Most psychologists see the roles of both nature and nurture in

Introduction to Psychology the lives of human beings.

Nature Nurture
PSYCHE + LOGOS
(mind) (study)  Human beings  Knowledge is
“study of the mind” have an inborn acquired through
store of knowledge experiences and
Psychology is the systematic, scientific study of behaviors and and understanding interactions with
mental processes. of reality the world
 Descartes: nativist  John Locke: tabula
Psychology uses scientific methods and reasoning view (some ideas rasa (at birth, the
Behavior: Observable actions or responses in both human and are innate) human mind is a
animals blank slate)
Mental Processes: Wide range of complex mental processes:
thinking, imagining, studying and dreaming
Schools of Psychology

Psychology Alphabet STRUCTURALISM: Elements of the Mind

A : Affect : emotions, mood Study of the most basic elements, primarily sensations and
B : Behavior : actions perceptions that make up our conscious mental experiences
C : Cognition : mental activities
Wilhelm Wundt: Father of Psychology
What do Psychologists do? Psychology as an academic discipline
Don’t read minds 1st psychological laboratory at the University of Leipzig, 1879
Don’t estimate one’s character at a glance
Are not authorities on spiritualism, mental telepathy and Wundt relied on introspection (observing and recording the
fortune-telling nature of one’s own perceptions, thoughts and feelings). He
Psychologists are responsible for nonmedical aspects of analyzed sensations, which they thought was the key to
diagnosis and therapy analyzing the structure of the mind. His studies were criticized
Works closely with a psychiatrist because it was based on the participants’ self-report and not on
objective measurements.
Psychologist Psychiatrist When introspection proved to be insufficient, Wundt
Has a PhD, specialized in a A medical doctor (MD), supplemented his studies with experiments.
clinical sub area, has spent an spent several years in clinical
additional year in supervised training which includes FUNCTIONALISM: Functions of the Mind
therapy setting to gain diagnosing possible physical Study of function rather than the structures of consciousness
experience in diagnosing and and neurological causes of
treating a wide range of abnormal behaviors and William James: Father of Modern Psychology
abnormal behaviors. treating these behaviors, Wrote the first textbook in 1890: Principles of Psychology
Does not assess physical or often with prescription drugs More interested in goals, purposes and functions
neurological causes of mental James viewed mental activities as having developed through
problems or prescribe drugs ages of evolution because of their adaptive functions such as
helping humans survive.

4 Goals of Psychology GESTALT: Sensation vs Perception

Emphasized that perception is more than the sum of its parts
DESCRIBE EXPLAIN PREDICT CONTROL and studied how sensations are assembled into meaningful
the different the causes of how an organism’s perceptual experiences
ways that behavior organisms behavior
organisms will behave in Max Wertheimer
behave certain Wertheimer, together with Wolfgang Köhler and Kurt Koffka,
situations studied the phi phenomenon (apparent motion) or the
perception of movement by briefly flashing one light and then,
History a short time later, a second light.
Gestalt psychologists argued that this perception results from a
The study of Psychology can be traced from Greece about 2500 whole pattern or a Gestalt.
years ago when philosophers posed fundamental questions
about mental life.
Behaviorism: Observable behaviors
PHIL + SOPHIA Emphasized the objective, scientific analysis of observable
(love) + (wisdom) behaviors
“lovers of wisdom”
John B. Watson
“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle (SPA) believed that the mind special world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any
and soul are essentially the same one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I
might select- doctor, lawyer, artist…”
Hippocrates: Father of Medicine Rejected introspection
Deeply interested in physiology (study of the functions of the Watson stated that Psychology should be considered as an
living organism & its parts) He made important observations objective, experimental science, whose goal should be the
about the brain controls various organs of the body, setting the analysis of observable behavior and the prediction and control
stage for what became the biological perspective in Psychology. of those behaviors.
Modern Approaches
Each approach has a different focus or perspective and may use
a different research method or technique. By using one or more
approaches, psychologists can learn about the case from
different viewpoints.
6 commonly used approaches
Biological How our genes, hormones, and nervous
*psychobiologists system interact with our environments to
influence learning, personality, memory,
motivation, emotions, cognitive techniques
and other traits and abilities.
Cognitive How we process, store, and use information
*cognitive and how this information influences what
psychologists we attend to, perceive, learn, remember,
believe and feel. Studies other aspects of
human behavior: social interactions,
development of stereotypes and forming
attitudes.
Behavioral How organisms learn new behavior or
*behaviorists modify existing ones, depending on
whether events in their environment
reward or punish these behaviors.
Psychoanalytic Based on the belief that childhood
*psychoanalysts experiences greatly influence the
development of later personality traits and
psychological problems; also stresses out
unconscious fears, desires and motivations
on thoughts and behaviors.
According to Freud, the first five years have
a significant effect on personality
development.
Humanistic Emphasizes that each individual has great
*humanists freedom in directing his or her future, a
large capacity for achieving personal
growth, a considerable amount of intrinsic
worth and enormous potential for self-
fulfilment
Emphasizes the positive side of human
nature: freedom, potential and creativity
Cross-cultural Studies the influence of cultural and ethnic
similarities and differences on psychological
and social functioning
Fields of Psychology
Biological Ψ relationship between biological
processes and behavior
Experimental Ψ use experimental methods to study
how people react, perceive, learn and
remember
Developmental Ψ examines moral, social, emotional
and cognitive development
throughout a person’s lifetime
Industrial/Organization focuses on improving worker
(I/O) efficiency and satisfaction
Social Ψ study of social interactions,
stereotypes, prejudices, attitudes,
conformity, group behaviors and
aggression
Personality Ψ study of personality development,
personality change, assessment and
abnormal behaviors
Clinical Ψ apply psychological principles to the
diagnosis and treatment of emotional
and behavioral problems
Counseling Ψ many of the same functions as a
clinical psychologists but often deal
with less serious problems
School Ψ evaluate learning and emotional
problems of children
Educational Ψ specializes in learning and teaching
Other branches: Child Ψ, Adolescent Ψ, Senescent Ψ,
Consumer Ψ, Abnormal Ψ, Forensic Ψ, Sport Ψ etc
Research Methods
Survey Asking many individuals to answer
a fixed set of questions about
particular subjects
 may contain errors or be biased
because people may not remember
accurately or answer truthfully
 obtains much information from a
large number of people
Case Study In-depth analysis of the thoughts,
feelings, beliefs, experiences,
behaviors or problems of a single
individual
 the detailed information may not
apply to other clients
 the detailed information allows
greater understanding of a client
Correlational Method Association or relationship
between the occurrences of two or
e.g. more events
Correlation between Correlation coefficient: number
extraversion and that indicates the strength of a
academic performance of relationship between two or more
college students events: the closer the number is to
-1.00 or +1.00, the greater the
strength of the relationship
+1.0 perfect positive corr coeff
positive corr coeff
0 zero correlation
negative corr coeff
-1.0 perfect negative corr coeff
+/- indicates the direction of the
relationship ( + if A then B or if
A then B, - if A then B or if
A then B)
The obtained value indicates the
strength of association. The nearer
the value is to ±1.0, the stronger
the relationship between the two
factors.
Introduction 2

Experimental Method
e.g.
The effect of Imagery
Training Program IV on
the Test Anxiety levels DV
 does not establish causal Observation Obtaining information through the
relationships between factors senses
 the strength and direction of the Overt: the person is aware that he is
association between factors are being observed
known Covert: without the awareness and
agreement of the person being
observed
Method for identifying cause-and-
effect relationships by following a
set of rules and guidelines that
minimized the possibility of error,
bias and chance occurrences
References:

of First year students of
CTHM
Evaluating the
effectiveness of a
social skills training IV on
children with external
behavioral problems DV
Independent Variable: variable Plotnik, R. (2005). Introduction to Psychology. (7th ed.). Ca: Wadsworth Publishing
manipulated, independent of what Company
the participant does
Smith, E., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Fredrickson, B. & Loftus, G. (2003). Atkinson &
Dependent Variable: variable Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology. Singapore: Thomson Learning.
being measured, depends on the IV
Teh, L. & Macapagal, E. (Eds.) (2007). General Psychology. Quezon City: The Ateneo
De Manila University Press
 information obtained in
laboratory settings may not apply
to other situations
 greatest potential for identifying
cause-and-effect relationships with
less error and bias

Scientific Method:

1. Ask: begin with one or more specific questions that are

changed into specific hypotheses. Hypothesis is an
educated guess about some phenomenon and is stated in
precise, concrete language to rule out any confusion or
error in the meaning of its terms
2. Identify: identify the independent and dependent variables
3. Choose: choose the participants or subjects
4. Assign: assign the participants into their corresponding
groups (experimental group: receives the treatment.
control group: same procedures but does not receive the
treatment)
5. Manipulate: administer the treatment to the experimental
group
6. Measure: know how the IV affected the DV
7. Analyze: use statistical procedures to determine whether
the observed differences in the DV are significant

Data gathering techniques

Interview Obtaining information by asking

questions, ranging from open-ended to
highly structured, about a subject’s
behaviors and attitudes, usually in a
one-on-one situation

Questionnaire Obtaining information by asking

subjects to read a list of written
questions and check off specific answers

Standardized test Obtaining information by administering

administration psychological test that has shown to
reliably measure thought patterns,
personality traits, emotions or behaviors

Animal models Involves examining or manipulating

some behavioral, genetic or
physiological factor that closely
approximates some human problem,
disease or condition

Introduction 3