Psychology as Social

Science
Psychology
Psychology is the academic and applied study of mental
functions and behaviors. The word “psychology” comes from two
specific Greek words—psyche, which means “soul,” “life,” or
“mind,” and logia, which means “the study of.” Simply put,
psychology is the study of the mind.

The overarching goal of psychology is to understand the behavior,

mental functions, and emotional processes of human beings.
This field ultimately aims to benefit society, partly through its focus
on better understanding of mental health and mental illness.
Interaction
Psychological Concepts
Psychology explores concepts such as perception,
cognition, attention, emotion, phenomenology,
motivation, brain functioning, personality, behavior,
resilience, the unconscious mind, and interpersonal
relationships.

The resulting knowledge is then applied to various

spheres of human activity, including the problems of
individuals’ daily lives and the treatment of mental
illness.
Psychology as a hub science

Psychology has been described as a “hub science”

because psychological research has links to the social
sciences, natural sciences, medicine, and the
humanities (such as philosophy).
Early roots of Psychology
 History
Ancient Beliefs
Demonology
Exorcism
Trephining

Naturalistic Explanations
Hippocrates
Four Humours

Return to the Supernatural

Mass Madness
Tarantism
Witchcraft
Reforms
Humanism
People are sick; not possessed
Need to be treated with dignity
Reform Movements
Moral Treatment
Shift from prison to hospital
Biological View
Organic explanation for abnormal behaviour
Drug revolution
Early Philosophy
From approximately 600 to 300 BC,
Greek philosophers’ exploration.

Socrates and his followers, Plato

and Aristotle, wrote about such
topics as pleasure, pain, knowledge,
motivation, and rationality.

They theorized about whether human traits

are innate or the product of experience,
which continues to be a topic of debate in
psychology today. They also considered the
origins of mental illness, with both Socrates
and Plato focusing on psychological forces
as the root of such illnesses.
17th Century
René Descartes, a French mathematician and
philosopher from the 1600s, theorized that the body and
mind are separate entities, a concept that came to be
known as dualism.

According to dualism, the body is a physical entity

with scientifically measurable behavior, while the mind is a
spiritual entity that cannot be measured because it
transcends the material world.
Descartes believed that the two interacted only through a
tiny structure at the base of the brain called the pineal
gland.
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were
English philosophers from the 17th century who disagreed
with the concept of dualism.

They argued that all human experiences are physical

processes occurring within the brain and nervous system.

As this view holds that the mind and body are one and the same, it
later became known as monism.
 Psychology as an
Independent Discipline

The first use of the term “psychology” is often attributed to the German
scholastic philosopher Rudolf Göckel, who published
the Psychologia hoc est de hominis perfectione, anima, ortu in 1590.

The term did not come into popular usage until the German idealist
philosopher Christian Wolff used it in his Psychologia
empirica and Psychologia rationalis (1732–1734).

In England, the term “psychology” overtook “mental philosophy”

in the middle of the 19th century.
Wilhelm Wundt

The late 19th century marked the start of psychology as a scientific

enterprise. Psychology as a self-conscious field of experimental study
began in 1879, when German scientist Wilhelm Wundt founded the
first laboratory dedicated exclusively to psychological research in
Leipzig.

Often considered the father of psychology, Wundt was the first person
to refer to himself as a psychologist and wrote the first textbook on
psychology, entitled Principles of Physiological Psychology.
Wilhelm Wundt
Wundt believed that the study of conscious thoughts
would be the key to understanding the mind. His
approach to the study of the mind was
groundbreaking in that it was based on systematic
and rigorous observation, laying the foundation for
modern psychological experimentation.

Wundt’s primary method of research was ”

introspection,” which involves training people to
concentrate and report on their conscious
experiences as they react to stimuli.
Defining “Normal” and “Healthy”

One of the ongoing debates in psychology is how

to define the concepts of “normal” and “healthy.”

Psychologists often rely on these terms to assess,

diagnose, treat, and counsel individuals who are
experiencing mental-health difficulties; however,
these terms are subject to interpretation.

What is normal or healthy behavior for one person may be

unhealthy or ineffective for someone else. Behavior can be
normal for an individual (intrapersonal normality) when it is
consistent with the most common behavior for that person,
even if that behavior leads to negative consequences.
• “Normal” is also used to describe when
someone’s behavior conforms to the most
common or accepted behavior in society
(known as conforming to the norm).
Definitions of normality vary by person, time,
place, and situation, and are
overwhelmingly shaped by cultural and
societal standards and norms.
Developmental Theories
THEORIES
What is a theory?
Orderly set of ideas which describe, explain, and
predict behavior.

Why are theories important?

To give meaning to what we observe.
As a basis for action -- finding ways to improve the lives
and education of children.
Developmental Theories
THEORIES
What is a theory?
Orderly set of ideas which describe, explain, and
predict behavior.

Why are theories important?

To give meaning to what we observe.
As a basis for action -- finding ways to improve the lives
and education of children.
Psychoanalytical Theories
Beliefs focus on the formation of personality.
According to this approach, children move through
various stages, confronting conflicts between
biological drives and social expectations.
Sigmund Freud
Psychosexual Theory
Was based on his therapy
with troubled adults.
He emphasized that a
child's personality is
formed by the ways which
his parents managed his
sexual and aggressive
drives.
Erogenous zones – specific
“pleasure areas” that become
focal points for the particular
stage.

If needs are not met along the

area, a fixation occurs.
As an adult, the person will now manifest
behaviors related to this erogenous zone.
Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development

Oedipus Complex

Electra Complex
Freud’s Personality Components
 Topographical Model
Freud’s Conception of Human Psyche
(The Iceberg Model)
 Erik Erikson
Psychosocial Theory
Expanded on Freud's theories.
Believed that development is life-long.
Emphasized that at each stage, the child
acquires attitudes and skills resulting from the
successful negotiation of the psychological
conflict.
Identified 8 stages:
Basic trust vs mistrust (birth - 1 year)
Autonomy vs shame and doubt (ages 1-3)
Initiative vs guilt (ages 3-6)
Industry vs inferiority (ages 6-11)
Identity vs identity confusion (adolescence)
Intimacy vs isolation (young adulthood)
Generativity vs stagnation (middle adulthood)
Integrity vs despair (the elderly)
 Hope withdrawal

Willpower/ Impulsiveness/co
determination mpulsiveness

Courage/ Ruthlessness/soc
purpose iopath/inhibition

Competency
Inertia

Fidelity Repudiation

Promiscuity/
Love exclusion

Overextension/
Care rejectivity

Presumption/
Wisdom disdain
Cognitive Theories
Beliefs that describe how children learn
 Cognitive development
Jean Piaget theory
Children "construct" their
understanding of the world through
their active involvement and
interactions.
Studied his 3 children to focus not
on what they knew but how they
knew it.
Schema
- refers to the cognitive structures by which individuals
intellectually adapt to and organize their environment.
- ways to understand and create meaning about a thing or
experience.

Assimilation
- is the process of fitting s new experience into an exciting or
previously created cognitive structure or schema.

Accommodation
-The process of creating a new schema.

Equilibrium
-Achieving proper balance between assimilation and
accommodation.
-Cognitive disequilibrium (when our experience does not match
our schema or cognitive structure.
 Piaget’s Cognitive
Development Stages
Sensori-motor
Ages birth - 2: the infant uses his senses and motor
abilities to understand the world
Preoperation
Ages 2-7: the child uses metal representations of objects
and is able to use symbolic thought and language
Concrete operations
Ages 7-11; the child uses logical operations or principles
when solving problems
Formal operations
Ages 12 up; the use of logical operations in a systematic
fashion and with the ability to use abstractions
Object permanence – ability of the child to know that an
object still exists even when out of sight.
Symbolic function– ability to represent objects and events.
Egocentrism– tendency to only see his point of view and
to assume that everyone also has his same point of view.

Centration– tendency to focus on one aspect and exclude other aspects.

Irreversibility– inability to reverse thinking.

Animism– attribute human like traits/characteristics to inanimate objects.

Transductive reasoning– reasoning appears to be from particular to

particular.
Decentering– ability of the child perceive
the different features of objects and
situations.

Reversibility– can follow certain operations that can

be done in reverse..

Conservation – the ability to know that certain properties

of objects do not change even if there is a change in
appearance
Hypothetical Reasoning – ability to come up with different
hypothesis about a problem. To gather data to make final
decision/judgment.

Analogical Reasoning– ability to perceive the relationship in

one instance and use that relationship to narrow down
possible answers.

Deductive Reasoning– ability to think logically by applying

general rule to a particular instance or situation.
Lawrence Kohlberg

Stages of Moral
Development
He based his theory on the findings
of Piaget in studying cognitive
development.
Our ability to choose right from
wrong is ted with our ability to
understand and reason logically.
 Lev Vygotsky
Socio-Cultural Theory
Agreed that children are active
learners, but their knowledge is
socially constructed.
Cultural values and customs dictate
what is important to learn.
Children learn from more expert
members of the society.
Vygotsky described the "zone of ced.ncsc.edu/hyy/devtheories.htm

proximal development", where

learning occurs.
Systems Theory
The belief that development can't be explained by a
single concept, but rather by a complex system.
Urie Bronfenbrenner
Ecological Systems Theory
The varied systems of the
environment and the
interrelationships among the
systems shape a child's
development.
Both the environment and biology
influence the child's development.
The environment affects the child
and the child influences the
environment.
 Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model
The microsystem - activities and
interactions in the child's immediate
surroundings: parents, school, friends,
etc.

The mesosystem - relationships

among the entities involved in the
child's microsystem: parents'
interactions with teachers, a school's
interactions with the daycare provider

The exosystem - social institutions

which affect children indirectly: the
parents' work settings and policies,
extended family networks, mass media,
community resources

The macrosystem - broader cultural

values, laws and governmental
resources
The chronosystem - changes which
occur during a child's life, both
personally, like the birth of a sibling and
culturally, like the Iraqi war.
Outline of 20th Century Theories
Psychoanalytical Theories
Psychosexual: Sigmund Freud
Psychosocial: Erik Erikson

Behavioral & Social Learning Theories

Behaviorism: Classical Conditioning - John Watson & Operant Conditioning - B.F.
Skinner
Social Learning - Albert Bandera

Biological Theories
Maturationism: G. Stanley Hall & Arnold Gesell
Ethology: Konrad Lorenz
Attachment: John Bowlby
Outline of 20th Century Theories
Cognitive Theories
Cognitive Development: Jean Piaget
Socio-cultural: Lev Vygotsky
Information Processing

Systems Theories
Ecological Systems: Urie Bronfenbrenner