Contemporary Contemporary PsychologyPsychology

Prologue, Lecture 2Prologue, Lecture 2

“The cluster of subfields we call psychology hasless unity than most other sciences. But there isa payoff: Psychology is a meeting ground fordifferent disciplines.”

- David Myers

Psychological Associations & Societies

The American Psychological Association is the largest organization of psychology with 160,000

members world-wide, followed by the British Psychological Society with 34,000 members.

Psychology’s “Big Issues”

First, complete Handout P-3…

Now reverse the numbers in front of items 4, 6, 10, 11, 15

Big Issue #1: Nature-NurtureBig Issue #1: Nature-Nurture

How important are the relative contributions ofgenetics and environment to psychological topics?

Add the numbers for items 3, 6, 9, 12, 15

Psychology’s “Big Issues”

First, complete Handout P-3…

Now reverse the numbers in front of items 4, 6, 10, 11, 15

Big Issue #2: Rationality-IrrationalityBig Issue #2: Rationality-Irrationality

Are we deserving of the name Homo sapians – wisehumans?

In some ways, we are smarter than the most powerfulcomputers. In other ways, we are prone to systematicbias and error.

Add the numbers for items 1, 4, 7, 10, 13

Psychology’s “Big Issues”

First, complete Handout P-3…

Now reverse the numbers in front of items 4, 6, 10, 11, 15

Big Issue #3: Stability-ChangeBig Issue #3: Stability-Change

Do our individual traits persist as we age?

Do our personalities change in different situations?

Add the numbers for items 2, 5, 8, 11, 14

Psychology’s Subfields: Research

Psychologist What she does

BiologicalExplore the links between brain and mind.

DevelopmentalStudy changing abilities from womb to tomb.

CognitiveStudy how we perceive, think, and solve problems.

Personality Investigate our persistent traits.

SocialExplore how we view and affect one another.

Psychology’s Subfields: Research

Data: APA 1997

Psychology’s Subfields: Applied

Psychologist What she does

ClinicalStudies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders

CounselingHelps people cope with academic, vocational, and marital challenges.

EducationalStudies and helps individuals in school and educational settings

Industrial/Organizational

Studies and advises on behavior in the workplace.

Psychology’s Subfields: Applied

Data: APA 1997

A clinical psychologist (Ph.D.) studies, assesses, and treats troubled

people with psychotherapy.

Psychiatrists on the other hand are medical professionals (M.D.) who use

treatments like drugs and psychotherapy to treat psychologically

diseased patients.

Clinical Psychology vs. Psychiatry

Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis

Let’s apply this analysis to the case of Andrea Yates…Let’s apply this analysis to the case of Andrea Yates…

Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample QuestionsNeuroscience How the body and

brain enables emotions?

How are messages transmitted in the body? How is blood chemistry linked with moods and motives?

Evolutionary How the natural selection of traits the promotes the perpetuation of one’s genes?

How does evolution influence behavior tendencies?

Behavior genetics

How much our genes and our environments influence our individual differences?

To what extent are psychological traits such as intelligence, personality, sexual orientation, and vulnerability to depression attributable to our genes? To our environment?

Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample Questions

Psychodynamic

How behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts?

How can someone’s personality traits and disorders be explained in terms of sexual and aggressive drives or as disguised effects of unfulfilled wishes and childhood traumas?

Behavioral How we learn observable responses?

How do we learn to fear particular objects or situations? What is the most effective way to alter our behavior, say to lose weight or quit smoking?

Psychology’s Current Perspectives

Perspective Focus Sample QuestionsCognitive How we encode,

process, store and retrieve information?

How do we use information in remembering? Reasoning? Problem solving?

Social-cultural

How behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures?

How are we — as Africans, Asians, Australians or North Americans – alike as members of human family? As products of different environmental contexts, how do we differ?

Link each of the statements regarding prosocial, or helping,behavior to the appropriate psychological perspective.

By helping each other, we are morelikely to survive and reproduce.

EvolutionaryEvolutionary

A specific brain region underlies ourexperience of empathy for persons indistress.

NeuroscienceNeuroscience

Unconscious sexual motivation promptsour willingness to help others.PsychodynamicPsychodynamic

We are most likely to help those weperceive as similar to ourselves andwhom we believe deserve our assistance.

CognitiveCognitive

Link each of the statements regarding prosocial, or helping,behavior to the appropriate psychological perspective.

The willingness to help varies greatlyacross the world’s societies.

Social-CulturalSocial-Cultural

Children who have been rewarded forhelpful behavior are more likely to behelpful in future interpersonal interactions.

BehavioralBehavioral

Identical twins who are separated at birthand raised in very different environmentsshow the same degree of helpfulnesstoward others.

BehaviorBehaviorGeneticsGenetics

HomeworkStudy!“Once aware of psychology’s well-researchedideas – about how body and mind connect, howa child’s mind grows, how we construct ourperceptions, how we remember (andmisremember) our experiences, how peopleacross the world differ (and are alike) – yourmind may never again be quite the same.”

- David Myers