Chapter 1: Introducing Psychology

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Chapter 1 Introducing Psychology

• Section 1 Why Study Psychology

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• Physiological having to do with an organisms
  physical processes
• Cognitive having to do with an organisms
  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.

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• 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

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Scientific Method
Question Hypothesis Experiment Results
Conclusions Theory
Additional hypotheses
Rejection and revision of hypothesis
Replication/Test
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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?

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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.

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• 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

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• 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

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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

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• 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

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