PSYCHOLOGY

1. PSYCHOLOGY • What is Psychology? • Psychology is a word deriving from Greek roots: • Psyche – “soul” or “mind,” Logos – “word” • Psychology is the systematic study of behavior and experience

2. The Goals of Psychologists • Psychologists engage in the study of psychology in order to understand, explain, predict and control behavior • What are the major philosophical issues that are relevant to this study? • Why we do what we do (causes of behavior). • Relationship of brain activity and the “mind” (Mind-Brain Problem). • Role of heredity and environment.

3. The Major Philosophical Issues • Free will versus determinism – are the causes of behavior knowable, and is behavior predictable? • Free will is the belief that behavior is caused by an individual’s independent decision-making • What does independent mean? • Determinism is the assumption that everything that happens has a cause or determinant in the observable world. • We can isolate specific determinants of behavior.

4. Major Philosophical Issues • Which perspective holds that behavior is fully predictable? • A determinist assumes everything that happens has a cause that can be known • A believer in free will assumes that even with complete information regarding causes and conditions, predictions regarding human behavior can never be fully accurate • How many of you believe you have free will?

5. Major Philosophical Issues • The mind-brain problem: - How is experience related to the organ system called the brain? • Thoughts versus Brain activity • Dualism is the belief that the mind is separate from the brain but somehow controls the brain and through it also the rest of the body • Monism is the view that conscious experience is generated by and therefore is inseparable from the brain

6. Major Philosophical Issues • The mind-brain problem • Data from brain imaging research such as PET (positron emission tomography) suggests that brain activity and mental activity are two aspects of the same thing • Yet the question is far from resolved

7. Major Philosophical Issues • The nature-nurture issue • How do differences in behavior relate to differences in heredity and environment? • Some scientists assume the larger proportion of differences in potential and behavior are due to the influence of genes • Others assume that most differences are a result of aspects of the environment such as culture, expectations, and resources • This issue arises in virtually every field of psychology, and knowledge gained through research seldom provides a simple answer

8. What Psychologists Do • Psychology is an academic, non-medical discipline that includes many branches and specialties • The educational requirements can vary, but generally involve study beyond the bachelor’s degree • A master’s degree, or a Ph.D./Psy.D. (doctor of psychology) are common terminal degrees in the discipline

9. Figure 1.2 More than one-third of psychologists work in academic settings. The remainder find positions in a variety of settings (based on the data of Chamberlain, 2000).

10. What Psychologists Do • There are many specialties in the broad science of psychology. Psychologists practice within their chosen specialty in 3 main areas: • Teaching and research • Service providers to individuals • Service providers to organizations

11. What Psychologists Do • Teaching and research • Most teaching psychologists work in colleges and universities • Most psychologists who teach also engage in research and writing • Some psychologists are employed in full-time research positions

12. What Psychologists Do • Major categories of psychological research: Biological psychology or neuroscience • A bio-psychologist tries to explain behavior in terms of biological factors, such as anatomy, electrical and chemical activities in the nervous system, and the effects of drugs, hormones, genetics and evolutionary pressures • Sample question: How do drug abuse, brain damage, and exposures to environmental toxins change nervous system functioning (and by extension, behavior)?

13. What Psychologists Do • Major categories of psychological research: Evolutionary psychology • An evolutionary psychologist tries to explain behavior in terms of natural selection pressures promoting behaviors that lead to success in reproduction and survival. • Sample questions: What forces led to selection for human language abilities? What specific advantages in survival over other animals did language give early humans in the ancestral environment?

14. What Psychologists Do • Major categories of psychological research: Learning and motivation • A psychologist who studies and does research in this area is interested in how behavior depends on outcomes of past behaviors and on current motivations • Sample question: Do frequent or consistent rewards for desired behaviors produce better learning than less frequent or less predictable rewards?

15. What Psychologists Do • Major categories of psychological research: Cognitive psychology • A cognitive psychologist studies the processes of thinking and acquiring knowledge. • Sample question: What do “experts” in a field know or do that sets them apart from other people?

16. What Psychologists Do • Major categories of psychological research: Developmental psychology • A developmental psychologist studies the behavioral capacities typical of different ages and how behavior changes with age. • Sample questions: What do people do or know as adults that they do not know as children? Why did this change occur? Was the change due to biological changes, increased experience, or a combination of these?

17. What Psychologists Do • Major categories of psychological research: Social psychology • A social psychologist studies how an individual influences and is influenced by other people • Sample question: To what degree do the demands and expectations of authority figures influence our behavior? How strong is the human tendency to conform? 

18. Concept Check • Which area of psychology research is concerned with whether or not punishment is an effective means of eliminating undesirable behaviors? • Learning and motivation • Which would ask if people will obey an authority figure even when that leader is demanding behavior that might be classified as immoral or wrong? • Social

19. Concept Check • Which psychologist wants to know when language learning occurs most rapidly in children? • Developmental psychologist • Which psychologist would do research to determine how memories are stored in the brain? • Biological psychologist (Cognitive Neuroscientist) • Which psychologist would do research to determine how retention and recall of information in a college-level psychology course can be enhanced? • Cognitive psychologist

20. What Psychologists Do • Service providers to individuals • There are many types of psychotherapists, professionals with training in psychology who specialize in helping people with psychological problem. Psychotherapists are trained in a variety of disciplines. 

21. Table 1.1 several types of Mental Health Professionals

22. What Psychologists Do • Service providers to individuals • Clinical psychologists have advanced degrees in psychology, with a specialty in understanding and helping people with mental and emotional problems. • They receive training in intellectual and psychological testing used in the diagnosis and treatment. 

23. What Psychologists Do • Service providers to individuals • Psychiatrists are trained as medical doctors. • In addition to learning the principles of psychology, they are educated in how to use prescription drugs to treat psychological distress. • Clinical Psychologist can also receive extensive training in the use of prescription drugs to treat behavioral disorders and can earn perscription privileges.

24. What Psychologists Do • Service providers to individuals • Psychiatric nurses receive standard nursing education plus additional training in the care of emotionally troubled individuals. • They usually work in medical clinics and hospitals.

25. What Psychologists Do • Service providers to individuals • Psychiatric and clinical social workers combine training in traditional social work with specialized knowledge of how to treat emotionally disturbed people and advocate for their well-being within the larger community.

26. What Psychologists Do • Service providers to individuals • Psychoanalysts are psychotherapists who use mental health treatment strategies that are based on the theories and methods pioneered by Sigmund Freud. • Freud believed that an unconscious component of the human mind affects our functioning in day-to-day life.

27. What Psychologists Do • Service providers to individuals • Counseling psychologists have an advanced degree in psychology and help people with educational, vocational, marriage, health, and other important life decisions. They receive training in therapy and some types of psychological testing.

28. What Psychologists Do • Service providers to individuals • Forensic psychologists provide advice and consultation to those who work in the criminal justice system.

29. Concept Check • Which psychotherapist would help a middle-aged woman trying to transition from work as a homemaker to resuming her college education? • Counseling psychologist • Which psychotherapist would prescribe a mood stabilizing medication to a patient who shows signs of bipolar affective (emotional) disorder? • Psychiatrist

30. Concept Check • Which psychotherapist might provide ongoing counseling and support for residents of a halfway house for recovering addicts? • Clinical social worker • Which psychotherapist might be part of the staff of a hospital emergency room, and manage the intake of a patient admitted with acute suicidal thoughts and feelings? • Psychiatric nurse

31. Concept Check • Which psychotherapist might be employed in an inpatient facility for developmentally delayed children and adolescents, doing assessment and psychotherapy? • Clinical psychologist • Which psychotherapist would try to help a patient discover his or her hidden motivations for an apparently distressing and unacceptable behavior or thought? • Psychoanalyst

32. What Psychologists Do • Service providers to organizations • Industrial/Organizational psychologists study people’s behavior in the workplace using a combination of social, cognitive, and motivational psychology principles, and often employ psychological tests. Sample question: Workers in two departments at an aerospace engineering firm have started to withhold information from each other. This has been detrimental to morale and productivity. How can this behavior be stopped without terminating or reassigning any employees? How evvective are virtural meetings?

33. What Psychologists Do • Service providers to organizations • An ergonomist, or human factors specialist, attempts to facilitate the use of machinery and appliances so that the average user can operate them as efficiently and as safely as possible.  Sample question: How can the design of a clerical workstation in an office be improved to minimize the possibility of repetitive stress related injuries occurring to the employee who occupies it?

34. What Psychologists Do • Service providers to organizations • A school psychologist specializes in the psychological condition of the students, usually at the kindergarten through secondary school levels. • School psychologists draw upon a combination of developmental, learning and motivational principles, and often use educational and psychological tests to assist with educational planning for individual students. Sample question: Does a fourth grade student whose grades have been declining over the past two years have an identifiable learning disability, or is there an issue related to the student’s emotional well-being affecting his performance?

35. Concept Check • Which psychologist would consult in the design of an airplane cockpit to maximize crew efficiency and safety? • Ergonomist • Which psychologist would evaluate a student for possible placement in a school’s program for gifted children? • School psychologist

36. Concept Check • Which psychologist would work with supervisors at a software development company to improve communication between departments and levels of management? • Industrial/Organizational psychologist

37. Majoring in Psychology • Should you major in psychology? • Although psychology is a popular major, very few jobs are listed specifically for people with bachelor’s degrees. • Jobs that would be appropriate for someone who earns a bachelor’s degree in psychology include: • Personnel or human resources specialist • Halfway or transitional home staff or supervisor • Community or social services outreach worker

38. Majoring in Psychology • Should you major in psychology? • Psychology will be useful in careers that are not closely related to psychology, and in your life apart from work as well. Psychology can help you to: • more effectively evaluate evidence presented to you in a variety of situations • improve your learning and retention   • be aware of the power of social influence and cultural context

39. Majoring in Psychology • Should you major in psychology? • It is also an excellent major for those who are contemplating further professional education in areas such as business, law, or divinity.

40. Majoring in Psychology • Should you major in psychology? • If you want to become a psychologist… • You will probably need a doctorate (Ph.D./Psy.D.) • You will be in school for up to eight more years. It is hard to anticipate how the job market will change in the time it takes to complete your degree • You should have an interest in working in health care or educational settings or a willingness to work in a private practice or consulting role

41. Majoring in Psychology • Should you major in psychology? • Why take this class or consider majoring in the field? • Psychology offers exciting possibilities for improving the quality of life in many aspects and levels of human existence • Psychologists use information covered in this course to help people understand themselves and make better use of their skills and qualities • It is currently attracting talented persons from an increasingly diverse variety of backgrounds

42. Majoring in Psychology • Should you major in psychology? • Whether or not you choose to do more advanced work, we hope that you will find a long-lasting benefit from your investment of time and energy in this Introduction to Psychology course.

43. Psychology Then and Now • The early era and the roots of psychology • In all cultures, and for thousands of years, people have wondered about the nature of human thought, action and experience. • The great writers of every civilization are widely read because they provide us with compelling descriptions and make profound observations of human behavior.

44. Figure 1.5a Dates of some important events in psychology and elsewhere. (Based partly on Dewsbury, (2000a)

45. Figure 1.5b Dates of some important events in psychology and elsewhere. (Based partly on Dewsbury, (2000a)

46. Psychology Then and Now • The early era and the roots of psychology • The first psychological laboratory was established by William Wundt, Leipzig, Germany in 1879 • William Wundt was trained as a physician and did research on the workings of the senses. • Although other psychology experiments had been done, this was the first laboratory devoted exclusively to the activities of psychological research.

47. Psychology Then and Now • The early era and the roots of psychology • Wundt’s fundamental question was: What are the components of experience, or mind? • He presented his subjects with a wide variety of stimuli, and asked them to look within themselves, to introspect. He tried to measure the changes in their experiences as the stimuli changes.

48. Psychology Then and Now • The early era and the roots of psychology • Wundt and his students did experiments in a wide range of areas related to psychology, and they wrote prolifically about their findings. • Most importantly, Wundt demonstrated that it was possible to perform meaningful experiments in the science of psychology.

49. Psychology Then and Now • The early era and the roots of psychology • Edward Titchener was a student of Wundt who immigrated to the United States in 1892. • He developed the approach he called structuralism. • In structuralism, the researcher attempts to describe the structures that compose the mind, its sensations, feelings and images.

50. Psychology Then and Now • The early era and the roots of psychology • Titchener presented a stimulus to his subjects and asked them to analyze its separate features • After Titchener’s death in 1927, his research methods were abandoned • There was no feasible way to check the accuracy of his subjects’ observations • As psychology evolved through the 20th century, psychological researchers became more interested in describing and analyzing readily observable behaviors