Psychology 200

Module 1

 
The History and Scope of Psychology

Psychology's Roots

Prescientific Psychology
§Is the mind connected to the body or distinct?
§Are ideas inborn or is the mind a blank slate filled by experience?
 

Empiricism

§knowledge comes from experience via the senses
§science flourishes through observation and experiment
 
§Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig (c. 1879)
 

Structuralism used introspection (looking in) to explore the elemental structure of the human mind

§Functionalism focused on how behavioral processes function- how they enable organism to adapt, survive, and flourish
 

Psychology

§the science of behavior (what we do) and mental processes (sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings)
 

Contemporary Psychology

§Nature-Nurture Controversy
§the longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to development of psychological traits and behaviors
 

Psychology’s Subfields

 

§Basic Research
§pure science that aims to increase the knowledge base
§Applied Research
§scientific study that aims to solve practical problems
§Clinical Psychology
§branch of psychology that studies, assesses, and treats people with psychological disorders
§Psychiatry
§a branch of medicine dealing with psychological disorders
§practiced by physicians who sometimes use medical (for example, drug) treatments as well as psychotherapy
 

The Profession of Psychology

zAmerican Psychological Association had 52 divisions in 1998
zSome represent areas of training and specialization (e.g., developmental, clinical)
zSome are applied (i.e., teaching in psychology, psychology and the law)
 
 
Tips for Studying Psychology
 

§SQ3R

§a study method incorporating five steps
§survey
§question
§read
§rehearse
§review
§Distribute your time
§Learn to think critically
§In class, listen actively
§Overlearn
§Be a smart test-taker