Introduction to Psychology

Psychology Basics

• Psychology studies the mind and behavior.
• The term "psychology" originates from Greek.
• Philosophy marks the beginning of psychology.
• General psychology covers basic theories, principles, and methods.

Sports Psychology

• Sports psychology studies how psychological factors impact sports, exercise and performance.

Psychologists

• Psychologists are scientists, researchers, therapists, and clinicians.
• They address issues like relationships, public health, crime, education, economy, and healthcare via the study of human behavior.

Psyche

• The psyche is the entirety of the human mind, both conscious and unconscious.
• Mental processes encompass thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
• The brain is the primary organ of focus in psychology.

Early Psychology

• The first psychological laboratory was opened in 1879.

Personality Psychology

• Personality psychology explores the development of personality, patterns of behavior, thoughts, and individual characteristics.
• Five factors shape personality: biological, social, cultural, physical, and situational.
• The Big Five personality dimensions: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.
• Extraversion includes excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and emotional expressiveness.

The Ego

• The ego mediates between the id's desires and societal norms.

Temperament and Self-Regulation

• Temperament is a set of genetically determined psychic qualities.
• Basic temperaments are Choleric, Sanguine, Phlegmatic, and Melancholic.
• Self-regulation is the ability to manage energy states, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.
• Self-regulation involves physical, emotional, mental, and social aspects.
• Methods for self-regulation: planning, monitoring, and reflection.

Motivation

• Motive is a need or desire which propels an individual in a direction.
• Motivational psychology studies biological, psychological, and environmental variables contributing to motivation.
• Self-motivation is driven by a sincere wish to achieve and intrinsic rewards.
• Motivation is an internal process.
• Intrinsic motivation for a behavior arises from within.
• Extrinsic motivation is driven by external rewards.

Emotion

• Emotion is a complex state of feeling resulting in physical and psychological changes that influence thoughts and behavior.
• Tips for improving emotional intelligence: listen, empathize, reflect.
• Five components of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.
• Emotional psychology studies how emotions manifest.

Feelings

• Feelings are subjective, evaluative, and independent of evoking sensations, thoughts, or images.
• Feeling is a response to the emotion from the perception of a situation.
• Emotional insulation is a defense mechanism of indifference in response to frustrating events.

Aggression and Happiness

• Aggression aims to harm others physically or psychologically.
• Happiness is joy, gladness, satisfaction, and well-being.

Emotion Regulation

• Emotion regulation is the ability to modulate emotions.

Health Psychology

• Health psychology examines how biology, psychology, behavior, and social factors affect health and illness.
• Health psychology emerged in 1970.
• Goals include understanding factors for health/illness, preventing illness, and finding treatments for pain.
• Psychosomatic describes the psychological component of somatic disturbances.
• A psychosomatic disorder involves both mind and body.

Basic Emotions

• Paul Ekman identified happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and surprise in 1972.
• The 'Broaden-and-Build Theory' suggests positive emotions broaden awareness and encourage exploratory actions.

Darwin and Emotion

• Darwin’s views: emotional expressions are universal, biologically inherited, and evolved for survival.
• Frowning and furrowed brows are facial expressions associated with anger.
• Keith Beasley first used the term EQ.
• The Cannon-Bard theory states that physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously and independently.
• Feelings are the result of emotions.
• A microexpression is a brief, involuntary facial expression revealing true emotion.
• Three components of emotion: subjective experience, physiological response, and behavioral or expressive response.

Emotional Intelligence

• EQ determines how individuals interact, treat people, and cope with pressures.
• Emotions can influence decision-making, and negative emotions can increase caution.
• Darwin's initial focus in facial recognition studies was emotion.
• The primary function of basic emotions is to communicate
• Fear is associated with the fight-or-flight response
• Darwin suggested emotions help individuals respond adaptively, are shared across species, and have evolutionary significance.
• Emotional development is a gradual increase in experiencing, expressing, and interpreting emotions.

Emotional Cognition

• Emotional cognition is the ability to recognize and interpret others' emotions.
• Fear is the universal basic emotion according to Ekman.
• Emotions are behavioral, cognitive, and physiological patterns in response to stimuli.
• Happiness is the universal facial expression of emotion according to Ekman.
• Emotional intelligence is the term for identifying, assessing, and controlling emotions.
• Darwin's approach emphasizes that emotions are biologically inherited and have evolutionary continuity.
• Darwin studied emotions by observing facial expressions and analyzing photographs.

Social Psychology and Carl Jung

• Social psychology focuses on group behavior, social influences, attitudes, and related topics.
• Emotional stability is exhibited by calm, emotionally stable individuals.
• Carl Jung's psychoanalysis is called analytic psychology.

Developmental Psychology

• Developmental psychology studies changes in physical, cognitive, and socioemotional processes throughout life.
• Neuroticism is exhibited by impulsive, emotionally unstable people.
• Openness is exhibited by imaginative, curious, and open individuals.
• Freud structured the mind into conscious and unconscious parts.
• Motivation types are external and internal.

The Id

• The id seeks immediate gratification.

Self-Motivation

• Self-motivation is the best kind of motivation.

Biological Psychology

• Biological psychology studies the biological underpinnings of behavior and mental states.
• Personality is defined as characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique.
• Extrinsic motivation is driven by external rewards.
• Openness is exhibited by logical and analytical individuals.
• Motivation is an individual's intensity, direction, and persistence for achieving a goal.
• Abraham Maslow explained motivation through a hierarchy of needs.
• The id operates unconsciously on instinctual drives.
• Basic biological needs are considered intrinsic motivation.
• Sigmund Freud proposed the unconscious mind and psychoanalysis theory.
• Intrinsic motivators are related to personal enjoyment and satisfaction.