What Is Psychology?
The science of
behavior and mental
processes
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How Accurate Is the Image of
Psychology?
• Many psychologists do not conduct
psychotherapy.
• Many stereotypes about psychologists
come from popular media with Freud
being the most famous name
• Many psychologists use humans and
animals as research participants, and
study more than just learning and
memory
• Psychology is not just common sense
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Defining Psychology
• The science of human behavior and
mental processes
– Behavior: overt actions and reactions
– Mental Processes: thoughts, ideas,
reasoning processes
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How did Psychology Begin?
A. The Early Traditions
1. Structuralism
• Wilhelm Wundt (1832 – 1920)
• The study of the structure (the “what”)
of immediate conscious experience
• Introspection
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2. Functionalism
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William James (1842 – 1910)
Studied how and why the mind functions
Also interested in how people adapt to
the environment
Broadened scope of psychology
However, focus remained on
consciousness
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3. Gestalt Psychology
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Studied a person’s total experience, not
just the parts of mind or behavior
Suggested conscious experience is
more than the sum of its parts
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Gestalt Psychology
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People mold sensory elements into
patterns through which they interpret the
world
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4. Freud and Psychoanalysis
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Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939)
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Psychoanalytic perspective proposed:
– Unconscious mental processes direct
and control behavior
– Childhood experiences influence adult
behavior
– Sexual energy (libido) fuels behavior
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5. The Behaviorist Revolution
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Behaviorism was founded by John
Watson (1878 – 1958)
Behaviorists attempted to make
psychology a more rigorous science
They focused on measuring only what
is observable - behavior
B. F. Skinner (1904 – 1990) is the
most widely noted behaviorist
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Challenges to Behaviorism
1. Humanistic Psychology
• Roots in the Gestalt movement
• Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970)
• Carl Rogers
• Greater influence on therapy than on
research
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Challenges to Behaviorism
2. Cognitive Psychology
– Focuses on mental processes
• Behavior reflects underlying cognitive
processes
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What Trends Currently Shape
Psychology?
The Changing Face of Psychology
1. Women in Psychology
• Between 1920 and 1975
– Women received 25% of Ph.D.’s
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Women in Psychology
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Today, women earn:
– 73% of bachelor’s degrees in
psychology
– Nearly 70% of new doctorates
Still underrepresented in experimental
psychology and academia
Research by and about women is more
prominent today than in the past
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006
The Changing Face of Psychology
2. Ethnic Diversity in Psychology
1) Situation changing more slowly than it is for women
2) Francis C. Sumner, known as the father of African
American Psychology, chaired the psychology
department at Howard University in the 1920’s
3) Kenneth Clark, a student of Sumner,
studied the harmful effects of school
segregation
4) Mamie Phipps Clark: studied the relationship
between self-esteem and racial identification
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Ethnic Diversity in Psychology
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Diversity strengthens psychology
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Helping professions are more effective
for more people
Diversity brings a variety of research
interests to the field
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Major Perspectives in Psychology
All psychologists see psychology as a
science
There are still different “points of view,”
called perspectives
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Major Perspectives in Psychology
1.
The Psychoanalytic Perspective
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Sigmund Freud
Emotional problems are due to anxiety
from unresolved, unconscious conflicts
Psychoanalysis attempts to resolve these
conflicts
Emphasis on the unconscious and early
childhood experiences
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Major Perspectives in Psychology
2.
The Behaviorist Perspective
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Based on behaviorism
Still influential
Still focuses on observable behavior
The Humanistic Perspective
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Stresses free choice and a positive view of
human nature
Most influential in the 1960s
Recent renewal in interest
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Major Perspectives in Psychology
4.
The Cognitive Perspective
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Focuses on such processes as perception,
memory, and thinking
The Biopsychology Perspective
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Also called the neuroscience perspective
Studies the interaction of behavior and
biology
Currently very influential
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Major Perspectives in Psychology
6.
The Social and Cultural Perspective
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Recognizes that behavior occurs in a
social and cultural context
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What Trends Currently Shape
Psychology?
Current Trends
1. Positive Psychology
– Emphasizes positive human values,
strengths, and virtues
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Current Trends
2. Industrial / Organizational (I/O) Psychology
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Studies behavior in the work environment
Dramatic growth since the 1990s
These psychologists tend to work for
companies in human resources
management and personnel
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Current Trends
3.
Evolutionary Psychology
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Based on the work of Charles Darwin
Argues that humans have evolved both
physically and psychologically
Assumes that adaptive behaviors will be
passed on to future generations
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Who Are Psychologists?
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Professionals who:
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Study behavior and mental processes
Use behavioral principles in scientific
research or applied settings
Not all psychologists are practitioners who
treat mental health problems
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Types of Mental Health Practitioners
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Clinical Psychologists
• Diagnose and treat emotional and
behavioral problems
• Have a Ph.D. or Psy.D.
• Usually work in hospitals, clinics, private
practice
Counseling Psychologists
• Used to focus more on treating “normal”
problems
• Now, very similar to clinical psychologists
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Types of Mental Health Practitioners
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Psychiatrists are medical doctors, not
psychologists
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Can prescribe medications and admit
patients to the hospital
Most psychoanalysts (including Freud)
are psychiatrists, not psychologists
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WHAT PSYCHOLOGISTS DO
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Psychologists don’t just help people with
problems
Provide career counseling and assist with
community projects
• School and community psychologists
Provide services to well-adjusted people
• Improving performance of professional
athletes, musicians
Conduct research
• Experimental psychologists
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C. Making Psychology A Career
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