Introduction to

Psychology
-PRESENTATION BY GROUP 1
-AB PSYCHOLOGY
●Psychology is science which deals with the mutual
interaction between organism and environment.
(by Murphy)

●The person best considered the founder of

psychology was Dr. Wilhelm Wundt. While other
doctors and philosophers had already been
exploring the topics that would come to be known
as psychology, Wundt’s formation of the first
experimental psychology laboratory earns him the
title “the father of psychology”.
 Why do we need to know the history of
Psychology?
● To knowwhy our famous historical figures thought the way they did,
and addressed the topics for which they became famous.

● To sound intelligent when we discuss psychology with our friends

● To get an idea of why current areas of psychology exist today.

History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illumines reality,
vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of
antiquity.
PIONEERS OF PSYCHOLOGY
●William James and Functionalism

● Experience is a continuous “stream of

consciousness”.
● James was one of the founders of functionalism
● Functionalism is the study of how mental
processes help organisms adapt to their
environment.
● How does the mind allow people to function in the
real world(work, play, adapt, etc..)
335 BC ------ Aristotle suggested that our heart controls mental process

1879 AD --------Wilhelm opens the first formal laboratory for psychology

387 BC -------- Plato suggested that brain control our mental process.
1883 AD —--- The first laboratory of psychology in America is established
at Johns Hopkins University
1886 AD —--- Sigmund Freud performs therapy in Vienna
1892 AD —---the American Psychological Association (APA) founded.
1916 —------- First Psychology Department at Calcutta University is
established
1890 —------- William James publishes Principles of Psychology
● Jean Piaget was the psychologist who was most influential
in shaping our understanding of cognitive development.
His theory of cognitive development made him one of the
most famous psychologists in history.

● Psychologist and philosopher William James is often

referred to as the father of American psychology. His
teachings and writings helped establish psychology as a
science. Among his many accomplishments was the
publication of the 1,200-page text, "The Principles of
Psychology," which quickly became a classic in the field.
Perspectives in Psychology
Beyond the stock references of Freud and Jung, which most people are aware
of, there are actually seven psychological perspectives (in modern psychology),
each with their own benefits and uses as if relates to therapy .
 1. The Psychodynamic Perspective
Sigmund Freud had a great contribution in the field of psychology as
discipline. This view of psychology and human behavior emphasizes the
role of the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences, and
interpersonal relationships to explain human behavior, as well as to treat
mental illnesses.
Much thanks to Freud's work and influence, psychoanalysis became one
of the earliest major forces within psychology. Freud conceived of the
mind as being composed of three key elements: the id, the ego and the
superego.
• The id is the part of the psyche that includes all the primal and
unconscious desires.
• The ego is the aspect of the psyche that must deal with the demands of
the real world.
• The superego is the last part of the psyche to develop and is tasked with ego superego
managing all of our internalized morals, standards, and ideals. id
While the psychodynamic perspective is not as dominant today, it
continues to be a useful psychotherapeutic tool.
2. The Behavioural Perspective
●Behavioural psychology focuses on learned behaviours. It was
founded on the work of psychologists such as Edward Thorndike
and John B. Watson.
● Behaviourism dominated psychology in the early twentieth
century but began to lose its hold during the 1950’s.
●Behaviourism differs from other perspectives because it focuses
solely on observable behaviours rather than on emphasizing
internal states.
●Types-
1. Classical conditioning
2. Operant conditioning
3. The Cognitive Perspective
During the 1960s, a new perspective known as cognitive
psychology emerged. This area of psychology focuses on
mental processes like memory, thinking, problem-solving,
language, and decision-making.3
Influenced by psychologists such as Jean Piaget and Albert
Bandura, the cognitive perspective has grown
tremendously in recent decades.
Cognitive psychologists often utilize an information-
processing model (comparing the human mind to a
computer) to conceptualize how information is acquired,
processed, stored, and utilized.
4. The Biological Perspective
The study of physiology played a major role in the development of
psychology as a separate science. Today, the perspective is known as
biological psychology (also called biopsychology or physiological
psychology). The point of view emphasizes the physical and biological
bases of behavior.4
Researchers with a biological perspective on psychology might look at
how genetics influence behavior or how damage to specific areas of the
brain affect personality.
The nervous system, genetics, the brain, the immune system, and the
endocrine system are just a few subjects of interest to biological
psychologists. Over the last few decades, the perspective has grown
significantly with advances in our ability to explore and understand the
human brain and nervous system.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography
(PET) scans give researchers tools to observe the brain under a variety
of conditions. Scientists can now look at the effects of brain damage,
drugs, and disease in ways that were not possible in the past.
 5. The Cross-Cultural Perspective
Cross-cultural psychology is a fairly new perspective that
has grown significantly in the last twenty years.
Psychologists and researchers in this school of thought
look at human behavior across different cultures.
By looking at these differences, we can learn more about
how culture influences our thinking and behavior.5
For example, researchers have looked at how social
behaviors differ in individualistic and collectivistic
cultures.
• In individualistic cultures (such as the United States)
people tend to exert less effort when they are part of a
group—a phenomenon known as social loafing.
• In collectivistic cultures (such as China), people tend to
work harder when they are part of a group.
6. The Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychology focuses on the study of how the theory of evolution can
explain physiological processes. Psychologists who take this perspective apply the
basic principles of evolution (like natural selection) to psychological phenomena.
The evolutionary perspective suggests that these mental processes exist because
they serve an evolutionary purpose—meaning that they aid in human survival and
reproduction.​​
 7. The Humanistic Perspective
In the 1950s, a school of thought known as humanistic
psychology arrived. It was greatly influenced by the work of
prominent humanists such as Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
The humanistic perspective emphasizes the role of motivation in
thought and behavior. Concepts such as self-actualization are
essential. Psychologists with a humanist perspective focus on what
drives humans to grow, change, and develop their personal
potential.
Positive psychology (which focuses on helping people live happier,
healthier lives) is a recent movement in psychology with roots in
the humanist perspective.
Fields in Psychology
There are different types of psychology that serve different purposes. There is no fixed way of
classifying them, but here are some common types.
1. Clinical psychology
2. Cognitive psychology
3. Developmental psychology
4. Evolutionary psychology
5. Forensic psychology
6. Health psychology
7. Neuropsychology
8. Occupational psychology
9. Social psychology
Clinical Psychology
●Clinical psychology integrates science, theory, and practice in order to
understand, predict and relieve problems with adjustment, disability, and
discomfort. It promotes adaption, adjustment, and personal development.
● A clinical psychologist concentrates on the intellectual, emotional, biological,
psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of human performance throughout
a person’s life, across varying cultures and socioeconomic levels.
● Clinical psychology can help us to understand, prevent, and alleviate
psychologically-caused distress or dysfunction, and promote an individual’s well-
being and personal development.
● Psychological assessment and psychotherapy are central to the practice of
clinical psychology, but clinical psychologists are often also involved in research,
training, forensic testimony, and other areas.
Cognitive Psychology
●Cognitive psychology investigates internal mental processes, such as problem solving,
memory, learning, and language. It looks at how people think, perceive, communicate,
remember, and learn. It is closely related to neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics.
● Cognitive psychologists look at how people acquire, process, and store information.
● Practical applications include how to improve memory, increase the accuracy of decision-
making, or how to set up educational programs to boost learning.
Developmental Psychology
● This is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes that a person experiences
over the life span, often referred to as human development.
● It focuses not only on infants and young children but also teenagers, adults, and older
people.
● Factors include motor skills, problem solving, moral understanding, acquiring language,
emotions, personality, self-concept, and identity formation.
● It also looks at innate mental structures against learning through experience, or how a
person’s characteristics interact with environmental factors and how this impacts
development.
● Developmental psychology overlaps with fields such as linguistics
Evolutionary Psychology
● Evolutionary psychology looks at how human behaviour, for example, language
has been affected by psychological adjustments during evolution.
● An evolutionary psychologist believes that many human psychological traits are
adaptive in that they have enabled us to survive over thousands of years.
Forensic Psychology
● Forensic psychology involves applying psychology to
criminal investigation and the law.
● A forensic psychologist practices psychology as a science
within the criminal justice system and civil courts.
● It involves assessing the psychological factors that might
influence a case or behaviour and presenting the findings in
court.
Health Psychology
●Health psychology is also called behavioural medicine or medical
psychology.
●It observes how behaviour, biology, and social context influence
illness and health.
● A physician often looks first at the biological causes of a disease,
but a health psychologist will focus on the whole person and what
influences their health status. This may include their
socioeconomic status, education, and background, and behaviours
that may have an impact on the disease, such as compliance with
instructions and medication
Neuropsychology
● Neuropsychology looks at the structure and function of the brain in relation to behaviours
and psychological processes. A neuropsychology may be involved if a condition involves
lesions in the brain, and assessments that involve recording electrical activity in the brain.
● A neuropsychological evaluation is used to determine whether a person is likely to
experience behavioural problems following suspected or diagnosed brain injury, such as a
stroke.
● The results can enable a doctor to provide treatment that may help the individual achieve
possible improvements in cognitive damage that has occurred
Occupational Psychology
● Occupational or organizational psychologists are
involved in assessing and making recommendations about
the performance of people at work and in training.
● They help companies to find more effective ways to
function, and to understand how people and groups
behave at work.
● This information can help improve effectiveness,
efficiency, job satisfaction, and employee retention.
Social Psychology
● Social psychology uses scientific methods to understand
how social influences impact human behaviour. It seeks
to explain how feelings, behaviour, and thoughts are
influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of
other people.
● A social psychologist looks at group behaviour, social
perception, nonverbal behaviour, conformity, aggression,
prejudice, and leadership. Social perception and social
interaction are seen as key to understanding social
behaviour.
Aims of Psychology
● Psychology is devoted to understanding an individual’s
emotions, personality, and mind through a series of scientific
studies, observations, experiments, and research. Like every
other subject, the study of psychology aims to achieve a specific
set of goals. Basically, there are four primary aims of
psychology:
1. Describe
2. Explain
3. Predict
4. Control
Describe
● The first goal of psychology is to describe the actual phenomenon in
which humans and animals behave in different situations. By describing a
problem, an issue, or behaviour, psychologists can distinguish between
normal and abnormal behaviour, allowing them to gain a better
understanding and a more accurate perspective of human and animal
behaviour, thoughts, and actions.
● To achieve this goal, psychologists use a variety of research methods,
including surveys, case studies, natural observation, and self-assessment
tests. Through these scientific methods, behaviour can be described in
minute details and as objectively as possible. Once the action has been
described, the information gathered is used as basis to further study the
behaviour that just occurred.
Explain
Once a specific behavior has been described, psychologists
then attempt to go beyond the obvious and explain why people
act the way they do. Through a series of rigorous tests,
scientific experiments, and observations, psychology expounds
on the reason behind someone’s actions. Explaining behavior
provides answers to why people behave the way they do under
different circumstances.
Throughout the history of psychology, many theories have
been formulated to explain all aspects of human behavior.
While some are classified as mini theories (those that focus on
minor aspects of human thoughts and action), a large part of
psychological studies revolves around the grand theories that
encompass intricate details to explain everything about human
psychology
Predict
Making predictions based on how people previously thought and acted is
one of the primary goals of social psychology. By analyzing past observed
behavior, psychological studies aim to predict and anticipate how a certain
behavior will appear again in the future. This allows psychologists to form a
pattern of behavior and better understand the underlying causes of
people’s actions.
By analyzing qualitative data consisting of thought and action patterns,
psychologists and researchers can accurately make guesses about human
behavior without necessarily understanding the mechanisms behind a
certain phenomenon.
Control
Aside from treating mental illnesses and enhancing well-being, changing or
controlling human behavior is one of the primary goals of research in
psychology (“How the goals of psychology,” n.d.). Various psychological
studies about human behavior are used to influence, change, or control
behavior using previously gathered data about human behavior.
• In psychology, there are a number of theories that deal with changing or
controlling people’s behavior. Some of these widely known theories include
the health belief model, the theory of planned behavior, diffusion of
innovation theory, social cognitive theory, the transtheoretical model, and
the social norms theory.
• Whether behavior can be successfully changed or controlled largely
depends on one’s ability to accurately define a behavioral issue, assess the
fundamental causes of these problems