INTRODUCTION TO

PSYCHOLOGY
Prepared by Priscilla Lee
ABOUT PRISCILLA
After studying my Masters of Arts (Applied Psychology), I
have been working with adults, children and youths across
a range of emotional and behavioral issues, providing
counseling and psycho-educational guidance for them. I
am experienced in both individual and group therapy
settings specializing in conducting socio-emotional
wellness therapy, school motivation classes, educational
therapies and other focused group therapies. Previously, I
did internship in many different settings such as hospital,
student care centre, outpatient youth centre and tertiary
school. I am competent in intervention skills like Solutions
Focus, Restorative Practices, Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy, Person Centered Therapy and Play Therapy.
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
 Comes from psych (Greek for “mind”) and –ology
(meaning “a field of study”)
 Literally means “study of the mind”

 Covers both internal mental processes and external,

observable behaviors
 Based on objective, verifiable, scientific evidence
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
 Structuralism: Started with Wilhelm Wundt’s first
psychological laboratory and his concept of
introspection. “Father of experimental psychology”
 Gestalt: Led by Max Wertheimer, these guys focused not
on how we feel, but on how we experience the world.
“The whole of an experience can be more than the sum
of its parts.” (late 1800’s)
 Psychoanalysis: started with Sigmund Freud (in the
early 1900’s). People believed that most of your feelings
come from a hidden place in your mind called the
unconscious. “Father of psychoanalysis”
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
 Behaviorism: (early to mid
1900s), people started to focus
solely on observing behaviors.

 Electic: (now) Psychologists pick

and choose what theories to use
depending on the situation and the
client.
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF MODERN
PSYCHOLOGY

How the body and brain create emotions,

Biological Psychology memories, and sensory experiences.

How we learn from observable

responses.
Behavioral/Clinical Psychology How to best study, assess and
treat troubled people.

Cognitive Psychology How we process, store and retrieve

information.

Social-Cultural Psychology How behavior and thinking vary

across situations
and cultures.
Psychology is a broad field with
many specialties, but
fundamentally, psychology is the
science of behavior and mental
processes
 PSYCHOLOGY MUST BE EMPIRICAL
Knowledge
Knowledgeacquired
acquiredthrough
throughobservation
observation

Psychologists must be skeptical

and think critically
What is the evidence?
How was it collected?

Psychology conclusions based on research

NOT tradition or common sense
KINDS OF PSYCHOLOGISTS
 Organizational
 School

 Counseling

 Clinical

 Forensic

 Educational

 Research
WHAT IS COUNSELING?

According to the American Counseling Association,

counseling is:

“The application of mental health, psychological or

human development principles, through cognitive,
affective, behavioral or systemic interventions,
strategies that address wellness, personal growth, or
career development, as well as pathology.”

What
Whatisisthe
thedifference
differencebetween
betweencounsellors,
counsellors,psychologists,
psychologists,
social
socialworkers
workersand
andpsychiatrist?
psychiatrist?
END