Psychology

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Psychologys Big Issues Approaches
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Philosophical Developments
BIG

• THE Question Nature vs. Nurture

• Inherited vs. Environment
• Are our physical and mental abilities determined
  by our genes or our experiences?
• What has the biggest effect on behavior?
• What are the interactions between genetics and
  environment?
• NURTURE WORKS ON WHAT NATURE ENDOWS

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Psychologys Three Main Levels of Analysis
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Psychologys Three Main Levels of Analysis
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Psychologys Three Main Levels of Analysis
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Bio-Psycho-Social ModelAnalysis
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PsychologicalApproaches
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Psychological Perspectives

• Each view behavior from a particular perspective
• Method of classifying a collection of ideas
• Also called schools of thought
• Also called psychological approaches

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Cognitive Perspective

• Focus On how people think and process
  information
• Behavior is explained by how a person interprets
  the situation
• How is knowledge acquired, organized, remembered,
  and used to guide behavior?
• Influences include
• Piaget studied intellectual development
• Chomsky studied language
• Cybernetics science of information processing

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Biological Perspective

• Focus How our biological structures and
  substances underlie a given behavior, thought, or
  emotion
• Behavior is explained by brain chemistry,
  genetics, glands, etc.
• Focus may be at various levels
• individual neurons
• areas of the brain
• specific functions like eating, emotion, or
  learning
• Interest in behavior distinguishes biological
  psychology from many other biological sciences

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Social-Cultural Perspective

• Focus How thinking and behavior change depending
  on the setting, situation or culture
• Behavior is explained by the influence of other
  people present

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BehavioralPerspective

• Focus How we learn through rewards, punishments,
  and observation
• View of behavior based on experience or learning
• Classical conditioning - Pavlov
• Operant conditioning Skinner
• Founded by James Watson

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Humanistic Perspective

• Focus How healthy people strive to reach their
  full potential
• Behavior is explained as being motivated by
  satisfying needs (safety, hunger, thirst, etc.),
  with the goal of reaching ones full potential
  once basic needs are met.
• Developed by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
• behavior reflects innate actualization
• focus on conscious forces and self perception
• more positive view of basic forces than Freuds

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Positive Psychology

• Modern Humanistic Psychology
• Focus To study and promote optimal human
  functioning
• Help people discover their human potential and
  fullfillment
• Martin E.P. Seligman is a major advocate
• Should promote building positive qualities of
  people rather than focus on whats wrong with
  people

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PsychodynamicPerspective

• Focus How behavior is affected by unconscious
  drives and conflicts
• Behavior is explained through unconscious
  motivation and unresolved inner conflicts from
  ones childhood.
• Modern version of psychoanalytic perspective
  (Sigmund Freud)

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Evolution

• Darwins Theory of Evolution with the process of
  Natural Selection influenced Psychology.
• The most adaptive traits will survive due to
  natural selection
• Focused on how ones environment might cause one
  to adapt physically, behaviorally
  psychologically to insure the success of future
  generations.

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Evolutionary Psychology

• Influenced by Darwin and the emphasis on innate,
  adaptive behavior patterns
• Combines aspects of biological, psychological,
  and social perspectives
• Behavior is explained by how the behavior may
  have helped our ancestors survive long enough to
  reproduce successfully.

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Perspectives Timeline
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Psychologys Subfields
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Psychologist vs. Psychiatrist

• Counseling Psychologist help people with crises
  life problems (academic, job related, family)
• Clinical Psychologist treats disorders
• Psychiatrist medical doctor that can prescribe
  drugs to treat physical causes of disorders

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Basic vs. Applied Research

• Applied Research Providing solutions to
  problems
• Industrial/organizational psychologists
• Human factors psychologists
• Counseling psychologists
• Clinical psychologists
• Psychiatrists
• Positive psychology
• Community psychologists

• Basic Research Discovering concepts and
  processes
• Biological psychologists
• Developmental psychologists
• Cognitive psychologists
• Educational psychologists
• Personality psychologists
• Social psychologists

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Definition Slides
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Biological Psychology

• the scientific study of the links between
  biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) and
  psychological processes.
• Some biological psychologists call themselves
• behavioral neuroscientists,
• neuropsychologists,
• behavior geneticists,
• physiological psychologists, or
• biopsychologists.

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Cognitive Psychology

• the scientific study of all the mental
  activities associated with thinking, knowing,
  remembering, and communicating.

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Evolutionary Psychology

• the study of the evolution of behavior and
  mind, using principles of natural selection.

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Psychodynamic Psychology

• a branch of psychology that studies how
  unconscious drives and conflicts influence
  behavior, and uses that information to treat
  people with psychological disorders.

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Social-Cultural Psychology

• the study of how situations and cultures affect
  our behavior and thinking.

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Psychometrics

• the scientific study of the measurement of
  human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

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Developmental Psychology

• a branch of psychology that studies physical,
  cognitive, and social change throughout the life
  span.

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Educational Psychology

• the study of how psychological processes affect
  and can enhance teaching and learning.

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Personality Psychology

• the study of an individuals characteristic
  pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.

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Social Psychology

• the scientific study of how we think about,
  influence, and relate to one another.

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Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychologists

• the application of psychological concepts and
  methods to optimizing human behavior in
  workplaces.

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Human Factors Psychologists

• an I/O subfield that explores how people and
  machines interact and how machines and physical
  environments can be made safe and easy to use.

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Counseling Psychology

• a branch of psychology that assists people with
  problems in living (often related to school,
  work, and marriage) and in achieving greater
  well-being.

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Clinical Psychology

• a branch of psychology that studies, assesses,
  and treat people with psychological disorders.

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Community Psychology

• a branch of psychology that studies how people
  interact with their social environments and how
  social institutions affect individuals and groups.