Introduction to Psychology PDF

- an individual's psyche is made up of INTRODUCTION three parts and a person's character is dependent upon which of the three is TO PSYCHOLOGY dominant...

- an individual's psyche is made up of INTRODUCTION three parts and a person's character is dependent upon which of the three is TO PSYCHOLOGY dominant. Plato Psychology as a Science Rational (head) – truth and - the scientific study of behavior and logic mental processes Reason, analyze, weighs decision - seeks to describe, explain, predict, and Decide what’s best control behavior and mental processes Strengthened by experience Theories Spirited (heart) – strong emotions passion, winning - a set of hypothesized statements about the relationships among events Appetitive (digestive and sexual) - pleasures, - Theories propose reasons for comforts, physical satisfactions, and bodily ease relationships among events, as in Just soul – spirit and logic resists perception of a threat can arouse Unjust soul – spirit ignores logic feelings of anxiety. (addiction) - allow us to derive explanations and predictions Structuralism Historical Foundations of Wilhelm Wundt – father of Psychology psychology; founder Used introspection (Socrates) - careful examination of one’s own thoughts and Socrates emotions attempted to break conscious experience Socratic method - asking probing down into objective sensations, and questions to stimulate critical subjective feelings. thinking and illuminating ideas. - Objective sensation – such as sight or tastes - believed that true knowledge comes - Emotional response – memories and from within and can be discovered dreams through introspection and philosophical believed that the mind functions by inquiry combining objective and subjective elements of experience. Plato Functionalism - Psyche – soul - Tripartite William James  He focused on the relation between proposes that much of our lives is conscious experience and behavior governed by unconscious ideas and Functionalists looked at how our impulses that originate in childhood experience helps us function more conflicts adaptively in our environments—for example, how habits help us cope with Three elements common situations Id – primal urges, wants How do behavior and mental processes Ego – that part of the id which has been help people adapt to the requirements of modified by the direct influence of the their lives? external world. Works by reason Superego – ideals, values, and morals Behaviorism Contemporary Perspectives in Psychology the school of psychology that focuses on learning observable behavior Biological Perspective behaviorists define psychology as the scientific study of behavior, not of seek the relationships between the brain, behavior and mental processes hormones, heredity, and evolution, on studies relationships between stimuli the one hand, and behavior and mental and responses processes on the other Classical Conditioning – Ivan Pavlov made possible by the nervous system - Unconditioned and conditioned stimulus and especially by the brain Operant Conditioning – BF Skinner - Punishment and rewards Humanistic-Existential Perspective Gestalt Psychology Humanism stresses the human capacity for self-fulfillment and the central roles Max Wertheimer of consciousness, self-awareness, and Gestalt psychologists focused on decision making perception and how perception Existentialism views people as free to influences thinking and problem solving choose and as being responsible for German word “gestalt” – pattern or choosing ethical conduct. organized whole we cannot explain human perceptions, Psychodynamic Perspective emotions, or thought processes in terms of basic units pioneered by Sigmund Freud Gestalt psychologists showed that we emphasizes unconscious psychological tend to perceive separate pieces of processes information as integrated wholes depending on the contexts in which they Sociocultural Perspective occur Psychoanalysis many psychologists believe we cannot understand people’s behavior and Sigmund Freud  mental processes without reference to their diversity Fields of Psychology - Clinical psychologists - help people with psychological disorders adjust to the demands of life. - Counseling psychologists - Their clients typically have adjustment problems but not serious psychological disorders. - School psychologists - employed by school systems to identify and assist students who have problems that interfere with learning. - Educational psychologists -usually focus on course planning and instructional methods for a school system rather than on individual children - Developmental Psychologists - study the changes—physical, cognitive, social, and emotional—that occur throughout the lifespan. - Social psychologists - concerned with the nature and causes of individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior in social situations