Psychology - Chapter 1

What is Psychology?

The scientific study of the mind (thought and emotion) and
behaviour
• Concerned with empirically examining the mind and
behaviour
• Also considering biology and the environment (neuroscience)

Neuroscience vs Psychology

Neuro: Scientific study of the nervous system. How specific areas of the brain (molecules/nerves) affects behavior.

Psych: How outside world (cognitive) affects behavior.

Why study psychology?

When studying mental processes and behaviour there are

four goals:

1. Description: How do babies learn to talk?

2. Explanation: Why do we get hungry?

3. Prediction: When will we offer help to a stranger? (e.g. Bystander Affect)

4. Control: Reducing stress or increasing self-care

Levels of Analysis in Psychology

• The Brain: neuronal (brain cell) activity, brain structures, and genes

• The Individual: emotions, thoughts, ideas, consciousness,

personality, and motivation.

• The Group: friends, family members, and the larger population

(culture)

Mostly we are using all levels interactively → FOMO comes from the brain. It affects our individual emotions. Something about a groups lifestyle will give me FOMO

Wundt & James

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920; German Vater of Psychology)

– Introspection: objective self-reflection/inspection of one’s thoughts

– Volunteerism: free will (e.g. person involved in study has consented)

– Reaction times (RTs)

– Titchner’s structuralism (emotions are more important than behavior)

William James (1842-1910; North American Father of Psychology)

– Functionalism: function of mental activities/behavior (opposite of structuralism - behavior is more important than emotions)

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

• Neurologist interested in hysteria (emotional disturbances

without a physical cause)

• Psychological and physical problems can stem from the

unconscious mind

– Dream analysis, slip of the tongue, free association

• Psychoanalytic theory focuses on a person’s unconscious

and early childhood experiences

– Lifespan, personality, and therapy

Gestalt

• Wertheimer (1880-1943), Koffka (1886-1941), and Köhler

(1887-1967) credited with introducing America to Gestalt

principles

• Gestalt = “whole”

– A song is a combination of various notes played by various instruments,

but we perceive a song as a whole entity, all of the elements in

combination

Behaviorism

The theory that human and animal behavior can be explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts or feelings, and that some mental conditions are best treated by altering behavior patterns.

• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) studied conditioned

reflexes via saliva in dogs – classical conditioning (encourage a behavior)

• John Watson (1878-1958) shifted focus from

internal to external explanations for behaviour -

behaviorism

• B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) consequence (+/-) is the

driving force of behaviour – instrumental

(Thorndike’s term) or operant conditioning (punishment to change behavior)

Humanism

Emphasis on the potential for good

• Abraham Malsow (1908-1970) believed our

behaviours are impacted by our motivations

to survive (low-level) and later by other

higher-level factors (e.g., esteem) – hierarchy

of needs

• Carl Rogers (1902-1987) developed client-

centred therapy focused on unconditional

positive regard, genuineness, and empathy

Cognition

Shift back to interest in the mind

• Ulric Neisser (1928-2012) credited as the father of cognitive

psychology and coined the term cognitive psychology

• Noam Chomsky (1928-) a linguist who believed the sole focus on

behaviour was short-sighted

Multicultural and Cross-Cultural

Culture permeates everything we do – yet it is an

understudied topic

• Francis Summer (1895-1954) first African American in US to receive

a PhD, his work challenged intelligence testing

• George I. Sanchez (1906-1972) identified barriers (e.g., language)

posed to Mexican American children

• Mamie (1917-1983) and Kenneth Clark’s (1914-2005) research on

doll preferences challenged segregated education

Women and Feminism

• Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939) first women awarded a

doctoral degree in psychology (1894), focusing on animal

behaviour

• Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930) earned a PhD from Harvard but

was never awarded it! Her work focused on memory

• Mary Cover Jones (1897-1987) demonstrated fear conditioning

and fear removal in humans

• Martha Bernal (1931-2001) first Latina person to earn a PhD, her

research was with Mexican American children

Biopsychology (Neuroscience) & Evolutionary Psychology

• How biology (nervous system) influences immediate behaviour

– Sleep, drug use/abuse, neural plasticity

• How biology (more broadly) influence immediate and lasting

behaviours

– Darwin’s natural selection (the variations that are advantageous to survival

are called adaptive variations)

– Caveat: today’s behaviours are a product of yesterday’s environment

Sensation and Perception

• Interdisciplinary subject

• Our perception of sensory stimuli impacts our experiences

Cognitive Psychology

• Focuses on mental processes

• Very broad in scope → cognitive sciences

– Problem solving, language, development, and even therapy

Developmental Psychology

• Processes related changes across the lifespan

• Jean Piaget’s object permanence

Personality Psychology

• Thoughts and behaviours that make us unique

• The Big Five (OCEAN or CANOE) personality traits

– Stable over one’s lifespan

Social Psychology

• How we interact with and relate to each other

• Milgram, Zimbardo, Asch

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

• Applied branch of psychology

• Using theory in workplaces

– Personnel management, organizational structure, and hiring decisions

Health Psychology

• Biopsychosocial model – health is impacted by an interaction of

multiple variables

– Public policy, education, and interventions

Sports & Exercise Psychology

• Psychological aspects of sports performance

– Anxiety, managing physical and emotional well-being

Clinical Psychology

• Diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders/adjustment

• Most widely known and popularized through media

Forensic Psychology

• Within the context of the justice system

– Competency to stand trial, eye-witness testimonies, and children’s

testimonies

Contemporary Psychology

Modern psychology

• Both historical and social forces determine the

focus of scientific inquiry

• We must always be mindful of passing trends and

scientific objectivity

• There are limits to the answers psychology as a

field can provide.

Becoming a Psychologist

• 4-yr degree program

• Degree requirements vary

• PhD can teach at the university level

Branches of Psychology

• Academic – professors (teaching and doing research)

• Clinical and Counselling - therapists

• Applied – schools, marketing, research institutions, etc.