Intro to

What is psychology?Types of psychologists

The history of psychology

What is psychology?

• Psyche – “Mind”• Logos – “Knowledge or study”• Study of behavior and mental processes

• Empirical evidence – information gained from direct observation

What are different types of psychologists?

• Clinical psychologists – work in clinics or hospitals or private practices treating mental disorders. They have a PhD.

• Psychiatrists are MDs (doctors) who specialize in the treatment of mental disorders. They treat disorders with medicine and a little counseling

• School Psychologist

• Sports/performance psychologist - Work for major league sports teams to maximize performance and minimize performance anxiety.

• Forensic psychologist -They testify in court to determine if a defendant is fit to stand trial. If a defendant is termed “insane” then no.

• Industrial/organization psychologists -Work for large corporations to maximize employee output and profit. They might work for human resources.

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Psychology’s Subfields: Applied

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Psychology’s Subfields: Research

Review questions:• Carlos just moved to Duncanville from a

small town and his parents were just divorced. He’s been having a hard time with life. Carlos might see a

a. Psychiatristb. Clinical psychologistc. Counselord. Moe Sizlak

6. Mr. Didden was hired by the TLC company to help them retain their employees without lowering the firm’s profits. After TLC removed cubicles and permitted employees to decorate their workroom as recommended by Mr. Didden, the absentee rate declined and no employees left for jobs elsewhere. Mr. Didden is most likely

a) a forensic psychologistb) an industrial/organizational

psychologistc) a counseling psychologistd) a clinical psychologist

A psychiatrist typically has aa) Doctorate in Psychologyb) Medical Degreec) Doctorate in Physiologyd) Doctorate in Education

Major Perspectives of Psychology (a preview)

Ancient Roots

• Archaeologists have found evidence of trephination – Stone Age humans carving holes in the skull to release evil spirits.

The Greeks

• Plato and Democritus theorized about the relationship between thought and behavior.

Phrenology

• Old quacks used to predict personality based on the bumps on your head.

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)• Founder of Structuralism – studied consciousness using the technique of

introspection, studying your own thoughts– Observe reaction to stimuli– Ex. Speed of decision making– Ex. Apple– Frequently disagreed over perceptions

• Psychology began in Germany.• But most is here in USA, today

• First to do psych experiments.

William James (Functionalism)

• This approach says our mind is a product of our environment

• How we behaviorally and mentally adapt

• Studied animals • Influenced by Darwin

& natural selection• Consciousness

cannot be studied.

Gestalt Psychology – Max Wertheimer

• Emphasizing the study of thinking, learning, and perception in whole units, not by analysis into parts.

• Thought structuralism was a mistake to analyze events into pieces or “elements”

• Ex. Happy Birthday

Psychology’s Perspectives

The Big Seven

Neuroscience Perspective

• Biology explains everything!• Feelings and behaviors come from your

brain, body chemistry, neurotransmitters, etc…

• Focus medical treatment with drugs and surgery

If you could not remember the names of your parents and went to a psychologist who adheres to the neuroscience perspective, what might they say?

Evolutionary Perspective

• Focuses on Darwinism.• Natural selection• We behave the way we

do because we inherited those behaviors.

• Behaviors must have helped ensure our ancestors’ survival. How could this behavior

ensured Homer’s ancestors survival?

Psychodynamic Perspective

• Fathered by Sigmund Freud.

• Our behavior comes from unconscious drives (sex).

• Usually stemming from our childhood and unresolved conflict

• Revealed in dreams, emotions, and speechWhat might a psychoanalyst

say is the reason someone always needs to be chewing gum?

Psychoanalytic PerspectiveIf a man has intimacy issues and cannot form relationships with others. What do you think someone from this school may think?

Perhaps they may delve into the man’s unconscious and discover that he was bullied when he were younger. The bullying may have caused fear in getting close to others.

Behavioral Perspective• Pavlov & Watson• Focuses on our

OBSERVABLE behaviors.• How behaviors are

learned & modified• Worked with animals

(rats, pigeons, dogs)• Rewards and

punishments.

If you bit your fingernails when you were nervous, a behaviorist would not focus on calming you down, but rather focus on how to stop you from biting your nails.

Behavioral PerspectivePretend that you fail psychology class. You become depressed. In turn, you begin to binge and gain weight.

What do you think a behaviorist may do?

They would probably ignore the fact that you are depressed and just focus on your overeating.

Maybe make you run a mile every time you eat over 2000 calories.

Cognitive Perspective• Focuses on how we

think or encode information

• Memory• How did we learn to act

to sad or happy events?• Cognitive Therapist

attempt to change the way you think.

Meet girl Get Rejected by girl

Did you learn to be depressed

Or get back on the horse

Social-Cultural Perspective

• Focus on how your culture affects your behavior.• Cultures place value on individual or the group

Even in the same high school, behaviors can change in accordance to the various subcultures.

Humanistic Perspective• Carl Roger & Abraham Maslow• Focuses on positive growth• Attempt to seek self-actualization (be all

you can be)• Disorders are due to ideal self and actual

self not in congruence• Reflective listening, self-help• (think hippies)

Wilhelm Wundt and the structuralists studied questions still asked today primarily by

a) behavioral psychologistsb) cognitive psychologistsc) psychodynamic psychologistsd) humanist psychologists

2. With which definition of psychology would John Watson and B. F. Skinner most agree?

a) Psychology is the science of behavior.b) Psychology is the science of mental

processes.

c) Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes.

d) Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes specific to contexts.

The question “Is intelligence more influenced by heredity or experience?” deals with a big issue in psychology known as

a) stability vs. changeb) mind-body dualismc) rationality vs. irrationalityd) nature vs. nurture

If Aristotle and Locke, who both believed that what we know is acquired from experience, were alive today, they would best agree with the

a) behavioral approachb) psychoanalytic approachc) humanistic approachd) psychodynamic approach

Which psychological approach is most concerned with the importance of encoding, storage, and retrieving information

a) information technologyb) behavioral approachc) biological approachd) cognitive approach

6. Dr. Didden was hired by the TLC company to help them retain their employees without lowering the firm’s profits. After TLC removed cubicles and permitted employees to decorate their workroom as recommended by Dr. Didden, the absentee rate declined and no employees left for jobs elsewhere. Dr. Didden is most likely

a) a forensic psychologistb) an industrial/organizational psychologistc) a counseling psychologistd) a clinical psychologist

7. A good definition of psychology is: a. the understanding of unconscious processes

b. the study of the human mindc. the scientific study of human behaviorsd. the exploration of personality traitse. the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

9. The branch of psychology concerned with everyday, practical problems is called

a) developmental psychologyb) abnormal psychologyc) applied psychologyd) cognitive psychology

10. Functionalism is the historical school of psychology that focused its attention on

a. unconscious processes and their effect on behaviorb. cognitive associations and how those impact learned actionsc. the effect of relationships between parents and children on behaviord. the belief that mental processes could best be understood in terms of their adaptive purpose and functione. the individual structures that make up the mind and how each affects and determines behavior

11. William James, who was a pioneer in the development of functionalism, was most heavily influenced by

a) Charles Darwinb) Sigmund Freudc) John Watsond) B. F. Skinner

12. Historically, most of psychology’s research has been conducted in

a) Chinab) Japanc) Mexicod) the United States

13. Wundt’s technique of reporting one’s conscious mental experiences is known asa. introspectionb. structuralismc. functionalismd. psychodynamisme. humanism

14. According to behaivorists, behavior is governed primarily by

a) heredityb) personal motivesc) the environmentd) unconscious desires

15. A psychiatrist typically has aa) Doctorate in Psychologyb) Medical Degreec) Doctorate in Physiologyd) Doctorate in Education