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Module 1:
Discovering Psychology
Mr. Kennedy
213
Defining Psychology
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The systematic, scientific study of
behaviors and mental processes
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Behaviors- observable actions
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Eating, speaking, reading
Mental processes
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Thinking, imagining, dreaming, studying
4 Goals of Psychology
1.
2.
3.
4.
Describe- the different ways an
organism behaves
Explain- the cause of the behavior
Predict- how organisms will behave in
certain situations
Control- an organisms behavior
Modern Approaches
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Biological Approach
 Examines how our
genes, hormones,
and nervous system
interact with
environments to
influence learning,
personality, memory,
motivation, emotions,
coping techniques,
and other traits and
abilities.
Modern Approaches
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Biological Approach
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Examples
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EEG
Cat Scan
Pet Scan
Physical reaction to
external stimuli.
Human Genome
Modern Approaches
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Cognitive Approach
 Focuses on how we
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and how this information influences what we attend to
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process
store and use information
perceive
learn
remember
believe
and feel
Cognitive Neuroscience
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Use of EEG’s, Cat Scans, Pet Scans to view the living brain
during mental tasks
http://youtube.com/watch?y=3eZTAAlt3QU&mode=related&searc
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EEG equipment, PET scans and MRI machines (youtube.com)
Modern Approaches
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Behavioral
Approach
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Analyze how
organisms learn
new behaviors or
modify existing
ones, depending on
whether events
reward or punish
these behaviors
Ivan Pavlov?
Modern Approaches

Psychoanalytic Approach
 Stresses the influence of
unconscious fears,
desires, and motivations
on thoughts and
behaviors.
 The development (first 5
years) of personality traits
affected a person’s
psychological problems
later in life.
 Unconscious can cause
fear and anxiety
Modern Approaches
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Humanistic Approach
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Emphasizes that each
individual has great
freedom in directing
his/her future, a large
capacity for achieving
personal growth, and
considerable amounts
of intrinsic worth and
potential for selffulfillment.
Modern Approaches
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Cross-Cultural Approaches
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Examines the influence of cultural and ethnic
similarities and differences on psychological
and social functioning of a culture’s members
How Did Psychology Begin?

Wilhelm Wundt
Father of psychology
 Established the 1st
psychology laboratory
in Leipzig, Germany
 Established the world's
first experimental
laboratory in psychology,
the
 Institut fur Experimentelle
Psychologie (1879)
Often referred to as the
 "Father of Experimental
Psychology"
 the "Founder of Modern
Psychology"
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Wilhelm Wundt
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Structuralism
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Study of the most basic
elements
primarily sensations &
perceptions that
make up our conscious
mental experiences
Introspection
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Method of exploring
conscious mental
processes by asking
subjects to look inward
and report their
sensations & perceptions
William James
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Functionalism
Study of the functions rather
than the structures of
consciousness
 Interested in how our minds
adapt to changing
environments
 William James
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Viewed mental activities
as having
developed through ages
of evolution
because of their adaptive
functions
Wrote 1st Psych Textbook
Gestalt “whole pattern” Psychologists
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Emphasized that
perception is more than
the sum of its parts
Studied how sensations
are assembled into
meaningful perceptual
experiences
Max Wertheimer
Gestalt “whole pattern” Psychologists
Behaviorism (John B. Watson)
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Emphasized the objective, scientific analysis of
observable behaviors
John B. Watson
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Rejected introspection as a psychological
technique because its results could not be
scientifically verified by other psychologists
Behaviorism
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“Give me a dozen
healthy infants… I’ll
guarantee to take
any one at random
and train him to
become any type of
specialist I might
select” (Watson,
1924)
Careers in Psychology
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Psychologist vs. Psychiatrist
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A psychologist is someone who has completed 4 or
5 years of postgraduate education and has
obtained a Ph.D. in psychology
Some states permit individuals with master’s
degrees to call themselves psychologists
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (M.D.) who has
spent several years in clinical training, which
includes diagnosing possible physical and
neurological causes of abnormal behaviors
Careers in Psychology
Careers in Psychology
Careers in Psychology
Areas of Specialization
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Social & Personality
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Developmental
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Social psychology involves the study of social
interactions, stereotypes, prejudices, attitudes,
conformity, group behaviors, and aggression
Personality psychology involves the study of
personality development, personality change,
assessment, and abnormal behaviors
Examines moral, social, emotional, and cognitive
development throughout a person’s life span
Experimental
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Includes areas of sensation, perception, learning,
human performance, motivation, and emotion
Areas of Specialization
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Biological
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Cognitive
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Involves research on the physical & chemical
changes that occur during stress, learning, and
emotions
Involves how we process, store, and retrieve
information and how cognitive processes influence
our behaviors
Psychometrics
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Focuses on the measurement of people’s abilities,
skills, intelligence, personality, and abnormal
behaviors