Introduction to

Psychology
PSY1002
{ Unit 1: The Science of Psychology
  Nature of psychology (definitions)
 Approaches and application:

 Structuralism,

 Functionalism,

 Gesalt,

 Biological,

 Cognitive,

 Behavioral,

 Humanistic,

 Evolutionary,

 Psychodynamic

Outline
  Is the scientific study of behavior and mental
processes

 Key terms within the definition:

 Science: psychology uses systemic methods to
observe human behavior and draw conclusions
 Behavior: is everything we do that can be directly
observed
 Mental processes: are the thoughts feelings and
motives that each of us experiences privately but
that cannot be observed directly

What is psychology?
Approaches and
Application

Structuralism (William Wundt)

Functionalism (William James)

{
Natural Selection (Charles Darwin)
Biological
Behavioral (John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner)
Psychodynamic (Sigmund Freud)
Humanistic (Maslow, Carl Rogers)
  Wilheim Wundt (1832- 1920), a German
philosopher- physician, put the pieces of the
philosophy- natural science puzzle together to
create the academic discipline of psychology
 Structuralism concentrated on discovering the
basic elements, or structures, of mental
processes, aka learning the structures of the
human mind

Approaches and Application: Structuralism

  William James (1842 – 1910) gave psychology a
foundation in the US

 Functionalism focused on COMPONENTS of

the MIND, it probes the functions and
purposes of the mind and behavior in the
individual’s adaptation to the environment
 Focused on human interactions with the
outside world and the purpose of thoughts

Approaches & Application:

Functionalism
Approaches and application:
Natural Selection/ Evolutionary

 Charles Darwin in 1859 published his ideas in On the Origin of

Species, main theory was “natural selection”
 It posits that organisms that are best adapted to their
environment will survive and produce offspring
 Importantly, a characteristic cannot be passed from one
generation to the next unless it is recorded in the genes
 “survival of the fittest”

 Focuses on ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural

selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviours
  An approach to psychology focusing on the body,
especially the brain and the nervous system

 For example, researchers might examine the way the

heart rate increases when someone is afraid or how
your hands sweat when you tell a lie

 Neuroscience: is the scientific study of the structure,

function, development, genetics, and biochemistry of
the nervous system. They believe that the thoughts
and emotions have a physical basis in the brain.

Approaches and application: Biological

  Founded by John B. Watson (1878- 1958) and B.F.
Skinner (1904- 1990)

 An approach in psychology emphasizing the

scientific study of observable behavioral responses
and their environmental determinants

 Skinner emphasized that psychology should be

about what people do- their actions and
behaviours- and should not concern itself with
things that cannot be seen

Approaches and application: Behavioural

  An approach to psychology emphasizing
unconscious thought, the conflict between
biological drives (mainly a drive for sex) and
society’s demands, and early childhood
experiences

 Founded by Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)

Approaches & Application: Psychodynamic

  Humanistic psychologist stress that people
have the ability to control their lives and are
not simply controlled by the environment
 People can CHOOSE to live by higher human
values and free will

 It is an approach that emphasizes a person’s

positive qualities, the capacity for positive
growth, and the freedom to choose any destiny

Approaches and application: Humanistic

  An approach that emphasizes the mental
processes involved in knowing, how we direct
our attention, perceive, remember, think and
solve problems

 Many scientists focus on information

processing
 Cognitive psychologists view the mind as an
active and aware problem-solving system

Approaches and application: Cognitive

  Gestalt psychology, school
of psychology founded in the 20th century that
provided the foundation for the modern study
of perception. Gestalt theory emphasizes that
the whole of anything is greater than its parts
 Gestalt psychology is an attempt to understand
the laws behind the ability to acquire and
maintain meaningful perceptions in an
apparently chaotic world

Approaches & Application:

Gesalt
  Psychology seeks to answer questions that
people that have been asking for thousands of
years;

 How do we learn?
 What is memory?
 Why does one person grow and flourish while
another struggles?

Careers within
Psychology
 Careers within Psychology
 Personality psychology
Areas of Specialization  Social psychology
 Physiological psychology
 Industrial & Organizational
 Behavioral neuroscience
psychology
 Sensation & perception
 Clinical & counseling psychology
 Learning
 Health psychology
 Cognitive psychology
 Community psychology
 Developmental psychology
 School & educational psychology
 Motivation & emotion
 Environmental psychology
 Psychology of women &
 Forensic psychology
gender  Sport psychology
 Cross- cultural psychology
 Psychology versus Psychiatry
 psychologists and psychiatrists often work together

for the well-being of the client, their job descriptions

overlap.
 However, there are several crucial differences between

a psychologist and psychiatrist, the most critical being

the nature of treatment within the two professions.
 The psychologist and psychiatrist work in
tandem to treat patient symptoms from both a
behavioral and clinical standpoint.

Careers within Psychology

 Psychology
Qualification focus extensively on
psychotherapy and treating
emotional and mental suffering in
patients with behavioral
intervention. Psychologists are
also qualified to conduct
psychological testing
Education Masters and or Doctorate in the
field of psychology
Throughout their education,
psychologists study personality
development, the history of
psychological problems and the
science of psychological research
Practice After seeing a primary physician
for a referral, a patient might work
regularly with a psychologist
addressing behavioral patterns.
Careers in Psychology
Psychiatry
trained medical doctors, they
can prescribe medications,
and they spend much of their
time with patients on
medication management as a
course of treatment
attend medical school and are
trained in general medicine.
After earning an MD, they
practice years of residency
training in psychiatry
psychiatrist who can prescribe
and monitor medication.
  Describe
 Explain
 Predict
 Control

Goals of Psychology
{ Describe
 Psychology is a science.
{ Explain
 Why does this behavior occur?
 It aims to understand the behavior of
Under what circumstances will
others and gather information about it occur again?
the way the brain works in order to
 In order to explain a behavior,
better serve humanity.
 By observing different human psychologists must conduct
behaviors, psychologists determine experiments to ensure that the
what is normal and healthy and behavior is not an anomaly.
what is unhealthy.  If there’s only one person (or
 Psychology analyzes the thoughts,

feelings, actions and goals of people

animal) exhibiting this
through the help of various case behavior, it certainly isn’t a
studies, observations and surveys cultural norm.

Goals of Psychology
{ Predict
{ Control
Control is used to better
 Based on past observed 

people’s lives
behavior, a psychologist
 Psychologists study the
aims to predict how that behaviors of masochists, drug
behavior will appear addicts and other negative
again in the future and personalities and aim to
if other people will change those behaviors.
 Through careful observation
exhibit the same
and experimentation,
behavior. psychology is used to better
mankind by reducing negative
traits.

Goals of Psychology