REFRESHER

PSYCHOLOGY
What exactly is psychology?
The simplest definition of psychology is that it is the
study of the mind and behavior. Research in
psychology seeks to understand and explain thought,
emotion, and behavior.
Applications of psychology include mental health
treatment, performance enhancement, self-help,
ergonomics, and many other areas affecting health
and daily life. It's difficult to capture everything that
psychology encompasses in just a brief definition, but
topics such as development, personality, thoughts,
feelings, emotions, motivations, and social behaviors
represent just a portion of what psychology seeks to
understand and explain.

What Is Psychology?

As most people already realize, a large part of

psychology is devoted to the diagnosis and
treatment of mental health issues, but that's just the
tip of the iceberg when it comes to applications for
psychology. In addition to mental health, psychology
can be applied to a variety of issues that impact
health and daily life including performance
enhancement, self-help, ergonomics, motivation,
productivity, and much more.

Early Psychology
Psychology evolved out of both

Philosophy
Biology.

Discussions of these two subjects date as far back as

the early Greek thinkers including

Aristotle and Socrates.

The word psychology is derived from the

So what's the truth about psychology? There is a
tremendous diversity in psychology careers, and it is
perhaps this enormous range of career paths that
contributes to some of the misconceptions about
psychology and what psychologists do. Sure, there
are psychologists who help solve crimes, and there
are plenty of professionals who help people deal with
mental health issues. But did you know that there are
also psychologists who contribute to creating
healthier workplaces or that design and implement
public health programs? Or that there are others
psychologists who investigate topics such as airplane
safety, computer design, and military life?

A Closer Look at Psychology As a Discipline

Psychology is both an

Greek word psyche, literally 'life' or 'breath.' Derived

meanings of the word include 'soul' or 'self.'

A Separate Science
The emergence of psychology as a separate and
independent field of study truly came about when
Wilhelm Wundt

a German psychologist

Founder of Modern Psychology.

Established the very first psychology

laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879,
widely recognized as the formal
establishment of psychology as a science
distinct from biology and philosopher.

Wundt himself referred to his view of

psychology as volunteerism

applied field
academic field

that studies the (1) human mind and (2) behavior.

Research in psychology seeks to understand and
explain how we think, act and feel.

Wundt was the very first person to refer to himself as

a psychologist. He is often associated with the school

structuralist school were

advocated by the founder of
the first psychology lab,
Wilhelm Wundt.

of thought known as structuralism, although it was

his student Edward B.Titchener

Misinterpreted Wundts teachings

Broke away from Wundts

teachings soon

Formally establish and name

structuralism

who was truly responsible for the formation of that

school of psychology. Wundt also developed a
research technique known as introspection, in which
highly trained observers would study and report the
content of their own thoughts.

Introspection
o

The term introspection can be

used to describe both an
informal reflection process and
a more formalized
experimental approach.

Informal: informally examining

our own internal thoughts and
feelings ; When we reflect on
our thoughts, emotions, and
memories and examine what
they mean

Formal: research technique

that was first developed by
psychologist Wilhelm Wundt

>Experimental selfobservation

>training people to carefully

and objectively as possible
analyze the content of their
own thoughts.

Best Known For:

The establishment of the first

psychology lab
o

1879 - University of Leipzig,

Germany

Academic laboratory devoted

to the study of experimental
psychology

Sub-discipline to unique
discipline

Teacher of James McKeen

Cattell and G. Stanley Hall

G. STANLEY HALL 1883 First

experimental laboratory, John
Hopkins University, U.S.

Wundt and Hall cannot

exclusively claim to be first
because: William James 1875
formed a Psychology Lab at
Harvard University; not
credited because it was used
for teaching demonstrations.

His influence on the school of thought

known as Structuralism
o

emerged as the first school of

thought and some of the ideas
associated with the

Focused on mental processes

into the most basic
components.

established the first experimental psychology lab

in Leipzig, Germany in 1879.
Wundt's work was focused on describing the
structures that compose the mind. This perspective
relied heavily on the analysis of sensations and
feelings through the use of introspection, an
extremely subjective process. Wundt believed that
properly trained individuals would be able to identify
accurately the mental processes that accompanied
feelings, sensations and thoughts.

Schools of Thought
Throughout psychology's history, some different
schools of thought have thought have formed to
explain human thought and behavior. These schools
of thought often rise to dominance for a period.
While these schools of thought are sometimes

profound impact on
education

perceived as competing forces, each perspective has

contributed to our understanding of psychology. The
following are some of the major schools of thought in
psychology.

Also Important people:

William James, John Dewey,
Harvey Carr and John
Angell.

Wundt. "It is literature. It is

beautiful, but it is not
psychology

It influenced the
development of behaviorism
and applied psychology

Functionalism also
influenced the educational
system, especially with
regards to John Deweys
belief that children should
learn at the level for which
they are developmentally
prepared.

Structuralism
o

The first two major schools

of psychology to emerge
during this time were known
as structuralism and
functionalism.

emerged as the first school

of thought

Edward B. Titchener

focused on breaking down

mental processes into the
most basic components

Functionalism
o

Charles Darwin and William

James

Structuralism and
functionalism were not so
different, she argued, since
both are principally
concerned with the
conscious self.

formed as a reaction to
structuralism

Functionalists sought to
explain the mental
processes in a more
systematic and accurate
manner.

Functionalists sought to
explain the mental
processes in a more
systematic and accurate
manner.
Functionalism also
emphasized individual
differences, which had a

Psychoanalysis
o

defined as a set of
psychological theories and
therapeutic techniques that
have their origin in the work
and theories of Sigmund
Freud

emphasized the influence of

the unconscious mind on
behavior. Freud believed
that the human mind was
composed of three
elements:
the id, the ego, and the
superego.

-work together to create

complex human behaviors

THE ID: The id is the only

component of personality
that is present from birth.

-This aspect of personality is

entirely unconscious and
includes the instinctive and
primitive behaviors.

-According to Freud, the id is

the source of all psychic
energy, making it the
primary component of
personality

-Driven by the pleasure

principle, which strives for
immediate gratification of
all desires, wants, and
needs. If these needs are
not satisfied immediately,
the result is a state anxiety
or tension.

THE EGO: The ego is the

component of personality
that is responsible for
dealing with reality.

-According to Freud, the ego

develops from the id and
ensures that the impulses of
the id can be expressed in a
manner acceptable in the
real world

-The ego functions in both

the conscious, preconscious,
and unconscious mind.
(Preconscious - also
known as the subconscious
mind, includes things that
we might not be presently
aware of but that we can
pull into conscious
awareness when needed)

-Operates based on the

reality principle (weighs
the costs and benefits of an
action before deciding to act
upon or abandon impulses),
which strives to satisfy the
id's desires in realistic and
socially appropriate ways.

THE SUPEREGO: The

superego is the aspect of
personality that holds all of
our internalized moral
standards and ideals that
we acquire from both
parents and society - our
sense of right and wrong.
-The superego provides
guidelines for making
judgments.
-According to Freud, the
superego begins to emerge
at around age five.
-TWO PARTS: (1) The ego
ideal (good): includes the
rules and standards for
good behaviors. These
behaviors include those
which are approved of by
parental and other authority
figures. Obeying these rules
leads to feelings of pride,
value, and accomplishment.
(2) The Conscience (bad):
includes information about
things that are viewed as
bad by parents and society.
These behaviors are often
forbidden and lead to bad
consequences,
punishments, or feelings of
guilt and remorse.
-The superego acts to
perfect and civilize our
behavior. It works to
suppress all unacceptable
urges of the id and
struggles to make the ego
act upon idealistic
standards rather that upon
realistic principles. The
superego is present in the
conscious, preconscious,
and unconscious.
Core Idea: all people
possess unconscious
thoughts, feelings, desires,
and memories.

Freud suggested that

personality was largely set
in stone by the age of five.

Basic Tenets of
Psychoanalysis: (1) The
way that people behave is
largely influenced by their
unconscious drives

(2)People utilize a number

of defense mechanisms to
protect themselves from
information contained in the
unconscious.

(3) Emotional and

psychological problems
such as depression and
anxiety are often rooted in
conflicts between the
conscious and unconscious
mind.

By bringing the content of

the unconscious into
conscious awareness,
people are then able to
experience catharsis and
gain insight into their
current state of mind.

(4) A skilled analyst can

help bring certain aspects of
the unconscious into
awareness by using a
variety of psychoanalytic
strategies such as dream
analysis and free
association.

based on the belief that

behaviors can be measured,
trained, and changed

Watson is often considered

the "father" of behaviorism

behaviors were the result of

conditioning; Conditioning
occurs through interaction
with the environment
Behaviorists believe that
our responses to
environmental stimuli shape
our actions.

TYPES: (1) Classical

Conditioning: an association is
made between a behavior
and a consequence for that
behavior. Neutral + Natural
> Conditioned stimulus +
Conditioned Response (2)
Operant Conditioning:
instrumental conditioning;
method of learning that
occurs through
reinforcements and
punishments for behavior.
An association is made
between a behavior and a
consequence for that
behavior.

Important People:

(5) The development of

personality is mostly
influenced by the events of
early childhood

Behaviorism
o

"Give me a dozen healthy

infants, well-formed, and my
own specified world to bring
them up in and I'll
guarantee to take any one
at random and train him to
become any type of
specialist I might select -doctor, lawyer, artist,
merchant-chief and, yes,
even beggar-man and thief,
regardless of his talents,
penchants, tendencies,
abilities, vocations, and race
of his ancestors."
--John Watson, Behaviorism,
1930

refers to the school of

psychology founded by
John B. Watson

Ivan Sechenov's 1863

Reflexes of the Brain was
published. Sechenov
introduced the concept of
inhibitory responses in the
central nervous system.

Ivan Pavlov 1900 began

studying the salivary response

and other reflexes

John B. Watson
1913Psychology as a

Behaviorist Views It was

published. The article outlined
many of the main points of
behaviorism. 1920 With
Rosalie Rayner - "Little
Albert" experiment.

psychology. Educational psychology focuses on the

study of different sub-topics within psychology
including personality, social behavior, and human
development. These psychologists conduct basic
research that seeks to expand our theoretical
knowledge while other researchers do applied
research that attempts to solve everyday problems.
Applied psychology focuses on the use of different
psychological principles to solve real world
problems. Examples of applied areas of psychology
include forensic psychology, ergonomics, and
industrial-organizational psychology. Many other
psychologists work as therapists, helping people
overcome mental, behavioral, and emotional
disorders.

Psychology Research Methods

Clark Hull 1943

Principles of Behavior

As psychology moved away from its philosophical

roots, psychologists began to employ more and more
scientific methods to study human behavior.
Contemporary researchers use a variety of scientific
techniques including experiments, correlational
studies, longitudinal research, and others to test,
explain, and predict behavior.

B. F. Skinner 1948

Areas of Psychology

Clark Hull - Principles of

Behavior

published Walden II in which he

described a utopian society
founded upon behaviorist
principles.; (1971) Beyond
Freedom and Dignity argued
that free will was an illusion.

Noam Chomsky - published

Psychology is a broad and diverse field. Some

different subfields and specialty areas have emerged.
The following are some of the major areas of
research and application within psychology:

Abnormal Psychology is the study of

abnormal behavior and psychopathology.
This specialty area is focused on research
and treatment of a variety of mental
disorders and is linked to psychotherapy and
clinical psychology.

Biological Psychology, also known as

biopsychology, studies how biological
processes influence the mind and behavior.
This area is closely linked to neuroscience
and utilizes tools such as MRI and PET
scans to look at brain injury or brain
abnormalities.

Clinical Psychology is focused on the

assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of
mental disorders. It is also considered the
largest employment area within psychology.

his criticism of Skinner's

behaviorism, "Review of Verbal
Behavior."

Edward Thorndike

Humanism

Cognitivism

Psychology Today
Today, psychologists prefer to use more objective
scientific methods to understand, explain, and predict
human behavior. Psychological studies are highly
structured, beginning with a hypothesis that is then
empirically tested. The discipline has two major areas
of focus: academic psychology and applied

Cognitive Psychology is the study of

human thought processes and cognitions.
Cognitive psychologists study topics such as
attention, memory, perception, decisionmaking, problem-solving, and language
acquisition.
Comparative Psychology is the branch of
psychology concerned with the study of
animal behavior. This type of research can
lead to a deeper and broader understanding
of human psychology.

Developmental Psychology is an area that

looks at human growth and development
over the lifespan. Theories often focus on
the development of cognitive abilities,
morality, social functioning, identity, and
other life areas.

Forensic Psychology is an applied field

focused on using psychological research and

principles in the legal and criminal justice

system.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology is a
field that uses psychological research to
enhance work performance, and select
employees.

Final Thoughts
As you can see, while psychology may be a very
young science it also has a tremendous amount of
both depth and breadth. The assessment, diagnosis,
and treatment of mental illness is a central interest of
psychology, but psychology encompases much more
than psychotherapy. Today, psychologists seek to
understand many different aspects of the human mind
and behavior, adding new knowledge to our
understanding of how people think as well as
developing practical applications that have an
important impact on everyday human lives.