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Chapt 1 Notes Psych

This document provides an introduction to the field of psychology. It discusses the goals of studying psychology, which are to describe, explain, predict, and influence behavior. The scientific method is described as the systematic approach used. A brief history of psychology is then given, outlining different approaches over time including structuralism, functionalism, psychoanalytic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, biological, and sociocultural perspectives. Key figures who contributed to the development of each approach are mentioned.

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Austin Gage
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
137 views

Chapt 1 Notes Psych

This document provides an introduction to the field of psychology. It discusses the goals of studying psychology, which are to describe, explain, predict, and influence behavior. The scientific method is described as the systematic approach used. A brief history of psychology is then given, outlining different approaches over time including structuralism, functionalism, psychoanalytic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, biological, and sociocultural perspectives. Key figures who contributed to the development of each approach are mentioned.

Uploaded by

Austin Gage
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Psychology

CHAPTER
1
Why Study Psych
• Through the study of psychology, people
can discover psychological principles that
have the potential to enrich the lives of
humans
1. Gain insight into behavior
2. Acquire practical information
Why Study Psych
• Psychology is the scientific study of
behavior and mental processes
- It covers everything that people think,
feel, and do
Why Study Psych
• Psychologists agree that the study of
behavior must be systematic
- The use of a systematic method of
asking and answering questions of why
people think, act, and feel as they do
greatly reduces the chances of coming to
false conclusions.
Why Study Psych
• Goals of Psychology
1. Description (describe what you see/
present what you know)
2. Explanation (psychological
principles or valid ideas about behavior)
3. Prediction (future outcomes)
4. Influence (altering behaviors in
helpful ways)
Why Study Psych
• Scientific Method
1. Question
2. Hypothesis
3. Experiment
4. Results
5. Conclusion (accept, reject,
additional info. needed)
6. Theory
Brief History of Psych
• The Origins
1. Greeks
2. The Renaissance
3. The Scientific Revolution
Brief History of Psych
• Dualism
- popular belief in the 17th century that
the mind and body were separate
- however, French philosopher Rene
Descartes disagreed and began an
assumption that the mind and body
influenced each other (movements,
sensations, perceptions) creating a
person’s experience
Brief History of Psych
• Psychological Approaches
- Structuralism
1. interested in the basic elements of
human experience
2. studies the human mind (trained
participants reported their thoughts)
3. uses introspection
* Key figure: Wilhelm Wundt
Brief History of Psych
- Functionalism
1. speculates that thinking, feeling,
learning, and remembering serve one
major function… to help us survive as a
species
2. focuses on the functions or actions of
the conscious mind
3. focuses on the goals or purposes of
behaviors
- Functionalism
4. studies how people adapt to their
environment
* Key figure: William James
Brief History of Psych
• Inheritable Traits
1. focused on how heredity influences a
person’s abilities, character, and behavior
2. suggests that traits and properties are
passed along biologically from parent to
child
3. responsible for early personality and
intelligence tests
* Key figure: Sir Francis Galton

• Gestalt Psychology
1. disagrees with the principles of
structuralism and functionalism
2. studies how sensations are assembled
into perceptual experiences
* Key figures: Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang
Kohler, and Kurt Koffka
Brief History of Psych
• Psychoanalytic Psychology
1. interested in the unconscious mind
2. belief that our conscious (waking)
experiences are only the tip of the
iceberg; unconsciously, there lies
primitive biological urges that are in
conflict with society and morality
3. belief that these conflicting urges are
responsible human behavior
• Psychoanalytic Psychology
4. uses free association as the method of
studying the unconscious
5. belief that dreams are expressions of
the most primitive unconscious urges
* Key figure: Sigmund Freud
Brief History of Psych
• Behavioral Psychology
1. explores the development of behavior
2. views behavior as a product of prior
experiences
3. explains how certain acts and certain
differences among individuals were the
result of learning
4. stresses observable behavior
• Behavioral Psychology
- maintains that all behavior is the result
of conditioning through reinforcement
• Key figures: Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson,
and B.F. Skinner
Brief History of Psych
• Humanistic Psychology
- describes human nature as evolving and
self-directed
- does not view humans as being
controlled by events in the environment
or unconscious forces, instead, they are
backgrounds to our own internal growth
- emphasizes how each person is unique
and has a self-concept
* Key figures: Abraham Maslow, Carl
Rogers, and Rollo May

• Cognitive Psychology
1. focuses on how we process, store, and
use information and how this information
influences our thinking, language,
problem solving, and creativity
2. belief that behavior is influenced by a
variety of mental processes
• Cognitive Psychology
3. perceptions, memories, and
expectations influence behavior
• Key figures: Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky,
and Leon Festinger
Brief History of Psych
• Biological Psychology
1. studies how the brain, the nervous
system, hormones, and genetics
influence our behavior
2. uses PET scans and CAT scans as tools
Brief History of Psych
• Sociocultural Psychology
- studies the influence of cultural and
ethnic similarities/differences on
behavior
- also studies the impact and integration
of immigrants
- it is also concerned with issues such as
gender and socioeconomic status

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