Psychology can provide insight into behavior and give one the chance to acquire
practical information
1. Psychology – the scientific study of behavior and mental
processes that are tested through scientific research
2. Psychologists differ in how much importance they place on
specific types of behavior
They do agree that the study of behavior must be
systematic
Goals of Psychology
1. Description – 1st goal is to describe or gather information about the
behavior begin studied and to present what is known
2. Explanation – they seek to explain why. Hypothesis – an educated guess
about some phenomenon. Theory – a complex explanation based on
findings from a large number of experimental studies. Theories change as
more information is gathered.
3. Prediction – 3rd goal is to predict, form the knowledge gathered, what
things will do, think or feel in various situations. By studying past
behaviors, future behavior can be predicted.
4. Influence – Basic Science – research as compared to Applied Science –
discovering ways to use scientific findings to accomplish practical goals.
Dr. Zimbardo Video #2
The Scientific Basis of Psychology
1. Psychologists rely on the Scientific Method – a general approach
to gathering information and answering questions so that errors
and biases are minimized
a) Identify a problem or question
b) Formulate a hypothesis
c) Collect data though observation and experimentation
d) Analyze the data
Section 1 Review
Origins of Psychology
1. 5th and 6th century BC – the Greeks
a) began to study human behavior and decided that people’s lives
were influenced more by their minds than by gods
2. Mid-1500’s – Nicholaus Copernicus
a) Earth was not the center of the universe, during the Renaissance
period, experimentation through observation
3. 17th Century – Rene Descartes
a) Others popularized dualism – the mind and body are separate
and distinct
b) Descartes said there was a link, he assumed that the mind and
body influence one another to create a person’s experiences
Historical Approaches
1. Structuralism
a) Established modern psychology as a separate formal field of study
b) Wilhelm Wundt started this
c) Structuralism – the study of the basic elements of human experience
d) Introspection – a method of self-observation in which participants
report their thoughts and feelings
2. Functionalism
a) William James – the fathers of psychology in America
b) Functionalism – the study of how animals and people adapt to their
environments
3. Inheritable Traits
a) Sir Francis Galton
b) Study of seeing if genetics/hereditary factors played a role in abilities,
character and behavior
c) Debate is still ongoing regarding genetics versus environment
4. Gestalt Psychology
a) A group of German psychologists disagreed with the principles of
structuralism and behaviorism
b) Believed that the whole pattern or Gestalt, was important
Contemporary Approaches
Psychoanalytic Psychology
1. Sigmund Freud
2. Interested in the unconscious mind, beneath the surface are primitive
biological urges that are in conflict with the requirements of society and
morality
3. Believed that unconscious motivations and conflicts were responsible for
most human behavior
4. Had a method for indirectly studying unconscious processes
a) Free Association – a patient says everything that comes to mind, no
matter how absurd or irrelevant it may seem, without attempting to
produce logical or meaningful statements
b) No editing or censoring their thoughts
5. Psychoanalysis – the study of how unconscious motives and conflicts
determine human behavior
Behavioral Psychology
1. Ivan Pavlov
a) Dog experiment with salivation/Classical Conditioning
2. John B. Watson
a) Believed that psychologists should only deal with observable facts of
behavior; all behavior is a result of conditioning and occurs because a
stimuli is present
3. B.F. Skinner
a) Introduced the concept of reinforcement/Operant Conditioning
i. Reinforcement – a response to a behavior that increase the likelihood
the behavior will be repeated
ii. Wrote Walden 2
Humanistic Psychology
a) Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Rollo May
a) Human nature is evolving and self-directed
b) Environment and outside forces are just the background to our own
growth, they don’t influence us
c) Each person is unique and has a self-concept and potential to develop fully
Cognitive Psychology
1. Jean Piaget
a) Focuses on how we process, store and use information and how this
information influences our thinking, language, problem solving, and
creativity
b) Behavior is influenced by a variety of mental processes like perception,
memories and expectations
Biological Psychology
1. Emphasizes the impact of biology on our behavior
a) Study how the brain, CNS, hormones and genetics influence our behavior
b) Use PET and CAT scans as tools
Sociocultural Psychology
1. The study of the influence of cultural and ethnic similarities and differences on
behavior and social functioning
2. Our knowledge, ways of thinking, feeling and behaving are dependent on the
culture we belong to
Section 2 Review
What is a Psychologist
1. Psychologist – people who have been trained to observe, analyze and
evaluate behavior
a) Usually have a doctorate in Pyschology
b) Psychiatrist differs in that it is a specialty of medicine. They are
medical students who do their residency in a psych ward or psych
hospital
2. Clinical Psychologist – help people deal with their personal problems
a) Work in mental hospitals, private offices, prisons and clinics
b) ½ of psychologists specialize in clinical psychology
3. Counseling Psychologist – usually work in schools or industrial firms
a) Help people adjust to the challenges of life
b) Most states require a doctorate to be a clinical and counseling
psychologist
Other types of Psychologists
1. School psychologists – help students with emotional and learning
problems
2. Social Psychologists – study groups and how they influence behavior
3. Developmental Psychologists – study physical, emotional, cognitive and
social changes that occur throughout life
a) They study children, the elderly and the process of dying for example
4. Educational Psychologists – deal with topics related to teaching children
and young adults, such as memory, intelligence, teaching methods, and
develop new instructional devices.
5. Experimental Psychologists – perform research to understand how
humans (and animals) operate physically and psychologically
Section 3 Review
Chapter 1 Study Guide
Chapter 1 Test