psychology

• Wilhelm Wundt


  Campaigned to make psychology an independent field of study, often viewed as the father/founder of modern psychology
• Wilhelm Wundt felt that psychology should be a science modelled after fields such as physics and chemistry, and that the primary focus of psychology was consciousness – the awareness of immediate experience
• In the late 1950's the Psychological Association of South Africa (PASA) objects to memberships of Black Psychologists
• In 1983 critical psychology develops in South Africa
• In 1994 PASA disbands and becomes the Psychological association of South Africa (PsySSA), and an inclusive approach to psychology in South Africa begins to thrive
• Psychology


  The scientific study of the mind, mental processes and behaviour
• Core components of psychology

  • The mind
  • Mental processes
  • Behaviour
• The mind


  Originates in the brain and fosters human consciousness, produces mental processes such as thought, memory, perception and reasoning, which influence behaviour
• Mental processes


  Activities in the brain that are required to produce a sequence of systematic actions, changes, and functions, with the aim of developing towards an outcome
• Behaviour


  The response carried out by an organism
• Bio-psychosocial model


  Developed by George L. Engel in 1977, looks at the biological, social, and psychological aspects of human functioning as it is believed that there is a complex interaction between each of these that can ultimately influence human behaviour

  
• Using the bio-psychosocial model gives us a holistic understanding of human functioning
• Human beings are viewed from different psychological perspectives
• Main psychological perspectives


  • Psychoanalytical
  • Behavioural
  • Humanistic
  • Cognitive
  • Biological/Neuroscience
  • Evolutionary
  • Positive psychology
• Psychoanalytical perspective


  Attempts to explain personality, motivation, and mental disorders by focusing on unconscious determinants of behaviour
• Behavioural perspective


  Concerned with observable behaviour, based on the premise that scientific psychology should only study observable behaviour as only observable events can be studied scientifically
• Humanistic perspective


  Emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their freedom and personal growth, with a more optimistic view of human behaviour
• Cognitive perspective


  Interested in how cognitions (mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge) influence behaviour
• Biological/Neuroscience perspective


  Focuses on the biological basis of behaviour in humans and animals, explaining behaviour in terms of brain structure and biochemical processes
• Evolutionary perspective


  Examines behavioural processes in terms of their adaptive value for members of a species over the course of many generations, with natural selection favouring behaviours that enhance an organism's reproductive success
• Positive psychology


  A new and emerging field in psychology that is about building positive qualities, understanding positive, adaptive, and creative processes, and fulfilling aspects of human existence
• Themes related to the discipline of psychology

  • Empirical
  • Dynamic and multifaceted
  • Socio-historical context
  • South African research and literature as world-class academic material
  • African and intercultural epistemology
  • Accumulated knowledge from various contexts
  • Cultural heritage/evolution shapes processes
  • Functioning is determined by multiple causes
  • Interaction/multi-directional influences
  • Subjective/context-relative experience of the world
• Wilhelm Wundt mounted a campaign to make psychology an independent discipline, with the science of psychology being the study of awareness in immediate experience
• Structuralism


  Based on the notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and investigate how these elements are related
• Functionalism


  Investigated the function or purpose of consciousness, rather than analyzing its structure, focusing on how people adapt their behaviour in the real world
• Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis


  Used to treat people troubled by psychological problems, based on the existence of the unconscious which contains thoughts, memories and desires that influence behaviour
• Carl Jung's analytic psychology


  Introduced the concept of the collective unconscious and archetypes, exploring cultural and spiritual influences on psychological processes
• Behaviourism


  A theoretical orientation based on the premise that scientific psychology should study only the observable behaviour, abandoning the study of consciousness
• Behaviourists viewed psychology's mission as an attempt to relate overt behaviour (responses) to observable events in the environment (stimuli)
• The fundamental principle of behaviour for behaviourists is that organisms tend to repeat responses that lead to positive outcomes, and they tend not to repeat responses that lead to neutral or negative outcomes
• Psychology can be applied in six areas of specialization
• Six areas of psychology specialization

  • Clinical psychology
  • Counseling psychology
  • Educational psychology
  • Industrial psychology
  • Research psychology
  • Neuropsychology
• Clinical psychology


  Conduct clinical assessments, diagnose serious psychopathology, provide psychotherapy for moderately serious psychological disturbances
• Counseling psychology


  Improve psychological health of clients by evaluating and identifying people faced with trials and intervening on their behalf
• Educational psychology


  Assess, diagnose, and intervene to develop a person's learning capacity
• Industrial psychology


  Make extensive use of organizational theories and paradigms to assess and transform individual, group and organizational behaviour
• Research psychology


  Plan, develop, and apply scientifically valid psychological methods in the research domain
• Neuropsychology


  Conduct psychological assessments and interventions for clinical cases involving neuropathology (e.g. brain injuries, Alzheimer's)
• Psychologist


  Has a non-medical approach to treating psychological disorders, is not a medical doctor, can diagnose but not prescribe medication
• Psychiatrist


  A medical doctor who specializes in psychiatry, can diagnose and prescribe medication