CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS
PSYCHOLOGY AND
WHAT ARE ITS ROOTS?
What is Psychology?
1.
2.
Psychology derives its roots from
ancient Greek culture. It literally
means “the study of the mind.”
According to modern day
psychologists, the science of
behavior and mental processes is
called psychology.
Greeks and Philosophy/Psychology
1. The Greek philosophers Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato
are credited with the inception of psychology.
2. These philosophers developed two practical theories
concerning psychology:
a) Emotions can distort behavior.
b) And, our perceptions are merely interpretation of
the external world.
3. The Greeks also developed some bizarre notions
regarding psychology:
a) Emotions flow from the heart, liver, and spleen.

b) Mental disorders can be caused by excessive bile.
History of Psych
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4. When the medieval Roman Catholic
Church ruled over Europe, they began to
preach that the mind was an “unsolvable
mystery.” It operates completely outside
the natural laws that govern this world.
5. In the 17th century, French
philosopher Rene Decartes asserted that
emotional activity comes from your
central nervous system, and this system is
triggered by brain waves.
Background
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Early Perspectives
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Structuralism—looks to discover the basic
structures of the mind and how they influence
behavior.
•
•
This idea was pursued by Wilhelm Wundt, and
he built the first experimental psych lab.
Wundt used the practice of introspection to
study the elements of the conscious mind.

Introspection – the process of reporting on
one’s own inner conscious experience
Introspection
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Through introspection, subjects were given
an experience and were required to
report on his/her thoughts about it.
Most experiences analyzed were
perceptual or sensory. This experiment is
sensory.
Early Perspectives

Functionalism—took structuralism
further in order to determine how
consciousness could help us deal with
problems of everyday life.
•
John Dewey and William James
pursued functionalism as a means to
see how adaptive behavior can
lead to mental disorders.
Structuralism and Functionalism
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5 Major Psychological Perspectives
1)
Biological
-inherit some behaviors from your parents
-measure function of nervous and endocrine
(hormone) system
-strong roots in medicine and biological science
5 Major Psychological Perspectives
2. Psychodynamic
•
•
Humans are largely motivated by
our unconscious needs, desires,
memories and conflicts
A big supporter of this viewpoint
is Sigmund Freud
5 Major Psychological Perspectives
3) Cognitive
-our actions are influenced by the way we
process information
5 Major Psychological Perspectives
4) Behavioral
•
•
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Measures people’s actions in terms of direct
observation
They do not look to examine the inner reasons for
actions
Most strongly influenced by B.F. Skinner
5 Major Psychological Perspectives
5) Humanistic
•
Actions are influenced by self- worth and our need
for growth and fulfillment
•
Emphasizes the positive side of human behavior
•
Led by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
Practice!
Sort the cards into the following categories:
1) Perspective/Picture
2) View of Human Nature
3) What determines behavior
4) Focus of Study

Perspective
View of Human Nature
What determines behavior
Focus of Study
Perspective
View of Human Nature
What determines behavior
Focus of Study
Perspective
View of Human Nature
What determines behavior
Focus of Study
Perspective
What determines behavior
View of Human Nature
Focus of Study
More Practice
Each table should choose a celebrity or
someone that you all know.
 Pick three different psychological
perspectives that would explain that
person’s behavior.

How do Psychologist do their work?

Psychologists use a process called the scientific
method in order to develop their knowledge of
mental disorders and behaviors.
Types of Research

Experimental:
 Research
where the relationship between two or
more variables are being tested
 The experimenter deliberately manipulates one
condition (independent variable) to measure a
change
Scientific Experiment

An exercise physiologist counsels his
clients to exercise in the morning rather
than at night to facilitate weight loss.
Design an experiment to test whether this
is the correct advice.
Scientific Experiment

Do you need to define any terms for the
experiment?
Scientific Experiment

What is your independent variable?
Scientific Experiment

What is your independent variable?
 Whether
pm
the client exercises in the am or
Scientific Experiment

What is your dependent variable?
Scientific Experiment

What is your dependent variable?

weight loss
Scientific Experiment

How will you select and assign your
subjects to a group?
Scientific Experiment

How will you select and assign your
subjects to a group?
 Gender
 Age
 Current
weight
 Body fat composition
Scientific Experiment

What treatment will the experimental
group be given?
Scientific Experiment

What treatment will the experimental
group be given?

exercise in the am
Scientific Experiment

What treatment will the control group be
given?
Scientific Experiment

What treatment will the control group be
given?
 Workout
anytime throughout the day
Scientific Experiment

What controls will you use in your
experiment?
Scientific Experiment

What controls will you use in your
experiment?
 The
group of people in the experiment
 Weighing participants at the same time
everyday
Scientific Experiment

Is there anything you should control but
aren’t sure how?
Scientific Experiment

Is there anything you should control but
aren’t sure how?
 Diet
of participants
 What workouts they are doing
 How much sleep participants get
Your turn

Get into groups of 3-4 to design your
own experiment
Types of Research

Correlation Studies
 Examiner
studies
relationship between
multiple variables without
specifically manipulating
variable
 They assess if there is a
“correlation” between
variables
 Ex: The more TV you
watch decreases your life
span
 Problems?
Types of Research

Surveys:
 Used
within correlation studies
 People are asked their attitudes,
thoughts, beliefs, and are
supposed to reflect the larger
population
 Ex: Voting surveys
 Problems?
Types of Research

Naturalistic
Observation:
 Form
of correlation
research
 Involves behavioral
assessment of people
or animals in their
home surroundings
 EX: Jane Goodall –
Chimpanzee culture
 Problems?
Types of Research

Case Studies:
 An
intensive investigation of an individual or small
group
 Often include psychological testing
 EX: Mass homicide/Terrorism
 Problems?