Chapter 1

What is Psychology?

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Chapter Preview

 Defining Psychology
 Psychology in Historical Perspective
 Contemporary Approaches to Psychology
 What Psychologists Do
 Science of Psychology and Health and Wellness

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Psychology: Defined

Psychology is the scientific study of

behavior and mental processes.

Three Key Components

 science – systematic methods
 behavior – what can be directly observed
 mental processes – thoughts, feelings, motives

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Science of Psychology

 Critical Thinking
 Skepticism
 Objectivity
 Curiosity

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Psychology – A General Science

Psychology is not limited to the study

of psychological disorders.

 Freud’s view of human nature

 positive psychology

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History of Psychology

 Western Philosophy
 Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
 1879 – established 1st psychology lab
 Experiment – measure time lag between hearing a
sound and responding (how long does it take for the
brain and the nervous system to translate info. Into
action?)
 Mental processes could be measured

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Wundt’s Structuralism

 Focused on identifying basic structures of

the mind; structuralism

 Method: introspection (looking inside)

 systematic, detailed self-reports

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James’ Functionalism

 Focus on functions and purposes of

the mind
 Viewed the mind as flexible and
constantly changing in response to
continuous information from the
world - stream of consciousness
 Why is human thought adaptive?
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Psychology and Evolution

 Charles Darwin
 Natural Selection – a process whereby
organisms best adapted to their env.
survive and produce off-spring
 competition for resources e.g. food, shelter
 genetic characteristics that promote reproduction
and survival are favored
 environmental changes alter course of evolution

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Contemporary Approaches

Current Psychological Perspectives

Biological
Behavioral
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Cognitive
Evolutionary
Sociocultural

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Biological Approach

The biological approach focuses on the

brain and nervous system.

Neuroscience
 study of the structure, function, development,
genetics, biochemistry of the nervous system
 thoughts and emotions have physical basis in brain
 allowed psychologists to better understand the brain

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Behavioral Approach

The behavioral approach focuses on the

environmental determinants
of observable behavior.

Notable Behaviorists
 John Watson
 B.F. Skinner
 rejected thought processes

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Psychodynamic Approach

Psychodynamics emphasizes
 unconscious thought
 conflict between biological drives and
demands of society
 early childhood family experiences

Psychoanalysis - Freud

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Humanistic Approach

Humanists emphasize
 positive human qualities

 capacity for positive growth

 free will

Humanistic Theorists
 Carl Rogers

 Abraham Maslow

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Cognitive Approach

The cognitive approach emphasizes the

mental processes involved in knowing.

Information Processing
…how humans interpret incoming info, weigh it,
store it, and apply it

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Evolutionary Approach

The evolutionary approach uses ideas such

as adaptation, reproduction, and natural
selection to explain human behavior.

Evolutionary Psychologists
 David Buss
 Leda Cosmides

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Sociocultural Approach

 examines how social and cultural

environments influence behavior and mental
processes

 studies differences between ethnic and

cultural groups within and across countries

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Careers in Psychology

Practice / Applied
Research
Teaching

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Areas of Specialization
 Physiological Psych / Behavioral Neuroscience
 Sensation and Perception
 Learning
 Cognitive Psychology
 Developmental Psychology
 Motivation & Emotion
 Psychology of Women & Gender
 Personality Psychology
 Social Psychology
 Industrial / Organizational Psychology
 Clinical & Counseling Psychology
 Health Psychology

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Areas of Specialization

Also (but not addressed in text beyond this chapter)

 Community Psychology
 School & Educational Psychology
 Environmental Psychology
 Forensic Psychology
 Sport Psychology
 Cross-Cultural Psychology

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Career Settings in Psychology

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Science of Psychology and
Health and Wellness

Mind-Body Connections
 how the mind impacts the body
 how the body impacts the mind

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Psychology and Business
studies
 Both the understanding of human behavior and the
skill in analysis of data provided by a major in
psychology are very useful to students interested
in careers in management and business.
 Market research, human resources, advertising,
and sales make direct use of knowledge gained in
psychology courses.

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 Business Psychology is an applied science that
investigates how to make people and organisations
more effective.
 It uses social scientific research methods to study
people, workplaces and organisations in order to
better align their multiple and sometimes
competing needs.

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Psychology and Law
 Criminal justice requires skills in analysing,
applying research, and reporting findings.
 These skills are developed, to varying degrees, in
liberal arts study. So what is it about psychology
that makes it an especially good fit?

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 Gain knowledge of adaptive and maladaptive
human behavior across age groups and in different
social contexts.
 Students get to learn the various factors that
influence decision making: the good decisions as
well as the bad ones.
 Students may get some experience with
counselling and case management.

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 Parole and probation officers are instrumental in
determining whether an offender or accused
person can live in society without posing a threat.
 The role can include some assessment – and
assessment is one of the fortes of the psychologist.

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Psychology and Education
 Educational psychology involves the study of:
 how people learn, including topics such as student
outcomes, the instructional process, individual
differences in learning, gifted learners, and
learning disabilities.
 Psychologists who work in this field are interested
in how people learn and retain new information.

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Chapter Summary

 Explain what psychology is and how it differs from an every-

day, informal approach to understanding human nature.
 Discuss the roots and early scientific foundations of
psychology.
 Summarize the main themes of the seven approaches to
psychology.
 List some of the areas of specialization and careers in
psychology.
 Describe the connections between the mind and the body.

© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Chapter Summary

Defining Psychology
 scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Historical Foundations of Psychology

 origins in philosophy and physiology
 structuralism – Wilhelm Wundt
 functionalism – William James
 evolutionary theory – Charles Darwin

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Chapter Summary

Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

 current approaches – complementary

Specializations and Careers in Psychology

 practice, research, teaching
 academic, clinic, private practice, industry, school

Science of Psychology and

Health and Wellness
 mind-body connection is a “two-way street”

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