Psychology Lecture 1: Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to Psychology

• Psychology is a science that investigates questions about human behavior in a scientific way.
• The fundamental question psychology seeks to answer is: "what is human nature?"
• Psychology provides a powerful way of thinking about human behavior.
• It is a broad discipline that includes social science, behavioral science, biological science, cognitive science, and health science.

Goals of Psychology

• Describe human behavior
• Understand human behavior
• Predict human behavior
• Achieve some measure of control over human behavior
• Improve the quality of human life through therapy or research

Distinguishing between Psychologists and Psychiatrists

• A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in psychiatry and can prescribe medicine.
• A psychologist studies the science of the psyche and does not prescribe medicine.

Subdivisions of the Field of Psychology

• Abnormal psychology or psychopathology
• Neuropsychology
• Pastoral psychology
• Personality psychology
• Psychological counseling
• Psychological evaluation and assessment
• Social psychology
• Sport psychology
• Career psychology
• Cognitive psychology
• Community psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Environmental psychology
• Forensic psychology
• Health psychology

Registration Categories for Psychologists in South Africa

Clinical Psychologists

• Evaluate, diagnose, and treat individuals with psychological disorders
• Treat severe behavioral and emotional problems
• Involve interviewing, psychological testing, group and individual psychotherapy

Counselling Psychologists

• Overlap with clinical psychology, focusing on people struggling with everyday problems of moderate severity
• Specialize in career counseling

Educational Psychologists

• Focus on promoting cognitive, emotional, and social development of children in schools
• Testing and counseling of school children

Forensic Psychologists

• Apply psychological knowledge to respond to legal questions in criminal, civil, and family law

Industrial/Organisational Psychologists

• Apply psychological knowledge in the world of business and industry
• Focus on human resources, improving morale and attitudes, job satisfaction, and productivity

Neuropsychologists

• Focus on psychological assessment to diagnose and treat neuropathology (diseases affecting the nervous system)

Research Psychologists

• Focus on planning and conducting research in various psychological domains
• Validate tools used for research