Chapter 1 Psychology and Folk Wisdom Psychology is a Young Science The Diversity of Modern Psychology

The “Freud Problem”  Freud, along with other pop psychology presented in the media, largely define psychology in the public mind. many  Freud’s notoriety affects the general public’s conceptions about the field, contributing to many misunderstandings. not  Current psychology is not defined by Freud’s theories which represents a small part of contemporary theories.

Implications of Diversity one grand theory  Many people come to psychology hoping to learn the “one grand theory” that unifies and explains all aspects of human behavior.  Many psychologists argue that such a unified theory is impossible.  This may act as a strength of the discipline, viewing the different “fragmentations” as similar to specialties in medicine.

What, then, is Science?  Systematic Empiricism  Publicly Verifiable Knowledge  Replication  Peer Review  Empirically solvable Problems: Scientists’ Search for Testable Theories  Psychology and Folk Wisdom: The Problem with “common sense”

Psychology is a young science!

psychoanalysis the school of psychology, founded by Sigmund Freud, that emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives and internal conflicts as de terminants of human behavior behaviorism the school of psychology, founded by Watson, that defines psychology as the scien tific study of observable behavior gestalt psychology the school of psych ology that emphasizes the tendency to organize perceptions of individual parts into meaningful wholes Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why human beings develop over the course of their life.

biological perspective the psychological pe rspective that emphasizes the influence of biology on behavior evolutionary perspective the theory that focuses on the evolution of behavior an d mental processes cognitive perspective the perspective that emphasizes the role of thought processes in determining behavior humanistic perspective the psychological view that stresses the human capacity for self fulfillment and the importance of consciousness, self awareness,and the freedom to make choices

Social learning theory that suggests that people can change their environments or create new ones sociocultural perspective in psychology, the perspective that focuses on the influences of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socio­ economic status on behavior and mental processes positive psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. It founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.