FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Learning Goal: I can demonstrate an understanding of
the main concepts and theories within APS –
foundations
What is Psychology?
 The study of how and why humans act as
they do.
 Instead of studying how humans function in
cultures or societies, psychology focuses on
the individual, and the personal and unique
experiences that influence how the individual
acts and thinks.
History of Psychology
 Phrenology: Franz Gall (19th century).
 That 35 behaviours and personality traits could
be discovered by examining bumps on the skull.
Examples – bumps 1 to 7
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Reproductive instincts
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The love of one's offspring

Affection and friendship

Self-defense, courage and fighting
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Murderous instincts
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Guile; acuteness; cleverness

Sense of property; the tendency to steal
Sensation and Perception
 All branches of psychology approach the study of
human mental processes by dividing them into
two processes: sensation and perception.
 Sensation: The process that activates our sense
receptors – sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
 Perception: The process that allows us to select,
organize and interpret sensory signals to the brain.
Types of Psychology
 EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
 The branch of the discipline that sets up
experiments to see how individuals act in
particular situations .
Types of Psychology
 CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
 Is the branch of the discipline that develops
programs for treating individuals suffering
from mental illnesses and behavioural
disorders.
Psychology vs. Psychiatry
 Psychology
 Usually have doctoral degree in psychology
 Theoretical psychologists do research and study rules
that govern behaviour
 Clinical psychologists work with people to apply
research and try to help them
vs.
 Psychiatry
 General medical degree and then specialized training
in psychiatry. Can prescribe meds.
 Sometimes referred to as a “shrink”
Psychological Schools of
Thought
 Psychoanalytic Theory
 Behaviouralism
 Learning Theory
Psychoanalytic Theories
 The mind is divided into two parts: the
conscious(aware of ) and the unconscious
(not aware of).
 According to psychologists, our unconscious
mind has more influence than our conscious
mind on our personalities and behaviour
The Unconscious Mind
 The Unconscious mind is
divided into three parts:
 Id–which encourages us to
seek physical satisfaction.
 Superego–prompts us to do
the moral thing, not the one
that feels best.
 Ego–the referee between the
two and deals with external
reality, this is our most
conscious self.
Sigmund Freud
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNC4ql-
DLIM
Sigmund Freud
 The founder of psychoanalytic theory.
 He believed our early childhood experiences, usually
involving our relationships with parents and family, are
stored in our unconscious mind.
 While we are normally unaware of these memories, they
can have a powerful influence on the way we function.
 Those that live with a general sense of frustration, our
behaviour may become neurotic and connected with
anxiety or obsessiveness which can be treated using
dream analysis, hypnosis and individual counseling.
Alfred Adler
(1870-1937)
 Adler believed that difficulties
people encounter in gaining
self-esteem and recognition, if
not overcome by the normal
means lead to compensatory
behaviour and resultant
personality disorders which are
now widely referred to as an
inferiority complex.
Carl Jung (1875-1961)
 Responsible for the identification of
the Extroverted(outward-looking;
outgoing; rely on others for sense of
well being) and Introverted(inwardlooking; emotionally self sufficient;
well being comes from within)
personality types.
 Worked closely with Freud but split
later in their careers.
 The other aspect of Jung's work which
has been very influential is his
approach to the analysis of dreams.
Behaviourism
 Behaviourists believe that
psychologists can predict and
control or modify human
behaviour by identifying the
factors that motivate it in the
first place.
 Behaviourists placed particular
stress on the early childhood years,
and the rules or practices parents
use to raise their children because
they believe these methods have a
huge influence on the character of
individuals even into adulthood.
Charles B. Watson
(1878-1958)
 The founder of behaviourism.
 He used animal experiments
to determine whether strict
or flexible learning patterns
are more effective.
 Wrote book “Psychological
Care of the Infant and Child”
concluded that children
should be brought up using a
‘scientific’, strictly scheduled,
rules-based model.
Benjamin Spock (1903-1998)
 He believed that a
permissive approach to
child rearing, rather than
a strict one, would result
in successful, welladjusted adults.
 He encouraged parents
to be loving, flexible and
supportive.
Learning Theories
 Learning Theorists agree that humans are born with
little instinct but much learning potential.
 They believe that most human behaviour is learned,
especially in child and youth.
 By controlling the way in which humans learn
behaviours, society can have a great influence on
their ultimate personalities.
 Believe that children who were brought up in loving
families would grow up to become secure and loving
adults, but only if parents provided clear and
consistent expectations for good behaviour, and
swift but fair consequences for bad behaviour.
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
 Skinner proved that pigeons could be trained to
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peck at a particular coloured disk to get food
rewards.
Rats received food rewards for pressing specific
levers in a complicated sequence leading many
theorists to believe that learning was a
STIMULUS-RESPONSE effect.
He believed that if the subject is correctly
stimulated it will give the appropriate response.
Theory of OPERANT CONDITIONING: learning
can be programmed by whatever consequences
follows a particular behaviour.
Positive reinforcement “Big Bang Theory”_
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA96FbaWHk
Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)
 Analysis of human needs organized
into a hierarchy ranging from basic
survival through to the need for
love, security and esteem.
 Highest level was “self actualization
(integration of the self > making the
personality whole)
 Maslow’s theories had most
profound impact on industrial
psychology (making workplace a
satisfying experience by raising
morale of workers to improve
performance)
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
 Classical Conditioning – pairing
a behaviour with a stimulus
 Pavlov’s experiments with
dogs showed that it was
possible to get a dog to
associate the sound of a bell
with the imminent arrival of
food
 At the sound of a bell, the dog
would salivate in anticipation
Alfred Bandura 1925 Observational Learning – Social Learning
Theory
 Bandura concluded that learning is largely a
modeling experience
 When humans observe behaviour either
acceptable or unacceptable they are more
likely to practice it