Download What is Psychology?

What is
Psychology?
Definitions?
Definitions?
• Psychology is the
scientific study of
mind and behaviour
Psychological Concepts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Memory and recall
Learning
Perception
Thinking and cognition
Creativity
Attitudes and behaviour
Individual differences and personality
Intelligences
Schools of Thought…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Psychodynamics
Nativism (Rationalist/Biological)
Behaviourism (S-R)
Cognitive Psychology
Humanistic Psychology
Constructivist theories
Social Psychology
A Brief History of Psychology
• Sigmund Freud (1865-1939):
‘I set myself the task of
bringing to light what human
beings keep hidden within
them… the task of making
conscious the most hidden
recesses of the mind is one
which is quite possible to
achieve’.
A Brief History of Psychology
• Ivan Pavlov(1849-1936):
Studied the conditioned and
unconditioned responses of
animals to stimuli.
Concluded that learning
occurred as an association
(coupling) of one event with
another. Stimulus-Response.
• Classical Conditioning
A Brief History of Psychology
• B. F. Skinner (1904-1990):
• Behaviourism
• A behaviour followed by a
reinforcing stimulus results
in an increased probability of
that behaviour occurring in
the future.
• Operant Conditioning
• Extinction of behaviour
A Brief History of Psychology
• Carl Rogers (1902-1987):
• Humanistic approach to
learning
• Unconditional positive
regard
• Student centred learning
(Client centred approach)
Humanist Psychology
• A psychological approach that
emphasizes personal growth and the
achievement of human potential, rather
than the scientific understanding an
assessment of behavior.
• This approach:
– Rejected behaviorism and psychoanalysis.
– Emphasized creativity and achieving
potential.
©1999 Prentice Hall
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Social Motives
• Motives acquired through experience and
interaction with others (McClelland, Murray)
– Need for achievement (n Ach)
• The need to accomplish something difficult and to perform
at a high standard of excellence
– Need for affiliation
• The need to have harmonious relationships with other
people and to be accepted by others
– Need for power
• Personal – want to direct others
• Institutional – want to organize efforts of others to meet the
needs of the institution
Need for Achievement
• Characteristics of achievers
– High n Ach
• pursue goals that are challenging, yet attainable
through hard work, ability, determination, and
persistence
• see their success as a result of their own talents,
abilities, persistence, and hard work
– Low n Ach
• not willing to take chances when it comes to
testing their own skills and abilities
• when fail, usually give up quickly
Need for Achievement
• Parents can foster n Ach
– give children responsibilities
– teach them to think and act independently
from the time they are very young
– stress excellence, persistence, and
independence
– praise them sincerely for their
accomplishments
Academic/Research
Psychologists
• Research in areas of basic or applied
psychology.
• Examples include:
– Experimental psychologists
– Educational psychologists
– Developmental psychologists
– Industrial/Organizational psychologists
– Psychometric psychologists
©1999 Prentice Hall
What Psychologists Do
• Academic/research psychologists
• Psychological practitioners
• Psychologists in other settings
©1999 Prentice Hall
What Areas do Psychology
Undergraduates Pursue?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Psychology
Other
Counseling
Education
Social work
Medicine
Law
Health Sciences
Business
Sociology
©1999 Prentice Hall
Psychologists in Other
Settings
•
•
•
•
•
Sports
Consumer Issues
Advertising
Organizational Problems
Environmental Issues
©1999 Prentice Hall
•
•
•
•
•
Public policy
Opinion polls
Military training
Animal behavior
Legal Issues
Clinical Psychologists are not:
• Psychotherapists
• Psychoanalysts
• Psychiatrists
©1999 Prentice Hall
Psychological Practitioners
• Counseling psychologists help people
deal with problems associated with
everyday life.
• School psychologists work with parents,
teachers and students to enhance
student performance.
• Clinical psychologists diagnose, treat,
and study mental or emotional problems.
©1999 Prentice Hall
A Brief History of Psychology
•
•
•
•
Edward Tolman (1886-1959):
Cognitive Shift Theory
Cognitive Map
Challenge to Behaviourism
A Brief History of Psychology
• Leon Festinger (1919-1989):
• Cognitive Dissonance
Theory
• Describes conflicting
thoughts or beliefs
(cognitions) that occur at the
same time, or when
engaged in behaviours that
conflict with one's beliefs.
A Brief History of Psychology
• Abraham Maslow (19021987):
• Hierarchy of Human Needs
• Self Actualisation
• Psychology of Being
• ‘Peak experiences’
A Brief History of Psychology
• Lev Vygostsky (18961934):
• Zone of Proximal
Development (ZPD)
• Social learning
• Co-operative learning
A Brief History of Psychology
•
•
•
•
Jean Piaget (1896-1980):
The child as a solo scientist
Discovery learning
Assimilation and
Accommodation
• Schema Theory
A Brief History of Psychology
•
•
•
•
Jerome Bruner (1915-):
Scaffolding
The ‘spiral curriculum’
‘Cognition is involved in
everything a human being
might possibly do…’
A Brief History of Psychology
• Howard Gardner(1943-):
• Theory of Multiple
Intelligences
• ‘An important part of that
understanding is knowing
who we are and what we can
do... Ultimately, we must
synthesize our
understandings for
ourselves’.
www2.plymouth.ac.uk/distancelearning/