Psychology as a Discipline

Week 1 – Psychology as a scientific discipline

10 things that make psychology challenging

• Behaviour is difficult to predict
• Behaviour is multiply determined
• Psychology influences are rarely independent of one another
• Psychological influences are often unknown
• People affect each other
• Many psychological concept are difficult to define
• The human brain didn’t evolve to understand itself
• People in psychological research usually know that they are being studied
• People differ from one another
• Culture influences people’s behaviour

Structuralism – aimed to identify the basic elements or structures of psychological processes.

Functionalism - What are the adaptive purposes or functions of psychological characteristics such as thoughts, feelings and behaviours? What purpose does the emotion of love serve in ensuring the survival of humans?

Behaviourism – a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviour are acquired through conditioning. Conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment.

Cognitivism – whether something is perceived to be a reward or punishment will be influenced by or relation or perception of the reward of punishment. Overall our thoughts and feelings matter.

Psychoanalysis – the primary influences on our behaviour is our unconscious and things we are not aware of.

Types of psychologists

Clinical – assessment, diagnosis, causes and treatment of mental disorders

Counselling – work with people experiencing career difficulties

School – assess school children’s psychological problems and develop intervention programs