CHAPTER 1
Introducing Psychology
OUTLINE
I.
THE WORLD OF PSYCHOLOGY: AN OVERVIEW
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Positive psychology is the
study of happiness, optimism, human strengths, and so forth.
A.
Subfields of Psychology
There are hundreds of topics available for the study of behavior and mental processes.
Clusters of these topics are called subfields.
1.
B.
The biological factors underlying our behavior are the concern of biological or
physiological psychologists. How genetics, brain structures, and hormones affect our
behavior are topics addressed by biological psychologists.
2. Developmental psychologists explore the causes and effects of changes in behavior and
mental processes over the life span. Developmental psychologists study children’s
friendships, parenting styles and outcomes, and changes in thinking abilities.
3. Cognitive psychologists, or experimental psychologists, study processes underlying
perception, motivation, emotion, memory, problem solving, and other aspects of
human thought. Engineering psychologists study human factors in the use of
equipment and work to design better versions of that equipment.
4. Personality psychologists study the qualities that make people unique and explore
relationships among personality characteristics, behavior, and mental processes.
5. Clinical and counseling psychologists seek to understand the origins of behavior
disorders and to help people deal with disorders. Community psychologists provide
psychological services to people who often do not seek help and work to prevent
disorders by trying to lessen stresses such as poverty. Health psychologists study the
relation between behavior and health and work to promote healthy lifestyles.
6. Educational psychologists investigate ways to improve student learning. School
psychologists assess students’ abilities and provide assistance when needed.
7. Social psychologists focus on how people affect others’ behavior and thinking. Social
psychologists are interested in such subjects as advertising, prejudice, and
interpersonal attraction.
8. Industrial-organizational psychologists are interested in factors affecting work
productivity and satisfaction, such as employee motivation and how to develop
positive organizational behavior.
9. Quantitative psychologists are interested in developing and using statistical tools to
analyze data relevant to human behavior and mental process.
10. Other subfields include sports psychology, forensic psychology, and environmental
psychology.
Linkages Within Psychology and Beyond
Many psychologists are interested in several psychological subfields and may use more than
one approach to study behavior and mental processes. Psychological research contributes to
other disciplines such as neuroscience and uses theories from other disciplines (for example,
physics and economics) to understand psychological phenomena.
C.
Research: The Foundation of Psychology
Psychologists use empirical research to collect and analyze information, rather than relying
on speculation.
D.
II.
A Brief History of Psychology
1. Wundt and the Structuralism of Titchener. Wilhelm Wundt wanted to study
consciousness using scientific methods. With his technique of introspection, he
documented “quality” and “intensity” as elements of sensation. Edward Titchener
further identified “clarity” as one of the dimensions of consciousness; his approach
was called structuralism. Gestalt psychologists disagreed with Wundt’s methods and
suggested analyzing the whole conscious experience, not its elements.
2. Freud and Psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud developed a theory of personality based on
the assumption that the unconscious could influence people’s behavior.
3. William James and Functionalism. William James investigated how consciousness
works to help people adapt to their environments. Because James thought that the
function of sensations, ideas, and memories was important, his view became known as
functionalism.
4. John B. Watson and Behaviorism. According to John B. Watson, psychologists should
not study mental events but instead should observe people’s behavioral reaction to
stimuli without making inferences about consciousness. Watson inspired many
psychologists to adopt behaviorism as the method of choice for scientific research in
psychology.
5. Psychology Today. Advances in technology have made it possible for psychologists to
study the biological bases of mental activity. The study of consciousness has become
more precise and objective.
APPROACHES TO THE SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY
Each theoretical approach makes different assumptions about the factors that cause behavior and
mental processes, and what methods are most appropriate for studying those factors.
Psychologists who use more than one approach are known as eclectic.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
The Biological Approach. According to the biological approach, physiological factors
determine behavior and mental processes. A psychologist with this approach would note
changes in brain activity during memory formation or decision making.
The Evolutionary Approach. Psychologists taking the evolutionary approach believe that
behavior results from evolution through natural selection. Researchers seek to understand
the reasons a behavior has evolved. Why is it adaptive, and how has it been shaped by
environmental conditions?
The Psychodynamic Approach. Though less influential today, the psychodynamic approach
states that behavior reflects unconscious internal conflict between inherited instincts and
society’s behavioral rules.
The Behavioral Approach. The behavioral approach emphasizes learning in explaining
behavior. For example, how do rewards and punishments shape, maintain, and change
behavior? The cognitive-behavioral approach examines how learning influences thoughts
and opinions, and how such cognitions influence observable behaviors.
The Cognitive Approach. According to the cognitive approach, behavior is a result of
information processing (for example, perception, memory, thought, judgment, and decision
making). Cognitive scientists work with biologists, linguists, philosophers, computer
scientists, and engineers to identify the components of thought that interact to produce
behaviors.
The Humanistic Approach. According to the humanistic approach, people choose how to
behave based on their perceptions of the world to grow toward their unique potential. The
humanistic approach is less influential today because its ideas are difficult to test
empirically.
III. Human Diversity and Psychology
Psychologists are increasingly considering the influence of sociocultural factors such as
gender, social class, and ethnicity in shaping human behavior and mental processes. Culture,
the accumulation of values, religious belief, and so forth, is an organizing influence that
determines much of behavior. Cultures can be classified as individualist or collectivist.