Why, hello there Psychology!

Getting to know this b**chin’ science of yo’ mind

Definition:

PSYCHOLOGYThe study of the soul.

Definition:

PSYCHOLOGYThe science of behavior and mental processes.

A crazy long time ago…

Seat of human consciousness is in the heart (awwww), not the head

2000 years ago…

First psychological exams for public officials

Late 800s…

One of the first people to describe mental illness

Treated patients in a very early psych ward in his Baghdad hospital

BIG QUESTIONS

How can humans commit genocide or torture other humans?

Do we have free will, or are we driven by our env’t, biology and nonconscious influences?

What is mental illness, and what can we do about it?

What is consciousness? Or the notion of self?

What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear the (big)

word

PSYCHOLOGY?

Psych(o) Folks

One of the most influential and controversial thinkers of the 20th century

Freud

Childhood

Personality

Dreams

Sexuality

Psychology’s Schools of ThoughtWe’re you enrolled in any of them?

STRUCTURALISMFUNCTIONALISM

PSYCHOANALYSIS

Where & when did Ψ become a SCIENCE?

Set up the first psych lab at the University of Leipzig, Germany (1879)

With E.B. Titchener: “If chemists & physicists could break down all matters into STRUCTURES, why can’t we do the same for your sexxxy mind? ”

STRUCTURALISM

Relied on introspection

FUNCTIONALISM

“Why we feel, think & behave;” function of behavior

Inspired by no other than…

EVOLUTIONARY THEORY

Adaptive behaviors are conserved in the evolutionary process

FUNCTIONALISM

Published The Principles of Psychology (Psychology – science of mental life)

It’s so nice bumpin’ into you again, Dr. Freud!

PSYCHOANALYSIS

Published The Interpretation of Dreams (1900s)

Unconscious motives (dreams, projections & free association)

This could be you if not for Freud…

BEHAVIORISM

Focused on observable behavior

Skinner box

Published Behaviour of Organisms

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES

Importance of early experiences in shaping the

UNCONSCIOUS

Thoughts +Feelings +

Behaviors +Personality

Other major major forces in Psych

Humanistic psychology (Humanism)

Cognitive psychology

Gestalt psychology

Behavioral neuroscience

Sociocultural psychology

Definition:

PSYCHOLOGYThe science of behavior and mental processes.

Recognizes the need for observing and recording behavior and gives credit to our mental processes

PSYCHOLOGY is an integrative

science.

What is the essence of being a Psychology? Huehue.

Asking different questions

Attempting to answer them through all kinds of data-gathering methods

The human mind is complicated…

…therefore, there is no single way to crack your heads open. It must be pried at from all sides.

“THE HUMAN BRAIN IS BY FAR THE MOST COMPLEX PHYSICAL OBJECT KNOWN TO US IN THE ENTIRE COSMOS.”

- Random witty Harvard astronomer

And you see, YOU HAVE ONE!

But how do we explain different topics within psychology?

Through the

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

Say, Markova, a flamboyant transgender woman punched Bruno, a bully, after he insulted her. How are you going to explain Markova’s behavior using:

the biological perspective? the behavioral perspective? the cognitive perspective? the psychoanalytic perspective? the subjectivist perspective?

FIVE PERSPECTIVES WITHIN PSYCHOLOGY

Biological perspective

An orientation toward understanding the neurobiological processes that underlie behavior and mental processes

Behavioral perspective

An orientation toward understanding observable behavior in terms of conditioning and reinforcement

Cognitive perspective

An orientation toward understanding mental processes such as perceiving, remembering, reasoning, deciding, and problem solving and their relationship to behavior

Psychoanalytic perspective

An orientation toward understanding behavior in terms of unconscious motives stemming from sexual and aggressive impulses

Subjectivist perspective

An orientation toward understanding behavior and mental processes in terms of the subjective realities people actively construct