Download Careers in Psychology

---Bell-Ringer Question--• What do you think is the definition of
Psychology?
• What do Psychologists do?
Introduction
to
Psychology
Module 1
What is Psychology?
From the Greek:
Psyche: spirit or breath of life
Logos: knowledge or study of
The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
-Is a philosophical science…It has its roots in philosophy..
-Is a science…Has its roots in biology, medicine, and physics
-Is systematic and scientific
What is Behavior?
Any action that others can
observe and measures:
–Walking
–Talking
–Physical movements
What are Mental Processes?
•Emotion
• Behavior or mental process
• Feelings
• Thoughts
•Dreams
• Brain waves or privates thoughts
• Perception
•Memories
What is memory and what does it
mean to remember something?
How are children able to learn an
average of 1 word per day from 1
year to 3 years of age?
A person suffers from epilepsy.
Doctors decide on a radical
treatment and remove two small
parts of patient’s brain. On a follow
up,epilepsy is cleared up but patient
seems completely incapable of
forming new memories. Why?
Why does damage to the front of
your brain cause you to lose
the ability to plan ahead?
Becoming a Psychologist:
Earn a Ph.D.(4-5 years graduate work + completion of major research project)
Clinical psychologists also need 1 yr. internship & must pass licensing exam
All psychologists specialize (subarea & approach) as they earn their degrees.
Other Degree Options:
M.A. in Psych or Counseling or Social Work (takes ~2 years; more limited job
opportunities)
To become a psychiatrist you first attend medical school & earn your M.D.,
then specialize in clinical psych
A psychoanalyst is a psychologist or psychiatrist with special training in
Freud’s approach to the unconscious
A variety of psychology-related jobs are available to those with a B.A. in
Psych, as well as jobs where insight into behavior is a plus (sales, management,
marketing, education, criminal justice, service jobs)
---Bell-Ringer Question--• Think of a ‘psychology’ related question
that you would like to see answered at some
point this semester and explain why (just a
sentence or two)
• Ex. Why do we dream or Do
Dreams have meanings?
-Because I have crazy dreams at
Night and don’t understand why!!
Sub fields in Psychology / Careers
1. Neuro
2. Forensic
3. Social
4. Educational
5. Developmental
6. Health
7. Cognitive
8. School
9. Experimental or research
10. Human-factors
11. Sports
12. Consumer
13. Industrial/organizational
14. Rehabilitation
Answer the Following Questions Based
on Your Assigned Number-Answers can
be found in the text
• 1. What does this kind of
psychologist do?
• 2. What industries or careers
would this psychologist work
in?
• 3. What
topics/phenomenon/behaviors
would this psychologist be
concerned with?
---Bell-Ringer Question--• If you could choose a career to pursue in
Psychology, which one would you choose?
– You can use your books (starting pg. 9)
• Explain why you chose the
career that you did.
Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives in
Psychology
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Behavioral Approach
Biological Approach
Cognitive Approach
Humanistic Approach
Psychoanalytic / Psychodynamic Approach
Sociocultural Approach
+Each Approach Studies Behaviors and
Mental Processes from Different Angles
Behavioral Approach
• Goal: To study only observable behavior and
explain it via learning. Behaviorists focused on
how behaviors are learned and modified.
• Seeks to explain how we learn from observable
responses. The basis of behavioral psychology
suggests that all behaviors are learned.
Biological Approach
• Focuses on the physical and biological causes of human behavior.
• Believe it is important that psychologists should study the biology
behind behavior. This includes the human nervous system and
brain.
• The first basic belief of the biological perspective is that all behavior
has a physiological root, and is determined by biology.
• The second belief is that a lot of human behavior patterns are based
on genetics, because humans have evolved over long periods of time
to exhibit behavior that is adapted to the external environment.
Cognitive Approach
• They focus on the way humans process
information, looking at how we treat information
that comes in to the person
• Human behavior can be explained as a scientific
processes
• Our behavior can be explained as a series of
responses to external stimuli
• Behavior is controlled by our own thought
processes, as opposed to genetic factors
Humanistic Approach
• The focus of the humanistic perspective is on the self,
which translates into "YOU", and "your" perception of
"your" experiences. This view argues that you are free to
choose your own behavior, rather than reacting to
environmental stimuli and reinforces.
• Emphasizes that each individual has great freedom in
directing his/her own future
• Issues dealing with self-esteem and self-fulfillment
Psychoanalytic /
Psychodynamic Approach
• Our behavior and feelings are powerfully affected
by unconscious motives.
• Our behavior and feelings as adults (including
psychological problems) are rooted in our
childhood experiences.
• tension between conscious reality and unconscious
drives.
Sociocultural Approach
• Behaviors are a result of our culture,
gender, ethnicity, politics etc…
• We are merely products of our culture
and society.
• How will each Perspective view a response
to the following scenario:
– A person spills a sack of groceries-will a
stranger help pick up the person’s groceries?
Behavioral/Clinical Perspective
Focus
How we learn from observable responses.
How to best study, assess and treat troubled people.
Sample Issues
• How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations?
• What is the most effective way to alter certain behaviors
•Helping Behavior: If we have witnessed or been rewarded
For helping behavior, we are more likely to help/
Biological Perspective
Focus
How the body and brain create emotions, memories,
and sensory experiences.
Sample Issues
• How do evolution and heredity influence behavior?
• How are messages transmitted within the body?
• How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?
•Helping Behavior: Brain chemistry controls the emotions
and thoughts that eventually produce helping behavior
Cognitive Perspective
Focus
How we process, store and retrieve information.
Sample Issues
• How do we use info in remembering and reasoning? How
much do infants “know” when they are born?
•Helping Behavior: Our individual interpretations of an event
affect how we respond.
Humanistic Perspective
Focus
A school of thought that focuses on how healthy
People strive to reach their full potential.
Sample Issues
• If our needs for nourishment and safety have been met,
we are more likely to feel we can reach out and help others.
Psychodynamic Perspective
Focus
How we are affected by unconscious drives and
conflicts.
Sample Issues
Freudian theories
• Helping Behavior: Unresolved inner conflicts can affect
whether or not we will help others.
Social-Cultural Perspective
Focus
How behavior and thinking vary across situations
and cultures.
Sample Issues
• How are we, as members of different races and
nationalities, alike as members of one human family?
• How do we differ, as products of different social contexts?
Helping Behavior: If we come from a cultural background that values
helping, we’re more likely to help. We are also more likely to help if
we are in a comfortable situation, such as with a good friend.