Introduction to Psychology

Farah Kanwal
M.Phil scholar
 What is psychology?
Psychology: Meaning
Derived from the Greek word psyche and
logos, meaning soul, mind, consciousness,
behaviour and study, to the Greeks,
psychology is simply a study of soul, a study of
mind ,a study of consciousness, a study of
behaviour.
• First stage ‘study of the soul’
? Raised; what is soul? How can it be studied?
• Second stage ‘study of the mind’
Mind mysterious then soul.
? Raised; what is mind? How can it be studied?
• Third stage (1890-1894) ‘psychology as the
study of consciousness’
*said by William James, John Dewey
then what about sub-conscious, unconscious….?
• Fourth stage(1905) ‘Science of human
behaviour’
‘Psychology is a science which aims to give us
better understanding & control of the behaviour
of the organisms as a whole’
Comprehensive Definition (Wade and Tavris, 1996)
• Psychology is defined as the ‘scientific study of
behavior and mental processes’.
Let’s break down the definition
Behavior
• As defined psychologically, refers to actions or
activities of the individual.
Classification of Behavior
Overt Obviously manifested action, activities
and behavior.
Covert Hidden or those actions, activities and
behavior not visible to the naked eye.
Mental Processes – Internal experiences such as:
thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions.
• Psychology is a popular major for students, a popular
topic in the public media, and a part of our everyday
lives.
• The science seeking to describe, understand and
predict the behavior of an organism.
• A science that deals with the study of mind and
behavior.
• Psychology is a science that gathers facts
systematically, organizes them into general principles
and formulates theories out of these factual data.
• Why study psychology?
1. To gain insight into behavior (yours and
others)
2. To acquire practical information (how to
train your dog, improve your memory, etc.)
Goals of Psychology
• To explain or understand why organism
behave in certain ways.
• To predict how organism will behave in the
future.
• To control behavior
 The origins of psychology
Greek period- Studied the nature of the mind, the soul, the body, and human
experience
• Aristotle
_Socrates student
_De Anima
_ First social psychologist
_Soul is the basic element:
Three types of soul
Vegetable soul (resides in plants)
Animal soul (resides in animal)
Rahmal soul (resides in humans)
• He believed that at birth, the mind is a tabula rasa, a blank sheet and that the
experiences one encounters during one’s lifetime are impressed on the mind.
• Mind & body are one (materialism)
• Knowledge grows from experiences & memories
Socrates & Plato: (Dualism)
Socrates and his student Plato believed the
mind was separate from the body, the mind
continued to exist after death, and ideas were
innate.
_Mind and body are separate
_Knowledge is inborn
• Democritus (atomic theory)
• Believed that the human mind and body is
composed of atoms which could circulate
freely and which enabled it to penetrate the
whole body.
• According to him, atoms from our
environment enter through our sense organ
enabling us to perceive the world around us
• Galen
• Galen contributed his theory of the dependence of human
temperament on physiological factors. Differences in behavior is
attributed to the “humors” or vital juices of the body
1. sanguine – cheerful
2. phlegmatic – sluggish, slow, unresponsive
3. melancholic – sad, moody, anxious
4. choleric – easily angered, short-tempered, restless, impulsive ,active
• In “On the Passions and Errors of the Soul” he described a method for
curing diseases of the soul.
_Diseases arise from passions (anger, fear) which can be controlled via
understanding and self-knowledge.
_Self-love blinds us to our own faults without a therapist.
_Galen first described the therapeutic relationship.
• Galen’s works dominated medicine until the Renaissance
 17th Century
• Descartes
Formulated a theory of mind-body interaction. Dualism The belief
that mind and body are different kinds of substances, that exist
independently but somewhat interact. René Descartes: mind and
brain interact at a single point, the pineal body.
_Hydraulic Model
• John Locke
Introduced the Idea as the unit into which all experiences may be
analyzed.
Empiricist View:
Knowledge is acquired through experiences & interactions with the
world
• Galton (1869)
• He was considered as the “Father of Mental
tests”
• Studied individual differences> Developed of
intelligence tests
• Galton is a key figure in modern intelligence
testing. As the first cousin of Charles Darwin, he
attempted to apply Darwin's evolutionary theory
to the study of human abilities. He postulate that
intelligence was quantifiable and normally
distributed.
• Wilhelm Wundt (1879)
• A German psychologist, founded his Psychological
Laboratory at Leipzig university, Germany which
earned for the title of “Father of Scientific
Psychology”
• He first undertook through the experimental
approach, a systematic, scientific body of
knowledge about man’s interaction with his
environment.
• Research: senses (vision), attention, emotion and
memory
• Stanley Hall (1883)
• First American to finish doctoral studies in psychology
• Established the 1st psychological laboratory (US @
John Hopkins Univ)
• Founded the 1st American Journal of psychology
• James Cattell (1888)
• 1st psychology professor in the US in 1888
• student of Wundt.. He was known for designing a
personality test, the 16 PF.
• 19th Century
• Titchener
Structuralism:
Specified mental structures & analyzed the basic elements of
mental life.
– used a systematic procedure to study human behavior
– Introspection – participants report their thoughts and feelings;
researcher tries to map out basic structure of thought process.
• William James
It is very much influenced by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.
Functionalism:
Functions of the mind & behavior to adapt to the environment
John B. Watson (1878-1958)
Behaviorism:
Only observable behavior should be studied
_Emphasized objective and scientific methodology
_Performed the Little Albert Classical Conditioning Study on Fear
Ivan Pavlov
Behaviorist
Russian Physiologist
Studied learning through associations (classical conditioning) in dogs
Emphasized the study of observable behaviors
B.F. Skinner
Believed organisms learn to behave in certain ways because of reinforcement
Studied learning and effect of reinforcement & punishment (Operant Conditioning)
Max Wertheimer (1912)
Gestalt Psychology:
• Gestalt Psychology – believed that perception was more than
the sum of its parts; it involves a “whole pattern”
– Studied how sensations are assembled into perceptual experiences
– Forerunner of cognitive approaches to psychology
• Gestalt psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human mind
and behavior as a whole. Originating in the work of Max Wertheimer,
Gestalt psychology formed partially as a response to the structuralism of
Wilhelm Wundt
• The Importance of Context.
Gestalt psychologists have shown that our perceptions depend not only on
our sensory impressions but also on the context of our impressions.
You will interpret a man running toward you very differently depending on
whether you are on a deserted street at night or the beach in the morning.
• 20th Century
Sigmund Freud
Psychoanalysis:
Human behavior is deeply influenced by unconscious
thoughts, impulses, & desires (sex & aggression)
• Recent development
Noam Chomsky
Modern Linguistics: study of how mental structures are
required to comprehend & speak a language
Neuropsychology: studies the relationship between
neurobiological events & mental processes
 Sub-disciplines of Psychology
• Psychology is not one discipline but rather a
collection of many sub disciplines that all
share at least some common approaches and
that work together and exchange knowledge
to form a coherent discipline (Yang & Chiu,
2009).
• Clinical Psychology:
concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of psychological
disturbances. After graduate preparation in an accredited university
or school of professional psychology, supervised postdoctoral
experience, and licensure or certification by the state, some clinical
psychologists enter independent practice/consulting roles. Others
find themselves responsible for a complete range of psychological
services in public settings. Their responsibilities range from
administering and scoring psychological tests, to engaging in
therapy, to supervising the training of graduate students in the
delivery of mental health services, to administering a community
mental health program. Some clinical psychologists obtain faculty
positions in a college or university where they perform research
and train graduate students. Others serve as adjunct (or part time)
faculty, while maintaining independent clinical practices.
• Educational Psychology
This concerned with the application of psychological
principles to the problems of education like teacher
preparation, motivation and teaching process, evaluation of
teaching.
• concerned with a range of activities from initial design
through development and evaluation of both materials and
procedures for education and training. They may deal with
analyzing education and training needs, with developing
materials for instruction in various media, with designing
the best conditions for instruction, and with evaluating the
effectiveness of instructional programs.
• Social Psychology
• This field examines people’s interactions with other people.
study the ways in which the social context affects the behavior
of the individual and groups in the real world and the
laboratory.
• Social psychologists focus on topics such as social roles,
attitude formation and change, affiliation, interpersonal
attraction and interaction, conformity, and group processes.
Career opportunities
Many social psychologists work in marketing, advertising,
organizational, systems design, and other applied psychology
fields.
• Industrial Psychology
• concerned with the relation between individuals and work. They are
employed in business and industry, in government, and in colleges
and universities, and may perform a variety of jobs. An
industrial/organizational psychologist working in industry may study
how work is organized; suggest changes to improve the satisfaction
of employees, the quality of the organization's services, and
productivity; consult with management on the development of
effective training programs for employees; design programs for the
early identification of management potential; administer career
counseling and pre retirement counseling programs; develop
affirmative action programs; recommend changes in job definition;
design a system of performance evaluation.
• Military psychology:
Military psychology is a special branch of
psychology that focuses specifically on military
personnel and their families. This might involve
performing psychiatric evaluations; assessing and
treating mental and emotional disorders; and
offering counseling services.
Therapy & Counseling Psychology:

concerned with counseling, teaching, consulting research,

or administration. In their work, they are particularly
concerned with the role of education and work in an
individual's functioning, and with the interaction between
individuals and the environments in which they live.
Typically, counseling psychologists work with normal or
moderately maladjusted persons, individually or in groups.
This work includes use of traditional counseling interview
methods, interest, ability, personality tests, educational and
occupational information.
• Developmental Psychology/Child psychology:
It studies the human development, physical,
emotional, social and personality
development across the life span
Developmental psychology primarily focused on
the child development.
But today devotes a great deal of research to
adolescence, adult and old age group.
Cross-cultural psychology
• Is a branch of psychology that looks at how
cultural factors influence human behavior.
Forensic Psychology:
• It is defined as an intersection between
psychology and the criminal justice system.
• Forensic psychologists apply psychological
principles to understand the behavior of
judges, attorneys, courtroom juries, and
others in the criminal justice system.
Cognitive psychology
This field uses sophisticated research
methods, including reaction time and brain
imaging to study higher mental processes such
as memory, thinking, reasoning, information
processing, language, problem solving,
decision making, creativity and artificial
intelligence.
Health Psychology
Health psychology is the field that studies the role of the
psychological factors in the promotion of health and the
prevention of illness.
It has the interest in relationship between stress and illness.
It describes the interaction of biological, psychological and
social factors. This model is known as Biopsychosocial
model.
Career opportunities
Health psychologists work with medical professionals in
clinical settings to promote better health, conduct research,
and teach at universities.
Sports and Exercise Psychology
This field applies psychology to athletic
activities and exercise.
The goal is to understand the psychological
factors that influence performance in sports,
including the role of exercise and team
interactions.
It considers the role of motivation, the social
aspects of sports and physiological impact of
training on muscle development.
Biopsychology and neuroscience
This field examines the physiological bases of
behavior in animals and humans by studying the
functioning of different brain areas and the
effects of hormones and neurotransmitters on
behavior.
Career opportunities:
Most biopsychologists work in research settings—
for instance, at universities, for the federal
government, and in private research labs.
Personality psychology
These psychologists study people and the
differences among them. The goal is to
develop theories that explain the
psychological processes of individuals, and to
focus on individual differences.
• Comparative Psychology
Deals with the behavior and mental processes of
the different species
 Psychology in Everyday Life
• How can psychology apply to your everyday
life? Do you think that psychology is just for
students, academics, and therapists? Then
think again. Because psychology is both an
applied and a theoretical subject, it can be
utilized in a number of ways.
The following are some of the top practical
uses for psychology in everyday life.
Improve Your learning & Memory
One way that the findings of psychological research may be
particularly helpful to you is in terms of improving your learning and
study skills. Psychological research has provided a substantial
amount of knowledge about the principles of learning and memory.
This information can help you do better in this and other courses,
and can also help you better learn new concepts and techniques in
other areas of your life.
The most important thing you can learn in college is how to better
study, learn, and remember. These skills will help you throughout
your life, as you learn new jobs and take on other responsibilities.
There are substantial individual differences in learning and memory,
such that some people learn faster than others
some ways you can use for increasing your memory;
• Focus on the information.
• Rehearse what you have learned.
• Eliminate distractions.
• Become More Productive
• So what lessons from psychology can you use
to increase your productivity? Consider some
of the following:
• Avoid multitasking when working on complex
or dangerous tasks.
• Focus on the task at hand.
• Eliminate distractions.
• Learn to Better Understand Others
• strategies:
• Carefully assess your own emotional
reactions.
• Try to see situations from the perspective of
another person.
• Become a Better Communicator
A few key strategies include the following:
• Use good eye contact.
• Start noticing nonverbal signals in others.
• Learn to use your tone of voice to reinforce
your message.
• Get Motivated
• Introduce new or novel elements to keep your interest
high.
• Learn new things that build on your existing
knowledge.
• Set clear goals that are directly related to the task.
• Improve Your Leadership Skills
• Talk about possible solutions to problems with
members of the group.
• Focus on stimulating ideas and be willing to reward
creativity.
 Mind-Body Connection

In the past, studying of the mind is mainly the province of religion

whereas study of the body is for the science and medical profession.
But ancient healing practices, TCM and Ayurveda have already
emphasized the important link between Mind and Body.
In 1954, the American Society of Psychosomatic Medicine was
founded. Though psychosomatic can also be termed as mind-body, it
has been considered by most to mean “all in the head” and thus lost
its favour. In the 1980s, G. Solomon introduced the field of
psychoneuroimmunology which set the stage for mind-body
medicine.
Thoughts affect our body
After 15 years of research, Dr. Candace and her
Colleagues reached on conclusion that thoughts
themselves invoke chemical reactions in the brain, called
neuropeptides. The neuropeptides then flow to
different parts of the body, influencing it on a physical
level. Since the brain is an equal opportunity employer, it
does not discriminate as to whether the thought is useful
or not. It will process a beneficial thought just as easily as
one that is not.
Neuropeptides travel along the nervous cells
throughout the body. This is how the brain ‘talks’ to the body.
Thus if our brain perceive anger, fear or depression, every
immune cell of the body knows that very quickly.
How words affect our body
When a negative word is used, it causes a negative
reaction to the body resulting in a range of chemical
reactions in the brain which then triggers a response.
Constant repetition of negative words will instill in our
mind that we are failures, worthless and stupid.
Gradually, we will begin to believe this with
manifestation in our body and life.
 Social Interaction in the Digital Era

• The advancement of new technologies has greatly

increased the impact of information systems on daily
human life. As technology continues to rapidly progress,
human-computer interaction is quickly becoming a topic of
interest. Human Behavior, Psychology, and Social
Interaction in the Digital Era combines best practices and
empirical research on social networking and other related
technologies. Emphasizing creative and innovative
implementation across various disciplines, this publication
is a critical reference source for researchers, educators,
students, IT managers, and government healthcare
agencies concerned with the latest research in the fields of
information systems and networks, mobile technology,
cybercrime, and multitasking.