PSYCHOLOGY THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF BEHAVIOR AND EXPERIENCE

Why do we study psychology? To describe To predict & To change our behavior and experience To make sound decisions To help people

GOALS To challenge “common sense” To gain understanding and tolerance To prepare for times that will be both good and bad, and all points between

We all know that: If it doesn’t kill us it will just make us stronger. We would never do that! We know the difference between red and blue. Our emotions impair our reasoning. Couples should stay together for the kids. Nice guys finish last.

The systematic study of behavior and experience Wide scope Emphasis on evidence acquired using the methods of science What we do and how we feel about it

How about animals? Do animals think? Are they smart? Do they feel emotions?

How important is psychology? Abu Ghraib

Why psychology? Katrina victims

Special Education

Enhancing performance

What do psychologists do? Explore the connection between psychology and biology. Hormones Drugs Genetics Evolutionary influences Brain trauma Neurotransmitters

Study our cognitive capabilities and processes. How do we think and acquire knowledge? How can we treat learning disabilities? How can we control our “self talk”?

Study human development When should we able to perform various tasks? What is the process of our development- from conception to death. What causes things to go wrong

Social psychology The study of the influences we exert on one another. Persuasion. The intersection of law and psychology. the jury system the death penalty

Clinical psychologists Counselors who listen and treat Psychiatrists who can prescribe Psychoanalysts who analyze

Industrial organizational Using psychology in the work setting How do employers select, train and pay their employees NFL combine

New frontiers School psychology special education bullies and victims the gifted Enrichment- helping captive animals eliminate undesirable behaviors and increase natural behaviors so that society will respect them and work to preserve their natural habitats

Psychology as a Major? Suitable for many purposes Employment – Without a Master’s With a Master’s P.H.D. programs Women - the new majority? Professional schools Typical classes

The history of psychology From the dawn of time ….. The Bible – Proverbs The Greeks tragedies Aristotle- observation and rational analysis

History cont. The Scientific Method – applying the rigor of the physical sciences to behavior and consciousness 1880 Wilhelm Wundt The fist lab devoted to psychology Ran experiments, collected data Studied consciousness – with little success

History Cont – William James & Functionalism Stark contrast to Wundt Focus on utility The Principles of Psychology Inspirational, timeless But no research

History iv Darwin and the concept of evolution Can studying animal intelligence tell us about humans? Attempts to scale and rank animal intelligence

History vi two geniuses Pavlov- 1905, Moscow The discovery of Classical Conditioning and the dawn of behaviorism Freud- 1900, Vienna The birth of psychodynamic theory Personality and behavior are controlled by unconscious forces stemming from our childhood Dominated treatment and personality theory

History- behaviorism Experience? Thoughts? Emotions? Who cares?!? In response to frustration with animal IQ studies and the vague nature and unsettling assumptions of psychodynamics GOAL – to observe and quantify without inferences FOCUS – use animals to uncover the basic laws of learning and behavior

History of psychology beyond behaviorism Albert Ellis – the power of Irrational thinking – self talk “I must be approved or loved by every significant person in my community” “If I’m not thoroughly compe- tent in everything I do, I’m worthless.”