Introduction to Psychology

• Psychology is the science of studying the behavior of organisms.

Core Components of Psychology

• Science: Psychology relies on systematic observations for data-driven conclusions.
• Behavior: Encompasses cognitive processes (thoughts), emotional states (feelings), and actions (what organisms do).
• Organism: Refers to any living creature, extending the scope of psychology beyond just humans.

Pseudopsychology

• Pseudopsychology is fake psychology that lacks scientific support and does not adhere to the standards of the field.
• Palmistry: Claims to characterize and predict the future by studying the lines on the palms.
• Phrenology: A 19th-century theory by Franz Gall that personality is revealed by bumps on the skull.
• Phenomenology: Studies conscious experience from a subjective viewpoint.
• Numerology: Explores purported relationships between numbers and coinciding events to determine personality traits.
• Astrology: Assumes that the positions of celestial bodies influence human actions and personality.
• Graphology: Asserts that personality is revealed through handwriting, though psychological studies show minimal accuracy.

Parapsychology

• Parapsychology investigates phenomena beyond known sensory and cognitive abilities, such as near-death experiences and psychic abilities.
• It lies outside mainstream psychology and is considered a pseudoscience by many.
• Telepathy: Transferring thoughts or feelings between individuals without using the five senses.
• Precognition: Perceiving information about future events that cannot be deduced from available information.
• Clairvoyance: Obtaining information about remote locations or events by means unknown to science.
• Psychokinesis: Influencing matter, time, space, or energy through mental means.

Branches of Psychology

• Abnormal psychology: Focuses on psychopathology and abnormal behaviors.
• Behavioral psychology: Studies behavior and underlying theories like classical conditioning.
• Clinical psychology: Concerned with the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders.
• Neuroscience and Biological Psychology: Investigates the nervous system's impact on behavior and thoughts.
• Cognitive psychology: Examines internal states including thought, motivation, attention, problem-solving, and decision-making.
• Cross-cultural psychology: Studies how cultural factors influence human behavior.
• Comparative psychology: Studies animal behavior to understand human behavior.
• Developmental psychology: Focuses on human growth throughout the lifespan.
• Educational psychology: Deals with schools, teaching, educational issues, and student concerns.
• Forensic psychology: Deals with the intersection of psychology and the law.
• Health psychology: Explores how biological, psychological, behavioral, and social factors influence health and illness.
• Social psychology: Studies social influence, social perception, and social interaction using scientific methods.
• Sports psychology: Studies how psychology influences sports, athletic performance, exercise, and physical activity.
• Military psychology: Applies psychological theories and empirical data to understand, predict, and counter undesirable behaviors in military operations.

Goals of Psychology

• Describe how people and other species behave.
• Understand the causes of these behaviors.
• Predict how people and animals will behave under certain conditions.
• Influence behavior through the control of its causes.
• Apply psychological knowledge in ways that enhance human welfare.

Importance of Psychology to Healthcare and Nursing

• Health psychology applies psychological principles to promote physical health and prevent/treat illness.
• Human health depends on both biological and psychological factors.
• Studies psycho physiological disorders (e.g., high blood pressure, headaches, asthma, ulcers) and how people cope with stress.
• Examines psychological factors underlying harmful behaviors like smoking, drug abuse, and risky sexual practices.
• Psychology aids nurses in understanding patient behaviors, relating well with clients/relatives, understanding stress management, and providing holistic care.
• Psychology enhances nurses' psychological approach, conflict resolution skills, and crisis management abilities.

Human Growth and Development

• Growth refers to measurable increases in size (height, weight, etc.).
• Development indicates increases in skill and abilities, with qualitative changes.

Domains of Development

• Physical development: Involves changes in body size, appearance, motor skills, and physical health.
• Cognitive development: Includes changes in intellect, attention, memory, knowledge, problem-solving, and language.
• Emotional and social/psychosocial development: Encompasses changes in emotional communication, self-understanding, interpersonal skills, and moral reasoning.

Genetic Foundations

• The individual begins with the union of a sperm and ovum, each containing 23 single chromosomes.
• Meiosis reduces chromosome pairs to individual chromosomes, while mitosis allows cells to reproduce themselves, replicating all 23 pairs.
• Chromosome: A rod-like structure containing genes.
• Gene: The basic unit of heredity, made up of DNA.

Chromosomal Abnormalities

• Genetic instructions aren't infallible, leading to disorders associated with abnormal chromosome numbers.
• Down syndrome (Trisomy 21): An extra 21st chromosome, leading to characteristic facial features and intellectual impairment.
• Klinefelter’s syndrome: An extra X chromosome which leads to underdeveloped secondary sex characteristics and learning difficulties.
• Fragile X syndrome: Part of the X chromosome is weakly attached, causing varying degrees of mental retardation.
• Turner syndrome: Only one X chromosome is present which affects only females and can result in short stature and learning disabilities.

Prenatal Development Stages

• Germinal Stage: Lasts about one week, starting with conception, wherein the zygote moves to the uterus and begins cell division.
• Embryonic Stage: From the third week, the embryo divides into layers, forming the neural tube (which becomes the central nervous system).
• Fetal Stage: From seven weeks to birth, continued development occurs, and the sex organs appear.

Germinal Stage Elaborated

• The zygote develops from a single cell to a group of cells in approximately 24 to 36 hours.
• The outer cells will become the placenta and the inner cells form the embryo.
• The ectoderm becomes the sense organs, skin, and nervous system.
• The mesoderm becomes the heart, bones, and muscles.
• The endoderm becomes the stomach, intestines, and lungs.
• At the end of this stage the blastocyst arrives at the uterus and attaches to the uterine wall, a process known as implantation.

Embryonic Stage Elaborated

• Around the fourth week, the head begins to form quickly followed by the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth
• The cardiovascular system is where the earliest activity begins as the blood vessel that will become the heart start to pulse.
• During the fifth week, buds that will form the arms and legs appear.
• Basic organs and parts except those of the sex organs have been formed.

Fetal Stage Elaborated

• The neural tube develops into the brain and the spinal cord and neurons form.
• During the third month of gestation, the sex organs begin to differentiate.
• Brain cells (nervous) skin cells, hair cells, fat cells, and many other kinds of cells form.
• During period from seven months until birth, the fetus continues to develop, put on weight, and prepare for life outside the womb and the lungs begin to expand and contract.

Postnatal Stages

• Infancy: From birth until the onset of speech.
• Babyhood (toddler): Intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use matures, and memory and imagination are developed.
• Early Childhood: Social horizons broaden, and impulses are channeled into fantasies.
• Late childhood: Intelligence is demonstrated through logical and systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects.
• Adolescence: Period of life between the onset of puberty and the full commitment to an adult social role.
• Early adulthood: Person learn how to form intimate relationships through friendship and love.
• Middle age: Generativity versus stagnation; feeling of contributing to or purposelessness.
• Old age and Senescence: Deterioration in the structure and function of body cells, tissues and organs.

Factors Influencing Growth and Development

• Heredity: Transmission of physical and social characteristics from parents to offspring.
• Environment: Sum of physical and psychological stimulations from conception (physical, social, psychological).
• Sex: Differences in growth and development between boys and girls.
• Nutrition: Food habits impacting structural and functional development.
• Race: Influences height, weight, colour, and body constitution.
• Hormones: Endocrine gland secretions influencing activity levels.
• Learning and Reinforcement: Learning and reinforcement activities are necessary for learning.