AP Psychology Unit 1: Science of Psychology Essential Task 1-2: Distinguish the different careers in psychology (clinical, counseling, developmental, educational, experimental, human factors, industrial-organizational, personality, and psychometric)

We are here The Science of Psychology Approaches to Psych Growth of Psych Research Methods Statistics DescriptiveCorrelationExperiment Case Study Survey Naturalistic Observation DescriptiveInferential Ethics Sampling Central Tendency Variance Careers

Essential Task 1-3: Early Psychology –First Lab – Wundt –Structuralism – Titchner –Functionalism – William James Psychoanalytic – Freud Behaviorism – Pavlov, Watson and Skinner Cognitive Revolution Contemporary Trends in Psychology Outline

Early Psychology - Wundt Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory at the University of Liepzig in  By insisting on measurement and experimentation he moves psychology from a philosophy to a science Outline This is my lab!

Structuralism  Bradford Titchner  School of psychology that stressed the basic units of experience (physical sensation, feelings, and memories) and the combinations in which they occur.  Study these ‘atoms of experience’ to get the structure of the mind Introspection Too Subjective!

Break this down to its atoms of experience How do you know what this is? How is your mind structured in order to perceive it?

So what is this?

And this? How’s structuralism working for you now?

This is not a pipe.

Functionalism  William James  Rejects Structuralism  Influenced by Darwin  Functionalism –theory of mental life and behavior that is concerned with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to function in its environment.  Functionalists looked at the whole system of mental processes (not just at the tiny elements of consciousness) Our brains are like the hardware of a computer and our minds (mental processes)) are like the software of a computer

Psychodynamic Psychology Sigmund Freud Behavior results from forces at work within the individual, often at an unconscious level. Often formed during childhood. Late 1800s Since the person can’t access their own unconscious, it is hard to prove or disprove this theory scientifically.

Psychodynamic = Unconscious

Behaviorism Studied only observable behaviors Studied how organisms learn behaviors. Classical Conditioning – learning that results from things happening to you. –Ivan Pavlov – Dogs –John B. Watson – Baby Albert Operant Conditioning – learning that results from getting rewards or punishments. –B.F. Skinner – Skinner Box

Behaviorism

The Cognitive Revolution The precursors to cognitive psychology: –Gestalt psychology Study of how we perceive objects as whole patterns Therapy that wishes to treat the whole person –Humanistic psychology Emphasizes realization of full potential Recognizes importance of love, self esteem, belonging, and self-actualization

The Cognitive Revolution Study of mental processes  Thinking  Learning  Feeling  Remembering  Decision making

New Directions in Psychology Evolutionary psychology –Studies the adaptive value of behaviors and mental processes Positive psychology –Study of the subjective feelings of happiness and well-being –Focus is on positive attitude

Essential Task 1-2: Careers Distinguish the different careers in psychology –ClinicalClinical –CounselingCounseling –DevelopmentalDevelopmental –EducationalEducational –ExperimentalExperimental –Human FactorsHuman Factors –Industrial-OrganizationalIndustrial-Organizational –PersonalityPersonality –PsychometricPsychometric Outline

Clinical vs. Counseling Clinical Focuses on individuals with serious mental illness (e.g. schizophrenia) Concerned with diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders Split: Treat & research the cause of psychological disorders and the effectiveness of different types of therapy. Counseling Deal with “normal” problems, (i.e. stress caused by career change or marital problems) Focus more on the psychologically healthy individual Career options include: Licensed social workers Counseling psychologists Clinical psychologists Psychiatrists Psychoanalysts

Developmental Study of physical and mental growth from birth to old age study of changing abilities from womb to tomb Subfields –Child psychology –Adolescent psychology –Life-span psychology Outline

Educational School Psychologist Psychological evaluations Consult with school personnel in relation to students’ learning, behavior, and environments They are trained to look at the effectiveness of academic programs, classroom agendas, and treatment interventions, which assists in the development of specific interventions. Outline

Experimental Design research experiments May or may not have a direct impact on the treatment of patients Animal subjects Drug trials Outline

Human Factors The science of understanding the properties of human capability (Human Factors Science). Design, develop and deploy systems and services (Human Factors Engineering). Ergonomics – when HFE is successfully applied Outline

Industrial Organizational Study of psychological principles in industry and business Examples –Selecting and training personnel –Productivity improvement –Optimizing working conditions –Managing the impact of automation on workers Outline

Personality looks at the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behavior that make a person unique. Study of how people differ from one another on traits such as –Conscientiousness –Agreeableness –Neuroticism –Openness –Extraversion Administer personality tests such as the MMPI or the Myers Briggs Outline

Psychometric the field of psychology concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement. Create psychological tests that are reliable and valid. Outline