Psych Immersions?

(Connections to something else in

psychology, another text, or your world.)

Critical questions

from the reading?

EQ 1-1

How do the different approaches to psychology compare and contrast?

What is Psychology? Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental

processes Scientific?

Not just common sense or guesses Psychology uses the scientific method Scientific Method is careful observations and the experimental

testing of hypothesis Behavior – what people do on the outside Mental Processes – What is going on inside someone's

head. We call this cognition. Psychology includes the study of both humans and

animals

Cognitive activities including dreams, perceptions, thoughts and memories

6

Approaches to the field of Psychology

1. Biological/Neuroscience

2. Evolutionary

3. Behavioral

4. Cognitive

5. Psychodynamic

6. Humanistic

7. Social

AP Psych Metamap (keep this in the front of your binder)

Psychology It is a Science

Biological Approach

Evolutionary Approach

Behavioral Approach

Social Approach

Psychodynamic Approach

Cognitive Approach

1. Biological/Neuroscience

Psychology Investigates the biological basis of human behavior, thoughts and emotions. Looks at how the following biological mechanisms effect your behavior and mental processes.BrainNeurotransmittersHormonesDrugs (both legal and illegal)Gender differences in brain structure and

function

2. Evolutionary Psychology Asks the question: How did our species get to be the

way we are?Language – Why do we talk?Altruism – Why are we nice to each other?Sexual attraction / mate selection – Why are some people

considered beautiful? Answers these questions by looking at what would

most help us pass on our genetic code. Very concerned with reproduction!

Contemporary Psychology’s Big Debate Nature v. Nurture

Darwin - nature selects traits that best enable organism to survive & reproduce in a

particular environment.

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3. Behavioral

This approach only studies observable human behavior focusing on how we learn, react and manipulate our environment. 

We learn observable responses through conditioning or by trying to get rewards/avoid punishments.

Mind is a BLACK BOX. Can’t see it? Don’t study it. Big names

Pavlov – Dogs Watson – Little Albert Skinner – Operant Conditioning

4. Cognitive Psychology

School of psychology that studies mental processesThinking, feeling, remembering, making

decisions and judgments Studies how we encode, process, store,

and retrieve information. Studies behavior and makes inferences

about the mental processes behind the behavior

Thanks to new technologies like CAT scans, MRIs and fMRIs, we can open the black box.

Self-concept?Self-talk?Feelings?

Decision Making Process?

5. Psychodynamic Psychology

Personality theory that says behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts

Unconscious is a dynamic cauldron of primitive drives, forbidden desires and nameless fears

Psychoanalysis – patient lies on a couch and recounts dreams and conducts free association.

Sigmund Freud

6. Humanistic Psychology School of psychology that emphasizes

nonverbal experiences and altered states of consciousness as a means of realizing one’s full human potential

Importance of love, belonging, human potential, and self-esteem.

Abraham Maslow Not mainstream, more a cultural and

spiritual movement.

7. Sociocultural Psychology

Study of how people influence one another Topics include:

First impressionsInterpersonal attractionAttitude formationPrejudiceBehavior in a groupObedience to Authority

Some Applications include:Support groupsFamily TherapySensitivity Training

Poll: Do you think psychology is a real sci...

Poll: This approach studies how we learn by...

Poll: This approach looks at how things lik...

Poll: This approach looks into the black bo...

Poll: This approach looks at how your uncon...

Poll: This approach explains our behavior b...

Poll: This approach looks at how other peop...

Poll: This approach studies how humans can ...

Careers in Psychology

1. Clinical and counseling

2. developmental

3. educational

4. experimental

5. industrial–organizational

6. personality

7. psychometric

1. Clinical and Counseling Psychology About 50% of all Psychologists Counseling psychologists deal with “normal” problems,

such as stress caused by career change or marital problems

Counseling psychologist’s focus more on the psychologically healthy individual where clinical focuses on individuals with serious mental illness (e.g. schizophrenia).

Clinical psychologists are concerned with diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders

Split time between treatment and researching the cause of psychological disorders and the effectiveness of different types of psychotherapy and counseling.

2. Developmental Psychology Study of physical and mental growth

from birth to old age study of changing abilities from womb to

tomb Subfields

Child psychologyAdolescent psychologyLife-span psychology

3. Educational Psychology

School Psychologist psychological evaluations consult with school personnel in relation to

students’ learning, behavior, and environments

they are trained to look at the effectiveness of academic programs, classroom agendas, and treatment interventions, which assists in the development of specific interventions.

4. Experimental Psychology Design research experiments May or may not have a direct impact on the

treatment of patients Animal subjects Drug trials

6. Industrial and Organizational Psychology Study of psychological principles in

industry and business Examples

Selecting and training personnelProductivity improvementOptimizing working conditionsManaging the impact of automation on

workers

7. Personality Psychology Study of how people differ from one

another on traits such asConscientiousnessAgreeablenessNeuroticismOpennessExtraversion

7. Psychometics

Test creation Validity Reliablity Culture fair Statistics

Psychiatry

A branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders

Practiced by physicians who sometimes use medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychotherapy

Licenses in Psychology

Psychologists - Ph.D., Psy.D. Psychiatrists - M.D. Psychoanalysts - M.D. or Ph.D. Social Workers (M.S.W.) - LSW Marriage Family Therapists - M.A.

EQ 1-1

How do the different approaches to psychology compare and contrast?