Why do you want to study psychology?

1. interest2. curiosity3. helpful to my life4. understand others more5. want to read others’ minds6. learn more about research7. good job prospects8. related to other subjects

Why do you want to study psychology?

9. family pressure10.recommended by friends11.don’t know why!12.I’m emotionally disturbed (help!)

True or false?

1. Some people dream, others do not.2. Misery seeks miserable company.3. Rewarding someone with $1 is not as

good as rewarding with $10.4. A smile has different meanings in

different cultures.5. If you get beaten up in the street,

you’re more likely to get help if there are 5 onlookers than if there is only one.

True or false?

6. A schizophrenic is someone with a split personality.

7. Our memory can construct events which never happened.

8. Seeing is believing.9. It is possible that your right hand does

not know what your left hand does.10. If you act brave, you’ll feel brave.

Answers

1. False 2. True3. False 4. False5. False 6. False7. True 8. False9. True 10. True

Your score:9-10 correct – gifted in psychology!7-8 correct – recommended to study psychology.

What can psychology offer?

What can I learn from this psychology?What can I learn about others?What can I learn about myself?What knowledge and skills can I acquire?

Answer to “What can psychology offer?”

Psychology is a scientific discipline. Trains your ability to integrate information (parallel processing)and solve problems (serial processing). with INCOMPLETE data.Outcome: you will acquire good analytic and research skills, and be more intuitively attuned to others.

Answer to “What can psychology offer?” cont'd

You’ll learn to KISS(Keep It Short and Simple)Psychology has varied topicsView the world (people and self) from a different perspective.

Interest is critical

From interest comes understanding

understanding Insight

Insight Solution (problem solving)

(problem solving) change

Change positive development (growth, awareness)

beneficial to self and others  

Valuable Tips in Learning Psychology

ASK questions!First questions are like first baby stepsGIVE answers!First answers are like little developmental milestonesRemember – From a little acorn grew the great oak; Rome was not built in a day.

Pet peeves of studying psychology

Dispense with the jargon, we prefer layperson’s terminology!Skip the theories & give us the facts! Why do I need to bother with research methods & statistics? I just want to help people!Why do I have to learn about the brain & those incomprehensible biological stuff ? We want a dummies for psychology approach!

What is Psychology?

Common sense?Intuition?Fraud?Sound discipline?

What is psychology?

Psychology: from the Greek, psyche (mind) and logia (study). Concerns:

1. The study of the mind2. The understanding of people3. The study of both the mind and body4. The understanding and predicting of

human behaviors

What is psychology?

PsychologyDeals with human and animal behaviorDeals with both normal and abnormal behaviorIs the scientific study of behavior & mental processesBehavior is defined as observable activities and overt behavior such as acts of aggression (e.g., hitting another person).Some behaviors are subjective. These are our mental processes – attention, thoughts, emotions, memories. These cannot be directly observed, only inferred from some observable activities.

History of psychology – earliest ideas

Plato, Aristotle: Dualistic view (mind and body are separate) Descartes: interaction of mind and body; nativism theory; the infant’s knowledge of the world is innate.17th century philosophers (Locke, Hume): Empiricism, the infant mind is a blank slate. Watson called the blank slate Tabula Rasa: It is through experience that humans construct knowledge; learning is not inborn.

History of psychology – earliest ideas cont'd

Wundt, Titchener – structuralism, introspection; emphasized “what is in the mind” - sensations & feelings Introspection refers to the conscious examination of conscious experience.Developed first scientific laboratory in psychology to study consciousness.Functionalism (James) – emphasized “what the mind does”. Thus, behavior should focus on observable events (experiment). We are shaped through adaptation to the environment.

Perspectives or theories of modern Psychology

Behavioral and conditioning theory (Pavlov, Watson, Skinner) INPUT (from environment) = OUTPUT (behavior); e.g., conditioning or associating fear of rat in little AlbertCognitive TheoryEmphasizes mental processes such as how we perceive, how we remember, etc. Sees the mind as an active problem solving system.Neurobiological TheoryEmphasizes the biological (nervous system) underpinnings of behavior.

Perspectives of modern Psychology – cont’d

Psychoanalytic Theory (Freud): the unconscious mind

Emphasizes behavior as being influenced by biological instincts and early childhood experiences (e.g., theory of infantile sexuality). Humanistic (Maslow & Rogers) – that an individual has the capacity to control his/her life rather than be controlled by the environment. Influential in the theories of personality & in psychotherapy

Perspectives of modern Psychology – cont’d

Wertheimer (1912): Gestalt theory – study of perception and sensation - “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”

Areas of Specialization

Clinical & counseling – diagnose & treat psychological disorders Counseling – deals with problems related to dysfunctional relationship (e.g., marital conflicts)Health – promotes behaviors & lifestyles that maintain health & prevent illnessClinical neuropsychology – work with neurologically impaired (brain-damaged) individuals - evaluate neuropsychological functioning and rehabilitate

Areas of Specialization – cont’d

Physiological – study of the physiology of behavior e.g., drug addiction theory.Psychophysiology – measurement of physiological responses (pulse, blood pressure, galvanic skin response, EMG, EEG) as correlates of mental processes, for example, reactions to stress, symptoms of anxiety.

Areas of Specialization – cont’d

Cognitive Psychology– studies the individual’s reasoning & mental processing of information (such as memory, reasoning, language)Developmental Psychology – examines changes over the lifespan (physical, cognitive or intellectual, & social and emotional)Educational Psychology – deals with behavioral problems of students at school (such as learning, social, testing, violence, substance abuse)

Areas of Specialization – cont’d

Industrial/Organizational Psychology – studies all aspects of individual and corporate behavior in work settings. Helps organizations become more efficient & effective Social Psychology – studies social behavior & attitudes (e.g., interpersonal relationship, group dynamics)

Issues for studies in Psychology

Childhood experiences (Freud)(Learning experiences (Watson, Pavlov, Skinner)Cognitive (thinking) processes (Piaget)The underlying central issue in all theories: Nature versus nurture – the individual or joint contribution of nature and/or nature in the development of the individual.

Summary

Psychology studies how we perceive, learn, remember, think, feel, develop, interactIndividual psychology topics when integrated will create a different and radical understanding of what Psychology really is. Truly, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (Gestalt)

TODAY in the history ofpsychology

http://www.cwu.edu/~warren/today.html

Editor’s note: Next topic in this Psychlines series – “How We Learn”