Psychology as a science 8.
Environmental psychologists study the ways in ~
Psychology – scientific study of behavior and mental
processes
Psychology thus seeks to describe, explain, predict, and
control
*pure research – no immediate application
*applied research – designed to find solutions to specific
personal or social problems
Fields of Pyschology
1. Clinical Psychologist- evaluate problems such as
anxiety and depression through interviews and
psychological tests.
Ex. Face threats such as public speaking
2. Counseling psychologists-their clients typically have
adjustment problems but not serious psychological
disorders.
Ex. Trouble making academic or vocational decisions
3. School psychologists help school systems identify and
assist students who have problems that interfere with
learning. They help schools make decisions about placing
students in special classes
4. Educational psychologists research theoretical issues
related to learning, measurement, and child
development. They study how learning is affected by
psychological factors such as motivation and intelligence,
sociocultural factors such as poverty and acculturation,
and teacher behavior.
5. Developmental psychologists study the changes-
physical, cognitive, social, and emotional-that occur
across the life span. They try to sort out the effects of
heredity and the environment on development.
6. Personality psychologists identify and measure
human traits and determine influences on human
thought processes, feelings, and behavior. They are
particularly concerned with issues such as anxiety,
aggression, and gender roles.
7. Social psychologists are concerned with the nature
and causes of individuals' thoughts, feelings, and
behavior in social situations. Focuses on social
influences.
which people and the environment-the natural ~
environment and the human-made environment- §j --,
influence one another.
9. Experimental psychologists specialize in basic
processes such as the nervous system, sensation and
perception, learning and memory, thought, motivation,
and emotion.
Ex. Study which areas of the brain are involved in solving
math problems
10. Industrial psychologists focus on the relationships
between people and work.
11. Organizational psychologists study the behavior of
people in organizations such as businesses.
12. Human factors psychologists make technical systems
such as automobile dashboards and computer keyboards
more user-friendly.
13. Consumer psychologists study the behavior of
shoppers in an effort to predict and influence their
behavior.
14. Health psychologists examine the ways in which
behavior and attitudes are related to physical health.
they study the effects of stress on health problems
exercising and quitting smoking.
15. Sport psychologists help athletes concentrate on
their performance
16. Forensic psychologists apply psychology to the
criminal justice system. may also treat psychologically ill
offenders, consult with attorneys on matters such as
picking a jury, and analyze criminals' behavior and
mental processes.
History of Psychology
Aristotle
 Science could treat info through senses
 Five senses
 Cause and effect
 Rational thought
 Laws of associationism
 Seek pleasure and avoid pain
 Human behavior like the movement of the stars
is subject to rules and laws.
 Democritus  B.F Skinner - organisms learn to behave in
 Behavior in terms of a body and mind certain ways because they have been reinforced
 Behavior is influenced by external stimulation  Reward and punsishment
 Free will or choice  Learning through reinforcement- a stimulus that
follows a response
Socrates  studies relationships, between stimuli and
 Know thyself responses
 Introspection- careful examination of one’s own 4. Gestalt Psychology
thoughts and emotions to achieve self  Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kohler
knowledge  focused on perception and on how perception
 people are social creatures who influence one influences thinking and problem solving.
another.  tendency to organize perceptions into wholes
Theoder Fechner and to integrate separate stimuli into
 Elements of Pyschophysics meaningful patterns
 How physical events are related to sensation  showed that we tend to perceive separate
and perception pieces of information as integrated wholes,
 How we can scientifically measure the effects of depending on the contexts in which they occur.
these events  learning could be active and purposeful, not
merely responsive and mechanical
Schools of Psychology  learning, especially in problem solving, is
1. Structuralism accomplished by insight, not by mechanical
 Wilhelm Wundt repetition.
 Used introspection 5. Psychoanalysis
 Conscious experience into objective (sight or  Sigmund Freud
taste) and subjective(will, emotional responses,  most of the mind is unconscious
mental images-dreams) sensations  psychotherapy, psychoanalysis,
 mind consists of three basic elements-
sensations, feelings, and images-that combine ,
to form experience
2. Functionalism
 William James
 Relationship between conscious experience and
behavior
 Stream of consciousness is fluid n continuous
 Experience cannot be broken down into
objective and subjective
 Focus on behavior in addition to consciousness
 Help us function more adaptively in our
environment
3. Behaviorism
 John Broadus Watson
 Stream of consciousness as well as observable
behavior
 Focuses on learning observable behavior- heart
rate, blood pressure, brain waves
 Psychology- study of behavior, not of behavior
and mental processes