INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY NURS 203 LINDA NORMAN.

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

NURS 203LINDA NORMAN

DEFINITION OF TERMS

• PSYCHOLOGY

• PSUEDOPSYCHOLOGY

• PARAPSYCHOLOGY

• GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY

GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY

• DESCRIBE HUMAN BEHVIOUR

• UNDERSTAND AND EXPLAIN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

• PREDICT HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

• CONTROL HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

DESCRIPTION OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

• Naming and classifying

• Making a detailed record of behaviour

• Helps to know the nature of behaviour

• Does not explain it

UNDERSTANDING AND EXPLAINING HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

• Why a behaviour occurs• State the cause of behaviour• Darley et el(1968) By Stander Apathy

PREDICTION OF BEHAVIOUR

• Accurately forecast behaviour

• When behaviour will occur

• Psychological test are usually used

• Eg work or career success

CONTROLLING BEHAVIOUR

• Altering conditions that influence behaviour• It anwsers what conditions affect behaviour• It does not mean a treat to personal freedom• Eg .using psychological principles to overcome

some behaviors –phobias,

PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE

• Systematic process or phenomenon• Sciences assumes there is order and

lawfulness• Everything happens in a systematic pattern• Nothing happens by chance• There should be a cause• Cause and effect relationship

What Causes What?

• Main aim is to find relationship among variables

• Collects empirical data that is factual information on which hypothesis is tested

• Tentative- findings are temporal. Findings remain valid until they are prove wrong

• Objective-individual biases shd not influence scientific findings and results

What Causes What CONT’D

• Public and replicable• Does not accept metaphorical explanation-

cause, effect and relationship• Psychology is scientific because it conforms to

all the characteristics of science.

WHY STUDY ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR

1. Some complex animal behaviors can be found in simplar forms in animals- Gives insight into the understanding of human behavior eg. Dominance, aggression, territoriality- Comparative psychology

Why CONT’D

2. Ethical reasons- some studies cannot be performed on human beings- Such studies are carried on animals to give us an idea or the nature of behaviour among human being

Why CONT’D

3. Genetic basis of human behaviour-- Preliminary carried on animals- Some animals can produce a large generation

of offspring's within a short period of time- Such studies are carried on twins but it takes a

longer period for humans to mature

FIELDS AND PROFESSIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY

Its has been broadly divided into two:• Theoretical Psychology - concern with

researches designed to contribute to the development of theories in psychology

• Applied Psychology- concern with the application of psychological methods principles and theories to solve real life and practical problems

THEORETICAL EXAMPLES

• Experimental –application of scientific research methods to study human/animal behavior eg. Learning, memory, sensation, perception, cognition

• Physiological-study of biological basis of behaviour eg. Nervous&endocrine systems

THEORETICAL CON’D

• Comparative- study of relationship between animal and human behaviour

• Social-concern with the study of the influence of other people and social institutions on ones behaviour

• Egs. Attitudes, social influence,conformity,social power

THEORETICAL CONT’D

• Developmental-deals with the growth and development of human beings(Growth and development)

• From conception to death(development thru the life span)

- physical, cognitive, Social

THEORETICAL CONT’D

• Abnormal- mainly concern with the classification, causes development and sometimes treatment of psychological and behavioral problems

• Personality- study of the structure and dynamics of personality, motivation and individual differences

EXAMPLES OF APPLED PSYCHOLOGY

• Industrial and organizational/Occupational – -Concern with problems people face at work eg. Personnel selection, training, job evaluation, performance appraisal , trade uni.• Clinical/Counselling-use of psychological

principles in the treatment of psychological and behavioral problems

APPLIED CONT’D

• Environmental-effect of the environment on peoples behaviour

- Urban noise ,pollution,crowding,attitudes,human use of space

- Provides consultantancy for design of industrial env., school, urban architecture

APPLIED CONT’D

• Community –treats whole neighborhoods or communities-prevention, education, promote community mental health

• Medical-relationship between stress, personality and diseases. Manage emotional problems associated with illness

APPLIED CONT’D

• Psychometrics-concern with the construction and usage of psychological tests eg intelligence,attitudes,personality,interest

• Educational- research on classroom dynamics, teaching and learning evaluating educational prog.

APPLIED CONT’D

• Criminology and law/Forensic-study of crimes and legal processes and the mgt of offenders

- Study of problems of crimes, crime prevention, rehabilitation prog in prisons, courtroom dynamics, selection of candidates for police work.

• Engineering/Ergonomics-design of machinery, controls, airplanes, cars or automobiles for business ,industry and the military(eqip)

SCHOOLS OF PSYCHOLOGY

• A school is a group of people who have a common approach to the study of Psychology

• Schools usually emerged around an eminent thinker.

• Various schools have emerge over the years• The old schools give a basis for looking at a

subject matter differently• Criticizing and analyzing various works- new

ideas

EARLY SCHOOLS

Wilhelm Wundt-Structuralism(1832-1920)• Established the first experimental psychology lab at the university of Leipzig in Germany• Study of the mind after the natural sciences• The mind could be studied by breaking it

down into its basic components.• Analysis of the mind in terms of its basic

elements

Schools CONT’D

Edward Titchener (1867-1927)• Student of Wundt’s- took his ideas to the US• Both Wundt and Titchener used the method

of introspection (looking into) to study sensations-basic element of consciousness

• It died after a few decade but left in its wake the scientific tradition for the studying of cognitive processes

Schools CONT’D

William James(1842-1910)- Functionalism• The study of functions of consciousness• Influence by Darwin’s evolutional theory• Much research on learning and problem solving• It widens the scope of psychology to include the

study of various biological, mental and behavioral processes

• Cognitive and evolutionary psychology

Psychodynamic Perspective: Forces Within

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)• Searches for the causes of behavior within the

inner workingss of our personality• Our inner patterns of traits, emotions,and

motives,• Emphasizing the role of the unconscious

process• Psychoanalysis-the analysis of internal and

primarily unconscious psychological forces

Psychodynamics CONT”D

• Freud was a physician who treated mental patients for many years.

• He used hypnosis and later free association• In born sexual and aggressive drives-punish in

childhood• Defense mechanisms-techniques that help us to

deal/cope with anxiety and pain• Study and treatment of psychological disorders

Modern Psychodynamics

• Down play the hidden sexual and aggressive motives

• Look into how early family relationships ,other social factors,our sense of self shape our personality

• Behaviour can be triggered by unconsciousness

The Behavioral Perspective: The Power of the Environment

• Role of the external env. In governing our actions

• Learn from previous life experiences and our immediate environment

• All ideas and knowledge are gain through the senses

John Locke- empirism-at birth the human mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa)

Behavioral CONT’D

• Experiences are written on this blank slate• Human nature is purely shaped by the

environmentIvan Pavlov (1849-1936)- revealed how environment affects behavior • Association of events with one another• Stimulus -response

Behavioral CONT’D

Edward Thorndike(1874-1949)• Learning through the consequences of their

action• Law of effect-responses followed by satisfying

consequences is more likely to recur• Learning is key to understanding how

experiences molds behaviour

Behavioral CONT’D

John B Watson(1878-1958)• Observable behaviour and not unobservable

inner consciousnessB.F. Skinner(1904-1990) • The real causes of behaviour reside in the outer

world -’’ a person does not act upon the world, the world acts upon him’’

• Reward and punishment-behaviour modification

Cognitive Behaviorism

Albert Bandura • Learning experiences and the environment

influence our expectations and thoughts and in turn our thoughts influence how we behave

Humanistic Perspective : Self Actualization and Positive Psychology

• Free will, personal growth and the attempt to find meaning in one’s existence

Abram Maslow (1908-1970)• Self actualization-reaching ones potential• Misery and pathology occur when the env. frustrate our innate tendency towards self actualization• Personal choice& responsibility, personality

growth, positive feeling of self worth

Humanistic Perspective CONT’D

Carl Rogers (1902-1987)Pioneered the scientific study of psychotherapy

Cognitive Perspective: The Thinking Human

• Cogitare (latin) - to think• Examines the nature of the mind and how

mental processes influence behavior• Information processors govern by our

thoughts• Gestalt Psychology (Germany, 1920’s)• Elements of experience are organised into

wholes

Cognitive Perspective CONT’D

• Gestalt means whole or organization• “The whole is better than sum of its parts”• Cognitive psychology-study of mental process• Cognitive neuroscience-sophisticated electrical

recording and brain –imaging techniques to examine brain activity while people engage in cognitive tasks

• Social constructivism- what we consider reality is largely our own mental creation

Sociocultural Perspective: The Embedded Human

• How the social env. and cultural learning influence our behavior, thoughts and feelings

• Culture-values, beliefs, behaviors and traditions that are shred by a large group of people and passed from generation to generations

• Norms-rules that specify what behaviour is accepted

• Socialization-transmission of culture to new members and internalizing them

Biological Perspective: The Brain, Genes and Evolution

• Examines how the brain processes and other bodily functions regulate behaviour.

• Behavioral Neuroscience-brain processes and other physiological functions that underline our behavior, sensory experiences, emotions, and thoughts

• Behavior Genetics-how behavior is affected by genetics

• Evolutional Psychology- how evolution shapes human behavior

Psychology Today

• Education• Violence prevention• Mental health• National Policies