Topic 1 Introduction to Psychology

Learning Objectives

1. Provide a comprehensive definition of psychology;

2. Identify the different goals of psychology;

3. Evaluate the major ethical principles in conducting psychological research;

4. Discuss the major events that contributed to the development of psychology as a

discipline;

5. Elaborate on the theoretical framework of the major perspectives in the field of

psychology; and

6. Enumerate some of the major specializations in psychology.

Kailangan ba talaga ng PSYCHOLOGY?

Some Criticisms

Study of the things that we already know; simply labels human experiences

Hindsight bias/I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon

o The tendency to exaggerate, after learning an outcome, ones ability to have foreseen

how something turned out.

Puro na lang IT DEPENDS!

Definition of Psychology: SMB

S: scientific study
 o Psychologists use the scientific method to find answers to empirical questions.

1. Perceiving the question

2. Forming a hypothesis (a tentative, yet educated, explanation of a phenomena)

3. Testing the hypothesis using different methods. Examples include:

Experiments

Observations (participatory & naturalistic)

Case studies

Interviews

Surveys

4. Drawing conclusions

5. Reporting your results

M: mental and physiological processes

o It includes the internal, covert activity of our minds such as thinking, feeling,

decision-making, language processing, and memory.

o It also deals with neural impulses, hormonal secretions, and genetic coding that

regulate behaviour.

B: behavior

o It includes all overt, obvious actions and reactions such as talking, facial

expressions, and movement.

Goals of Psychology

1. DESCRIPTION: What is happening?

 2. EXPLANATION: Why is it happening?

3. PREDICTION: When will it happen again?

4. CONTROL/INFLUENCE: How can it be changed?

From an undesirable to a desirable behavior

Ethics in Psychological Research

1. Values in Psych: Psych is not value-free.

2. Minimizing Bias

a. Gender bias: Gender stereotypes

b. Cultural bias: Collectivism and individualism

c. Ethnic bias: Ethnic gloss

3. Conducting Ethical Research

a. Rights and well-being of participants must be weighed against the studys value to

science.

b. Participants must be allowed to make an informed decision about participation.

o Informed consent form

c. Deception, if any, must be justified.

d. Investigator must debrief the participant.

e. Participants may withdraw from the study anytime.

f. Data must remain confidential.

4. Research with Non-human Animals

a. There should be a necessity.

b. They should be cared for in a manner that ensures good health.

 c. They must be treated in the most humane way possible, minimizing discomfort.

Critical Thinking

It refers to the objective evaluation of claims, propositions, and conclusions.

Characteristics include the following:

1. Suspension of judgment

2. Independent thinking

3. Willingness to modify or abandon prior judgments

History of Psychology

A. Philosophical Origins

Philosophers looked at the connection of the body and the soul.

Plato put emphasis on dualism (the body and the soul are separate but interrelated).

Aristotle used the term psyche (means mind in Greek) to refer to the essence of

life.

PSYCHE + LOGOS = PSYCHOLOGY

B. Natural Science Origins

What particular bodily structures are involved in the different mental &

physiological processes and behaviors of humans?

Classical Perspectives in Psychology

A. Structuralism

Wilhelm Wundt (183201920)

He is considered as the father of modern psychology.

He established the first psychological laboratory in 1879 at the University of

Leipzig in Germany.
 He used, in his study, the method of objective introspection (the process of

objectively examining and measuring ones own sensations and perceptions).

Edward Titchener (1867-1927)

He is considered as the father of structuralism.

He is a student of Wundt from Cornell University, NY.

Every experience can be broken down into its individual emotions and sensations.

B. Functionalism

William James (1842-1910)

He is from Harvard University.

He espoused the idea that our conscious ideas are constantly changing.

It focuses on how the mind functions and interacts in the real world and

what are things that we do in order to survive in this world.

C. Gestalt Psychology

Max Wertheimer

He believed that sensation and perception cannot be broken down into

smaller elements (e.g., a petal can never be a flower; a kitchen can never be a

house).

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Contemporary Perspectives in Psychology

In psychology, it is now common to use the eclectic approach.

A. Indigenous Perspective (Sikolohiyang Pilipino)

o 3 Anyo ng Sikolohiya sa Pilipinas

 1. Sikolohiya sa Pilipinas - Ito ay ang kabuuang anyo bunga ng sunod-sunod na

kaalamang may kinalaman sa sikolohiya sa bansang Pilipinas.

2. Sikolohiya ng mga Pilipino - Ito ay tumutukoy sa bawat teorya ng sinumang nais

mag-aral sa kalikasang sikolohikal ng mga Pilipino, dayuhan man o Pilipino ang

gumawa ng pag-aaral.

3. Sikolohiyang Pilipino - Ito ay sikolohiyang bunga ng karanasan, kaisipan, at

oryentasyong Pilipino.

Ang mga mahalaga sa isang kultura ay maaring makita sa WIKA.

Ang SP ay kasingtanda ng lahing Pilipino ngunit bilang isang disiplina,

umusbong lamang ito noong 1970s.

Si Dr. Virgilio Enriquez ang itinuturing na Ama ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino.

Kailangan ito para sa kanyang KAANGKUPAN sa aspeto ng teorya,

metodo, at gamit.

Mahalaga sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino ang KAPWA, na nahahati sa IBANG

TAO at HINDI IBANG TAO.

Ang Sikolohiyang Pilipino ay isang kilusan at disiplina na malaya at

mapagpalaya.

B. Behavioral Perspective

o It emphasizes the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their

environmental determinants.

o John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner experimented on a baby named Little Albert to

prove that phobias can be learned.

o B. F. Skinner believed that rewards and punishments reinforce our behavior.

C. Cognitive Perspective

o It focuses on how people think, remember, store, and use information. Humans are

active, not passive, participants to environmental forces.

o Two of the principal leaders of the cognitive revolution in psychology are George

Miller and Ulric Neisser.

D. Biopsychological Perspective

o Hormones, neurotransmitters, genetics, and heredity are some of the factors

affecting our behavior and mental & physiological processes.

E. Evolutionary Perspective

o It focuses on how behaviours and mental & physiological processes for survival

have adapted over the long course of evolution.

o It is based on Darwins principle of natural selection.

F. Sociocultural Perspective

o The way people and others behave (or even think) is influenced not only by whether

they are alone or part of a group but also by the social norms of the particular culture

in which they live.

G. Psychodynamic Perspective

o It was developed by Sigmund Freud, a neurologist from Austria, who lived in a very

conservative culture.

o He believed in the importance of early childhood experiences.

o Freud proposed that there is an unconscious mind into which we repress all our

threatening desires and urges.

H. Humanistic Perspective
o It is often referred to as the third force in psychology and was led by Abraham

Maslow and Carlo Rogers.

o It emphasizes a persons goodness, capacity for positive growth, and control over

ones life.

o Positive Psychology Movement

It was started by American psychologists Martin Seligman & Mihaly

Csikszentmihalyi.

It encourages more research on positive topics like hope, resilience, joy, love,

creativity, grit, etc.