Module 1 (Introduction, Schools of Psychology, Perspectives) PDF

Module one: Introduction Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes for both humans and animals. It encompasses the biological influences, social pressures, and environmental factors that affect how people think, act, and feel. There are two key words in the definition of...

Module one: Introduction Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes for both humans and animals. It encompasses the biological influences, social pressures, and environmental factors that affect how people think, act, and feel. There are two key words in the definition of Psychology; Scientific - Objective and standard process Behaviour - Overt and Covert An approach or perspective in psychology is a particular view as to why, and how, it is we think, feel, and behave as we do. Basically it is the study of why we do what we do; why we feel the way we feel; why we think as we think; Historical background During the 17th-century, the French philosopher Rene Descartes introduced the idea of dualism, which asserted that the mind and body were two entities that interact to form the human experience. Early Scientific Investigations Psychology as a scientific discipline came into being by the establishment of the first institute of Psychology in 1879 at Leipzig University in Germany by German scientists Wilhelm Wundt. It is in the institute that the first professional psychologists acquired the skills of experimental work to study the mind. Wilhelm Wundt, German physiologists adopted the scientific investigation method to study human reaction times (How do you react to stimuli) - Mid-1800s. Officially published the first book “Principles of Physiological Psychology” in 1873. The book specifically outlined the connection between physiology and human thought and behaviour. For example, when hungry, some people get angry, some others get moody/anxious, while some others feel sleepy. This is an example of a connection between physiology and human behaviour. Hunger is physiological, anger or been moody is behavioural. The opening of the first psychology laboratory In 1879, at University of Leipzig, Germany, officially marked the beginning of Psychology as a separate and distinct scientific discipline. Wilhelm Wundt as an individual perceives Psychology as the study of human consciousness and therefore, seeks to apply experimental methods to studying internal mental processes. This is termed introspection, but now viewed as unreliable. However, his early works sets the stage for modern Psychology. As the time elapsed, the development of Psychology as an independent science got impetus. Psychologists started discarding the different methods and approaches based on speculation and attempted to provide scientific base to the subject. These efforts resulted in the emergence of different schools of thought, such as Structuralism, Functionalism, Behaviorism, Gestaltism, Psychoanalysis, and Humanistic School. The formulation of these schools has led to various approaches to understanding behavior in their ways. MODULE 1.1: SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY Structuralism - Edward B Titchener This is the first school of thought of Psychology, started by Edward B Titchener, who was one of the most famous students of Wilhelm Wundt. This school of thought believes that human consciousness could be broken down into smaller parts through a process called introspection. Structuralism attempted to analyze the three basic elements of consciousness viz., sensations, feelings, and images and in this way provided a systematic study of the mind by analyzing its structure and hence named structuralism. The emphasis is on scientific research, but the method was considered to be unreliable, limiting, and subjective. Functionalism: Functionalism was initiated by William James (1842-1910) the father of American psychology. The other important psychologists belonged to this school were John Dewey, James Angell, etc. Functionalists advocated the functioning of mind as an important aspect. Functionalists utilized methods such as direct observation to study the human mind and behavior. According to them the mind will always help the person to adjust to his environment. They were influenced by Darwin’s theory of evolution and biology. Psycho-Analysis - Sigmund Freud Contributed significant change in the field of Psychology through the introduction of the importance of the unconscious mind to behavior. They believe that events in early childhood have an impact on later life human behavior. In other words, experiences in early childhood contribute to forming later life personality. Concepts such as the Psychosexual stage of human development were introduced by Sigmund Freud. Concepts such as the ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO. Brief Introduction of the Oral and Anal stage of development Behaviorism – This school of thought was started by JB Watson (1878-1958). The other notable psychologists include Thorndike, Pavlov, Skinner, Tolman, Hull, etc. Watson defined psychology as the science of the behavior of the organism. He focused his attention on the study of observable behavior and rejected the invisible inner forces of the mind. Watson rejected the method of Introspection as unreliable and unscientific and advocated the method of observation and checking. Behaviorism emphasizes the conditioned reflexes as elements of behavior. According to Watson conditioned reflexes are learned responses to stimuli. He emphasized the need for objective observation to study human and animal behavior. Until the emergence of this school, psychologists concentrated only on the study of human behavior and there was no room for the study of animal behavior. Watson stressed the role of environment and stimuli in shaping behavior. Gestalt Psychology: This school of thought was established in the year 1912 by three German psychologists Max Wertheimer (1880-1941) and his colleagues Kurt Koffka (1886-1941) and Wolfgang Kohler (1887- 1967). The term Gestalt means ‘Form’ or ‘Configuration’. These psychologists opposed the atomistic or molecular approach to studying behavior. They said the mind is not made up of elements and hence it can be understood better only if we study it as a whole. The main principle of the Gestalt school is “the whole is better than the total of its parts”. According to it, the individual perceives a thing as a whole and not as a mere collection of elements. In the same way, the sensation or perception will be experienced as a whole. For example, when we look at a wooden table, we do not look at it as a bundle of different pieces, but as a whole, only then do we perceive it as a meaningful object. As a result, human behavior is characterized as intelligent behavior, rather than a simple stimulus-response mechanism. In this way, Gestalt psychology strongly opposed the points of view of other schools. Psychoanalysis: Psychology was mainly concentrating on the normal human psyche, until the arrival of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) who founded the school of Psychoanalysis. This theory emerged from the clinical background of mental patients. Freud developed his theory based on unconscious motivation. It includes different concepts like conscious, sub-conscious, and unconscious behavior, the structure of the psyche, repression, catharsis, psycho-sexual development of the child, libido, dream analysis, etc. which help to analyze the total human behavior, particularly from the point of view of understanding abnormal behavior. With the opinion that Freud had given excessive importance to sex, two of his followers separated and established their own school of thought. Alfred Adler (1870-1937) started ‘Individual psychology’ in which he placed power motive in place of Freud’s sex and, Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) started ‘Analytical Psychology’, which emphasizes the development of individual personality from the “Collective Unconscious”. Some other psychologists influenced by Freud who were known as Neo Freudians, also have contributed a lot to modern psychology. Some of the notable figures are Anna Freud (the daughter of Freud), Karen Horney, Sullivan, Eric Fromm, Erik Erickson, etc. Humanistic Psychology: This school of thought was developed by psychologists like Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Rollo May, Gorden Allport, etc. Humanistic psychology gives more value to the human being. Humanists believe that behavior is controlled by our own free will and not by the unconscious or by the environment. They were more interested in solving human problems than in laboratory experiments. Humanists expect each person to reach his full potential and attain self-actualization. As stated in the beginning, the history of psychology is very short. But within this short duration of about 150 years, many psychologists have contributed their knowledge to make psychology a science. It is very difficult to present all the names and their contributions. Module 1.2 Perspectives in Psychology Psychological perspectives are different ways of thinking about and explaining human behavior. Psychologists utilize a variety of perspectives when studying how people think, feel, and behave. Some researchers focus more on one specific school of thought, such as the biological perspective, while others take a more eclectic approach that incorporates multiple points of view. No single perspective is "better" than another. Each emphasizes different aspects of human behavior. Purpose of Psychological Perspectives Psychologists look at every topic in different ways, for example, in the case of the subject of aggression.  A professional who emphasizes a biological perspective would look at how the brain and nervous system impact aggressive behavior.  A professional who stresses a behavioral perspective would look at how environmental variables reinforce aggressive actions.  A professional who utilizes a cross-cultural approach might consider how cultural and social influences contribute to aggressive or violent behavior. Psychodynamic Sigmund Freud was the founder of the psychodynamic approach to psychology. This school of thought emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and interpersonal relationships to explain human behavior, as well as to treat mental illnesses. Psychoanalysis is one of the earliest major forces within psychology. Freud conceived of the mind as being composed of three key elements: the id, the ego, and superego  The id is the part of the psyche that includes all the primal and unconscious desires.  The ego is the aspect of the psyche that must deal with the demands of the real world.  The superego is the last part of the psyche to develop and is tasked with managing all of our internalized morals, standards, and ideals. While the psychodynamic perspective is not as dominant today, it continues to be a useful psychotherapeutic tool. Behavioral Behavioral Psychology is interested in how our behavior results from the stimuli both in the environment and within ourselves. Behavioral psychology focuses on learned behaviors. It was founded on the work of psychologists such as Edward Thorndike and John B. Watson. Behaviorism dominated psychology in the early twentieth century but began to lose its hold during the 1950s. Biological perspective: The biological approach believes humans are the product of genetics and physiology. It is the only approach in psychology that examines thoughts, feelings, and behaviors from a physical point of view. Researchers with a biological perspective on psychology might look at how genetics influence behavior or how damage to specific areas of the brain affects personality. The nervous system, genetics, the brain, the immune system, and the endocrine system are just a few subjects of interest to biological psychologists. Evolutionary perspective Evolutionary perspective focuses on the study of how the theory of evolution can explain physiological processes. Psychologists who take this perspective apply the basic principles of evolution (like natural selection) to psychological phenomena. The evolutionary perspective suggests that these mental processes exist because they serve an evolutionary purpose—meaning that they aid in human survival and reproduction.​​ Developmental Perspective Developmental psychology, also known as Human Development, is the scientific study of progressive psychological changes that occur in human beings as they age. Cross-cultural perspective The focus is on the role of social and cultural factors and especially on differences between cultural, ethnic, gender, sexual preference, and racial groups. Cross-cultural psychology is a fairly new perspective that has grown significantly in the last twenty years. Psychologists and researchers in this school of thought look at human behavior across different cultures. By looking at these differences, we can learn more about how culture influences our thinking and behavior. For example, researchers have looked at how social behaviors differ in individualistic and collectivistic cultures.  In individualistic cultures (such as the United States) people tend to exert less effort when they are part of a group—a phenomenon known as social group loafing.  In collectivistic cultures (such as China), people tend to work harder when they are part of a group. ognitive This perspective focuses on our information processes of perception, attention, language, memory, and thinking, and how they influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It emerged during the 1960s. This area of psychology focuses on mental processes like memory, thinking, problem-solving, language, and decision-making. It is influenced by psychologists such as Jean Piaget and Albert Bandura the cognitive perspective has grown tremendously in recent decades. Cognitive psychologists often utilize an information-processing model (comparing the human mind to a computer) to conceptualize how information is acquired, processed, stored, and utilized. Humanistic Perspective The school of humanistic Psychology arrived in the 1950s. It was greatly influenced by the work of prominent humanists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. The humanistic perspective emphasizes the role of motivation in thought and behavior. Concepts such as self-actualization are essential. Psychologists with a humanist perspective focus on what drives humans to grow, change, and develop their potential. Positive Psychology (which focuses on helping people live happier, healthier lives) is a recent movement in psychology with roots in the humanist perspective Goals of Psychology The goals of psychological studies are To describe behaviour To explain behaviour To predict behavior To probably influence behavior or mental processes. To do this, psychologists utilize the scientific method to conduct psychological research.