INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
“ Man is the only animal for whom his own
What is it? Why we Study it?
WHAT MAKES US HUMAN?
From a psychological perspective, the
➤
cognitive process makes us human.
➤ Humans are able to interpret and
manipulate mental ideas and images to
obtain information, reason and solve
problems.
existence is a problem which he has to solve.
-Erich Fromm
BIRTH OF PSYCHOLOGY
➤ Beginning
in the late 19th century in Germany, people began to
formally study human behaviour.
➤ Earlystudies in experimental psychology include reaction time of
different parts of the body, attention span, perception of sensory
experiences
➤ Shift from folk wisdom about the reason being human behaviour
to scientific experiments that study our mental processes.
FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY
➤ Psychoanalysis ➤ Behavioural Psychology
➤A largely individualized examination of patients’ inner mind, ➤A study of people’s and animals’ observable behaviour, often in
often focusing on thoughts, feelings, emotions, fantasies and relation to stimuli and responses.
dreams. ➤ Behavioural psychologists often either ignore or discount the inner
➤ Psychoanalysis
mind - the mind is an unknowable black box
attempts to understand a person’s unconscious
and subconscious mind. ➤ Studiesthe role of the environment in shaping and controlling
behaviour
➤ Studies the role of unconscious motivation and early childhood
➤ Deduces principles for the prediction and control of behaviour
experiences in determining behaviour and thought.
➤ Principles are consistent across species

FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY
➤ Cognitive Psychology
➤ A blend of the two above-mentioned areas where by psychologists attempt to
HOW DO WE INTERPRET AND
understand the mind through scientific methods, often utilizing technology as
a means to perceive the mind’s biological inner workings
MANIPULATE INFORMATION TO MAKE
➤

➤
Studies the mental processes that underlie behaviour
Areas of study include:
SENSE OF THE WORLD AROUND US?
➤ Perception
➤ Memory and learning
➤ Language use and acquisition
➤ Reasoning and decision-making
HOW DO WE INTERPRET AND MANIPULATE INFORMATION TO MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD AROUND US? WHAT IS A PROBLEM YOU HAD TODAY?

Encode/Store Information Encode/Store Information

See a Problem Infer Relationships See a Problem Infer Relationships

Respond Map Information Respond Map Information

Apply Possible Responses Apply Possible Responses

TRY THIS!
➤ Draw these nine dots in your notebook or
piece of paper. Without lifting your pen
or retracing any line, draw no more and
no fewer than four straight lines that
connect all nine dots.
DID YOU FOLLOW THIS MODEL? COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
➤ Cognition: Humans’ ability to process information, apply knowledge, remember,
Encode/Store Information think, and speak.
➤ Cognitive Psychology studies the mental processes that underlie behaviour. Areas of
See a Problem Infer Relationships study include:
➤ Perception
➤ Memory and Learning
➤ Attention
Respond Map Information ➤ Problem Solving
➤ Language Use and Acquisition
Apply Possible Responses
➤ Reasoning and Decision-Making

READ THIS PARAGRAPH ALOUD..

➤I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was
rdanieg the phaonmneal pweor of the muan mind aoccdrnig to a
rscheearc at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in taht oredr
the ltteers in a word are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist
and lsat ltteer be in the right pclae. The rset can be a taotl mess and
you can sitll read it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn
mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I always thought slpeling was ipmorantt.
HOW DO YOU FEEL? WHAT DO
YOU THINK?