What is Psychology?

When you ask yourself who am I?...you might mention many aspects about yourself when you answer this
question. (personality, experiences, sexual preferences, age, physical characteristics, aspirations, attitudes,
social contacts, etc.) Even the aspects that you do not mention (physiology, genetic make-up, mental process,
etc.) are interests of Psychology.
We are all psychologists at heart. Rare is the person who doesnt want to understand himself or
herself better.
Hope to improve relationships? Understand why people react or behave in certain ways?

Psychology is all about theseit is the science of how we think and behave the way we do, alone and in our
relationships, and its findings (concepts, principles, theories) are relevant to every aspect of our lives.

Isnt it all just obvious?

Encounter research results or reports in the media, common reaction I could have told them thatthis is
somewhat understandable.
Why partly true? Psychologys subject matter is people, individualssomething were all very familiar with.
Research show: Familiarity gives people false confidence in a topicsimple because we encounter them
everyday.
**Test of Psychological Knowledge (30items)
MYTHS ABOUT PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology teaches you secret ways to control and manipulate other people
(Psychology can help you understand yourself and others better, but it doesnt give you any magical means to
manipulate people)
Psychology is only for crazy people
(Psychology is different from Psychiatry, to understand oneself and others do not mean you are crazy)
Psychology allows you to read someone elses mind
(Psychology seeks to observe, describe and explain the facts it studies the facts are about our lives)
Folk Psychology most people harbor strong beliefs about why we and other people act like they do;
cultural wisdom. [This can mean that whatever psychological science uncovers, its easy to feel that we
already know about it.]
(Some psychological findings turn out just the way wed expect while others are truly surprising. It is possible
to dine out on all sorts of surprising psychological findings, but to do so is to miss the point that the value of a
psychological finding should not rest on how surprising it is but how true/empirical it is)
Example: (Surprising psychological finding) Wriggling your eyes from side to side can boost your memory
performance.

PSCHOLOGY is the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes.

The term psychology came from two Greek words: psyche meaning mind; and logos meaning study. When
applied to humans, psychology covers everything that people think, feel, and do.
Scientific study:
Psychology as a science must be based on the principles and characteristics of science (fact, truth, tested
information)

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If there is any one thing, it is psychologys reliance on a philosophical view known as empiricism. Empiricists
believe that knowledge comes from observation and experience (the Greek empeiria literally means
experience). This viewpoint tells us that all hypotheses about human functioning should have an observable
consequence, which can be confirmed or refuted by data collection and statistical testing.
all sciences arise as refinement, corrections and adaptations of common sense (Oppenheimer, 1956, p. 128),
Psychology is at its best, the epitome of the skeptical scientific approach. Because people and their lives and
relationships are so complicated, and because we all hold so many preconceptions, the science of psychology
must be watertight.
THE GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY IN UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR
To describe human behavior
To identify and explain the factors that cause a specific type of human behavior
To regulate, control, or modify human behavior
To predict with probability human behavior given its causal factors...HENCE, PSYCHOLOGY IS NOT
SIMPLY A STUDY OF THE MIND ThereforePSYCHOLOGISTS DO NOT READ MINDS!
Human Behavior:
HUMAN BEHAVIOR refers to the total reaction of a person to a particular situation or event. Human behaviors
are classified as either:
OVERT BEHAVIORS or reactions directly observable using our five senses.
COVERT BEHAVIORS or reactions that cannot be observed directly but those that are manifested through
overt behaviors; include feelings, thoughts, ideas, attitudes, etc.
Human behavior is complex:
Imagine you are a psychologist interested in understanding a particular kind of behavior, such as
human aggression. What would you look at to advance your understanding?
Brain cells and hormones? Inherited characteristics? Socialization by parents? The stimuli that precede
aggressive behavior?
Psychology pursues all these avenues in its attempt to explain human behavior.
It may be viewed from physiological functioning, from mental activity, from the environment (focusing
on events or stimuli that precede an aggressive act), or from learning...
It is apparent that there is no single explanation for aggressive behavior. Confusion can be avoided if
we accept that each explanation is useful in its own way.
BEHAVIOR AS THE CONCERN OF PSYCHOLOGY
Activities of an organism that can be observed
Mental Processes:
MENTAL PROCESSES refer to the different cognitive functions of the mind such as planning, decision making,
creativity, learning and analysis.
Looking back...
Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-94) investigated the speed of neural impulses. His work suggested that
THOUGHT and movement do not occur instantaneously as earlier believed...but THOUGHT occurs first,
followed by movement. This paved that way for other psychologists to investigate the psychological
processes or the mental processes that occur in relation to behavior.
What is Psychology? (other definitions)
It is a science that studies human behavior and the mental processes (Atkinson, 1990)
It is the study of the mind and behavior; studies life (Goleman, 1975)

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 The science of behavior and experience; the science of the adjustments of organisms to their
environment (Munn, 1972)
Psychologys Past: has both Traditional and Scientific Past
Primitive notions of Mind and Soul
~ spirits or gods were thought to direct the activities of lightning, rain, harvest and also the activities of
men/women (i.e. sickness)
~ the internal forces of man were called MIND or SOUL ANIMISM
Eventually...The work of French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes (1596-1650) let to many of
the later trends in Psychology. Reflecting the spirit of his times, Descartes subscribed to the idea of
MECHANISM an image of the universe as a machine and physical entities as mechanical devices. Descartes
applied his view of animals, including humans, setting humans apart from animals only by their possession of a
MIND.
Since Plato, most philosophers viewed the body and the mind (or soul, or spirit) as fundamentally different in
nature. Descartes accepted this DUALISM...but prior to Descartes, the mind was believed to influence the
body, rather than the other way around. He reasoned that the mind controlled the bodys movements,
sensations, and perceptions. His approach to understanding human behavior was based on the assumption
that the mind and body influence each other to create a persons experiences.
Descartes eventually developed CARTESIAN DUALISM...which asserts a relationship of mutual interaction
(Mind and Body)...this view also limits the MIND to one function THOUGHT.

Perspectives in Psychology
STRUCTURALIST Perspective
Structures of the Mind (Wilhelm Wundt 1832-1920)
focused on trying to discover basic elements or structures of mental processes.
Focus on the conscious experience and the task of analyzing such experience into its basic parts.
Introspection looking inward...an observational method used to describe the elements of
experience (colors, shapes, tones, tastes, etc.)
Studies mainly focused on SENSATION and PERCEPTION because they were the easiest processes to
break down into component parts
Did you see a BLUE fish? According to Wundt, this will not
do...since you are showing more interest in the OBJECT (fish)
rather than the sensation of experiencing BLUE.
In other words, this is a mediated or interpreted experience.
Hence, a good introspection of this experience is describing
only the intensity and clarity of the sensations that occur in
viewing the image, such as the BLUENESS.

Like chemistry, psychology consists of analysis discovering the basic elements of conscious thought and
synthesis discovering connections between elements and the laws governing these connections.

Criticism: Studying the MIND cannot possibly result to something scientific, because it is intangible
(therefore cannot be observed and measured)

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 The use of INTROSPECTION can be too subjective, biased, and therefore prone to errors and
inconsistencies
FUNCTIONALISM Perspective
William James 1842 1910
James felt that psychology should have practical value, and that psychologists should find out how the
mind can function to a person's benefit.
It addresses the very practical question of WHAT FUNCTIONS THE MIND, OR MENTAL PROCESSES,
ACCOMPLISH.
the functions of the mind; focus on the FUNCTION of the structures of the Mind
emphasized processes of thought rather than on its contents.
HOW and WHY the mind works as it does.
James believed that the attempt to divide the consciousness into distinct elements is misguided.
He believed that the function of consciousness is to guide behavior that will help the organism adapt
to the environment.
Structuralists believed that the mind was flexible and fluid, characterized by constant change and
adaptation in response to a flow of information (Stream of Consciousness).
Experienced the same criticisms and doubts like that of the Structuralist perspective.

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH / PERSPECTIVE: BEHAVIORISM

The emergence of functionalism had been evolutionary rather than revolutionary... Functionalism
shifted attention away from the exclusive focus on private experience (consciousness) to include the
study of objective, observable behaviour.
John Watson (1913) a totally objective psychology, whose subject matter was observable behaviour.
Theories of learning emphasized the ways in which people might be predisposed, or conditioned, by
their environments to behave in certain ways.
Emphasizes the study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants.
Focuses on the interactions with the environment that can be seen and measured... Stimulusresponse
units were seen to be the basic building blocks of complex behaviour...( Rewards punishment,
stimulus response, cause and effect)
What we DO is the ultimate test of who we are(BF Skinner)
Behavior is shaped by the environment
Edward Thorndike: law of effect articulates two central experimental findings: 1) any act that produces
satisfaction is more likely to recur; and 2) any act that produces discomfort is less likely to recur
Ex:

~ A child is well-behaved because her parents have rewarded this behavior.

~ An adult works hard at a job because of the money he gets for his effort.
~ Tiger Woods found golf so rewarding ever since the first year of his life.

COGNITIVE APPROACH / PERSPECTIVE:

It has been said that psychology lost its mind with the advent of Watsonian behaviourism. It could
equally be said that several factors led psychology to regain its mind.
Behaviorism had thereby deprived psychology of some of its most interesting problems (e.g. how
people ascribe meaning to events and how this meaning influences subsequent behaviour).
It is concerned with mental process, such as perceiving, remembering (Memory), reasoning, decision
making, intelligence and problem solving.
this branch of psychology is related to other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy, and
linguistics.

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 Only by studying mental processes can we fully understand what individuals do.
The individuals mental processes are in control of behavior through memories, perceptions, images,
and thinking.
Ex:
~ How does Tiger Woods memory store information about strategies in golf?
~ Eyewitness identification.
*** Perspectives at the psychological level are sometimes mutually compatible and sometimes competitive.
With the rise of computer science and artificial intelligence, analogies were drawn between the
processing of information by humans and information processing by machines.
PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH / PERSPECTIVE: PSYCHOANALYTIC
Sigmund Freud (18561939), a Viennese physician, formulated this revolutionary theory of human
behaviour... He applied his own idiosyncratic interpretation of data to formulate theories. By the mid
1890s, he had become convinced that traumatic sexual experiences in childhood were responsible for
many of his patients symptoms.
Freudian theory made reason secondary: for Freud, the unconscious and its often socially unacceptable
irrational motives and desires, particularly the sexual and aggressive, were the driving force underlying
much of human behaviour and mental illness and symptom formation.
Emphasize unconscious thought, conflict between biological instincts and societys demands, and early
family experiences.
Psychological development is instinctual.
Early relationships with parents are the chief forces that shape the individuals personality.
Impulses, instincts, and even fears influence behavior.
The unconscious (such as drives, motives, instincts, psychic energy known as libido)
Emphasizes unconscious thought, conflict between biological instincts and societys demands, and early
family experiences.
the importance of early childhood experiences
Unlearned biological instincts (sex and aggression) influence the way people think, feel and behave. These
instincts, buried deep within the unconscious mind, are often at odds with societys demands.
Ex:
~ Tiger Woods ambition to be the greatest golfer comes from his mothers and fathers differing
influences on him.
~ Some people overeat when they are nervous or anxious. (since eating can produce satisfaction
and comfort)
HUMANISTIC / PHENOMENOLOGICAL APPROACH / PERSPECTIVE:
Humanism focused on fundamentally and uniquely human issues, such as individual free will, personal
growth, self-actualization, self-identity, death, aloneness, freedom, and meaning.
It is more concerned with the describing the inner life and experiences of individuals rather than with
developing theories or predicting behavior.
An individuals primary motivational force is a tendency towards growth and full realization of his or her
potentials (Self-actualization).
Emphasizes a persons positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth and freedom to choose a
destiny.
People have the ability to control their lives and avoid being manipulated by the environment.
Importance of the subjective experience, concerned with the individuals personal view of events.
Phenomenology how one understands himself and the world around him
Subjective experiences
Emphasizes a persons positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and freedom to choose a
destiny.
People have the potential to for conscious self-understanding and that the way to help others achieve
self-understanding is by being warm and nurturing of them.
People have the ability to control their lives and avoid being manipulated by the environment.

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BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE:
You, your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free
will, are in fact no more than the behaviour of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules.

Biological psychology or behavioral neuroscience is the study of the biological substrates of behavior
and mental processes.
A biological psychology perspective encompasses different areas of study such as development,
evolution, genetics and physiology.
Physiology looks at the components of the body, how they interact and how they are involved in the
control of behaviour.
Studying the brain can provide insights into psychological processes and the determinants of
behaviour.
The relationship between biology and psychology is reciprocal.

~ All psychological events correspond in some manner to the activity of the brain.
~ relate overt behavior to electrical and chemical events taking place inside the body.

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