Unit 1 DB: Psychological Perspectives

The job of a Psychologist is to describe, explain, predict, and possibly change behavior.  Toward this end, different psychological perspectives have emerged in order to explain behavior.  These include the neuroscience, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and humanistic perspectives.  Describe three (3) of these perspectives and illustrate each perspective by using an example from everyday life.  Which perspective do you think has the most relevance in today’s society, and why?

Be sure to provide the URL link(s) and/or title(s) to any resource used as reference in your post.

Chapter 1
Introduction to Psychology

MODULE 1 – Psychologists at Work

What is the science of psychology?

What are the major specialties in the field of psychology?

Where do psychologists work?

Psychology: Scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Subfields of Psychology (1)

Clinical Neuropsychology

Cognitive Psychology

Counseling Psychology

Cross-cultural Psychology

Clinical Psychology

Behavioral Neuroscience

Behavioral Genetics

Subfields of Psychology (2)

Developmental Psychology

Education

al Psychology

Environmental Psychology

Evolutionary Psychology

Experimental Psychology

Forensic Psychology

Health Psychology

Subfields of Psychology (3)

Industrial/ organizational Psychology

Personality Psychology

Program Evaluation

Psychology of Women

School Psychology

Social Psychology

Sport Psychology

Biological Foundations of Behavior:

People are biological organisms

Behavioral neuroscience

· Subfield of psychology

· Focuses on how the brain, nervous system, and other biological aspects of the body, determine behavior

How do People Sense, Perceive, Learn, and Think About the World?

Experimental psychology

· Studies the processes of sensing, perceiving, learning, and thinking about the world

· Subspecialty

· Cognitive psychology – Focuses on higher mental processes, such as thinking, memory, and problem-solving

What are the Sources of Change and Stability in Behav

ior Across the Life Span?

Developmental psychology

:

· Studies how people grow and change from the moment of conception through death

Personality psychology:

· Focuses on consistency in people’s behavior over time and traits that differentiate one person from another

How do Psychological Factors Affect Physical and Mental Health?

Health psychology

· Explores the relationship between psychological factors and physical ailments or disease

Clinical psychology

· Deals with the study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological disorders

Counseling psychology

· Focuses primarily on educational, social, and career adjustment problems

How do our Social Networks Affect Behavior?

Social psychology

· Study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by others

Cross-cultural psychology

· Investigates the similarities and differences in psychological functioning in and across various cultures and ethnic groups

Expanding Psychology’s Frontiers (1)

Evolutionary psychology

· Considers how behavior is influenced by our genetic inheritance from our ancestors

· Stems from Darwin’s On the Origin of Species

Behavioral genetics

· Seeks to understand:

· How we might inherit certain behavioral traits

· How the environment influences whether we actually display such traits

Expanding Psychology’s Frontiers (2

Clinical neuropsychology

· Unites the areas of neuroscience and clinical psychology

· Focuses on the origin of psychological disorders in biological factors

Psychologists: A Portrait

Historically, women actively discouraged from becoming psychologists

· Women now outnumber men in the field

Consequences of racial and ethnic minority underrepresentation among psychologists:

· Field is diminished by lack of diverse perspectives and talents

· Deters new members from entering the field

· Minorities possibly underserved: people tend to prefer to receive therapy from their own ethnic group

Psychologists: A Portrait:

Historically, women actively discouraged from becoming psychologists
· Women now outnumber men in the field
Consequences of racial and ethnic minority underrepresentation among psychologists:
· Field is diminished by lack of diverse perspectives and talents
· Deters new members from entering the field
· Minorities possibly underserved: people tend to prefer to receive therapy from their own ethnic group

The Education and

Careers

for a Psychologist:

Education

· PhD – Doctor of philosophy

· PsyD – Doctor of psychology

· Master’s degree

· Bachelor’s degree

Careers

· Administrator

· Serving as a counselor

· Providing direct care

· Education

· Business

· Government

MODULE 2 – A Science Evolves: The Past, the Present, and the Future

What are the origins of psychology?

What are the major approaches in contemporary psychology?

What are psychology’s key issues and controversies?

What is the future of psychology likely to hold?

The Roots of Psychology:

Structuralism

· Wilhelm Wundt

· Focused on uncovering the fundamental mental components of consciousness, thinking, and other kinds of mental states and activities

· Introspection: Procedure used to study the structure of the mind in which subjects are asked to describe in detail what they are experiencing when they are exposed to a stimulus

The Roots of Psychology:

Criticisms of structuralism

· Introspection was not a scientific technique

· People had difficulty describing some kinds of inner experiences

These drawbacks led to the development of newer approaches

Developmental psychology