Psychology 100 - What Is Psychology?

PSYCHOLOGY 100

What is psychology?

1. Shrink work, teachers, professors. Some may work in the hospital setting, for some with mental disorders, or the elderly.

2. A lot of psychology is research work, in the university setting. A lot of statistics and research methods.

3. Diverse field, not just about being a therapist.

4. Psychologists try to answer an array of questions.

5. Psychology- scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

6. Scientific method- used to describe, observe, predict and explain behavior. All psychologists use this method.

7. The importance of the scientific method in psychology is to remove bias.

8. Behavior- things that people do that can be directly observed and visible to us.

9. We study behavior by quantifying what its exactly people do.

10. Mental Processes- thoughts, feelings, motives that we experience in our mind and cannot be directly observed.

11. Likert scale- a range of response measuring the agreement of a statement.

Contemporary Approaches to Psychology

1. Biological Approach- brain and nervous system are critical for understanding peoples attitudes and behaviors. Physical roots in our minds and how they are responsible for ours thoughts and actions.

2. Behavioral Approach- study of behavioral responses to environmental stimuli. Proposed by John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner. Albert Bandura later proposes social cognitive theory. Additional component of imitation. People imitate what they see If they're rewarded.

3. Psychodynamic Approach- Biological instincts (esp. sexual and aggressive impulses) influence attitudes and behavior. Early relationships with parents are critical for shaping our personalities. *Etipist complex* - when children are attracted to their opposite sex parent, and tend to push away their same sex parent. Proposed by Sigmund Freud.

4. Humanistic Approach- emphasizes people's