Introduction to Psychology - Chapter 1 Notes

What is Psychology?

• Psychology = Scientific study of the mind and behavior

  • Etymology: “PSYCH” = Soul, Mind; “LOGY” = Scientific study of

  • Psychology studies the breadth of the human experience: brain, consciousness, memory, language, reasoning, personality, and mental health

• Key definitions

  • Science = empirical; phenomena can be understood, studied, quantified

  • Behavior = outward, observable actions

  • Mental processes = perceptions, thoughts, feelings (what happens inside the head); latent constructs that cannot be observed directly

• The scientific process in psychology

  • Scientists test hypotheses

  • Collect data

  • Decide whether the hypothesis is supported or refuted

  • Hypotheses should be testable and, ideally, falsifiable; hypotheses are evaluated against empirical data

• Chapter 1 overview

  • 1.1 What is Psychology?

  • 1.2 History of Psychology

  • 1.3 Contemporary Fields of Psychology

History of Psychology

• Major schools and movements

  • Structuralism

  • Functionalism

  • Psychoanalytic Theory

  • Gestalt Psychology

  • Behaviorism

  • Humanism

  • The Cognitive Revolution

  • Women in Psychology

  • Multicultural Psychology

• Structuralism: Wilhelm Wundt

  • Often called the “father of psychology”; founded the first psychology lab (1879) and published Principles of Physiological Psychology (1873)

  • Psychology as a scientific study of conscious experience

• Structuralism (continued): Edward Titchener

  • Wundt’s student; expanded structuralism

  • Structuralism = understanding the conscious experience through introspection

  • Focus on the components/elements of mental processes rather than their functions

  • Studied basic elements of the mind (structures)

  • Introspection was highly subjective and varied across individuals

• Functionalism: William James

  • 1st American psychologist; emphasized scientific rigor in psychology

  • Critiqued introspection as insufficient for studying consciousness

  • Asked: What is the function of consciousness?

  • Functionalism = focus on how mental activities help an organism adapt to its environment

  • Study the function of consciousness – how the mind enables people to work, play, and adapt to new situations

  • Emphasized the operation of the mind as a whole rather than isolated parts

• Psychoanalytic Theory: Sigmund Freud

  • Austrian neurologist interested in hysteria and neurosis

  • Proposed that many problems arise from the unconscious mind, a repository of urges and feelings outside awareness

  • Focus on the unconscious and its influence on behavior

• Psychoanalytic concepts (visual metaphor)

  • The conscious level: thoughts, perceptions, memories

  • The preconscious level: stored knowledge, fears, acceptable/unacceptable desires

  • The unconscious level: irrational wishes, immoral urges, selfish needs, shameful experiences

• Psychoanalysis (therapy)

  • Therapy based on Freud’s ideas

  • Emphasizes early childhood development

  • Cure occurs when unconscious conflicts are understood

  • Techniques: dream analysis, free association (first words that come to mind), slips of the tongue

• Gestalt Psychology

  • “Whole” perspective: parts of a sensory experience are meaningful in relation to the whole

  • Emphasized perception and how the whole is organized; examples: a song is more than notes; a cake is more than ingredients

  • Influences sensation, perception, and humanistic psychology

  • Key figures: Kohler, Koffka, Wertheimer (German psychologists who moved to the U.S.)

• Behaviorism: Ivan Pavlov

  • Foundational concept: classical conditioning

  • Shift away from studying consciousness toward observable behavior

  • Behaviorism = science of behavior; focus on observable actions and their control

• Pavlovian conditioning (example)

  • A reflex can be learned: bell paired with food leads to salivation at the bell even without food

  • Conditioning = learning a reflexive response to a stimulus

• Behaviorism: John Watson

  • “Father of Behaviorism”

  • Behaviorism discipline: focus on observable behavior; objective analysis of the mind was deemed impossible

  • Emphasized observable behavior as the primary data

• Watson’s Little Albert study

  • Demonstrated that phobias can be learned through classical conditioning rather than being purely unconscious

• Behaviorism: B.F. Skinner

  • Emphasized how behavior is affected by its consequences

  • Key concepts: reinforcement and punishment

  • Operant conditioning: learning through consequences to shape voluntary behavior

  • Lasting influence on psychology; continued relevance in clinical, industrial-organizational, and other fields

• Humanism

  • Emphasizes innate potential for growth in all humans; self-actualization

  • Humans have free will and agency to shape their own destinies

  • Notable figures: Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow

• Humanism: Carl Rogers

  • Client-centered (person-centered) therapy; patient takes a lead role

  • Therapists need: unconditional positive regard, genuineness/congruence, and empathy

• Humanism: Abraham Maslow

  • Proposed a hierarchy of needs (Maslow’s hierarchy) to explain motivational structure

  • As basic survival needs are met, higher-level needs motivate behavior

• The Cognitive Revolution

  • After a period dominated by behaviorism, new fields rekindled interest in the mind

  • Noam Chomsky and others argued for study of internal mental processes to fully understand behavior

• Feminist Psychology

  • Addressed biases in psychology that favored Western, white, male perspectives

  • Reassessed contributions of women and studied psychological gender differences

  • Notable figures: Margaret Floy Washburn (first woman to earn a PhD in psychology); Martha Bernal (first Latina PhD in psychology, advocated for representation of marginalized groups)

• Multicultural Psychology and Cross-Cultural Psychology

  • Culture significantly impacts individuals, but its effects have been understudied

  • Cautions against assuming theories apply universally across cultures

  • Multicultural psychology: research with diverse populations within one country

  • Cross-cultural psychology: comparing populations across countries

• Notable figures and impact on society

  • Mamie Phipps Clark & Kenneth Clark: doll preference studies revealing internalized racism; instrumental in Brown v. Board of Education

Contemporary Fields of Psychology

• Overview of major contemporary perspectives and subfields

  • Biopsychology (neuroscience)

  • Evolutionary Psychology

  • Sensation and Perception

  • Cognitive Psychology

  • Developmental Psychology

  • Personality Psychology

  • Social Psychology

  • Health Psychology

  • Clinical Psychology

  • Industrial-Organizational Psychology

  • Sports and Exercise Psychology

  • Forensic Psychology

• Biopsychology

  • Focuses on how the structure and function of the nervous system generate behavior

  • Mental processes explained via biological factors like genes and hormones

  • Key methods: heritability studies, twin studies, and behavioral genetics

• Evolutionary Psychology

  • Emerged from Functionalism

  • Argues that behavior results from psychological adaptations that improved survival and reproduction

• Sensation and Perception

  • Explores physical/biological processes of sensory systems and how sensory information is interpreted

  • Sensation = raw sensory information (sights, sounds, touch, smell)

  • Perception = experience of the world influenced by attention, prior experience, and culture

• Cognitive Psychology

  • Examines how cognition (thoughts) relates to experiences and behavior

  • Studies thinking, memory, information storage, language, problem-solving, attention, intelligence, decision making

• Developmental Psychology

  • Investigates physical and mental development across the lifespan

  • Focuses on cognitive, moral, social development; Piaget’s theories on cognitive changes from infancy to adulthood

  • Topics: moral reasoning, cognitive skills, social skills

• Personality Psychology

  • Looks at how patterns or traits of thought and behavior make individuals unique

  • Traits influence behavior across situations

  • The Five-Factor Model of Personality (OCEAN):
    \text{OCEAN} = {\text{Openness}, \text{Conscientiousness}, \text{Extraversion}, \text{Agreeableness}, \text{Neuroticism}}

• Social Psychology

  • Studies how we interact with and relate to others

  • Topics include prejudice, attraction, conflict resolution, and social influence on thoughts/behaviors

• Health Psychology

  • Examines how biological, psychological, and social factors interact to influence health and illness

  • Research includes genetics, behavior patterns, relationships, stress, and motivation to improve health

• Clinical Psychology

  • Focuses on diagnosing and treating psychological disorders and maladaptive patterns of behavior

  • Influenced by behaviorism, cognitive, and humanistic approaches

  • Example: Cognitive-behavioral therapy integrates cognitive processes and behaviors in psychotherapy

• Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology

  • Applies psychology to work settings

  • Industrial: job analysis, recruitment, selection, performance management, training, employment law

  • Organizational: job attitudes, motivation, leadership, occupational stress & health, teamwork, organizational culture & change

• Other Areas

  • Sports & Exercise Psychology: motivation, anxiety related to performance, mental well-being in sport

  • Forensic Psychology: psychology in the justice system; assessments of competency, sentencing considerations, eyewitness testimony; requires understanding of the legal system

• APA and professional practice

  • There are 56 divisions of the American Psychological Association illustrating the breadth of the field and its roles in different contexts

• Topics often covered in PSYC 2000

  • Psychological Research; Biopsychology; Sensation and Perception; States of Consciousness; Memory; Learning; Thinking & Intelligence; Lifespan Development; Social Psychology; Psychological Disorders; Therapy & Treatment

• Reflection prompts (examples from the transcript)

  • Which topics are you most looking forward to learning about?

• Connections to foundational principles

  • Historical shifts illustrate how scientific methods, cultural context, and technology shape how we study the mind and behavior

  • The move from introspection to observable data parallels the broader scientific movement toward empirical validation

• Ethical, philosophical, and practical implications

  • Recognition of bias and cultural fairness in psychology; importance of inclusivity and representation in theory and research

  • Clinical approaches emphasize empathy, ethics, and client well-being; culturally sensitive practice

  • The application of psychology to real-world issues (education, industry, health, law) demonstrates its practical relevance

Note: The content above integrates explicit points from the transcript, including historical figures, schools, contemporary fields, and core concepts. The Five-Factor Model is presented in both verbal form and a LaTeX-formatted equation for quick reference.