UNIT 1

• Psychology is derived from two Greek words: "psyche" meaning mind, spirit or soul, and "logos" meaning science, study or discipline
• Psychology is the scientific study of the behavior of individuals and their mental processes
• The scientific method consists of a set of orderly steps used to analyze and solve problems
• Behavior refers to the means and actions by which organisms adjust to their environment
• Mental processes are the private, internal workings of the human mind, including sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings
• Psychology has both a traditional and a scientific history
• Ancient Period:

  • Belief in supernatural causes for people's activities

  Greek Period:

  • Greek philosophers laid down the earliest foundations of psychology

  Medieval Period:

  • Merging of the science of mind and religion to explain the fate of man

  19th Century/Modern Period:

  • Beginning of experimental/scientific psychology

  20th Century:

  • Flourishing of psychology in different parts of the world
• • Saint Thomas Aquinas: Believed human beings were created to love God, combined science of mind and religion to explain immortality
  • Rene Descartes: Founder of modern philosophy, proposed mind/body interaction
  • John Locke: Introduced the idea that all experiences can be analyzed, proposed the concept of tabula rasa
• Very Important Persons in Psychology:

  • Aristotle: Father of Psychology, believed knowledge is acquired through experiences, distinguished 3 functions of the soul
  • Plato: Divided the human mind into three parts, believed knowledge is gained from reason rather than sense experience
  • Hippocrates: Father of Medicine, based medical practice on observations and study of the human body
  • St. Augustine: Rejected Plato's theory of ideas, believed knowledge is acquired through divine illumination
• • Founded by Max Wertheimer in 1912
  • Believed human beings perceive the external world as an organized pattern
  • Behavior should be studied as an organized pattern rather than separate incidents of stimulus and response
• Schools of Psychology:

  • Structuralism:
  • Purpose was to describe, analyze, and explain conscious experience, particularly feelings and sensations
  • Used introspection as a method of research
  • Functionalism:
  • Formed as a reaction to structuralism, focused on the purpose of consciousness and behavior
  • Learning is a means of man's adjustment to his surroundings
  • Behaviorism:
  • Introduced by John Watson in 1913
  • Believed observable behavior, not inner experience, was the only reliable source of information
  • Stressed the importance of the environment in shaping behavior
  • Gestalt Psychology:
• Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud in 1800
• Behavior is determined by powerful inner forces buried in the unconscious mind
• People repress desires or needs from early childhood, leading to personality disturbances, self-destructive behavior, or physical symptoms
• Libido theory states that sex urges drive behavior
• Personality is a strong force in determining human behavior, including extroversion and introversion
• Striving is the cause of all behavior
• Ductless glands produce hormones in life
• Objects, movements, and behavior have definite purposes
• Psychology has various subfields that focus on understanding behavior
• Biological foundations of behavior are studied in behavioral neuroscience
• Experimental psychology studies sensing, perceiving, learning, and thinking processes
• Developmental psychology studies growth and change from conception through death
• Health psychology explores the relationship between psychological factors and physical ailments
• Clinical psychology focuses on the study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders
• Counseling psychology addresses educational, social, and career adjustment problems
• Social psychology studies how people's thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by others
• Cross-cultural psychology investigates psychological functioning across different cultures
• Evolutionary psychology considers how behavior is influenced by genetic inheritance
• Behavioral genetics focuses on biological mechanisms that enable inherited behavior to unfold
• Clinical neuropsychology unites neuroscience and clinical psychology to study psychological disorders
• Psychology has key issues that psychologists agree on
• Nature vs Nurture: Behavior is influenced by both heredity and environment
• Conscious vs Unconscious causes of behavior: Debate on the role of conscious and unconscious factors in behavior
• Observable behavior vs Internal mental processes: Focus on visible behavior vs unseen thinking processes
• Free will vs Determinism: Debate on the extent of free will vs factors beyond individual control in behavior
• Individual differences vs Universal principles: Discussion on behavior influenced by unique qualities vs cultural and societal factors
• Psychology's future trends include specialization, prevention of psychological disorders, and increased influence of neuroscientific approaches
• Growing understanding of the brain and genetics will lead to prevention of psychological disorders
• Neuroscientific techniques will influence various branches of psychology