Introduction to Psychology
© Kim Taylor, Revised September 2007
Psychology is defined as "the scientific study of the behavior of humans and
other animals". As a science, psychology is young (a little over 100 years old); its
origins derive from the fields of physiology and philosophy.
Why is the word "scientific" used in the first part of this definition?
Answer this question for before you read on.
Despite what some want to believe, psychology is not about common sense.
Rather, theories, facts and other knowledge that we consider as "psychology"
have come from careful application of scientific methods.
Research using such empirical methods provides enlightening and reliable
information that we would not otherwise learn. So-called "common sense" is not
so common (you can get 10 different opinions from 10 different people).
Secondly, even if those 10 people basically agree, their opinions are not based in
fact.
Keep in mind that few psychological principles are carved in stone; new theories
and developments constantly provide new information. With such information,
new directions and methods are born, from which we can continue to study and
expand our knowledge about human behavior.
Looking back at the definition of psychology, we see that the second part of the
definition refers to "the behavior of humans and other animals".
When the word "behavior" is used, keep in mind that this is both "overt" and
"covert" behavior. What is the difference between the two types of behavior?
Answer this question before you move on.
Overt refers to outward (external) behavior - our actions and behaviors that
others can see. Covert behavior refers to our internal (hidden) behavior. What
are some examples of this?
Answer this question before you move on.
Some examples of covert behavior might include mental processes (thoughts,
feelings) or physiological processes (happenings in our brain and body). We will
discuss these issues in more depth in further lessons. For now, however, it is
important to recognize and understand that behavior is both overt and covert.
Finally, referring to the definition of psychology one last time, you will notice the
phrase "humans and other animals". Psychologists have studied rats, dogs, cats,
pigeons, monkeys, insects and other animals to provide useful information about
human behavior. You might be asking questions such as, "What possibly can a
rat or pigeon tell us about people?" or "Why not just study humans?"
There are 5 major reasons why animals are used in psychological research. What
are they? Come on – push yourself to think of at least 5 different reasons. Don’t
weasel out on this. (Did I mention, btw, that psychologists are starting to study
weasels to understand humans?)
Five main reasons that animals are used include:
1. Scientists in all fields try to study a phenomenon in as simple a manner as
possible. To study neurological processes, for example, it would make sense to
study a sea slug (about 20,000 nerve cells) before trying to study a human (100
billion nerve cells).
2. Animal research can provide greater experimental control. A number of factors
may influence behavior; hence, greater control will lead to more precise and
accurate conclusions.
3. Ethical considerations regarding the use of humans must be taken into
account. Think of all of the prescription drugs that would not exist if they had not
been first studied on non-human animals.
4. Animals are available for experimentation at a minimal cost.
5. Sometimes, psychologists simply want to know more about the behavior
(overt and covert) of non-human animals, weasels included.
As psychology is about studying human behavior, the questions, “why?” or, “for
what purpose?” might come to mind.
The goals of psychology regarding human behavior are to:


Understand it
Explain it


Predict it
Modify, extinguish, or change it (would it be fair to call this “control”?)
Think of 3 examples for each of the goals above.
In your opinion, are there ethical issues associated with any or all of these goals?
As earlier stated, psychology is based more on theory than fact. No matter what
psychological concept we might address, there will be many differing opinions
and ideas. This, in my opinion, is one of the great things about psychology for
me, as both a learner and instructor.
Despite the sheer number of varying ideas, there are three major controversies
or areas of disagreement that span the entire field:
Nature vs. nurture. (Also referred to as heredity vs. environment.) What do we
come with when we shoot out of the womb, and what do we develop later on?
Conscious vs. unconscious. Does the unconscious matter or should we focus
attention on those behaviors about which the person is aware? How much, if
any, an impact does the unconscious play in our lives?
Mind vs. brain. Are dreams, for example, really a way of processing our
emotional issues, or are they simply a result of the random firing of neurons?
Consider these three controversies – carry on an active self-dialogue, ask
questions, consider a variety of examples of human behaviors – before you end
this lesson.