INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

Shahla Arshad
Lecture
INS-KMU
 OBJECTIVES

By the end of this session the learners will be able to:

 Define Behavioral Psychology.

 Outline the major perspectives which developed into

modern psychology.
 What is Psychology?

Psychology
Is the scientific study of behavior and the
mental process .
THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Steps of Scientific Method

1. Question
2. Hypothesis
3. Experiment
4. Results
5. Conclusions
6. Theory (others react and test
their theories)
 BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY

Behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning

based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired
through conditioning. Conditioning occurs through
interaction with the environment. Behaviorists
believe that our responses to environmental
stimuli shape our actions.
 BRIEF HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY

Origins of psychology begin with 5th and 6th

century Greece with studying behavior.
Copernicus & Galileo used Greek observation
methods to develop theory.
In 17th Century Rene Descartes proposed that
the mind does affect on the body by
controlling movements, sensations and
perceptions.
 HISTORICAL APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY
STRUCTURALISM
 Wilhelm Wundt – In 1879, used term introspection
(examination or observation of one's own mental and
emotional processes.
 The principle that structure is more important than
function.
FUNCTIONALISM
study of the function or how people & animals adapt to
environment.
William James – known as the “father of American
psychology” taught first psychology class in 1875 and
wrote first textbook in 1890(The principles of Psychology)
Inheritable Traits
Study of how heredity influences a person’s ability,
character, and behavior.
 Is behavior determined by heredity or environment?

Sir Francis Galton – concluded that intelligence was

hereditary / good marriages would supply the world
with talented offspring. (1883).
MAJOR PERSPECTIVES OF PSYCHOLOGY OR MODEREN
APPROACHES TO PSYCHOLOGY

 Psychoanalytic
 Behaviorism
 Humanism
 Biological/Biomedical
 Constructivism
 Cognitivism
 Socio-cultural
Contemporary Approaches to Psychology (mid
1900’s to Present)
 The psychodynamic perspective originated with the work
of Sigmund Freud. This perspective emphasizes the role of
the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and
interpersonal relationships to explain human behavior and
to treat people suffering from mental illnesses.
 Sigmund Freud was born in vienna in 1856. Freud spent
much of his life working on psychoanalysis. on the basis of
his work he viewed as the father of psychology. He died in
1939 ( cancer of the jaw) .
 Sigmund Freud – used free association and dream analysis
to study behavior (1940).
 TYPES OF THERAPY

• Psychoanalysis(4-5 session per week, free association )

• Psychoanalytic(1-3 session per week, talk therapy)

• Psychodynamic(phobia, anxiety problem, transference )

Psychoanalytic Methods of Therapy
1-Maintaining the analytic frame work
2-Free association(Hypnosis)(Catharsis)
3-Interpertation
4-Dream analysis
 Manifest content- actual events in dream.
 Latent content – hidden message in dream.
5-Analysis of resistance
6-Analysis of transference
7-Freudian Slips
8-Rorschach ink blots
 Defense Mechanism
 Fraud’s Developmental stages
 FREUD'S THEORIES
Psychoanalytic theory includes:

 Structural Theory(Id , Ego , Superego)

 Libido (Drive) Theory

 Topographical Theory of mind

(Conscious, preconscious , unconscious)

 Theory of Narcissism
 Id = unconscious = pleasure principle
- Primary process thinking: wish fulfillment
- I want it now! Instant gratification
- Part of the iceberg that is submerged underwater
 Ego = conscious = reality principle
- What are the real-world consequences of my actions?
- secondary process thinking: reality testing
- part of the iceberg that is above water and aware of reality
 Superego = preconscious = morality principle
- What is the proper way to behave? Parents/Society
- sense of right and wrong
- Part of the iceberg that is just under the water but can
sometimes surface
 FREUD'S WRITING

 Studies on Hysteria (1895)

 The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)

 The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (1901)

 Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious (1905)

 Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905)

 Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920)

 CONCLUSIONS

 There have been many revisions and additions to

psychoanalytic theories since Freud's time.

 Freud's theories explains the concepts of love, hate,

childhood, family relations, civilization, sexuality,
fantasy, conflicting emotions etc.
Behaviorism
 BEHAVIORISM
Behaviorism is a school of psychology, focus on
observable behavior. what one can do externally to
bring about behavior changes, it does not explain
how the mind works.
Confined to observable and measurable behavior

 Classical Conditioning – (Pavlov)(Watson)

 Operant Conditioning –(Skinner)

 PAVLOV AND CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

The father of modern learning theory is Ivan Petrovich

Pavlov(1849-1936).Pavlov was born in Ryazan,Russia,the
son of poor village priest. in 1904 he won the Nobel prize
for his work on digestive system. when Pavlov was 50 years
old he began his famous work on conditioned reflexes.
According to Pavlov “behavior can be change through
conditioning with external or environmental conditions or
stimuli” . this new interest came about through an
accidental discovery about the nature of salivation in dogs,
he began studying the conditioning process.
Classical conditioning paradigm.
 Experiment on dog with light.(1928)
 Unconditioned stimulus(US)
 Unconditioned Reflex(UR)
 Conditioned stimulus(CS)
 Conditioned Reflex(CR)
 Extinction
 Spontaneous Recovery
 Discrimination
 Higher-order conditioning
 Second order conditioning
 Third order conditioning
Pavlov basic idea was not new. in the 17th century ,Lock
had proposed that knowledge is based on association, but
Pavlov uncovered several principles of association.
The man most responsible for making pavlovian principals a
part of the psychological mainstream was John
B.Watson(1878-1958)he was environmentalist and
behaviorist.
In1916 Watson began research on young children
becoming the first major psychologist to apply principal of
learning to the problems of development .
 Study of Emotions.
 Fear(sudden noise ,loss of support)
 Rage(response to restriction of body movement
Conditioning Fear In Little Albert.
 MARY COVER JONES
Mary Cover Jones
(September 1, 1897 – July 22, 1987)
was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
She has become known as
“The mother of behavior therapy"
because of her early work on the
unconditioning of the fear reaction in
infants. Her study of the three-year-old
named Peter, in which she tested a number
of procedures to remove his fear of a white
Rabbit.
Deconditioning fear in peter
 JOSEPH WOLPE

Systematic desensitization is a type of behavioral

therapy based on the principle of classical
conditioning. It was developed by Wolpe during the
1950s. This therapy aims to remove the fear
response of a Phobia. There are three phases to the
treatment.
FIRST: Taught a deep muscle relaxation technique.
SECOND: Creates a fear hierarchy.
THIRD: Work on hierarchy.
Operant Conditioning
• An American psychologist B.F Skinner(1904-
1990) was also a behaviorist &
environmentalist . He also wrote stories and
poetry. he criticize Pavlov and Watson

• According to Skinner People learn their

behavior from their history or past experience
particularly those are repeated or reinforced
 SKINNER: OPERANT CONDITIONING

Stimulus Response Reinforcement

 REINFORCEMENT
A Consequence That Strengthens a Behavior
Positive
giving something good - increases desired
behaviour
Negative
taking away something bad - increases desired
behaviour
Punishment
applying something bad - reduces
undesired behaviour
Humanism
 Contemporary Approaches to Psychology
(mid 1900’s to Present)
 Humanistic Psychology
Belief that each person has
freedom in directing his/her
future an achieving personal
growth.
 Humans are not controlled by
environment, but by their own
self concept.
 Abraham Maslow humanist
whose views differed from
behaviorists and psychoanalysts
 HUMANISM
• Abraham Maslow said we have a hierarchy of needs
• Carl Rogers revolutionized talk therapy. His therapy is
client-centered, where the client has all the answers instead
of the therapist. Therapists treat the client with
unconditional positive regard (no judgments). Group
therapy comes from Humanism.
 COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

 It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think,

speak, and solve problems.
 Cognitive therapy is about changing the maladaptive
thoughts of a person.

Alan Baddeley studied memory. He’s famous for his

model for working memory .

Jean Piaget studied cognitive development in children.

 Baddeley's model of working memory
Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch proposed a model of working
memory in 1974, in an attempt to present a more accurate model of
primary memory (often referred to as short-term memory). Working
memory splits primary memory into multiple components. Model
was composed of three main components:
central executive
which acts as supervisory system and controls
the flow of information
1-phonological loop
The phonological loop stores verbal content.
2-visuo-spatial sketchpad provide to visuo-spatial
data.
In 2000 Baddeley added a third part to his model is
3- Episodic buffer.
 CONSTRUCTIVISM
 Grew out of and in response to
Cognitivism, framed around
metacognition. Knowledge is
actively constructed .
 Learning is an active,
constructive process
 Learner constructs information
 New information linked to
prior knowledge
 Learner is not a blank slate
 Originators and important
contributors include Vygotsky,
Piaget, Dewey, Vico, Rorty, and
Bruner.
The 5 E's
The 5 E's is an instructional model based on
the constructivist approach to learning, which says that
learners build or construct new ideas on top of their old
ideas. The 5 E's can be used with students of all ages,
including adults. Each of the 5 E's describes a phase of
learning, and each phase begins with the letter "E":
 Engage
 Explore
 Explain
 Elaborate
 Evaluate
 Contemporary Approaches to Psychology
(mid 1900’s to Present)

Biological Psychology – study of how physical and

chemical changes in our bodies influence
behaviors. Ex/ brain, nervous system, hormones
effect on behavior.
Sociocultural Psychology – study of cultural and
socioeconomic influences on behaviors
 PSYCHOLOGY AS A PROFESSION
Psychologist
A trained person who studies the mind and
behaviors of humans and animals.
 VARIOUS FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY
 Biopsychology
 Clinical Psychology
 Cognitive Psychology
 Comparative Psychology
 Counseling Psychology
 Developmental Psychology
 Abnormal Psychology
 Forensic Psychology
 Experimental Psychology
 Sports Psychology
 School Psychology

 Social Psychology

 Educational Psychology

 Educational Psychology

 Health Psychology

 Industrial-Organizational Psychology

 Personality Psychology