1. What Is Psychology?
Psychology – The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. 8

2. What Is Psychology?
Pseudopsychology – psychological practices that are false or unfounded.
The science of psychology is built on rigorous principles such as research, evidence and testable ideas.
Any discipline that is treated like a science but does not meet these standards can be called pseudoscience. 18

3. Types of Psychologists

4. What is a psychologist?
Psychologist – a scientist who studies the mind and behavior of humans and animals
Observe
Analyze
Evaluate

5. Psychiatrist a medical doctor who can prescribe medication
Psychiatry – a branch of medicine that deals with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders

6. Clinical psychologist
diagnoses and treats people with emotional disturbances

7. Counseling psychologist
helps people adjust to the challenges of everyday life

8. Developmental psychologist
studies physical, emotional, cognitive, and social changes that occur throughout life

9. Educational psychologist
concerned with helping students learn
Intelligence
Memory
Problem solving
Motivation

10. Community psychologist
may help design, run, or evaluate, mental health clinics

11. Industrial/Organizational psychologist
uses psychological concepts to make the workplace a more satisfying environment for employees and managers

12. Experimental psychologist
studies sensation, perception, learning, motivation, and emotion in carefully controlled laboratory conditions

13. Environmental psychologist
study the effects of the environment on people
Natural disasters
Overcrowding
Pollution

14. Psychobiologist
studies the effects of drugs or tries to explain behavior in terms of biological factors

15. Forensic psychologist
work in legal, court, and correctional systems; assist police by developing personality profiles of criminal offenders

16. Health psychologist
studies the interaction between physical and psychological health factors

17. A Brief History of Psychology

18. Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt Introspection
Was interested in the basic elements of human experience and the structure of the mind.
1st psychological laboratory (1879)
Introspection
A method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings.

19. Functionalism William James “Father of Psychology”
Taught the 1st psychology class at Harvard.
Studied the function of consciousness and how people adapt to their environments.

20. Inheritable Traits Sir Francis Galton
Heredity influences a person’s abilities, character, and behavior.
Genius is a hereditary trait.
“Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we could get rid of less desirable people?”

21. Gestalt Psychology “Whole pattern” Wertheimer, Kohler, Koffka
Perception is more than the sum of it’s parts.
“Whole pattern”

22. Psychoanalytic Psychology
Sigmund Freud
Unconscious motivations and conflicts are responsible for human behavior.
Free association
Dream analysis

23. Behavioral Psychology
Ivan Pavlov
Classical conditioning
John Watson
Studied observable behaviors
BF Skinner
Reinforcement and punishment
Little Albert Experiment

24. Humanistic Psychology
Abraham Maslow & Carl Rogers
Emphasizes how each person is unique and has the potential to develop fully.

25. Cognitive Psychology Jean Piaget
Focuses on how we process, store, and use information and how this information influences our thinking, language, problem solving, and creativity.

26. Biological Psychology
Psychobiologists
Study how the brain, nervous system, hormones, and genetics influence our behavior.
Behavior is a result of our physiological makeup.
Biological explanation of depression

27. Sociocultural Psychology
Focuses on how ethnicity, gender, culture, and SES impact human behavior and mental processes.