Introduction to Psychology: A Christian Perspective

1. Introduction to Psychology: A Christian Perspective PSY3013 Level MQF/EQF 5 License-2013-FH1026 Global Institute of Theology

2. Unit One - Psychology as a Behavioral Science

3. Lesson One- Psychology as a Art and Science

4. Introduction

5. Lesson Objectives Learning outcomes • Definepsychology. • Listand explain the goals of psychology. • Explainthe specific criteria used in a research design. • Discussthree kinds of psychological research. • Describethe data-collecting methods of psychologists. • Listthe steps in progressing from basic research to practical application. • Discusscautions when reading psychological literature. • Identifythe varied services of psychologists. • Tracethe history of psychology from ancient Greece to the present.

6. Your Objectives • ? • List what personal objectives you have for: • the class in general • this lesson in particular

7. Objective 1: Define Psychology

8. Definition of Psychology • Originally • “the science that studies the behavior of man and other animals” • For the purposes of this study • “Psychology is the art and science of studying human behavior and mental processes.” • My Preference • “the scientific study of the mental processes as they relate to human behavior with an end toward understanding, modifying, and/or predicting such behavior.”

9. Definition of Psychology • Which of the three definitions you can relate to a Christian approach to Christianity? • Why? • How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? • Just one, so long as the light bulb *wants* to change.

10. Schematic model of human behavior

11. Schematic model of human behavior

12. Schematic model of human behavior

13. Schematic model of human behavior

14. Schematic model of human behavior

15. Schematic model of human behavior

16. Schematic model of human behavior

17. Practical identification for our definition of psychology • “Psychology is the art and science of studying human behavior and mental processes.” • “Psychology is the scientific study of the mental processes as they relate to human behavior with an end toward understanding, modifying, and/or predicting such behavior”

18. Objective 2: List and Explain the goals of psychology

19. Goals of psychology

20. Goals of psychology • However, many contemporary theorists question if control is a legitimate goal of psychology. • They prefer to substitute “helpful alteration of human behavior” as agoal of psychology. • Results of psychological research should focus on helpfulness to the subject • rather than rigid control that might limit a person’s freedom of choice and / or movement.

21. Goals of psychology

22. Goals of psychology Human behavior

23. Objective 3 Explain the specific criteria used in a research design

24. The Scientific Method in Psychology

25. Objective 4: Discuss three kinds of psychological research

26. Types of Research • Basic (pure) research • is the foundation of science; its goal is discovery of new knowledge. • Applied research • takes basic research a step further by focusing on answers to specific questions and discovering how the information can help people. • Practical application • goes another step further by actually implementing the findings of basic and applied research in treatment and instruction.

27. Objective 5 Describe the data-collecting methods of psychologists

28. Methods of Collecting Data • Methods of how Psychologists collect data about individuals and/or groups • Naturalistic observation • involves observing subjects in their natural habitat without their awareness or knowledge. • Interviewing • requires a researcher to record answers to predetermined questions asked of subjects in the research study. The results are then compiled into a descriptive report.

29. Methods of Collecting Data • Testing and evaluation • uses standardized tests and inventories for such activities as school or job placement, evaluation, or treatment plans. • Surveys and questionnaires • effectively glean and summarize the opinions of a group of individuals. • Correlation • is a statistical method of determining the relationship between two variables, such as the correlation between a student’s reading ability and his or her grades.

30. Methods of Collecting Data • Case histories • are a compilation of observations made by various members of the healing team (psychiatrists, psychologists, professional counselors, pastoral counselors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and so forth) to devise a treatment plan. • The experimental method • involves controlled experiments with a select group of subjects. Half of the sample becomes the control group, and the other half becomes the experimental group. The experimental method is more precise and can discover information that would not be available by less rigorous forms of data collection.

31. Objective 6 List the steps in progressing from basic research to practical application

32. The steps of Research • Hypothesis • Research begins with the researcher’s belief that two variables might share a relationship which has not been empirically proven. • To test the relationship, the researcher starts by forming a hypothesis, the statement of an assumption or question involving the variables.

33. The steps of Research • Theory • Once the hypothesis is stated, giving direction, the research begins. When the experimenter finds more evidence supporting the hypothesis than invalidating it, he or she proposes a theory.

34. The steps of Research • Generalization • Generalizations are developed out of conclusions derived from theory and research that state or imply a relationship between two or more variables. • That is, the experimenter forms generalizations when the hypothesis has been developed as a theory and practical applications are made for its implementation. • The hypothesis is treated as though it is true even though the data may be conflicting.

35. The steps of Research • Principle • A principle is a statement of actions to be taken upon the research findings (generalizations). • For instance, scientific research has resulted in many laws of learning that are then stated in the form of principles and applied to human learning.

36. Objective 1:7 Discuss cautions when reading psychological Research

37. Cautions in Reading Psychological Research • Contamination • The investigator knows the predicted nature of the relationship between the variables and has control over both. • Reconstruction through retrospection • A researcher describes past events with no supporting data. • Poor definition of concepts • The investigator has not defined concepts clearly and concisely.

38. Cautions in Reading Psychological Research • Direct influence of the investigator • The presence of the investigator unwittingly influences the results. • Sampling errors • The researcher fails to measure all of the intended sample. • Unsound generalizations • The investigator writes as though findings are more significant than they actually are.

39. Objective 8 Identify the varied services of psychologists

40. What Psychologists Do • See page 27 in your IST • Prayerfully highlight the areas that you may think you need to give attention, so that you can serve your ministry better.

41. Objective 9 Trace the history of psychology from ancient Greece to the present

42. The History of Psychological Thought • Time does not allow us to study this unit effectively. • However, your instructor will highlight three important psychologist who have strong biblical influence in their thinking. • It will benefit the students to study these psychologists and their Christian approach, even if some of them were not in the Christian faith. • There are some Christian leaders that think that psychology and the Bible do not agree. • We will soon see if this is so.

43. The History of Psychological Thought • Your instructor’s recommendation: • Abraham Harold Maslow • Hierarchy of needs I have come to give you life in its fullness Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things shall be added to you

44. The History of Psychological Thought • Everett L. Shostrom • Actualization based not on perfectness, but the healing love and power of God who can transform the entire being.

45. The History of Psychological Thought • Orval Hobart Mowrer • Emphasized psychotherapy based on honesty, responsibility, and other biblical moral values such as self-control.

46. The History of Psychological Thought • Rollo Resse May • A Methodist pastor who worked with existential ideas and helped to support basic spiritual considerations (which lacked in American psychology). If you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself

47. Biblical Examples of Psychological Concepts

48. Personal Objectives Identify Scriptures which discuss psychological concepts.

49. The Mental Process • Attitudes, prejudices, and opinions are formed in the mental processes. • If we can learn how man thinks, we can begin to understand how and why he acts the way he does. Prov 23:7 For as he thinketh within himself, so is he (ASV) For as he thinks in his heart so he is (AMP) for as he calculates in his soul, so is he (ESVST)

50. The Mental Process • There are still many people who think that psychology refers to attempt to control the individual. This is not true. • It is the duty of every believer to guide one’s thinking on those issues of eternal values. Col 3:1-2 ff 1 If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth.