1. The Basics of Psychology
Samantha Roy
EDU 290
Dr. William Merrill

2. The History and Scope of Psychology
 Psychology’s Roots-
 Philosophy
 Biology
 Philosophy’s questions and biology’s methods
= psychology
Image from:
Exploring Psychology in Modules by David. G Myers
http://www.nctc.edu/Libraries/Home_Page/Psych_head.sflb.ashx

3. Psychology’s Birth – 1879
 Wilhelm Wundt- created the first psychology lab
 University of Leipzig (Germany)
 Father of Experimental Psychology
 Founder of Modern Psychology
 Psychology-
 the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
 Behavior-
 anything an organism does that is an observable or recordable action
 Mental Processes-
 internal subjective (debatable) experiences inferred from behavior
Exploring Psychology in Modules by David. G Myers

4. Philosophers
 John Locke (1632-1704)
 at birth the mind is a blank slate
 empiricism- rely on observation and
experimentation
 William James
 1st psychology textbook
Exploring Psychology in Modules by David. G Myers Image from: http://assetebooks.com/resources/The%20Principles%20of
%20Psychology.JPG

5. Biology - Pavlov (Russian Physiologist)
 discovered the learning principles
 classical conditioning
unconditioned stimulus (US)

conditioned stimulus (CS)

unconditioned reflex (UR)

conditioned reflex (CR)

 came up with the dog experiment
Exploring Psychology in Modules by David. G Myers Image from:
http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/pavlov/images/serie2.

6. Biology- Freud (Austrian Physician)
 Personality Theorist
 three different components
 Id
 all
of the biological components of personality
 immediate satisfaction
 Ego
 the mediator between the id and the superego
 Superego
 uses morals to do what is right
Image and information:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html

7. Biology - Piaget (Swiss Biologist)
 Developmental Psychology
 Cognitive Theory
 Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years)
Key component – Object

permanence
 Pre-operational stage (2 to 7 years)
Key component – egocentrism

 Operation stage (7 to 11 years)
Key component - conservation

 Formal operational stage (11 years
and on)
Key component – abstract

reasoning
http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html Image from: http://www.stelizabeth.com/Resources/

8. Biology – Erik Erikson
8 stages of Psychosocial development
 1. Trust vs. Mistrust (birth to 1 year)
 2. Autonomy vs. Shame & doubt (2-3 years)
 3. Initiative vs. Guilt (3-5 years)
 4. Industry vs. Inferiority (6-12 years)
 5. Identity vs. Role Confusion (13-18 years)
 6. Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood)
 7. Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle adulthood)
 8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair (old age)
www.simplypsychology.com.org/erik-erikson.html

9. Four Primary Perspectives
 1) Behavioral
i) only relies on observable behaviors
to determine influences of the
environment on behavior
 2) Cognitive
i) thought is what influences behavior
Images from: http://helpingpsychology.com and Exploring Psychology in Modules by David. G Myers
http://fhuhs.org/departments/socialstudies/

10. Four Primary Perspectives
 3) Neuroscience
i) how biology
and neurochemistry
affect behavior
 4) Psychodynamic
i) how
unconscious
thoughts and
conflicts influence
behavior
Exploring Psychology in Modules by David. G Myers Image from: http://www.personal.psu.edu/

11. Big Issue in Psychology
 a) Nature vs. Nurture
 Nature –
 inherited and genetic
 Nurture –
 all of the environmental issues after birth
 example – all of your experiences
 What concept do you believe has
the largest impact on a child?
Exploring Psychology in Modules by David. G Myers

12. Nature vs. Nurture
http://www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html

13. Subfields of Psychology
a) Developmental
i) mental and physical changes throughout
a persons life with a particular emphasis on
the earlier stages in life
b) Clinical
i) Studies, assesses, treats people with
psychological disorders
Exploring Psychology in Modules by David. G Myers

14. Subfields of Psychology cont.
c) Industrial/Organizational
i) applied to work, selection, leadership,
management, work and family conflicts, organizational
culture, and performance
d) Sports
i) mental aspects of sports and competition to
maximize performance
Exploring Psychology in Modules by David. G Myers

15. Fun Facts about psychology!
 Placebo pills can have just as much effect on a
human as the actual treatment
 Freud is taught at a number of universities, expect
for in their psychology department
 Almost all identical twins are not considered
“identical”
 A lot of people déjà vu about a conversation or a
dream
 You can only remember 3 to 4 things at a time
 You are hard wired for imitation and empathy
www.psychologytoday.com
Exploring Psychology in Modules by David. G Myers