1. Raymond Walters College
PowerPoint Presentations for Passer/Smith Psychology: Frontiers and Applications by
David K. Jones
Westminster College
And
Diane Feibel,Ed.D.
Raymond Walters College

2. PowerPoint Presentations for:
Passer/Smith Psychology: Frontiers and Applications
Chapter 1
Psychology: The Science of Behavior

3. What is Psychology? Scientific study of: Behavior
Factors that influence behavior

5. What is Psychology? Behavior Causes of Behavior
Observable behavior and inner processes
Thoughts
Feelings
Images
Physiological reactions
Causes of Behavior
Biological factors
Psychological factors
Environmental factors

6. Research Methods Basic research Applied research
Describe behavior and identify factors influencing or causing behavior
Applied research
Designed to solve specific practical problems

7. Basic and Applied Research
Robber’s Cave Study (Sherif et al., 1961)
Basic research findings:
Competition breeds hostility
Conflict decreased by increasing group interdependence

8. Basic and Applied Research
Application of Sherif’s work to Jigsaw Classrooms (Aronson et al., 1978)
Requires cooperation between multiethnic groups to succeed at educational tasks

9. Goals of Psychology Describe behavior Understand behavior
Predict behavior under certain conditions
Control or influence behavior

10. Perspectives on Behavior
Biological
Cognitive
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Behavioral
Sociocultural

12. The Biological Perspective
Emphasizes roles of:
Brain processes
Biochemical processes
Genetic factors

13. The Biological Perspective
Mind-body dualism
Mind is a spiritual entity
Mind is not subject to physical laws
Monism
Mental events are a product of physical events

14. The Biological Perspective
Luigi Galvani’s work
Severed leg of frog moved if an electrical current was applied
Supports monism
Luigi Galvani:

15. The Biological Perspective: The Evolutionary Approach
Natural selection
Inheritable characteristics increasing likelihood of survival will be maintained in a species.

17. The Biological Perspective: Sociobiology
Natural selection favors complex social behaviors that increase the ability to pass on one’s genes to the next generation.
Aggression, competition, dominance in males
Cooperative, nurturing behavior in females

18. The Biological Perspective
Identical twins are more similar than fraternal twins.
Even when reared in different homes.

19. The Cognitive Perspective
Humans are:
Information processors
Problem solvers

21. The Cognitive Perspective
Structuralism
Sensations are basic elements of consciousness
Sensations are studied through introspection
Functionalism
Psychology should study the functions of behavior
Wilhelm Wundt:
William James:

22. Gestalt Psychology
Concerned with how elements of experience are organized into wholes

23. Modern Cognitive Science
Artificial Intelligence
Computer models and “expert” systems
Cognitive Neuroscience
Electrical recording and brain imaging
Social constructivism
“Reality” is our own mental creation

24. The Psychodynamic Perspective
Emphasizes roles of:
Unconscious processes
Unresolved past conflicts
Sigmund Freud

25. The Psychodynamic Perspective
Freud’s influence on contemporary psychology
Brain mechanisms for conscious experience of emotions have been discovered (LeDoux, 1996)
Many aspects of information processing outside awareness have been found (Wegner, 2000)

26. The Behavioral Perspective
Focuses on the role of the external environment in shaping and governing behavior
Emphasis is placed on the effects of rewards and punishments

27. The Behavioral Perspective
Radical Behaviorism
Behavior can be controlled completely by manipulating the environment.
B.F. Skinner:

28. The Behavioral Perspective
Cognitive behaviorism
We learn new behaviors by observing the actions of others.
Our mental abilities influence our environment
Environment Person

29. The Humanistic Perspective
Emphasizes:
Conscious motives
Freedom
Choice
Self-actualization
The reaching of one’s individual potential

30. The Sociocultural Perspective
Focuses on:
The manner in which culture is transmitted to its members
Similarities and differences between people in different cultures

31. The Sociocultural Perspective
Individualism
Emphasis is on personal goals and self-identity is based on one’s own attributes and achievements
Characteristic of North America and Northern Europe
Collectivism
Individual goals are subordinated to the group and personal identity is defined by ties to family
Characteristic of Asia, Africa, and South America

32. Integrating the Perspectives
Three levels of analysis for understanding behavior
Biological level of analysis
Brain processes, hormones, genetic factors
Psychological level of analysis
For example, cognitive and psychodynamic perspectives
Environmental level of analysis
Using the behavioral and sociocultural perspectives