Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY What is psychology? Comes from the Greek words, PSYCHE , meaning the SOUL and LOGOS, meaning THE STUDY OF. PSYCHOLOGY therefore is defined as the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. PSYCHOLOGY is SYSTEMATIC and EMPIRICAL. BEHAVIOR are the activities or processes that can be observed objectively. OVERT – observable behaviors COVERT – not observable behaviors. MENTAL PROCESSES terms often used interchangeably for all the things that individuals can do with their minds. Sometimes the term cognitive function is used instead. Three principles of scientific behavior 1. OBJECTIVITY – evaluating research and theory on their merits without preconceived ideas or biases. 2. ACCURACY – gathering data from the laboratory and the real world in precise ways to make psychological studies accurate, 3. HEALTHY SKEPTICISIM – observation of many amazing events and the approach to examining strange events and phenomena is necessary. Pseudoscientific methods of psychology 1. ASTROLOGY – based upon the belief that a person’s fate is influenced by the stars or planet. 2. NUMEROLOGY – emphasizes the relation of number to human fate. 3. PALMISTRY – also known as chiromancy. The practice of evaluating a person’s character or future by reading the palm of that person’s hand. 4. PHRENOLOGY – deals with the relationship that was supposed to exist between the faculties of the mind and their location in the brain. 5. PHYSIOGNOMY – implies that physical appearance or characteristics are indications of the possession of definite personality tendencies that influence an individual’s activities and relationships. 6. “COMMON SENSE” APPROACH – belief that persons are convinced that in order to succeed in life, it is important to utilize “good common sense”. HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY GREEK INFLUENCES DEMOCRITUS (C.460 – C.370 BC) believed that the human mind is composed of atoms which could circulate freely and which enabled it to penetrate the whole body. ARISTOTLE – (c.384-322 ) a Greek naturalist and philosopher who theorized about learning, memory, motivation, emotion, perception, and personality. also distinguished 3 functions of the soul: 1. Vegetative: concerned with the basic maintenance of life 2. Appetitive: concerned with motives and desires 3. Rational: the governing function located in the heart GALEN ( AD C.130-200 ) proposed the theory of dependence of human temperament on physiological factors. 1. Sanguine (cheerfulness) – Blood 2. Phlegmatic (sluggish) – Phlegm 3. Melancholic (sad) – Black bile 4. Choleric (irascible) – Yellow bile MEDIEVAL PERIOD RENE DESCARTES (1596-1650) is a French philosopher and he suggested that the mind and the body are separate from each other. This idea became known as “Cartesian Dualism”. JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704) proposed “EMPIRICISM”, the belief that all experience is obtained through the senses. He believed that humans were born into the world with minds like blank slate (tabula rasa) and that their experiences determine what kind of adults they would become. GEORGE BERKELEY (1685-1753) an Irish philosopher and is best known for his theory of IMMATERIALISM or and was later recognized as SUBJECTIVE IDEALISM. The theory propounds the view that reality consists exclusively of minds and their ideas, and those individuals can only directly know sensations and ideas, not the objects themselves. DAVID HUME (1711-1776) a Scottish philosopher who wrestled with the problem between impression and ideas; between images and direct sensations. Hume argued against the existence of innate ideas, positing that all human knowledge is founded solely in experience. CHARLES DARWIN (1809-1882) is most famous for his theory of evolution. This states that all human and animal behavior has changed over successive generations. Individuals with stronger and more adaptive genes, survive and reproduce. MODERN DEVELOPMENT WILHELM WUNDT opens the first experimental psychology laboratory in Liepzig, Germany in 1879. He is the first to study the structure of the mind. In the 1900s, Sigmund Freud established the PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH where in he emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior. In 1913, JOHN B. WATSON redefined psychology as the science of behavior, or is known as BEHAVIORISM. This refers to a psychological approach which emphasizes scientific and objective methods of investigation. The approach is only concerned with observable stimulusresponse behaviors, and states all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment. 1950s, CARL ROGERS and ABRAHAM MASLOW develop the humanistic approach in psychology. It debunked the psychodynamic approach and disagreed with the behaviorist approach. Instead, it believe that all human are essentially good with freedom to choose one’s own behavior. 1960s and onwards, psychology recaptured its initial interest in conscious and unconscious mental processes. Many modern techniques and approaches emerged to reflect psychology’s concern with overt behavior and covert thoughts and feelings. Psychology is now defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL THOUGHT A. EARLY TRADITIONS 1. Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt developed the first widely accepted school of psychological thought. - founded the 1st psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879 and his studies focus on mental life. Edward Bradford Titchener introduced the term structuralism that specified mental structures and analyzed the basic elements of mental life. - INTROSPECTION is the examination of one’s own emotional states and mental processes Structuralism as a school of psychological thought, considered the organized structure of immediate conscious experience as the proper subject matter of psychology. 2. Functionalism Functionalism is the school of thought that tried to discover not just the mind’s structure but how and why the mind functions and is related to conscious. William James advocated functionalism and critics the purely analytic character of structuralism. He coined the phrase stream of consciousness describing the mind as a river. Functionalism as a school of thought, views that it is not the structure that should be of prime importance to the psychologist but the function of matter. 3. GESTALT (geh – SHTALLT) Gestalt argued that it is necessary to study a person’s total experience, not just the parts of experience. “THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS.” Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka suggested that conscious experience is more than simply the sum of its individual parts. Gestalt as a school of psychological thought, believes that by analyzing the whole experience – the patterns of a person’s perception and thoughts – one could understand the mind at its workings. 4. Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (1865- 1839) one of the researchers to develop a theory on emotional disturbance. Cornerstones of Psychoanalysis: SEX and AGGRESSION He formulated the techniques free association and dream interpretation to explore unconscious processes. FREUD concluded that the human mind is like an iceberg. a. Conscious – the awareness b. Preconscious – contains ideas that are out of awareness but can be made conscious by focusing on them c. Unconscious – shrouded in mystery and is completely out of awareness. Contains primitive instincts such as sex and aggression. EROS and THANATOS: Life and Death Instinct Eros is the life instinct, which includes sexual instincts, the drive to live and basic instinctual impulses. Libido – energy created by the life instinct. Thanatos is the death instinct, includes that negative feelings like hate, anger and aggression and serves to balance the Eros Self-destructive behavior – expression of energy created by the death instinct. Psychoanalysis as a school of thought, greatly emphasizes the significance of the unconscious and how the people are motivated primarily by drives of which they have little or no awareness with B. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCHOOLS GROW BROADER 1. Behaviorism John B. Watson founded this school of psychology which anchors on the belief that behaviors can be measured, trained and changed. Also known as Behavioral Psychology, this theory of learning is based upon that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning, meaning it occurs through interaction with the environment. 2 types of Conditioning: Classical and Operant Conditioning A. Classical Conditioning – an idea formulated by Ivan Pavlov, this technique used in behavioral training in which a naturally occurring stimulus is paired with a response. B. Operant Conditioning – explained by B. F. Skinner, this method of learning occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Operant conditioning has 2 components: Reinforcement and Punishment and each has Positive and Negative aspects. Behaviorism as a school of psychological thought, believes that it is not really necessary to examine the inner thoughts and motivation of an individual to explain behavior, rather, we should take into account the external factors and the observable cause of such behavior. 2. Humanistic/existential psychology Humanistic Psychology is the school of psychology that emphasizes the uniqueness of each human being. And that we have the free will to determine our destiny. Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers believes that human beings strive to achieve self-actualization. Self-actualization is the final level of psychological development in which a person attempts to fully function, have a superior sense of reality and has a strong sense of self-acceptance. II. HUMANISTIC/EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY “I MAY NOT BE PERFECT, BUT I AM ENOUGH” -Carl Rogers A. Victor Frankl is founder of Logotherapy, a form of existential psychology. Logo is a Greek word which means, meaning. He is also thought to coin the term Sunday neurosis, which refers to a form of anxiety resulting from awareness in some people of the emptiness of their lives once the working week is over. Logotherapy is composed of 3 basic principles: 1. Life has meaning in all circumstances, even despondent ones. 2. The main motivational force is the desire to find meaning in life. 3. Humanity has the freedom of attitudinal choice, even in situations of unchangeable affliction. C. Rollo May – Alongside with Victor Frankl, was a major proponent of existential psychology According to May, Existentialism means: 1. Existence over essence (being > substance) 2. No split between subject and object 3. People search for meaning in their lives 4. We are ultimately responsible for who we are and who we become 5. Existentalists are anti-theoretical Humanistic/Existential Psychology as a school of psychological thought is very optimistic, believing that people are inherently good and that human beings are conscious, creative, and born with an innate desire to fulfill themselves. BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY AND ITS RELATED FIELDS SUBFIELD Behavioral Genetics Behavioral Neuroscience Clinical Psychology Cognitive Psychology Counseling Psychology Cross-cultural Psychology Developmental Psychology Educational Psychology Environmental Psychology Evolutionary Psychology Experimental Psychology Forensic Psychology Health Psychology Industrial/Organizational Psychology Program Evaluation Psychology of Women School Psychology Social Psychology Sports Psychology DESCRIPTION Studies the inheritance of traits related to behavior Examines the biological basis of behavior Deals with the study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders Focuses on the study if higher mental process Focuses on educational, social and career adjustment problems. Investigates the similarities and differences in psychological functioning in and across various cultures and ethnic groups Examines how people grow and change from the moment of conception of through death. Concerned with teaching and learning processes, such as the relationship between motivation and school performance Considers the relationship between people and their physical environment Considers how behavior is influenced by our genetic inheritance from our ancestors Studies the processes of sensing, perceiving, learning and thinking about the world Focuses on legal issues, such as determining accuracy of witness memory Explores the relationship between psychological factors and physical ailments or diseases Concerned with the psychology of the workplace Focuses on assessing large scale programs to determine whether they are effective in meeting their goals Focuses on issues such as discrimination against women and the cause of violence against women Devoted to counseling children in elementary and secondary schools who have academic or emotional problems. The study of how people’s thoughts, feelings and actions are affected by others Applies psychology to athletic activity and exercise.
