What Is Psychology?

1. What Is Psychology? Chapter One

2. Psychology as a Science Definition:the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

3. Psychology as a Science As science, uses the scientific method, as opposed to subjective opinion, to develop theories about variables to describe, explain, predict, and control behavior and mental processes

4. Theory Definition:a formulation of relationships underlying observed events

5. Theory • Based on assumptions about behavior and mental processes • Contain statements about the principles and laws that may govern them

6. Theory • Allow us to derive explanations and predictions • Describe, Explain, Predict, Control

7. What Psychologists Do Wide variety of subject areas for psychologists Pure Research vs. Applied Research

8. What Psychologists Do Pure Research:Conducted without concern for immediate applications to personal or social problems (research for its own sake)

9. What Psychologists Do Applied Research:Designed to find solutions to specific personal or social problems

10. Subfields of Psychology • Clinical • Counseling • School • Educational

11. Subfields of Psychology • Developmental • Social/Personality • Experimental • Cognitive

12. Subfields of Psychology • Industrial/Organizational • Physiological/Biological • Emerging Fields: Forensic & Health

13. Clinical Psychology • Specialize in helping people with psychological problems adjust to the demands of life Ex: anxiety, depression, sexual dysfunctions, loss of goals • Evaluate problems through structural interviews and psychological tests

14. Clinical Psychology Help clients resolve their problems and change maladaptive behavior through techniques of psychotherapy and behavior therapy

15. Clinical Psychology Psychotherapy: Application of psychological knowledge to the treatment of problem behavior

16. Clinical Psychology Behavior Therapy: Application of learning to the direct modification of problem behavior

17. Clinical Psychology • Work in institutions for mentally ill, outpatient clinics, college clinics, private practice • Largest subgroup (what most people think when hear about psych) • Differs from psychiatrist (medical doctors who specialize in treatment)

18. Counseling • Counsel people facing challenges • Use interviews and tests to define their clients problems • Clients typically have maladjustment problems but not serious psychological disorders

19. Counseling • Clients may encounter difficulty in making academic or vocational decisions or making friends, marital and family conflicts, physical handicaps, adjustment problems • Various counseling methods to help clients clarify goals and find ways of surmounting goals

20. Counseling Employed at college counseling and testing centers, rehabilitation agencies

21. School Psychologists • Facilitating the social, intellectual, and emotional development of children • Work in schools • Consult with students with problems that interfere with learning Ex: social, family, emotional problems, and specific learning disorders

22. School Psychologists • Define problems through: interviews with parents, teachers, students, achievement and intelligence tests, classroom observations • Consult with teachers, school officials, parents, teachers and other professionals • Placement of students in special education and remediation programs

23. Educational Psychologists • Concerned with optimizing classroom conditions to facilitate learning • Design educational programs and train teachers

24. Educational Psychologists • Improvement of course planning and instructional methods • Research interests include how motivation, intelligence, sociocultural factors such as poverty and acculturation and teacher behavior affect learning

25. Developmental • Study the changes (physical, emotional, cognitive, and social) that occur throughout the life span • Influences of heredity (nature) and environment (nurture) on development • Topics: effects of maternal drug use on the embryo, child rearing practices, adolescent conflicts, adjustment among older people

26. Social/personality • How we influence and interact with other people • Define human traits, determine influence on thought processes, feelings and behavior, explain psychological disorders • Human issues (anxiety, aggression, gender roles)

27. Social/personality • Social and external influences • Attitude formation and change, interpersonal attractions and likings, stereotypes, conformity to group norms, group decision making processes • Personality: tend to look within the person for explanations of behavior

28. Experimental • Conduct research into fundamental processes relevant to more applied specialties • Nervous system, sensation, perception, learning, memory, thought, motivation, emotion • More likely to engage in basic or pure research (usually study animals)

29. Industrial/Organizational • Behavior in the workplace; improving businesses in areas such as personnel, organizational efficiency • Relationships between people and work • Assist in processes such as hiring, training, and promotion

30. Industrial/Organizational • Devise tests that predict successful performance of various jobs (gallup poll) • Make technical systems (computer) more user friendly • Strategies to appeal to the consumer

31. Emerging Fields • Forensic: expertise within the criminal-justice system • Serve as expert witnesses, testify about competence of defendants to stand trial or describe mental disorders and how affect criminal behavior • Counsel officers help with stress, hostage situations, suicide threats

32. Emerging Fields • Health:examine the ways in which behavior and mental processes such as attitudes are related to physical health • Headaches, cardiovascular disease, cancer • Patient compliance with medical advice • Guide clients to take undertake more healthy behaviors such as exercising, quitting smoking, healthy diet

33. Questions or Concerns?