Intro to Psych - Chapter 1

Define psychology:

The scientific study of mind and behavior.

Understand the merits of an education in psych

• Psychology students hone critical thinking skills

• Trained in the use of scientific method

• Can assess information for reliability and usefulness

• Can develop better communication skills

• Understand complexity that forms behavior

• Understand diversity

Know the importance of Wundt + James in the development of psych

• Wundt

  • First person to be referred to as a psychologist

  • Wrote the book Principles of Physiological Psychology.

  • He viewed psychology as a scientific study of conscious experience

  • Used introspection (examining ones own conscious experience objectively).

• James

  • First American psychologist who has a different perspective on how psychology should operate. (Natural selection.)

  • Functionalism- psychology's goal was to study the function of behavior in the world; focused on how mental activities made an organism fit for its environment;

  • More interested in the function of the mind as a whole than individual parts)

What was Freud's influence of psych

• He was an Austrian neurologist interested in hysteria. Thought these symptoms rose from the unconscious mind (no awareness).

• Analyzed it through dreams and the first words that came to people's minds.

• Psychoanalytic theory - focuses on the role of a person's unconscious as well as early childhood experiences; dominated clinical psychology for decades

Understand the basic tenets of Gestalt psych:

• The word gestalt translates to "whole".

• Deals with the fact that although sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, how those parts relate to each other as a whole is often what the individual responds in perception

Understand the role that behaviorism played in psych's history

• Shifted the focus of psychology from the mind to behavior.

• Dominated experimental psychology for several decades.

• Largely responsible for establishing psychology as a scientific discipline.

Understand the basic tenets of humanism

• A perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans.

• Hierarchy of Needs was created to show that outcomes and rewards affect behavior.

Understand how the cognitive revolution shifted psych's focus back to the mind

• Advances in other scientific fields re-sparked interest in study the mind as a scientific discipline.

• Noam Chomsky was very influential here.

Biopsychology

explores how our biology influences our behavior

Evolutionary psychology

seeks to study the ultimate biological causes of behavior; involves natural selection

Sensation and perception psychology

balance, sight, sound, touch

Cognitive psychology

Focuses on studying cognitions, or thoughts, that their relationship to our experiences and our actions

Developmental psychology

study of development across a lifespan; relates to physical and mental maturation

Personality psychology

focuses on patterns of thoughts and behaviors that make each individual unique

Social psychology

focuses on how we interact with and relate to others

Industrial-organization psychology

Applies psychological theories, principles, and research findings in industrial and organization settings

Health psychology

Focuses on how health is affected by the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors

Health psychology

Focuses on how health is affected by the interaction of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors

Sport and exercise psychology

Study the psychological aspects of sports performance including motivation and performance anxiety

Clinical psychology

Focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior

Counseling psychology

Focuses on emotional, social, vocational, and health-related outcomes in individuals who are considered psychologically healthy

Forensic psychology

Deals questions of psychology as they arise in the context of the justice system