● Psychology can provide insight into behavior

and give one the chance to acquire practical

information

● Psychology– scientific study of behavior,

mental processes; tested via scientific

research

● Psychologists differ in how much importance

to place on specific types of behavior, but

agree that the study of behavior must be

systematic

I. Goals of Psychology

A. Description– 1st goal is to describe

or gather info about the behavior

being studied/present what is known

B. Explanation– 2nd goal is to explain

why

1. Hypothesis– an educated

guess about some phenomenon

2. Theory– complex explanation

based on findings from a large

number of experimental studies

a. Theories change as more

information is gathered

I. Goals of Psychology (cont.)

C. Prediction– 3rd goal is to predict

(from what is known) what things

will do, think, or feel in various

situations

1. Studying past behaviors can

predict future behavior

D. Influence– 4th goal is to put

forth:

1. Basic Science– research or

2. Applied Science–

discovering ways to use

scientific findings to accomplish

practical goals

II. The Scientific Basis of

Psychology

A. Psychologists rely on the

Scientific Method– approach to

gathering info/answering

questions so errors, biases are

minimized

1. Identify a problem or

question

2. Formulate a hypothesis

3. Collect data through

observation, experimentation

4. Analyze the data

I. Origins of

Psychology

A. The Greeks, 5th and

6th century BCE

1. Began to study

human behavior

2. decided people’s

lives were influenced

more by their minds

than by gods

I. Origins of Psychology

(cont.)

B. 16th Century– Nicolaus

Copernicus

1. Earth was NOT the

center of the universe

2. during the

Renaissance/

Scientific Revolution,

more experimentation

through observation

Copernicus

I. Origins of Psychology (cont.)

C. 17th Century– René Descartes

1. Others popularized dualism

(mind, body are separate;

distinct)

2. Descartes disagreed,

believing there was a link;

assumed the mind and body

influence one another to

create a person’s experiences

Descartes

II. Historical Approaches

A. Structuralism

1. Wilhelm Wundt if often seen as

the “father of modern psychology”

2. Established modern psych as a

new, separate formal field of study

3. Structuralism– the study

of the basic elements of human

experience

4. Introspection– a method of self-

observation in which participants

report their thoughts and feelings

II. Historical Approaches

(cont.)

B. Functionalism

1. William James– the

father of psychology in

America

2. Functionalism–

study of how animals

and people adapt to

environmentsJames

II. Historical Approaches (cont.)

C. Inheritable Traits

1. Sir Francis Galton

2. Studied if genetics/hereditary

factors played a role in abilities,

character and behavior

3. Debate is still ongoing

regarding genetics vs.

environment (nature vs. nurture) Galton

II. Historical Approaches

(cont.)

D. Gestalt Psychology

1. A group of German

psychologists disagreed with

the principles of structuralism

and behaviorism

2. Believed that the whole

pattern or Gestalt, was

important

Ex. Of Gestalt art

III. Contemporary Approaches

A. Psychoanalytic Psychology

Sigmund Freud

1. Interested in the

unconscious mind (beneath

the surface are primitive

biological urges that are in

conflict with the requirements

of society, morality)

2. Believed that unconscious

motivations and conflicts were

responsible for most human

behavior

III. Contemporary Approaches (cont.)

3. Had a method for indirectly

studying unconscious processes

a. Free Association– patient

says everything that comes to

mind, w/o attempting to produce

logical or meaningful statements

b. No editing or censoring their

thoughts

4. Psychoanalysis– the study of

how unconscious motives and conflicts determine

human behavior

III. Contemporary

Approaches (cont.)

B. Behavioral Psychology

1. Ivan Pavlov

a. Dog experiment with

salivation/Classical

Conditioning

Pavlov

III. Contemporary

Approaches (cont.)

2. John B. Watson

a. Believed that

psychologists should only

deal with observable

facts of behavior

b. All behavior is a result

of conditioning and

occurs because a

stimulus is presentWatson

III. Contemporary

Approaches (cont.)

3. B.F. Skinner

a. Introduced the concept

of reinforcement/Operant

Conditioning

b. Reinforcement– a

response to a behavior

that increase the

likelihood the behavior

will be repeated

c. Author of Walden TwoSkinner

III. Contemporary Approaches (cont.)

C. Humanistic Psychology

1. Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers,

Rollo May

a. Human nature is evolving and

self-directed

b. Environment and outside

forces are just the background

to our own growth, they don’t

influence us

c. Each person is unique and

has a self-concept and

potential to develop fully

Rogers

May

Maslow

III. Contemporary Approaches (cont.)

D. Cognitive Psychology

1. Jean Piaget

a. Focuses on how we

process, store and use

information and how this

information influences our

thinking, language, problem

solving, and creativity

b. Behavior is influenced by

a variety of mental processes

like perception, memories and

expectations

Piaget

III. Contemporary Approaches (cont.)

E. Biological Psychology

1. Emphasizes the impact of biology on our

behavior

a. Study how the brain, CNS, hormones and

genetics influence our behavior

b. Use PET and CAT scans as tools

F. Sociocultural Psychology

1. The study of the influence of cultural and ethnic

similarities and differences on behavior and social

functioning

2. Our knowledge, ways of thinking, feeling and

behaving are dependent on the culture we belong to

I. What is a Psychologist?

A. Psychologist– people

who have been trained to

observe, analyze and

evaluate behavior

1. Usually have a

Ph.D. in Psychology

2. Psychiatrist = specialty

of medicine; they are

MDs that do their

residency in a psych

ward or psych hospital

I. What is a Psychologist? (cont.)

B. Clinical Psychologist– help people deal with

their personal and/or psychological problems

1. Work in

mental hospitals,

private offices,

prisons and

clinics

2. ½ of

psychologists

specialize in

clinical psychology

I. What is a Psychologist? (cont.)

C. Counseling Psychologist– usually work in

schools or

industrial firms

1. Help people

adjust to the

challenges of life

2. Most states

require a

doctorate to be a clinical and counseling

psychologist

I. What is a Psychologist? (cont.)

D. Other types of Psychologists

1. School psychologists – help students with emotional and

learning problems

2. Social Psychologists – study groups and how they influence

behavior

3. Developmental Psychologists – study physical, emotional,

cognitive and social changes that occur throughout life

a. e.g., they study children, the elderly, the process of dying

4. Educational Psychologists – deal with topics related to

teaching children and young adults, such as memory, intelligence,

teaching methods, and develop new instructional devices

5. Experimental Psychologists – perform research to

understand how humans (and animals) operate physically and

psychologically