El Fouad International School

American Division
Grade 12
Teacher: Noura Abdel-halim

Psychology Revision
I) What Psychologists Do
1) Clinical psychologists
a) Largest group
b) Help people with psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, or severe disorders,
such as schizophrenia.
Deal with problems such as relationships, drugs, and weight
c) Work in Hospitals, clinics and private practices.
d) Psychiatrist: a medical doctor, can prescribe medication.
2) Counseling psychologists
a) Treat people with adjustment problems.
3) School psychologists
a) They help students with problems which may interfere with learning.
Problems such as peers, family, and learning disorders.
b) They observe students in class.
4) Educational psychologists
a) Concerned with helping students learn.
b) Focus on course planning and instructional methods for the whole school.
c) Help prepare SAT tests.
5) Developmental Psychologists
a) Deal with changes that occur throughout a persons life span.
Physical and emotional changes
Cognitive and social changes
b) Concentrate on the influences of heredity and the environment
6) Personality Psychologists
a) They identify characteristics or traits.
Such as shyness
b) Deal with problems such as: anxiety, aggression, or gender roles.
7) Social Psychologists
a) Deal with peoples behavior in social situations.
II) A History of Psychology
1) Ancient Greece
a) Plato-Socrates Student
b) Aristotle-Platos student
c) Plato recorded his teacher Socrates advice know thyself which has remained a motto of
psychological study ever since.
d) Socrates: We can learn a lot about ourselves by examining our thoughts and feelings.
Introspection: a methoud of learning which means looking within
e) Aristotle: outlined the laws of associationsim.
Associationism: experiences often remind us of similar experiences in the past.
Peri psyches: about the mind
Human behavior is subject to certain rules and laws
People are motivated to seek pleasure and to avoid pain.
2) Middle Ages
a) Agitation and confusion ere signs of possession by demons.
b) Possession was punishment or sins or a result of deals with the devil.
c) Tests were conducted to see if a person is possessed.
Water-float test: Floating=possessed, sinking=pure.
3) Birth of Modern Science
a) The 1500s saw scientific and intellectual advances.

b) Scientific approach led to the birth of modern psychology in the 1800s.

c) Labs were created.
The methods used in chemistry were used in psychological research.
d) Wilhelm Wundt (Structuralism)
Founded structuralism
Discovering the basic elements of consciousness. There are 2 types:
Objective sensations: sight and taste reflect the outside world.
Subjective feelings: emotional responses and mental images.
The human mind functioned by combining these basic elements of experiences.
Introspection is used to examine and report experiences.
e) William James (Functionalism)
Experience is a continuous stream of consciousness.
Focused on the relationships between experiences and behavior.
Described his views in The Principles of Psychology
Created the 1st modern psychology tyextbook
One of the founders of functionalism
Concerned with how mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment.
Structuralism
Relies only on introspection
Ask questions such as: What are the elements
of psychological process?

Functionalism
Relies on introspection and behavioral
observation
Ask questions such as: What are the purposes
of behavior and mental processes? What do
certain behaviors and mental processes
accomplish for the person (or animal).

f) John B. Watson (Behaviorism)

Agreed with functionalist on the importance of learning, because he believed it is
unscientific.
Consciousness is a private event that is known only to the individual.
For psychology to be scientific must be limited to observable, measurable events
(behavior).
Psychology: scientific study of observable behavior.
g) B.F. Skinner (Reinforcement)
Reward=repeated action
Like animals, people learn by reinforcement (reward).
h) Gestalt School
Gestalt: shape or form
Perceptions are wholes that give shape or meaning to parts.
Learning is active and purposeful
Problem solving is accomplished by insight.
i) Sigmund Freud (Psychoanalysis)
Emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives and internal conflicts in
determining human behavior.
Gained understanding of human behavior through consultations with patients.
Psychodynamic thinking: most of what exists in mind is unconsciousness and consists
of impulses, urges, and wishes.
Behavior is aimed to satisfy these desires.
Attempts to help people gain insight into their unconscious conflicts and find socially
acceptable ways of expressing their wishes and meeting their needs.
III) Contemporary Perspectives