Introduction to Psychology
AP Psych – Chapter 1
What is Psychology?
Alice F Short
Hilliard Davidson High School
The Science of Psychology: An
Appreciative View, 2nd Edition (King)
• The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View
by Laura King (University of Missouri at Columbia)
brings a truly appreciative view of psychology - as
a science and for exploring behavior.
• students must study the discipline of psychology
as a whole
• sub-disciplines are intricately connected
• human behavior is best understood by exploring
its functioning state in addition to its potential
dysfunctions
Chapter Preview
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Defining Psychology
Psychology in Historical Perspective
Contemporary Approaches to Psychology
What Psychologists Do
Science of Psychology and Health and
Wellness
Psychology
• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior
and mental processes.
– origins: philosophy
• Three Key Components
– science – systematic methods
– behavior – what can be directly observed
– mental processes – thoughts, feelings, motives
Science of Psychology
• Critical Thinking
– don’t believe everything you hear or read
• Skepticism
• Objectivity
• Curiosity
• CSOC
Goals of Psychology
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to describe behavior
to predict behavior
to explain behavior
A SHORT Time to Ponder
Do we support critical thinking in public education? How yes or no?
Can we do this successfully without critical thinking, skepticism,
objectivity and curiosity?
… and sometimes
to manipulate or control behavior
for either good or evil…
Psychology – A General Science
• Psychology is not limited to the study of
psychological disorders.
• Freud’s view of human nature
• positive psychology – a branch of psychology
that emphasizes human strengths
– Example: Amish forgiveness (p. 7-8)
Narcissism Epidemic
• Narcissism… unusually self-confident, selfassertive, and self-centered.
• Generation born since 1980s
– “More narcissistic than early generations” OR
– “Attitudes have been stable over time”
History of Psychology
• Western Philosophy
• Biology and Physiology
• Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
– 1879 – established 1st psychology lab & conducted the
first psychological experiment
– first person to introduce the ideas of measuring mental
processes
• Socrates, Plato and Aristotle
• Later Philosophers
– Rene Descartes
• Argued that the mind and body were completely separate
Wilhelm Wundt’s Structuralism
• identified structures of the mind (mental
processes)
• introspection (“looking inside”)
– documenting subjects’ descriptions of an
experience (formalized and detailed)
• reporting sensations that they experienced
• systematic, detailed self-reports (science)
VIL-HELM VOONT
William James’ Functionalism
• identified the functions and purposes of the
mind
• stream of consciousness
• human interactions with outside world
• why is human thought adaptive?
Brother of author
Psychology and Evolution
• Charles Darwin
– On the Origin of Species, 1859
• Natural Selection
– competition for resources
– genetic characteristics that promote reproduction
and survival are favored
– environmental changes alter course of evolution
The 7 Contemporary Approaches
• Current Psychological Perspectives
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6.
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Biological
Behavioral
Psychodynamic
Humanistic
Cognitive
Evolutionary
Sociocultural
1. Biological Approach
• The biological approach focuses on the brain and
nervous system.
– interested in biological factors (testosterone/hormone
levels, etc.)
• Neuroscience
– study of the structure, function, development,
genetics, biochemistry of the nervous system
– thoughts and emotions have physical basis in brain
– allowed psychologists to better understand the brain
2. Behavioral Approach
• The behavioral approach focuses on the
environmental determinants of observable
behavior.
– behavior = observable (care about them)
– mental processes = private (don’t care about them)
• Notable Behaviorists
– John Watson
– B.F. Skinner
– rejected thought processes
Noted Behaviorist:
John Watson
"Give me a dozen healthy infants, wellformed, and my own specified world to
bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take
any one at random and train him to
become any type of specialist I might
select--doctor, lawyer, artist, merchantchief, and, yes, even beggarman and thief,
regardless of his talents, penchants,
tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race
of his ancestors. I am going beyond my
facts and I admit it, but so have the
advocates of the contrary and they have
been doing it for many thousands of
years."
–John B. Watson, Behaviorism, 1930
Notable Behaviorists
John Watson
B.F. Skinner
rejected thought
processes
Noted
Behaviorist:
B.F. Skinner
I did not direct my life. I
didn't design it. I never made
decisions. Things always
came up and made them for
me. That's what life is.
-- B. F. Skinner
If you're old, don't try to
change yourself, change your
environment.
-- B. F. Skinner
Notable Behaviorists
• John Watson
• B.F. Skinner
• rejected thought
processes
3. Psychodynamic Approach
• associated with
– a posteriori
– troubled childhoods / dark memories
• often repressed /motivated forgetting
Psychodynamic
Approach: Freud
• Known as the founding
father of the
psychodynamic approach
• Believed that there are
unlearned biological
instincts (especially of a
sexual and/or aggressive
nature) that can occur
early in life and these
instincts influence how a
person thinks, feels, and
behaves
• Had a couch 
4. Humanistic Approach
• Humanists emphasize
– positive human qualities
– capacity for positive growth
– free will
• Humanistic Theorists
– Carl Rogers
– Abraham Maslow
Humanistic Approach:
Carl Rogers
The only person who is educated is the
one who has learned how to learn and
change.
-- Carl Rogers
I believe that the testing of the student's
achievements in order to see if he meets
some criterion held by the teacher, is
directly contrary to the implications of
therapy for significant learning.
-- Carl Rogers
Humanists emphasize
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positive human
qualities
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capacity for positive
growth

free will
Humanistic Approach:
Abraham Maslow
What is necessary to
change a person is to
change his awareness
of himself.
-- Abraham Maslow
Humanists emphasize
– positive human qualities
– capacity for positive
growth
– free will
5. Cognitive Approach
• The cognitive approach emphasizes the
mental processes involved in knowing.
• Information Processing
– …how humans interpret incoming info, weigh it,
store it, and apply it
6. Evolutionary Approach
• The evolutionary approach uses ideas such as
adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection
to explain human behavior.
– explains preference for significant others with genes
that enhance the chance of survival
– Charles Darwin: argued that natural selection
determines physical traits of survival
• Evolutionary Psychologists
– David Buss
– Leda Cosmides
7. Sociocultural Approach
• examines how social and cultural
environments influence behavior and mental
processes
• studies differences between ethnic and
cultural groups within and across countries
- application: look for words that reference a
specific location, group of people, etc. and
how that influences behavior
Careers in Psychology
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Practice / Applied
– psychiatry
• can prescribe medication
• attends medical school
– psychologist
• can’t prescribe medication
• does not attend medical school
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Research
Teaching
Areas of Specialization
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Physiological Psych / Behavioral Neuroscience
Sensation and Perception
Learning
Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Motivation & Emotion
Psychology of Women & Gender
Personality Psychology
Social Psychology
Industrial / Organizational Psychology
Clinical & Counseling Psychology
Health Psychology
Areas of Specialization (cont.)
• Also (but not addressed in text beyond this
chapter)
– Community Psychology
– School & Educational Psychology
– Environmental Psychology
– Forensic Psychology
– Sport Psychology
– Cross-Cultural Psychology
Career Settings in Psychology
Influence of Culture
• Individualistic Cultures
– individuals viewed as unique and distinct from their social group
– value independence
• Collectivistic Cultures
– emphasize social group and the individual’s role within that
group
– value interdependence
• Individualistic subjects
– prefer to work on tasks that they have had previous success
with
– like to emphasize their successes
• Collectivistic subjects
– prefer to work on tasks that they have difficulty with
– self-critical view
Science of Psychology and Health and
Wellness
• positive psychology movement
– research on topics such as happiness and
optimism
• Mind-Body Connections
– how the mind impacts the body
– how the body impacts the mind
Chapter Summary
• Explain what psychology is and how it differs
from an every-day, informal approach to
understanding human nature.
• Discuss the roots and early scientific foundations
of psychology.
• Summarize the main themes of the seven
approaches to psychology.
• List some of the areas of specialization and
careers in psychology.
• Describe the connections between the mind and
the body.
Chapter Summary
• Defining Psychology
– scientific study of behavior and mental processes
• Historical Foundations of Psychology
– origins in philosophy and physiology
– structuralism – Wilhelm Wundt
– functionalism – William James
– evolutionary theory – Charles Darwin
Chapter Summary
• Contemporary Approaches to Psychology
– current approaches – complementary
• Specializations and Careers in Psychology
– practice, research, teaching
– academic, clinic, private practice, industry, school
• Science of Psychology and
• Health and Wellness
– mind-body connection is a “two-way street”