What is Psychology?

Chapter 1

Everyone is a psychologist, because psychology is

just common sense.

1. What types of work do psychologists do?

2. What types of things do psychologists study?

3. Why is it important to study psychology?

What is psychology?• psychology: scientific study of behavior and

mental processes

– behavior: any action that other people can observe/measure• (ex: walking, talking, sleeping, eating, blood pressure)

– cognitive activities: private mental processes• (ex: dreams, thoughts, memories)

Observing Mental Processes:Post-Nuclear War Survival

With your group, answer the following…

1. What could a psychologist learn from watching your group complete this activity?

2. List 3 questions a psychologist could ask to learn more about your group in an interview.

Goals of Psychology

• observe, describe, explain, predict and control events

*psychologists don’t make people act as they want them to, but instead help people achieve

their own goals*

Psychology as a Science•connected to both social and natural sciences

social sciences deal with the structure of human society and individuals in society

natural sciences deal with the nature of the physical world

•Useful psychological theories help predict behavior and mental processes

•(a theory is a statement that attempts to explain why things are the way they are and happen the way they do)

•methods psychologists use to research: surveys & experimentation

Parapsychology

• parapsychology: concerned with the supernatural or other phenomena science can not explain

Does it deserve a place within psychology???

Big Issues in Psychology1. rationality/irrationality

Are decisions based on logic and reason or not?

2. stability/change Do our individual traits stay the same or do we

change over time?

3. nature/nurtureAre we more influenced by our genes/biology or our

experiences/environment?

Nature/nurture is the biggest issue in psychology today!

The History of Psychology• Roots from Ancient Greece:– Socrates- “know thyself” (we learn much about

ourselves by examining our thoughts and feelings)• introspection- “looking within”

– Aristotle- human behavior is subject to certain rules and laws

– Hippocrates- suggested problems are caused by brain abnormalities• He was ignored for 2000 years.

• Psychology during the Middle Ages:– believed problems were signs of demon possession

and were punishment for sins– gave “tests” like the Water Float Test

• Birth of Modern Psychology in the 1800s:– ideas about human behavior and mental processes

should be supported by evidence• labs were set up in the late 1800s in Europe and the U.S.