Introduction to Psychology

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Introduction to Psychology

• Overview

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Psychology An Overview

• Understanding human thought, emotion, and
  behavior scientifically
• Practical applications
• Behavior is complex many theoretical approaches

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What is Psychology?

• Psyche/logos study of the mind
• Scientific study of mental and behavioral
  processes
• Scientific observation data collection drawing
  conclusions

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More than intuition....

• Need for empirical testing
• Evaluating the quality of evidence
• Expertise should not be blindly accepted
• Role of critical thinking

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Goals of Psychology

• To understand, describe, explore, predict, and
  control behavior
• Basic and applied research
• Social policy implications

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Subfields in Psychology

• Developmental
• Educational
• Personality
• Social
• Comparative
• Biopsychology
• Cognitive
• Cultural

• Evolutionary
• Gender
• Sports
• Environmental
• Forensic
• Industrial organizational
• Positive/peace

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History of Psychology

• 1879 first laboratory for psychological
  research Leipzig, Germany
• Wilhelm Wundt
• Emphasis on conscious experience introspection

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Structuralism vs. Functionalism

• Structuralism the basic elements (structure) of
  consciousness
• Functionalism the function/purpose of
  consciousness more applied
• William James

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Psychoanalytic Perspective

• Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
• Father of Psychology
• Role of the unconscious
• Repressed conflicts

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Psychoanalytic Perspective

• Id governed by the pleasure principle
• Ego governed by the reality principle
• Superego the internalized parent
• Psychoanalysis An early approach for treating
  mental illness

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Psychoanalytic Perspective

• Freud noted the importance of early childhood
• Psychosexual stages

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Behaviorism (1913)

• John Watson B.F. Skinner
• Study of observable behavior only
• Abandoned the study of consciousness-
  unscientific
• Associations between stimuli
• Reinforcements and punishments

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Behaviorism

• Give me a dozen healthy infants, well formed,
  and my own special world to bring them up in and
  Ill guarantee to take any one at random and
  train him to become any type of specialist I
  might select- doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant,
  and yes- beggar man and thief --John Watson

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Behaviorism

• We are a product of our environments
• Free will is an illusion B.F. Skinner
• From John Locke we are born into the world
  tabula rasa as blank slates upon which
  experience writes

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Humanistic Approach

• 1950s study of the unique qualities of humans
• Emphasis on freedom, human potential, and
  personal growth
• Abraham Maslow Carl Rogers

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Humanistic Approach

• Subjective experience
• Human potential
• Innate goodness
• Self-actualization

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Recent trends in psychology

• Interest in culture and diversity
• Evolutionary perspectives
• Positive psychology
• Socio-cultural/historical approaches

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Themes in Psychology

• 1. Psychology is empirical
• 2. Psychology is theoretically diverse

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Themes in Psychology

• 3. Psychology evolves in socio-historical context
• 4. Behavior is determined by multiple causes

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Themes in Psychology

• 5. Behavior is shaped by cultural heritage
• 6. Heredity and environment jointly influence
  behavior (nature/nurture debate)
• 7. Our experiences are subjective