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The Nature of

Psychology

What is Psychology?
Psychology comes from the root words psyche, or

mind, and logos, or study


Psychology is defined as the scientific study of

behavior and mental processes.

Why is Psychology a
Science?
Psychology is an objective and

systematic study of how people


behave and think.
Its goals are to describe, explain,

predict, and control behavior and


mental processes.

Some research topics in


Psychology:
What part of the brain is responsible for language?
What crises do adolescents experience?
Why do we forget?
Why do we need to sleep?
What factors influence attraction to another

person?
How can we control aggression?
Is fear of spiders abnormal?
How did I learn to study?

Western History of
Psychology
Early dates

Greek philosophers: Studied the nature of the mind, the


(Socrates, Plato,
soul, the body, and human
Aristotle)
experience

17th Century

Rene Descartes

Nativist View:
some ideas are innate

John Locke

Empiricist View:
Knowledge is acquired through
experiences & interactions with the
world

1869

Sir Francis Galton of


England

Studied individual differences> devt of


intelligence tests

1879

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of Psychology
Established the first psychological
laboratory (Germany @ Leipzig Univ. )
Research: senses (vision), attention,
emotion and memory

History
continues
1883

Granville Stanley First American to finish doctoral studies


Hall
in psychology
Established the 1st psychological
laboratory (US @ John Hopkins Univ)
Founded the 1st American Journal of
psychology

1888

James McKeen
Cattell

1st psychology professor in the US

19th Century

Titchener

Structuralism:
Specified mental structures & analyzed the
basic elements of mental life.
Introspection: the examination of ones own
emotional states & mental processes.

William James

Functionalism:
Functions of the mind & behavior to adapt
to the environment

1920s

John B. Watson
Ivan Pavlov
B.F. Skinner

Behaviorism:
Only observable behavior should be
studied
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning

1912

Max Wertheimer

Gestalt Psychology:
Gestalt means form or configuration
the whole is greater than the sum of its
parts

20th Century

Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalysis:
Human behavior is deeply influenced by
unconscious thoughts, impulses, & desires
(sex & aggression)

Recent devts

Herbert Simon

Views humans as information processing


systems
Modern Linguistics: study of how mental
structures are required to comprehend &
speak a language
Neuropsychology:
studies the relationship between
neurobiological events & mental processes

Noam Chomsky

Philippine History of Psychology


17th Century Taught in two Phil.
Univ.

Univ. of Sto. Tomas (1st institution to


offer undergraduate, masters &
doctoral degrees in Psychology)
Univ. of San Carlos (Cebu)

1926

Agustin Alonzo

Head of the 1st Dept. of Psychology, at


UP.

1932

Sinforoso Padilla,
Ph.D. (Univ. of
Michigan, 1928)

Established the 1st psychological clinic at


UP.

Jesus Perpinan,
Ph.D. (Iowa State
Univ, 1933)

Set up the FEU psychological clinic

Elias Bumatay, Ph.D.


Educ Psych (Univ. of
Texas, 1940)

Dean of the College of Education at NU


(National University)

1948
1962

Estefania Aldaba-Lim, Started the psychology program at PWU


Ph.D. Clinical Psych
Set up the Phil. Psychological Corp.
(Univ. of Michigan)

Philippine History of Psychology


1955

Alfredo Lagmay, Ph.D.


Experimental Psych
(Harvard Univ., 1955)

Headed the Psychology Dept.


of UP (22 yrs)

Mariano Obias, Ph.D.


Led the personnel dept. of Caltex
Comparative & Physiological Phils.
Psych (Stanford Univ., 1955)
1961

Jaime Bulatao, S.J. Ph.D.


Clinical Psych (Fordham
Univ., 1961)

Established the Dept. of Psych at


ADMU

1962

All pioneers (except for


Bumatay) and Alonzo

Founded the PAP (Psychological


Assoc. of the Phils.)

Perspectives in Psychology
Psychodynamic Approach
Behavioral Approach
Cognitive Approach
Biological or Behavioral Neuroscience Approach
The Phenomenological or Humanistic Approach
The Sociocultural Approach
The Evolutionary Psychology Approach

Psychodynamic Approach
Developed by Sigmund Freud
States that much of our behavior

stems from unconscious


processes, conflict between
biological instincts & societys
demands, and early family
experiences.

Basis for the therapeutic approach

called psychoanalysis

Behavioral Approach
John B. Watson: father of Behaviorism
Behaviors are activities of people or other organisms

that can be observed by others.


States that when we attempt to understand an

event, we need to look at the observable behaviors


& their environmental determinants.

Cognitive Approach
Concerned with mental processes, such as

perceiving, remembering, reasoning, deciding, and


problem solving.
States that Only by studying mental processes can

we fully understand what people do.

Biological Approach
Concerned with how the brain and nervous system

underlie behavior & mental processes.


Attempts to relate behavior to electrical and

chemical events taking place inside the body


The Nervous System (brain) and the Endocrine

System are studied to determine the biological


causes of behavior.

Phenomenological or Humanistic
Approach
Focuses on the subjective and personal

experience of events (Individual


Phenomenology) , and on the need for
personal growth.

Concerned with describing the inner life

and experiences of individuals, rather


than developing theories or predicting
behaviors.

Sociocultural
Approach
Studies the ways by which social and cultural

environments influence behavior


A persons cultural context should be considered in

order to understand behavior.


Focuses on comparing behaviors across countries

as well as across cultures within a country.

The Evolutionary
Psychology
Emphasizes the importance of adaptation,

reproduction, and survival of the fittest in explaining


behavior.
Focuses on the conditions that allow people to fail or

survive.

Research Methods of
Psychology
Experimental Method
Quasi-experimental Method
Correlational Method
The Naturalistic Observation Method
The Survey Method
Standardized Tests
Case Studies
Archival Research

Experimental Method
The main objective of an experiment is to discover

the effect of an independent variable (IV) on a


dependent variable (DV).
IV: variable to be manipulated; independent of what

the participant does


DV: variable being measured; depends on the IV
Ex. Effect of Music on Memory

Quasi-Experimental
Method
Similar to the experimental method except that

random assignment of participants is not possible.

Correlational Method
The objective of this method is to determine whether

two or more variables are associated or related to


each other.
The variables are first measured, after which a

correlational analysis or technique (e.g. Pearson r) is


conducted to determine the relationship.

The Naturalistic Observation


Method
Involves observing the phenomenon of interest as it

occurs naturally.

Ex. Observing primates in their natural environment,

systematically observing the behavior of newborn


babies, and observing couples public display of
affection (PDA) in the school campus.

The Survey Method


Employs either a written questionnaire or an

interview schedule.
Ex. Political opinions, sexual attitudes, or product

preferences
Allows us to gather data about experiences,

feelings, thoughts, and motives that are hard to


observe directly.

Standardized Tests
Respondents are required to answer a series of

questions and their responses scored to reflect


something about their persons. A respondents score
is compared with those of the others who took the
same test.
Ex. Otis Test, Stanford-Binet Test (IQ)
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
Indigenous Tests: Panukat ng Pagkataong Pilipino

(PPP), Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao (PUP)

Case Studies
Descriptive record of an

individuals experiences or
behavior, or both, as kept by
an observer.
The main objective is to

obtain a case history of the


person being studied.

Archival Research
Written records (i.e. public and private documents),

statistical archives, and physical traces of human


beings are systematically studied in lieu of actual
behaviors.
Exs. Diaries, letters, paintings, books, poems,

newspaper or magazine articles, movies, and


speeches.

Fields/Specializations in
Psychology
Clinical Psychology: deals with the diagnosis and

treatment of emotional and behavioral problems.

(e.g.

mental illness, drug addiction, marital & family conflicts)

Counseling Psychology: concerned with personal issues


(academic, social, or vocational problems)

Industrial-Organizational Psychology: deals with the

application of psychological principles and research


methods in the workplace, in the interest of improving
productivity & the quality of worklife.
Developmental Psychology: involves the study of
psychological, cognitive, and social devt & the factors
that shape behavior from birth to old age (i.e. a persons
life span)

Fields/Specializations in
Psychology
Social Psychology: focuses on how people think,

influence, and relate with one another, and on the


ways interactions with other people influence
attitudes and behavior.
Experimental Psychology: employs the behavioral
and cognitive perspectives, as well as the experimental

method in studying how people react to sensory stimuli, perceive the


world, learn and remember, and respond.

School and Educational Psychology: deals with the

evaluation of learning and emotional problems of


individuals in schools.

Psychology specialties:
Consumer Psychology: deals with the activities

directly involved in selecting, obtaining, and using


products, services, and ideas.
Cognitive Psychology: study of human thinking and
information-processing abilities.
Cross-Cultural Psychology: study of cultures role in
understanding behavior, thoughts, and emotions.
Engineering/Human Factors Engineering
Psychology: study of how people and machines are
related and how to improve this relationship.

Psychology specialties:
Environmental Psychology: deals with the relationship

between humans and the environment.


Forensic Psychology: applies psychology to the law and
legal proceedings.
Health Psychology: study of cognitive, affective,
behavioral, & interpersonal factors affecting health &
illness.
Neuropsychology: deals with the diagnosis and
rehabilitation of brain disorders.
Peace Psychology: study of the psychological aspects of
violence, social inequalities, peacemaking, and the
pursuit of social justice.

Psychology specialties:
Personality Psychology: study of individual

differences & the development of personality


theories and tests for assessing personality traits.
Physiological/Biological Psychology: employs the
biological perspective & seeks to discover the
relationships between biological processes &
behavior.
Political Psychology: interdisciplinary field studies
the influence of psychological processes on political
behavioral & the effect of the political system on the
thoughts, feelings, and motives of individuals.

Psychology specialties:
Psychology of Women: emphasizes the importance

of promoting research on women.


Sports Psychology: applies theories and knowledge
in psychology to enhance the performance of
athletes and coaches.

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