Social Sciences

Wk 1

PSYCHOLOGY

IS THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF MENTAL PROCESSES AND BEHAVIOR

IT INVOLVES

SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION AND EXPERIMENTATION.

PSYCHOLOGISTS

STUDY THOUGHTS, EMOTIONS, AND ACTIONS.

The Scientific Nature of Psychology

USES THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD TO TEST HYPOTHESES.

MUST BE EMPIRICAL (MEASURABLE AND OBSERVABLE).

DIFFERENT FROM PHILOSOPHY, WHICH IS NOT BASED ON EXPERIMENTATION

Why Study Psychology?

Helps understand human behavior and mental processes.

develops critical thinking skills.

useful for careers in healthcare, business, education and social sciences.

Early roots of psychology

Originated from philosophy and physiology.

Socrates, Plato and Aristotle speculated on the mind-body connection.

Wilhelm Wundt (1879) established the first psychology lab.

Structuralism and Functionalism

Structuralism (Wundt and Titchener) focused on breaking mental processes into basic components.

Functionalism (William James) emphasized how mental activities help organisms adapt,

Psychoanalytic Perspective (Freud)

Sigmund Freud emphasized unconscious conflicts and childhood experiences.

Introduced concepts like: ID, EGO and SUPEREGO.

Developed psychoanalysis as therapy method.

Behaviorism (Pavlov, Watson, Skinner)

Psychology should study observable behavior, not the mind.

Pavlov discovered classical conditioning (dog salivation experiment).

Watson & Skinner developed operant conditioning and reinforcement.

Humanism (Maslow & Rogers)

Focused on free will, personal growth, and self-actualization.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs explains motivation.

Carl Rogers developed client- centered therapy.

The Cognitive Revolution

1950S SHIFT BACK TO STUDYING MENTAL PROCESSES (THINKING,
MEMORY, LANGUAGE)

Influenced by computers and artificial intelligence.

Noam Chomsky and Ulric Neisser led the movement.

The Scientific Method in Psychology

STEP 1: FORM A HYPOTHESIS.

STEP 2: CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS OR OBSERVATIONS

STEP 3: ANALYZE DATA AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS

STEP 4: PUBLISH FINDINGS FOR REPLICATION

Types of Psychological Research

Descriptive Research: Observations, surveys, case studies.

Correlational Research: Identifies relationships between variables.

Experimental Research: Establishes cause and effect.

Biological Perspective in Psychology

Focuses on brain structures, neurotransmitters, and genetics.

Uses brain imaging techniques (MRI, EEG, PET scans).

Evolutionary Perspective in Psychology

Applies natural selection and adaptation to behavior.

Studies how genes influence survival and reproduction.

Social-Cultural Perspective

Examines how culture and social environments shape behavior.
Includes gender roles, traditions, and group norms.

Fields of Psychology

Clinical Psychology: Diagnoses and treats mental disorders.
Cognitive Psychology: Studies thought processes.
Developmental Psychology: Examines lifespan changes.