INTRODUCTION
TO PSYCHOLOGY
PSY 101
• Textbook:
• Introduction to Psychology (12th ed.).
by J. W. Kalat
WHAT IS
PSYCHOLOGY?
• State your responses.
• Would you go to a psychologist or
psychiatrist if you were depressed
or anxious? Why or why not?
• Psychologist-giving therapy(not
very severe)
• Very severe seek psychiatrist- giving
medicine –very impact
• Would you seek assistance for other
things in your life, such as buying a
house, a medical ailment,
managing debt, improving their
game/sport, moving, finding a job,
SO WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
• Psychology is the science of behavior and mental
processes.
• Science – careful, controlled observation
• Mental processes – private thoughts, emotions,
feelings, motives that others cannot directly
observe
• What would be some examples
of psychological phenomena?
• For example,
• Is remembering to go to your
Psychology exam a psychological
phenomenon?
• Is a two-year old learning to count a
psychological phenomenon?
MAJOR PHILOSOPHICAL
ISSUES
• Free Will-cannot make any prediction your
behaviour is under your control Vs
Determinism-can predict your behaviour=end
result of environment
• The Mind-Brain problem
• Nature Vs Nurture
• Freewill Vs
determinism
• Is mind and brain same or different?
• Monism-mind and brain is the same(observation)
• Dualism-mind and brain are different (we cannot see mind,
but we can see the impact of mind )
INTERESTS OF PSYCHOLOGISTS
STRUCTURALISM
• Asked the question
"What are the basic
elements of the mind
that combine to
produce more
complex thoughts?"
• Criticism
How does
this make
you feel?
FUNCTIONALISM
• Asked "What are the
functions or purposes
of the various
behaviors and mental
processes?“
• Examples:
• Why do we dream -- what function
does it serve?
• Why do we have emotions -- what
function do they serve?
• James is the father of American
psychology.
PSYCHOANALYTIC
•
•
•
Emphasis unconscious
experience and
emotional conflicts
Introduced
psychoanalysis, clinical
case studies
Freud-behaviour is
from unconscious
mind (early childhood
experiences )
BEHAVIOURISM
• Describing, predicting, and
controlling observable,
measurable behaviors, and
not mental processes that
can only be inferred.
• Learned behaviour
• Believe in environment
• Nurture Monism determinism
HUMANISTIC
• Do not believe in determinism
(your actions are directed by
your past).
• They believe that humans
have free will (our ability to
choose your own destiny)
• We are innately good as long
as our self-esteem and selfconcept are positive we will
be happy.
• Free will ,mind, interaction of
nature and nurture.
CONCEPT CHECK
CONCEPT CHECK
• Which area of psychology research is
concerned with whether or not punishment is
an effective means of eliminating undesirable
behaviors?
• Learning and motivation specialist
• Which would ask if people will obey an
authority figure even when that leader is
demanding behavior that might be classified
as immoral or wrong?
• Social psychologist
CONCEPT CHECK
• Which psychologist wants to know how thinking
change from childhood to adolescents?
• Development psychologist
• Which psychologist would do research to
determine how memories are stored in the
brain?
• Cognitive psychologist
• Which psychologist would do research to
determine how retention and recall of
information in a college-level psychology
course can be enhanced?
• Educational psychologist
CONCEPT CHECK
• Which psychotherapist would help a middleaged woman trying to transition from work as a
homemaker to resuming her college
education?
Counselling psychologist
• Which psychotherapist would prescribe a
mood stabilizing medication to a patient who
shows signs of bipolar affective (emotional)
disorder?
• Psychiatrist
CONCEPT CHECK
• Which psychotherapist might be employed
in an inpatient facility for developmentally
delayed children and adolescents, doing
assessment and psychotherapy?
• Clinical psychologist
• Which psychotherapist would try to help a
patient discover his or her hidden
motivations for an apparently distressing
and unacceptable behavior or thought?
• Cognitive psychologist/psychoanalysis
CONCEPT CHECK
• Which psychologist would consult in the
design of an airplane cockpit to maximize
crew efficiency and safety?
• Human factor specialist
• Which psychologist would evaluate a
student for possible placement in a school’s
program for gifted children?
• School psychologist
CONCEPT CHECK
• Which psychologist would work with
supervisors at a software development
company to improve communication
between departments and levels of
management?
Industry psychologist
STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
Psychology values
empirical evidence
critical thinking
systematic research methods