1. I. What is Psychology?

2. Psychology: the sum or characteristics of the mental states and processes of a person or class of persons, or of the mental states and processes involved in a field of activity. - - Dictionary.com Psychology: The science that deals with mental processes and behavior. - - American Heritage Dictionary Psychology: The mental and behavioral characteristics of an individual or group. - - Webster’s Dictionary Psychology: an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. - - Wikipedia.com Psychology: The discipline concerned with behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external environment. - - Wade and Tavris Psychology: The scientific study of behavior and mental process. Myers

3. A. Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior.

4. B. What are the origins of psychology? Greek philosophers asking questions 1.Socrates 2.Plato 3.Aristotle

5. C. Enlightenment thinkers 1.Rene Descartes 2.Francis Bacon 3.John Locke (Blank slate)

6. II. Without empirical methods, mistakes were made (psychobabble) A. Phrenology B. Graphology C. Astrology

7. A. Phrenology: Different brain areas accounted for specific character and personality traits

8. B. Graphology: One’s personality could be revealed through analyzing handwriting samples

9. C. Astrology: Heavenly bodies influence human affairs

10. III. Critical Thinking Skills Can you distinguish between psychobabble and empirical psychology? A. Critical thinking: The ability and willingness to assess claims and make judgments on the basis of well-supported reasons and evidence, rather than emotion or anecdote.

11. B. Critical Thinking Guidelines 1. Be willing to wonder 2. Define your terms 3. Examine the evidence 4. Analyze assumptions and biases

12. B. Critical Thinking Guidelines 5. Avoid emotional reasoning 6. Don’t oversimplify 7. Consider other interpretations 8. Tolerate uncertainty

13. IV. Historical Methods

14. A. Wilhelm Wundt “The experiment” (attempt to measure the atoms of the mind) First modern research psychologist Established the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany (1879)

15. B. Structuralism Wundt’s student Edward Titchener sought to discover the structure of the mind in 1892 “What are people’s immediate sensations?” Introspection proved to be unreliable

16. C. Functionalism William James wanted to understand the functions of our thoughts and feelings Consciousness was adaptive and served many functions Explored streams of consciousness Wrote Principles of Psychology

17. V. The 7 Modern Perspectives A.The Psychodynamic View B.The Behavioral View C.The Humanistic View D.The Cognitive View E.The Biological View F.The Developmental View G.The Sociocultural View

18. A. The Psychodynamic View Originated with Sigmund Freud Human behavior is controlled by unconscious drives

19. B. Behaviorism John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner “Psychology is the scientific study observable behavior” Psychologists should observe and record people’s behavior as then respond to different situations

20. C. Humanistic Psychology Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow Emphasizes growth potential and meeting people’s emotional needs

21. D. The Cognitive View Our thoughts control our behavior Popular amongst counselors

22. E. The Biological View Roots in medicine and biological science (neuroscience) Understand the relationship between the brain and human behavior

23. F. The Sociocultural View Social influence should be the focus of psychology Explore the impact of culture

24. VI. Careers in Psychology A. Research-based Psychologists: –Biological psychologists –Developmental psychologists –Cognitive psychologists –Personality psychologists –Social psychologists

25. Careers in Psychology B. Applied Psychology: –Industrial psychologists –Sports psychologists –School psychologist –Counselors –Couples therapist –Clinical psychologists –Psychiatrists