Intro. To Psychology Intro. Unit Mr. Stalnaker

Psychology What is Psychology? Psychology is old as a study but young, vigorous, and growing as an organized science and profession.

Psychology What do psychologist study? How people perceive and think and learn and why they behave as they do.

Psychology Growth of Psychology Psychology has grown rapidly as a field for research, teaching, and application to immediate human problems. Advances in psychology often have worldwide effects.

Definition of Psychology Psychology is the science that studies the behavior of organisms. Three words in this definition – science, behavior, and organisms – require further examination.

Definition of Psychology 1. Science When we refer to psychology as a science, we mean that it is a systematic study. The work of any science is based on factual investigation, experiments, and other systematic means of collecting information, or data.

Definition of Psychology Scientists collect data by research, that is, by systematic, careful, firsthand observation of facts or events. It must be stressed that no science has all the facts on or all the answers to the problems it investigates.

Definition of Psychology 2. Behavior Psychology has been defined as the science that studies behavior. In the sciences, common words are often used with technical meanings, and “behavior” is such a word. In psychology, behavior is defined as those activities of a human being or other organism that can be observed directly or by means of special instruments or technique.

Definition of Psychology 3. Organisms Psychologists use the word organism to refer to any living animal. Psychologists primarily are interested in human beings.

Psychology The “mind” in psychology. (The mind-body problem) The problem of the relation of mind, or that which is mental, to body or that which is physical. This problem is based on the assumption that it is possible and profitable to consider mental behavior as separate from physical behavior.

Psychology The battle for the mind There is always a battle between what the mind tells the body to do and what the body actually does. (Think about events in your life where the mind told you to respond one way, but you did something different.)

The place of Psychology among the sciences 1. How is psychology related to chemistry? Some forms of mental illness that were formerly spoken of as sickness of the mind can now be explained in terms of body chemistry. Psychopharmacology – the study of the effects of drugs and poisons on psychological functions.

The place of Psychology among the sciences Biology is another science which contributes to psychology. There is a consistent study of emotions, which requires a knowledge of the activity of glands and of parts of the brain.

The place of Psychology among the sciences 2. How is psychology related to anthropology and sociology? The science of anthropology and sociology are closely allied to psychology. Cultural (or social) anthropology studies the culture – the way of life – of man. Trying to understand the influences of environment upon the behavior of individuals.

The place of Psychology among the sciences Sociology is especially concerned with group life and social organization, chiefly in literate societies such as our own. Sociologists study such areas as growth and shifts of populations, urban, and rural living, voting trends, delinquency, and crime.

Methods of Psychological Study 1. What is natural observation? Before the development of psychology as a science, men observed and recorded examples of behavior. Psychologists use natural observation as a check on laboratory and other scientific work.

Methods of Psychological Study We can learn something about how individuals adjust to social situations by observing them and their companions at informal social gatherings. We can learn about an individual’s attitudes by listening to his conversation.

Methods of Psychological Study 2. What is the case- study method? Psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists often use the case-study method as they attempt to help children and adults with problems of adjustment.

Methods of Psychological Study The case record includes information concerning family background, home life, neighborhood activities, school experience, health, and so on. This method is based on the idea that the more we know about an individual, the better we will be able to understand and to help him.

Methods of Psychological Study 3. How are interviews used? In psychology, sociology, and other fields, interviews are widely used to obtain data. Psychologists use interviews for such purposes as compiling a case record on an individual or studying prejudices in groups.

Methods of Psychological Study 4. What is the questionnaire method? The questionnaire method was developed to provide greater accuracy in the study of human behavior. This method consists of sending a list of questions on a given subject to a selected group of individuals. The questions do not constitute a test with right or wrong answers.

Methods of Psychological Study Rather, they are designed to gather facts about the individual or to elicit his opinions. The answers to the questions can be treated statistically.

Methods of Psychological Study 5. What is the experimental method? This permits better control of conditions and provides for more accurate measurement than do other methods of study. An experiment usually begins with the statement of a hypothesis, that is, a tentative assumption or proposition that is to be tested.

Methods of Psychological Study There is always an independent variable, which is the factor that produces the effects being examined in the experiment. Stimulus is any object, event, or situation which causes a response by the organism.

Methods of Psychological Study Dependent variable, the changed condition that is considered to be a consequence of, or to depend upon, the independent variable. The response of the organism, which is caused by the action of the stimulus.

Methods of Psychological Study 6. What procedures are used in an experiment? One way of doing this is to match two groups of people carefully. Same age, sex, and intellectual abilities Members of both groups would spend the same specified time doing similar tasks. In other words, the two groups would be made up of what might be called “psychological twins.” (Experimental group v. Control group)

Understanding Main Ideas 1. How do the concepts of theory and principle differ? A theory is a statement that attempts to explains why things are the way they are and happen the way they do. A principle is a rule or law.

Understanding Main Ideas 2. Describe what clinical and counseling psychologists? Clinical Psy. Treat psychological problems Counseling Psy. Treat people too but those that have adjustment problems.

Understanding Main Ideas 3. What views held by ancient Greek physician Hippocrates was ahead of its time? That psychological problems are caused by abnormalities in the brain rather than by supernatural forces.

Understanding Main Ideas 4. What are the six main contemporary perspectives in psychology? Biological Evolutionary Cognitive Humanistic Psychoanalytic Socio-cultural

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