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What is Psychology?.

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Presentation on theme: "What is Psychology?."— Presentation transcript:

1 What is Psychology?

2 Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental process
Psychology defined Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental process Behavior: any action an organism does (observable) Mental process: internal, subjective experiences we infer from behavior (perceptions, thoughts, dreams, beliefs, feelings)

3 Psychology: Social Science & Natural Science
Social Sciences: Structure of the human within societies and the interactions with others Examples: history, anthropology, economics, political science, sociology Natural Sciences: Nature of the physical world. Seek to find answers through the scientific method (surveys & experiments and analyzing data, then drawing conclusions) Examples: Biology, chemistry, physics

4 Theories & Principles Theory: Helps answer WHY? Statements about behavior Help predict behaviors As research continues, they are changed or disregarded Principles: Rules or laws

5 Psychology beginnings…
Confucius: Power of ideas and educated mind Socrates (philosopher) & Plato: The mind is in control and knowledge is innate (born with us) Aristotle (Student of Plato): Used careful observations and believed knowledge is not preexisting and instead it grows from experiences. Descartes: Through dissection of animals, discovered that nerves (he thought was hollow) control our reflexes (animal spirits flowed through nerves)

6 John Locke: Mind at birth is a blank slate (tablua rasa)
Francis Bacon: Founder of modern science Researched the human mind and its failings Noticing and remembering to confirm our beliefs John Locke: Mind at birth is a blank slate (tablua rasa) Empiricism: knowledge originates in experience and that science should rely on observation and experimentation.

7 First Psychological laboratory
Wundt: “Atoms of the mind” First PSYCHOLOGICAL Experiment involving reaction time .1 hearing .2 seeing

8 Structuralism & Functionalism
Structuralism (WilhelmWundt): Using introspection (looking inward) to explore the elemental structure of the mind (describe a rose) Objective Sensations: sight, smell…observable/measureable Subjective Feelings: emotional responses to the stimuli Wasn’t extremely successful, “Often we don’t know why we feel the way we feel.” Functionalism (William James): How mental and behavioral process function—how we adapt, survive, and flourish Senses and feelings, emotions, willpower, habits, memories What are the functions of each body part and how does that help us?

9 Women Make History Mary Calkins: First woman president for the APA (1905). She was denied her Ph. D from Harvard. Margaret Floy Washburn: First woman to officially receive a Ph. D in psychology. 2nd female APA president (1921) The Animal Mind Experimental psychologist (explore behavior and thinking with experiments)

10 Psychology’s Approaches/Perspectives
Biological Evolutionary Psychodynamic Behavioral Cognitive Humanistic Social-cultural *Complete chart using page 20

11 Nature vs. Nurture Biology vs. experience
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12 Psychology’s Subfields
Psychometrics Developmental Psychology Educational Psychology Personality Psychology Social Psychology Industrial-organizational Psychology Human Factors Psychology Counseling Psychology Clinical Psychology Psychiatry


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