Introduction to Psychological Science

Introduction to Psychological Science

• Psychology is the scientific study of mental processes and behaviour.
• Aims of the unit include: a basic understanding of contemporary psychology, defining psychology, major theoretical frameworks, critical reading of psychological literature, and argumentative essay writing.
• Successful completion of unit results in: understanding main perspectives, methodologies, and topic areas in psychology, proficiency in using library databases (Murdoch Library Catalogue, Findit, PsycINFO) for research, correct APA style referencing, and writing APA style psychological essays.
• There are assignments and an exam.
  • Essay 1 (15%): Introduction to Essay topic.
  • Essay 2 (40%): Essay on selected topic.
  • Final Exam (35%).
  • Participation (10%).
• Assignment extensions are available, but require completion of a form and emailing the unit coordinator.
• All assignments must be submitted to LMS drop-boxes by 5 pm local time on due dates.
• Two possible essay topics are provided: psychological disorder treatments or attachment styles and adult outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

• Define psychology
• Outline psychology's history.
• Differentiate major theoretical perspectives in psychology.
• Discuss the educational needs of psychologists and their typical work settings.

What is Psychological Science?

• Psychology is the scientific investigation of mental processes (thinking, remembering, feeling), behaviour and the interaction between them.
• Psychology emphasizes science, contrasting with intuition.
• Scientific investigation produces empirical evidence used to draw conclusions.

Psychology: Positive Psychology and Subdisciplines

• Positive psychology is a branch focused on factors that help people flourish.
• Biology and culture interact with psychological processes.
• Major subdisciplines in psychology include: biopsychology, developmental, social, community, clinical, cognitive, personality, positive, industrial/organizational, educational, health, counselling, sport, forensic, and conservation.

Early Psychology

• Wilhelm Wundt: proponent of structuralism, established the first psychology laboratory using introspection to investigate fundamental elements of consciousness.
• William James: proponent of functionalism, arguing that consciousness serves a purpose, not just basic elements.

Philosophical Issues

• Free will vs determinism; nature vs nurture; rationalism vs empiricism; reason vs emotion; continuity vs discontinuity; individualism vs relationality; conscious vs unconscious; and mental vs physical (mind/body).

Perspectives in Psychology

• Multiple perspectives can be used to address psychological issues.
• Biases can occur in perspective selection.
• A paradigm is a broad framework/model used by the scientific community to address issues.
• Psychology is characterized by multiple schools of thought (“isms”).

Psychodynamic Perspective

• This perspective emphasizes the interaction between conscious and unconscious forces in shaping behaviours, thoughts, and feelings.
• Mental events can be unconscious.
• Mental processes can be conflicted which leads to anxiety
• Data collection uses case studies of clients' thoughts, feelings and actions.
• Criticized for a lack of empirical method, falsifiability, and unreliable measures.

Behaviourist Perspective

• This perspective emphasizes environmental stimuli in controlling behaviours through learning.
• Thoughts and feelings are less prioritized.
• Stimuli and behaviour are connected by classical and operant conditioning.
• Human and animal behaviour is mechanistic and can be studied through experimentation.
• Emphasizes quantitative data.

Humanistic Perspective

• This perspective emphasizes the unique individual and the motivation to reach full potential (self-actualization).
• People are innately good.
• The perspective is person-centred.
• Therapists demonstrate empathy.

Cognitive Perspective

• This perspective focusses on how people process, store, and retrieve information.
• The mind is comparable to a computer (information processing model).
• Data collection uses experiments to understand mental processes at work.

Evolutionary Perspective

• Human behaviours have evolved to help ancient ancestors survive and reproduce.
• Some behaviours have biological roots such as eating and reproduction.
• Natural Selection applies to psychological and social behaviours.
• Reproductive success is linked to survival and offspring.

Contributions of Perspectives

• Psychodynamic, behavioural, humanistic, cognitive, and evolutionary perspectives each contribute to understanding the human experience.
• No single perspective can fully explain human experience.

Careers in Psychology

• Top five industries employing psychologists in Australia in 2009 and 2015: Private, Education, Health, Government, and Other.

Ethical Dilemma Activity

• An activity about ethical considerations in psychology with a hypothetical case study about counselling.
• Is the student qualified to give advice to their depressed friend?
• What advice can the student give?

Summary

• Psychology is the scientific investigation of mental processes (thinking, remembering, feeling), behaviour, and interactions between them.
• Key perspectives examined in this course include: psychodynamic, behaviourist, humanist, cognitive, and evolutionary.

Homework

• Prepare for workshops with pre-workshop activities like a quiz about information or psychological resources.