Introduction

1. Image courtesy Ferrum College Introduction

2. Why are you interested in studying psychology?

3. The scientific study of the behavior of living things. What is Psychology?

4. What is Psychology? • Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes of living things • Scientific? • Not just common sense or guesses • Scientific method • Behavior – what people do on the outside • Mental Processes –cognition. • Living Things - Psychology includes the study of both humans and animals

5. Essential Question: • How do the different approaches to psychology compare and contrast?

6. Approaches to the field of Psychology • Psychodynamic • Cognitive • Behavioral • Humanistic • Neurobiological • Social • Evolutionary

8. How would one explain the behavior of Dennis Rodman?

9. Psychodynamic Psychology • Personality theory that says behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts • Unconscious is a dynamic cauldron of primitive drives, forbidden desires and nameless fears • Psychoanalysis – patient lies on a couch and recounts dreams and conducts free association. • Sigmund Freud

11. Cognitive Psychology • School of psychology that studies mental processes • Thinking, feeling, remembering, making decisions and judgments • Studies how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information. • Studies behavior and makes inferences about the mental processes behind the behavior • Thanks to new technologies like CAT scans, MRIs and fMRIs, we can open the black box.

13. Behavioral • Studies observable behavior focusing on how we learn, react and manipulate our environment. • We learn observable responses through conditioning. • Mind is a BLACK BOX. Can’t see it? Don’t study it. • Big names • Pavlov – Dogs • Watson – Little Albert • Skinner – Operant Conditioning

14. Self-concept? Self-talk?Feelings? Decision Making Process?

15. Humanistic Psychology • Emphasizes nonverbal experiences and altered states of consciousness as a means of realizing one’s full human potential • Importance of love, belonging, human potential, and self-esteem. • Abraham Maslow, Carl Roberts

17. Biological Psychology • Investigates the biological basis of human behavior, thoughts and emotions. Looks at effect of biological mechanisms. • Brain • Neurotransmitters • Hormones • Drugs (both legal and illegal) • Gender differences in brain structure and function

19. Sociocultural Psychology • Study of how people influence one another • Topics include: • First impressions • Interpersonal attraction • Attitude formation • Prejudice • Behavior in a group • Obedience to Authority • Some Applications include: • Support groups • Family Therapy • Sensitivity Training

20. Why are some people considered beautiful?

21. Evolutionary Psychology • Asks the question: How did our species get to be the way we are? • Language – Why do we talk? • Altruism – Why are we nice to each other? • Sexual attraction / mate selection – Why are some people considered beautiful? • Answers these questions by looking at what would most help us pass on our genetic code. • Very concerned with reproduction!

22. Careers in Psychology • Clinical and counseling • Developmental • Educational • Experimental • Human factors • Industrial–organizational • Personality • Psychometric

23. 1. Clinical and Counseling Psychology • About 50% of all Psychologists. • Counseling psychologists dealvwith “normal” problems, such as stress caused by career change or marital problems • Counseling psychologist’s focus more on the psychologically healthy individual where clinical focuses on individuals with serious mental illness (e.g. schizophrenia). • Clinical psychologists are concerned with diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders • Split time between treatment and researching the cause of psychological disorders and the effectiveness of different types of psychotherapy and counseling.

24. 2. Developmental Psychology • Study of physical and mental growth from birth to old age • study of changing abilities from womb to tomb • Subfields • Child psychology • Adolescent psychology • Life-span psychology

25. 3. Educational Psychology • School Psychologist • psychological evaluations • consult with school personnel in relation to students’ learning, behavior, and environments • they are trained to look at the effectiveness of academic programs, classroom agendas, and treatment interventions, which assists in the development of specific interventions.

26. 4. Experimental Psychology • Design research experiments • May or may not have a direct impact on the treatment of patients • Animal subjects • Drug trials

27. 5. Human Factors • The science of understanding the properties of human capability (Human Factors Science). • The application of this understanding to the design, development and deployment of systems and services (Human Factors Engineering). • The art of ensuring successful application of Human Factors Engineering to a programme (sometimes referred to as Human Factors Integration).It can also be called ergonomics.

28. 6. Industrial and Organizational Psychology • Study of psychological principles in industry and business • Examples • Selecting and training personnel • Productivity improvement • Optimizing working conditions • Managing the impact of automation on workers

30. 7. Personality Psychology • Study of how people differ from one another on traits such as • Conscientiousness • Agreeableness • Neuroticism • Openness • Extraversion

32. 7. Psychometrics • Test creation • Validity • Reliablity • Culture fair • Statistics

33. Psychiatry • A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders • Practiced by physicians who sometimes use medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychotherapy

34. Licenses in Psychology • Psychologists - Ph.D., Psy.D. • Psychiatrists - M.D. • Psychoanalysts - M.D. or Ph.D. • Social Workers (M.S.W.) - LSW • Marriage Family Therapists - M.A.