Joshua Laurence F.

Caro
BSIT 2-3
1. What 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.
Psychology is both an applied and academic field that studies the human mind and behavior. Research in
psychology seeks to understand and explain how we think, act and feel. 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.
2. What is not Psychology?
There's a lot of confusion out there about psychology. According to some popular television programs and
movies, psychologists are super-sleuths that can use their understanding of the human mind to solve
crimes and predict a criminal's next move. Other popular depictions present the psychologist as a gray
and bearded older gentleman, seated in a stately office lined with books, who spends his days listening to
clients ramble on about their difficult childhoods.
3. Branches/Fields in 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.

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, select employee, improve product design, and enhance usability.

Personality Psychology looks at the various elements that make up individual

personalities. Well-known personality theories include Freud's structural model of
personality and the "Big Five" theory of personality.

School Psychology is the branch of psychology that works within the educational
system to help children with emotional, social, and academic issues.

Social Psychology is a discipline that uses scientific methods to study social influence,
social perception and social interaction. Social psychology studies diverse subjects including
group behavior, social perception, leadership, nonverbal behavior, conformity, aggression,
and prejudice.
4. School of Thoughts

Structuralism

Was the first school of psychology and focused on breaking down mental processes into
the most basic components. Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of
consciousness using a method known as introspection. Wilhelm Wundt, founder of the first
psychology lab, is often associated with this school of thought despite the fact that it was his
student Edward B. Titchener who first coined the term to describe this school of thought.
Structuralism is important because it is the first major school of thought in psychology and
also influenced experimental psychology.

Functionalism

Formed as a reaction to the structuralism and was heavily influenced by the work of William
James and the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin. Functionalists sought to explain the
mental processes in a more systematic and accurate manner. Rather than focusing on the
elements of consciousness, functionalists focused on the purpose of consciousness and
behavior. Functionalism also emphasized individual differences, which had a profound impact
on education. Functionalism influenced behaviorism and applied psychology and Influenced
the educational system, especially with regards to John Deweys belief that children should
learn at the level for which they are developmentally prepared.

Behaviorism
The term behaviorism refers to the school of psychology founded by John B. Watson based on
the belief that behaviors can be measured, trained, and changed. Also known as behavioral
psychology, is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviors are acquired through
conditioning. Conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment. Behaviorists believe
that our responses to environmental stimuli shape our behaviors. According to this school of
thought, behavior can be studied in a systematic and observable manner with no consideration
of internal mental states. It suggests that only observable behaviors should be studied, since
internal states such as cognitions, emotions, and moods are too subjective.

Gestalt Psychology
Is a school of thought that looks at the human mind and behavior as a whole. Originating in the
work of Max Wertheimer, Gestalt psychology formed partially as a response to the structuralism
of Wilhelm Wundt. The development of this area of psychology was influenced by a number of
thinkers, including Immanuel Kant, Ernst Mach and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Psychoanalytic Theory

Refers to the definition of personality organization and the dynamics of personality development that
underlie and guide the psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy, called psychoanalysis, a
clinical method for treating psychopathology. First laid out by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century,
psychoanalytic theory has undergone many refinements since his work. Psychoanalytic theory came
to full prominence in the last third of the twentieth century as part of the flow of critical discourse
regarding psychological treatments after the 1960s, long after Freud's death in 1939, [1] and its validity
is now widely disputed or rejected. Freud had ceased his analysis of the brain and his physiological
studies and shifted his focus to the study of the mind and the related psychological attributes making
up the mind, and on treatment using free association and the phenomena of transference. His study
emphasized the recognition of childhood events that could potentially influence the mental
functioning of adults.

Humanistic Psychology
Was focused on each individual's potential and stressed the importance of growth and selfactualization. The fundamental belief of humanistic psychology is that people are innately good
and that mental and social problems result from deviations from this natural tendency.

5.

Methods Research Uses in Psychology

A Simple Experiment
Can establish cause-and-effect, so this type of study is often used to determine the effect of a
treatment.
The experimental hypothesis: A statement that predicts that the treatment will cause an effect. The experimental hypothesis will
always be phrased as a cause-and-effect statement. For example, researchers might propose a hypothesis that: "Administration of
Medicine A will result in a reduction of symptoms of Disease B."
The null hypothesis: A hypothesis that the experimental treatment will have no effect on the participants or dependent variables. It
is important to note that failing to find an effect of the treatment does not mean that there is no effect. The treatment might impact
another variable that the researchers are not measuring in the current experiment.
The independent variable: The treatment variable that is manipulated by the experimenter.
The dependent variable: The response that the experimenter is measuring.

The control group: This group is made up of individuals who are randomly assigned to a group but do not receive the treatment.
The measures takes from the control group are then compared to those in the experimental group to determine if the treatment had
an effect.
The experimental group: This group is made up of individuals who are randomly assigned to the group and then receive the
treatment. The scores of these participants are compared to those in the control group to determine if the treatment had an effect.

The Experimental Hypothesis:

A statement that predicts that the treatment will cause an effect. The
experimental hypothesis will always be phrased as a cause-and-effect statement. For example,
researchers might propose a hypothesis that: "Administration of Medicine A will result in a
reduction of symptoms of Disease B."
The null hypothesis: A hypothesis that the experimental treatment will have no effect on the participants or dependent variables. It
is important to note that failing to find an effect of the treatment does not mean that there is no effect. The treatment might impact
another variable that the researchers are not measuring in the current experiment.
The dependent variable: The response that the experimenter is measuring.
The control group: This group is made up of individuals who are randomly assigned to a group but do not receive the treatment.
The measures takes from the control group are then compared to those in the experimental group to determine if the treatment had
an effect.
The experimental group: This group is made up of individuals who are randomly assigned to the group and then receive the
treatment. The scores of these participants are compared to those in the control group to determine if the treatment had an effect.

Longitudinal Research
Is a type of research method used to discover relationships betweenvariables that are not
related to various background variables. This observational research technique involves
studying the same group of individuals over an extended period of time.
Data is first collected at the outset of the study, and may then be gathered repeatedly throughout
the length of the study. In some cases, longitudinal studies can last several decades.
There are three major types of longitudinal studies:

Panel Study: Involves sampling a cross-section of individuals.

Cohort Study: Involves selecting a group based on a specific event such as birth, geographic location or historical
experience.

Retrospective Study: Involves looking to the past by looking at historical information such as medical records.