1. Chapter 1: Introducing Psychology
Section 1: Why Study Psychology

2. Physiological: having to do with an organism’s physical processes
Cognitive: having to do with an organism’s thinking and understanding
What is psychology?
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes that can be tested through scientific research.
What insights might you gain from studying psychology?
Studying psychology offers insights into human behaviors and may have practical applications in daily life.

3. View the figure on page 10. Answer the questions on a piece of paper…
What are the goals of psychology?
Description or gathering of information about a behavior
Explanation of the behavior observed
Hypothesis: an assumption or prediction about behavior that is tested through scientific research.
Theory: a set of assumptions used to explain phenomena and offered for scientific study
Prediction of when the behavior will occur
Influence – changing behavior
Basic science: the pursuit of knowledge about natural phenomena for its own sake
Applied science: discovering ways to use scientific findings to accomplish practical goals

4. Scientific Method Question Hypothesis Experiment Results Conclusions
Theory
Additional hypotheses
Rejection and revision of hypothesis
Replication/Test

5. Scientific Basis of Psychology
Scientific method: general approach to gathering information and answering questions so that errors and biases are minimized
What is the difference between a principle and a theory?

6. Section 2: A Brief History of Psychology
Origins
5th and 6th centuries b.c. Greeks studied human behavior
1500s Nicolas Copernicus – Earth not the center of the universe
Dualism: mind and body are separate and distinct
Historical Approaches
Structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt – Laboratory of Psychology
Structuralist: a psychologist who studied the basic elements that make up conscious mental experiences
Introspection: a method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings.

7. Contemporary Approaches
Functionalism
Functionalist: a psychologist who studied the function instead of the structure of consciouness
Inheritable Traits
Sir Francis Galton
What is heredity?
What influences intelligence?
Gestalt Psychology
Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka
Gestalt = whole pattern
So what does that mean? Think of a chair!
Contemporary Approaches
Psychoanalytic Psychology
Sigmund Freud
Free association
Psychoanalyst: a psychologist who studies how the unconscious motivations and conflicts determine behavior, feelings, and thoughts.
Case studies

8. Behavioral Psychology
Ivan Pavlov
Behaviorist: a psychologist who analyzes how organisms learn or change their behavior based on responses to events in the environment
Humanistic Psychology
Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Rollo May
Humanist: a psychologist who believes that each person has freedom in directing his/her future and achieving personal growth
Cognitive Psychology
Cognitivist: a psychologist who studies how we process, store, retrieve, and use information and how thought processes influence our behavior
Biological Psychology
Psychobiologist: a psychologist who studies how physical and chemical changes in our bodies influence our behavior
Sociocultural Psychology
Studying how the influence of culture and ethnic similarities and differences affect behavior and social functioning

9. Section 3: Psychology as a Profession
What is a psychologist?
A scientist who studies the mind and behavior of humans and animals
Psychiatry: a branch of medicine that deals with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders
Clinical psychologist: a psychologist who diagnoses and treats people with emotional disturbances
Counseling psychologist: a psychologist who usually helps people deal with problems of every day life

10. Forensic psychologists: work within the legal system
Developmental psychologist: a psychologist who studies the emotional, cognitive, biological, personal, and social changes that occur as an individual matures
Educational psychologist: a psychologist who is concerned with helping students learn
Community psychologist: a psychologist who may work in a mental health or social service agency
Industrial/organizational psychologist: a psychologist who uses psychological concepts to make the workplace a more satisfying environment for employees and managers
Environmental psychologists: work in business or within the government to study how the environment effects people
Psychobiologists: study the effect of drugs or other biological factors on behavior
Forensic psychologists: work within the legal system
Aka “Profilers”
Health psychologists: study the interaction between physical and psychological health factors
Experimental psychologist: a psychologist who studies sensation, perception, learning, motivation, and/or emotion in carefully controlled laboratory conditions