PSYCHOLOGY

Definition of Psychology
Psychology: the systematic, scientific study of behaviors and mental processes
 Behaviors → refers to observable actions or responses in both humans and animals.
Ex: eating, sleeping, crying, etc
 Mental processes → not directly observable, refer to a wide range of complex mental
processes. Ex: imagining, studying, dreaming, etc

Goals of Psychology
✓ Describe  The different ways that organisms behave (What?)
✓ Explain  The cause of behavior (Why?)
Theory – general explanation of a set of observations or facts
✓ Predict  How organisms will behave in certain situations (Will happened again?)
✓ Control  an organism’s behavior. How can it be changed?

GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
How do psychologists answer questions?
1. Biological: Genes, hormones, interact, personality, memory, and other traits and abilities
2. Cognitive: The process, store, use info, focuses on memory, intelligence
3. Behavioral: How organisms learn new behaviors or modify
4. Psychoanalytic: Childhood years experiences (first five years)
5. Humanistic: Humans has freedom in directing future
6. Sociocultural: The influence of social and cultural
7. Evolutionary: How evolutionary ideas, human behaviors, and mental processes
8. Biopsychosocial: How biological, psychological, and social influences health / illness

Historical Careers in Psychology

How did psychology begin? Areas of Specialization
• Structuralism: elements of the mind, Wilhelm Wundt • Social and Personality
• Functionalism: functions of the mind, William James • Developmental
• Gestalt approach: sensations vs perceptual, Max • Experimental
Wertheimer • Biological
• Cognitive
• Behaviorism: observable behaviors, John B. Watson
• Psychometrics