What
is
this?
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY??
Word comes from Greek:
 Psyche: of the mind or soul
 Logos: Reason
 Reasoning about the soul
 Psychology is: The scientific study of mental processes and
behavior and how these are affected by internal processes
and the environment
Started in the field of Philosophy
 Philosophers aim to answer questions as to human nature
 They answer questions relating to the mind and the brain
DIFFERENT TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGY
Scientific Psychology
 Empirical study of why people do what they do
 Based on data and facts
Folk Psychology
 Common Sense psychology
 Used everyday to explain human actions
 Based on observations of beliefs, motives, love, childhood experiences,
etc
 It is not scientific
Pop Psychology
 Psychobabble
 Using psychological buzzwords out of context
 Based on unsupported claims or believes
 IE: astrology
A BRIEF HISTORY
Epistemology: The study of how humans come to know
the world
“Episteme”: knowledge
“Logos”: Reasoning
 Sensation, perception, memory, language, reason
 Today this is cognitive psychology
Ethics: Questions whether people are good or evil by
nature, what motivates people
HISTORY CTD
Beginning of modern psychology
 1879: German Wilhelm Wundt = father of modern
psychology
Conducted the first psychological experiment
Studied lag time between people hearing a ball hit a
platform and pressing a button
DIVERSITY OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology is “multi-disciplinary”
 Includes knowledge from the natural and social
sciences
Biology, sociology, anthropology
Anthropology
Biology
•Psychologists will gather data
from all of these sciences through
various research methods
Experiments, brain scans, interviews
Psychology
Sociology
DIVERSITY OF PSYCHOLOGY
• Typically psychologists specialize in one field
 For example, the social psychologist will research
group processes while the neuropsychologist will
carry out brain scans to get a picture of memory
When scientists work together between fields, real
strides are made
 For example, a cognitive neuroscientist combines the
study of knowledge from cognitive psychology, and the
advanced brain scanning from neuroscience.
PSYCHOLOGY VOCABULARY
Word
Definition
Example
Biological Psychology
A branch of psychology
concerned with the
links between biology
and behavior.
A neuropsychologist
studies how the brain
affects our behavior.
A genetic psychologist
studies how our
genetics affect our
behavior.
Cognitive Psychology
A branch of psychology
concerned with the
structure and functions
of the mind.
A cognitive psychologist
studies how the human
mind comes to know
things about the world
and how it uses
knowledge.
Sociocultural
Psychology
A branch of psychology
concerned with the link
between society and
culture and human
behavior.
A sociocultural
psychologist studies
how culture and group
dynamics affect human
behavior.
LEVELS OF ANALYSIS
It is almost impossible fully understand human behavior
without studying it from multiple “lenses”
 This year we will look at psychology on three levels of
analysis:
Biological level – which focuses on physiology and
genetics
Cognitive Level – which focuses on mental processes
like memory, thinking, perception, and attention
Sociocultural level – which focuses on how
environment and culture affect behavior and thinking.
THE INTEGRATION OF DISCIPLINES (TRIANGULATION)
ACTIVITY
Define each of the types of analysis
GALLERY WALK!!!!