Psychology Chapter 1 Why study psychology

Objectives section 1 Identify the goals of psychology and explain how psychology is a science.

A Day in the Life Read page 3 for class discussion In-class assignment Write the 18 vocabulary words on page 3 Due when timer goes off. (25 minutes)

What is Psychology? Sec 1

Why study Psychology?  To understand yourself, and others  To learn about feelings, thoughts, and stress  To learn why people behave the way they do

The goals of psychology  To observe and describe behavior and mental processes and to better understand them  To be able to explain, predict, and control behavior

What are behaviors?  Actions that you can observe.  Actions you can control  Actions you can not control

Controllable Behaviors  Walking  Talking  Eating  Drinking  Dancing

Non-controllable Behaviors  Heart rate  Blood pressure  Digestion  Brain activity

Emotions affect behavior and mental (cognitive) processes  Sleeplessness  Anger  Depression  A faster heart rate  Restlessness  Cause stress  Performance

Mental Processes Cognitive Activity  Dreams  Perception  Thoughts  Memories

Examples Performance anxiety  Place Kicker  Last chance to win game  Misses field goal Test anxiety  Placement test for college  Stress to score high

In both examples psychologists could teach them ways to deal with anxiety  How do you cope with your anxieties? –Visualization –Breathing exercises

Psychology as a Natural Science  Social Sciences –History –Anthropology –Economics –Political science –Sociology –Psychology These deal with the structure of the human society and the nature of the individuals

Psychology focuses on the behavior and mental processes of the individual  The working of the brain and total human body –Biology –Chemistry –Physics

Psychology uses the same scientific method  Conducting experiments, collection and analyzing data and drawing conclusions  Widely used research methods 1.Surveys- collecting data involves asking questions of a particular group 2.Experiments- research usually done in a lab

Psychological Theories  Organized ideas about behavior and mental processes  Theory –Is a statement that attempts to explain why things are the way they are and happen the way they do

Psychological theories discuss principles that govern behavior and mental processes. Such as:  Behavior (sleeping, aggression)  Mental processes ( memories, mental images)  Biological ( effect of chemicals in the brain) These theories help psychologist predict behavior and mental processes

In-class assignment  Answer the Three questions on page 6

What do Psychologists do? Sec 2

Objective section 2 Describe the work done by psychologists according to their areas of specialization.

Break into a group of 2 You will need to know the different specializations in Psychology for your test. complete the graphic organizer Handout “ Psychologist’ s specializations in Psychology” This is a in-class assignment due when the timer goes off.

History of Psychology Sec 3

Objective section 3 Explain the historical background of the study of psychology

Roots of psychology  Ancient Greece ( )  Plato Student of Socrates –Know thy self –Examine your own thoughts and feelings  Aristotle –About the mind (scientific approach) –Ancient Greece believed the Gods got mad and punished people and punished people

Middle ages / Mental illness  Possession by demons  Punished for sins and making deals with the devils or witches  Test –Water float test –Float found guilty and executed –Sink and drown found to be innocence

Scientific approach lead to the Birth of Modern Science  Sir Isaac Newton  John Locke  1800’s first psychological labs established in Europe and the United States

Wilhelm Wundt  Founder of Structuralism  Discovering the basic elements of conscious experience  2 separate categories –Objective- sight and taste reflect the outside world –Subjective- thoughts, emotional responses and mental images –Ex: What an apple tastes and feels like to bite it

William James  Founder of Functionalism  Experience can not be broken down it is continuous  Wrote first Modern day Psychology Book –The Principles of Psychology  Mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment

Differences Structuralism –Relied only on introspection –What are the elements (structures) of Psychological processes?

differences Functionalism  Includes behavior, observation in the laboratory and introspection  What are the purposes (functions) of behavior and mental processes?  Adaptive behavior are habits learned and maintained because they are successful –Studying leads to good grades –Learning to read and write

John Watson Founder of Behaviorism  Behaviorism –Scientific study of observable behavior  unscientific to study conscious  Conscious is a private event know only to the individual.  Psychology is a science- limited to observable, measurable events which are behavior.

B. F. Skinner Behavior + reinforcement  Reinforcement or rewarding –Learn by being rewarded (repeat of behavior)  Used in animals and humans a like

The Gestalt School  Based on the idea that perceptions are more than the sums of their parts  Perceptions are wholes that give shape or meaning to the parts  Learning (problem solving) is accomplished by insight, not mechanical repetition.  Insight is the reorganization of perceptions that enables a person to solve a problem.

Kenneth Clark  Black Psychologist  Studied negative effect of segregation on the self esteem of African American Children  White dolls –pretty and good  Brown dolls –ugly and bad  Proved the negative effects of a racist society on the young mind of children

Sigmund Freud  Founder of psychoanalysis  Emphasizes the importance of the unconscious motives and internal conflicts in determining human behavior  First to bring out the couch

continued  People are driven by hidden impulse, verbal slips and the belief that dreams represent their unconscious wishes.  Believed that the sexual and aggressive urges are more important than conscious experience in governing people’s behavior and feelings

In-Class assigenment  Answer the Questions on page17

Contemporary Perspectives Section 4

Objective section 4 Describe the 6 main contemporary perspectives in psychology.

Today Psychologists do not describe themselves as Structuralists or Functionalist Contemporary Perspectives

Biological Perspective  Study the influence of biology on our behavior – the influences of hormones and genes –Personality, intellect, and artistic talent  Looks for connection between events in the brain (brain cell activity) and behavior

Techniques Used  CAT (Computed Axial Tomography) –Computer generates 3 dimensional image  PET (Position Emission Tomography) –Measures abnormal molecular cell activity

Cognitive Perspective  Role thoughts play in determining behavior  Rooted in Socrates (Know thy self)  Process, storage, retrieval  Short or long term memory  People’s behavior is influenced by their values, their interpretations and their choices –Remark = insult or not

Humanistic Perspective  Stresses man’s capacity for self-fulfillment, the importance of consciousness, self awareness and the capacity to make choices  Consciousness- the force that shapes people’s personalities  Personal experiences most important

Continued……..  Self-awareness, experience and choice permit us to “Invent ourselves”  View people basically good and helpful  Help people to get in touch with their feelings, manage their negative impulses and realize their potential

Psychoanalytic Perspective  Rooted in Freud’s theories  Influences of the unconscious on human behavior  People driven by the Unconscious sexual and aggressive impulse  Still feel the impact of Freud in current psychology

Learning Perspective  Emphasizes the effect of experience on behavior  Learning is the essential factor in observing, describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling behavior

Social learning theory  People can change their environment or create new ones  Believe that people learn by direct experience or by observing other people

Socio-cultural perspective effects on human behavior and mental processes  Addresses issues of ethnicity, gender, culture and socio- economic status  These have a significant impact on human behavior and mental processes –Bilingualism –Prejudice –Ethnic differences ( physical and psychological) –Multicultural issues ( Psychotherapy and treatment) –Prejudice –Gender  Roles, careers, education

In-Class Assignment  Answer the questions on page 21

The End Study your notes, movie sheet, and vocabulary for the test.