Module 1 Discovering Psychology

INTRODUCTION Growing up in a strange world –Autism especially __________ or ________development in social interactions, such as hiding to avoid people, not making eye contact, and not wanting to be touched –Autism is marked by difficulties in ____________, such as grave problems in developing spoken language or in initiating conversations

INTRODUCTION Growing up in a strange world –Autistics are characterized by having very few interests, spending long periods repeating the same behaviors, or following the same rituals –Signs of autism appear when a child is ___________ years old –Example: Donna Williams

DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGY What do psychologists study? –Psychology the systematic, scientific study of ________and ____________ processes –Behaviors refers to ___________actions or responses in both humans and animals –Mental processes ________directly observable, refer to a wide range of complex mental processes, such as _________, _________, studying, and _____________

GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY –D_____________ –E_____________ –P_____________ –C_____________

GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.) Describe –first goal of psychology is to describe the different ways that organisms behave Explain –second goal of psychology is to explain the cause of behavior

GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.) Predict –third goal of psychology is to predict how organisms will behave in certain situations Control –the fourth goal of psychology is to control an organism’s behavior

ANSWERING QUESTIONS How do psychologists answer questions? –Approaches to understanding behavior include: B________________ C________________ B_________________ P_________________ H_________________ C__________________

ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.) Biological approach –focuses on how our _____, ________, and _____________ interact with our environments to influence learning, personality, memory, motivation, emotions, and coping techniques –Examples: Autism Autism runs in families; supported by the findings in identical twins If one twin has autism, there is a high 90% chance the other twin will exhibit signs for autistic behavior

ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.) Cognitive approach –examines how we _______, _______, and ________information and how this information influences what we _______, ______, learn, remember, _________, and feel –Cognitive neuroscience: Involves taking pictures and identifying the structures and functions of the living brain during the performance of a wide variety of mental or cognitive processes, such as thinking, planning, naming, and recognizing objects

ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.) Behavioral approach –studies how organisms learn new behaviors or modify existing ones, depending on whether events in their environments reward or punish these behaviors –some behaviorists, such as Albert Bandura, disagree with strict behaviorism –formulated a theory that includes mental or cognitive processes in addition to observable behaviors –Social Cognitive Approach: behaviors are influenced not only by environmental events and reinforcers but also by observation, imitation, and thought processes

ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.) Psychoanalytic approach –Based on the belief that childhood experiences greatly influence the development of later personality traits and psychological problems –stresses the influence of unconscious fears, desires, and motivations on thoughts, behaviors, and the development of personality traits and psychological problems later in life

ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.) Humanistic approach –emphasizes that each individual has great freedom in directing his or her future, a large capacity for personal growth, a considerable amount of intrinsic worth, and enormous potential for self-fulfillment

ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.) Cross-cultural approach –examines the influence of cultural and ethnic similarities and differences on psychological and social functioning of a culture’s members –Differences in how countries diagnose autism: –United States: symptoms described 60 years ago first thought to be caused by environmental factors, (cold parents) 1960’s changed to searching for biological problems Diagnoses begins at 2-3 years of age

ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.) Cross-cultural approach –China: Autism not recognized until 1987 most Chinese believed that autism could not happen in infancy many Chinese parents were unaware of infant’s developmental stages (when social and verbal skills first develop) Chinese parents generally believed that infants would grow out of any difficulties

ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.) Cross-cultural approach –Germany autism recognized in late 1940’s clinicians in Germany rarely diagnose autism in children younger than 5 years old efforts are underway to change this policy –Japan autism first diagnosed in 1945 Japan has higher rates of autism than other countries and rates are rising once thought caused by childhood vaccine (disproved) high rates may be due to Japanese clinician’s special efforts in detecting signs of autism in children as well as infants

HISTORICAL APPROACHES How did psychology begin? –Structuralism: _____________________ –Functionalism: _____________________ –Gestalt Approach: _____________________ –Behaviorism: _________________________

HISTORICAL APPROACHES (CONT.) Structuralism –Wilhelm Wundt ( ) –was the study of the most basic elements, primarily sensations and perceptions, that make up our conscious mental experiences –Introspection: Method of exploring conscious mental processes by asking subjects to look inward and report their sensations

HISTORICAL APPROACHES (CONT.)

Functionalism –William James ( ) –was the study of the function rather than the structure of consciousness, was interested in how our minds adapt to our changing environment

HISTORICAL APPROACHES (CONT.)

Gestalt Approach –Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Koffka –emphasized that perception is more than the sum of its parts and studied how sensations are assembled into meaningful perceptual experiences

HISTORICAL APPROACHES (CONT.)

Behaviorism –emphasized the objective, scientific analysis of observable behaviors

CULTURAL DIVERSITY: EARLY DISCRIMINATION Women in psychology –Mary Calkins –established a laboratory in psychology at Wellesley College in 1891 where she was a faculty member –completed all requirements for a Ph.D. at Harvard but was not granted the degree because of being a woman –not until 1908 that a woman, Margaret Washburn, was awarded a Ph.D. in psychology

CULTURAL DIVERSITY: EARLY DISCRIMINATION (CONT.) Minorities in Psychology –Ruth Howard was the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in psychology –from the University of Minnesota in 1934 –was a successful clinical psychologist and school consultant

CULTURAL DIVERSITY: EARLY DISCRIMINATION (CONT.) Minorities in Psychology –George Sanchez (an Hispanic) conducted pioneering work on the cultural bias of intelligence tests given to minority students –Sanchez showed that intelligence tests contained many questions that were biased against minorities resulting in lower scores

CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY Psychologist versus Psychiatrist –psychologists have completed four to five years of postgraduate education and have obtained a Ph.D., PsyD., or Ed.D. in psychology –clinical psychologists have a Ph.D., PsyD., or Ed.D., have specialized in a clinical subarea, and have spent an additional year in a supervised therapy setting to gain experience in diagnosing and treating a wide range of abnormal behaviors

CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.) Psychologist versus Psychiatrist –neither clinical nor counseling psychologists assess the neurological causes of mental problems –until recently, no psychologists in the U.S. have been able to prescribe drugs –now, psychologists in New Mexico and Louisiana (who have completed special medical training) can prescribe drugs like psychiatrists

CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.) Psychologist versus Psychiatrist –counseling psychologists provide many of the same services as Clinical Psychologists, but usually work with different problems such as those involving marriage, family, or career counseling –psychiatrists are medical doctors (M.D.s) who have spent several years in clinical training, which includes diagnosing possible physical and neurological causes of abnormal behaviors and treating these behaviors, often with prescription drugs

CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.) Many Career Settings –49% of psychologists work as clinical or counseling psychologists in either private practice or therapy settings –28% of psychologists work in academic settings of universities and colleges –13% of psychologists work in a variety of other kinds of jobs and career settings –6% of psychologists work in industrial settings –4% of psychologists work in secondary schools and other settings

CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.)

RESEARCH AREAS Areas of Specialization –Social and Personality –Developmental –Experimental –Biological –Cognitive –Psychometrics –Industrial and Organizational Psychology

RESEARCH AREAS (CONT.) Areas of Specialization –Social psychology involves the study of social interactions, stereotypes, prejudices, attitudes,conformity, group behaviors, and aggression –Personality psychology involves the study of personality development, personality change, assessment, and abnormal behaviors

RESEARCH AREAS (CONT.) Areas of Specialization –Developmental psychology examines moral, social, emotional, and cognitive development throughout a person’s entire life –Experimental psychology includes areas of sensation, perception, learning, human performance, motivation, and emotion

RESEARCH AREAS (CONT.) Areas of Specialization –Biological psychology or psychobiology involves research on the physical and chemical changes that occur during stress, learning, and emotions, as well as how our genetic makeup, brain, and nervous system interact with our environments and influence our behaviors

RESEARCH AREAS (CONT.) Areas of Specialization –Cognitive psychology involves how we process, store, and retrieve information and how cognitive processes influence our behaviors –Psychometrics focuses on the measurement of people’s abilities, skills, intelligence, personality, and abnormal behaviors