BPS 1014 PSYCHOLOGY

Topic 1: Introduction to Psychology

(Mind, Behavior, and Psychological Science)

What is Psychology?

1. Psychology is a broad field, with many specialties, but fundamentally, psychology is

the science of behavior and mental processes.

2. Psychology is not:
 All about mental disorders and therapy
 Focused solely on diagnosing and treating mental problems

3. Psychology comes from psyche (Greek for “mind”) and

- ology (meaning “a field of study”). Literally it means “the study of the mind”. It
covers both internal mental processes and external, observable behaviors, based on
objective, verifiable, scientific evidence

4. It encompasses not just what people do but also their thoughts, emotions, perceptions,
reasoning processes, memories, and even the biological activities that maintain bodily
functioning

5. Goals: to describe, explain, predict human behavior and mental processes, as well as
helping to change/modify and improve the lives of people and the world in which they
live

6. Why it is science? It is because it use scientific methods to find answers that are far
more than valid and legitimate than those resulting from intuition and speculation,
which are often inaccurate, such as experiment, survey, questionnaires, interview

7. The term “science” not referring to biology, chemistry, or physics. Science is an

approach to evidence – a toolbox of skills designed to prevent us from fooling
ourselves. Richard Feyman (1985), a Nobel prize-winning physics pointed out that
science is a means of bending over backward to prove ourselves wrong.

8. A discipline that spans many levels of explanation as rungs on a ladder, with the
lower rungs tied most closely to biological influences and the higher rungs tied most
closely to social influences.

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Historical perspectives

Psychology starts with philosophy and physiology. In 1879, William Wundt (1832-1920)
developed the first full-fledged psychological laboratories in Leipzig, Germany, 4 years
after William James had founded a less formal laboratory at Harvard University.
Psychology was thereby launched as an experimental science.

Theoretical frameworks/perspectives of psychology:

1. Structuralism (Edward Ticherner) - Focus at the basic elements, or structures of

psychological experiences (introspection) (asked “what” questions).

2. Functionalism (William James) – Focus on understanding the adaptive purposes,

or functions, of psychological characteristics, such as thoughts, feelings, and
behaviours (asked “why” questions).

3. Behaviourism (John B. Watson) – Focus on uncovering the general principles of

learning underlying human and animal behavior. Psychology should aspire to
uncover the general laws of learning that explain all behaviours, whether they be
riding a bicycle, eating a sandwich, or becoming depressed (and rewards and
punishments).

4. Psychoanalysis (Sigmund Freud) – Focus on internal psychological process,

especially impulses, thoughts, and memories of which we are unaware. The
primary influences on behavior are not forces outside the organism, like rewards
and punishments, but rather unconscious drives, especially sexuality and
aggression.

5. Gestalt (Max Weitheirmer) – Mind must be studied in terms of large, meaningful

units, because “the whole is greater than sum of its parts”.

6. Humanism (Abraham Maslow) – Human has the free will and potential to
develop. Our goal in life is to achieve self actualization. There are psychological
drives that motivate us toward achieving the things that we need. Homeostasis,
which occurs when the body takes charge and starts craving things that it needs in
order to keep a healthy balance, is a very crucial factor in a person's day to day
life. When a person is without something major, such as food, nothing else matters
except getting that one thing to survive. These needs are what motivate our
behaviors.

7. Cognitivism (Jean Piaget) – Mental Processes involved in different aspects of

thinking. Our thinking affects our behaviour in powerful ways. Without
understanding how people evaluate information, cognitivists maintain, we’ll never
fully grasp the causes of their behavior. We also learn by insights – grsping the
underlying nature of problems.

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Contemporary Perspectives in Psychology

Neuroscience Perspective

1. Psychologists who approach the science from a neuroscience perspective are

interested in the areas of the brain that play roles in emotion, reasoning, speaking, and
other psychological processes.

Sociocultural Perspective

1. Advocates of the sociocultural perspective believe it is impossible to fully understand

a person without understanding his or her culture, ethnic identity, gender identity, and
other factors.

Specialty Areas of Modern Psychology

1. Basic areas include biological psychology, sensation and perception, learning and
memory, cognition, developmental psychology, motivation and emotion, personality,
social psychology, and sociocultural psychology.

2. Applied areas of modern psychology include clinical psychology, counseling

psychology, developmental psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, health
psychology, forensic psychology, educational and school psychology.

Pseudo-Psychology

Erroneous assertions or practices set forth as being scientific psychology

• Horoscopes
• Handwriting analysis
• Fortune telling
• Subliminal messages

Professions in Psychology (in Malaysia)

Lecturer
Lecturing in the universities and colleges and doing research and publication

Clinical and Counseling Psychology

1. Clinical and counseling psychology is the most widely practiced specialization in

psychology.

2. Clinical and counseling psychologists diagnose and treat people with psychological
problems.

3. Counseling psychologists treat people who have less serious problem, work with
students, and advising them about personal problems and career planning.

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4. Clinical psychologists are different from psychiatrists.

Psychology:
 Broad field of study
 Holds a Ph.D (Doctor of Philosophy)
 Training emphasizes research methods
 Advanced study in specialization

Psychiatry:
• Medical specialty
• Holds an MD (Doctor of Medicine)
• Training in treatment of mental and behavioral problems
• Licensed to prescribe medicines

5. Clinical psychologists and psychiatrists are interested in improving the lives of people
with mental health problems.

School and Education Psychologist (counselor)

1. School psychologists concern with children's learning and adjustment in school such
as in the elementary and secondary school system.

2. They do research on school children and then make recommendations on how to

improve both children's performance and education system.

3. They work with education planning teams.

4. Education psychologists do researches on teaching and learning for higher educational

level such as colleges and universities.

Industrial / Organizational Psychologist

1. They deal with the workplace, focusing on both the workers and the organizations that
employ them.

2. They conduct training for employees, try to improve working conditions, and develop
criteria for selecting employees.

Forensic Psychology

1. Forensic psychology is a field that applies psychological concepts to the legal system.

2. Forensic psychologists work with legal teams.

Sport Psychology

1. Sport psychologists apply psychology's principles to improve sport performance.

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The Past, Present and future of Psychology

Why we need to know?

Knowing basic outlines of the history of the field will help you understand how today
major perspectives have evolved.
 Past
 Present
 Future
The same thing goes on why you need to know your partner’s past, present and your
future plan

Six Modern Perspectives of Psychology

1. Six main viewpoints dominate modern psychology: biological, cognitive,

behavioral, whole-person, developmental, and sociocultural perspectives.

2. Each perspective grew out of radical new concepts about mind and behavior

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How Do Psychologists Develop New Knowledge?

Psychologists, like all other scientists, use the scientific method to test their ideas
empirically.

Scientific Research Methods

Scientific Method
A four-step process for empirical investigation of a hypothesis under conditions designed
to control biases and subjective judgments

Empirical Investigation
An approach to research that relies on sensory experience and observation as research
data

Theory
A testable explanation for a set of facts or observations

The Four Steps of the Scientific Method

1. Developing a hypothesis
2. Gathering objective data
3. Analyzing the results
4. Publishing, criticizing, and replicating the results

Five Types of Psychological Research

1. Naturalistic observation – studying humans “in the wild” – watching behavior in

real world settings

2. Case study – examine either one person or a small number of people, often over
extended period of time – using self report measures and surveys

3. Correlational design – examine the extent to which two variables are associated
(participants are measured)

4. Surveys - A technique used in descriptive research; typically involves seeking

people’s responses to a prepared set of verbal or written items

5. Experimental design – manipulating variables to see whether these manipulations

produce differences in participants’ behavior (participants are created).

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Biases in Psychological Research

Expectancy Bias
• The researcher allows his or her expectations to affect the outcome of a study
• Blind control
Controlling Bias:
• Placebo: a sham “drug” or fake treatment
• Double-blind control: both participants and researchers are unaware of group
assignment

Ethical Issues in Psychological Research

1. American Psychological Association (APA)

• Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct
• Shields participants from potentially harmful procedures
• Ensures confidentiality

2. Institutional Review Board (IRB)

• Examines all studies proposed

3. Informed Consent
• Participants must be informed of all procedures, and any potential dangers, so they
may opt out they so desire.

4. Deception
• Allowable if no substantial risks are likely

5. Animal Studies
 Specific guidelines need to be followed