Chapter 1: The Science of Psychology

The Nature of Psychology

  • Psychology: the scientific study of behavior and the mind
      * Behavior refers to the actions and responses that we can directly observe
      * Mind refers to internal states and processes-such as thoughts and feelings- that can’t be seen directly and that must be inferred from observable, measurable responses.
  • Clinical Psychology: the study and treatment of mental disorders
      * Clinical psychologists diagnose and treat people with psychological problems in clinical, hospitals, and private practice
  • Cognitive Psychology: specializes in the study of mental processes, especially from a model that views the mind as an information processor
  • Biopsychology: focuses on the biological underpinnings of behavior
  • Developmental Psychology:  examines the human physical, psychological, and social development across the lifespan
  • Experimental Psychology: focuses on basic processes such as learning, sensory systems (e.g., vision, hearing), perception, and motivational states (e.g., sexual motivation, hunger, thirst).
  • Industrial-Organizational(I/O) Psychology: examines people’s behavior in the workplace
  • Personality Psychology:  focuses on the study of human personality
  • Social Psychology: examines people’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior pertaining to the social world: the world of other people

Psychology’s Scientific Approach

  • Science is a process that involves systematically gathering and evaluating empirical evidence to answer questions and test beliefs about the natural world.
      * Empirical evidence is evidence gained through experience and observation; it includes evidence obtained from manipulating or “tinkering around” with things and then observing what happens.

  • Thinking Critically about Behavior
      * Critical thinking involves actively understanding the world around you rather than merely receiving information.
        * It is essential to reflect on what that info means

  • Goals of Psychology
      * Psychology has four central goals: description, explanation, control, and application

Basic and Applied Research

  • Basic Research: which reflects the quest for knowledge for its own sake
  • Applied Research: which is designed to solve specific, practical problems

Perspectives on Behavior

  • Perspectives serve as lenses through which psychologists examine and interpret behavior
  • Psychology’s Intellectual Roots
      * Early influences from John Locke and other philosophers from the School of British Empiricism
        * Held that all ideas and knowledge are gained empirically, that is, through the senses.
  • Early Schools: Structuralism and Functionalism
      * Structuralism: the analysis of the mind in terms of its basic elements
      * Functionalism: which held that psychology should study the functions of consciousness rather than its elements
  • The Psychodynamic Perspective: The Forces Within
      * Psychodynamic Perspective: searches for the causes of behavior within the inner workings of our personality (our unique pattern of traits, emotions, and motives) , emphasizing the role of unconscious processes
      * Psychoanalysis: the analysis of internal and primarily unconscious psychological forces
  • The Behavioural Perspective: The Power of the Environment
      * Behavioral Perspective: Focuses on the role of the external environment in governing our actions
      * Behaviorism: a school of thought that emphasizes environmental control of behavior through learning
      * Cognitive Behaviorism: which proposes that learning experiences and the environment influence our expectations and other thoughts and, in turn, that our thoughts influence how we behave
  • The Humanistic Perspective: Self-Actualization and Positive Psychology
      * The Humanistic Perspective(Humanism):  emphasized free will, personal growth, and the attempt to find meaning in one’s existence
      * Positive Psychology Movement: which emphasizes the study of human strengths, fulfillment, and optimal living
  • The Cognitive Perspective: The Thinking Human
      * Cognitive Perspective: examines the nature of the mind and how mental processes influence behavior
      * Cognitive Neuroscience: uses sophisticated electrical recording and brain-imaging techniques to examine brain activity while people engage in cognitive tasks.
  • The Sociocultural Perspective: The Embedded Human
      * Sociocultural Perspective: examines how the social environment and cultural learning influence our behavior, thoughts, and feelings
      * Norms: rules (often unwritten) that specify what behavior is acceptable and excepted for members of the group
      * Cultural Psychology (sometimes called cross-cultural psychology): how culture is transmitted to its members and examines psychological similarities and differences among people from diverse cultures
  • The Biological Perspective: The Brain, Genes, and Evolution
      * Biological Perspective: examines how brain processes and other bodily functions regulate behavior
      * Behavioral Neuroscience: which examines brain processes and other physiological functions that underlie our behavior, sensory experiences, emotions, and thoughts
      * Neurotransmitters: chemicals released by nerve cells that allow them to communicate with one another
      * Behavior Genetics: the study of how behavioral tendencies are influenced by genetic factors
      * Evolutionary psychology: seeks to explain how evolution shaped modern human behavior