Introduction to Psychology
Assembling the jigsaw puzzle:
Past, Present, Future
What is Psychology?

Psychology is a word deriving from Greek:
- Psyche – “soul” or “mind”
- Logos – “word”

The scientific study of “people” in
“situations”.

The scientific study of affect, behavior,
cognition, and physiology/biology.
-
Cognition: Internal mental processes of the individual
Affect: Subjective feeling state, positive/negative, primary/secondary
Behavior: Any action that can be observed and recorded
Physiology/Biology: How body & brain influence above three
Past:

Philosophy
-

Thousands of years asking questions about
the nature of the mind, soul, human nature,
etc.
Then came Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)
- Founder of Modern Psychology
- Established the first laboratory in 1879
- Campaigned to make psychology a discipline
- Applied “Scientific Method” to psychological
inquiry
Timeline:
Part 1/2
Timeline:
Part 2/2
Major Perspectives of
Past/Present
Explosion of people, theories,
variables, materials, etc.
Where do psychologist work?
APA & Divisions
Division
Psychologists in Independent Practice
Society of Clinical Psychology
Clinical Neuropsychology
Psychoanalysis
Psychotherapy
Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Health Psychology
Society of Counseling Psychology
Society for the Psychology of Women
American Psychology-Law Society
Society for the Teaching of Psychology
Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
Society for General Psychology
School Psychology
Educational Psychology
Family Psychology
Rehabilitation Psychology
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
Developmental Psychology
Adult Development and Aging
Society of Consulting Psychology
Evaluation, Measurement and Statistics
Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues
Society of Pediatric Psychology
Addictions
Experimental Psychology
Psychology of Religion
Total #
4,670
4,461
4,057
3,061
3,019
2,882
2,740
2,391
2,279
2,157
2,012
1,830
1,789
1,725
1,654
1,371
1,313
1,288
1,258
1,181
1,178
1,144
1,124
1,070
1,067
1,019
960
942
Division
Society of Psychological Hypnosis
Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Issues
Psychologists in Public Service
Trauma Psychology
Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice
Exercise and Sport Psychology
American Society for the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy
International Psychology
Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
Society for Community Research and Action
Division of Behavior Analysis
Humanistic Psychology
Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict and Violence
Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology
Society for the History of Psychology
Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy
Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts
Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology
State Psychological Association Affairs
Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity
Society for Military Psychology
Media Psychology
Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology
Population and Environmental Psychology
Society for Consumer Psychology
Total Division Memberships
Members with No Divisional Affiliations
Total #
919
910
905
873
846
835
790
741
613
612
587
580
564
544
543
542
532
467
466
438
433
431
430
277
269
265
71,054
49,216
These numbers only include “members”, not students, teachers, international
PsychINFO & Categories




PsychINFO is the electronic database in behavioral sciences
More than 2.3 million records as of July 2007
More than 161,000 records added to the database from
January–December 2006
This link to “Categories” provides good overview of
psychology topic categories http://www.apa.org/psycinfo/about/classcodes.html
4200 Forensic Psychology & Legal Issues
4210 Civil Rights & Civil Law
4230 Criminal Law & Criminal Adjudication
4250 Mediation & Conflict Resolution
4270 Crime Prevention
4290 Police & Legal Personnel
Integration? or
Separate Components?
Field is split in halves:
Professional Practice
versus
Research and Teaching
Abnormal
(affect, behavior, cognition, physiology/biology)
versus
Normal
(affect, behavior, cognition, physiology/biology)
Field of Law/Psychology
(all links posted to class website)


Name & Definition
- No consensus on the name of field or definition of field
Basic Distinctions
- Same distinction exists in Law/Psychology of split between…
Professional Practice / Research & Teaching
Abnormal/Normal

Sub-fields

- Clinical-forensic psychologists
- Developmental psychologists
- Social psychologists
- Cognitive psychologists
- Community psychologists
http://www.ap-ls.org/students/careersoverview.html
http://www.ap-ls.org/students/careersSubspecialties.html
Research Briefs categories…
- Delinquency/Antisocial Behavior
- Forensic Evaluation
- Law Enforcement & Deception Detection
- Legal Decision Making / Jury Research
- Mental Health Services
- Risk Assessment
- Sex Offenders
- Witness Issues
Field of Law/Psychology
(all links posted to class website)

APA
- Division 41 – AP-LS: Website: http://www.ap-ls.org/
- PsycLaw: http://www.apa.org/psyclaw/
- Monthly Publication (Monitor on Psychology) has “Judicial Notebook” page

Other Organizations
- List: http://www.ap-ls.org/links/professionalIndex.html

Conferences
- AP-LS Annual Meeting (2008 in Jacksonville Florida)
- AP-LS Programs at APA Convention
- Other Law-related societies

Journals
- Link to lists - http://www.ap-ls.org/links/journals.html
- Link to lists - http://www.ap-ls.org/publications/journalsIndex.html

Schools granting law/psy degrees
- List - http://www.ap-ls.org/students/graduateIndex.html
- Lists - http://www.unl.edu/ap-ls/student/graduate_programs.html

Grants and Awards
- NIH: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/
- NSF: Law & Social Sciences: http://www.nsf.gov/
- AP-LS: http://www.ap-ls.org/about/awards.html
- Department of Justice: http://www.usdoj.gov/