INTRODUCTION TO

PSYCHOLOGY
SPRING 2024
Hajrah Rahman

WEEK 1: The Nature of Psychology

Coursework and Grading
Assessment Weightage Date

Quizzes* 20% of total Throughout the term

Midterm Exam 25% of total Midterm Week

Final Exam 35% of total Final Exam Week

Assignment 20% of total By 5th May 2024

* The best 2 out of 3 quizzes will be added to the final grade

Textbooks
 Atkinson and Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology
by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Barbara L. Fredrickson,
Geoff Loftus and Willem A. Wagenaar (15th Edition)

 Understanding Psychology by Robert S. Feldman

(12th Edition)

 Psychology: Themes and Variations by Wayne

Weiten (11th Edition)
Class Expectations
Students are responsible for…
• …their attendance and punctuality
• …being prepared during the class for any discussions
• …maintaining classroom decorum (i.e. not being noisy, being respectful
of others’ opinions, not interrupting others when they are answering a
question)
• …keeping their phones on silent during the lecture

There will be no discrimination of any kind tolerated in this class

Plagiarism
What constitutes plagiarism:
• Submitting someone else’s work or opinion as your own
• Re-submitting your own old work
• Copy-pasting text or long sentences
• Inadequate paraphrasing
• Not citing or giving incorrect citations, even for ideas and inspiration

Remember…
• Your submission needs to be your own, original work
• If you want to cite an older submission of yours, give proper attribution
My Details
• If you have any questions related to this course, my email is
hajrah@iba.edu.pk

• My office is 214 in the Fauji Foundation Building, Main Campus

• Office hours can be online by appointment

Frequently Asked Questions
Q) I could not do the exam due to a genuine emergency. Will there be a retake?
ONLY for unavoidable medical, personal or political emergencies as per the IBA policy which will require a note.
Inform me in advance or as soon as possible.

Q) I missed too many classes for a genuine reason. What can I do?
Inform me in advance if you are not going to be able to attend the class for whatever reason. You will not receive
extra credit marks for attendance even if I mark you present when you are absent.

Q) I did not know about the quiz/assignment/deadline. What can I do?

All dates are stated in the syllabus, slides or reminded in class. It is your responsibility to make note of them at the
start of the term.

Q) I think I deserved more marks in a particular question/assignment/exam. Can I get my marks changed?
ONLY if you can convince me (and I encourage students to do so if there is a genuine marking error on my part).

Q) I just need X marks to change my grade. Can I ask for them?

• No.
• If you have been conscientious about your attendance, class participation and assessments throughout the term, I
will add the extra credit marks to your grade.
• Note: I will not respond to emails asking for grade changes unless I know you have earned it.
 What is
Psychology?
Psychology is…
 The study of our behavioural and mental processes
• i.e. what makes us do the actions we carry out

• ‘Psyche’ – life, soul

• ‘Logos’ – study

What are behavioural and mental processes?

Thoughts, emotions, perception, reasoning, memories, bodily functioning etc
Psychology is not…

• Psychiatry
• Only clinical
• Fortune-telling
• Mind-reading
Major Research Areas in
Psychology
 Major Specialisations in
Psychology

Clinical Psychology School Psychology

Counselling Psychology Organisational Psychology

Nature vs Nurture
 Nature  Nurture
• Innate • Acquired
• Biological makeup • Environmental influences

• It can be difficult to ascertain which has the stronger influence.

• For example, do you excel at Maths because one of your parents is

brilliant at it or because the environment you are in encouraged you
to work hard at it?
After this Course…
• You can NOT call yourself a psychologist
• You can NOT diagnose mental health disorders
• You can NOT treat mental health disorders
• You will NOT be able to read minds
• You will NOT be able to predict the future

• You WILL understand important concepts in psychology

• You WILL understand psychological research and ethics
• You WILL be able to differentiate between different
fields of psychology
Philosophy Physiology
The study of the The study of our
nature of our biological
existence and functions and
truth processes

Psychology
Humourism
• A theory popular in Ancient Greece
• The body is made up of 4 vital components or humours (liquids)

 Hippocrates (c. 460 – c. 370 BC)

Developed it into his medical theory of the 4 Humours:

• Sanguis/Blood – hot and moist

• Phlegm – cold and wet

• Choler/Yellow bile – hot and dry

• Melancholy/Black bile – cold and dry

 Galen (129 – c. 216 AD)

• The 4 Temperaments
Phrenology/Craniology
• Involved checking bumps on
the skulls as well as the size of
the cranium
• Believed that special abilities
and traits were localized in
specific regions of the brain
• Credited to Franz Josef Gall
(1796)
• Now discredited
Psychology as a Discipline
• 1879 – Wilhelm Wundt
set up the first laboratory
dedicated to psychology
in Leipzig, Germany

• Introspection
• Observing and recording your
own perceptions, thoughts
and feelings Wilhelm Wundt (1832 – 1920)
• i.e. a subjective observation of your
experiences
Structuralism

• Founded as a discipline
by Wundt’s disciple,
Edward Titchener
• Made use of
introspection to break
mental processes to their
basic components
• Focused on the structure
of the mind
Functionalism
• Popularised by American
psychologist William James
in the early 1900s
• Opposed structuralism
• The study of the functions of
the mental processes
• Looks at what the mind
does and how behaviour
functions
Perspectives of
Psychology
The Psychodynamic
Perspective
 Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
• Our behaviour is motivated by
the unconscious
• i.e. desires, memories, feelings and
conflicts

• Psychoanalysis
• A therapeutic approach to bring
unconscious material into our
consciousness
 The Behaviourist Perspective
• Behaviour is observable
• So only what is
objectively observable
should be studied

Important concepts:
• Conditioning
• Reinforcement
John. B. Watson
(1878-1958)
• Punishment B. F. Skinner
(1904-90)
 The Humanistic Perspective

• Human beings all have

inherent positive
potential and want to
grow and reach that
full potential
• People have free will
• Self-actualization Carl Rogers (1902-87)
Abraham Maslow
(1908-70)
• Focuses on people’s
unique qualities
The Cognitive Perspective
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
• Cognition
• Mental processes like
perception, memory,
reasoning, beliefs, motivation
etc. influence how we
behave
The Biological Perspective

• Neurobiological processes in the body behind our

behaviour and cognition
• e.g. impact of brain injury or underdeveloped brain areas on
our memory
• Impact of genetics and neurotransmitters

Will be covered in more detail next week

The Evolutionary Perspective
• Based on the theories of
Charles Darwin (1809-82)
• Natural selection
• Those traits which help creatures
survive and adapt will be passed on
to the next generation
• i.e. ‘the survival of the fittest’

• Behaviour patterns have evolved so

we can solve our adaptive problems
Central Themes in Psychology
• Psychology is empirical
• Psychology is theoretically diverse
• Psychology evolves in a sociohistorical context
• Behaviour is determined by multiple causes
• Behaviour is shaped by cultural heritage
• Heredity and environmental both influence behaviour
• People’s experience of the world is subjective
Bibliography
• Feldman, R. S. (2015). Understanding Psychology. McGraw-Hill.
• Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Fredrickson, B. L., Loftus, G. R., & Wagenaar, W. A.
(2009). Atkinson & Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology. Cengage Learning
EMEA.
• Rahman, H. (2022). Personality Psychology. Week 1. IBA.
• Weiten W. (2022). Psychology : Themes and Variations (11th ed.). Cengage.