nature of psychology

Chapter 1 : Introduction The Nature of Psychology

Ailene C. Ygot Instructor

Psychology as a Science

• psyche (mind) + logos (study)

• actions, responses, behavior

• How? objective and systematic study

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Psychology as a Science

• Goals:

describe, explain, predict and control

behavior and mental processes

• How can I control my fears?

• How can I learn to study?

History of Psychology

• Nativist View – some ideas are innate 17th century

Rene Descartes

• Empiricist View – knowledge is acquired through experiences and interaction with the world

NATURE

NURTURE

History of Psychology

• 1879 – first psychological laboratory

• University of Leipzig, Germany

• Wilhelm Wundt – Father of Psychology

study on senses – vision

attention, emotions and memory

History of Psychology

• 1883 – first psychology lab in the US

• John Hopkins University

• Granville Stanley Hall

• founded the first American Journal of Psychology

History of Psychology

• 19th century

• Titchener / Wundt

• Structuralism

mental structures – perception, consciousness, thinking and emotions

Introspection – method of data collection

History of Psychology

• 1900’s

• William James

• Functionalism

functions of the mind and behavior to adapt to the environment

History of Psychology

• 1900’s (US)

• John B. Watson

• Behaviorism

challenged Functionalism

observable behavior

History of Psychology

• 1912 (Germany)

• Max Wertheimer

• Gestalt Psychology

“gestalt” – form , configuration

the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

experiences cannot be broken down into smaller units

History of Psychology in the Philippines

• 17th century – Psychology was taught in the Phils. (UST & USC)

• 1926 – first Department of Psychology (UP)

• UST – first university to offer undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in Psychology

Pioneers in Psychology in the Philippines • Sinforoso Padilla – established the first

psychological clinic in the Philippines in UP in 1932

• Jesus Perpina – set up the FEU psychological clinic in 1933

• Estefania Aldaba-Lim – first Filipino to receive a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. In 1962, she set up the Philippine Psychological Corporation.

Perspectives in Psychology

• Psychodynamic Approach

• Behavioral Approach

• Cognitive Approach

• Biological Approach

• Phenomenological or Humanistic Approach

• Sociocultural Approach

Psychodynamic Approach

Sigmund Freud

behavior stems from the unconscious mind

manifestations – dreams, slips of speech (“Freudian slip”) , or mannerism

Psychoanalysis – therapeutic approach of Freud

Carl Jung and Alfred Adler

Behavioral Approach

John B. Watson – father of Behaviorism

only by studying behavior could psychology be considered a science

mind cannot be observed directly

Stimulus-Response (S-R) psychology – offshoot of behaviorism

Stimulus (environment) – Response (responses to stimulus) - Rewards and Punishments following these responses

Cognitive Approach

mental processes –

perceiving

remembering

reasoning

deciding

problem solving

how?

Focus on specific behaviors and then interpreting them in terms of underlying mental processes

Biological Approach

how the brain underlie behavior and mental processes

physiological processes

neurotransmitters – chemicals produced in the brain that are believed to have an effect on the person’s moods

serotonin

norepinephrine

Phenomenological or Humanistic Approach subjective and personal experience of events

(phenomenology) and the need for personal growth

the belief that an individual’s principal motivational force is a tendency toward growth and self actualization

Abraham Maslow

Carl Rogers

Sociocultural Approach

the ways by which social and cultural environments influence behavior

cultural context should be considered

comparing behavior across countries;

or within a country

Depression

• Psychodynamic

• Behavioral

• Cognitive

• Biological

• Humanistic

• Sociocultural

• Anger turned inward

• Lack of positive reinforcers

• Interpretation of their ability to control events

• Genetic susceptibility to depression

• Self-esteem

• Culturally acceptable?

Group Activity

Brainstorm on how the emotion ANGER can be understood using the

different approaches.