Introduction to Psychology

1. Introduction to Psychology

2. What is Psychology? • The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

3. Goals of psychology • Describe, explain, predict, and control behavior and mental processes

4. Some Areas of interest in psychology • Emotion • Motivation • Learning • Thought • Intelligence • Growth and development • Personality • Stress • Abnormal behavior • Sexual behavior • Sensation and perception

5. Behaviorists • A type of psychologist who only looks at overt or observable behavior • All actions that behaviorists study are public and can be measured by simple observation. • Ex: observing actions such as pressing a lever, turning right or left, eating, etc…

6. Cognitive psychologists • Focus on mental representations of the world, memories, problem solving strategies, biases, and prejudices • Ex: Conducting surveys, analyzing journals, conducting tests

7. Activity: Cognitive and Behavioral Approaches • For ONE of the scenarios below describe how the two approaches (cognitive and behavioral) could study the situation. Include how they would study the individual, where they would conduct the research, and how they might help the individual. • Rupert sees a psychologist for depression. 2. Stuart can barely concentrate at school. Stuart’s parents suspect that he either has a learning disability or is suffering from some form of social anxiety. 3. Spike has a drug addiction. Spike wants to stop using drugs, but feels he cannot stop doing so.

8. Is Psychology a Science? • Yes! • Psychology is not often thought of as a science by the general public. Why?

9. What makes Psychology a science? • Psychologists use the empirical approach meaning that studies are conducted through careful observations and scientifically based research. • Psychologists also formulate satisfactory theories

10. Satisfactory theories • Theories that help predict behavior • Ex: A satisfactory theory of hunger will let us predict when people will eat and not eat • Ex: Actual versus assumed effects of alcohol • If our observations can not be explained by a theory or predicted by the theory we should consider revising our theory.

11. Psychology and Critical Thinking • Pseudopsychology: phony, unscientific psychology masquerading as the real thing

12. Activity: Write the following passage on a piece of paper • In a generic sense, everyone is a psychologist. We all study people, analyze their behavior, try to understand what they are thinking and feeling, and attempt to predict what they do next.

13. Handwriting • Many angles • Rhythmic writing covering the whole page • Strange ending of letters • "Invented" letters • Twisted letters • Broken letters • Corrections, especially "artistic corrections” • Abundance of punctuation marks or lack of them • Slow writing • Tense handwriting • Extremely strong pressure • Narrowness • Extremely wide spaces between words or identical to the spaces between letters • Left slant • Tense strokes • Large or extreme height differentials • At times - a weak stroke • Peculiarities and exaggeration

14. Pseudopsychology • Examples: mysterious powers of the mind, supernatural influences, astrology, graphology, fortune telling

15. Our Goal • Distinguish between real and pseudopsychology • Common sense is not enough • “Common sense has led to the belief in the superiority of racial groups, demonic possessions as causes of mental illnesses, lobotomies, and the idea that there are just bad people and there is nothing that can be done to help these individuals.”

16. Examples of Pseudopsychology

18. Does this describe you? Would you want this to describe you? • Lives life head first. • Noted for courage and leadership qualities, primarily because you are nearly always ready for action. • The need for excitement pushes you into new territory -- and as long as you are ahead of others while demonstrating confidence, chances are that they will follow you. • As a leader of the pack you fight for what you believe to be important. • Your courage is more of a commitment to face your fears and overcome them.

19. How can we avoid pseudopsychology? • Detect confirmation biases (the tendency to attend to evidence that compliments and confirms our beliefs or expectations, while ignoring evidence that does not) • Analyze methods such as facilitated communication • In other words…Be skeptical, think critically, and ALWAYS seek evidence

20. Pages 1-2 • Read the passage on Clever Hans

22. How has pseudopsychology hurt the field of Psychology? • It has diminished public support of legitimate psychological practices. • In other words, most people don’t know the difference between pseudopsychology and the legitimate practice.

23. 3 branches of Psychological practice (3 way of doing psychology) 1. Experimental psychology 2. Teaching Psychology 3. Applied Psychology

24. Experimental Psychologists • Also called research psychologists • Job tasks: Conduct the basic research in psychology • Where they work: Typically works at a college or university

25. Teachers of Psychology • Job tasks: Overlaps with experimental psychology because most researchers also teach classes at the colleges or universities where they conduct research • Were they work: This group also includes high school teachers, community college teachers, etc… who do not conduct research

26. Applied Psychologists • Job tasks: Uses knowledge developed by experimental psychologists to tackle human problems, such as training, equipment design, and psychological treatment. • Where they work: Work in a wide variety of places such as schools, clinics, factories, social service agencies, airports, hospitals, casinos, etc…

27. Psychiatry versus Psychology

28. Psychiatry • Is a medical specialty • Psychiatrists hold an MD (Doctor of medicine) degrees and have specialized training in the treatment of mental and behavioral problems. • Licensed to prescribe medication and perform other medical procedures • Use the medical perspective

29. Psychology • Psychologists work in a much broader field, ecompassing many different specialties. • Most have nothing to do with the diagnosing and treating of mental disorders. • While many hold doctoral degrees, most have no training in medicine

30. Types of Applied Psychologists

31. Industrial and Organizational Psychologists • I/O Psychologists • Where/Who: Specialize in modifying the work environment to maximize productivity • Job tasks: May work with developing interviewing and testing procedures, developing training programs, market research, etc…

32. Sports Psychologists • W/W: Work with athletes to help maximize their performance • Job tasks: Work with enhancing motivation, controlling emotions under pressure, and planning practice sessions

33. Engineering Psychologists • W/W: Work at the interface between people and equipment • Job tasks: May design devices for easy and reliable human use, or try and detect what went wrong with a piece of equipment (human error) • Usually employed in private industry or by the government

34. School Psychologists • Are experts in problems with teaching and learning • W/W: Typically work in school districts, where they diagnose learning and behavior problems by consulting with teachers, students, and parents. • Job tasks: Spend a great deal of time administering, scoring, and interpreting psychological tests

35. Rehabilitation Psychologists • W/W: Work with physicians, nurses, counselors, and social workers on teams. • Job tasks: Deal with individuals with both physical and mental disorders (stroke, spinal cord injury, alcohol/drug abuse, amputation)

36. Clinical or Counseling Psychologists • W/W: Help people with psychological problems adjust to the demands of life (ex: anxiety, depression, etc…) • About ½ of all doctoral level psychologists list this as their specialty. • Job Tasks: The clinician would likely have a private practice involving testing and long-term therapy, while the counselor is likely to work at an agency or school and spend fewer sessions with the client

37. Other Types of Applied Psychologists • Developmental- study changes ( emotional, physical, cognitive, social) throughout life spans. Tries to answer nature versus nurture question. • Personality- define human traits and influence on human thought process, feelings, and behavior. Explains normal and abnormal behaviors • Social- concerned with nature and causes of individual’s thoughts, feelings, and overt behavior in social situations

38. Nature versus Nurture • Nature= heredity, our biological make-up, elements we have no control over • Nurture= environment, how we have been treated and taken care of, how our environment affects us.

39. Emerging Fields • Clinical Child Psychologists- help children overcome and adjust to problems

40. Emerging Fields • Forensic Psychologists- apply psychological expertise within the criminal justice system.( expert witnesses, counsel officers on stress, train police in handling suicides, hostage crises, family disputes, etc…)

41. The Roots, History, and Structure of Psychology

42. Where did Psychology come from? • Observing • Questioning • Researching

43. History Continued • Most historians credit Wilhelm Wundt ( 1832-1920) with the birth of psychology in 1879. • Established the first psychological laboratory in Germany

44. The Beginnings of Schools of Psychology

45. Structuralism • Wilhelm Wundt • Devoted to uncovering the basic structures that make up the mind. • D: The mind consists of three basic elements- sensations, feelings, and images- which combine to form experience • Introspection: Reporting one’s own conscious experience • Example of Application: Present subjects with sights and sounds and describe sensations and feelings

46. Functionalism • William James felt Wundt’s techniques were far too narrow • D: Emphasized use or function of the mind rather than elements of experience • Experiences permit us to function and adapt to our environments • Example of application: Studying how/why individuals adapt or fail to adapt • *formed the first type of applied psychology

47. Gestalt Psychology • Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler • How does perception influence problem solving? • D: Emphasizes the tendency to organize perceptions into wholes and to integrate separate stimuli into meaningful patterns. • Learning or problem solving is accomplished by insight or the sudden recognition of perceptions. • Examples of application: problem solving through analysis of perception

48. Example The running stranger