psychology can provide insight into behavior scientific
TRANSCRIPT
● 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