INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

UNIT 1
• Psychology is concerned with almost all aspects of our lives.
That is why, every one is interested to know about psychology.
• But, there are many misconceptions about psychology.
• Many people think that psychology deals with treating mad
people.
• Some others feel that psychologists can read your mind just by
looking at you or your face/forehead.
• They tend to equate psychologists with astrologers,
gemologists, numerologists, palmists or graphologists, who
claim to solve your problems of life and predict your future.
• We might have heard the terms ‘psychology’, ‘psychological’,
‘mental’ etc., but what is the meaning of psychology and how
did it evolve?
• The origin of psychology dates back to 1870s.
• The term ‘Psychology’ is derived from two Greek words;
Psyche means “soul or breath” and Logos means “knowledge
or study” (study or investigation of something).
• The word ‘Psychology’ was not in common use before the
nineteenth century, and the field of psychology did not
actually become an independent science until the middle of
the nineteenth century.
• Psychology emerged as an independent academic discipline in
1879, when a German Professor Wilhelm Wundt established
the first psychology laboratory at the university of Leipzig,
Germany.
• Wundt was a medical doctor by training and early in his career,
he was fortunate to work with some of the great physiologists
of the nineteenth century. Fittingly, his laboratory was
established during the time he spent as a professor of
philosophy.
• The intellectual roots of psychology lie at the union of
philosophy and physiology.
• Wundt is traditionally recognized as the founder, or father of
the modern psychology, and 1879 is seen as the year that
psychology finally emerged as a unique field.
• Prior to Wundt, it was not possible to do major in psychology,
because there were no official psychologists or psychology
departments.
• Wundt started studying the structure of mind which meant
the immediate (conscious) experience, the contents and
processes of subjective experience such as sensations,
thoughts, feelings and emotions.
• Thus, formally, psychology was recognized as an independent
science in 1879.
 STRUCTURALISM
• Wundt proposed that psychology should focus on analyzing
the contents of consciousness in order to determine its basic
elements and the relationships between them – this view is
known as Structuralism.
• One of Wundt’s students was Edward Titchener (1867–1927),
an Englishman who eventually took Wundt’s ideas to Cornell
University in Ithaca, New York.
• Titchener expanded on Wundt’s original ideas, calling his new
viewpoint structuralism because the focus of study was the
structure of the mind.
• Titchener agreed with Wundt that consciousness could be
broken down into its basic elements, Titchener also believed
that objective introspection could be used on thoughts as well
as on physical sensations.
 FUNCTIONALISM
• Structuralism’s focus on consciousness was soon challenged
by William James and other psychologists who felt that their
new field should focus not on the structures of consciousness,
but on its functions.
• James focused on how the mind allows people to function in
the real world—how people work, play, and adapt to their
surroundings, a viewpoint he called functionalism.
• He was heavily influenced by Charles Darwin’s ideas about
natural selection, in which physical traits that help an animal
adapt to its environment and survive, are passed on to its
offspring.
 BEHAVIOURISM
• Though functionalism has done major contribution in the field of
psychology, it was soon replaced by another approach –
behaviorism.
• Behaviorism burst upon the field in 1913, in a provocative article
by a brilliant young psychologist – John B. Watson.
• Watson argued that psychologist should focus on behavior.-
actions that can be observed and measure.
• Watson said that : Why don’t we make what we can observe the
real field of psychology?
• Watson’s view was quickly won general acceptance.
• This view was emphasized further by B. F. Skinner, perhaps the
most famous behaviorist of all.
• He argued that because internal mental states cannot be studied
scientifically, they should not be part of psychology.
• Although behaviorism dominated psychology for decades, it
never had things all its own way.
• Psychologists were listening with growing interest to the
theories of a Viennese psychiatrist named Sigmund Freud.
• Freud argued strongly for the role of the unconscious and other
internal processes in human behavior and mental disorders.
• Another challenge to behaviorism occurred in 1950s, when
humanistic psychologists argued that contrary to what
behaviorists proposed, people really do have free will- they do
not simply repeat behaviors that yield positive outcomes while
avoiding behaviors that have negative outcomes.
• Humanists believed that people are strongly motivated by
future plans and goals and by desire of personal growth.
 Current Definitions
• Psychology is the science of human and animal behavior. It
includes the application of this science to human problems.
(Morgan, 1986)
• The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
(Feldman,1996)
• The science of behavior and cognitive processes. (Baron, 1999)
• The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
(Ciccarelli & Meyer,2006; Coon & Mitterer, 2007, 2008)
• Psychology is the science of human and animal behavior;
it includes the applications of this science in human
problems.
• PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE:
• A science is a body of systematized knowledge that is
gathered by carefully observing and measuring events.
• Psychologists do experiments and make observations which
others can repeat; they obtain data which others can verify.
• As a science, psychology is systematic.
• Data from experiments and observations are important but to
make them sense, they must be organized.
• Hence for organization of data, scientific theories are
important.
• Scientific theories are general principles which summarize
many observations and predict what can be expected to
happen in new situations.
• Another important part of science which psychology includes
is measurement.
• Measurement can be defined as assignment of numbers to
objects or events according to certain rules.
• We are all familiar with physical measurement ( length, time,
temperature)
• Measurement in psychology is difficult as compare to physics
or chemistry.
• Because many of the things psychologists study cannot be
measured directly by physical scale.
• How can we measure friendship or happiness?
• Even though many behaviors are difficult to measure,
psychologists have devised many tests to assign numbers to
them.
• Example aptitude tests and intelligence test.
• We can measure time taken to make a response in one
situation or another.
The Application of Psychology
• The second part of the definitions says that psychology has
applied side - that is, it is often solved “real life” problems.
• Example : The psychotherapist talking to a worried client, the
educational psychologist advising a school board on a new
curriculum.
• Just as physician or engineer develops skills in using scientific
knowledge to solve practical problems, these psychologists
have learned through special training the application of
psychology.
 Branches of Psychology
• The major subfields of Psychology are:
• 1. Clinical Psychology
• 2. Counseling Psychology
• 3. School and Educational Psychology
• 4. Experimental and Physiological Psychology
• 5. Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• 6. Social Psychology
• 7. Developmental Psychology
• 8. Community Psychology
 Clinical Psychology
• The branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of
mental illness and behavioral problems is known as clinical psychology.
• The field is generally considered to have begun in 1896 with the opening of
the first psychological clinic at the University of Pennsylvania by Lightner
Witmer.
• In the first half of the 20th century, clinical psychology was focused on
psychological assessment, with little attention given to treatment.
• This changed after the 1940s when World War II resulted in the need for a
large increase in the number of trained clinicians.
• Since that time, three main educational models have developed in the USA—
• the Ph.D. Clinical Science model (heavily focused on research),[4]
• the Ph.D. science-practitioner model(integrating research and practice), and
• the Psy.D. practitioner-scholar model (focusing on clinical practice).
• In 1907, Witmer founded the first journal of this new field, The Psychological
Clinic, where he coined the term "clinical psychology“.
 Clinical Psychology
Clinical Years
Psychologists
209 2007
465 2012
785 2016
852 Current

• As per Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists,

Membership Directory
 Clinical Psychology
• Clinical psychologists come closer to many people’s idea of
what a psychologist is.
• Clinical psychologists are “doctors” who diagnose
psychological disorders and treat them by means od
psychotherapy.
• Many people are confused between a clinical psychologist and
a psychiatrist.
• The clearest distinction between them is that a clinical
psychologist normally holds a Ph.D, or M.A. degree (or a Psy.D
for doctor of Psychology).
• A psychiatrist holds an M.D. degree.
• The Ph.D clinical psychologist has taken 4 or 5 years of
postgraduate work in psychology.
 Clinical Psychology
• The M.A. clinical psychologist has had about 2 years of
postgraduate work.
• The psychiatrist, on the other hand, has gone to medical
school and has then completed 3 or 4 years of residency
training in psychiatry.
• Another difference is that the clinical psychologist cannot
prescribe drugs to treat behavior disorders while psychiatrist
can.
• Only psychiatrist can commit a patient to a hospital for care
and treatment. Whereas psychologists are better trained to do
research.
• Psychologists are more likely to use psychotherapy method as
compared to psychiatrist.
 Clinical Psychology
• Confusion between the fields of clinical psychology and
psychiatry arises because they both provide psychotherapy.
• Such psychotherapeutic techniques range from giving support
and assurance to someone in a temporary crisis to extensive
probing to find motives behind behaviors.
• many clinical psychologists practice in mental hospitals,
veteran’s hospitals, community mental-health centers, and
similar agencies.
 Counseling Psychology
• It focuses on how people function both personally and in their
relationships at all ages.
• Counseling psychology addresses the emotional, social, work,
school and physical health concerns people may have at
different stages in their lives, focusing on typical life stresses
and more severe issues with which people may struggle as
individuals and as a part of families, groups and organizations.
 Counseling Psychology
• The term "counseling" is of American origin, coined by Rogers,
who, lacking a medical qualification was prevented from
calling his work psychotherapy.
• In the U.S., counseling psychology, like many modern
psychology specialties, started as a result of World War II.
• During the war, the U.S. military had a strong need for
vocational placement and training. In the 1940s and 1950s,
the Veterans Administration created a specialty called
"counseling psychology“.
 Counseling Psychology
• There are only 0.3 counselors for every 1,00,000 people in
India.
• The work of counseling psychologist is quite similar to that of
the clinical psychologist.
• The difference between them is that counseling psychologists
generally work with people who have milder emotional and
personal problems.
• They may use psychotherapy in an attempt to help with these
problems.
• Counseling psychologists are often consulted by people with
specific questions, such as a choice of career or educational
program.
 Counseling Psychology
• In their practice, counseling psychologists may make extensive
use of tests to measure aptitudes, interest, and personality
characteristics
• A number of counseling psychologists try to help people who
are having problems with their own family; these are the
marriage and family counselors.
School and Educational Psychology
• Educational psychology is that branch of
psychology in which the findings of psychology
are applied in the field of education. It is the
scientific study of human behavior in educational
setting.
• According to Charles. E. Skinner, “Educational
psychology deals with the behavior of human
beings in educational situations”.
• Thus educational psychology is a behavioral
science with two main references–
• human behavior and education.
School and Educational Psychology
• Johann Herbart (1776–1841) is considered as the
father of educational psychology.
• He believed that learning was influenced by
interest in the subject and the teacher.
School and Educational Psychology
• Less than 3 % of private schools in Delhi-NCR
employ full-time counselors.
• This despite a Central Board of Secondary
Education guideline that makes it mandatory for
schools to have them on board.
• Many of the school psychologist’s job consists of
diagnosing learning difficulties and trying to
remedy them.
School and Educational Psychology
• Using tests and information gained from
consultations with the student and his or her
parents, the school psychologists tries to
pinpoint the problem and suggest action to
correct it.
• For instance, a school psychologist might suggest
that a poor reader be assigned to a remedial
reading class.
• Other school psychologists are involved in
vocational and other forms of counseling.
School and Educational Psychology
• Educational psychology may include school
psychology, but educational psychologists, as
such, are usually involved with more general, less
immediate problems as compared to most school
psychologists.
• Educational psychologists are especially
concerned with increasing the efficiency of
learning in school by applying their psychological
knowledge about learning and motivation to the
curriculum.
DEVELOPMENATL PSYCHOLOGY
• Developmental psychology is the scientific study
of how and why human beings change over the
course of their life.
• Originally concerned with infants and children,
the field has expanded to include adolescence,
adult development, aging, and the entire
lifespan.
• John B. Watson and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are
typically cited as providing the foundations for
modern developmental psychology.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Developmental psychologists try to understand
complex behaviors by studying their beginnings and
the orderly ways in which they change with time.
• If we can trace the origin and developmental
sequence of certain behavior, we will have a better
understanding of that particular behavior.
• Since changes in behavior occur rapidly in the early
years of life, child psychology( the study of
children’s behavior), comprises a large part of
developmental psychology.
•
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
• But developmental changes also occur in
adolescence, adulthood, and old age; and so
the study of these changes is also a part of
developmental psychology.
• Developmental psychology has both research
and applied aspects.
• For instance, a great deal of research has
been done on the development of thinking in
children.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
• On the applied side, developmental
psychologists are often concerned with children
who have behavior problems or psychological
disorders.
• The kinds of behavior found in disturbed children
are frequently quite different from the behavior
found in disturbed adults, and different methods
are used to treat them.
 EXPERIMENTAL AND
PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Experimental psychology emerged as a modern
academic discipline in the 19th century
when Wilhelm Wundt introduced a
mathematical and experimental approach to the
field.
• Experimental psychology refers to work done by
those who apply experimental methods to
psychological study and the processes that
underlie it.
 EXPERIMENTAL AND
PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Many psychologists are not engaged in work that
applies directly to practical problems.
• Instead, these psychologists try to understand
the fundamental causes of behavior.
• They do what is sometimes called basic research,
studying such fundamental process as learning
and memory, thinking, sensation and perception,
motivation, and emotion.
 EXPERIMENTAL AND
PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
• In other words, the experimental psychologist
studies:
• how behavior is modified
• how people remember these modifications,
• the processing of information in thinking,
• how human sensory systems work to allow
people to experience what is going on around
them,
• and the factors that give direction to behavior.
 EXPERIMENTAL AND
PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Physiological psychology studies many topics
relating to the body's response to a behavior or
activity in an organism.
• It concerns the brain cells, structures,
components, and chemical interactions that are
involved in order to produce actions.
• A number of experimental psychologists are
concerned with the relationship of the brain and
other biological activity to behavior; these are
physiological psychologists.
 INDUSTRIAL AND
ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• The study of industrial-organizational (I-O)
psychology originated in the United States in the
early 1900s through the work of psychologists
Hugo Münsterberg and Walter Dill Scott (both of
whom were trained by German physiologist and
psychologist Wilhelm Wundt),
• Its practical application developed largely
through the work of American industrial
engineer Frederick W. Taylor. I-O psychology
grew rapidly after World War I and even more so
after World War II.
 INDUSTRIAL AND
ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Hugo Münsterberg is considered as the Father of
Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• He was also the promoter of industrial
psychology.
• He wrote an article titled “Psychology and
Market” in 1909 which talked about how
psychology could influence industrial matter
such vocational guidance, personal
management, employee motivation, and the
effects of fatigue and monotony on job
performance.
 INDUSTRIAL AND
ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Industrial-organizational psychology is the
branch of psychology that applies psychological
theories and principles to organizations.
• Often referred to as I-O psychology, this field
focuses on increasing workplace productivity and
related issues such as the physical and mental
well-being of employees.
• The first application of psychology to the
problems of industries and organizations was the
use of intelligence and aptitude tests in selecting
employees.
 INDUSTRIAL AND
ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Private and public organization also apply
psychology:
• to solve the problems of management and
training the employee
• to give counseling to the employee
• to improve communication within the
organization.
• The psychologists, who do this work are
sometimes called personnel psychologists.
 Social Psychology
• The earliest social psychology experiments on group behavior
were conducted before 1900, and the first social psychology
textbooks were published in 1908.
• During the 1940s and 1950s, the social psychologists Kurt
Lewin and Leon Festinger refined the experimental approach
to studying behavior, creating social psychology as a rigorous
scientific discipline.
• Lewin is known as “the father of social psychology” because
he initially developed many of the important ideas of the
discipline, including a focus on the dynamic interactions
among people.
 Social Psychology
• The primary focus of social psychology is on understanding
how individuals are affected by other people.
• For example, it includes:
• the study of the ways in which we perceive other people and
• how those perceptions affect our behavior toward them.
• The field has particularly benefited from contribution by
sociologists.
• The focus of social psychology is on individual whereas the
sociologist is primarily concerned with societal institution.
 Community Psychology
• Community psychology is a branch of psychology that
involves the study of how individuals relate to their
communities and the reciprocal affect of communities on
individuals.
• Seymour Sarason is considered the “father” of Community
Psychology.
• Community Psychologists apply psychological principles and
ideas, to help solve social problems and to help individuals
adapt to their work and living groups.
• Community psychologists set up programs to reach people in
the community who happen to have behavior problems, or
likely to develop them and who are not presently being served
by traditional psychotherapeutic methods.
 Community Psychology
• Other community psychologists deals with community
problems such as hostility among groups in community, bad
relations between the police and the community members, or
distress due to a lack of employment opportunities etc.
 METHDOS IN PSYCHOLOGY
1. Observation
2. Case Studies
3. Survey
4. Correlational methods
5. Experimental methods
6. Psychological tests.
 OBSERVATION
• One basic technique for studying behavior involves carefully
observing it is it occurs.
• In science this observation is accompanied by careful and
accurate measurement.
• For example: scientists studying the formation of tornadoes
often drive hundred of miles in order to be present at spots
where the tornadoes are likely to form.
• They do this because they wish to make careful observations
of the physical events that occur as tornadoes actually take
shape.
• This is known as observation method.
 OBSERVATION: Naturalistic
Observation
• Naturalistic observation is a research method in which behavior is
studied in the settings were it usually occurs.
• Naturalistic observations often used in the study of animal behavior, it
is sometimes applied to human beings as well.
• Especially to behavior in public places such as airports, shopping malls,
and hotel lobbies.
• Naturalistic observation is a research method commonly used by
psychologists and other social scientists.
• Compared with systametic observations it is like the difference
between studying wild animals in a zoo and studying them in their
natural habitat.
• With regard to human subjects this method was used to research the
way of life of different tribes living on islands in the South Pacific.
• Also used it to study children at play by observing their behavior in a
playgroup.
OBSERVATION: Naturalistic
Observation
• Limitations:
1. These observations are often conducted on a
micro (small) scale. This may result in the
findings lacking the ability to be generalized to
wider society.
2. Natural observations are less reliable as other
variables cannot be controlled. This makes it
difficult for another researcher to repeat the
study in exactly the same way.
OBSERVATION: Systematic
Observation
• Systematic observations are likely to be carried out in a
psychology laboratory.
• The researcher decides where the observation will take place,
at what time, with which participants, in what circumstances
and uses a standardized procedure.
• Systematic observations can be easily replicated by other
researchers by using the same observation schedule.
• Systematic observations are usually overt as the researcher
explains the research aim to the group, so the participants
know they are being observed.
• Systematic observations are also usually non-participant as the
researcher avoids any direct contact with the group, keeping a
distance (e.g. observing behind a two-way mirror).
OBSERVATION: Systematic
Observation
• Limitation:
• Controlled observations can lack validity as
participants know they are being watched they
may act differently.
 CASE STUDIES
• In case method detailed information is gathered on specific
individuals.
• The researchers then use this information to formulate
principles or reach conclusions that, presumably , apply to
large numbers of persons.
• By far the most famous practitioner of the case method was
Sigmund Freud.
• He used small number of cases as the basis for his famous
theories of personality and mental illness.
• Case method can be quite useful when the case is very
unusual.
 CASE STUDIES
• This method is ordinarily used only when people come to
psychologists with personal problems such as:
• Rita is doing badly in school
• Ram throws temper tantrums
• Rohit who is in 11th std is caught stealing from school.
• Mr. Sharma how is married for 5 years is worried because he and
his wife cannot get along.
• While using this method , psychologist usually begins by
getting a detailed account of the person’s history,
• Including his family relations.
• This information is usually gained by interviewing the person
and his associates.