topic 1.nature and scope of psychology

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LEARNING MODULE TITLE

Nature and Scope of Psychology

LEARNING MODULE RATIONALE

Because psychology affects so many aspects of our life, it is essential that even those who do not intend

to specialize in the field know something about its basic facts and research methods. An introductory

course in psychology is quintessential to better understanding why people think and act as they do.

This module discusses the nature and general scope of psychology. This will provide the students a

more concrete way of understanding what psychology is as well as the different perspectives used by a

psychologist in his/her attempt to explain an individual’s behavior.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the conclusion of this learning module, the students are expected to:

A. Explain what Psychology is

B. Discuss the meaning of behavior and the perspectives used in explaining behavior

C. Discuss the different methods used in psychological researches

D. Point- out the different areas of specialization in Psychology

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TEACHING STRATEGIES/LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Lecture

Classroom Discussion

RESOURCES/MATERIALS

Check more research methods applied to the study of psychology through the link provided below!

http://www.simplypsychology.org/research-methods.html

http://www.simplypsychology.org/research-methods.html

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LEARNING CONCEPT

What is Psychology?

The word “psychology” comes from

two words: “logos” which means a

science or study and “psyche” which

means mind or soul.

Behavior: Defined

--Behavior is defined as any response or reaction to a stimulus.

Behavior can be…

1. Normal or Abnormal

-The behavior can be considered normal if it is something that is acceptable to society,

according to a set of standards, or is something expected a given moment.

For instance, your class has a graded recitation which was announced by your professor

during the previous meeting. Unfortunately, your name is called for recitation. You are

asked to go in front of the class. Since you did not study the lesson, you are nervous and

tense. You notice your heart is beating faster; you are perspiring and having tremors. Is

your behavior considered normal? Under the prevailing circumstances, your behavior is

then considered normal, since the stimuli call for the activation of your sympathetic

nervous system such behavior is therefore expected. On the contrary, if you exhibit the

same behavior when you are just seated while your professor is discussing the lesson, the

behavior is considered abnormal.

2. Learned or Unlearned

- Behavior is considered learned when you acquire it while

undergoing developmental processes. Behavior is unlearned

when it is something innate, inherent, or inborn.

Being polite, industrious, helpful of others, cooperative, lazy,

untidy and the like are examples of learned behavior.

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Reflexive behaviors, such as withdrawing your hand from a hot kettle or blinking your eyes

upon seeing an approaching object that may hit your eye, are examples of unlearned

behavior.

3. Voluntary or Involuntary

- Involuntary behavior is a behavior that the individual can’t deliberately regulate or control

while voluntary entails a deliberate action.

Dancing and singing are examples of voluntary behavior. Eating and drinking are also

examples of voluntary behavior. Reflexive behaviors are examples of involuntary behavior.

4. Conscious or Unconscious

Conscious behavior involves awareness of one’s action while the opposite is considered as

an unconscious behavior.

Quarrelling with someone is a conscious behavior since the individual has full awareness of

his action. On the other hand, there are people who walk while they are sleeping. This

behavior then is considered unconscious.

Goals of Psychology as a Science

1. Description

The first major goal or objective of psychology is to describe mental processes and behavior. This fact-

finding step normally comes first whenever researchers step into a new area. Some methods

psychologists use to learn how people think include conducting interviews and doing surveys. They

also observe people in the workplace, in schools and in public areas to find out how they act. They may

use additional methods such as psychoanalysis, lab experiments and personality tests.

2. Understanding

In natural sequence, the second goal of psychology is understanding people's behavior. Also

sometimes called "explaining," this objective requires finding out the cause or causes behind the

behavior that's been observed. For example, psychologists set up tests and examine data to find

patterns of possible cause and effect. To confirm true causation, psychologists must do repeated

testing and eliminate all hypothetical causes due to chance. For example, despite many studies on

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heredity and environment, researchers have not yet conclusively proven what causes autism.

3. Prediction

The third goal of psychology is to predict behavior. When psychologists finally understand what

causes a particular behavior, they're better able to predict when it's likely to occur. For example, if

psychologists know what combination of personal circumstances and traffic conditions cause road

rage, they can foretell when drivers are likely to engage in violence. Similarly, if they know what

situations cause former addicts to return to drugs, they can predict when relapses are likely.

4. Control

The fourth goal of psychology is to control behavior. Sometimes stated less autocratically as "to

influence," this goal includes preventing destructive behaviors and encouraging positive ones. This goal

is exemplified by clinical, counseling or school psychologists, who typically have a state license and a

graduate degree in psychology. For example, school psychologists help students improve disruptive

behavior and meet learning goals, while clinical psychologists help patients overcome emotional

disorders and substance abuse problems.

Psychology Perspectives

There are various different approaches in contemporary psychology.

An approach is a perspective (i.e. view) that involves certain assumptions (i.e. beliefs) about human

behavior: the way they function, which aspects of them are worthy of study and what research methods

are appropriate for undertaking this study. There may be several different theories within an approach,

but they all share these common assumptions.

1. Behavioral

If your layperson's idea of psychology has always been of people in laboratories wearing white coats

and watching hapless rats try to negotiate mazes in order to get to their dinner, then you are probably

thinking of behavioral psychology.

Behaviorism is different from most other approaches because they view people (and animals) as

controlled by their environment and specifically that we are the result of what we have learned from our

environment. Behaviorism is concerned with how environmental factors (called stimuli) affect

observable behavior (called the response).

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The behaviorist approach proposes two main processes whereby people learn from their environment:

namely classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves learning by

association, and operant conditioning involves learning from the consequences of behavior.

Behaviorism also believes in scientific methodology (e.g. controlled experiments), and that only

observable behavior should be studies because this can be objectively measured. Behaviorism rejects

the idea that people have free will, and believes that the environment determines all behavior.

Behaviorism is the scientific study of observable behavior working on the basis that behavior can be

reduced to learn S-R (Stimulus-Response) units.

Classical conditioning (CC) was studied by the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov. Though looking into

natural reflexes and neutral stimuli he managed to condition dogs to salivate to the sound of a bell

through repeated associated of the sound of the bell and food. The principles of CC have been applied

in many therapies. These include systematic desensitization for phobias (step-by-step exposed to feared

stimulus at once) and aversion therapy.

B.F. Skinner investigated operant conditioning of voluntary and involuntary behavior. Skinner felt that

some behavior could be explained by the person's motive. Therefore behavior occurs for a reason, and

the three main behavior shaping techniques are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement and

punishment.

Behaviorism has been criticized in the way it under-estimates the complexity of human behavior. Many

studies used animals which are hard to generalize to humans and it cannot explain for example the

speed in which we pick up language. There must be biological factors involved.

2. Psychodynamic

Who hasn't heard of Sigmund Freud? So many expressions from our daily life come from Freud's

theories of psychoanalysis - subconscious, denial, repression and anal personality to name only a few.

Freud believes that events in our childhood can have a significant impact on our behavior as adults. He

also believed that people have little free will to make choices in life. Instead our behavior is determined

by the unconscious mind and childhood experiences.

Freud’s psychoanalysis is both a theory and a therapy. It is the original psychodynamic theory and

inspired psychologists such as Jung and Erikson to develop their own psychodynamic theories. Freud’s

work is vast and he has contributed greatly to psychology as a discipline.

Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, explained the human mind as like an iceberg, with only a small

amount of it being visible, that is our observable behavior, but it is the unconscious, submerged mind

that has the most, underlying influence on our behavior. Freud used three main methods of accessing

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the unconscious mind: free association, dream analysis and slips of the tongue.

He believed that the unconscious mind consisted of three components: the 'id' the 'ego' and the

'superego'. The 'id' contains two main instincts: 'Eros', which is the life instinct, which involves self-

preservation and sex which is fuelled by the 'libido' energy force. 'Thanatos' is the death instinct, whose

energies, because they are less powerful than those of 'Eros' are channeled away from us and into

aggression towards others.

The 'id' and the 'superego' are constantly in conflict with each other, and the 'ego' tries to resolve the

discord. If this conflict is not resolved, we tend to use defense mechanisms to reduce our anxieties.

Psychoanalysis attempts to help patients resolve their inner conflicts.

An aspect of psychoanalysis is Freud's theory of psychosexual development. It shows how early

experiences affect adult personality. Stimulation of different areas of the body is important as the child

progresses through the important developmental stages. Too much or too little can have bad

consequences later.

The most important stage is the phallic stage where the focus of the libido is on the genitals. During

this stage little boys experience the 'Oedipus complex', and little girls experience the 'Electra complex'.

These complexes result in children identifying with their same-sex parent, which enables them to learn

sex-appropriate behavior and a morale code of conduct.

However it has been criticized in the way that it over emphasizes of importance of sexuality and under

emphasizes of role of social relationships. The theory is not scientific, and can't be proved as it is

circular. Never the less psychoanalysis has been greatly contributory to psychology in that it has

encouraged many modern theorists to modify it for the better, using its basic principles, but eliminating

its major flaws.

3. Phenomenological

Man is a rational being endowed with intellect and will. Man has the capacity to decide what he will do

and what will make him realize his capabilities and potential as he lives in this world. When we study

one’s behavior within the phenomenological perspective, we look at man as an individual with different

needs and motives. His past experiences play a significant role in how he perceives himself and how he

behaves.

This perspective is subjective. This is because different individuals view the world differently. Two

individuals may perceive the same stimulus differently. But why? The answer to this question lies on

the individual’s past experiences and perceptions which definitely affect how he is going to interpret the

stimulus.

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4. Cognitive

Psychology was institutionalized as a science in 1879 by Wilhelm Wundt who found the first

psychological laboratory.

His initiative was soon followed by other European and American Universities. These early

laboratories, through experiments, explored areas such as memory and sensory perception, both of

which Wundt believed to be closely related to physiological processes in the brain. The whole

movement had evolved from the early philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato. Today this approach is

known as cognitive psychology.

Cognitive Psychology revolves around the notion that if we want to know what makes people tick then

the way to do it is to figure out what processes are actually going on in their minds. In other words,

psychologists from this perspective study cognition which is ‘the mental act or process by which

knowledge is acquired.’

The cognitive perspective is concerned with “mental” functions such as memory, perception, attention

etc. It views people as being similar to computers in the way we process information (e.g. input-

process-output). For example, both human brains and computers process information, store data and

have input and output procedures.

This had led cognitive psychologists to explain that memory comprises of three stages: encoding

(where information is received and attended to), storage (where the information is retained) and

retrieval (where the information is recalled).

It is an extremely scientific approach and typically uses lab experiments to study human behavior. The

cognitive approach has many applications including cognitive therapy and eyewitness testimony.

5. Biological

We can thank Charles Darwin (1859) for demonstrating in the idea that genetics and evolution play a

role in influencing human behavior through natural selection.

Theorists in the biological perspective who study behavioral genomics consider how genes affect

behavior. Now that the human genome is mapped, perhaps, we will someday understand more precisely

how behavior is affected by the DNA we inherit. Biological factors such as chromosomes, hormones

and the brain all have a significant influence on human behavior, for example gender.

The biological approach believes that most behavior is inherited and has an adaptive (or evolutionary)

function. For example, in the weeks immediately after the birth of a child, levels of testosterone in

fathers drop by more than 30 per cent. This has an evolutionary function. Testosterone-deprived men

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are less likely to wander off in search of new mates to inseminate. They are also less aggressive, which

is useful when there is a baby around.

Biological psychologists explain behaviors in neurological terms, i.e. the physiology and structure of

the brain and how this influences behavior. Many biological psychologists have concentrated on

abnormal behavior and have tried to explain it. For example biological psychologists believe that

schizophrenia is affected by levels of dopamine (a neurotransmitter).

These findings have helped psychiatry take off and help relieve the symptoms of the mental illness

through drugs. However Freud and other disciplines would argue that this just treats the symptoms and

not the cause. This is where health psychologists take the finding that biological psychologists produce

and look at the environmental factors that are involved to get a better picture.

Methods and Techniques in Psychological Researches

1. Experimental Method

Typically, a researcher conducting an experiment divides subjects into an experimental group

and a control group. The subjects in both groups receive the same treatment, with one important

difference: the researcher manipulates one part of the treatment in the experimental group but

does not manipulate it in the control group. The variable that is manipulated is the independent

variable. The researcher can then compare the experimental group to the control group to find

out whether the manipulation of the independent variable affected the dependent variable.

Often, subjects in the control group receive a placebo drug or treatment, while subjects in the

experimental group receive the real drug or treatment. This helps researchers to figure out what

causes the observed effect: the real drug or treatment, or the subjects’ expectation that they will

be affected.

Example:

Suppose a researcher wants to study the effect of drug A on subjects’ alertness. He divides 100

subjects into two groups of 50, an experimental group and a control group. He dissolves drug

A in saline solution and injects it into all the subjects in the experimental group. He then gives

all the control group subjects an injection of only saline solution. The independent variable in

this case is drug A, which he administers only to the experimental group. The control group

receives a placebo: the injection of saline solution. The dependent variable is alertness, as

measured by performance on a timed test. Any effect on alertness that appears only in the

experimental group is caused by the drug. Any effect on alertness that appears in both the

experimental and control groups could be due to the subjects’ expectations or to extraneous

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variables, such as pain from the injection.

2. Quasi- Experimental Method

This research method has a resemblance of a true experiment design. However, this is not. In

this design, randomization is not used in the selection of the research participants so that bias is

manifested by the experimenter in the selection of participants. Moreover, extraneous variables

are not controlled. Thus, conclusions obtained from such method cannot be said with certainty.

Quasi- experiments can be used to explore the effects of different treatments on preexisting

groups of subjects or to investigate the same kinds of naturally occurring events, characteristics

and behaviors that we measure in correlational studies. ( Myers & Hansen, 2006)

3. Correlational Design

Case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation, and laboratory observation are examples

of descriptive or correlational research methods. Using these methods, researchers can

describe different events, experiences, or behaviors and look for links between them. However,

these methods do not enable researchers to determine causes of behavior.

Remember: correlation is not the same as causation. Two factors may be related without

one causing the other to occur. Often, a third factor explains the correlation.

Example: A psychologist uses the survey method to study the relationship between balding and

length of marriage. He finds that length of marriage correlates with baldness. However, he

can’t infer from this that being bald causes people to stay married longer. Instead, a third

factor explains the correlation: both balding and long marriages are associated with old age.

Measuring Correlation

A correlation coefficient measures the strength of the relationship between two variables. A

correlation coefficient is always a number between –1 and +1. The sign (+ or –) of a correlation

coefficient indicates the nature of the relationship between the variables.

A positive correlation (+) means that as one variable increases, the other does too.

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Example: The more years of education a person receives, the higher his or her yearly income

is.

A negative correlation (–) means that when one variable increases, the other one decreases.

Example: The more hours a high school student works during the week, the fewer A’s he or she

gets in class.

The higher the correlation coefficient, the stronger the correlation. A +0.9 or a –0.9 indicates a

very strong correlation; a +0.1 or a –0.1 indicates a very weak correlation. A correlation of 0

means that no relationship exists between two variables.

Common correlational research methods include case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation,

and laboratory observation.

4. The Naturalistic Observation Method

When using naturalistic observation, researchers collect information about subjects by

observing them unobtrusively, without interfering with them in any way. Researchers create a

record of events and note relationships among those events. With naturalistic observation,

researchers face the challenge of getting a clear view of events without becoming noticeable to

the subjects.

5. The Case Study Method

In a case study, a researcher studies a subject in depth. The researcher collects data about the

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5

subject through interviews, direct observation, psychological testing, or examination of

documents and records about the subject.

Specialized Areas in Psychology

1. Clinical Psychology

It deals with the clinical assessment, diagnosis, and the treatment of mental disorders with the

use of psychological methods.

2. Counseling Psychology

Traditionally, a counseling psychologist works with normal or moderately maladjusted

individuals.

3. Educational Psychology

This area is concerned with the teaching- learning situation and conducting studies for the

improvement of measurement and evaluation as well as relationship in the corporate world.

4. Industrial- Organizational Psychology

This area is involved in the screening of job applicants, training, and evaluation of job

performance.

5. Health Psychology

This area is concerned with the interrelationship of the mind, body behavior, and health, as well

as the promotion of health and prevention of illness.

6. Biopsychology

This area is concerned with the scientific study of the biological basis of behavior.

7. Cognitive Psychology

This area is interested in exploring man’s mental processes, his learning and memory, his

thoughts, ideas, and beliefs.

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8. Forensic Psychology

This study is a specialty area of Clinical Psychology. It deals with the relationship of

psychology and the law.

9. Neuropsychology

This area deals with the relationship of brain functioning and behavior., the psychological

effects of brain damage, and its psychological intervention.

10. Social Psychology

This area deals with how man behaves in his interactions with others taking into considerations

his perceptions, attitudes, values, and traits.

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REFERENCES

De Guzman, et. Al. (2012). General Psychology A Bird’s- Eye View. Manila: University of

Santo Tomas Publishing House

McLeod, S. (2007). Psychology Perspectives. Retrieved from

http://www.simplypsychology.org/perspective.html

Farnen, K. ( 2014). What are the four goals of psychology? Retrieved from

http://www.ehow.com/about_5285146_four-goals-psychology_.html

Psychology in Different Perspectives

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SELF-TEST

I. Multiple Choice: Select the best answer.

1. A cognitive psychologist is most likely to be interested in...

A. therapy research

B. observational research

C. memory and perception

D. research involving some medicine or placebo

2. What does it mean to say a definition is reliable?

A. it means what you think it means

B. you can measure the same thing again and get the same results

C. there are no confounded variables

D. it can be used to make accurate predictions

3. In observational research there are no...

A. variables

B. operational definitions

C. standardized tests

D. experimental manipulations

4. What is the independent variable, in experimental research?

A. the variable which is manipulated in an experiment

B. the variable which is measured, to see results of an experiment

C. a variable which describes some durable characteristic of the subject

D. a variable which is held steady

5. Psychology was said to be the science of...

A. mind

B. consciousness

C. computers

D. behavior

II. Identification: Identify the area of psychology as referred to by the following

statements.

1. This area deals with the relationship of brain functioning and behavior, the psychological

effects of brain damage, and its psychological intervention.

2. It deals with the clinical assessment, diagnosis, and the treatment of mental disorders with

the use of psychological methods.

3. Traditionally, this deals with normal or moderately maladjusted individuals.

http://www.psywww.com/selfquiz/ch01mcq.htm#01q2a1




















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4. This area deals with how man behaves in his interactions with others taking into

considerations his perceptions, attitudes, values, and traits.

5. This area is concerned with the teaching- learning situation and conducting studies for the

improvement of measurement and evaluation as well as relationship in the corporate world.

6. This area is involved in the screening of job applicants, training, and evaluation of job

performance.

7. This area is concerned with the interrelationship of the mind, body behavior, and health, as

well as the promotion of health and prevention of illness.

8. This study is a specialty area of Clinical Psychology. It deals with the relationship of

psychology and the law.

9. This area is concerned with the scientific study of the biological basis of behavior.

10. This area is interested in exploring man’s mental processes, his learning and memory, his

thoughts, ideas, and beliefs.

topic 1.nature and scope of psychology

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