Exercise I

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I WONDER WHY?
There are a lot of questions that we usually ask
ourselves. A former student of mine once asked why
her dreams are in black and white that of her
roommate is in color. A former classmate once
remarked that he brushes his teeth with eyes closed.
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED ABOUT ANY
BEHAVIOR, FEELING, or THOUGHTS?

CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

MODULE 1: Psychologists at Work

- The science of psychology
- Major specialties in the field of
psychology
- History of psychology
- Goals of psychology

Psychology psyche ( mind) ; logos ( knowledge

or study).
Psychology is the scientific study of human
behavior and mental processes.
-seeks to answer all sorts of questions about all our
human experiences such as, on how we think, feel,
and act.

behavior anything a person does, feels, or

experiences.
mental processes are the internal subjective
states that we experience within our sensations,
perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, feelings,
attitudes, and values.

GOALS of PSYCHOLOGY
Describe tells what occurred.
Explains tells the reasons why the behavior
occurred.
Predict tells under what conditions is the
behavior likely to occur.
Control by applying a principle to prevent
unwanted circumstance or to bring about
desired outcomes.

Subfields of Psychology: Psychologys

Family Tree
Separated by the basic questions about

behavior that they address.

What Are the Biological Foundations of

Behavior?
Behavioral Neuroscience
examines how the brain and the nervous
system as well as other biological
processes determine behavior.

How Do People Sense, Perceive, Learn, and

Think about the World?
Experimental Psychology
studies the processes of sensing,
perceiving, learning, and thinking about
the world.
Subspecialty:
Cognitive psychology
> studies higher forms of mental
processes.

What Are the Sources of Change and Stability

in Behavior Across the 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.

How Do Psychological Factors Affect

Physical and Mental Health?
Health Psychology
concerned with the psychological factors
that contribute to health, illness, and
recovery.
Clinical Psychology
deals with the study, diagnosis, and
treatment of psychological disorders.

How Do Psychological Factors Affect

Physical and Mental Health?
Counseling Psychology
focuses primarily on educational, social,
and career-adjustment problems.

How Do Our Social Networks Affect Behavior?

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.

THE HISTORICAL ORIGIN OF

PSYCHOLOGY
1)Wilhelm Wundt and Bradford Titchener
Wundt- established the first formal
laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879. His
primary interest- perception.
Titchener broke consciousness into three
elements: physical sensations, feelings, and
images (memories).

Structuralism the first school of Psychology

aimed at analyzing the basic elements , or
structure of conscious mental experience
through introspection.

introspection to look within; to examine

ones own thoughts, feelings, or sensations.

2) William James
James - the first American Psychologist.
For him, minds constantly weave
associations.

Functionalism explores how organism uses

perceptual abilities to function in its environment.

3) John B. Watson
Watson focuses on observable, measurable
behavior and emphasizes the key role of
environment as determinant of behavior.
Behaviorism the study of overt, observable
behavior.

4) Sigmund Freud
Freud (for him), unconscious desires and
conflicts lie at the bottom of symptoms of
psychological illness.
unconscious refers to the contents of the
mind that are beyond awareness, especially
impulses and desires not directly known to a
person.

5) Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and

Kurt Koffka
Wertheimer , Kohler, and Koffka
interested in perception- why when flashed a
series of pictures do they appear to move?
Gestalt - means form or pattern (German
word)
Gestalt studies how people perceive and
experience objects as whole patterns.

6) Carl Rogers
Rogers- emphasized on the uniqueness of
the human beings. People must learn to
realize human potential, unity of the mind,
and altered state of consciousness.
Humanism focuses on
subjective human experience.

understanding