Intro. to Psychology

1. Intro. to Psychology Mr. Cameron – Jeannette Senior High School

2. Why Study Psychology? • Psychology – the scientific study of behavior and mental processes • Behavior – any action that other people can observe or measure • Examples: • Walking, talking, eating, pressing a button • Heart rate, blood pressure, brain activity

3. Behavior and Mental Processes • Cognitive activities – private, unobservable mental processes such as sensation, perception, thought, and problem solving • Dreams, perceptions, thoughts, and memories • Brain waves that indicate dreaming can be measured • Cell activity in an eye responding to color can be measured

4. Behavior and Mental Processes • Psychologists also want to measure emotions • Emotions affect behavior and mental processes • Emotions must be studied through psychological constructs • Psychological constructs – concepts that enable a person to discuss something that cannot be seen, touched , or measured directly

5. Goals of Psychology • Observe behavior and mental processes to gain a better understanding • Enables psychologists to describe, explain, predict, and control behavior • Dealing with anxiety • Positive visualization

6. Psychology as a Science • Psychology is a social science (sociology, history) • Closely tied to natural sciences (biology, physics) • Answer questions by following scientific research steps • 1. Conducting surveys and experiments • 2. Collecting and analyzing data • 3. Drawing conclusions

7. Psychological Theories • Psychologists organize their research into theories • Theory – Statement that attempts to explain why things are the way they are & happen the way they do • Discuss principals that govern behavior and mental processes • Principals – Rule or law

8. Areas of Psychology • 1. Clinical Psychologists • Make up the largest group of psychologists • Help people with psychological problems

9. Areas of Psychology • 2. Counseling Psychologists • Use interviews and tests to identify problems • Treat people who have adjustment problems

10. Areas of Psychology • 3. School Psychologists • Aid students with problems that interfere with learning • 4. Educational Psychologists • Focus on course planning and instructional methods

11. Areas of Psychology • 5. Developmental Psychologists • Study changes that occur throughout a person’s life (behavior, thoughts, feelings)

12. Areas of Psychology • 6. Social Psychologists • Study people’s behavior in social situations • Physical and psychological factors of attraction • Ways men and women behave in situations • Reasons people conform to group standards • How behavior changes when in a group

13. Areas of Psychology • 7. Forensic Psychologists • Testify about the psychological competence of a defendant

14. History of Psychology • Began as part of philosophy • Wilhelm Wundt “father of psychology” • Studied conscious experiences • Sensations, images, feelings? • Observed and measured stimuli • Stimuli = lights, sounds, pain • Stimulus – physical energy that evokes a sensory response

15. Structuralism • Wundt also used “introspection” • Introspection is “looking inward” • Basic elements of consciousness: • 1. Objective sensations • 2. Subjective feelings • Structuralism – Human mind functions by combining these basic elements of experience (Objective and Subjective)

16. Functionalism • Developed by William James • How the mind functions to help us survive and adapt • Influenced by Charles Darwin (natural selection) • James wanted to know how the mind helps us adapt • Adaptive behavior is learned because it is successful • Adaptive (successful) behavior is repeated and eventually becomes a habit…studying = success!

17. Behaviorism Cartoons!

18. Behaviorism • Behaviorism – Study of observable behavior • John B. Watson…introspection was “unscientific” • Observed the relationship between stimuli and an animal’s response (can’t ask animals questions) • Used Pavlov’s idea of conditioning to explain behavior • Conditioned response – learned behavior to a particular stimulus

19. John B. Watson • “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own special world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes, beggarman and thief”

20. B.F. Skinner • Believed behavior is controlled by positive reinforcements (rewards) • Worked with animals, ideas applied to humans • If rewarded, an animal is more likely to perform act • People behave in certain ways because they have been reinforced for doing so

21. Gestalt School • Gestalt is German for “form, pattern, or whole” • Gestalt psychologists studied thinking, learning, and perception in whole units, not by analyzing experiences into parts

22. Gestalt School • Playing the same song on a guitar and on the drums • Playing a song with only one note per hour • Perception is affected by the context in which it appears • The human eye sees objects in their entirety before perceiving their individual parts

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28. Psychoanalysis • Emphasized unconscious motives and internal conflicts in determining human behavior • Believed that mental life is like an iceberg…huh? • Unconscious – Area of the mind that lies outside of our personal awareness • Our behavior is deeply influenced by unconscious thoughts, impulses, and desire…especially those concerning sex and aggression

29. Psychoanalysis • Freud theorized that many unconscious thoughts are threatening, so they are repressed • Repressed – Restrained, held out of awareness • Unconscious thoughts are revealed by dreams, emotions, and slips of the tongue • Believed all thoughts, emotions, etc. are determined • There are no accidents, every thought has a cause!

30. Psychoanalysis • Freud was one of the first psychologists to appreciate that childhood affects adult personality • “The child is father to the man”…what does this mean? • Known for creating psychoanalysis, “talking therapy” • Gained his understanding of behavior through meetings • Theorized that behavior is aimed at satisfying needs / desires • Help people find socially acceptable ways of meeting needs

31. Contemporary Perspectives • The study of psychology has changed over the years • Theories of Skinner and Watson have been modified • Many contemporary psychoanalysts do not use the same methods as Sigmund Freud • New perspectives still use historical traditions of psych • Each perspective emphasizes different topics/approaches

32. Biological Perspective • Emphasizes the influence of biology on our behavior • Assume our mental processes (thoughts, fantasies, & dreams) are made possible by the nervous system • Look for connections between events in the brain • Study brain activity when listening to music,solving problems, experiencing psychological disorders • Interested in the influences of hormones and genes

33. Hormones and Genes • Hormones – Chemicals that glands release into the bloodstream to set in motion body functions • Body functions can include growth or digestion • Genes – Basic unit of heredity • Biological psychologists study the influence of genes on personality traits, psychological health, as well as various behavior patterns

34. Evolutionary Perspective • Focuses on the evolution of behavior and mental processes • Darwin believed that the most-adaptive organisms have a greater chance of surviving to maturity • People who are resistant to certain diseases are more likely to transmit those genes to future generations • Behavior (aggression) have a hereditary basis

35. Cognitive Perspective • Emphasize the role thoughts play in behavior • Study mental processes to understand human nature • Look at the ways people perceive information, make mental images, solve problems, and dream • Cognitive psych. study the mind

36. Humanistic Perspective • Stresses the human capacity for self-fulfillment and the importance of consciousness, self-awareness, and the capacity to make choices • Considers people’s personal experiences to be the most important aspect of psychology • Unlike behaviorists (stimuli acting upon us) believe that we are free to choose our own behavior • View people as basically good & desiring to help others

37. Psychoanalytic Perspective • Stresses the influence of unconscious forces on human behavior • Focus less on unconscious sexual and aggressive impulses • Focus more on conscious choice and self-direction

38. Learning Perspective • Emphasizes the effects of experience on behavior • Social learning theory – People can change their environments or create new ones • Behavior is learned either from direct experience or by observing other people • We learn to act hostile/friendly based on the situation

39. Sociocultural Perspective • Studies the influence of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status on behavior and mental processes • Helps people appreciate the cultural heritages and historical issues of various ethnic groups • Ethnic groups – United by heritage, race, language, and history • Sociocultural theorists also study gender

40. Sociocultural Perspective • Gender is not simply a matter of being male or female • Involves cultural expectations and social roles • These can affect self-concepts, aspirations, & behavior • Sociocultural psychology addresses the similarities and differences between men and women • As of 2005, women made up 72% of psychology PhD’s