INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

What is Psychology?

• It comes from the two (2) Greek word ‘Psyche’ means mind, soul, spirit;
and ‘Logos’ means to study.

• can be defined as the scientific study of behavior and mental

processes.
o Behavior - it includes all the overt or observable actions and
reactions.
o Mental Processes - it refers to all covert or internal activity of
our minds

THE MAIN GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY

To Describe

Describing a behavior is the first goal of psychology. This enables researchers to

develop general laws.

“What is happening?”
“Where it happens?”
“To whom it happens?”
“Under what circumstances it seems to happen?”

To Explain

Once researchers have described general laws of behavior, the next step is to
explain how or why the trend occurs. Finding explanations for certain behavior is a very
important step in the process of forming theories of behavior.

Psychologists use tests before being able to explain behavior, they don’t just arrive at
an explanation immediately after observation and description.

“Why is the behavior happening?”

To Predict

This is third goal of psychology. Psychology aims to be able to predict future

behavior from the findings of empirical research.

If the prediction is not confirmed, then explanation it is based on might need to

be revised.

“When will it happen again?”

To Change / Control

This is the modification of some behavior. Once psychologist has described,

explain, and made predictions about behavior, changing, or controlling a behavior
can be attempted.

Psychologists control to change the behavior from undesirable to a desirable one.

 “How can it be changed?”

IMPORTANCE OF PSYCHOLOGY
Self-knowledge

We can gain a better understanding of who we are and the causes of our
behaviors by learning about psychology findings.

Learning About Others

We can gain an understanding of others to improve our social relationships.

Solving Important Problems

Theories and findings in psychology may help us to solve important problems.

VARIOUS FIELDS IN PSYCHOLOGY

SERVICE PROVIDERS TO OTHERS

Clinical Psychology

It is the largest group of Psychology.

Clinical Psychologists have an advanced degree in psychology (master’s

degree, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), or Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), with a specialty in
understanding and helping people with psychological problems.

They apply psychological principles to the diagnosis and treatment of emotional

and behavioral problems, including mental illness, drug addiction, and marital and
family conflict.

Some clinical psychologists are college professors and researchers, but most are
full-time practitioners.

Counseling Psychology

A counseling psychologist has a doctorate degree (PhD, PsyD, or EdD) with

supervised experience in counseling.

They perform many of the same functions as clinical psychologists, although they
often deal with less serious problems.

Counseling Psychologists help people with educational, vocational, marriage,

health-related, and other decisions.

They work in educational institutions, mental health centers, rehabilitation

agencies, businesses, and private practice.

Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychology, as defined by the American Psychological Association, is

the application of clinical specialties to the legal arena.
 Forensic psychologists are clinical or counseling psychologists who have
additional training in legal issues.

They provide advice and consultation to police, lawyers, and courts. They advise
on such decisions as whether a defendant is mentally competent to stand trial or
whether someone eligible for parole is dangerous (Otto & Heilbrun, 2002).

SERVICE PROVIDERS TO ORGANIZATIONS

Industrial / Organizational Psychology

This is the psychological study of people at work.

This field deals with such issues as hiring the right person for a job, training people
for jobs, developing work teams, determining salaries and bonuses, providing feedback
to workers about their performance, planning an organizational structure, and
organizing the workplace so that workers will be productive and satisfied.

I/O psychologists attend to both the individual workers and the organization,
including the impact of economic conditions and government regulations.

Educational Psychology

They are specialists in learning and teaching. They may work in schools, but more
often they work in a university’s school of education, where they do research on
teaching methods and help train teachers.

They study learners and learning contexts both within and traditional classrooms.

They often work with children (directly), collaborate with parents and teachers to
improve child’s learning outcomes.

They may pursue career as a researcher, consultant, or teacher (community

organization, schools, government research center and learning centers)

School Psychology

They are specialists in the psychological condition of students, usually in

kindergarten through the 12th grade.

They identify children’s educational needs, device a plan to meet those needs,
and then either implement the plan themselves or advise teachers how to implement it.

According to American Psychological Association, school psychologists are

prepared to intervene at the individual and system levels and develop, implement and
evaluate programs to promote positive learning environments for children and youths
from diverse backgrounds and to ensure equal access to effective educational and
psychological services that promote health development.

Military Psychology

They are specialists who provide services to the military in many ways. Some are
similar to industrial/organizational psychologists.
 They conduct intellectual and personality tests to identify people suitable for
certain jobs within the military and then helping to train people for those jobs.

Other military psychologists consult with the leadership about strategies including
challenges dealing with allies or enemies from a different culture.

Still others provide clinical and counselling services to soldiers dealing with highly
stressful experiences.

Some psychologists conduct research on topics as how to best deal with

battlefield stress, sleep deprivation and other difficulties.

PSYCHOLOGISTS IN TEACHING AND RESEARCH

Evolutionary Psychology

It tries to explain behavior in terms of the evolutionary history of the species,

including why evolution might have favored a tendency to act in particular ways.

Evolutionary Psychology seek to explain people’s emotion, thoughts and

responses based on Charles Darwin’s Theory of evolution through “Natural Selection”,
similarly to how evolutionary biologists explain organisms’ physical features.

Proponents of this Psychological approach posit that as our ancestors

confronted problems and developed ways of solving them, some had certain instincts
and intelligence that gave them the ability to figure out and apply the most successful
solutions. In doing so, they gained advantages such as better health or longer lifespan,
allowing them to produce more offspring through the process of natural selection.

Developmental Psychology

It is the study how behavior changes with age, “from womb to tomb.”

Developmental Psychologists hope to optimize development and apply their

theories to help people in practical situations.

There are two (2) important processes that underlie developmental change:

Maturation refers to the biological unfolding of an individual according to

species-typical biological inheritance and individual person’s biological inheritance.

• Capable of walking
• Uttering our first meaningful words (1 yr. old)
• To reach sexual maturity
• To age and die on roughly similar schedules

Learning is the process through which our experiences produce relatively

permanent changes in our feelings, thoughts and behavior.

Cross-Cultural Psychology

It compares the behavior of people from different cultures.

Comparing people from different cultures is central to determining what is truly

characteristic of humans and what varies depending on our background.
 The goal of cross-cultural psychology is to look at both universal behaviors and
unique behaviors to identify the ways in which culture impacts our behaviors, family life,
education, social experiences, and other areas.

Personality Psychology

Personality psychologists study the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that define
an individual’s personal style of interacting with the world. Accordingly, they are
interested in differences between individuals.

This is the largest and most popular branches in psychology. Professionals who
study personality psychology want to understand how personality develops as well as
how it influences the way we think and behave.

Personality Psychologists also assess, diagnose, and treat personality disorders.

Social Psychology

This is a study how an individual influences other people and how the group
influences an individual.

Its about understanding how each person’s individual behavior is influenced by

the social environment in which that behavior takes place.

According to psychologists Gordon Allport, social psychology uses scientific

method “to understand and explain how the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of
individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied the presence of other
human beings.”

Environmental Psychology

It is a branch of psychology that explores the relationship between humans and

the external world.

It is not a very large field yet, but it has the potential to be one of the most
impactful ones yet regarding the future of human beings.

According to the journal of environmental psychology, it is "The scientific study of

the transactions and interrelationships between people and their physical surroundings
(including built and natural environments, the use and abuse of nature and natural
resources, and sustainability-related behavior).”
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