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What Is Psychology? Psychology Class Ms. Artigas

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, behavior, and mental processes. It includes various fields that study different aspects of behavior, such as developmental psychology, physiological psychology, and social psychology. Key issues in psychology include the influences of nature vs nurture and stability vs change on human behavior. Psychology aims to be a scientific discipline that uses methods like experiments, surveys, and case studies to understand mental processes and behavior. The fields of psychology have grown and evolved over time with contributions from scientists studying areas like cognition, gender, culture, and diversity.

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Esmeralda Artigas
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38 views25 pages

What Is Psychology? Psychology Class Ms. Artigas

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, behavior, and mental processes. It includes various fields that study different aspects of behavior, such as developmental psychology, physiological psychology, and social psychology. Key issues in psychology include the influences of nature vs nurture and stability vs change on human behavior. Psychology aims to be a scientific discipline that uses methods like experiments, surveys, and case studies to understand mental processes and behavior. The fields of psychology have grown and evolved over time with contributions from scientists studying areas like cognition, gender, culture, and diversity.

Uploaded by

Esmeralda Artigas
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is Psychology?

Psychology Class
Ms. Artigas
Chapter 1

 The Science of Psychology


1. What is Psychology?

 A. The Fields of Psychology


 Developmental Psychology
 Study of how people change over time

 Physiological Psychology
 Study of how biology controls behavior

 Experimental Psychology
 Perform experiments to study psychology
 Personality Psychology
 Study of how people
differ from one another
 Clinical and Counseling
Psychology
 Study and treatment of
psychological disorders
 Social Psychology
 Study of how people
influence one another
 Study of group behavior
 Industrial and Organization
(I/O) Psychology
 Study of psychological
principles in industry and
business
 B. Enduring Issues
 Person–Situation
 Is behavior caused by factors inside the person
or outside? Heredity–Environment
 Stability–Change
 People remain unchanged vs. change
 Diversity-Universality
 How are we different vs. the same
 Mind–Body
 Relationship between experience and biological
processes
 C. Psychology As Science
 Scientific method
 Other behavioral sciences
 Sociology, anthropology
 Political science, economics, history
2. The Growth of Psychology

 A. The "New Psychology": A Science of the Mind


 Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Bradford Titchener:
 Structuralism
 Basic units of experience
 William James
 Functionalism
 Studied how we use perception to function in
its environment.
 Sigmund Freud: Psychodynamic psychology
 Individual unconscious factors
 John B. Watson: Behaviorism
 Studied only observable behaviors
 B.F. Skinner: Behaviorism revisited
 Expanded behaviorism
 B. Cognitive Revolution
 The precursors:
 Gestalt psychology
 We perceive things as whole patterns
 Humanistic psychology
 Realizing full potential
 The rise of cognitive psychology
 Study of mental processes
 C. New Directions
 Evolutionary psychology?
 Adaptive value of behaviors and mental process
 Positive psychology
 Focusing on attitude
 Multiple perspectives
 No single right answer.
 Where are the women?
 Important contributions despite discrimination
3. Human Diversity

 A. Gender
 Psychological and social meanings attached to being
biologically male or female
 Gender stereotypes
 Limited view of people based on gender
 For example, “Only men can be police
officers”
 Feminist psychology
 Study of the psychology of women
 Sexual orientation
 Gender to which one is sexually attracted
 B. Race and Ethnicity
 Racial and ethnic minorities in psychology
 Race is subpopulation defined by identifiable
characteristic
 Ethnicity common cultural heritage; religion,
language, ancestry
 C. Culture
 Tangible goods and values, attitudes, behaviors, and
beliefs that are passed on from generation to
generation
4. Research Methods in Psychology

 A. Naturalistic Observation

 Systematic observation in natural


setting
 B. Case Studies

 Intensive description and analysis of


one or several people
 C. Surveys

 Questionnaires or interviews
 D. Correlational Research
 Research techniques based on the naturally occurring
relationship between two or more variables.
 Can make predictions
 Math and English placement tests
 SAT and school success
 Job testing and success on the job
 E. Experimental Research
 Subject or participants
 Independent variable
 Cause (what you are studying)
 Dependent variable
 Effect (result of experiment)
 Experimental group
 Receive special treatment
 Control group
 Does not receive special treatment but is the
same in every other way
 Experimenter bias
 Expectations by experimenter influence
outcome also teachers
 F. Multimethod Research
 Combining methods
 G. Importance of Sampling
 Sample
 Small representative subset
 Random sample
 Every subject had equal chance of being selected
 Representative sample
 Characteristics of participants correspond to larger
population

 H. Human Diversity and Research


 Avoiding cultural bias
5. Ethics and Psychology

 A. Ethics in Research on Humans


 Informed of nature of research
 Informed consent documented
 Risks and limits on confidentiality explained
 Alternative academic credit so truly free choice for
students
 Deception cannot be used about aspects of
research that would affect participant's willingness
to participate
 Deception about the goals of research used only
when absolutely necessary

 B. Ethics in Research on Nonhuman Animals


6. Careers in Psychology

 A. Academic and Applied Psychology


 Educational or research facilities

 B. Clinical Settings
 Therapy in hospitals and clinics
 C. Licenses
 Psychologists - Ph.D, Psy.D.
 Psychiatrists - M.D.
 Psychoanalysts
 Can be MD or PhD.
 Additional specialized training
 Social Workers (M.S.W.) - LSW
 Marriage Family Therapists - M.A.

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