in much the same way
that physicists break down the basic particles of matter.
• In contradiction to the structuralist movement, William James
promoted a school of thought known as functionalism, the
belief that the real task of psychology is to investigate the
function, or purpose, of consciousness rather than its
structure.

16. History cont’d
• In their efforts to understand human behavioural processes,
the functional psychologists developed the technique of
longitudinal research
• Alongside Wundt and James, a third prominent leader of the
new psychology was Sigmund Freud, a Viennese neurologist of
the late 19th and early 20th century.
• Through his clinical practice, Freud developed a very different
approach to psychology – psychoanalysis
• Other approaches to Psychology such as behaviourist,
humanistic and cognitive emerged.

17. Contemporary Psychology
• Before psychology became established in science, it
was popularly associated with extrasensory
perception (ESP) and other paranormal phenomena
(phenomena beyond the laws of science).
• Paranormal – unable to be explained or understood in
terms of scientific knowledge.
• Grounded in the conviction that mind and behaviour
must be studied using statistical and scientific
methods, psychology has become a highly respected
and socially useful discipline

18. Contemporary Psychology cont’d
• Psychologists now study important and sensitive
topics such as the similarities and differences
between men and women, racial and ethnic diversity,
sexual orientation, marriage and divorce, abortion,
adoption, intelligence testing, sleep and sleep
disorders, obesity and dieting, and the effects of
psychoactive drugs
• In the last few decades, researchers have made
significant breakthroughs in understanding the brain,
mental processes, and behaviour

19. Contemporary Psychology cont’d
• Contemporary research includes topics such as the plasticity of the
brain and nervous system, the nature of consciousness, memory
distortions, competence and rationality, genetic influences on
behaviour, infancy, the nature of intelligence, human motivation,
prejudice and discrimination, the benefits of psychotherapy, and the
psychological influences on the immune system.

20. Goals of Psychology
• The first goal of psychology is to describe the different
ways that organisms behave.
• After describing behaviour, psychologists try to
explain behaviour, the second goal.
• Third goal of psychology is to predict how organisms
will behave in certain situations.
• The fourth goal of psychology is to control behaviour.

21. Nature of Psychology
• It is an acceptable reality that the nature of the
subject psychology is quite scientific
• In general, the nature of a subject like psychology is
scientific if it fulfils the following criteria:
i. Possesses a body of facts and is able to support it
through universal laws and principles
ii. Does not believe in hearsay, stereotypes or
superstitions
iii. Emphasise on search for truth

22. Nature of Psychology cont’d
iv. Emphasise on search for truth
v. Adopts the method of object investigation, systematic and controlled
observation and scientific approach
vi. Stands for the generalization, verifiability and modifications of the observed
deduced phenomena
vii. Helps in predicting the future developments
viii. Is able to turn its theory into practice by having its applied aspect
• On the above characteristics, it may be established beyond doubt that
psychology is a science – a behavioural science

23. Scope of Psychology
• The scope of a subject can usually be discussed under the
following two heads:
i. The limits of its operations and applications
ii. The branches, topics and the subject matter with
which it deals
• The field of operation and applications of the subject
psychology is too vast as it studies, describes and explains
behaviour
• Behaviour is to be used to include all types of life activities
and experiences – whether conative, cognitive or affective;
implicit or explicit; conscious, unconscious or subconscious

24. References
• Guilford, J.B. (Ed). (1966). Fields of Psychology. New
York: Van Nostrand
• Mangal, S.K. (1998). General Psychology. New Delhi:
Sterling Publishers
• Munn, N.L. (1967). Introduction to Psychology. Delhi:
Oxford and IBH
• Woodworth, R.S. (1945). Psychology. London:
Methuen