1. Psychology Introduction  Prof. BARAKAT  Summer Term 1

2. The scientific study of behavior, mental processes, mind and cognitive activities Research leads to the development of theories about Behavior and Cognition The Greek word means – Psycho = mind or soul – Logo = study of Psychologists are interested in every aspect of human thought and behavior

3.  Gain insight into the mind  Understanding of people  Understanding ourselves What do we hope to gain from studying psychology?

4. Philosophy Physiology Psychology

5.  Any action that others can observe and measure: –Walking –Talking (cognition) –Physical movements

6.  Emotion  Behavior or mental process  Feelings  Thoughts  Dreams  Brain waves or privates thoughts  Perception  Memories

7.  Observe  Describe  Explain  Predict  Control

8.  A Social Science (Studies the structure of human society and the nature of the individual in the society)  Studies the nature of the physical world (Brain or mind)  Follows scientific principles (hypothesis, experimentation, data collection and analysis, and drawing conclusions)

9.  Developmental  Physiological  Clinical and Counseling  Industrial and Organizational  Cognitive Psychology  Comparative Psychology  Forensic Psychology

10.  Educational Psychology  Evolutionary Psychology  Health Psychology  Social Psychology  Positive Psychology  Engineering Psychology  Experimental Psychology

11. History of Psychology

12.  Gods and nature  Pseudopsychology and the fallacy of positive instances (Phrenology, Graphology, Astrology)  Thoughts and dreams  Mind centered in the heart

13.  “Know Thyself” (Learn about ourselves by examining ones’ thoughts and feelings  Introspection (modern term meaning “looking within”)

14.  Student of Plato who wrote “Peri Psyches” (about the Mind)  Human behavior is subject to laws  Man seeks pleasure, not pain  Addressed modern issues

15.  Father of Medicine  Suggested the brain was root of behavioral problems  Thoughts, and feelings cause behavior

16.  John Locke (philosopher) – “The mind is a blank slate” – Theorized that knowledge is not inborn but is learned from experiences  Human behavior and mental processes should be supported by evidence  In 1800s, psychological laboratories were established in Europe and United States

17.  Investigates the biological basis of human behavior: – Neuropsychologists: brain vs nervous system, i.e. strokes, no taste when sick – Psycho-biologists: body chemistry or hormones, i.e., how they interact with drugs; how stress influences behavior – Behavioral geneticists: heredity factors, i.e., how alcoholism runs in families

19.  Personality psychologists study the differences among individuals  How personality traits differ between males and females  Behavior as a stable personality trait or a response to a social reaction or stressful situation

20.  Father of Modern Psychology  First psychology laboratory (Germany, 1879)  Studied simplest mental process (used measures of reaction time)  Objective sensation reflects the outside world – Example: Sight/ taste  Subjective feeling, emotion, response and mental images

21.  The study of the most basic elements (sensations and perceptions) that make up our conscious mental experiences  Involves Introspection – “What are the elements of Psychological processes?”

22.  Study of the function rather than the structure of consciousness  How our minds adapt to our changing environment  Behavioral observations conducted in a laboratory – “What do certain behaviors and mental processes accomplish for the person?”  Adaptive behavior patterns are learned because they are successful

23.  1st American born psychologist  Wrote “The Principles of Psychology”  Experience is a fluid and an ever- changing flow of images and sensations  Adaptive Action (Darwinism): – Behavior + success = Habit

24.  Emphasized the objective, scientific analysis of observable behaviors  Interested in behavior and its precise measurement rather than “consciousness” of Wundt and James

25.  Stimulus/Response theory  Adopted Ivan Pavlov’s concept of Conditioning  Psychology as an objective, experimental science that analyzes observable behavior, predicts and attempts to control behavior

26.  Environmental factors mould behaviour  Mental events do not explain behavior (radicalism)  Behavior is reinforced: - Positive reinforcement - Reward & Punishment  Misguided rewards (punishment) lead to destructive actions

27.  A view that combines cognition (thinking) and conditioning to explain behaviour  Case study: Watching streaming videos  Radical B.: Agent is rewarded by the pleasure of watching interesting videos  Cognitive B.: Agent expects to find good videos at the Website

28.  Gestalt means « form, pattern, or whole »  Emphasized that perception is more than the sum of its parts  The study of thinking, learning and perception as whole units instead of the small units of structuralism  Studied how sensations are assembled into meaningful perceptual experiences

29.  “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”  Deals with perceptions – How we see and understand things – Enables the individual to solve problems

30.  Childhood experiences influence the development of later personality traits and psychological problems – This perspective is associated with the psychodynamic view (internal forces and impulses that are hidden)  Emphasizes unconscious (conflict & past events. i.e., early childhood traumas)

31.  Studied the unconscious to understand behavior – The Interpretation of Dreams  Developed Ideas: – Therapy – Internal conflict – Study of impulses

32.  Focuses on subjective human experience - Unconscious forces and behavioral emphasis on conditioning have a strong undercurrent of determinism  Stresses free will  Humanists are interested in psychological needs for love, self-esteem, belonging and spirituality

33.  The Biological Perspective (Evolutionary view)  The Psychological Perspective (Cognitive & Psychodynamic)  The Socio-cultural Perspective (interactionism and relativity)