introduction to psychology, 7th edition, rod plotnik module 1: discovering psychology module 1...

Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, Rod PlotnikModule 1: Discovering Psychology

Module 1

Discovering Psychology


• Ask for a $20 and a $1• Ask 2 people to describe something they don’t like• “pay” 1 person $20 to say he/she likes it• “pay” the other $1 to say he/she likes it

• If someone pays you $20 to say you like something you don’t, are you more likely to change your opinion about it than if you were paid $1?

• Hand out Psych Quiz Handout 1.1

• You are more likely to think you just did it for the money with $20, whereas you are more likely to think you really enjoyed it to explain why you lied for $1.


DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGY

• What do psychologists study?– Psychology

the systematic, scientific study of behaviors and mental processes

– Behaviors refers to observable actions or responses

– Mental processesnot directly observable (i.e., thinking, imagining, studying, and dreaming)


GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY

1. Describe

2. Explain

3. Predict

4. Control

– Read about Donna and autism & use this example to learn about the goals of psychology


GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY

• Describe– describe the different ways that organisms

behave/don’t add extra info• Explain

– explain the cause of behavior/why?

• Predict– predict how organisms will behave in certain

situations/educated guess• Control

– control an organism’s behavior/change


MORE APPROACHES, MORE ANSWERS

– Approaches to understanding behavior include:• Biological• Cognitive• Behavioral• Psychoanalytic• Humanistic• Cross cultural


MORE APPROACHES, MORE ANSWERS (CONT.)

• Biological approach (genetic)– focuses on how our genes, hormones, and

nervous system interact with our environments to influence learning, personality, memory, motivation, emotions, and coping techniques



• Cognitive approach (thoughts)– examines how we process, store, and use

information and how this information influences, what we attend to, perceive, learn, remember, believe, and feel



• Behavioral approach (actions)– studies how organisms learn new behaviors or

modify existing ones, depending on whether events in their environments reward or punish these behaviors



• Psychoanalytic approach– stresses the influence of unconscious fears,

desires, and motivations on thoughts, behaviors, and the development of personality traits and psychological problems later in life



• Humanistic approach– emphasizes that each individual has great

freedom in directing his or her future, a large capacity for personal growth, a considerable amount of intrinsic worth, and enormous potential for self-fulfillment



• Cross-cultural approach– examines the influence of cultural and ethnic

similarities and differences on psychological and social functioning of a culture’s members


HISTORICAL APPROACHES

• How did psychology begin?– Structuralism: Elements of the Mind– Functionalism: Functions of the Mind– Gestalt Approach: Sensations versus Perceptions– Behaviorism: Observable Behaviors



• Structuralism– was the study of the most basic elements,

primarily sensations and perceptions, that make up our conscious mental experiences



• Functionalism– which was the study of the function rather than the

structure of consciousness, was interested in how our minds adapt to our changing environment



• Gestalt Approach– emphasized that perception is more than the sum

of its parts and studied how sensations are assembled into meaningful perceptual experiences



• Behaviorism– emphasized the objective, scientific analysis of

observable behaviors


CULTURAL DIVERSITY: EARLY DISCRIMINATION

• Women in psychology– Mary Calkins– established a laboratory in psychology at

Wellesley College in 1891 where she was a faculty member

– completed all requirements for a Ph.D at Harvard but was not granted the degree because of being a woman

– not until 1908 that a woman, Margaret Washburn, was awarded a Ph.D in psychology


• Minorities in Psychology– Ruth Howard was the first African American

woman to receive a Ph.D in psychology – from the University of Minnesota in 1934.– was a successful clinical psychologist and school

consultant

CULTURAL DIVERSITY: EARLY DISCRIMINATION(CONT.)


• Minorities in Psychology– George Sanchez conducted pioneering work on

the cultural bias of intelligence tests given to minority students

– Sanchez showed that intelligence tests contained many questions that were biased against minorities resulting in lower scores

CULTURAL DIVERSITY: EARLY DISCRIMINATION(CONT.)


CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY

• Psychologist versus Psychiatrist– psychologists have completed four to five years of

postgraduate education and have obtained a Ph.D., PsyD., or Ed.D in psychology

– clinical psychologists have a Ph.D., PsyD., or Ed.D., have specialized in a clinical subarea, and have spent an additional year in a supervised therapy setting to gain experience in diagnosing and treating a wide range of abnormal behaviors



• Psychologist versus Psychiatrist– counseling psychologists provide many of the

same services as Clinical Psychologists, but usually work with different problems such as those involving marriage, family, or career counseling

– psychiatrists are medical doctors (M.D.s) who have spent several years in clinical training, which includes diagnosing possible physical and neurological causes of abnormal behaviors and treating these behaviors, often with prescription drugs



• Many Career Settings– 49% of psychologists work as clinical or

counseling psychologists in either private practice or therapy settings

– 28% of psychologists work in academic settings of universities and colleges

– 13% of psychologists work in a variety of other kinds of jobs and career settings

– 6% of psychologists work in industrial settings– 4% of psychologists work in secondary schools

and other settings


RESEARCH AREAS

• Areas of Specialization– Social and Personality– Developmental– Experimental– Biological– Cognitive– Psychometrics


• Areas of Specialization– Social psychology

• involves the study of social interactions, stereotypes, prejudices, attitudes,conformity, group behaviors, and aggression

– Personality psychology • involves the study of personality development,

personality change, assessment, and abnormal behaviors

RESEARCH AREAS (CONT.)



• Areas of Specialization– Developmental psychology

• examines moral, social, emotional, and cognitive development throughout a person’s entire life

– Experimental psychology• includes areas of sensation, perception,

learning, human performance, motivation, and emotion



• Areas of Specialization– Biological psychology

• or psychobiology involves research on the physical and chemical changes that occur during stress, learning, and emotions, as well as how our genetic makeup, brain, and nervous system interact with our environments and influence our behaviors



• Areas of Specialization– Cognitive psychology

• involves how we process, store, and retrieve information and how cognitive processes influence our behaviors

– Psychometrics• focuses on the measurement of people’s

abilities, skills, intelligence, personality, and abnormal behaviors


End Module 1

• I learned that…

• I was surprised that…

• I was disappointed that…

• I was pleased that…

introduction to psychology, 7th edition, rod plotnik module 1: discovering psychology module 1...

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