Psychology

Introduction

Prof. BARAKAT Summer Term

1

What is Psychology

• The scientific study of behavior, mental processes, mind and cognitive activities

• Research leads to the development of theories about Behavior and Cognition

• The Greek word means

– Psycho = mind or soul – Logo = study of

• Psychologists are interested in every aspect of human thought and behavior

Gain insight into the mind

Understanding of people

Understanding ourselves

What do we hope to gain from studying psychology?

How did it all start?

•Philosophy

•Physiology

• Psychology

Any action that others can observe and measure:

–Walking–Talking (cognition)–Physical movements

What is Behavior?

Emotion Behavior or mental process Feelings Thoughts Dreams Brain waves or privates thoughts Perception Memories

What are Cognitive Activities?

Observe

Describe

Explain

Predict

Control

Five Goals of Psychology

A Social Science (Studies the structure of human society and the nature of the individual in the society)

Studies the nature of the physical world (Brain or mind)

Follows scientific principles (hypothesis, experimentation, data collection and analysis, and drawing conclusions)

Why is Psychology considered a Science?

Developmental Physiological Clinical and Counseling Industrial and Organizational Cognitive Psychology Comparative Psychology Forensic Psychology

Fields of PsychologyTable 1.4 p 30

Educational Psychology Evolutionary Psychology Health Psychology Social Psychology Positive Psychology Engineering Psychology Experimental Psychology

Fields of Psychology (Cont.)

History of Psychology

Gods and nature

Pseudopsychology and the fallacy of positive instances (Phrenology, Graphology, Astrology)

Thoughts and dreams

Mind centered in the heart

Pre-greek

“Know Thyself” (Learn about ourselves by examining ones’ thoughts and feelings

Introspection (modern term meaning “looking within”)

Socrates and Plato

Student of Plato who wrote “Peri Psyches” (about the Mind)

Human behavior is subject to laws

Man seeks pleasure, not pain

Addressed modern issues

Aristotle

Father of Medicine

Suggested the brain was root of behavioral problems

Thoughts, and feelings cause behavior

Hyppocrates

John Locke (philosopher)

– “The mind is a blank slate” – Theorized that knowledge is not inborn

but is learned from experiences

Human behavior and mental processes should be supported by evidence

In 1800s, psychological laboratories were established in Europe and United States

Scientific Approach

Investigates the biological basis of human behavior:

– Neuropsychologists: brain vs nervous system, i.e. strokes, no taste when sick

– Psycho-biologists: body chemistry or hormones, i.e., how they interact with drugs; how stress influences behavior

– Behavioral geneticists: heredity factors, i.e., how alcoholism runs in families

Birth of Physiological Psychology

History of the Modern Age1879 - PRESENT

Personality psychologists study the differences among individuals

How personality traits differ between males and females

Behavior as a stable personality trait or a response to a social reaction or stressful situation

Personality Psychology

Father of Modern Psychology First psychology laboratory

(Germany, 1879) Studied simplest mental process

(used measures of reaction time)

Objective sensation reflects the outside world

– Example: Sight/ taste Subjective feeling, emotion,

response and mental images

Wilhelm wundt

The study of the most basic elements (sensations and perceptions) that make up our conscious mental experiences

Involves Introspection

– “What are the elements of Psychological processes?”

STRUCTURALISM 1879:Elements of the Mind

Study of the function rather than the structure of consciousness

How our minds adapt to our changing environment

Behavioral observations conducted in a laboratory

– “What do certain behaviors and mental processes accomplish for the person?”

Adaptive behavior patterns are learned because they are successful

FUNCTIONALISM

1st American born psychologist

Wrote “The Principles of Psychology”

Experience is a fluid and an ever-changing flow of images and sensations

Adaptive Action (Darwinism): – Behavior + success = Habit

William James

Emphasized the objective, scientific analysis of observable behaviors

Interested in behavior and its precise measurement rather than “consciousness” of Wundt and James

Behaviorism 1950s:Radical Vs. Cognitive

Stimulus/Response theory

Adopted Ivan Pavlov’s concept of Conditioning

Psychology as an objective, experimental science that analyzes observable behavior, predicts and attempts to control behavior

John Watson

Environmental factors mould behaviour

Mental events do not explain behavior (radicalism)

Behavior is reinforced:

- Positive reinforcement - Reward & Punishment

Misguided rewards (punishment) lead to destructive actions

B. F. Skinner (Skinner Box)Radical Behaviourism

A view that combines cognition (thinking) and conditioning to explain behaviour

Case study: Watching streaming videos

Radical B.: Agent is rewarded by the pleasure of watching interesting videos

Cognitive B.: Agent expects to find good videos at the Website

Cognitive Behaviourism

Gestalt means « form, pattern, or whole »

Emphasized that perception is more than the sum of its parts

The study of thinking, learning and perception as whole units instead of the small units of structuralism

Studied how sensations are assembled into meaningful perceptual experiences

Gestalt Approach 1920s

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”

Deals with perceptions

– How we see and understand things

– Enables the individual to solve problems

Max Wertheimer: Gestalt psychology

Childhood experiences influence the development of later personality traits and psychological problems

– This perspective is associated with the psychodynamic view (internal forces and impulses that are hidden)

Emphasizes unconscious (conflict & past events. i.e., early childhood traumas)

Psychoanalysis 1900s:A look into the Early Mind

Studied the unconscious to understand behavior

– The Interpretation of Dreams

Developed Ideas:

– Therapy – Internal conflict – Study of impulses

Sigmund Freud

Focuses on subjective human experience

- Unconscious forces and behavioral emphasis on conditioning have a strong undercurrent of determinism

Stresses free will

Humanists are interested in psychological needs for love, self-esteem, belonging and spirituality

Abraham Maslow: Humanistic Psychology

The Biological Perspective (Evolutionary view)

The Psychological Perspective (Cognitive & Psychodynamic)

The Socio-cultural Perspective (interactionism and relativity)

Complementary Perspectives on Behavior

Table 1.3 p 27

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