An introduction to psychology I

D Caroline Piske de A. Mohamed

1. Psychology Objectives:
Students should be able to explain and discuss: a) Definition of psychology b) Objectives of psychology c) Current models in psychology d) Psychology in dentistry

Major Foci
Psychology has had several major foci: It began as the science of mental life. In the 1920s to 1960s, the definition focused on the science of observable behavior. In the 1960s, there was a reemphasis on mind and mental processes. It became the science of behavior and mental processes. The latter part of the 1960s also ushered in the focus on the study of animal behavior and development of animals.

a) Definition of psychology
Psychology The word psychology literally means, "study of the soul it is an academic and applied discipline that involves the scientific study of mental functions and behaviors.

b) Objectives of psychology
Psychology has the immediate goal of understanding individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases, and by many accounts it ultimately aims to benefit society. 1, 2 Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, while also exploring the physiological and neurobiological processes that underlie certain cognitive functions and behaviors.5

Objectives of Psychology
TO STUDY PHENOMENON
--to understand behavior or events --to make descriptions --to provide explanations --to make predictions

TO INTERPRET FINDINGS
--to modify behavior and mental processes --to develop theories

TO DEVELOP ETHICAL STANDARDS

--to monitor ethical standards and a code of conduct --to protect human subjects --to gain subjects' informed consent --to treat animals ethically in research

Goals of Psychology

Describe Explain Predict Change

human behavior and mental processes
Dont Eat Purple Cantelobe

Roles of Psychologists
To conduct or engage in pure (original) research. To discover practical applications to research -- ways to apply findings in real life settings (Applied Research). To conduct counseling and therapy. Consulting and diagnosing occurs in many aspects and sub fields of psychology. Teaching. Observations (occurs in many aspects and sub fields of psychology). Evaluation and Assessment (individual, group, large-scale, national and international)

c) Current models in psychology

Biological Neuroscience Evolutionary Behavior Genetics Cognitive Humanistic Psychoanalytic Learning Sociocultural

The Role of Biology

The Biological Perspective
( nervous system, glands and hormones, genetic factors) Views behavior from the perspective of its biological functioning. For example, how the individual nerve cells are connected, how we inherit certain characteristics from parents and other ancestors that influence our behavior, and so on.

Neuroscience.
Examines such issues as how the body and brain create emotions, memories, and sensory experience (Myers, 2007) Developed tools to study structure and function of nerve cells, roles of various parts of the brain, how genetic and other biological processes contribute to behavior and mental processes

Neuroscience question
What chemical reactions occur in our brains and bodies as a result of stimulations and what reactions do they cause?

Your right hemisphere tries to say the colour but the left hems insists on reading the word.

The Role of Biology

The Evolutionary Perspective ( Charles Darwin and evolution)
The evolutionary perspective focuses on the evolution of behavior and mental processes. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that many kinds of behavior patterns are examples of adaptive behavior.

Behaviorism: Theoretical orientation based on the premise that psychology should study only observable behavior.
Dominated psychology and psychological research for many years. Focuses on the observance of outward behavior rather than the inner workings of mind. Our understanding of how people learn new behaviors. We adapt our behavior based on rewards We learn through experience Behavior can be changed

The Role of Biology

Behavior genetics is the field of study that examines the role of genetics in animal (including human) behavior. Behavioural geneticists study inheritance of behavioral traits.

The Role of the Mind

The Cognitive Perspective
The cognitive perspective emphasizes the role that

thoughts

play in determining

behavior.
Investigates

how individuals know, understand and think about the world.

shifted from learning about the structure of the mind, to learning about how people understand and represent the outside world within themselves; and, the impact of this
The model has

understanding on behavior.

how we encode, process, store and retrieve information.

Looks in detail at the human and animal information processing system
-

Studies

how

we

process

information

through

perception, attention,

language, memory, and thinking.

How they influence our thoughts, feelings, behaviors and ability to operate in our world.

Past experiences make the difference between one person's perception and another's.

Can you give an example in the dental field to illustrate this?

The Role of the Mind

The Humanistic Perspective A perspective that believes that people basically strive for good. People are naturally inclined to develop toward higher levels of maturity and fulfillment, and if given the opportunity, will strive to reach their full potential. Also believes that man has free will -- the choice to make decisions about one's own life.
.

The Role of the Mind

The Psychoanalytic Perspective
Views behavior as motivated by inner forces over which the individual has little control. Views behavior as springing from unconscious drives and conflicts.

The Role of the Mind

The Learning Perspective
( environmental influences, learning, observational learning John Watson and Behaviorism ) The learning perspective emphasizes the effects of experience on behavior. Personal experiences and reinforcement guide individual development.

The Role of Experience

The Sociocultural Perspective
The sociocultural perspective focuses on the influences of ethnicity, gender, culture, and socio-economic status on behavior and mental processes. Examines how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures.

Evolution of Definitions of Psychology

Structuralists & functionalists "The science of mental life" Behaviorists "The science of observable behavior" Current definition "The science of behavior and mental processes"

Major Issues and Questions in Psychology

I. Nature vs. Nurture What is behavior attributable to -- heredity or

environment?
Nature Genetics / heredity / biology The extent behavior is determined by our genetic endowment

Nurture Environment
The extent behavior is determined by the environment in which it occurs

"Nurture works on what nature endows, Genetics sets the limits of capability Environment determines where within those limits you will fall
"Rainbow" and "CC"

 Are genes or environment most influential in determining the behavior of individuals and in accounting for differences among people?
Most scientists now agree that both genes and environment play crucial roles in most human behaviors, and yet we still have much to learn about how nature (our biological makeup) and nurture (the experiences that we have during our lives) work together (Harris, 1998; Pinker, 2002). Nature and nurture interact in complex ways, making the question of Is it nature or is it nurture? very difficult to answer

II. Conscious vs. Unconscious Determinants of Behavior

To what extent is behavior attributable to unconscious mind as compared to conscious mind? To what extent are we conscious of our own actions and the causes of them, and to what extent are our behaviors caused by influences that we are not aware of? Many of the major theories of psychology, ranging from the Freudian psychodynamic theories to contemporary work in cognitive psychology, argue that much of our behavior is determined by variables that we are not aware of. (Wegner, 2002).

Controversy: Is abnormal behavior

the result of unconscious factors or faulty thinking patterns?

III. Observable Behavior vs. Internal Mental Processes.

Should psychology concentrate solely on behavior that can be seen by outside observers, or should unseen thinking processes represent the focus of the field?

V. Individual Differences vs. Universal Principles

To what extent is behavior a consequence of the unique and special qualities that each possess or universal patterns? Do we share similar biological makeup and similar experiences? To what extent are we all similar, and to what extent are we different? For instance, are there basic psychological and personality differences between

men and women, or are men and women by and large similar?
And what about people from different ethnicities and cultures? Are people around the world generally the same, or are they influenced by their backgrounds and environments in different ways?

IV. Freedom of Choice vs. Determinism

How much of our behavior is a matter of free will, and how much is subject to determinism? Determinism: The idea that everything that happens has a cause or determinant in the observable world. Free will: The idea that human behavior is caused by a persons independent decisions not by external determinants and that this behavior is independent of physics and the chemistry of the body

d) Psychology in dentistry
Dental health care is a two-person endeavor. Barriers or resistances to dental care from the healthcare professional ( stress, concerns about fee, time pressure). How to reduce professional stress Concerns about fee, time, stress in both sides. Special systems for conducting effective interviews for differentiating between phobic or anxious patient and for recognizing avoidance behavior.

Importance of psychology in Dentistry:

Dentists express their necessities of knowing certain aspects of psychology that could be useful in the relations with their patients. Five areas in consideration are: Psychological management of the dental patient. Psychological consequences of the dental disease. Dental disease psychogenesis. Patient first contact behavior. Aspects of work organization.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Dentistry and Health

A question.. Why is psychology important in dentistry? ???

1st
oral self-care and other routine care is critical to the maintenance of oral health, and to general health as well. Psychology as the science of behavior gives us insight into how we can help people develop and maintain those skills.

2nd
Dental students must have excellent communications skills and be able to develop rapport rapidly. 10% to 30% of the population worldwide has dental fears or anxiety. For both items, psychology offers knowledge and techniques for enhancing the care of patients.
Eitner et al., 2006Lahti et al., 2007

3 rd
We sometimes think that dentistry is all about removing short-term pain, but we forget about the 10% to 15% of the population who experience chronic temporomandibular disorders, other facial pains, or neuralgias. Oral parafunctional behaviors like

clenching and grinding may be strongly associated with chronic pain and are interesting behaviors in their
own right.

Psychology offers techniques for managing pain and parafunctional behaviors.

Drangsholt & LeResche, 1999; Glaros et al., 2005

4th
Special needs populations
Individuals with special needs also need oral care, and communities benefit from public health interventions.

Geriatric populations are most likely to need dentures, and depression is a major risk factor in patient dissatisfaction with dentures.
Psychological knowledge can be used to provide high levels of services to these individuals and communities. Mentally challenged Chronically ill Geriatrics

Public health
Community interventions

th 5 Quality of life
Dentistry is also about quality of life.

The ability to eat foods and the social context of eating, smiling and talking has a major impact on quality of life, whether were discussing an infant with a craniofacial anomaly or an elderly person has lost all his or her teeth. Craniofacial abnormalities Edentualism

Gordon et al., 2004; Lee et al., 2007

6th
Esthetic dentistry
And finally, esthetic dentistry is clearly on the rise.

Esthetic dentistry deals with the psychological issues of selfperception, self-esteem, and beauty.
Orthodontics Crowns, veneers

Reconstruction

 Have I convinced you that psychology can play an important role in dental education? I hope so.

 Lets remember What are the primary skills that dental students need that draw heavily on psychology?

Psychology Skills Useful for Dental Students

Communication Fear/anxiety management Management of disruptive child Patient interventions to enhance self-care Motivational interviewing Pain management

 How we treat our patients is as important as our level of technical ability.

Is a must to establishing a rapport with patients-fully discussing their treatment (and their fears) whilst building a stronger patientdentist relationship. Rather than rushing the treatment, we should allow our patients to fully relax before explaining the procedure in detail, explain the implications of the treatment, how he or she will feel and how and why they should feel confident, relaxed and in very safe hands.

References
1 ."How does the APA define "psychology"?". Retrieved 15 November 2011. 2."Definition of "Psychology (APA's Index Page)"". Retrieved 20 December 2011. O'Neil, H.F.; cited in Coon, D.; Mitterer, J.O. (2008).Introduction to psychology: Gateways to mind and behavior (12th ed., pp. 1516). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Sarah J. Erickson, PhD; Melissa Gerstle, BA; Sarah W. Feldstein, MS Brief Interventions and Motivational Interviewing With Children, Adolescents, and Their Parents in Pediatric Health Care SettingsA Review Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159(12):1173-1180. doi:10.1001/archpedi.159.12.1173.

Highly recommended
Brief Interventions and Motivational Interviewing With Children, Adolescents, and Their Parents in Pediatric Health Care SettingsA Review . Sarah J. Erickson, PhD; Melissa Gerstle, BA; Sarah W. Feldstein, MSArch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159(12):1173-1180. doi:10.1001/archpedi.159.12.1173 .

Activity
Homework Make a 1 page research about how memory affects behaviour.

References
Introduction to Psychology Charles Stangor Saylor.org In. Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books/2 Following articles copies available at the copy office. Brush up in communication Contemporary perspectives Free will vs determinism

Thanks