INTRODUCTION TO

PSYCHOLOGY
(CHAPTER 1)
 PREVIOUSLY ON PSYC 100..
What is psychology all about?
What kind of questions do psychologists ask?
Whats on the Agenda for this Week?
A formal definition of psychology and what
psychologists do
What is the story behind psychology?
What are the subfields of psychology?
Where do psychologists work?
What are the major debates around psychology?
Where is psychology headed?
FINALLY, A FORMAL DEFINITION
Psychology is the scientific study of
behaviors and mental processes

It compasses not just what people do but also their

thoughts
emotions
perceptions
reasoning processes
memories
even biological activities
 What do psychologists do?
Psychologists try to
1. Describe
2. Explain
3. Predict
human behavior and mental processes

+ Help to change and improve the lives of

people and the world in which they live in
What is the story behind psychology?
Last week we said that psychology is all about
questions

WHAT?
WHY?
HOW?
And throughout the history of psychology
these questions have been asked and
answered by different people from
different angles, and different answers
have been reached
PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY
 Prescientific Psychology
Human behavior was always of interest to
philosophers

John Locke Socrates Plato Descartes

Tabula Rasa Pre-existing knowledge
(blank states) (knowledge is inborn)
 Scientific Psychology:
First Psychology Laboratory
Wilhelm Wundt
Father of experimental
psychology
First psychology laboratory in
Leipzig, Germany, 1879
Aim: To study the building blocks
of the mind
* Influenced by natural sciences
(e.g., chemistry)
Perspective:
STRUCTURALISM
Focuses on uncovering the fundamental mental
components of consciousness, thinking, and other
kinds of mental states and activities

Method:
INTROSPECTION
Procedure used to study the structure of the mind in
which subjects are asked to describe in detail what
they are experiencing when they are exposed to a
stimulus
 Criticisms to Structuralism
Introspection is not a truly scientific
technique (not objective)
People had difficulty describing some of
their inner experiences, such as emotional
responses

These criticisms led to a new perspective..

Legacy: Cognitive Psychology

 Functionalism
William James
Aim: To investigate the
function, or purpose of
consciousness rather than
its structure

* Influenced by the theory of

evolution
 Concentrated on what the mind does and
how behavior functions in allowing people to
adapt to their environments

e.g., function of the emotion fear in preparing

us to deal with emergencies

Legacy: Evolutionary Psychology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW6nm69Z_IE
 Gestalt Psychology
Aim: To study how
perception is organized

Focus: Not individual parts

that make up thinking, but
the whole

The whole is different

from its parts
Our overall
perception, or
understanding of
objects, is greater and
more meaningful than
the individual
elements that make up
those perceptions

Legacy: Perception, Learning, Cognitive Psychology

Todays Perspectives in Psychology
 The Neuroscience Perspective
Humans are basically animals made of
skin and bones
? How people and non-humans function
biologically
Views behavior from the perspective of
the brain, the nervous system, and
other biological functions
 How are individual nerve cells
joined together?
How do the inheritance of certain
characteristics from parents and other
ancestors influence our behavior?
How does the functioning of the body
affect our hopes and fears?
How is the functioning of brain related to
our decision making?
The Psychodynamic Perspective
Sigmund Freud
Behavior is
largely motivated
by inner forces
and conflicts
about which we
have little
awareness or
control
 Focus:
- Subconscious
- Defense
Mechanisms
Criticized for
using unscientific
methods!
Legacy: Psychodynamic Therapies
Popular Psychology
 The Behavioral Perspective
John Watson & B. F. Skinner
Focus: Observable,
measurable behavior
All behavior is learned
through conditioning
 Criticized for being too
reductionist!

Legacy: Learning, Behavioral

Therapies
 The Cognitive Perspective
Focus: How people think, understand, and
know about the world
e.g.,
How do people make
decisions?
Can you understand what
I am saying while texting?
Human thinking is compared to the
operations of a computer
(taking information in, transforming, storing,
and retrieving it)
Thinking is information processing
 The Humanistic Perspective
Carl Rogers &
Abraham Maslow

All individuals
naturally strive to
grow, develop,
and be in control
of their lives and
behavior
 People strive to reach their full
potential if they are given the
opportunity
- Free will (the ability to
freely make decisions
about ones own life
and behavior) is
emphasized instead of
determinism (behavior
is caused by things
beyond a persons
control)
 Coming back to our elephant..

We need all perspectives to fully understand what he is

.. And the same is true of psychology
https://www.youtube.com
THE ECLECTIC APPROACH /watch?v=cMujZg-WG1k
What are the subfields of psychology?
Biological Foundations of Behavior
- Behavioral Neuroscience
Examines how the brain and
nervous system (and other
biological processes) determine
behavior
 Sensation, Perception, Learning and
Thinking
Experimental Psychology
Methodological study of
sensing, perceiving, learning
and thinking about the world
Cognitive Psychology
Focuses on higher mental
processes, including thinking,
memory, reasoning, problem
solving, judging, decision
making, and language
 Change and Stability in Behavior
across Life Span
Developmental Psychology
Studies how people grow and
change from the moment of
conception through death

Personality Psychology
Focuses on the consistency in
peoples behavior over time
and the traits that differentiate
one person from another
 Physical and Mental Health
Health Psychology
Explores the relationships between
psychological factors and physical
discomfort or diseases
Clinical Psychology
Deals with the study, diagnosis, and
treatment of psychological disorders
Counseling Psychology
Focuses primarily on educational,
social, and career adjustment
problems
 Social Networks

Social Psychology
Study of how peoples thoughts,
feelings, and actions are affected
by others

Cross-Cultural Psychology
Investigates the similarities and
differences in psychological
functioning in and across various
cultures and ethnic groups
Where do psychologists work?
In hospitals or clinics as therapists
 In kindergardens or schools as
developmental psychologists/counsellors
In special education institutions as
educators
In human resources as recruitors
In sales/advertising
In politics as consultants
In law enforcement as
consultants/therapists
In public opinion research companies
as researchers
In universities as academics
 What are the major debates around
psychology?
As these are many perspectives to psychology
there are many controversies around its
major questions
Do not consider these debates in either/or
terms but as the opposite ends of a
continuum, where the real answers lie
somewhere in between
 Nature vs.Nurture
How much of our behavior is due to heredity
(genes) and how much is due to environment
(socialization)?
 There is no one answer!
Our behavior is a result of the interaction of
our nature and our nurture
 The real controversy usually revolves around
how much difference is caused by heredity
and how much is caused by the environment
Different perspectives to psychology takes a
different stance as to which one is more
dominant
Nature: Neuroscience,
Psychodynamic
Nurture: Behavioral,
Humanistic
Both: Cognitive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=bRKbZtpBcgI
 Conscious vs. Unconscious
Causes of Behavior

How much of our behavior is produced by forces

of which we are fully aware and how much is
affected by unconscious activity?
Conscious: Behavioral,
Humanistic
Unconscious: Neuroscience,
Psychodynamic
Both: Cognitive
 Observable Behavior vs.
Internal Mental Processing
Should psychology concentrate only on
behavior that can be seen by outside
observers, or should it focus on unseen
thinking processes?

Behavioral The Others

 Free Will vs. Determinism
How much of our behavior is a result of
Free Will: Behavior is caused primarily by choices that
are made freely by the individual (Cognitive, Humanistic)
Determinism: Peoples
behaviors are produced
primarily by factors
outside of their willful
control
(Neuroscience, Behavioral,
Psychodynamic)
 Individual Differences vs.
Universal Principles
How much of our behavior is a consequence
of our unique and special qualities, and
how much reflects the culture and society
in which we live in?
Universal: Neuroscience, Psychodynamic
Individual: Cognitive, Humanistic
Both: Behavioral
Where is this psychology going?
Psychology will become increasingly
specialized and new perspectives will evolve
Prevention of psychological disorders rather
than treatment
Neuroscientific approaches will likely
influence other branches of psychology
e.g., brain scans of social behavior such as
persuasion (social neuroscience)
 Influence on issues of public interest will grow
e.g., violence, terrorism, racial and ethnic
prejudice, poverty, and environmental and
technological disasters
Issues of diversity will become more
important to psychologists providing services
and doing research
Emphasis on racial, ethnic, linguistic, and
cultural factors
 ANY QUESTIONS?
ANYTHING YOU WOULD
LIKE TO ADD?