Psychology Unit 1

Psychology

scientific discipline concerned with behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organism’s physical and mental state along with external environment

What is psychology based on?

Empirical evidence: relying on observation, experimentation, or measurement

Critical thinking

The ability to assess claims and make objective judgements on the basis of well-supported reasons and evidence rather than emotion

5 steps to being a good critical thinker

• Don’t be afraid to ask why

• Define your terms

• Analyze assumptions and biases

• Examine the evidence

• Weigh conclusions

Fundamental beliefs of scientific thought

• Empiricism (knowledge comes from experience)

• Determinism (belief that all events are governed by lawful, cause and effect relationships)

Zeitgeist

• General set of beliefs of a particular culture at a specific time in history

• Delayed the science of psychology

Materialism

The belief that humans, and other living being, are composed exclusively of phsycial matter

Wilhelm Wundt (1832 - 1920)

• Setup first laboratory dedicated to studying human behavior

• Used Introspection (looking within to describe psychological sensations)

• ^ Produced conflicting reports

• ^ Subjective

• First to say psychology is a science

Structuralism

Analyzing conscious experience by breaking it down into basic elements and to understand how these elements work together

William James (1842 - 1910)

• Wrote first modern textbook in psychology

• Influenced by Darwin’s evolutionary principles

• Proposed Functionalism

• Said searching for building block is pointless when the brain is constantly changing

Functionalism

The study of the purpose and function of behavior and conscious experience

Psychoanalysis

• Emphasized unconscious causes of psychological problems

• Argued conscious awareness is merely the tip of the mental iceberg (ego, super ego, id)

• Rejected by majority of empirically oriented psychologists

Behaviorism

• Study of observable behavior, with little or no reference to mental events or instincts as possible influences on behavior.

• Two biggest discoveries were classical and operant conditioning

Classical conditioning

• Involves automatic response paired with two stimuli

• Pavlov’s dog experiment

Operant conditioning

when a response is affect by the presence of a reward of punishment

The biological pillar

• Emphasizes bodily events associated with actions, thought, and feelings, as well as genetic contributions to behavior

• electrical impulses, hormones, brain’s ability to sense

• study how these events interact with events in the external environment to produce perceptions, memories, and behavior

• nature vs nurture

• genetics, physiology

• environment interacts with genes

The cognitive pillar

• emphasizes how people reason and remember, comprehend language, solve problems

• research explores phenomena such as: insight, false memory, ‘thinking’ outside of conscious awareness

The developmental pillar

• Explores ways in which preferences, attitudes, identities, and social patterns change over one’s lifetime

• looks at all ages

• birth to death

The social / personality pillar

• Examines the power of different situations to shape people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

• Important influence cultural experiences, roles, and rules have on nearly everything we do:

• perceive the world, express joy or grief, think through problems, treat our friends and enemies

The mental and psychical health pillar

• Focuses on health functioning and addressing threats to it

• Wide range of factors encourage mental and physical well-being: social support, emotion regulation, good nutrition, coping skills

• Common obstacles to feeling healthy: stress, racism, addiction, etc

Basic psychology

Study of psychological issues for the primary purpose of expanding scientific knowledge rather than specific practical applications

Applied psychology

Study of psychological issues for the primary purpose of address a specific real-world problem

Counseling psychologists

Help people deal with problems of everyday life

School psychologists

Work with parents, teachers, and students to enhance students’ performance and resolve emotional difficulties

Clinical psychologists

Diagnose, treat, and study mental or emotional problems