Chapter 1: Introducing Psychology

1. Chapter 1: Introducing Psychology Section 1: Why Study Psychology

2. Physiological: having to do with an organism’s physical processes • Cognitive: having to do with an organism’s thinking and understanding • What is psychology? • The scientific study of behavior and mental processes that can be tested through scientific research. • What insights might you gain from studying psychology? • Studying psychology offers insights into human behaviors and may have practical applications in daily life.

3. View the figure on page 10. Answer the questions on a piece of paper… • What are the goals of psychology? • Description or gathering of information about a behavior • Explanation of the behavior observed • Hypothesis: an assumption or prediction about behavior that is tested through scientific research. • Theory: a set of assumptions used to explain phenomena and offered for scientific study • Prediction of when the behavior will occur • Influence – changing behavior • Basic science: the pursuit of knowledge about natural phenomena for its own sake • Applied science: discovering ways to use scientific findings to accomplish practical goals

4. ScientificMethod Question Hypothesis Experiment Results Conclusions Theory Additional hypotheses Rejection and revision of hypothesis Replication/Test

5. Scientific Basis of Psychology • Scientific method: general approach to gathering information and answering questions so that errors and biases are minimized What is the difference between a principle and a theory?

6. Section 2: A Brief History of Psychology • Origins • 5th and 6th centuries b.c. Greeks studied human behavior • 1500s Nicolas Copernicus – Earth not the center of the universe • Dualism: mind and body are separate and distinct • Historical Approaches • Structuralism • Wilhelm Wundt – Laboratory of Psychology • Structuralist: a psychologist who studied the basic elements that make up conscious mental experiences • Introspection: a method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings.

7. Functionalism • Functionalist: a psychologist who studied the function instead of the structure of consciouness • Inheritable Traits • Sir Francis Galton • What is heredity? • What influences intelligence? • Gestalt Psychology • Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka • Gestalt = whole pattern • So what does that mean? Think of a chair! • Contemporary Approaches • Psychoanalytic Psychology • Sigmund Freud • Free association • Psychoanalyst: a psychologist who studies how the unconscious motivations and conflicts determine behavior, feelings, and thoughts. • Case studies

8. Behavioral Psychology • Ivan Pavlov • Behaviorist: a psychologist who analyzes how organisms learn or change their behavior based on responses to events in the environment • Humanistic Psychology • Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Rollo May • Humanist: a psychologist who believes that each person has freedom in directing his/her future and achieving personal growth • Cognitive Psychology • Cognitivist: a psychologist who studies how we process, store, retrieve, and use information and how thought processes influence our behavior • Biological Psychology • Psychobiologist: a psychologist who studies how physical and chemical changes in our bodies influence our behavior • Sociocultural Psychology • Studying how the influence of culture and ethnic similarities and differences affect behavior and social functioning

9. Section 3: Psychology as a Profession • What is a psychologist? • A scientist who studies the mind and behavior of humans and animals • Psychiatry: a branch of medicine that deals with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders • Clinical psychologist: a psychologist who diagnoses and treats people with emotional disturbances • Counseling psychologist: a psychologist who usually helps people deal with problems of every day life

10. Developmental psychologist: a psychologist who studies the emotional, cognitive, biological, personal, and social changes that occur as an individual matures • Educational psychologist: a psychologist who is concerned with helping students learn • Community psychologist: a psychologist who may work in a mental health or social service agency • Industrial/organizational psychologist: a psychologist who uses psychological concepts to make the workplace a more satisfying environment for employees and managers • Environmental psychologists: work in business or within the government to study how the environment effects people • Psychobiologists: study the effect of drugs or other biological factors on behavior • Forensic psychologists: work within the legal system • Aka “Profilers” • Health psychologists: study the interaction between physical and psychological health factors • Experimental psychologist: a psychologist who studies sensation, perception, learning, motivation, and/or emotion in carefully controlled laboratory conditions