PSYCHOLOGY

The study of human BEHAVIOR, about how and why people behave, feel, or think the way they do. (Hilgard) 1. Psychology is the science that studies behavior and mental processes. 2. Psychology is a scientific study of the behavior of living organism with emphasis on that of human organism. 3. Thoughts, feelings, attitudes, values, and the like are also included when referring to the term behavior. GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY 1. 2. 3. 4. To describe behavior To identify factors that help predict behavior To understand or explain behavior by identifying causes that bring about certain effects To control or change behavior

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION Clinical Psychology: Clinical psychologists assess and treat people with psychological problems. They may act as therapists for people experiencing normal psychological crises (e.g., grief) or for individuals suffering from chronic psychiatric disorders. Counseling Psychology: Counseling psychologists do many of the same things that clinical psychologists do. However, counseling psychologists tend to focus more on persons with adjustment problems rather than on persons suffering from severe psychological disorders. Developmental Psychology: Developmental psychologists study how we develop intellectually, socially, and emotionally over the lifespan. Some of the areas they are interested in are: Children's peer relations, language comprehension, computational models of cognitive development, parent-infant interactions, social and communicative behavior in infants, and language acquisition across languages and cultures. Educational Psychology: Educational psychologists conduct research and develop theories about teaching and learning. They attempt to understand the basic aspects of learning and then develop materials and strategies for enhancing the learning process. Their efforts are applied to improve teacher training and help students learn more efficiently. Experimental Psychology: This area includes a diverse group of psychologists who do research in the most basic areas of psychology (e.g., learning, memory, cognition, perception, motivation, and language). Forensic Psychology: Forensic psychologists study of questions and issues relating to law and the legal system. A forensic psychologist offers an expert psychological opinion in a way that it impacts one of the adversarial arenas, typically the courts. Forensic psychologists evaluate various areas, such as expert testimony, jury selection, child testimony, pretrial publicity, repressed memories, the death penalty, battered woman syndrome, domestic violence, drug dependence, and sexual disorders. Industrial Psychology: Industrial/organizational psychologists are primarily concerned with the relationships between people and their work environments. They may develop new ways to increase productivity or be involved in personnel selection. They are employed in business, government agencies, and academic settings. School Psychology: School psychologists are involved in enhancing the development of children and adults in educational settings. They assess children's psychoeducational abilities and recommend actions to facilitate student learning. They often act as consultants to parents, teachers, and administrators to optimize the learning environments of specific students. Social Psychology: Social psychologists study how our beliefs, feelings, and behaviors are affected by other persons. Some topics of interest to social psychologists are attitude formation and change, aggression, prejudice, and interpersonal attraction. Sport Psychology: Sports psychologists study the psychological factors associated with participation and performance in sport, exercise, and other types of physical activity. Sport psychologists focus primarily on two areas. First, they focus on helping athletes use psychological principles and skills to achieve optimal mental health and to improve performance. Second, they seek further understanding of how an individuals' participation in sport, exercise, and physical activity affects their psychological development, health, and wellbeing.

METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDIES 1. Descriptive naturalistic observation, systematic observation, clinical method 2. Experimental (if then) - manipulation and control/ cause & effect 3. Statistical SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT 1. STRUCTURALISM (Wilhelm Wundt & Edward Titchener) - Experience through the senses as dependent on the sensing person. - Introspective Analysis the examination of ones thoughts, feelings, sensation 2. FUNCTIONALISM (John Dewey, William James) - Study of the organism as a whole, functioning in its environment. - Objective observation and some use of introspection. 3. PSYCHOANALYSIS (Sigmund Freud) - The role of motivation, particularly the unconscious, in the determination of behavior. - Free association, dream analysis, projective tests 4. BEHAVIORISM (Watson, Skinner) - Stimuli and response (S-R), free of mentalistic concepts and subjective methods. - Objective observation and the conditioned reflex method. 5. GESTALT PSYCHOLOGY (Kohler, Koffka, Lewin) - Perceptual and learning phenomena with emphasis away from separate elements; stresses the wholeness and meaningfulness of behavior.