1. Discovering Psychology
Module 1
Discovering Psychology

2. INTRODUCTION Growing up in a strange world Autism
especially abnormal or impaired development in social interactions, such as hiding to avoid people, not making eye contact, and not wanting to be touched
Autism is marked by difficulties in communicating, such as grave problems in developing spoken language or in initiating conversations

3. INTRODUCTION Growing up in a strange world
Autistics are characterized by having very few interests, spending long periods repeating the same behaviors, or following the same rituals
Signs of autism appear when a child is 2 or 3 years old
Example: Donna Williams

4. DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGY
What do psychologists study?
Psychology
the systematic, scientific study of behaviors and mental processes
Behaviors
refers to observable actions or responses in both humans and animals
Mental processes
not directly observable, refer to a wide range of complex mental processes, such as thinking, imagining, studying, and dreaming

5. GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Describe
Explain
Predict
Control

6. GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.)
Describe
first goal of psychology is to describe the different ways that organisms behave
Explain
second goal of psychology is to explain the cause of behavior

7. GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.)
Predict
third goal of psychology is to predict how organisms will behave in certain situations
Control
the fourth goal of psychology is to control an organism’s behavior

8. ANSWERING QUESTIONS How do psychologists answer questions?
Approaches to understanding behavior include:
Biological
Cognitive
Behavioral
Psychoanalytic
Humanistic
Cross cultural

9. ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.)
Biological approach
focuses on how our genes, hormones, and nervous system interact with our environments to influence learning, personality, memory, motivation, emotions, and coping techniques
Examples:
Autism
Autism runs in families; supported by the findings in identical twins
If one twin has autism, there is a high 90% chance the other twin will exhibit signs for autistic behavior

10. ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.)
Cognitive approach
examines how we process, store, and use information and how this information influences what we attend to, perceive, learn, remember, believe, and feel
Cognitive neuroscience:
Involves taking pictures and identifying the structures and functions of the living brain during the performance of a wide variety of mental or cognitive processes, such as thinking, planning, naming, and recognizing objects

11. ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.)
Behavioral approach
studies how organisms learn new behaviors or modify existing ones, depending on whether events in their environments reward or punish these behaviors
some behaviorists, such as Albert Bandura, disagree with strict behaviorism
formulated a theory that includes mental or cognitive processes in addition to observable behaviors
Social Cognitive Approach:
behaviors are influenced not only by environmental events and reinforcers but also by observation, imitation, and thought processes

12. ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.)
Psychoanalytic approach
Based on the belief that childhood experiences greatly influence the development of later personality traits and psychological problems
stresses the influence of unconscious fears, desires, and motivations on thoughts, behaviors, and the development of personality traits and psychological problems later in life

13. ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.)
Humanistic approach
emphasizes that each individual has great freedom in directing his or her future, a large capacity for personal growth, a considerable amount of intrinsic worth, and enormous potential for self-fulfillment

14. ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.)
Cross-cultural approach
examines the influence of cultural and ethnic similarities and differences on psychological and social functioning of a culture’s members
Differences in how countries diagnose autism:
United States:
symptoms described 60 years ago
first thought to be caused by environmental factors, (cold parents)
1960’s changed to searching for biological problems
Diagnoses begins at 2-3 years of age

15. ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.)
Cross-cultural approach
China:
Autism not recognized until 1987
most Chinese believed that autism could not happen in infancy
many Chinese parents were unaware of infant’s developmental stages (when social and verbal skills first develop)
Chinese parents generally believed that infants would grow out of any difficulties

16. ANSWERING QUESTIONS (CONT.)
Cross-cultural approach
Germany
autism recognized in late 1940’s
clinicians in Germany rarely diagnose autism in children younger than 5 years old
efforts are underway to change this policy
Japan
autism first diagnosed in 1945
Japan has higher rates of autism than other countries and rates are rising
once thought caused by childhood vaccine (disproved)
high rates may be due to Japanese clinician’s special efforts in detecting signs of autism in children as well as infants

17. HISTORICAL APPROACHES
How did psychology begin?
Structuralism: Elements of the Mind
Functionalism: Functions of the Mind
Gestalt Approach: Sensations versus Perceptions
Behaviorism: Observable Behaviors

18. HISTORICAL APPROACHES (CONT.)
Structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt ( )
was the study of the most basic elements, primarily sensations and perceptions, that make up our conscious mental experiences
Introspection:
Method of exploring conscious mental processes by asking subjects to look inward and report their sensations

19. HISTORICAL APPROACHES (CONT.)

20. HISTORICAL APPROACHES (CONT.)
Functionalism
William James ( )
was the study of the function rather than the structure of consciousness, was interested in how our minds adapt to our changing environment

21. HISTORICAL APPROACHES (CONT.)

22. HISTORICAL APPROACHES (CONT.)
Gestalt Approach
Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Koffka
emphasized that perception is more than the sum of its parts and studied how sensations are assembled into meaningful perceptual experiences

23. HISTORICAL APPROACHES (CONT.)

24. HISTORICAL APPROACHES (CONT.)
Behaviorism
emphasized the objective, scientific analysis of observable behaviors

25. CULTURAL DIVERSITY: EARLY DISCRIMINATION
Women in psychology
Mary Calkins
established a laboratory in psychology at Wellesley College in 1891 where she was a faculty member
completed all requirements for a Ph.D. at Harvard but was not granted the degree because of being a woman
not until 1908 that a woman, Margaret Washburn, was awarded a Ph.D. in psychology

26. CULTURAL DIVERSITY: EARLY DISCRIMINATION (CONT.)
Minorities in Psychology
Ruth Howard was the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in psychology
from the University of Minnesota in 1934
was a successful clinical psychologist and school consultant

27. CULTURAL DIVERSITY: EARLY DISCRIMINATION (CONT.)
Minorities in Psychology
George Sanchez (an Hispanic) conducted pioneering work on the cultural bias of intelligence tests given to minority students
Sanchez showed that intelligence tests contained many questions that were biased against minorities resulting in lower scores

28. CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY Psychologist versus Psychiatrist
psychologists have completed four to five years of postgraduate education and have obtained a Ph.D., PsyD., or Ed.D. in psychology
clinical psychologists have a Ph.D., PsyD., or Ed.D., have specialized in a clinical subarea, and have spent an additional year in a supervised therapy setting to gain experience in diagnosing and treating a wide range of abnormal behaviors

29. CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.)
Psychologist versus Psychiatrist
neither clinical nor counseling psychologists assess the neurological causes of mental problems
until recently, no psychologists in the U.S. have been able to prescribe drugs
now, psychologists in New Mexico and Louisiana (who have completed special medical training) can prescribe drugs like psychiatrists

30. CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.)
Psychologist versus Psychiatrist
counseling psychologists provide many of the same services as Clinical Psychologists, but usually work with different problems such as those involving marriage, family, or career counseling
psychiatrists are medical doctors (M.D.s) who have spent several years in clinical training, which includes diagnosing possible physical and neurological causes of abnormal behaviors and treating these behaviors, often with prescription drugs

31. CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.)
Many Career Settings
49% of psychologists work as clinical or counseling psychologists in either private practice or therapy settings
28% of psychologists work in academic settings of universities and colleges
13% of psychologists work in a variety of other kinds of jobs and career settings
6% of psychologists work in industrial settings
4% of psychologists work in secondary schools and other settings

32. CAREERS IN PSYCHOLOGY (CONT.)

33. RESEARCH AREAS Areas of Specialization Social and Personality
Developmental
Experimental
Biological
Cognitive
Psychometrics

34. RESEARCH AREAS (CONT.) Areas of Specialization Social psychology
involves the study of social interactions, stereotypes, prejudices, attitudes,conformity, group behaviors, and aggression
Personality psychology
involves the study of personality development, personality change, assessment, and abnormal behaviors

35. RESEARCH AREAS (CONT.) Areas of Specialization
Developmental psychology
examines moral, social, emotional, and cognitive development throughout a person’s entire life
Experimental psychology
includes areas of sensation, perception, learning, human performance, motivation, and emotion

36. RESEARCH AREAS (CONT.) Areas of Specialization Biological psychology
or psychobiology involves research on the physical and chemical changes that occur during stress, learning, and emotions, as well as how our genetic makeup, brain, and nervous system interact with our environments and influence our behaviors

37. RESEARCH AREAS (CONT.) Areas of Specialization Cognitive psychology
involves how we process, store, and retrieve information and how cognitive processes influence our behaviors
Psychometrics
focuses on the measurement of people’s abilities, skills, intelligence, personality, and abnormal behaviors