Psychology and Sociology - 1

Psychology and Sociology – Introduction

Definitions
 Psychology is the scientific study of how people behave, think and feel:
o Behaviour (cognition, social influence)
o Thinking (mental processes)
o Feeling (emotions)
 Social Psychology is the “scientific investigations of how the thoughts,
feelings and behaviours of individuals are influenced by the actual,
imagines or implied presence of others.
o Sociology (group) <-> Social Psychology <-> Psychology (individual)
 Social Psychologists are interested in the variables that affect the
individual behaviours within a society.
 Clinical Psychology is the assessment and treatment of mental illness,
abnormal behaviour, and psychiatric problems.
 Counselling Psychology is centred on treating patients experiencing
mental distress and a wide variety of psychological symptoms.
 Health Psychology focuses on improving health across a wide variety of
domains.
 Biopsychology focuses on how the brain, neurons, and nervous system
influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
 Development Psychology shows how people change and grow
throughout the entire lifespan.
 Forensic Psychology is defined as the intersection of psychology and the
law. Psychologists lend their psychological expertise to provide
testimony, analysis or recommendations in legal or criminal cases.
 Sports Psychology is the study of how psychology influences sports,
athletic performance, exercise and physical activity.
 Industrial / Organizational Psychology works to improve productivity
and efficiency in the workplace while also maximizing the well-being of
employees.
 Psychology and Sociology - 2

Concepts
Social Psychology has 5 major theoretical perspectives
 Behaviourism perspective: It is possible to control and shape behaviour
by controlling rewards and reinforcements.

 Social cognition perspective: It is a theoretical viewpoint that focuses on

the mental processes involved in paying attention to, interpreting, and
remembering social experiences.
o E.g. for you, a doctor has wisdom, skilfulness and authority
 Social neuroscience perspective: Helps us to understand social behaviour
through neurological activity
o E.g. high levels of cortisol = stress
 Evolutionary social psychology perspective: It is a theoretical viewpoint
that searches for the causes of social behaviour in the physical and
psychological predispositions that helped our ancestors survive and
reproduce.
o E.g. during sexual selection, we tend to choose partners with a
waist-to-hip ratio of 0.7 = sign of fertility and good health
 Personality perspective: Social behaviour can be partially explained
through personality traits.
o E.g. good leaders have charismatic personalities