Psychology
Unit 1
Ms Mena
WIKI
You should have received the
invitation to join our wiki via
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O http://psychatwrsc2011.wikispaces.com/
DEFINING PSYCHOLOGY
O The study of psychology involves the
investigation of human behaviour and
mental processes using scientific research
methods. The main goals of psychology
are to describe, predict, control and
explain thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
That is, psychologists seek to understand
thoughts, feelings and behaviour and the
factors that both underlie their
development and influence them.
BEHAVIOUR & MENTAL
PROCESS
DISTINCTION BETWEEN
PSYCHOLOGY AND
PSYCHIATRY
O A psychologist completes the equivalent of four
years of full-time study in a recognised
psychology course at a university and an
additional two years of full-time (or equivalent)
post-graduate study in psychology at a
university, or two years full-time (or equivalent)
training under the supervision of a qualified and
registered psychologist.
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQf7O3GeHV
k
O A psychiatrist is a qualified medical doctor who
has obtained additional qualifications to
become a specialist in the diagnosis, treatment
and prevention of mental illness and emotional
problems (RANZCP, 2009). Psychiatrists first
undertake six years of university study and
training to gain their basic medical qualifications
as a doctor. They then work as an intern in a
general hospital for a further 12 months to gain
practical experience in medicine and surgery.
This enables them to become fully registered as
medical practitioners. Following their internship,
they must complete at least one further year as
a Resident Medical Officer. This year must
include experience in psychiatry, during which
their suitability to train as a psychiatrist is
assessed. Post-graduate training in psychiatry
takes a further five years, sometimes more.
PSYCHOLOGY AS A
PROFESSION
O The study of psychology can lead to opportunities in a
range of careers that involve working with children,
adolescents, adults, families and communities in a
variety of work settings. For example, opportunities
exist in industry, community mental health services,
within government departments in the public service,
in schools, correctional services, the defence forces,
emergency services, with sports teams or in a
university as a lecturer and/or researcher. Some
psychologists work by themselves; for example, in a
private practice. Others choose to work as part of a
team in a bigger organisation. A psychologist's clients
may be individuals, a couple, a family or a large
group.
ORIGINS OF
CONTEMPORARY
PSYCHOLOGY
O The desire to understand ourselves and others has
probably existed since our early ancestors developed
the ability to reflect on human nature, or ‘what makes
people tick’. It is possible that they were just as
curious as we are today about why people think, feel
and behave as they do. However, the earliest origins
of psychology are usually traced back to the writings
of the great philosophers in ancient Greece. This is
primarily because many issues relating to human
behaviour and mental processes that have been and
continue to be important and controversial in
psychology, have their roots in questions first debated
by philosophers. We consider two key issues
prominent in psychology that originated in philosophy.
O Philosophical roots of psychology
O One important question was whether we are born
with our thoughts, feelings and behaviour (via our
genes), or whether they are acquired through life
experiences. For example, are we born with a set
of personality characteristics that remain
relatively unchanged throughout our entire lives,
or does our personality gradually develop after
birth through the experiences we have when we
interact with others? Still not fully resolved, this
question on the influence of the genes we inherit
from our biological parents compared with that of
our various life experiences is referred to by
psychologists as the nature versus nurture or
heredity versus environment debate.
O The mind–brain problem essentially involves questions
about the relationship between brain activity and conscious
experience; that is, the relationship between what our brain
does and our awareness of our own existence and
activities, and of objects and events in the external world.
For instance, is our mind separate from our brain? Is our
mind basically brain activity or is it our inner, personal
experience of what our brain does? Is consciousness just
one aspect of our mind? Does our mind become aware of
what our brain does? If so, is our mind dependent on brain
activity in order to become aware? Does our brain trigger
conscious experience? Is conscious experience a byproduct of brain activity? What comes first, brain activity or
conscious experience? Although there is no universally
accepted solution to the mind–brain problem, it is likely
that the rapidly advancing discipline of neuroscience will
eventually lead psychologists to a better understanding of
the relationship between conscious experience and brain
activity.
O Scientific roots of psychology
O By the nineteenth century, scientists were
making progress in answering questions about
human behaviour and mental processes that
philosophers could not. Some philosophers were
sceptical (very doubtful) that scientific methods
were relevant to the study of mental processes.
They believed that the mind was not a physical
object and could therefore not be directly
observed, measured or manipulated
scientifically, for example, in the way that
physicists study the nature of light or gravity
through systematic observation and
experimentation. However, other philosophers
began to look more and more to science for
guidance in the study of psychological topics.
CLASSIC PERSPECTIVES
AND THEORIES IN
PSYCHOLOGY
O Structuralism – Wilhelm Wundt
O Wundt defined psychology as the study of consciousness.
He also promoted his belief that psychology should be
established as a separate scientific discipline that used
experimental methods to study mental processes.
Look at this object and try to ignore
what it is. Instead, try to describe your
conscious experience, such as
redness, brightness and roundness,
and how intense and clear the
sensations and images are. If you can
do this, you would have been an
excellent research assistant in Wundt's
laboratory.
O Functionalism – William James
O Like Wundt, James defined psychology as
the study of consciousness. However, he
disagreed with Wundt's approach to
separating consciousness into its different
elements. James believed this approach
misrepresented the ‘wholeness’ of
consciousness and its role (functions) in our
lives. Instead, he stressed the importance of
the adaptability of consciousness and our
ability to change our behaviour when
necessary to function effectively in a
constantly changing environment.
O Psychoanalysis – Sigmund Freud
O Psychoanalysis focuses on the roles of unconscious
conflicts and motivations in understanding and
explaining behaviour and mental processes.
According to Freud, our unconscious is a part of the
mind below our level of normal conscious awareness.
We are not usually aware of what is going on inside
our unconscious because it is hidden from our
conscious awareness. Freud believed that the
unconscious contained instinctive sexual and
aggressive needs. These instincts are accompanied
by urges and impulses to behave in a way that
enables the needs to be met. In this sense, the
instinctive needs are motivators or ‘triggers’ of
behaviour. However, if we acted on the urges and
impulses created by the instinctive needs, our
behaviour would be socially unacceptable.
Consequently, conflicts arise between our attempts to
satisfy our impulses and urges, and what is
acceptable in the real world.
O Behaviourism – John B. Watson
O Behaviourists believe that almost everything
a person (or animal) does is influenced by
rewards and punishments in everyday life.
According to behaviourists, we tend to
repeat behaviours that we find rewarding in
some way and avoid or not repeat
behaviours we associate with punishment.
In this sense, we are controlled by our
environment because this is the source of
rewards and punishments.
O Humanism – Carl Rogers
O Humanism, also called humanistic
psychology, is an approach to understanding
and explaining behaviour and mental
processes that focuses on the uniqueness
of each individual person and the positive
qualities and potential of all human beings
to fulfil their lives. Drawing on the meaning
of the term ‘humane’, humanism is based
on the assumption that all people are born
good and that, throughout their life, each
individual strives to reach their full potential,
whatever that might be.
O Maslow’s theory of self-actualisation
CONTEMPORARY
PERSPECTIVES AND
THEORIES IN
PSYCHOLOGY
O Biological perspective
O The biological perspective focuses on the biological
(physiological) influences on behaviour and mental
processes, including the brain and the rest of the
nervous system, the endocrine (hormone) system, the
immune system and genetics. A major assumption of the
biological perspective is that all our thoughts, feelings
and behaviours are associated with underlying bodily
activities and processes. For example, when you think, a
specific area of your brain is active, and the area differs,
depending on what you think about.
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMLzP1VCANo
O Behavioural perspective
O Contemporary psychologists who take the
behavioural perspective emphasise the
importance of studying environmental
influences on observable behaviour. More
specifically, the behavioural perspective
focuses on how behaviour is acquired or
modified by environmental consequences
such as rewards and punishments. A key
assumption of the behavioural perspective
is that all behaviour can be explained in
terms of learning processes.
O http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlr
HA
O Cognitive perspective
O Generally, the main subject matter of cognitive
psychology has not changed greatly since the
first cognitive theories were proposed. Cognitive
psychologists still focus on mental processes
that take place inside our brain. In contemporary
psychology, the cognitive perspective focuses on
how we acquire, process, remember and use
information about ourselves and the world
around us. Basically, the emphasis is on
understanding how we take in information and
how we treat the information in order to think,
feel and behave as we do. A major assumption
of the cognitive perspective is that internal
mental processes are important in their own
right, as well as important influences on
observable behaviour. That is, in order to
understand what makes people ‘tick’ and do
what they do, it is essential to know what is
actually going on inside their brains.
O Memory as an information process system. The
information processing approach explains mental
processes by making comparisons between the
human brain and a computer.
O Socio-cultural perspective
O The socio-cultural perspective focuses on the roles of
social and cultural influences on human behaviour
and mental processes. It is assumed that sociocultural factors such as sex, race, age, income level
and the culture in which people grow up are
important influences. The socio part of the term
refers to the study of influences within a society or
culture; for example, how sex, race, age or income
level can affect how we think, feel or behave. The
cultural part refers to the study of similarities and
differences in how people think, feel and behave
across different cultures.
O Culture is the way of life of a particular group of
people; for example, the beliefs, values, attitudes,
customs, ways of behaving, forms of expression and
so on, which are shared by most members of a group
of people. It is passed from one generation to the
next by tradition, example and stories rather than by
genes. A culture is often associated with a particular
country.
SCIENTIFIC NATURE OF
PSYCHOLOGY
O The term scientific method refers to the
systematic approach for planning, conducting
and reporting research which involves collecting
empirical evidence. Empirical evidence is data
(information) collected directly by observation,
or, more frequently in psychology, through
experimentation. Collecting data through
empirically based research allows psychologists
to draw accurate conclusions, which are more
likely to be free from personal biases.
CHECKLIST AND REVISION
O Checklist of what you should have completed for
chapter 1:
O 1. Holiday Homework:
Learning Activities 1.1, 1.4 (qs1), 1.5, 1.7, 1.9, 1.10.
2. Homework and classwork:
Learning Activities 1.15, worksheet “Major
perspectives in psychology”, Learning Activity 1.17
Revision:
O 1. Complete the True/False Quiz on page 45
O 2. Complete Chapter Test on page 46-48