Psychology Elyria Catholic High School Mr. Malbasa

Overview Psychology: (  – mind) (  – study) The Study of Human Thought and Behavior.

History Structuralism (late 19 th Century) (Wilhelm Wundt / Edward Bradford Titchener) –Search for the basic units of experience –Perception –Science Functionalism (Late 19 th Century) (William James) –How an organism uses perceptual abilities to function in its environment –Consciousness as Stream – Mental associations allow us to benefit from experience.

History Psychodynamic Theory (late 19 th /early 20 th ) (Sigmund Freud) –Emphasis on unconscious –Behavior is the result on unconscious motives and early childhood experience Behaviorism (1913) (John Watson) –Studies only observable and measurable behavior (If you cannot see it, and measure it, forget about it) –Tabula Rosa – Environment is Everything Behavior is result of conditioning –B.F. Skinner (1938) -- Reinforcement

History Gestalt Psychology (Whole / Form) –Rejects structuralism / embraces functionalism –How we perceive and experience objects as whole patterns. Existential / Humanistic Psychology Cognitive Psychology –Mental Processes –Broad in Concept Evolutionary Psychology –Behavior as result of adaptation

Fields Developmental Physiological Experimental Personality Clinical and Counseling Social Industrial and Organizational

Developmental Psychology Sub-Fields: –Child –Adolescent –Life-Span Questions: –How do nature and nurture affect personality, temperament, and relationships? –How does maturation affect personality, temperament, and relationships? –How do humans adjust to life’s stages and demands?

Physiological (Biological Basis of Human Behavior ) Neuropsychology (Brain and Nervous System) Psychobiology (Body Chemistry) Behavioral Genetics (Impact of Heredity)

Experimental Research on basic psychological processes. –Learning –Memory –Sensation –Perception –Cognition –Motivation –Emotion

Personality Research into the causes of individual traits: –Anxiety –Sociability –Outlook –Gender Differences

Other Fields Clinical and Counseling –Therapy –Treatment Social –How do people influence each other? Industrial / Organizational –Addressing organizational needs/concerns

Enduring Issues Person – Situation Heredity – Environment –Nature v. Nurture Stability – Change Diversity –How are we: Like all people? Like some people? Like no other person?

Research Methods Naturalistic Observation Case Studies Surveys Correlational Research –Permits Prediction Experimental Research –Establishes Causation

Experimental Research Method –Deliberate manipulation of selected events in order to measure the effects of manipulation on behavior Components –Subjects/Participants –Independent Variable –Dependent Variable –Experimental Group –Control Group

Research Example Does Sugar Free Red Bull improve test performance? Establishing the question Grounds for experimental research? Setting up an experiment –Subjects/Participants –Independent Variable –Dependent Variable –Experimental Group –Control Group Review and Revision