Topic: Introduction to Psychology Group members:

Chapter 1 Nathaniel B. Abril

Jemimah Keziah T. Anten
Rhiza Mae C. Villamil
Leyanne Yssabel S. Zabat

Program: BS Psychology 1

Date: 10/10/2023

Cornell Notes

Questions/Main
Notes/Answers/Definitions/Examples/Sentences
Idea/Vocabulary

Defining Psychology What is psychology?

● Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and mental

processes, encompassing the exploration of thoughts, emotions, and
actions to gain insights into the human mind.

Goals of Psychology

● Understanding and Explaining Behavior and Mental Processes

● Predicting Behavior
● Controlling and Influencing Behavior
● Enhancing Human Well-Being
● Advancing Scientific Knowledge
● Informing Public Policy
● Ethical Practice
● Personal and Professional Development

Importance of Psychology

● Psychology is important because it enhances our understanding of

the human mind and behavior, improves personal and societal well-
being, informs decision-making, and contributes to various aspects of
daily life, work, and society as a whole.
 Disciplines in Psychology

● Psychology is not one discipline, but rather a collection of many sub-

disciplines that all share at least some common approaches and that
work together and exchange knowledge to form a coherent
discipline. Psychology, psychiatry, counseling, and social work are
related disciplines. These disciplines may share research and
sometimes work as members of a team.

Careers in Psychology

● Biopsychology and Neuroscience

● Clinical and Counseling Psychology
● Cognitive Psychology
● Developmental Psychology
● Forensic Psychology
● Health Psychology
● Community Psychology
● Industrial-organizational (I/O) and Environmental Psychology
● Personality Psychology
● School and Educational Psychology
● Social and Cross-cultural Psychology
● Sports Psychology

History of Psychology Ancient Greek Philosophers

● The most prominent figures in ancient psychology are ancient Greek

philosophers.
Plato
● believed that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn, and
that the psyche had three parts: logistikon, thumoeides, and
epithumetikon.
Aristotle
● believed that a child is born as an "empty slate", and that
observation and reasoning are ways to acquire knowledge and
understand nature.

The Renaissance
 ● heavily influenced by the work of 17th century philosopher René
Descartes.
René Descartes
● believed that the mind and the body are two different things.
Cartesian Dualism
● states that the mind is an immaterial substance that is the source of
thoughts, emotions, and beliefs while the body is a physical
substance.

Scientific Psychology

● started in 1879
Wilhelm Wundt
● a German professor who found the first experimental psychology lab
at the University of Leipzig.
● was the first person to ever call himself a psychologist.
● he and his team started using scientific methods to study the mind.

Nature vs. Nurture

● Are genes or environment most influential in determining the

behavior of individuals and in accounting for differences among
people?
Nature

● How genetics influence an individual’s personality.

Nurture

● How the environment (relationship & Experience) impacts the

personality.
Debates and Philosophy in
Psychology Free Will vs. Determinism

● Concerns the extent to which people have control over their actions.

Conscious vs. Unconscious

● To what extent are we conscious of our own actions and causes of

them?

Accuracy vs. Inaccuracy

● To what extent are humans good information processor?

Different Perspective in Structuralism

 ● First School of thought in psychology.
● Trying to look into the conscious mind by breaking it down to its
structure and characteristics.
Whilhelm Wundt

● The Father of Psychology.

● The idea behind structuralism and the one who established the
first lab in Leipzig.
Edward Bradford Titchner

● Students of Wilhelm Wundt and the one who founded the

Structuralism school of thought in psychology.
Introspection

● The primary methodology of Structuralism.

● It is the process of analysing one’s own mental processes by
observing and observing the conscious mind.

Functionalism

● From the idea of Darwinism, suggests that our mental process and
behaviour is the product of adaptation though natural selection.
Psychology William James

● Considered as the father of American psychology and founded

Functionalism.

Biological Perspective

● Anything psychological is Biological.

● Explores the relationship between biological processes, the brain and
nervous system on how it influence thoughts, emotions, motivations
& actions.

Psychodynamic Perspective

● Originated form Freud’s early Theories namely Psychoanalysis.

● It emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind and early childhood
experiences in shaping an individual’s personality, behavior and
mental health.

Sigmund Freud

● The main proponent of psychodynamic and the founder of

 psychoanalytic theory.
● Believes that there are things that are hidden in the unconscious
mind that highly influence our behaviour as we develop.

Cognitive Perspective

● The study of mental processes, including perception, thinking,

memory, and judgements.
Jean Piaget

● Cognitive Psychologist. Worked to understand how people learn,

remember, and make judgments about the world around them.
Information-process Theory

● Describes the human mind as a receiving input, processing the

information based on programs, or schemas, and using the results of
this processing to produce output.
Neuroimaging

● The use of various technique to provide pictures of the structure and

function of the living brain.

Evolution

● Many human psychological systems, including memory, emotion,

and personality, serve key adaptive functions.

Behavioural Perspective

● Based on the premise that it is not possible to objectively study the

mind, and therefore psychologists should limit their attention to the
study of behavior itself.

● Was greatly influenced by behaviorists such as John B. Watson, Ivan

Pavlov, and B.F. Skinner.

● Behavior is shaped by the environment and that it can be

understood, predicted, and controlled through the study of
observable stimuli and responses.
John B. Watson
● Was a pioneering American psychologist known for his significant
contributions to the field of behaviorism – most famous experiment,
the "Little Albert" study.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner
● Was a renowned American psychologist that is best known for his
development of operant conditioning, a form of learning that
 emphasizes the role of consequences in shaping behavior.
● Skinner's "Skinner Box" experiments with rats and pigeons
demonstrated how behaviors could be reinforced or punished to
increase or decrease their frequency.
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
● Was a Russian physiologist renowned for his groundbreaking
contributions to the field of psychology, particularly in the area of
classical conditioning.
Classical Conditioning
● As demonstrated by Pavlov's famous experiments with dogs, is a
fundamental concept in the behavioral perspective. It involves the
association of a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to
produce a conditioned response. This process helps explain how
learned associations can influence behavior.
Operant Conditioning
● Developed by B.F. Skinner, explores how behavior is influenced by
consequences. In operant conditioning, behaviors are strengthened
or weakened based on the consequences that follow them. This has
implications for understanding learning, motivation, and behavior
modification.

Humanistic Perspective

● Focuses on thinking and emotions.

● Embraces the concepts of self, self-esteem, self-actualization, and

free will.

● Was popularized in the 1950s and was referred to as the “Third

Force” in psychology.

● Opposes reductionism, which attempts to explain human behavior

by breaking it down into smaller components.

● Values subjective experiences and personal perceptions. It believes

that individuals are the best authorities on their own thoughts,
feelings, and experiences.

● Associated with two prominent psychologists: Abraham Maslow and

Carl Rogers.
Abraham Maslow
● was a pioneering American psychologist known for his significant
contributions to the field of psychology, particularly his development
of the hierarchy of needs.
Hierarchy of Needs
● A psychological theory that arranges human needs into a pyramid-
shaped framework.
● Suggests that individuals must first satisfy lower-level physiological
and safety needs before progressing to higher-level needs like
belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
Carl Rogers
● A prominent American psychologist known for his profound
contributions to the field of humanistic psychology and the
development of client-centered therapy, also known as person-
centered therapy.
Person-centered Therapy
● Humanistic and client-centered approach to psychotherapy.
● It centers on creating a nonjudgmental, empathetic, and supportive
therapeutic environment in which clients can freely express their
thoughts and feelings.
● The key idea is that through this empathetic listening and
unconditional positive regard, clients can gain insight into their own
experiences, promote self-acceptance, and work towards personal
growth and self-actualization.
Concepts of Humanistic Perspective
● Self-actualization – It is a central concept in humanistic psychology,
referring to the process of realizing one's full potential and becoming
the best version of oneself. It involves personal growth, creativity,
and a sense of fulfillment.
● Positive Psychology – While not synonymous with the humanistic
perspective, positive psychology shares a focus on well-being,
strengths, and personal growth. Positive psychology research
explores factors that contribute to human flourishing and happiness.
● Holism – The humanistic perspective takes a holistic approach,
considering the whole person rather than breaking human
experience down into isolated components. It acknowledges the
interconnectedness of physical, emotional, social, and spiritual
aspects of an individual's life.
● Self-Concept – The self-concept is a crucial concept within
humanistic psychology, representing an individual's beliefs and
perceptions about themselves. Rogers believed that incongruence
between the real self (how one perceives oneself) and the ideal self
(how one wishes to be) could lead to psychological distress.
● Free Will and Personal Choice – Humanistic psychology rejects
deterministic views that reduce individuals to passive products of
their environment or biology. It emphasizes free will and personal
choice as central to shaping one's life.

Social-Cultural Perspective

● a viewpoint that examines the roles of cultural context as an

influence on behavior and mental processes.
 Social Norms
● the ways of thinking, feelings, and behaving that are shared by group
members and perceived by them as appropriate.
Cultures
● represent the common set of social norms, including religious and
family values, and other moral beliefs, shared by the people who live
in a geographical region.
● Individualism – valuing the self and one's independence from others.
● Collectivism – oriented towards interdependence.

Problems of Intuition

● thoughts and feelings are not easily measurable thus producing any
reliable data is not easy
● Intuition is that of thinking base on Experience, emotions, & is
automatic thus doesn’t require analytical process of a given event.
● Intuition is Quick & instant mental process that allows us to draw
conclusions without a sufficient information.

Hindsight Bias

● Known also as the know-it-all-along phenomenon.

The Challenges of Studying Psychology

Challenges and Scientific
Methods in Psychology ● Making predictions about human behaviour is difficult because
humans are not always predictable as their responses differ with
every given situation.
● Human behaviour is influenced by different variables at a time. It is
explainable by different causes example will be depression, it can be
explained by personal, genetics or cultural.

Why do Psychologist Relies on Empirical Method?

● Empirical method is acquiring knowledge based on observation,

including experimentation.
● When studying human behaviour, not all questions can answered by
scientific approaches. There are hypothesis that can’t be objectively
measured and perceive to be true or false. This is the reason why our
understanding of the human mind is so limited, since our thoughts,
as we experience it, are not measurable.

Summary
Chapter 1 of instruction to psychology started with defining what is psychology, what is its goals and its
importance and the different discipline and careers. We also goes back in time to take a look of what ancient
philosophers think of the human psyche using philosophy and its evolution throughout the century. We then
explored what are the debates and the philosophical beliefs revolving psychology. We then goes in a journey
discussing the different perspectives around psychology accompanied by various individuals whose
contribution in the field psychology are immeasurable. We now ended on the challenges and the problem we
face as we study psychology and the scientific method namely the empirical method as we go through chapter
2, these topic will be expanded upon.