1. Nature of Psychology

2. Psychology ….. “Psyche” - meaning mind
Originated from 2 words
“Psyche” - meaning mind
“logos” - meaning study of the mind
Psychology is the study of behaviour & mental processes

3. Visible actions, talking,
Covert Behaviour.
Structured and organised scientific discipline,
Systematic principles
Psychology is the systematic study of behaviour and mental processes including perception, cognition and emotion.
Thinking, knowing,
mentally Processing
information
Mental process of organising sensations into meaningful patterns. Making sense of things in the environment.
State of Physiological arousal;
Changes in facial expressions;
Expressive behaviour.

4. Behaviours Overt Behaviours: Observable actions and responses
eg: eating, talking, reading ….
Covert Behaviours: Private, internal activities
eg: remembering, thinking, this is our mental processes.

5. The wider goal of Psychology is to Benefit Humanity
Goals of Psychology…
Describe
Predict
Control
Explain/Understand
Behaviour & Mental
Processes
Factors that Influence our Behaviour & Mental Processes are:
Our Biology
Presence/ Levels of Hormones in our Bodies
Roles of our Brain & Nervous System
COMPLETE Learning Activity 1.1 p 6
The wider goal of Psychology is to Benefit Humanity

6. PSYCHOLOGIST PSYCHIATRIST
completes 4 year degree a university & 2 years of study & supervised training under supervision of a registered Psychologist
6 years of full time study & training is required by law.
They are NOT trained or qualified to perform medical procedures OR Prescribe medications.
They do not have authority to hospitalise someone who has a serious medical condition & is unwilling to give their consent to hospitalisation.
A Psychiatrist is a qualified medical doctor first undertake 6 years of university study and gain qualifications as a doctor
Then complete post-graduate training for a further 6 years
Is able to perform medical procedures & prescribe medications to treat or control symptoms of mental illness .

7. Areas of Psychology ……. Academic Psychologists Clinical Psychologists
Clinical Neuropsychologists
Community Psychologist

8. Psychology & Psychiatry
Complete Learning Activity 1.4 page 9
Good Will Hunting

9. Classic perspectives and theories in psychology
Create a concept map
In groups create a concept map to show your understanding of the development of psychology. It is important that the ideas on your map are linked, showing the relationship of each main idea to each other. All arrows in your concept map must have labels.
To help you begin this task, here is a list of key terms you must include in your map. This is only a start as you will need to add many more terms….
Wundt scientific method psychology
Philosophy natural science experiments
Aristotle examples of individual cases

10. Contemporary perspectives and theories in psychology
Biological
Behavioural
Cognitive
Socio-cultural
Eclectic Perspective draws on ideas from different perspectives
There is no single contemporary perspective that is necessarily ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, nor are there neat boundaries between them. Each perspective allows almost any topic in psychology to be looked at in different ways.

11. Biological
focuses on the brain, nervous system, endocrine system, immune system & genetics
behaviours are associated with biological processes
brain chemistry & neurotransmitters
technology in studying the brain
eg MRI, PET, fMRIs (neuroimaging)
How do evolution and heredity influence behavior?
How are messages transmitted within the body?
How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?

12. Behavioural mental process cannot be scientifically studied
looks at observable behaviours
rewards and punishments shape
people behaviour
how behavoiour can change
Principles of positive reinforcement
How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations?
What is the most effective way to alter certain behaviors?
What are the underlying causes of:
Anxiety Disorders
Phobic Disorders
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

13. Cognitive how do people learn and recognise objects, people etc
memory and an information processing system
Organisation of thoughts into a network
How do we use info in remembering and reasoning?
How do our senses govern the nature of perception?
(Is what you see really what you get?)
How much do infants “know” when they are born?

14. Socio-cultural
Focuses on the roles of social and cultural influences on human behaviour and mental processes
Socio – study of influences within a society or culture
Cultural – study of similarities and differences in how people think, feel and behave across different cultures
what is normal and abnormal behaviour
How cultural differences affect how we perceive things
Diversity of human beings and how they differ in their approach to goals, and values etc
How are we, as members of different races and nationalities, alike as members of one human family?
How do we differ, as products of different social contexts?
Why do people sometimes act differently in groups than when alone?

15. Creating a visual of Psychology perspectives ........
Create a House of Psychology
The main 4 perspectives will form 4 coloured cellophane windows
Clear cellophane layer behind these windows
( to represent to past - humanistic perspective)
Stickers to show the eclectic perspective
Scientific Method – as a roof ( a different colour)

16. Scientific nature of psychology
Scientific Method
The systematic approach to planning, conducting & reporting research which
involves collecting empirical evidence.
Empirical Evidence
Is data (information) collected directly by observation, or, by experimentation
Replication
Involves conducting a study again to establish whether
the results obtained can be copied and are therefore reliable
and able to be generalised to apply to other people across a ranges of situations.

17. Assessment Task 1
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