Introduction to Psychology

AP Psych – Chapter 1What is Psychology?

Alice F ShortHilliard Davidson High School

The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View, 2nd Edition (King)

• The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View by Laura King (University of Missouri at Columbia) brings a truly appreciative view of psychology - as a science and for exploring behavior.

• students must study the discipline of psychology as a whole

• sub-disciplines are intricately connected• human behavior is best understood by exploring its

functioning state in addition to its potential dysfunctions

Chapter Preview

• Defining Psychology• Psychology in Historical Perspective• Contemporary Approaches to Psychology• What Psychologists Do• Science of Psychology and Health and

Wellness

Psychology

• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.– origins: philosophy

• Three Key Components– science – systematic methods– behavior – what can be directly observed– mental processes – thoughts, feelings, motives

Science of Psychology

• Critical Thinking– don’t believe everything you hear or read

• Skepticism• Objectivity• Curiosity

• CSOC

Goals of Psychology• to describe behavior• to predict behavior• to explain behavior

A SHORT Time to Ponder

Do we support critical thinking in public education? How yes or no?

Can we do this successfully without critical thinking, skepticism, objectivity and curiosity?

… and sometimes to manipulate or control behavior

for either good or evil…

Psychology – A General Science

• Psychology is not limited to the study of psychological disorders.

• Freud’s view of human nature• positive psychology – a branch of psychology

that emphasizes human strengths – Example: Amish forgiveness (p. 7-8)

Narcissism Epidemic

• Narcissism… unusually self-confident, self-assertive, and self-centered.

• Generation born since 1980s– “More narcissistic than early generations” OR – “Attitudes have been stable over time”

History of Psychology• Western Philosophy• Biology and Physiology• Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

– 1879 – established 1st psychology lab & conducted the first psychological experiment

– first person to introduce the ideas of measuring mental processes

• Socrates, Plato and Aristotle• Later Philosophers

– Rene Descartes• Argued that the mind and body were completely separate

Wilhelm Wundt’s Structuralism

• identified structures of the mind (mental processes)

• introspection (“looking inside”)– documenting subjects’ descriptions of an experience

(formalized and detailed)• reporting sensations that they experienced

• systematic, detailed self-reports (science)

VIL-HELM VOONT

William James’ Functionalism

• identified the functions and purposes of the mind

• stream of consciousness• human interactions with outside world• why is human thought adaptive?

Brother of author

Psychology and Evolution

• Charles Darwin – On the Origin of Species, 1859

• Natural Selection– competition for resources– genetic characteristics that promote reproduction

and survival are favored – environmental changes alter course of evolution

The 7 Contemporary Approaches

• Current Psychological Perspectives1. Biological2. Behavioral3. Psychodynamic4. Humanistic5. Cognitive6. Evolutionary7. Sociocultural

1. Biological Approach

• The biological approach focuses on the brain and nervous system.– interested in biological factors

(testosterone/hormone levels, etc.)• Neuroscience– study of the structure, function, development,

genetics, biochemistry of the nervous system– thoughts and emotions have physical basis in brain– allowed psychologists to better understand the brain

2. Behavioral Approach

• The behavioral approach focuses on the environmental determinants of observable behavior.– behavior = observable (care about them)– mental processes = private (don’t care about them)

• Notable Behaviorists– John Watson– B.F. Skinner

– rejected thought processes

Noted Behaviorist: John Watson

"Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select--doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and, yes, even beggarman and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. I am going beyond my facts and I admit it, but so have the advocates of the contrary and they have been doing it for many thousands of years."

–John B. Watson, Behaviorism, 1930

Notable BehavioristsJohn Watson

B.F. Skinnerrejected thought

processes

Noted Behaviorist: B.F. Skinner

Notable Behaviorists• John Watson• B.F. Skinner

• rejected thought processes

I did not direct my life. I didn't design it. I never made decisions. Things always came up and made them for me. That's what life is.

-- B. F. Skinner

If you're old, don't try to change yourself, change your environment.

-- B. F. Skinner

3. Psychodynamic Approach

• associated with– a posteriori– troubled childhoods / dark memories• often repressed /motivated forgetting

Psychodynamic Approach: Freud

• Known as the founding father of the psychodynamic approach

• Believed that there are unlearned biological instincts (especially of a sexual and/or aggressive nature) that can occur early in life and these instincts influence how a person thinks, feels, and behaves

• Had a couch

4. Humanistic Approach

• Humanists emphasize– positive human qualities– capacity for positive growth – free will

• Humanistic Theorists– Carl Rogers– Abraham Maslow

Humanistic Approach: Carl Rogers

The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.

-- Carl Rogers

I believe that the testing of the student's achievements in order to see if he meets some criterion held by the teacher, is directly contrary to the implications of therapy for significant learning.

-- Carl Rogers

Humanists emphasize positive human qualities

capacity for positive growth

free will

Humanistic Approach: Abraham Maslow

Humanists emphasize– positive human qualities

– capacity for positive growth

– free will

What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.

-- Abraham Maslow

5. Cognitive Approach

• The cognitive approach emphasizes the mental processes involved in knowing.

• Information Processing – …how humans interpret incoming info, weigh it,

store it, and apply it

6. Evolutionary Approach• The evolutionary approach uses ideas such as adaptation,

reproduction, and natural selection to explain human behavior.– explains preference for significant others with genes that

enhance the chance of survival– Charles Darwin: argued that natural selection determines

physical traits of survival

• Evolutionary Psychologists– David Buss– Leda Cosmides

7. Sociocultural Approach

• examines how social and cultural environments influence behavior and mental processes

• studies differences between ethnic and cultural groups within and across countries

- application: look for words that reference a specific location, group of people, etc. and how that influences behavior

Careers in Psychology

• Practice / Applied– psychiatry • can prescribe medication• attends medical school

– psychologist • can’t prescribe medication• does not attend medical school

• Research• Teaching

Areas of Specialization• Physiological Psych / Behavioral Neuroscience• Sensation and Perception • Learning• Cognitive Psychology• Developmental Psychology• Motivation & Emotion• Psychology of Women & Gender• Personality Psychology• Social Psychology• Industrial / Organizational Psychology• Clinical & Counseling Psychology• Health Psychology

Areas of Specialization (cont.)

• Also (but not addressed in text beyond this chapter)– Community Psychology– School & Educational Psychology– Environmental Psychology– Forensic Psychology– Sport Psychology– Cross-Cultural Psychology

Career Settings in Psychology

Influence of Culture• Individualistic Cultures

– individuals viewed as unique and distinct from their social group– value independence

• Collectivistic Cultures– emphasize social group and the individual’s role within that group– value interdependence

• Individualistic subjects– prefer to work on tasks that they have had previous success with– like to emphasize their successes

• Collectivistic subjects– prefer to work on tasks that they have difficulty with– self-critical view

Science of Psychology and Health and Wellness

• positive psychology movement – research on topics such as happiness and

optimism• Mind-Body Connections– how the mind impacts the body– how the body impacts the mind

Chapter Summary• Explain what psychology is and how it differs from an

every-day, informal approach to understanding human nature.

• Discuss the roots and early scientific foundations of psychology.

• Summarize the main themes of the seven approaches to psychology.

• List some of the areas of specialization and careers in psychology.

• Describe the connections between the mind and the body.

Chapter Summary

• Defining Psychology– scientific study of behavior and mental processes

• Historical Foundations of Psychology– origins in philosophy and physiology– structuralism – Wilhelm Wundt– functionalism – William James– evolutionary theory – Charles Darwin

Chapter Summary

• Contemporary Approaches to Psychology– current approaches – complementary

• Specializations and Careers in Psychology– practice, research, teaching– academic, clinic, private practice, industry, school

• Science of Psychology and • Health and Wellness– mind-body connection is a “two-way street”