Intro to Psych Paul Ikonen

Instructor: Laura Fischer July 6, 2010

Campus: OCC Royal Oak Chapter One Notes

(Notes found direction from the instructor’s provided outline, all notes were taken from
required textbook – Psychology, an Introduction tenth edition by Benjamin B. Lahey)

I. Psychology is defined as “the science of behavior and mental processes.”

A. Psychology is considered to be a science because—like all

sciences—knowledge is acquired through systematic
observation.

1. Science – Psychologists attempt to understand people by

thinking critically about careful, controlled observations.
The reliance on rigorous scientific methods of observation
us the basis of all science.
2. Behavior – is a person’s overt actions that others can
directly observe.
3. Mental Processes – refer to the private thoughts, emotions,
feelings, and motives that other people cannot directly
observe.

B. The Goals of Psychology

1. Describe – Information is gathered in scientific studies to
help psychologists describe behavior and mental processes.
2. Predict – Research is done to give psychologists the tools
they need to predict future behavior.
3. Understand – Current explanations are always tentative,
explanations are not truths but theories. There is always
more to learn and understand, even to the point of
improving or rejecting older theories.
4. Influence behavior and mental processes – It’s not until
we have identified ways to intentionally influence behavior
that psychology fulfills its promise.

II. Modern Psychology developed from the pioneering work of many

individuals during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

A. Early Psychologists who studied the nature of conscience

experience included:
1. Wilhelm Wundt (Structuralism) – Wundt and Tichener
wanted to identify the basic elements that make up
conscious experience. They used the process of
introspection to look inward at one’s own consciousness.
 2. Edward Tichener (Structuralism) – See Wundt, Tichener
was a student of Wundt.
3. J. Henry Alston (Structuralism) – Best known for his
studies on the sensations of heat and cold. Also notable for
being the first African American to publish a research
paper in a journal of the American Psychological
Association.
4. Max Werteimer (Gestalt psychology) – His approach was
termed after the German word “Gestalt” meaning whole.
Their primary understanding was that the human
consciousness could not be broken down into raw elements.
“The whole is different than the sum of its parts.” Gestalt
Psychologists also employed the Phi Phenomenon in which
two stationary stimuli give a perception of apparent
movement.

B. Founders of psychology who focused on the useful functions of

conscience mental processes (functionalism) included:
1. William James (functionalist) – Taught the first
“Psychology” course in 1875. James used the concept of
Darwinism on the human mind. He viewed mental
processes as existent only on the basis of their requirement
for our survival as a species. The functions of the mind,
not its raw elements, were the subject matter of psychology
for the functionalists.
2. Hermann Ebbinghaus (functionalist) – Completed
extensive study on human memory. His conclusions show
that forgetting is very rapid at first but proceeds slowly
thereafter. His work provides meaningful example of how
rigorous experimental methods can be used to study
functions of human consciousness.
3. Mary Whiton Calkins (functionalist) – Student of William
James. Calkins studied a series of numbers, each paired
with colors. Her research, labeled paired associates,
dominated research on memory for more than fifty years.

C. The practice of perspective in psychology known as

psychometrics, focusing on the measurement of intelligence and
other mental functions, was founded by:
1. Alfred Binet (psychometrics) – Binet was called upon by
France to create a way to determine “intelligent” children
from “unintelligent” ones. His work produced a test that
gave a basic set of questions that should be able to be
answered by children in their specific age groups. The test
was later revised for the United States and is still used and
known as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. Versions
 of this scale have been adapted for measurement of
intelligence, personality and job aptitude.

D. Early Psychologists who focused on observable behavior and the

importance of learning (behaviorism) were:
1. Ivan Pavlov (behaviorist) – Started the idea of
conditioning, where an inherited reflex comes to be
triggered by a stimulus that has nothing to do with that
reflex. He showed that even inherited reflexes could be
influenced dramatically by learning experiences.
2. John B. Watson (behaviorist) – proponent of classical
conditioning in the U.S.
3. Margaret Floy Washburn (behaviorist) - proponent of
classical conditioning in the U.S.

E. Pioneers of Psychology who examined who examined the

“unconscious mind” were:
1. Sigmund Freud (psychoanalysis) – Freud believed that the
roots of psychological problems were innate motives,
internal states that activate behavior, particularly sexual and
aggressive ones. He believed that these motives and the
conflicts surrounding them influence us, even though we do
not know they exist.
2. Carl Rogers (humanistic psychology) – Rogers, like other
humanists, believe that while the unconscious mind can
defeat the efforts of the conscious mind, the conscious
mind of human beings are more likely to determine their
own fate. They believe that self-concept is the key element
in decision making. Society, however, makes it difficult to
have an accurate self-concept.

F. The perspective that emphasizes the need to understand the

nature of the nervous system and other biological systems to
understand our psychological nature (the Neuroscience
perspective) was founded by:
1. Santiago Ramon y Cajal (Neuroscience) – Cajal was first
to publish a description of Neurons. His view that the brain
is made up of a network of interacting neural cells laid the
foundation for modern understanding of the role of the
brain in psychology.

G. Cognitive Psychology – a modern form of functionalism,

emphasizing the importance of cognitive processes, such as
perception, memory, and thinking. In many ways, cognitive
psychology is the heart of modern psychology. Social Learning
Theory integrates aspects of behaviorism and the cognitive
 perspective. Its viewpoint states that the most important aspects
of our behavior are learned from other persons in society.

H. The Sociocultural Perspective – states that people can be

understood only in terms of their culture and other social
influences. This perspective is a major influence in
contemporary psychology.

I. Modern Pshchology
1. Basic Psychology – Basic areas of Psychology, usually
conducted in colleges, universities, research institutions or
government agencies, include:
a. Biological Psych – studies the way in which the
nervous system and other organs provide the basis
for behavior and mental processes.
b. Sensation and Perception – This specialty is
concerned with how we interpret incoming sensory
information.
c. Learning and Memory – The ways in which we
learn and remember new information and new skills
are studied in this specialty area.
d. Cognition – the study of thinking, perceiving,
planning, imagining, creating, dreaming, speaking,
listening, and problem solving.
e. Developmental Psych – The field concerned with
changes that take place in people during their life
span.
f. Motivation and emotion – the study of the needs
and states that activate and guide behavior.
g. Personality – focuses on the relatively consistent
ways of behaving that characterize individual
persons.
h. Social Psych – study of the influence of other
people on our behavior; interpersonal and intimate
relationships; and attitudes and prejudice toward
others.
i. Sociocultural Psych – The focusing on ethnic and
cultural factors, gender identity, sexual orientation,
and related issues.
2. Applied Psychology – put the basic knowledge of
psychology to work in helping people, specializing in
applied fields such as:
a. Clinical Psych – try to understand and treat serious
and emotional behavioral problems.
b. Counseling Psych – help people with personal or
school problems and with career choices.
 c. Educational and school Psych – concerned with the
ways children learn in the classroom and inform
options to parents and teachers to the benefit of
special education for certain children.
d. Industrial and organizational Psych – focuses on
ways to match employees to jobs, to train, and
motivate workers and to promote job satisfaction.
e. Health Psych – focus on ways in which stress and
other factors influence our health.

III. Most Psychologists would agree that the following statements accurately
describe human behavior and mental processes.

A. Human Beings are biological creatures whose structure and

physiology influence and limit behavior.
B. Each person is unique, yet enough similarities exist among
individuals to allow a true science of behavior.
C. People can be fully understood only in the context of their
culture and other social influences.
D. Human lives are in a continuous process of change, evolving
from birth to old age.
E. Behavior is motivated, not random and aimless.
F. Humans are social animals who prefer to interact with others.
G. People play an active part in choosing their experiences and
constructing perceptions.
H. Behavior can be either adaptive or maladaptive.