Activity
• Get a piece of paper and write
in three columns what you think
about yourself starting with the
following phrases:
Activity
Sharing
• How did you see yourself? Were there
more positive thoughts, feelings, and
acts than negative ones in you?
• Was it hard to think about yourself?
Why?
• Is it healthful to look only at your
positive self? Why or Why not?
• Were you able to study your thoughts,
feelings and actions? How Now,
define psychology.
• Why do you think is there a need to
study human behavior? How would
the study of psychology make you a
better person?
The Science of Psychology
• Psychology ( Etymology )
- Comes from the Greek word “psyche”
which means breath, spirit or soul and
“logos” which means the study of.
The Science of Psychology
• Psychology is a science that deals with the
study of behavior of man and animal.
• This field of science is an objective and
systematic study within the framework of
underlying theories of behavior and
cognitive processes.
Behavior as the Concern of
Psychology
Psychology is the science of
studying human and animal behavior.
Why “behavior” rather than “mind” or
“feeling”?
Behavior as the Concern of
Psychology
• Fifty years ago, behavior is strictly
interpreted as the movements of the
body that could be seen or heard.
• Now, behavior includes feelings,
attitudes and mental processes( all
internal events that cannot be directly
observed).
Behavior as the Concern of
Psychology
• Behavior is any activity or response of
an organism.
• Huffman and Vernoy referred behavior
as the way people act or anything a
man or animal does, feels or thinks.
Behavior as the Concern of
Psychology
Overt Behavior – observable, easily seen
or identified.
Covert Behavior-is non observable,
hidden, and is harder to detect.
Behavior as the Concern of
Psychology
• Thoughts, perceptions, attitudes,
motives
feelings, and emotions are mental or
cognitive processes that cannot be
observed per se but can actually
observed through facial expressions,
gestures, or behavior.
Psychology as a Scholarly
Discipline
• Psychology represents a major field
of study in academic settings, with
emphasis on the communication and
explanation of principles of theories of
behavior.
Psychology as a Profession
• Psychology involves the practical
application of knowledge, skills and
techniques for the solution of or the
prevention of individual or social
problems.
Psychology as a Science
• It is focused on research through
which investigators collect, quantify,
analyze and interpret data describing
animal and human behavior , thus
shedding light on the causes and
dynamics of behavior patterns.
Good Characteristics of
Scientific Psychology
1. It is systematic, formal and
objective.
- Psychologist follow a set of rules that
maintain a high degree of scientific
procedures and require that the scientist
be as objective as possible.
Good Characteristics of Scientific
Psychology
2. It strives for simplicity and order.
- It states that when two possible
ideas are both adequate, the simpler
one should be considered.
Good Characteristics of Scientific
Psychology
3. It is precise.
-Science insists on careful
measurement and on quantifying
observations.
Good Characteristics of Scientific
Psychology
4. It must have a repetition.
-Psychologist are conducted in a way
that other researchers can adapt similar
procedures to see whether they
produce the same result.
Good Characteristics of Scientific
Psychology
5. It provides cumulative knowledge.
In effect, the outcome of scientific
experiments are published in journals
and books so that scientific knowledge
accumulates over time with latest
findings and ideas building on an
existing foundation.
Psychology and other Sciences
• Psychology bridges the natural and
social sciences and the humanities.
The disciplines are categorized into
three:
1. Natural Sciences – the science of
nature that includes physics, chemistry
and biology.
2. Social Sciences- the science of
individual’s relationships to society
that includes sociology, anthropology,
political science, and economics.
3. Humanities- The application of
psychology in languages, philosophy, art
and music.
Goals of Psychology
1. Description
( To describe behavior)
a. Qualitative Description- on the
basis of structure of traits they have
in common.
b. Quantitative Description- on the
basis of measurement of traits they
have tested.
Goals of Psychology
2. Prediction
( To identify factors that help predict
behavior)
A statement of expectation that a
particular event will occur.
Goals of Psychology
3. Understanding ( Application)
( To understand or explain behavior by
identifying causes that bring about
certain effects)
Explanation in behavior in terms of the
underlying principles, concepts and
theories that can be applied for human
interest and value.
Goals of Psychology
4. Control
( To control or change behavior)
Achieving control of behavior is done
after description, understanding, and prediction
have been meet.
RELATION OF
PSYCHOLOGY TO
OTHER SCIENCES
• Eagle and Snell Grove (1974) presents a few
representative sciences and their important
relations to psychology:
1. Psychology and Anthropology
2. Psychology and Biology
3. Psychology and Chemistry
4. Psychology and Psychiatry
5. Psychology and Sociology
6. Psychology as Behavioral or as a
Social Science
Psychology and Anthropology
• Anthropology is becoming
more and more concerned with
the behavior of so- called
civilized as well as so- called
primitive peoples.
Psychology and Anthropology
Through his studies of widely
divergent cultures, the
anthropologist assists the
psychologist in understanding the
influences of environment on the
behavior of individuals.
Psychology and Biology
• Biology contributes much to
psychology. For instances, in the
study of emotions, a knowledge of
the activity of the glands and
parts of the brain and functions of
each is required.
Psychology and Chemistry
• Some forms of behavior
disorders that were formerly
spoken of as sickness of the
mind can now be explained in
terms of body chemistry.
Psychology and Psychiatry
• Psychiatrists are physicians who
specialized in the prevention,
diagnosis, and treatment of mild
and severe mental disorders. They
hold an M.D. degree from some
university school of medicine.
• Psychologists, with rare exceptions,
do not hold an M.D. degree. They
are not licensed to prescribe drugs,
perform surgery, or use treatment
that is restricted to medical men by
law.
Psychology and Sociology
• The distinction is that the
psychologist focuses primarily
on the individual, while the
sociologist focuses primarily on
the group.
Psychology as Behavioral or as a
Social Science
• Psychology may be referred to as a
behavioral science when the
discussion emphasis is on groups
of individuals in interaction.
Psychology as Behavioral or as a
Social Science
Thus, a subfield of psychology,
like social psychology, tends to
be viewed as part of the social
sciences because it focuses on
social phenomena.
Methods of Psychological Study
1. Introspection
2. Observation
3. Questionnaires, Opinionnaires,
Inventories
4. Statistical Method
5. Clinical Method/Case History
method
6. Survey method
7. Experimental Method
8. Interviews
Historical Beginnings
• Traditionally
•
mere speculation about human
nature and its environment, often
given in terms of mystical spirit
influencing or directing activities of the
individual which has been called
“ANIMISM”
•
Philosophical
•
Plato’s concept of mind – body
existence ; ideas come from two
sources: innate and products of
observation through the senses.
• Aristotle’s concept that the
body is a more important factor
in the analysis of behavior. He
emphasized that the senses are
the sources of experience and
controls of behavior; that to
understand behavior and
experience, body functions
must be studied.
Medieval Era
• St. Augustine developed
introspection a method of
understanding one’s self by
looking into one’s own
thoughts and feelings.
Pre Modern Period
The Philosopher Rene Descartes (1596 –
1650) formulated the theory of mind –
body interaction.
John Locke (1632-1704) introduced the
idea as the unit into which all
experiences may be analyzed
George Berkely (1685- 1753) said
that ideas become the only reality.
Associationism, faculty psychology
and Darwinism were the three
influences that became evident in
this time.
Scientific Psychology
Begun in the 2nd half of the 19th century
In 1879 Wilhelm Wundt founded his
Experimental Laboratory in Leipzig,
Germany which earned him the Father of
Experimental Psychology. He first
undertook through the experimental
approach, a systematic scientific body of
knowledge about man’s interaction with
his environment.
Psychology in America – G. Stanley
Hall, James McKeen Cattell studied
with Wundt at Leipzig.
William James conducted experiments
at Harvard as early as 1875 and
published his 1890 his Principles of
Psychology.
• G. Stanley Hall worked with James in
1881 established the first
psychological research laboratory in
Johns Hopkins University. He
pioneered in child study and wrote
on child, adolescent, and senescent
psychology.
• France – Philippe Pinel began the
enlightened psychological
interpretation of insanity.
• Anton Mesmer in 1779 developed
hypnosis, Seguin (1848) made of
testing in the teaching of mentally –
retarded children.
• Alfred Binet (1857 – 1911) the
Father of Intelligence tests. He
started the first intelligence tests.
England – Charles Darwin
published Origin of Species in
1859. Sir Francis Galton studied
individual differences . Karl
Pearson (1857 –1936) and
Spearman (1863-1911) giving
England a leadership in the
development of Statistical
method.
Germany – E.H. Weber work in 1930
on sensation and stimulation was
modified by Fechner (1860) into the
Weber – Fechner law.
Helmholtz developed the theory of
color vision in 1852 and audition in
1863.
• Max Wertheimer in 1912 worked on
the organization of mental
processes. A new psychology by the
name Gestalt came to be identified
with Wertheimer (1880-1943)
Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka.
Kurt Lewin introduced his field
theory which laid emphasis on
motivation and social psychology.
Review For a Quiz Next
Meeting
