1. Introduction to Psychology
Chapter 1

2. Psychology The scientific study of human behavior and mental processes
Behavior- any action that people can observe or measure
includes walking, talking, eating, sleeping, etc.
measured by observation or laboratory instruments

3. Cognitive Activities Mental processes
Include dreams, perceptions, thoughts, and memories

4. Psychological Constructs
Theoretical entities, or concepts, that enable one to discuss something that cannot be seen, touched, or measured directly
Ex: anxiety about presenting a project

5. Goals of Psychology
Scientists seek to observe, describe, explain, predict, and control the events they study
Psychologists observe and describe behavior and mental processes to better understand them
This allows them to explain, predict, and help clients control their behavior

6. Explaining Behavior
Example: Sports psychologists can help athletes improve performance by measuring athletes’ heart rates and other body processes and by interviewing athletes.
Psychologists explain behavior that might hinder an athlete’s performance.

7. Mental Processes Predicting and Controlling
Psychologists predict that athletes perform best when anxiety is moderate.
help athletes control their behavior and mental processes by teaching them how to control anxiety.
Positive visualization is one method sports psychologists use to help athletes perform better.
focus on helping people reach their own goals.

8. Research
Two widely used research methods are surveys and experimentation.
Surveys collect data through questions asked of a particular group.
Experimentation usually involves people or animals. Some psychologists believe animal research can be applied to humans.

9. Research- Theories
Psychologists organize research findings into theories.
A theory is a statement that attempts to explain why things are the way they are and why they happen as they do.
Theories help psychologists form principles. A principle is a basic truth or law.

10. Fields in Psychology

11. Major Fields

12. Clinical Largest group
help with anxiety, depression, weight control, drugs, relationships, etc.
use interviews and tests

13. Counseling
Usually treat people with adjustment problems rather than serious disorders
Example
hard to make friends, careers, family
help clarify goals and overcome problems

14. School
Identify and help students who have problems that interfere with learning
Example
peer group, family, learning disorders

15. Educational
Focus on course planning and instructional methods for whole school
ways learning is affected by psychological, cultural, economic, instructional factors

16. Developmental Study changes that occur throughout a person’s life
physical, emotional, cognitive, social
influences of heredity and environment on development

17. Personality
Identify human characteristics and traits and study development
Look for origins of problems and disorders

18. Social
Concerned with behavior in social situations

19. Experimental
Conduct research into basic processes such as functions of the nervous system, sensation and perception, learning and memory, thinking, motivation

20. Applied Fields

21. Industrial and Organizational
Focus on people and work
employed to improve working conditions and worker output

22. Human Factors
Attempt to find the best ways to design products for people to use

23. Community
Study and create social systems that promote and foster individual well-being
mental health centers, hospital programs, school-based programs

24. Forensic Work within the criminal justice system
testify on competence of defendant, select and train officers, cope with stress

25. Health
Examine ways behavior and mental processes are related to physical health
preventing and reducing risk of disease

26. Rehabilitation
Work with patients that are struggling with the effects of a disability

27. Cross-cultural
Study behaviors and mental processes under different cultural conditions

28. Chapter 1
History of Psychology

29. Main Idea
Since ancient times, philosophers and scientists have studied behavior and mental processes. Psychologists throughout history have continued to refine and develop these studies.

30. Early Views and Beliefs
Psychology is as old as human history.
Written account of the interest in people’s actions, motives, and thoughts can be traced to ancient times.

31. Ancient Greece
Socrates developed a method of learning called introspection, which means to carefully examine our own thoughts and feelings.
Aristotle outlined associationism, the theory that association with past experiences is a basic principle of mental activity.

32. Wilhelm Wundt and Structuralism
Wundt founded a field of psychology known as structuralism.
focused on the basic elements of consciousness.
Wundt broke down consciousness into objective sensations and subjective feelings.

33. William James and Functionalism
Experience is a continuous “stream of consciousness.”
Functionalism is the study of how mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment.

34. Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis
psychoanalysis- emphasizes unconscious motives and internal conflicts in human behavior.
psychodynamic thinking- assumes that most of what exists in an individual's mind is unconscious and consists of conflicting impulses, urges, and wishes.
the key to human behavior is satisfying desires.

35. Modern Developments John B. Watson and Behaviorism
Founded the school of behaviorism, which defined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior
Holds that people can be totally conditioned by external events and that belief in individual choice is just an illusion

36. The Gestalt School
Gestalt psychology is an alternative to behaviorism and structuralism.
It was developed by German psychologists Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler.
It is based on the idea that our perceptions of objects are more than the sum of their parts. They are wholes that give shape, or meaning, to the parts.

37. Gestalt psychology rejects the structuralist idea that experience can be broken down into individual parts or elements.
It also rejects the behaviorist idea that only observable behavior is important.

39. Contemporary Perspectives

40. The Biological Perspective
Emphasizes the influence of biology on our behavior
Assume our mental processes--thoughts, fantasies, and dreams-- are made by the nervous system
The Brain

41. Focus on the influence glands, hormones, and genes
Influenced by associationism and neroscience

42. Evolutionary Perspective
Charles Darwin
Focuses on the evolution of behavior and mental processes
Suggest that many behavior patterns are adaptive
People learn to act certain ways to survive and pass it down

43. Cognitive Perspective
Emphasizes the role thoughts play in determining behavior
Influenced by Structuralism, functionalism, and Gestalt psychology
Compare the brain to a computer
Believe that behavior is influenced by values, perceptions, and choices

44. Humanistic Perspective
Stresses the human capacity for self-fulfillment and the importance of consciousness, self-awareness, and the capacity to make choices
Consciousness shapes human personality
Consider personal experiences most important
Help people explore feelings, manage negative impulses, and realize potential

45. Psychoanalytic Perspective
Stresses the influence of unconscious forces on human behavior
Influenced by Sigmund Freud
believed that aggressive impulses are common reactions to the frustrations of daily life and we seek to vent them on other people

46. Learning Perspective Emphasizes the effects of experience on behavior
Important to observing, describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling behavior
John B. Watson and Behaviorism
personal experiences and reinforcement guide individual development

47. Social-Learning Theory
people can change their environments and create new ones
people’s expectations and values influence whether they choose to do what they have learned

48. Sociocultural
Study the influences of ethnicity, gender, culture, and the socio-economic status on behavior and mental processes
Helps people appreciate cultural heritages and historical issues
Influenced by Social, environmental, and cross-cultural psychology

49. Biopsychosocial
Mental processes are influenced by the interaction of biological processes, psychological dispositions, and social factors
George Engel used it to explain heart disease
must consider more than just biology