1. What is Psychology?
Chapter 1

2. Why Study Psychology?
Section 1

3. Why Study Psychology?
Psychology= the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes
Behavior= actions that can be measured and observed
Cognitive Activities= mental processes (dreams, perceptions, thoughts and memories)
Psychological Constructs= used to talk about something we cannot see, touch or measure directly

4. Goals of Psychology: 2. Predicting and Controlling
1. Explaining Behavior
Observe and describe
Explain behavior in terms of anxiety and performance
2. Predicting and Controlling
Do best when anxiety is low/moderate
Positive Visualization= imagine a difficult situation and a positive outcome

5. Goals of Psychology: 4. Psychological Theories
3. Psychological Research
Surveys= method of collecting data that involves asking questions
Experimentation= controlled environment with subjects
4. Psychological Theories
Theory= statement that attempts to explain why things are the way they are and why they happen the way they do
Principle= basic truth or law that governs behavior and mental processes

6. What Psychologists do
Section 2

7. Major Fields in Psychology
1. Clinical Psychology
Largest group
Interviews and psychological tests
Try to change ineffective and harmful behavior
Psychiatrists= medical doctors who can prescribe medications
2. Counseling Psychology
Interviews and tests
Treat people with adjustment disorders (not as serious)
Help clarify goals, overcome adjustment problems and meet challenges

8. Major Fields in Psychology…
3. School Psychology
Identify and help students who have problems that interfere with learning
Talk to teacher, student, administer tests and observe them in the classroom
Make recommendations for class placement
4. Educational Psychology
Focus on course planning and instructional methods for all students
Learning is affected by:
Psychological factors: motivation, emotions, creativity and intelligence
Cultural factors: religious beliefs and language
Economic factors: level of family income
Instructional methods used in the classroom

9. Major Fields in Psychology…
5. Developmental Psychology
Study changes throughout the life span
Physical= height and weight, adolescent growth, sexual maturity and physical aspects of aging
Emotional= development of concept and self esteem
Cognitive= changes from childhood to adulthood mental image of outside world and how children learn right from wrong
Social= bonds between parents and children, relationships with peers or intimate relationships between adults
6. Personality Psychology
Identify human characteristics or traits
Look for trait development

10. Major Fields in Psychology…
7. Social Psychology
Concerned with people’s behavior in social situations
Focus on external influences:
Ways women and men typically behave
Physical and psychological factors of attraction
Reasons people conform to group standards/expectations
How behavior changes when a member of a group
Reasons for and effects of prejudice and discrimination
Situations in which people are hostile/help each other
8. Experimental Psychology
Explore the biological/psychological reasons for cognitive behavior
Basic research= has no immediate application and is done for its own sake

11. What Psychologists Do- Applied Fields in Psychology
1. Industrial and Organizational
Focus on people and work
Improve working conditions and worker output
May assist in HR
2. Human Factors Psychology
Find best ways to design products for use
How people will use it
How it affects daily life
Physical characteristics
Safe and comfortable to use

12. What Psychologists Do- Applied Fields in Psychology
3. Community Psychology
Study and create social systems; promote individual well-being
Promote change in social environment
Help powerless social groups
Prevents threats to mental health
4. Forensic Psychology
Work with criminal justice system
Identify competence of defendants
Explain how psych problems give rise to criminal behavior
Police: select officers, job stress and train for dangerous situations

13. What Psychologists Do- Applied Fields in Psychology
5. Health Psychology
Examine the ways in which behavior and mental processes are related to physical health
Work with healthcare professionals
Study the effects of stress on health problems
6. Rehabilitation Psychology
Work with patients who are struggling with a disability
Help patients develop strategies to compensate for the disability and live a meaningful life
7. Cross-Cultural Psychology
Study behavior and mental processes under different cultural conditions
Examine depression and anxiety to gauge differences in cultures

14. History of Psych- Early Views
Ancient Greece:
Socrates- “Know Thyself”
Introspection= learn about ourselves by examining our own thoughts and feelings
Associationism= experiences remind us of past
Aristotle= Human behavior is guided by principle “seek pleasure and avoid pain”
Gods punished people by causing them confusion and madness
Hippocrates= problems caused by abnormalities in the brain
Middle Ages:
Problems caused by demons
Possession was punishment

15. Pioneers in Psychology
Wilhelm Wundt (Structuralism):
Focus: discover the basic elements of consciousness
Objective sensations= reflect the outside world
Subjective feelings= emotional responses and mental images
Introspection= look inside oneself
William James (Functionalism):
Focus: relationship between experience and behavior
Functionalism= concerned with how mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment
Adaptive behaviors maintained because they are successful

16. Pioneers in Psychology…
Sigmund Freud (Psychoanalysis):
Focus: emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives and internal conflicts in determining and understanding behavior
People are driven by hidden impulses (verbal slips and dreams)
“Talking cure”
Psychodynamic Thinking= most of mind is unconscious and consists of conflicting impulses, urges and wishes (sexual and aggressive) Id
Superego
Ego

17. Modern Developments in Psych:
John B. Watson (Behaviorism):
Focus: Psychology must be limited to observable and measureable events
Agreed with Functionalism about importance of learning
Conscious can be known only to the individual
B.F. Skinner (Reinforcement):
Focus: People learn because of positive and negative reinforcement
Same ideas as Behaviorism but added reinforcement
Looked at external causes of behavior

18. Modern Developments in Psych:
Gestalt School (Wertheimer, Koffka and Kohler)
Focus: our perceptions of objects are more than the sum of their parts
Principles:
Similarity= when objects look similar, people recognize a pattern and see them as a whole
Closure= people fill in missing information when enough of the shape of an object is indicated
Reject Behaviorist ideas:
Psychologists should focus on observable behavior
Learning is mechanical
Gestalt beliefs:
Learning is accomplished through insight
Reorganization of perceptions that enables individual to solve problems

19. Contemporary Perspectives:
Subject Matter
Key Belief
Influenced By
Biological
Evolutionary
Cognitive
Humanistic
Psychoanalytic
Learning
Sociocultural
Biopsychosocial
Nervous system, glands and hormones, genetic factors
Biological processes influence behavior and mental processes
Associationism and neuroscience
Adaptive organisms survive and transmit their genes to future generations
Charles Darwin and evolution
Physical traits, social behavior
Structuralism, functionalism and Gestalt psychology
Interpretation of mental images, thinking and language
Perceptions and thoughts influence behavior
People make free and conscious choices based on their unique experiences
Introspection and free will
Self-concept
Unconscious processes, early childhood experiences
Unconscious motives influence behavior
Sigmund Freud
Environmental influences, learning, observational learning
Personal experiences and reinforcement guide development
John B. Watson and behaviorism
Sociocultural, biological and psychological factors create individual differences
Social, environmental and cross-cultural psychology
Ethnicity, gender, culture, religion and socioeconomic status
Mental processes are influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological and social factors
Biology, psychology and social factors
Holistic health and social psychology