1. Psychology: The Evolution of a Science
Chapter 1
Prepared by Dr. Melissa S. Terlecki,
Cabrini College, PA

2. Psychology Psychology: the scientific study of mind and behavior
Mind: private inner experience
Behavior: observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): neuroimaging technique which allows one to see which parts of the brain are active during a given task

3. The Path to Freud and Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud ( ): hysteria caused from painful unconscious experiences
Unconscious: the part of the mind that operates outside of awareness but influences conscious thoughts, feelings, and actions
Psychoanalytic theory: approach to understanding human behavior that emphasizes the importance of unconscious mental processes in shaping feelings, thoughts, and behaviors
Psychoanalysis: a therapeutic approach that focuses on bringing unconscious material into conscious awareness to better understand psychological disorders

4. Influence of Psychoanalysis and the Humanistic Response
Abraham Maslow ( ), Carl Rogers ( ): pioneered a new movement in Humanistic Psychology
Humanistic psychology: an approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings

5. The Search for Objective Measurement: Behaviorism Takes Center Stage
Behaviorism: an approach that advocates that psychologists restrict themselves to the scientific study of objectively observable behavior

6. The Adaptive Mind: The Emergence of Evolutionary Psychology
Evolutionary psychology: a psychological approach that explains mind and behavior in terms of the adaptive value of abilities that are preserved over time by natural selection
Influenced by Darwin, James, and E.O. Wilson

7. Beyond the Individual: Social and Cultural Perspectives
Human beings are social animals
Psychology is influenced by the presence and absence of other people

8. The Emergence of Cultural Psychology
Cultural psychology: the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members
Studied by psychologists and anthropologists
Absolutionism: culture makes little difference on psychology
Relativism: psychological phenomena are likely to vary considerably across cultures

9. The Real World: Joining the Club
Social changes have led to openness and diversity in psychology.
Women and minority PhDs are growing.
Psi Chi and Psi Beta organizations are available to join.

10. What Psychologists Do: Research Careers
Most undergraduate psychology students move on to graduate school and conduct research.
Postdoctoral fellowships
Faculty positions
Research position in industry
Variety of career paths
Clinical psychology, counseling psychology, school psychology, industrial/organizational psychology are just a few

11. Figure 1.6 The Major Subfields in Psychology