GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

THE NATURE OF PSYCHOLOGY

 THE NATURE OF PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and

mental processes (Frederickson et al., 2009)

The present definition of

psychology is a product of an
earlier interest in over behavior
or directly observable and
covert thoughts and feelings or
mental processes.
 Three ancient Greek
philosophers emerged to
stimulate interest in
psychology

Socartes: postulated the “Know Thyself” principle. He

is best remembered for this statement “I only know that I
know nothing” and the belief that “To have knowledge is
to love wisdom.”

Plato: believed that ideas are innate and the soul is the
most important possession of man

Aristotle: investigated the importance of the body

and soul (hylomorphism).
 Other philosophers posited varying (and
contrasting) views which laid the
groundwork for what psychology came
to be:

Rene Descartes: French philosopher and

mathematician who proposed the mind-body
interaction and the value of innate ideas (nature).
-(Dualism)
- “Cogito ergo sum”

John Locke: British philosopher who held the mind

as tabula rasa (blank state) and argues that knowledge
is acquired through experience and interactions with the
world (nature).
 Other philosophers posited varying (and
contrasting) views which laid the
groundwork for what psychology came
to be:

Charles Darwin: introduce the theory of

evolution stating the origins of man.

Francis Galton: who claimed that intelligence is

inherited and coined the term “nature and nurture.”
 Psychology was born in
December, 1879 when physiologist
Wilhelm Wundt establish the first
psychological laboratory at the
university of Liepzig, Germany.

His investigations centered

on senses, attention,
emotion, and memory.
 Wilhelm Wundt
Famous Scholars

G. Stanley Hall – student of Wundt who established the

first formal U.S. laboratory in 1883 at John Hopkins
University and is the first to receive a Ph.D. degree.
 Wilhelm Wundt
Famous Scholars

Edward Bradford Titchener – another student of Wundt

who introduced structuralism with a goal of specifying
mental structures and analyzing the basic elements of
consciousness experience using introspection as its main
method of observation of the subjects’ content
experience
There are those who opposedstructuralism and

proposed another school of thought.

 There are those who opposed
structuralism and proposed
another school of thought.

William James – a
psychologist from Harvard
University who introduced
functionalism, which was
concerned with how the
consciousness functions and
rejected a purely analytical
method of investigation
which was traceable from
philosophy.
There are those who opposed
structuralism and proposed
another school of thought.

Sigmund Freud – a
Viennese physician who
introduced psychoanalysis
which considers hidden
motives and unconscious
desires as major
determinants of behavior.
 There are those who opposed
structuralism and proposed
another school of thought.

John B. Watson – founder of

Behaviorism who redefined
psychology as the study of
observable behavior. He
contested that one cannot
see or define conscoiusness
hence, it cannot be an
object of scientific study.
There are those who opposed
structuralism and proposed
another school of thought.

Max Wertheimer – together

with his associates, he
introduced Gestalt
Psychology which means
“whole” or “form” in 1912. it
suggests that for one to study
behavior, one has to look at
the totality of the experience.
This laid important
foundations for the study of
sensation and perception.
 There are those who opposed
structuralism and proposed
another school of thought.

Abraham Maslow – major

proponent of Humanism
who emphasized human
potential, needs, and life’s
meaning. His theories
became important in the
study of emotions and
motivation.
The Future of
Psychology
 The Future of Psychology

American Psychological Association views that the

advances of science and unlimited opportunities for
collaboration provides four (4) directions of psychology:

1. From mental health to health care providers: providing

integrated health care;

2. Integrating technology into practice;

 The Future of Psychology

APA views that the advances of science and unlimited

opportunities for collaboration provides four (4)
directions of psychology:

3. Meeting the needs of our diverse society; and

4. Applying basic and applied scientific evidence to

inform our practice
History of Psychology in the
Philippines
 History of Psychology in the
Philippines

The historical timelines of the early years of psychology

in the Philippines:

Psychology was taught as early as the 17th century at

the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and the
University of San Carlos in Cebu;
 History of Psychology in the
Philippines

Psychology was under Philosophy in the 1900’s

In 1926, psychology was

taught as a separate subject
from Philosophy and a
department of Psychology
was established at the
University of the Philippines
under the School of
Education
 History of Psychology in the
Philippines

UST was the first

institution to offer BS,
Master’s and Ph.D.
degrees in Psychology;
and

The field was closely identified with Education until the

1960’s
Contemporary Perspectives
in Psychology
 Contemporary Perspectives in Psychology

Biological Perspective – it views psychological events as

related to the activity of the brain and the nervous
system.
 Contemporary Perspectives in Psychology
Behavioral Perspective – this is the perspective that
revolutionized psychology for half century. It focused on
observable and measurable behavior that can be
explained through stimulus-response formula and is
determined through conditioning and reinforcement.
 Contemporary Perspectives in Psychology

Cognitive Perspective – the success of behaviorism was

not without criticism. It was viewed as mechanical and
limited to overt behavior. Cognitive approach include
mental processes in the equation to fully understand
human behavior. (e.g. A.I.)
 Contemporary Perspectives in Psychology
Psychoanalytic
Perspective – it was
developed by Sigmund
Freud. His theory is
centered with causal role
of wishes and beliefs in
human life. it also
emphasize the influence of
the unconscious mind and
behavior. He believed that
the human mind was
composed of three
elements: id, ego, and the
superego.
 Contemporary Perspectives in Psychology
Phenomenological Perspective – subjective experience
is central to this approach. The personal experience of
man is his/ her phenomenology – his own world. some of
their theories are called humanistic because they
emphasize the qualities the distinguish human from
animals.
Specialization in Psychology
 Specialization in Psychology

1. Clinical Psychology studies and applies therapeutic

methods to the treatment of individuals experiencing
problems in life.
 Specialization in Psychology

2. School and Educational Psychology studies teaching

methods to improve learning in the classroom.
 Specialization in Psychology
3. Industrial/ Organizational Psychology – studies work
and working environments and applies findings to
improve job satisfaction and productivity.
 Specialization in Psychology

4. Counseling Psychology – deals with academic, work

or social personal problems. They deal with less serious
psychological problems unlike clinical psychologists.
 Specialization in Psychology
5. Abnormal Psychology – studies maladaptive behavior
patterns and psychopathology.
 Specialization in Psychology

6. Comparative Psychology – studies similarities and

differences in behavior of various animal species.
 Specialization in Psychology

7. Developmental Psychology – studies the stability and

change of characteristics, such as intelligence or social
skills over the life span.
 Specialization in Psychology

8. Personality Psychology – studies individual differences

across a number of different personal attributes.
 Specialization in Psychology

9. Physiological Psychology – studies biological bases of

behavior focusing on the nervous system.
 Specialization in Psychology

10. Social Psychology – studies behaviors of individuals in

groups and how people affect one another’s behavior.
 Specialization in Psychology
11. Engineering Psychology – deals with man and
machine relationship and how to improve such
relationship. this field of psychology is also known as
human factor psychology.
 Specialization in Psychology
New directions in the 21st century indicate marrying psychology with
other disciplines
1. Forensic Psychology – it is defined as an intersection
between psychology and the legal proceedings. It is
applied to the criminal justice system to evaluate the
psychology of the defendants.
 Specialization in Psychology
New directions in the 21st century indicate marrying psychology with
other disciplines
2. Sports Psychology – this field analyzes the people’s
behavior in sports. It studies the factors that affect an
individual’s performance in sports or any physical
activity.
 Specialization in Psychology
New directions in the 21st century indicate marrying psychology with
other disciplines
3. Cognitive Neuroscience – this relies on theory and
evidence of neuroscience and computational
modeling. It addresses the questions of how cognitive
function are produced by the brain using new
techniques like brain scanning or neuroimaging.
 Specialization in Psychology
New directions in the 21st century indicate marrying psychology with
other disciplines
4. Evolutionary Psychology – this is a new field that calls
for multidisciplinary background like psychology,
psychiatry, anthropology, and biology in order to
determine genetic, sociological, or biological origins of
adaptive of psychological mechanisms.
 Specialization in Psychology
New directions in the 21st century indicate marrying psychology with
other disciplines
5. Positive Psychology – it is an emerging perspective
devoted to the study of subjective feelings of happiness,
well being, and good life
Research Methods in
Psychology
 Research Methods in Psychology

As a science, psychology explains psychological

phenomena based on empirical evidence.

Kerlinger (1973) defines scientific research as “a

systematic, controlled, empirical, and critical
investigation of hypothetical propositions about the
presumed relations among phenomena.”
 Research Methods in Psychology
Naturalistic Observation

As the name suggests, it observes behavior in

spontaneous and natural settings and not in the
laboratory
 Research Methods in Psychology
Survey
The use of questionnaires or conduct interviews, instead
of observing can be an alternative way of determining
what respondents do, what they prefer, or what their
opinions to situations are.
 Research Methods in Psychology
Case Studies

This method provides a detailed description of one or

few individuals. It aim is to provide a detailed picture of
the individual through observation, interviews, and
taking psychological tests.
 Research Methods in Psychology
Correlational Method
Correlational studies are used to look for relationships or
associations between two or more variables using
correlation coefficient to determine strength (indicated
by the value)and direction (indicated by the sign)of the
relationship.
Correlational Method
 Research Methods in Psychology

Experimental Method

This is the most scientific method of all since it controls all

possible factors that can affect the study. The main
objective here is establish cause and effect relationship
by determining the effect of an independent variable
(IV) to the dependent variable (DV).
 Research Methods in Psychology
Experimental Method (Bobo Doll Experiment)
Indigenous Research
Methods
This methods help Filipino psychologist
understand Filipino behavior better.
 Indigenous Research Mehods
This methods help Filipino psychologist understand
Filipino behavior better.

1. PAKAPA-KAPA. An approach characterized by

groping (search by feeling) , searching, probing into an
unsystematized mass of social and cultural data to be
able to obtain order, meaning, and direction for
research.
 Indigenous Research Mehods

2. PANUNULUYAN. Interaction techniques using

pakikipag-kapwa, its level of relationship or the
researcher starts from paninimbang hanggang
malalimang pakikipagpalagayang-loob.
 Indigenous Research Mehods
3. PAGTATANONG-TANONG. It is similar to interview
method which considers region, dialect, local culture,
choice of venue and timing. It is a Filipino word for
“asking questions”, the repetition of ‘tanong-tanong’
indicate seriousness of purpose, one is truly determined
to get answers to one’s questions.
 Indigenous Research Mehods
4. PAKIKIPAGKWENTUHAN. Is an informal, free, as well as
a social process of exchanging information, thoughts,
and knowledge that is part of human daily activities.