Introduction to Psychology

Psychology
The study of behavior and mental
processes

Psychology is from the word psych means

“soul” and logos means “study”

Behavior can be
Overt - directly observed
Covert - cannot be directly observed

Mental processes
Internal experiences such as thoughts,
sensations, dreams, and feelings.

Four Goals of Psychology

Describe - Observing behavior and take
not of what is happening
Explain - behavior is being understood by
explaining it
Predict - determining what will most likely
to happen in the future
Control -to change behavior from
undesirable to desirable one

Important Personalities in Psychology

1. Ivan Pavlov – Famous Russian scientist

that discovered that a behavior can be
conditioned.

2. Albert Ellis- American cognitive

behavioral therapist who developed
Rational Emotive
Behavioral Therapy (REBT).

3. Solomon Asch - He became famous in

the 1950s, following experiments which
showed that social pressure (Conformity)
can make a person say something that is
obviously incorrect.

4. John B. Watson - Established the

psychological school of behaviorism, after
doing research on animal behavior. He
also conducted the controversial "Little
Albert" experiment.

5. Carl Rogers - Instrumental in the

development of non-directive
psychotherapy, which he initially termed
Client-centered therapy and he is known
as the father of client-centered therapy.

6. Burrhus Frederic Skinner – one of the

most influential of American psychologists.
A behaviorist, he developed the theory of
operant conditioning

7. Sigmund Freud - Father of

psychoanalysis, and is generally
recognized as one of the most influential
and authoritative thinkers of the twentieth
century.
• Unconscious Mind
• Free Association
• Fixation
• Transference
• Dreams
• Hypnosis

8. Abraham Maslow - One of the founders

of humanistic psychology and is often best
recognized for developing the theory of
human motivation now known as
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

9. Alfred Adler - Among Adler’s chief

contributions are the importance of birth
order in the formation of personality, the
impact of neglect or pampering on child
development
• Inferiority Complex
10. Albert Bandura - observational
learning or modeling

11. Karen Horney - NeoFreudian that

believed that there was an inner conflict
but did not agree with the penis envy and
women having less of an ability to
suppress their urges.

12. Lawrence Kohlberg - The theory holds

that moral reasoning, the basis for
ethical behavior, has six identifiable
developmental stages, each more
adequate at responding to moral
dilemmas than its predecessor.

13. Gordon Allport - Gordon Allport's

theory of personality development is one
of the first humanistic theories. Allport is
known as a "trait" psychologist. One of
his early projects was to go through the
dictionary and locate every term that he
thought could describe a person.

14. Wilhelm Wundt - Founding father of

psychology. Established the experimental
branch of psychology.

15. Jean Piaget - Studied children,

watching children and in the area of
developmental psychology.

16. Erik Erikson - Developmental

psychologist and psychoanalyst known for
his theory on social development of
human beings, and for coining the phrase
identity crisis.

17. Carl Jung - Believed that the

personality formed from a collective
unconscious involving archetypes that all
humans have.
Branches, Fields, and Careers in
Psychology

1. Developmental Psychology – the study

of human development and the factors
that shape behaviour from birth to old age.

2. Social Psychology – the study of how

people think about, influence, relate with
one another, and the ways interactions
with other people influence attitudes and
behaviour.

3. Clinical Psychology – the study of the

diagnosis and treatment of emotional and
behavioural problems.

4. Counseling Psychology – the study that

deals with personal problems such as
medical, social or vocational problems;
counselling psychologists deal with less
serious problems compared to clinical
psychologists

5. School and Educational Psychology –

the study that deals with the evaluation of
learning and emotional problems of
individuals in schools

6. Industrial/Organizational Psychology –
the study involving the selection of people
most suitable for particular jobs, the
development of training programs in
organizations, and the identification of
determinants of consumer behaviour

7. Physiological/Biological Psychology –
the study that employs the biological
perspective, seeking to discover the
relationships between biological processes
and behvaior
8. Experimental Psychology – the study
that employs the behavioural and cognitive
perspectives as well as the experimental
method in studying how people react to
sensory stimuli, perceive the world, learn,
remember and respond.

9. Forensic Psychology – the study that

applies psychology to the law and legal
proceedings

10. Sports Psychology – the study that

applies theories and knowledge in
psychology to enhance athletes’and
coaches’ performance

11. Abnormal Psychology – the study that

deals with the diagnosis and causes of
mental disorders

12. Health Psychology – the study of

cognitive, affective, behavioural, and
interpersonal factors affecting health and
illness.

13. General Psychology - is the foundation

of studying science of psychology that
deals with basic principles, problems and
methods of human development,
emotions, motivation, learning, memory,
senses, thinking, perception, processing,
and intelligence.

III. Principles of Growth and Development

Human Development
Stages of Human Development Infancy
At conception the genetic material from
each parent is fused.
A living cell called the zygote is formed
within hours.
The Zygote will become transformed
through a process of three stages:
Germinal period– The first two weeks after
conception
Embryonic period- The 3rd to the 8th
week after conception
Fetal period- The ninth week after
conception to birth \

Childhood

During which children start to explore and

develop a sense of independence.

Adolescence

During adolescence, young men and

women are primarily concerned with
finding their identity and expressing who
they are in the world.

Adulthood

Adulthood brings on even more new

challenges and major decisions about
school, career, and home life.

Late Adulthood

Late adulthood is the stage of life from the

60s onward; it constitutes the last stage of
physical change

Psychosexual Stages of Development by

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud
- Sigmund Freud was an Austrian
neurologist and the founder of
psychoanalysis,

- A clinical method for treating

psychopathology through dialogue
between a patient and a psychoanalyst.

Stages of Development
1. Oral
2. Anal
3. Phallic
4. Latency
5. Genital

Psychoanalytic theory suggested that

personality is mostly established by the
age of five. Early experiences play a large
role in personality development and
continue to influence behavior later in life.

Each stage of development is marked by

conflicts that can help build growth or
stifle development, depending upon how
they are resolved. If these psychosexual
stages are completed successfully, a
healthy personality is the result. If certain
issues are not resolved at the appropriate
stage, fixations can occur

Fixation - A fixation is a persistent focus

on an earlier psychosexual stage. Until this
conflict is resolved, the individual will
remain "stuck" in this stage.

* A person who is fixated at the oral stage,

for example, may be over-dependent on
others and may seek oral stimulation
through smoking, drinking, or eating.

The Oral Stage

Age Range: Birth to 1 Year Erogenous
Zone: Mouth
During the oral stage, the infant's primary
source of interaction occurs through the
mouth, so the rooting and sucking reflex is
especially important. The mouth is vital for
eating, and the infant derives pleasure
from oral stimulation through gratifying
activities such as tasting and sucking.
Because the infant is entirely dependent
upon caretakers (who are responsible for
feeding the child), the child also develops
a sense of trust and comfort through this
oral stimulation.

The primary conflict at this stage is the

weaning process--the child must become
less dependent upon caretakers. If fixation
occurs at this stage, Freud believed the
individual would have issues with
dependency or aggression. Oral fixation
can result in problems with drinking,
eating, smoking, or nail-biting.

The Anal Stage

Age Range: 1 to 3 years
Erogenous Zone: Bowel and Bladder
Control
During the anal stage, Freud believed that
the primary focus of the libido was on
controlling bladder and bowel movements.
The major conflict at this stage is toilet
training--the child has to learn to control
his or her bodily needs. Developing this
control leads to a sense of
accomplishment and independence.
According to Freud, success at this stage
is dependent upon the way in which
parents approach toilet training. Parents
who utilize praise and rewards for using
the toilet at the appropriate time
encourage positive outcomes and help
children feel capable and productive.
Freud believed that positive experiences
during this stage served as the basis for
people to become competent, productive,
and creative adults.
However, not all parents provide the
support and encouragement that children
need during this stage. Some parents
instead punish, ridicule or shame a child
for accidents.
According to Freud, inappropriate parental
responses can result in negative
outcomes. If parents take an approach that
is too lenient, Freud suggested that an
anal-expulsive personalitycould develop in
which the individual has a messy, wasteful,
or destructive personality. If parents are
too strict or begin toilet training too early,
Freud believed that an anal-retentive
personality develops in which the
individual is stringent, orderly, rigid, and
obsessive.

The Phallic Stage

Age Range: 3 to 6 Years Erogenous Zone:
Genitals
Freud suggested that during the phallic
stage, the primary focus of the libido is on
the genitals. At this age, children also
begin to discover the differences between
males and females.
Freud also believed that boys begin to
view their fathers as a rival for the
mother’s affections. The Oedipus complex
describes these feelings of wanting to
possess the mother and the desire to
replace the father. However, the child also
fears that he will be punished by the father
for these feelings, a fear Freud termed
castration anxiety.
The term Electra complex has been used
to described a similar set of feelings
experienced by young girls. Freud,
however, believed that girls instead
experience penis envy.
Eventually, the child begins to identify with
the same-sex parent as a means of
vicariously possessing the other parent.
For girls. calling it both inaccurate and
demeaning to women. Instead, Karen
Horney proposed that men experience
feelings of inferiority because they cannot
give birth to children, a concept she
referred to as womb envy.

The Latency Period

Age Range: 6 to Puberty
Erogenous Zone: Sexual Feelings Are
Inactive
The latency period is a time of exploration
in which the sexual energy repressed or
dormant. This energy is still present, but it
is sublimated into other areas such as
intellectual pursuits and social
interactions. This stage is important in the
development of social and communication
skills and self-confidence.
As with the other psychosexual stages,
Freud believed that it was possible for
children to become fixated or "stuck" in
this phase. Fixation at this stage can result
in immaturity and an inability to form
fulfilling relationships as an adult.

The Genital Stage

Age Range: Puberty to Death
Erogenous Zone: Maturing Sexual Interests
The onset of puberty causes the libido to
become active once again. During the final
stage of psychosexual development, the
individual develops a strong sexual interest
in the opposite sex. This stage begins
during puberty but last throughout the rest
of a person's life.