Lecture 1 Theme Introduction to Psychology Contents 1

Lecture 1 Theme: Introduction to Psychology Contents 1 - What is Psychology 2 - Approaches to Psychology 3 -Fields of Psychology

Psychology • is the scientific study of human mind and behaviour: how we think, feel, act and interact individually and in groups. • Psychology is the study of cognitions, emotions, and behavior.

The study of psychology has five basic goals: • 1. Describe – The first goal is to observe behavior and describe, often in minute detail, what was observed as objectively as possible • 2. Explain – While descriptions come from observable data, psychologists must go beyond what is obvious and explain their observations. In other words, why did the subject do what he or she did? • 3. Predict – Once we know what happens, and why it happens, we can begin to speculate what will happen in the future. There’s an old saying, which very often holds true: "the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. "

• 4. Control – Once we know what happens, why it happens and what is likely to happen in the future, we can excerpt control over it. In other words, if we know you choose abusive partners because your father was abusive, we can assume you will choose another abusive partner, and can therefore intervene to change this negative behavior. • 5. Improve – Not only do psychologists attempt to control behavior, they want to do so in a positive manner, they want to improve a person’s life, not make it worse. This is not always the case, but it should always be the intention.

Approaches to Psychology • The behaviorist approach which looks at the way that our environment affects our behavior. Behaviorists are interested in learning and habits, and they often believe that psychologists should study only behavior, not thoughts and experiences, as behavior is the only thing that other people can really see.

The cognitive approach • The cognitive approach which is all about the study of our mental processes. • Cognitive psy chologists believe that if we want to understand how they think, remember and reason. The are interested in how we interpret and make sense of the world around us.

The biological approach • which is all about how our internal physiological processes and our genetic make up influence our behavior. However, human beings are not biological robots: our biology is designed to enable us to act more effectively in the real world. So biological psychologists are interested in the interactions between our environment and our internal physiology, and how those interactions influence our experience.

The social approach • which is to do with how we interact with other people. • Some social psychologists emphasize the individual factors that are involved in social behavior; some are interested in social beliefs and attitudes; others are interested in groups and shared social experience.

The development approach • which is to do with how human beings (and sometimes animals) change over time. Developmental psychologists tend to be particularly interested in three areas of human development: emotional development, social development, and cognitive development. • However, as the person who is developing is a young human being, it isn’t always easy to separate three areas: each can influence the others.

The humanistic approach • which focuses on individual experience, rather than on people in general. Humanistic psychologists are particularly concerned with personal growth and with what people’s subjective experience is like. They regard every individual as unique and are interested in helping people to uncover and use their own special potential.

Fields of Psychology • Educational psychology is concerned with children and young people in educational and early years settings. Educational psychologists tackle challenges such as learning difficulties, social and emotional problems, issues around disability as well as more complex developmental disorders. • They work in a variety of ways including observations, interviews and assessments and offer consultation, advice and support to teachers, parents, the wider community as well as the young people concerned. They research innovative ways of helping vulnerable young people and often train teachers, learning support assistants and others working with children.

Social Psychology • Social psychology looks at a wide range of social topics, including group behavior, social perception, leadership, nonverbal behavior, conformity, aggression and prejudice. • It is important to note that social psychology is not just about looking at social influences. Social perception and social interaction are also vital to understanding social behavior.

Personality Psychology • Personality psychology looks at the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behavior that make a person unique. Some of the best-known theories in psychology have originated in this field, including Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality and Erikson's theory of psychosocial development.

Experimental Psychology • Experimental psychology is an area of psychology that utilizes scientific methods to research the mind and behavior. • Experimental psychologists work in a wide variety of settings including colleges, universities, research centers, government and private businesses.

Cognitive Psychology • Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology that studies mental processes including how people think, perceive, remember and learn. • As part of the larger field of cognitive science, this branch of psychology is related to other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics.

Comparative Psychology • Comparative psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the study of animal behavior. • Modern research on animal behavior began with the work of Charles Darwin and Georges Romanes and has continued to grow into a multidisciplinary subject. Today, biologists, psychologists, anthropologists, ecologists, geneticists and many others contribute to the study of animal behavior.

Developmental Psychology • This field of psychology looks at development throughout the lifespan, from childhood to adulthood. The scientific study of human development seeks to understand explain how and why people change throughout life. This includes all aspects of human growth, including physical, emotional, intellectual, social, perceptual and personality development.

Abnormal Psychology • Abnormal psychology is a field of psychology that deals with psychopathology and abnormal behavior. The term covers a broad range of disorders, from depression to obsessioncompulsion to sexual deviation and many more. Counselors, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists often work directly in this field.

Biopsychology • Biopsychology is a field of psychology that analyzes how the brain and neurotransmitters influence our behaviors, thoughts and feelings. • This field can be thought of as a combination of basic psychology and neuroscience.

Clinical Psychology • Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental illness, abnormal behavior and psychiatric problems.