What is Psychology? Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes Scientific? Not just common sense or guesses Psychology uses the scientific method Scientific Method is careful observations and the experimental testing of hypothesis Behavior – what people do on the outside Mental Processes – What is going on inside someone's head. We call this cognition. Psychology includes the study of both humans and animals

Approaches to the field of Psychology Biological Evolutionary Behavioral Cognitive Psychodynamic Humanistic Social

Humanistic Approach

1. Biological Psychology Investigates the biological basis of human behavior, thoughts and emotions. Looks at how the following biological mechanisms effect your behavior and mental processes. Brain Neurotransmitters Hormones Drugs (both legal and illegal) Gender differences in brain structure

Example Let us imagine for a second that your dog died. You become depressed. You stop eating and sleeping. What would a psychologist from this school say is going on and how might they help you?

2. Evolutionary Psychology Asks the question: How did our species get to be the way we are? Language – Why do we talk? Altruism – Why are we nice to each other? Mate selection – Why are some people considered beautiful? Answers these questions by looking at what would most help us pass on our genetic code. Very concerned with reproduction!

3. Behavioral This approach only studies observable human behavior focusing on how we learn, react and manipulate our environment.  We learn observable responses through conditioning or by trying to get rewards/avoid punishments. Mind is a BLACK BOX. Can’t see it? Don’t study it. Big names Pavlov – Dogs Watson – Little Albert Skinner – Operant Conditioning

Example Pretend that you fail psychology class. You become depressed. In turn, you begin to binge and gain weight. What do you think a behaviorist may do? They would probably ignore the fact that you are depressed and just focus on your overeating. Maybe make you run a mile every time you eat over 2000 calories.

4. Cognitive Psychology School of psychology that studies mental processes Thinking, feeling, remembering, making decisions and judgments Studies how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information. Thanks to new technologies like CAT scans, MRIs and fMRIs, we can open the black box.

Example Some learned get back on the horse And try again. She rejects you…don’t even get a phone number. You meet a girl… Hopes are high!!! Some learned to give up and live a lonely life of solitude.

5. Psychodynamic (Psychoanalytic) Psychology Personality theory that says behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts Unconscious is forbidden desires and nameless fears Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud

Example Perhaps they may delve into the man’s unconscious and discover that he was bullied when he were younger. The bullying may have caused fear in getting close to others. If a man has intimacy issues and cannot form relationships with others. What do you think someone from this school may think?

6. Humanistic Psychology School of psychology that emphasizes nonverbal experiences and altered states of consciousness as a means of realizing one’s full human potential Importance of love, belonging, human potential, and self-esteem. Abraham Maslow Not mainstream, more a cultural and spiritual movement.

7. Sociocultural Psychology Study of how people influence one another Topics include: First impressions Interpersonal attraction Attitude formation Prejudice Behavior in a group Obedience to Authority Some Applications include: Support groups Family Therapy Sensitivity Training

Careers in Psychology Clinical and counseling developmental educational experimental human factors industrial–organizational personality psychometric

1. Clinical and Counseling Psychology About 50% of all Psychologists Counseling psychologists deal with “normal” problems, such as stress caused by career change or marital problems Counseling psychologist’s focus more on the psychologically healthy individual where clinical focuses on individuals with serious mental illness (e.g. schizophrenia). Clinical psychologists are concerned with diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders Split time between treatment and researching the cause of psychological disorders and the effectiveness of different types of psychotherapy and counseling.

2. Developmental Psychology Study of physical and mental growth from birth to old age study of changing abilities from womb to tomb Subfields Child psychology Adolescent psychology Life-span psychology

3. Educational Psychology School Psychologist psychological evaluations consult with school personnel in relation to students’ learning, behavior, and environments they are trained to look at the effectiveness of academic programs, classroom agendas, and treatment interventions, which assists in the development of specific interventions.

4. Experimental Psychology Design research experiments May or may not have a direct impact on the treatment of patients Animal subjects Drug trials

5. Human Factors The science of understanding the properties of human capability (Human Factors Science). The application of this understanding to the design, development and deployment of systems and services (Human Factors Engineering). The art of ensuring successful application of Human Factors Engineering to a programme (sometimes referred to as Human Factors Integration).It can also be called ergonomics.

6. Industrial and Organizational Psychology Study of psychological principles in industry and business Examples Selecting and training personnel Productivity improvement Optimizing working conditions Managing the impact of automation on workers

7. Personality Psychology Study of how people differ from one another on traits such as Conscientiousness Agreeableness Neuroticism Openness Extraversion

7. Psychometics Test creation Validity Reliablity Culture fair Statistics

Psychiatry A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders Practiced by physicians who sometimes use medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychotherapy

Licenses in Psychology Psychologists - Ph.D., Psy.D. Psychiatrists - M.D. Psychoanalysts - M.D. or Ph.D. Social Workers (M.S.W.) - LSW Marriage Family Therapists - M.A.