What Is Psychology?

 (is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

According to Definitions:

Behavior: that is activity can be observed, recorded &

measured what living beings or organism do.
Mental process: that is internal mental event can be studied.
Animals: also studies animal behavior relating to other
homogeneous living beings.

Science: a science is a body of systematized knowledge that is

gathered by carefully measuring & observing events.
 The Goals of Psychology:
• Every science has the common goal of learning
how things work. The goals specifically aimed at
uncovering the mysteries of human and animal
behavior are
• description,
• explanation,
• prediction, and
• control.
 DESCRIPTION
• The first step in understanding anything is to describe it. Description
involves observing a behavior and noting everything about it.

EXPLANATION
• Based on her observations, the psychologist might try to come up with
a tentative explanation

PREDICTION
• Determining what will happen in the future is a prediction.

CONTROL
• The focus of control, or the modification of some behavior, is to
change a behavior from an undesirable one.
 Sub Field of Psychology: [contd.]

• Behavioral Genetics: (e.g. it studies the inheritance of traits/ characteristic related

to behavior)

• Behavioral Neuroscience: (e.g. this examines the biological behavior)

• Clinical Psychology: (e.g. that deals with the study, diagnosis & treatment of
psychological disorder)

• Clinical Neuropsychology: (e.g. this unites the area of biopsychology & clinical
psychology)

• Cognitive Psychology: (v e.g. focuses on the study of higher mental process)

• Counseling Psychology: (e.g. focuses primarily on education, social & career
adjustment problem)

• Cross-cultural Psychology: (e.g. this investigates the similarities & differences

in psychological functioning in & good across various cultures & ethnic
groups)
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 [contd.]
Sub Field of Psychology:
• Developmental Psychology: (e.g. it examines how people grow &
change from the moment of conception through death.

• Educational Psychology: (e.g. it is concerned with teaching & learning

process, such as the relationship between motivation & school performance)

• Environmental Psychology: (e.g. it considers the relationship

between the people & their psychological environment)

• Evolutionary Psychology: (e.g. considers how behavior is influenced

by our genetic inheritance from ancestor)

• Experimental Psychology: (e.g. studies the process of sensing,

perceiving, learning & thinking about the world)

• Forensic Psychology: (e.g. Forensic psychology focuses on legal issues

such as determining the accuracy of witness memories)

• Health Psychology: (e.g. this explores the relationship between psychological

factors & physical ailments or diseases. No Health without mental health)

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 [contd.]
Sub Field of Psychology:
• Industrial/Organizational Psychology: (e.g. concerned with
the psychology of the workplace)

• Personality Psychology: (e.g. this focuses on the consistency in people’s

behavior over time & the traits that differentiate one person to another)

• Program Evaluation: (e.g. it focuses on assigning large-scale programs, such as the head starts
preschool program to determine whether they are effective in meeting their goals)

• Psychology of Women: (e.g. this focuses on issues such as discrimination

against women & the causes of violence against women)

• School Psychology: (e.g. it is devoted to counseling children in elementary &

secondary schools who have academic & emotional problems)

• Social Psychology: (e.g. is the study of how people’s thoughts, feeling & actions
are affected by others)

• Sports Psychology: (e.g. it applies psychology to athletic activity & experience).

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 Sub Fields of Psychology:
Psychology

Sub Fields

Behavioral Behavioral Experimental

Clinical Clinical Cognitive
Genetics Neuroscience Psychology Neuropsychology Psychology

Counseling Educational Forensic Personality School

Psychology Psychology Psychology Psychology Psychology

Cross-cultural Environmental Health Program Social

Psychology Psychology Psychology Evaluation Psychology

Developmental Evolutionary Industrial/Organiza- Psychology of Sports

Psychology Psychology tional Psychology Women Psychology
1. Structuralism Founded by Edward Titchener.
2. Functionalism Founded by William James
3. Gestalt psychology Founded by Max Wertheimer.
.
4. Psychoanalysis work of Sigmund Freud
5. Behaviorism work of John B. Watson
 The Early Schools and the History of Psychology:

1. Structuralism
• Founded by Edward Titchener.
Structuralism early perspective in psychology associated with Wilhelm Wundt and
Edward Titchener, in which the focus of study is the structure or basic elements of the
mind.
• Expanded Wundt’s original ideas; believed every experience could be broken down
into individual emotions and sensations.
• Applied introspection method to thoughts as well as physical sensations.
 2. Functionalism

• Founded by William James

• Functionalism early perspective in psychology associated with
William James, in which the focus of study is how the mind
allows people to adapt, live, work, and play.

• Influenced by Darwin’s ideas about natural selection—

focused on how the mind allows people to function in the real
world.
• Interested in how behavioral traits could aid in survival.
• Influenced development of evolutionary psychology.
• has elements in educational psychology and industrial/
organizational psychology
 3. Gestalt psychology

• Founded by Max Wertheimer.

• Gestalt psychology early perspective in psychology
focusing on perception and sensation, particularly
the perception of patterns and whole figures.
• Did not believe that psychological events could be
broken down into smaller elements; could only be
understood as a whole, entire event; has influenced
field of cognitive psychology and a form of
psychological therapy, Gestalt therapy.
 4. Psychoanalysis

• Psychoanalysis the theory and therapy based on the

work of Sigmund Freud. Behaviorism the science of
behavior that focuses on observable behavior only.
• Ideas put forth by Sigmund Freud stressed
importance of early life experiences, the role of the
unconscious, and development through stages.
 5. Behaviorism

• Associated with work of John B. Watson, who was

greatly influenced by Ivan Pavlov’s work in
conditioning/learning wanted to bring focus back on
scientific inquiry and believed only way to do so was
to focus on observable behavior and ignore
“consciousness "issue; early work examined phobias.
 The Modern Perspectives of Psychology:
Even in the twenty-first century, there isn’t one single perspective that is
used to explain all human behavior and mental processes. There are actually
seven modern perspectives, with two of those being holdovers from the early
days of the field.
1. Psychodynamic,
2. Behavioral,
3. Humanistic,
4. Cognitive,
5. Socio-Cultural,
6. Bio-psychological,
7. Evolutionary perspectives