1. Welcome to Psychology

2. What is this crazy course about?
What is this thing called Psychology???

3. Next
Write your own definition of Psychology – there are no right or wrong answers

4. Compare your definition with the person you are sitting next to – modify your definition if you would like.

5. Psychology The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
scientific research methods.
Behavior = all observable behavior.
Mental processes = thoughts, feelings and dreams.

6. Where did Psychology come from?
Aspects of the Mind have been pondered for thousands of years by Philosophers!
….like…
Socrates!
Plato!
It’s Nature – we’re just born this way!

7. It’s Nurture! Our environment shapes who we are!
…and Aristotle! (335 B.C.)
It’s Nurture! Our environment shapes who we are!

8. Nature vs Nurture
This is still the fundamental debate in Psychology today!
the mind and behavior remained merely philosophic discussion until….

9. Wilhelm Wundt
1879 establishes the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig, Germany.
This is generally considered the starting point of Psychology as a science.

10. The unconscious mind controls much of our thoughts and actions!
Psychoanalysts
Sigmund Freud - around 1900
The unconscious mind controls much of our thoughts and actions!

11. Behaviorists
People repeat behaviors that are rewarded and stop behaviors that are punished!
1930s and 1940s
Skinner
Pavlov

12. Carl Rogers and others – 1960s and 1970s
Humanists
People have free will! They are guided by physical, emotional and spiritual needs!
1960s and 1970s
Carl Rogers and others – 1960s and 1970s

13. A Few more Contemporary Psychological Perspectives

14. Cognitive Perspective
Focus: On how people think and process information
Behavior is explained by how a person interprets the situation

15. Biological Perspective
Focus: How our biological structures and substances underlie a given behavior, thought, or emotion
Behavior is explained by brain chemistry, genetics, glands, etc.

16. Social-Cultural Perspective
Focus: How thinking and behavior change depending on the setting or situation
Behavior is explained by the influence of other people present

17. What do people do with a degree in Psychology?
Fields in Psychology
What do people do with a degree in Psychology?
…what can I do with a degree in Psychology?

18. Applied v. Basic Psychology:
Fields in Psychology
Applied v. Basic Psychology:
Applied refers to practical and interactive psychology.
Basic refers mainly to the research fields of psychology.

19. Therapy
Mental and physical rehabilitation regarding mental disorders.
Can include medications, in/out patient services, counseling, etc

20. Assisting school-aged children, adolescence issues, counseling, etc.

21. Clinical
Diagnosis and treatment of troubled people.

22. Industrial/Organizational
Practical issues of selecting and training a workforce

23. Forensic Psychology
Provide advice to legislators, judges, correctional officers, lawyers and the police
For example, serve as an expert witness, diagnose and treat incarcerated and probation offenders; and screen and evaluate personnel in the law enforcement and judicial systems

24. Sports Psychology
Issues and techniques of sport-specific psychological assessment and mental skills
Goal-setting, self-confidence, eating disorders, overtraining and burnout counseling, team building, sportsmanship

25. Developmental
Study mental and physical growth from prenatal through childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and into old age.

26. Social
Study how people influence each others attitudes, prejudices, norms, interpersonal attractions, etc.

27. Experiment with how we perceive, think, and solve problems
Cognitive
Experiment with how we perceive, think, and solve problems

28. Experimental
Conduct research on learning, memory, sensation, perception, cognition, motivation, etc.

29. Careers in Psychology: Percentage of Psychology Degrees by Specialty

30. What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?

31. Psychology v. Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the study of mental disorders.
Psychiatrists are medical doctors and can prescribe medications to treat the physical and mental disorders.