Defining Psychology

• The study of mind and behavior in relation to a

particular field of knowledge or activity. (
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psych
ology
)
 
• The science of human and animal behavior (
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/psychology)
 
• The sum or characteristics of the mental states and
processes of a person or class of persons, or of the
mental states and processes involved in a field of
activity (
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/psychology)
 Psychology, According to Psychologist

• Eric Pettifor defines psychology as "An art which presents

itself as science".

• H. D. Hamm Ph.D., who authored and maintains a site for

Northern Michigan University, defines psychology as the
"Scientific Study of the Behavior of Humans and Animals".

• Dr. Hamm states that "There are many areas of psychology,

each attempting to explain behavior from a slightly different
perspective". He also gave brief discussion of what
psychologists in different areas are concerned with.

• Tom Bolling at the University of Washington in Seattle,

defines psychology as a science of description and
application used for the "Interpretation, prediction,
development, and improvement of human behavior" and that
psychology was originally a branch of philosophy.
•  
 Why We Study Psychology

• Being Student of Management Sciences one might

wonder why there is a need to study Psychology, although
there are several reasons which one must know:

 We are working in organizations and will continue to be

and therefore understanding of Psychology as well as
Human Behavior is a must. This will help us in
understanding requirements of Boss, Customers, Clients,
Team Members and other Stake Holders.

 Moreover understanding other will also increase our

association and ultimately leads to increase in output of
group, teams and departments.

 Psychology also aids us in getting knowledge of our own

and thus will leads to motivation and self-productivity
 Why We Study Psychology

 Psychology also identify the areas of your interest and

thus getting knowledge of one’s personal behavior he/
she can work on those elements which will give more
pleasure and satisfaction.
 The Different Branches of Psychology

There are many branches of psychology; how you split them up

will usually depend on which part of the world you are in, even
which university or institution you were trained at.

The following are seen as the main branches of psychology:

 Clinical Psychology
 Cognitive Psychology
 Developmental Psychology
 Evolutionary psychology
 Forensic psychology
 Health psychology
 Neuropsychology
 Occupational psychology
 Social psychology
 Clinical Psychology

• Clinical Psychology integrates science, theory, and practice in

order to understand, predict and relieve maladjustment, disability,
and discomfort. Clinical Psychology also promotes adaption,
adjustment and personal development.

• A Clinical Psychologist concentrates on the intellectual,

emotional, biological, psychological, social, and behavioral
aspects of human performance throughout a person's life,
across varying cultures and socioeconomic levels.

• In other words, Clinical Psychology is the scientific study and

application of psychology in order to understand, prevent, and
alleviate psychologically-caused distress or dysfunction
(Disability) and promote the patient's well-being and personal
development.
 Cognitive Psychology

• Cognitive Psychology investigates internal mental processes, such

as problem solving, memory, learning, and language (How people
think, perceive, communicate, remember and learn). This branch
of psychology is closely related to other disciplines, such
as neuroscience, philosophy and linguistics.
 
• At the center of Cognitive Psychology is how people acquire
process and store information. Many say that cognitive
psychology is the study of intelligence.

• Practical applications for Cognitive research may include how to

improve memory, increase the accuracy of decision-making, or
how to set up educational programs to boost learning.
 Developmental Psychology

• Developmental Psychology is the scientific study of systematic

psychological changes that a person experiences over the course
of his/her life span. Developmental Psychology is often referred
to as human development.

• It used not to just focus on infants and young children, but also
includes teenagers and adults today - The whole human life span.
Developmental Psychology includes any psychological factor
that is studied over the life of a person, including motor skills,
problem solving, moral understanding, acquiring language,
emotions, personality, self-concept and identity formation
 Evolutionary Psychology

• Evolutionary Psychology looks at how human behavior has been

affected by psychological adjustments during evolution. Just as
biologists talk about natural selection or sexual selection during
evolution, this branch of psychology applies psychology to the
same way of thinking.

• Some Evolutionary Psychologists hypothesize that language

learning is a capacity we are born with, making language learning
a virtually automatic process - but not reading or writing. In other
words, they believe our ability to learn language is inherited while
our ability to read and write is not (language learning will
happen automatically, while reading and writing has to be
taught).
• A person who is born in a town that speaks French will speak
French by the time he is 20. However, if he is not taught to read
he will be illiterate - language is acquired automatically if it exists
around you, while reading and writing are not.
 Forensic Psychology

• Forensic Psychology involves applying psychology to

criminal investigation and the law. A forensic psychologist
practices psychology as a science within the criminal justice
system and civil courts. Forensic psychology involves
understanding criminal law in the relevant jurisdictions in
order to interact with judges, lawyers and other professionals
of the legal system.

• Forensic psychology involves the ability to testify in court, to

present psychological findings in legal language to the
courtroom, and to provide data to legal professionals in a clear
way. A forensic psychologist needs to understand the rules,
standards, and philosophy of his/her country's judicial
system.
 Health Psychology

• Health Psychology is also called Behavioral Medicine or Medical

Psychology. This branch observes how behavior, biology and social
context influence illness and health.

• While a doctor treats the illness, the health psychologist will focus
more on the person who has the illness, by finding out about their
socioeconomic status and background, behaviors that may have
an impact on the disease (such as medication compliance), plus
the biological reasons for the illness.

• The aim of the health psychologist is to improve the patient's

overall health by analyzing disease in the context of Bio-
Psychosocial factors. Bio-Psychosocial refers to the biological,
psychological, and social aspects in contrast to the strictly
biomedical aspects of disease. Health psychologists generally work
alongside other medical professionals in clinical settings.
 Neuro-Psychology

• Studies the structure and function of the brain in relation to clear

behaviors and psychological processes. Neuropsychology is also
involved in lesion studies in the brain, as well as recording electrical
activity from cells and groups of cells in higher primates, including
some human studies.

• A neuropsychologist will use a Neuropsychological Evaluation - a

systematic assessment procedure - To determine the degree of any
possible behavioral problems following suspected or diagnosed brain
injury in a patient.

• When diagnosis is made, some patients are treated with an

individualized cognitive remediation protocol - a treatment that helps
the patient overcome his/her cognitive deficits.
 Occupational-Psychology

• Occupational Psychology, also known as industrial-

organizational psychology, I-O psychology, Work
Psychology, Organizational Psychology, Work and
Organizational Psychology, Occupational Psychology,
Personnel Psychology or Talent Assessment - Studies the
performance of people at work and in training, develops an
understanding of how organizations function and how
people and groups behave at work. The occupational
Psychologist aims to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and
satisfaction at work.

• The British Psychological Society says occupational

psychology "Is concerned with the performance of people
at work in training, how organizations function and how
individuals and small groups behave at work. The aim is
to increase the effectiveness of the organization, and to
improve the job satisfaction of the individual."
 Social-Psychology

• Social Psychology uses Scientific Methods to understand and

explain how feeling, behavior and thoughts of people are
influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other
people.

• A Social Psychologist will look at group behavior, social

perception, non-verbal behavior, conformity, aggression,
prejudice, and leadership. Social perception and social
interaction are seen as key to understanding social behavior.
 Types of Psychological Professionals

• Psychiatrist - a medical doctor who has specialized in the

diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.
• Psychoanalyst - either a psychiatrist or a psychologist who has
special training in the theories of Sigmund Freud and his
method of psychoanalysis.
• Psychiatric social worker - a social worker with some training
in therapy methods who focuses on the environmental
conditions that can have an impact on mental disorders, such as
poverty, overcrowding, stress, and drug abuse.
• Psychologist - a professional with an academic degree and
specialized training in one or more areas of psychology.
– Can do counseling, teaching, and research and may
specialize in any one of a large number of areas within
psychology.
– Areas of specialization in psychology include clinical,
counseling, developmental, social, and personality, among
 Defining Human Behavior

• Human behavior is the term used to describe a

person's actions and conduct. Observing and
understanding human behavior is a crucial part
of psychology
(OR)

• The capacity of mental, physical, emotional,

and social activities experienced during the five
stages of a human being's life - prenatal,
infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
Includes the behaviors as dictated by culture,
society, values, morals, ethics, and genetics.
Three Laws of Human Behavior
 Personality

At the topmost level, there are two types of people in the world: Those who
think personality types can be categorized and those who can't. Among those in
the first group are psychologists who began developing a system for
classifying personality traits based on an analysis of language way back in
the 1880s.

With the advent of larger data sets, in 1978 Paul Costa and Robert McRae
published their Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Inventory (NEO-
I) that grouped personalities according to three principal traits. In 1985 after
further research, they added two more, and published the NEO Personality
Inventory (NEO PI). The groupings constitute the five personality traits
psychologists use today, known as “The Big Five.” Together, they form the
acronym OCEAN.
 The Big Five Traits of Personality

Openness to Experience

This one describes people who enjoy the arts and new
experiences. The may exhibit these facets:

• Fantasy — have a vivid imagination

• Aesthetics — believe in the importance of art
• Feelings — experience emotions intensely
• Actions — prefer variety to routine
• Ideas — like complex problems
• Values — tend to vote for liberals

Findings: High scorers are creative, into discovering new

things, and have a strong internal life characterized by
extended musings over concepts and experiences. Low
scorers are more conventional, with narrower interests, and
are more down to earth. One study found that these people
tend to become leaders, while another discovered you may
be able to identify someone open to experience by
their positive expressions in selfies.
 The Big Five Traits of Personality

Conscientiousness

These people are organized, and tend to keep going and

going. They're methodical, down to their to-do lists. Their
sub-six are:

• Competence — complete tasks successfully

• Order — like order
• Dutifulness — follow the rules
• Achievement-Striving — work hard
• Self-Discipline — get chores done right away
• Deliberation — avoid mistakes

Findings: Hard-working, dependable, and not afraid of some

hard work? You might score highly in conscientiousness. If
you go with the flow, make decisions impulsively, and in
general like to wing it, odds are you’re a low scorer. Not
surprisingly, these are the people who get ahead and often
find themselves in leadership positions.
 The Big Five Traits of Personality
Extroversion

This is about degree of sociability, and one's source of energy

and excitement: Is it derived from other people?

• Warmth — make friends easily

• Gregariousness — love large parties
• Assertiveness — take charge
• Activity — am always busy
• Excitement-seeking — love excitement
• Positive Emotions — radiate joy
 
Findings: High scorers people light up around other people.
They love the spotlight and are often the life of the party. They
may also be thrill-seekers. People who score low in this trait
tend to be quieter, more inward, and more deliberate. Being
around people is a chore for them. Extraversion is also a strong
indicator of leadership quality, like conscientiousness.
 The Big Five Traits of Personality
Agreeableness
 
These people are all about trust, honesty, and getting along with others.
They’re also tolerant. Their six facets:

• Trust — trust others

• Compliance — would never cheat on taxes
• Altruism — make people feel welcome
• Straightforwardness — am easy to satisfy
• Modesty — dislike being center of attention
• Tender-Mindedness — sympathize with the homeless
 
Findings: People who score highly for agreeableness are honesty,
dependable, and generous, looking for the best in others. They’re often
mild-mannered and consider loyalty an important value. Low scorers have
low expectations of others, and may be sneaky as a result: They’re
generally suspicious of other humans. Agreeable people folks tend to be
happier because they gravitate toward the positive, though they’re not as
likely to get ahead as some others who are dissatisfied with things as they
are and think less of their peers. According to one study, agreeable people
are more likely to have a looser walk, too.
 The Big Five Traits of Personality

Neurotiicism
 
We may not all be psychologists, but we pretty much know
what “neurotic” means.2 These people have these facets to
them:
• Anxiety — worry about things
• Hostility — get angry easily
• Depression — often feel blue
• Self-consciousness — am easily intimidated
• Impulsiveness — eat too much
• Vulnerability — panic easily
 
Findings: Well, obviously, people who score high in
neuroticism aren’t especially happy. They’re vulnerable to
frequent strong negative emotions — sadness, anger, fear —
and are uncomfortable with themselves. Lower scores for this
trait are calm, more stable, and not as likely to react extremely
when presented with stressors.
 Emotions

• Emotions seem to rule our daily lives. We make

decisions based on whether we are happy, angry,
sad, bored, or frustrated. We choose activities and
hobbies based on the emotions they incite.

What Exactly Is an Emotion?

• "An emotion is a complex psychological state that

involves three distinct components: a subjective
experience, a physiological response, and
a behavioralor expressive response.“
(Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2007)
 Emotions

• In addition to understanding exactly what emotions are, researchers have also tried
to identify and classify the different types of emotions. In 1972, psychologist Paul
Eckman suggested that there are six basic emotions that are universal throughout
human cultures: fear, disgust, anger, surprise, happiness, and sadness. In 1999, he
expanded this list to include a number of other basic emotions including
embarrassment, excitement, contempt, shame, pride, satisfaction, and amusement.

• Emotion is a complex psycho-physiological experience that we experience as a

result of our interactions with our environment. There are positive emotions and
negative emotions, and these emotions can be related to an object, an event, social
emotions, self-appraisal emotions, etc.

• Some emotions are innate. For example: love, care, joy, surprise, anger and fear.
These are known as primary emotions. Secondary emotions are those that we learn
through our experience. For example: pride, rage, shame, neglect, sympathy and
horror.
 Emotions
• During the 1980s, Robert Plutchik introduced
another emotion classification system known as the
"wheel of emotions." This model demonstrated how
different emotions can be combined or mixed
together, much the way an artist mixes primary
colors to create other colors. Plutchik suggested that
there are 8 primary emotional dimensions:
Happiness vs. Sadness, Anger vs. Fear, Trust vs.
Disgust, and Surprise vs. Anticipation. These
emotions can then be combined in a variety of ways.

• For example, happiness and anticipation might

combine to create excitement. In order to better
understand what emotions are, let's focus on their
three key elements.
 Philosophies And Theories Associated with Psychology
• Schachter-Singer Theory: The Schachter-
Singer theory of emotion was developed by
Stanley Schachter and Jerome E. Singer.
• According to this theory, the element of
reasoning plays an important role in how we
experience emotions.
• The Schachter-Singer theory suggests that
when an event causes physiological arousal, we
try to find a reason for this arousal. Then we
experience and label the emotion.
For example, you are sitting
in a dark room all by yourself
and all of a sudden you hear
breathing sound behind you.
Your heart rate increases and
you begin to tremble. Upon
noticing these physical
reactions, you realize that they
come from the fact that you
are all alone in a dark room.
You think that you may be in
danger, and you feel the
emotion of fear.
 Philosophies And Theories Associated with Psychology
• Schachter-Singer’s Two-Factor
Theory: This theory focuses on the
role of physiological arousal as a
primary factor in emotions.
• However, it also suggests that
physical arousals alone cannot be
responsible for all the emotional
responses.
• Therefore, it takes into account the
cognitive aspect of the emotional
reaction.
For example, you are sitting in a
dark room all by yourself and all
of a sudden you hear breathing
sound behind you. Your heart rate
increases and you begin to
tremble. You notice the increased
heart rate and realize that it is
caused by fear. Therefore, you
feel frightened.
The whole process begins with an
external stimulus (breathing
sound in a dark room), followed
by the physiological arousal
(increased heart rate and
trembling).
 Emotions
• The Physiological Response: If you've ever felt your
stomach lurch from anxiety or your heart palpate with
fear, then you realize that emotions also cause strong
physiological reactions. (Or, as in the Cannon-Bard
theory of emotion, we feel emotions and experience
physiological reactions simultaneously.) 
• Many of the physical reactions you experience during
an emotion such as sweating palms, racing heartbeat,
or rapid breathing are controlled by the sympathetic
nervous system, a branch of the autonomic nervous
system.
• The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary
body responses such as blood flow and digestion. The
sympathetic nervous system is charged with
controlling the body's fight-or-flight reactions. When
facing a threat, these responses automatically prepare
your body to flee from danger or face the threat head-
on.
The Behavioral Response: The final
component is perhaps one that you are most
familiar with – the actual expression of
emotion. We spend a significant amount of
time interpreting the emotional expressions of
the people around us.
Our ability to accurately understand these
expressions is tied to what psychologists
call emotional intelligence and these
expressions play a major part in our
overall body language. Researchers believe
that many expressions are universal, such as a
smile indicating happiness or pleasure or a
frown indicating sadness or displeasure.
Cultural rules also play an important role in
how we express and interpret emotions
 Emotions Vs. Moods

• In everyday language, people often use the terms 'emotions' and 'moods'
interchangeably, but psychologists actually make distinctions between the
two. How do they differ? An emotion is normally quite short-lived, but
intense.

• Emotions are also likely to have a definite and identifiable cause. For
example, after disagreeing with a friend over politics, you might feel angry
for a short period of time.

• A mood, on the other hand, is usually much milder than an emotion, but
longer-lasting. In many cases, it can be difficult to identify the specific
cause of a mood. For example, you might find yourself feeling gloomy for
several days without any clearly identifiable reason.
 Distinction Between Perception and Sensation

Psychologists typically make a distinction between sensation and perception. Sensations are

uninterrupted sensory impressions created by the detection of environmental stimuli, whereas
perception refers to the set of processes whereby we make sense of these sensations.

Perception enables us to literally navigate through the world, avoiding danger, making decisions,
and preparing for action.

We can also define Sensations can be defined as the passive process of bringing information from
the outside world into the body and to the brain. The process is passive in the sense that we do not
have to be consciously engaging in a "Sensing" process. Perception can be defined as the active
process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting the information brought to the brain by the
senses.
How they work together:
1) Sensation occurs:
a) Sensory organs absorb energy from a physical stimulus in the environment.
b) Sensory receptors convert this energy into neural impulses and send them to the brain.
2) Perception follows:
a) The brain organizes the information and translates it into something meaningful
 Self Perception Theory

Explanation of the Theory: People decide on their own attitudes and feelings from watching
themselves behave in various situations.

This is particularly true when internal cues are so weak or confusing they effectively put the person
in the same position as an external observer. Self-Perception Theory provides an alternative
explanation for cognitive dissonance effects.
 
For example Festinger and Carlsmith's experiment where people were paid $1 or $20 to lie.
Cognitive dissonance says that people felt bad about lying for $1 because they could not justify the
act.

Self-perception takes an 'observer's view, concluding that those who were paid $1 must have really
enjoyed it (because $1 does not justify the act) whilst those who were paid $20 were just doing it
for the money. Note that this indicates how changing people's attitudes happens only when two
factors are present.
 Self Perception Theory (Imagine This)

You are asked to do a tedious and boring task, like fit wooden pegs
into holes. After you have done the task, someone pays you to lie
about what it's like. 'I really enjoy doing it,' you tell another
person, 'and I think you will, too!

If you are like many people, you probably believe that you know
what you feel and what the lie is. But, believe it or not, some
studies have shown that people don't always know exactly how
they feel. Instead, they use their own behavior to guess about what
they are feeling. Self-perception theory says that, 'When people are
unsure about their feelings and motivations, they will use their own
behavior to infer what they feel.

What does that have to do with the scenario above? When we lie to
someone else, we sometimes begin to believe our own lies. We look
at our own behavior - in this case the lie - and make an inference.
So, in the example above, lying about your feelings could cause you
to believe your own lie! You are using your behavior to figure out
how you feel about something. You might be surprised at how often
this happens.
 When Do We Use Self Perception Theory

Our initial feelings are weak or unclear: Sometimes, we're just not
sure how we feel about something. For example, when you first meet
someone, you might not be sure whether you like them or not. If you
do something to help them out, you're likely to conclude that you do
like them. In fact, there have been many studies that show that you're
more likely to like someone based on how much you've helped them,
versus how much they've helped you!

Our behavior is perceived to be done freely: If you are forced or

coerced to help someone out, you might not conclude that you like
them any more than if you didn't help them. But, if you believe that
your helping them was a decision made of your own free will, then
you're more likely to use your behavior as a clue for what you feel.