Chapter 1: What Is Psychology? PDF

Chapter 1: What is Psychology? James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a public...

Chapter 1: What is Psychology? James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 1  General Points about Psychology Psychology: The systematic study of behavior and experience. General statements about psychology that are reoccurring: Aspects of behavior depend on a variety of things, such as age, health, past experience, and even whether one is asleep or awake. Progress in research depends on good measurement. Confidence in the conclusions should depend on the strength of the evidence. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 2 James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 3  Major Philosophical Issues in Psychology Free Will vs. The Mind-Brain The Nature-Nurture Determinism Problem Issue Determinism: Every Dualism: The mind How behavior event has a cause. is separate from the differences relate to brain but controls it, heredity and Free will: Behavior is and therefore, the environment caused by rest of the body. differences. independent decisions. Monism: Conscious experience is inseparable from the brain. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 4  Discussion Activity 1 As a class, brainstorm a list of evidence that supports the following: a. Determinism b. Free will c. Dualism d. Monism e. Nature f. Nurture James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 5  What Psychologists Do Psychologists work in many occupational settings. While psychologists work in a variety of settings, some are more common. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 6  Service Providers to Individuals Clinical Other Mental Health Psychologists Psychiatrists Professionals Advanced degree in MD degree plus 4 Psychoanalysts psychology (MS, years residency Clinical social PhD). training, PsyD. workers Specialty in helping Deal with emotional Counseling people with disturbances. psychological psychologists Can prescribe drugs. problems. Forensic psychologists James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 7  Service Providers to Organizations (1 of 2) Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology: Study of people at work Hiring the right person for the job Providing feedback to employees to improve performance Structuring the work to aid productivity and satisfaction Human Factors: Also referred to as ergonomics, tries to facilitate the operation of machinery to increase efficiency and safety. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 8  Service Providers to Organizations (2 of 2) Military School Psychologists Community Psychologists Psychologists Specialists who Specialists in the Professors, provide services to psychological researchers, program the military. condition of students. directors or policy developers. Similar to I/O. Identify and plan for educational needs. Promote mental Leadership about health and well-being strategies, enemies, for a community. culture, and difficulties of battle. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 9  Psychologists in Teaching and Research (1 of 2) Developmental Learning and Cognitive Psychology Motivation Psychology How behavior How behavior is Cognition: Thought changes with age. shaped by outcomes of and knowledge. May include areas of past behaviors and How people make current motivations. language, memory, decisions, solve taste preference. problems, and convert thoughts into language. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 10  Psychologists in Teaching and Research (2 of 2) Biological Evolutionary Social and Cross- Psychology Psychology Cultural Psychology Explains behavior in Explains behavior in Social psychologist: terms of biological terms of the history of Study how an individual factors. the species. influences others, and how others influence an Explains activities of Attempts to explain individual. the nervous system. why we tend to act in particular way Cross-cultural: Effects of drugs and occurs. Compares behavior of hormones, genetics, people from different and evolution. cultures. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 11  Knowledge Check Activity 1 Which type of psychologist might help a department store redesign the store layout, help choose flooring, lighting, placement of mirrors and other design elements to improve help increase sales? a. Forensic b. Industrial/organizational c. Developmental d. Biological James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 12  Knowledge Check Activity 1: Answer Which type of psychologist might help a department store redesign the store layout, help choose flooring, lighting, placement of mirrors and other design elements to improve help increase sales? b. Industrial/organizational An industrial/organizational psychologist helps the company evaluate its options. They can help in planning an organizational structure and organize the workplace (or a store) to increase productivity (sales). For example, different types of flooring will cause shoppers to slow down, different lights make things look more appealing, and mirrors will cause shoppers to look at something. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 13  Should You Major in Psychology? (1 of 2) Psychology courses prepare people to: Evaluate evidence. Organize and write papers. Handle statistics. Listen carefully to what people say. Respect cultural differences. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 14  Should You Major in Psychology? (2 of 2) People with a bachelor’s degree in psychology enter a wide variety of careers or continue their education in professional schools. Those with an advanced degree in psychology have additional possibilities depending on their area of specialization. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 15  Discussion Activity 2 In groups of two or three, discuss the following: a. What is your dream job? What type of education would you need to get a job in that field? b. How will a background in psychology help you succeed in that field? c. What other training in the field of psychology will help you achieve your work- related goals? James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 16  The Early Era Astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology as sciences developed gradually over centuries. Psychology began as a deliberate attempt to start a new science. Highly ambitious field with goals of amassing knowledge that would quickly be comparable to other sciences. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 17 Important Events in Psychology (1 of 2) James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 18 Important Events in Psychology (2 of 2) James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 19  Wilhelm Wundt and the First Psychological Laboratory Wundt created the first laboratory exclusively for psychological research. Sensations and feelings were the elements of experience. Experience is partly under voluntary control; you can shift your attention from one element to another and get a different experience. To test his ideas about experience, he asked his subjects to engage in introspection (to look within oneself). James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 20  Edward Titchener and Structuralism The main question of psychology was the nature of natural experiences, according to Titchener, Wundt’s student. Structuralism: An attempt to describe the structures that compose the mind. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 21  William James and Functionalism The Principles of Psychology (1890) defined many of the questions that continue to dominate psychology. Functionalism focuses on what the mind does rather than what it is, or how we produce useful behaviors. How to strengthen good habits? Can a person attend to more than one item at a time? How do people recognize something they have seen before? How does one’s intention lead to action? James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 22  Knowledge Check Activity 2 Which of the following attempts to describe the processes used in the mind, particularly in the areas of sensations, feelings, and images? a. Introspection b. Structuralism c. Functionalism d. Systematic theories of learning James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 23  Knowledge Check Activity 2: Answer Which of the following attempts to describe the processes used in the mind, particularly in the areas of sensations, feelings, and images? b. Structuralism Titchener typically presented a stimulus and asked his subject to analyze it into its separate features—for example, to look at a lemon and describe its yellowness, brightness, shape, and other characteristics. He called his approach structuralism, an attempt to describe the structures that compose the mind, particularly sensations, feelings, and images. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 24  The Search for the Laws of Learning Early psychologists sought simple laws for predicting behavior and learning. Few early theories of behavior endured. Studying sensation: The study of vision and other sensations garnered most attention by the late 1800s and early 1900s. Early studies differentiated physical stimuli and psychological perception. Psychophysical function is the mathematical description of the relationship between the physical stimulus and its perceived properties James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 25  Darwin and the Study of Animal Intelligence (1 of 2) Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection greatly impacted psychology as well as biology. Comparative psychologist compares different animal species. Early comparative psychologists set out to measure animal intelligence by rank- ordering animals from the smartest to the dullest. They set various species to such tasks as the delayed-response problem and the detour problem. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 26 Darwin and the Study of Animal Intelligence (2 of 2) Delayed-Response Problem Detour Problem James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 27  From Freud to Modern Clinical Psychology Most psychiatrists in the U.S. followed Freud’s methods by the mid-1900s. Freud’s influence in psychology has faded substantially since then. Focus shifted from treating mental illness to helping soldiers deal with wartime traumas after WWII. Psychologists began providing therapy. Clinical psychology as we now know it began to develop. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 28  Recent Trends (1 of 2) Most psychologists today attempt to answer more limited questions. Basic research is study that seeks theoretical knowledge for its own sake. Applied research is study dealing with practical problems. Cognitive psychology (the study of thought and knowledge) has gradually gained in prominence since the 1960s. James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 29  Recent Trends (2 of 2) Rapidly growing fields are: Neuroscience Evolutionary psychology Positive psychology, the study of the predispositions and experiences that make people happy, productive, and successful. New fields of application: Health psychology Sports psychology James W. Kalat, Introduction to Psychology, 12th Edition. © 2022 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. 30