Introduction to Psychology PDF

Introduction to Psychology Course: QBV00104 Lecturer: Madam Sarah Zainal Objective Introduce the broad field of psychology and the many approaches that psychologists take to understanding human development and behaviour. Provide deeper understanding of psychology and new ways of thi...

Introduction to Psychology Course: QBV00104 Lecturer: Madam Sarah Zainal Objective Introduce the broad field of psychology and the many approaches that psychologists take to understanding human development and behaviour. Provide deeper understanding of psychology and new ways of thinking on thoughts, feelings, and actions.  01 Introduction to Psychology 02 History of Psychology General Overview of different 03 approaches to Psychology 04 QnA Table of Contents  What is Psychology? systematic & scientific study of behavior and the mental process that is tested through scientific research from the root word Psyche: Mind Logos: Knowledge or study  What is Psychology? Psychologists study overt and covert behavior Overt behaviors = observable behavior Covert behaviors = private mental processes that cannot be directly observed/measured and must be inferred from overt behavior Examples overt behaviours: Laughing, walking, eating, gestures, facial expression etc Examples covert behaviour: Perceiving, remembering, reasoning, thinking, creating, feelings etc HOW Goal of DO WE DO THIS? Psychology? Psychologists seek to do four things when studying behaviors: Describe: What is the nature of the behaviour? It gathers information on studied behavior and present what is known. Explain: Why does it occur? Creating a hypothesis to understand why a behaviour is practiced. HOW Goal of DO WE DO THIS? Psychology? Predict: By studying past behaviours, future behaviours can be predicted based upon theory Control behaviours: What factors influence the behaviour? Influence- using what is known to influence future behavior. History of Psychology How did Psychology begin? Structuralism: Elements of the Mind Functionalism: Functions of the Mind Gestalt Approach: Sensations versus Perceptions Behaviourism: Observable Behaviors Structuralism was the study of the most basic elements, primarily sensations and perceptions, that make up our conscious mental experiences Founded by Wilhelm Wundt Credited to him for making psychology an independent science, separate from philosophy Wundt’s original training was in medicine, but he became deeply interested in psychology. Structuralism In his laboratory, Wundt investigated how sensations, images, and feelings combine to make up personal experience. In 1879, he used people’s self observations about their thoughts (introspection) to map out structure of the thought process Functionalism Study of the function and how people & animals adapt to environment. focuses on how the mind functions to help us adapt and survive William James – known as the “father of psychology” taught first psych class in 1875 and wrote first textbook in 1890. He was concerned with ongoing conscious experience and the functions of mental processes. His views gave rise to the branch of psychology called Functionalism. Gestalt Approach emphasized that perception is more than the sum of its parts studied how sensations are assembled into meaningful perceptual experiences Group Activity: What are your views regarding these approaches? How does our interpretation of a situation affect our emotions and how do those emotions affect our thinking? [And from which approach would this be?] What problems exist with regard to studying certain types of psychological phenomena using these approaches of introspection? (altruism, aggression, psychopathology? Overview of Different Approaches to Psychology (mid 1900’s to Present) Psycholological Approaches An approach is a view that involves certain assumptions about human behaviour. There are many different theories within an approach, but they all share the same assumptions. Biological Approach Focuses on how the body and brain enables emotions, memories and sensory experiences Analyzes internal physical responses to situations (i.e blood pressure, heart rate) Explores the link between biology and behaviour Behavioural Approach Study of how people learn or change behavior based upon responses to events in their environment which is only observable and measurable therefore making it objective and scientific believe that our behaviour is primarily determined by our enviornment (no free will) Behavioural Approach B.F Skinner operant conditioning = behaviour reinforced is more likely to occur again Give an example? Positive reinforcement = add something good Negative reinforcement = take away something bad Psychodynamic Approach emphasize on the role of unconscious mental forces and conflicts in determining our behaviour emphasize on the importance of repressed sexual and aggressive impulses (past and present) Sigmund Freud – used free association and dream analysis to study behavior (1940). It looks back at our childhood to make sense of our actions in the present. It believes our choices are heavily influenced by our unconscious mind. Humanistic Approach Belief that each person has freedom in directing his/her future an achieving personal growth. Humans are not controlled by environment, but by their own self concept. Humans are not being controlled by unconscious or environmental forces, we have free will, goals, aspirations and other positive motives which should be studied. Influenced by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow Humanist whose views differed from behaviorists and psychoanalysts. Cognitive Approach is about knowing the processes that happen in our minds. It studies cognition, which are the processes through which knowledge is acquired. Memory, perception and attention are examples of these processes. Group activity: 1.Approach do you think is best? And why? 2.What are the pros and cons to these approaches in practice? Q&A