LECTURE 1

INTRODUCTION TO
PSYCHOLOGY

LECTURER
SUNAINA MAJEED
 KEY POINTS

• What is psychology?
• What are the primary perspectives that guide
modern psychology?
• What is the scope of psychology?
 DEFINITION OF
PSYCHOLOGY

• The scientific study of behavior and mental

processes
 CURRENT PSYCHOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES
• Structuralism
• Functionalism
• Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic
• Behaviorism
• Humanistic
• Cognitive
• Gestalt
 STRUCTURALISM

• The first school of psychology

• focused on breaking down mental processes into
the most basic components
• Major structuralist thinkers included Wilhelm
Wundt and Edward Titchener
 FUNCTIONALISM

• Functionalism formed as a reaction to the theories

of the structuralist school of thought and was
heavily influenced by the work of William James.
• Rather than focusing on the elements of
consciousness, functionalists focused on the
purpose of consciousness and behavior.
• Major functionalist thinkers included John Dewey
and Harvey Carr.
 BEHAVIORISM

• Behaviorism became the dominant school of thought

during the 1950s.
• Based upon the work of thinkers such as John B.
Watson, Ivan Pavlov, and B. F. Skinner, behaviorism
holds that all behavior can be explained by
environmental causes, rather than by internal forces.
• Behaviorism is focused on observable behavior.
• Theories of learning including classical conditioning
and operant conditioning were the focus of a great
deal of research.
 PSYCHOANALYTIC/
PSYCHODYNAMIC
• Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychodynamic
approach
• This school of thought emphasizes the influence of the
unconscious mind and early life experiences on
behavior
• Freud believed that the human mind was composed of
three elements: the id, the ego, and the superego.
• Other major psychodynamic thinkers include Anna
Freud, Carl Jung, and Erik Erikson.
 HUMANISTIC
• Humanistic psychology developed as a response to
psychoanalysis and behaviorism
• Rather than focusing on dysfunction, humanistic
psychology concentrates on positive human
characteristics and strives to help people fulfill their
potential and maximize their well-being.
• Humanistic psychology focused on individual free will,
personal growth, and self-actualization.
• Major humanist thinkers included Abraham Maslow
and Carl Rogers.
 COGNITIVE

• Emphasizes conscious thought, perception and

information processing
• Focused on how people think, perceive,
remember, and learn
• One of the most influential theories from this
school of thought was cognitive development
theory proposed by Jean Piaget.
 GESTALT

• This approach to psychology began in Germany and

Austria during the late 19th century in response to the
molecular approach of structuralism
• Based upon the idea that we experience things as
unified wholes
• Rather that breaking down thoughts and behavior to
their smallest element, the gestalt psychologists
believed that you must look at the whole of
experience.
• According to the gestalt thinkers, the whole is greater
than the sum of its parts.
 WHAT DO PSYCHOLOGISTS
DO?

• Teach and conduct research in colleges and

universities
• Provide mental health services (direct service)
• Conduct research or apply its findings in
nonacademic settings
• Combination of the above
 POPULAR SPECIALTIES IN
PSYCHOLOGY
• Experimental psychologists - conduct lab studies
on learning, motivation, emotion, sensation and
perception, and cognition

• Educational and school psychologists - study the

process of education; focus on the intellectual,
social, and emotional development of children in
the school environment
 POPULAR SPECIALTIES
• Clinical psychologists - specialize in the
evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of mental and
behavioral disorders

• Counseling psychologists – their work overlaps

with clinical psychologists, but they work with less
severe problems
 POPULAR SPECIALTIES

• Developmental psychologists - study the course

of human growth and development from
conception to death

• Cognitive psychologists - examine higher order

mental processes: thought, memory, intelligence,
creativity, and language
 POPULAR SPECIALTIES

• Gender and/or cultural psychologists - examine

similarities and differences between men and
women and between people of different cultures

• Industrial/organizational psychologists - apply

psychology to the workplace: personnel selection
and evaluation, job satisfaction, group motivation
 POPULAR SPECIALTIES

• Social psychologists - investigate the role of social

forces and interpersonal behavior, including
aggression, prejudice, love, and attitudes