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What Is Psychology?

The science of behavior and mental

processes

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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

How Accurate Is the Image of Psychology?• Many psychologists do not conduct

psychotherapy.• Many stereotypes about psychologists

come from popular media with Freud being the most famous name

• Many psychologists use humans and animals as research participants, and study more than just learning and memory

• Psychology is not just common sense


Defining Psychology• The science of human behavior and

mental processes

– Behavior: overt actions and reactions

– Mental Processes: thoughts, ideas, reasoning processes


How did Psychology Begin?

A. The Early Traditions1. Structuralism

• Wilhelm Wundt (1832 – 1920)

• The study of the structure (the “what”) of immediate conscious experience

• Introspection


2. Functionalism– William James (1842 – 1910)– Studied how and why the mind functions– Also interested in how people adapt to

the environment– Broadened scope of psychology– However, focus remained on

consciousness


3. Gestalt Psychology– Studied a person’s total experience, not

just the parts of mind or behavior– Suggested conscious experience is

more than the sum of its parts


Gestalt Psychology

• People mold sensory elements into patterns through which they interpret the world


4. Freud and Psychoanalysis

• Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939)

• Psychoanalytic perspective proposed:– Unconscious mental processes direct

and control behavior– Childhood experiences influence adult

behavior– Sexual energy (libido) fuels behavior


5. The Behaviorist Revolution

– Behaviorism was founded by John Watson (1878 – 1958)

– Behaviorists attempted to make psychology a more rigorous science

– They focused on measuring only what is observable - behavior

– B. F. Skinner (1904 – 1990) is the most widely noted behaviorist


Challenges to Behaviorism1. Humanistic Psychology

• Roots in the Gestalt movement

• Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970)

• Carl Rogers

• Greater influence on therapy than on research


Challenges to Behaviorism

2. Cognitive Psychology

– Focuses on mental processes

• Behavior reflects underlying cognitive processes


What Trends Currently Shape Psychology?

The Changing Face of Psychology

1. Women in Psychology

• Between 1920 and 1975– Women received 25% of Ph.D.’s


Women in Psychology• Today, women earn:

– 73% of bachelor’s degrees in psychology

– Nearly 70% of new doctorates

• Still underrepresented in experimental psychology and academia

• Research by and about women is more prominent today than in the past


The Changing Face of Psychology

2. Ethnic Diversity in Psychology

1) Situation changing more slowly than it is for women2) Francis C. Sumner, known as the father of African American Psychology, chaired the psychology

department at Howard University in the 1920’s

3) Kenneth Clark, a student of Sumner, studied the harmful effects of school

segregation

4) Mamie Phipps Clark: studied the relationship between self-esteem and racial

identification


Ethnic Diversity in Psychology• Diversity strengthens psychology

– Helping professions are more effective for more people

– Diversity brings a variety of research interests to the field


Major Perspectives in Psychology

All psychologists see psychology as a science

There are still different “points of view,” called perspectives



1. The Psychoanalytic Perspective• Sigmund Freud• Emotional problems are due to anxiety

from unresolved, unconscious conflicts• Psychoanalysis attempts to resolve these

conflicts• Emphasis on the unconscious and early

childhood experiences



2. The Behaviorist Perspective• Based on behaviorism• Still influential• Still focuses on observable behavior

3. The Humanistic Perspective• Stresses free choice and a positive view of

human nature• Most influential in the 1960s• Recent renewal in interest



4. The Cognitive Perspective– Focuses on such processes as perception,

memory, and thinking

5. The Biopsychology Perspective– Also called the neuroscience perspective– Studies the interaction of behavior and

biology– Currently very influential



6. The Social and Cultural Perspective– Recognizes that behavior occurs in a

social and cultural context


What Trends Currently ShapePsychology?

Current Trends

1. Positive Psychology– Emphasizes positive human values,

strengths, and virtues


Current Trends2. Industrial / Organizational (I/O) Psychology

– Studies behavior in the work environment– Dramatic growth since the 1990s– These psychologists tend to work for

companies in human resources management and personnel


Current Trends3. Evolutionary Psychology

– Based on the work of Charles Darwin– Argues that humans have evolved both

physically and psychologically– Assumes that adaptive behaviors will be

passed on to future generations


Who Are Psychologists?• Professionals who:

– Study behavior and mental processes– Use behavioral principles in scientific

research or applied settings– Not all psychologists are practitioners who

treat mental health problems


– Clinical Psychologists

• Diagnose and treat emotional and behavioral problems

• Have a Ph.D. or Psy.D.

• Usually work in hospitals, clinics, private practice

– Counseling Psychologists• Used to focus more on treating “normal”

problems

• Now, very similar to clinical psychologists

Types of Mental Health Practitioners


Types of Mental Health Practitioners

• Psychiatrists are medical doctors, not psychologists

– Can prescribe medications and admit patients to the hospital

– Most psychoanalysts (including Freud) are psychiatrists, not psychologists


– Psychologists don’t just help people with problems

– Provide career counseling and assist with community projects• School and community psychologists

– Provide services to well-adjusted people• Improving performance of professional

athletes, musicians

– Conduct research• Experimental psychologists

WHAT PSYCHOLOGISTS DO


C. Making Psychology A Career

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