The Science of Psychology

• Psychology


  The scientific study of behavior and mental processes
• Behavior


  Outward or overt actions and reactions
• Mental processes


  Internal, covert activity of our minds
• Why psychology is science: Prevent possible biases from leading to faulty observations, Precise and careful measurement
• Islamic overview of psychology

  The scientific study of the manifestation of the soul in the form of behaviours and mental processes
• Psychology's four goals


  • Description
  • Explanation
  • Prediction
  • Control
• Theory


  A general explanation of a set of observations or facts
• Difference between theory and fact
• Unscientific "psychologists"


  • Psychics
  • Mediums
  • Palmistry
  • Astrology
  • "Bomoh," your grandmother
  • 1st year psychology students who think they are qualified to practice psychology
  • Pop psychology and self-help motivators e.g. NLP, Mid-brain activation, Numerology, Hypnotherapy, etc.
• Careers in the field of psychology

  • Basic (Theoretical) Psychology
  • Applied (Practical) Psychology
• Basic psychology fields


  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Biological psychology
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Comparative Psychology
  • Cultural Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Personality Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Psychological Statistics & Psychometrics
• Applied psychology fields


  • Clinical Psychology
  • Consumer Psychology
  • Counselling Psychology
  • Educational Psychology
  • Engineering Psychology
  • Environmental Psychology
  • Forensic Psychology
  • Health Psychology
  • Industrial/Organizational Psychology
  • Political Psychology
  • Sport Psychology
• Other emerging areas of psychology

  • Aviation Psychology
  • Economic Psychology
  • Family Psychology
  • Musical Psychology
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Space Psychology
  • Traffic Psychology
• Psychiatrist


  Medical doctor who has specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders
• Psychiatric social worker


  Social worker with some training in therapy methods who focuses on the environmental conditions that can have an impact on mental disorders
• Structuralism


  Focused on structure or basic elements of the mind
• Objective introspection


  Process of objectively examining and measuring one's thoughts and mental activities
• Functionalism


  How the mind allows people to adapt, live, work, and play
• Gestalt psychology


  "Good figure" psychology that studied sensation and perception
• Psychoanalysis


  Theory and therapy based on the work of Sigmund Freud, focusing on the unconscious mind and repressed urges
• Behaviorism


  The science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only
• Seven modern perspectives in psychology

  • Psychodynamic
  • Behavioral
  • Humanistic
  • Biopsychological
  • Cognitive
  • Sociocultural
  • Evolutionary
• Self-actualization


  Achieving one's full potential or actual self
• Scientific method


  1. Perceive the question

  2. Form a hypothesis

  3. Test the hypothesis

  4. Draw conclusions

  5. Report your results
• Naturalistic observation


  Watching animals or humans behave in their normal environment
• Observer effect


  Tendency of people or animals to behave differently from normal when they know they are being observed
• Participant observation


  Naturalistic observation in which the observer becomes a participant in the group being observed
• Observer bias


  Tendency of observers to see what they expect to see
• Blind observers


  People who do not know what the research question is
• Laboratory observation


  Watching animals or humans behave in a laboratory setting
• Case study


  Study of one individual in great detail
• Observational study of


  • Children at the playground
  • Athletes at the stadium
  • Buyers at the supermarket
  • Animal at the jungle
• Laboratory observations


  If you observe them in the lab
• Case study


  • Study of one individual in great detail
  • Advantage: tremendous amount of detail
  • Disadvantage: cannot apply to others
• Case-study of


  • A brain-injured patient
  • A patient with genetically-based disorder
  • A genius who produce extraordinary work
  • A person who underwent a traumatic event
• Surveys


  • Researchers will ask a series of questions about the topic under study
  • Given to a representative sample - randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population
  • Advantages: Data from large numbers of people, Study covert behaviors
  • Disadvantages: Have to ensure representative sample, People are not always accurate (courtesy bias)
• Survey of


  • Attitudes towards the environment
  • Attitudes towards a political party
  • Attitudes towards gender, race, religion
  • Attitudes towards psychologists
• Random Sampling from Population

  1. Population

  2. Sample

  3. Inference
• Variable


  Anything that can change or vary
• Correlation


  A measure of the relationship between two variables<|>Correlation coefficient (r) represents direction and strength of the relationship<|>Knowing the value of one variable allows researchers to predict the value of the other variable