LEARNING MODULE NO.

1
(GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY)

Courses: Competencies:
a. General Psychology - General Concepts of Psychology
- Human Development

b. Understanding the Self - What is self?

c. Ethics - Maximum Utility and Individual Preferences

Learning Outcomes:

1. Describe and explain the meaning of psychology.

2. Identifying the effects of heredity & environment on the stages of human and growth development.
3. Surfacing student’s beliefs and concerns regarding the self.
4. Explain why it is essential to understand self.
5. Examine act and rule utilitarianism.
6. Justify ideas in maximum utility and individual preferences.

Learning Competencies:

GENERAL CONCEPTS OF PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology is a part of everyday life. In a practical, sense, it involves a body information that concerns
behavior, experiences and thoughts, as one perceives or observes others.

There are many concepts in the study of psychology by different well-known psychologist depending
on their point of view. Ethymologically, Psychology comes from the two Greek words “psyche” meaning mind
and “logos” meaning study. Psychology then, is the study of the mind or cognitive process that underlie human
behavior.

Wundt, James, and Watsons as cited by Davidoff shared their ideas of the definition of psychology.

According the Wilhelm Wundt. Psychology is the study of conscious experience. This concept keeps
psychology focused in the mind but it requires that the method used is scientific.

William James attests that psychology pertains to finding out how psychological nature helps people
adapt themselves to a complex and changing world.

John Watson asserts that psychology is focused on the study of covert (unobservable) and overt
(observable) behavior that one can see and can be measured scientifically.

Psychology pertains not just on what people do but includes their thoughts, feelings, perceptions,
reasoning and memories. Even their biological activities that keep the body functioning.

Behavior which pertains to a number of human activities can be explained in a practical ways by this
illustration:
internal
stimulus
Human behavior external
physical
response mental simple
glandular complex

The human behavior relates to stimulus and response. One says that stimulus is a physical condition
which is internal (covert) unobservable behavior or external (overt) observable behavior. Internal stimulus
comes from within the body as felt headache, stomach pain, abdominal crump, hunger, feelings or thoughts.
External stimulus originates from environment like noise, prick and pinch.
Response is a behavior that results from stimuli. Response can be physical like truning the head; mental
like making a decision and glandular like salivation upon smelling a delicious food. These physical, mental,
glandular or complex like winking an eye to a bright light or quick movement in playing badminton and other
sport activities.

Psychology: Its Historical Beginning

Psychology is a new science, its development involves the following concepts.

The earliest view of psychology was speculative and metaphysical and related to animism. Animism is
the belief that everything in the surrounding is inhabited by supernatural being. That, even gravity is attributes
in an animistic term: things fall to the ground because the spirit within the object wanted it to be reconciled with
Mother Nature.

Psychology started as a component of philosophy, an idea attributed to Rene Descartes, the Father of
Modern Philosophy.

Plato, who believed that human awareness was a continuation of pre-existing consciousness, attested
that the soul govern behavior, and referred this to three functions: the rational, emotional and irrational.

Aristotle, a philosopher based hid study in the mental life of man through observation, experience and
memory.

During the middle ages, deductive reasoning was emphasized. Francis bacon used objective facts in this
kind of observation.

The word psychology made its first appearance in the English language in 1693.
Wilhelm Wundt founded the first formal psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany. Gustav
Theodore Fechner in his experiment showed the relationship between the physical qualities of a sensory
stimulus and the result of the sensation which requires the understanding of human characteristics that make
sensation possible. Herman Von Helmholtz has a peculiar interest in the speed of neural impulses, audition and
vision that contributes to the knowledge of sensation. Gustav Theodore Fechner and herman Von Helmholtz
were considered as “Grandfathers of Psychology”.

Ernst Weber, an anatomist and physiologist began his work that results in the development of the
method of measuring the magnitude of sensation particularly the sense of touch. William James, an American
Philosopher transplanted psychology to the United States. Sir Francis Galton’s influence in psychology has
fathered mental test and study of individual differences.

Sigmund Freud, an Austrian expounded the theory of personality and thee interpretations of dreams.

Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist pioneered the study of learning.

Jean Piaget, a Swiss biologist was concerned with the observation of children.

Goals of Psychology

 To describe behavior
 To understand behavior
 To predict behavior
 To control behavior

School of Psychology

 Structuralism
 Functionalism
 Gestalt psychology
 Behaviorism
 Psychoanalysis
Branches of Psychology
 General Psychology
 Experimental Psychology
 Developmental Psychology
 Comparative Psychology
 Educational Psychology
 Social Psychology
 Industrial-organizational Psychology
 Environmental Psychology
 Personality Psychology
 Cognitive Psychology
 Forensic Psychology
 Community Psychology
 Health Psychology
 Counseling Psychology
 Consumer Psychology
 Legal Psychology
 Sport Psychology

Methods Used in Psychology

 Introspection
 Observation
 Field Observation
 Free Observation
 Direct Observation
 Biographical Observation
 Experimental Observation

Psychology in the Philippines

 Dr. Henry S. Townsend, an American who headed the Department of Philosophy and
Psychology.
 Dean Francisco Benitez, the UP modeled in the entire country the curricular utilization of
psychology in Education.
 Sinforoso Padilla organized the Psychological Clinic at the UP in 1932.
 Jesus Perpinan started the Psychological Clinic at FEU in 1933.
 Angel de Blas OP, put up the Experimental Psychological Laboratory in the UST in 1938.
 Estefania Aldaba-Lim started the Institute of Human relations at the PWU in 1948.
 Joseph Goertz established the Psychology Department at the San Carlos University in 1954.
 Fr. Jaime Bulatao opened the Department of Psychology and Central Guidance Bureau at the
Ateneo de Manila University
 Viriglio Enriquez founded the Pambansang Samahan ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino in 1975.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Genetic pertains to the study of heredity which refers to the inborn factors inherited from birth parents
and which determine one’s development.

Heredity or nature is the transmission of traits or characteristics from parents to offspring. Environment
or nurture is the sumtotal of the forces experiences that a person receives from conception to old age.

The Beginning of Life

Females at birth has about 400,000 immature ova in her two ovaries, right and left. Generally, every
menstrual cycle the ovary expels one mature ovum to the fallopian tube during ovulation.
The sperm is an elongated cell that is shaped like a tadpole.
Life start from the moment of fertilization where conception begins. The spermatozoa contains 23 pairs
of chromosomes 22 of which pairs of X chromosomes and 1 unpaired a Y chromosomes. Both male and female
chromosomes contains several thousands of genes. Genes are small particles in string-like formation which are
the true carrier of hereditary characteristics. Within genes is a substance called DNA which is the code of
heredity.

How Twins Came Out

Generally, human are singleton (one birth) but at times human can give multiple birth (two or more
birth).
Identical twins or monozygotic twins happens when the ovum splits into two separate fertilized eggs.
Fraternal or dizygotic twins happen when the ovary either from the light or left expels two ripe ova and these
two are penetrated and fertilized by two sperms.

Developmental Stages

 Prenatal Stages
o Period of the Zygote
o Period of the Embryo
o Period of Fetus
 Infancy
o Period of Partunate
o Period of Neonate
 Babyhood
 Childhood
 Puberty
 Adolescence
 Adulthood
 Middle Age
 Old age

Principles of Heredity
 Principle of Reproduction
 Principle of Variation
 Principle of Chance
 Principles of dominance and recessiveness
 Principles of Sex-linked characteristics

Moral Development

Generally motor development depends on maturation, training, and exercise.

Stage of Motor Development

Speech Development

Language begins when the child produces bubbling sounds, a pre-speech of communation.

Emotional Development

There are common emotions that children manifest at an early age. These are anger, fear, love, and joy.
There are stages of love that a young child shows such as the following:
 Auto-erotic Stage
 Narcissistic Stage
 Parental Stage
 Sexual Latency Stage
 Homosexual Stage
 Heterosexual Stage

Moral Development
 The home is the strongest influence in the moral development of the child. The correct pattern of
behavior, attitude and habit displayed by parents and other significant people, will be acquired by the young
child.
I. Learning Activities

1. Explain the importance of psychology in the society.

2. Identifying the effects of heredity & environment on the stages of human and growth
development.

II. Learning Evaluation

Category A B C D

The timeline The timeline

The timeline The timeline
contains at least 9- contains at least 5-
Documentation of contains all 13 contains less than 5
12 significant 8 significant
Events significant events. significant events.
events. This events. This
This includes date This includes date
includes date and includes date and
and description. and description.
description. description.
Facts were accurate Facts were accurate Facts were accurate Facts were often
for all events for almost all for most (~75%) of inaccurate for the
Content/Facts reported on the events reported on the events reported events that were
timeline. the timeline. on the timeline. reported on the
timeline.
All dates indicated
At least 9-12 of the At least 5-8 of the Less than 5 of the
on timeline are
dates are accurate dates are accurate dates are accurate
Accuracy correct and are
or sequences are in or sequences are in or sequences are in
sequenced in the
the proper order. the proper order. the proper order.
proper order.

Legible Marginally legible

Writing is not Writing is not
Legibility handwriting, handwriting,
legible in places. legible.
typing, or printing. typing, or printing.

Grade Equivalent (15 points maximum):

A =  12 - 15 points
B =  8 - 11 points
C =  4 - 7 points
D =  0 - 3 points
Classification
A. Reflection Paper/ Journal
b. Case study
c. Essay
d. Reaction Paper
Assessment Items Advance Proficient Basic Novice
(4) (3) (2) (1)
1. The writing selection has a topic sentence and concluding
paragraph.
2. The purpose of the writing is clear.
3. The writing selection shows a logical order.
4. The writing selection makes sense; it is easy to read.
5. Specific details are used to enhanced the explained steps.
6. All the details relate to the topic
7. Correct punctuation and capitalization are used.
8. Each word is spelled correctly.
9. Apostrophes are correctly used to form contractions and
to show possession.
10. The writing selection shows correct grammar
 composition.

III. Enrichment/Application Activities

1. Make a timeline that shows how psychology started and developed.
2. Children do not exactly resemble the parents, why?
3. Childhood is the formative years. What does that mean?
4. Why is adolescence a time of searching for identity?

“Change your thoughts and you can change your world.”

Prepared by: Recommending Approval:

IVI BELLA A. INTING LOMELYN B. PRADO, Ph.D

Instructor II Program Dean- BPA

Approved by:

JAY MARK J. ATIENZA, LPT ,DPA

College Administrator