Chapter 1: What is Psychology?

Educational Psychology

Draws on serval other areas of Psychology to study how students learn, the effectiveness of particular teaching techniques, the dynamics of school populations, and the Psychology of teaching. This field also attempts to understand special population of students, such as the academically gifted and those with special needs, Educational Psychologists is usually academics, theorists, or Researchers.the

Evolution

a Change in a kind of organism over time; process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms.

Collective Cultures

cultures that emphasize the needs and goals of the group over the needs and goals of the individual

Careers in Psychology

1. Academic 34% 2. Industrial 12% 3. Clinical 24% 4. Private Practice 22% 5. Schools 4% 6. other 4%

How many Disciplines does Psychology have?

1. As a science and a practice, Psychology is divided into various areas of Investigation. The field of Psychology is divided into more than 25 Distinct, But increased interrelated subdisciplines

Why should you study Psychology?

1. Aware of how people work 2. Aware of how you work 3. Help you to be more effective in various career paths 4. Can help you relate to better to others.

Social Psychology

1. Considers how the real or imagined presence of others influences thought, feeling, and behavior. Research on prejudice and racism. 2. For example, looks at how a person of one group perceives and treats people in other individual's thoughts, feelings, or perceptions? Why is someone less likely to help a person in need when there are many people around than when there is no else around? Why are we attracted to particular kinds of people?

Personality Psychology

1. Considers what makes people unique, as well as the consistencies in people's behavior across time and situations. 2. Personality research addresses questions such as whether our personal traits and dispositions change or stay the same from infancy to childhood to adulthood. 3. For example, whether the tendency to be a friendly, anxious child will necessarily have the same characteristics as an adult.

Developmental Psychology

1. Explores how though and behavior change and show stability across the life span. This developmental Psychologists ask such questions as these: How do our reasoning skills or emotional skills change as we age? How does parent-infant bonding affect adult relationships? Does old age bring wisdom?

Clinical psychology

1. Focusses on the diagnosis and treatment of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and ways to promote Psychological health. Some clinical research and teach Clinical Psychologists work in universities, medical settings, or private practice. 2. Clinical Psychology is the single largest sub discipline in Psychology. Psychology is a practice as well as sceince.

Cognitive Psychology

1. Is the study of how we perceive information, how we learn and remember, how we acquire and use language, and how we solve problems. 2. For Example, a researcher who is concerned with how people visualize objects in their minds is studying cognitive Psychology. Those who do research on cognition and learning are often referred to as experimental Psychologists because they conduct laboratory experiments to address their research questions.

How does Psychology connect to other sciences

1. Not only is Psychology a science, but it is also considered a core science, along with medicine, earth science, chemistry, physics, hospitals, and businesses. 2. Not only is Psychology a science, but it is also considered part of a good general education because it's content is useful to many fields. It is also relevant to your life. 3. Psychology can make you understand how you work and how other people work.

What is Psychology?

1. Psychology is the science of understanding individuals " animals" as well as people. Formally defined, Psychology is the scientific study of thought and behavior. 2. The root word Psyche comes from the Greek word for " mind" but Modern Psychology is as likely to study the brain and behavior as it's the " mind"

Where are Psychology Jobs found?

1. Some professional Psychologists practice, or apply Psychology to diagnose and treat problems of thought and behavior. 2. Psychology is both a clinical practice and a science. The clinical practice side encompasses the services provided in therapists offices, schools, Hospitals, and businesses.

Behavioral Neuroscience

1. Studies the links among Brain, Mind, and Behavior. Neuroscience cuts across various Disciplines and subdisciplines of Psychology. One can study the brain functions involved in learning, emotion, social behavior, and mental illness to name just a few areas. The more general subdisciplines of Biological Psychology includes research on all areas of connection. Between bodily systems and chemicals and their relationship to behavior and thought. Behavioral Neuroscientists study the structure and functions of the living brain.

Counseling Psychology

A related field is counseling Psychology. Counselings tend to work with less severe Psychological disorders than clinical Psychologists. They treat and assist relatively healthy people and assist them with career and vocational interests. Training for Counseling Psychologists is more likely to occur in schools of education than in Psychology Departments,

Evolutionary

Because they are based on Evolved Brain Systems, Human thought, Behavior, and personality have been shaped by forces of Evolution ( Natural and Sexual Selection ) over millions of years. The body, brain, and Environment coexists and coevolved and so more than any Psychological perspective the Evolutionary Perspective Emphasizes that what we think, feel, and do is always an Interaction between Nature ( Biological ) and Nurture ( Environment ) in addition to these seven.

Psychoanalytic-Psychodynamic

Beginning with Freud, Psychoanalytic, and then later the Psychodynamic approaches focus on the importance of early childhood experience and relationships with parents as guiding forces that shapes personality Development. Additionally, this view sees the unconscious mind and motives as much more powerful than the conscious awareness. Psychoanalysis traditionally used dream interpretation and uncovering the unconscious thoughts, feelings, and impulses as the main form of treatment of Neurosis and mental illness.

Neuropsychological-Behavioral Genetic

Behavior thought feelings and personality are influenced by differences in basic genetics, epigenetic, and Neurological Systems between individuals. The Reason some people have different traits, Dispositions, and ways of thing stems from Differences in their genotype and central nervous system. ( Brain Structures and Neurochemistry )

Charles Darwin

Evolution was first described by the 19th century English Naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Natural Selection is formally defined as a feedback process whereby Nature favors one design over another, depending on whether it has an impact on Reproduction. This process takes a long time to work, But it will ultimately shape who we are and how species evolve. Charles Darwin's great contribution was not the theory of evolution itself but rather his explanation of how evolution works that are by natural and sexual selection.

Health Psychology

Examines the tole Psychological factors in physical health and illness. Topics in Health Psychology range from studies of how stress is linked to illness and immune function to studies on the role of social factors in how people interact with health care professionals. Some Health Psychologists work in disease prevention, treatment, and Rehabilitation thus, this area involves Clinical Practice as well as research.

Behaviorism-Learning

Founded by John Watson, Behaviorism argues that if you want to understand Behavior or then focus only on Behavior, not hypothetical and unobservable internal states such as thoughts, feelings, drives, or motives. All behaviors are learned through association and for their consequences whether it is reinforced or punished to shape desired behavior, we have to understand and then establish the conditions that bring about those particular behaviors.

Cognitive

How we think about ourselves, other people, and the world, as well as the assumptions we make and the strategies we use for solving problems and interacting with others are the keys to understanding differences between people. The Particular language we learn and use shapes our way of thinking and perceiving memory formation is not a passive process but is shaped by our experiences, attitudes, and personalities. In short, what we do is shaped by how we think and perceive the world.

Humanistic-Postive

Humanistic Positive Psychology assumes that people strive toward meaning, growth, well-being, happiness, and Psychological health, positive emotions, and happiness Foster Psychological Health and Pro-social behavior. Understanding these evolved positive aspects of Human Behavior provides just as much insight into Human Nature as does nothing as does understanding the Pathological aspects.

Forensic Psychology

Is a blend of Psychology, Law, and Criminal Justice. Forensic Psychologists make legal evaluations of a person's mental competency to stand trial. The State of mind of a defendant at the time of a crime, the Fitness of a parent to have custody of children, and allegations of child abuse. Occasionally, they develop criminal profiles of the type of person who might have committed a particular crime.

industrial-organizational (I/O) psychology

Psychology is an applied science meaning that it involves understanding the real-world rather than laboratory behavior. The Industrial and Organizational sides focus on two distinct sets of problems. The Industrial side involves matching employees to their jobs and uses Psychological principles and methods to select employees and evaluate job performance. For this reason, the Industrial side of I/0 Psychology is also sometimes referred to as personnel Psychology.

William James (1842-1910)

Published THE PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY, the science's first textbook Established the Theory of Functionalism: How mental processes function in our lives

School Pyschology

School Psychology is a related field generally practiced by counselors in school settings. Approximately 9% of the doctorates in Psychology were awarded in School Psychology.

Sports Psychology

Sport Psychology examines the Psychological factors that affect performance and participation in sports and exercise.

The Organizational Side of I/O Psychology

The I/O aims to make workers more productive and satisfied by considering how work Environments and management styles influence worker motivation, satisfied by considering how work environments and management styles influence worker motivation satisfaction by considering how work Environments and management styles influence worker motivation, satisfaction, and productivity.

Sociocultural/ Cross-Cultural

The Immediate ( Micro Family, Friends) and larger ( Marco, Region, and Nation,) Environments impact and mold a person's personality from birth on. One can't understand people without understanding the place and context in which they grew up. Cultures differ along particular Dimensions- such as collectivism- Individualism or Masculinity-Femininity-and these cultural differences influence the thought and behavior of Individuals within each culture.

biological psychology

a branch of psychology that studies the links between biological (including neuroscience and behavior genetics) and psychological processes

byproduct

a side-effect; something produced in the making of something else

Science of Psychology

critical thinking, skepticism, objectivity, curiosity

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920)

set up the first psychological laboratory in an apartment near the university at Leipzig, Germany; trained subjects in introspection. Subjects were asked to accurately record their cognitive reactions to simple stimuli

The Nature-Nurture Debate

the arguments concerning whether psychological characteristics are biologically innate or acquired through education, experience, and culture

nature through nurture

the environment constantly interacts with biology to shape who we are and what we do

metacognitive thinking

the process that includes the ability first to think and then to reflect on one's own thinking

evolutionary psychology

the study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

individualistic culture

A culture in which people believe that their primary responsibility is to themselves.