Lesson in Introduction to Psychology and General Psychology

1. Introduction to
Psychology
Prepared by:
Orlando A. Pistan, MAEd-GC
Psychology Instructor

2. Psychology
The term Psychology came from the Greek
word Psyche which means “the mind or soul”;
and Logos- meaning “study of”.
When combined, psychology literally means the
study of the mind or soul. On the modern
sense, psychology could be defined as the
scientific study and practical application of
observable behaviour and mental processes of
organisms.

3. Psychology
Behavior Attitude
Actions / Reactions Predisposition
Overt Covert

4. Elements:
 Science. Psychology is considered as a science because it is
focused upon the study and investigation of certain behaviour
with the application of one or a combination of scientific
methods. Gathering of factual information is considered
important to prove certain phenomena.
 Study of Behaviour. Psychology is the study of the mind and it
is a difficult task- trying to study what runs in the mind of an
individual. Therefore, in order to study the mind, one has to
associate the way of thinking of an individual to his behaviour.
This would actually link the behaviour of man and what runs in
his mind.
 Study of Mental processes. This includes man’s perception,
attention, capability to remember, to reason, and to solve
problems. Dreams, fantasies, wishes and anticipation are also
considered as mental processes.

5. Mental Processes:
Perception - a way of
regarding,
understanding, or
interpreting
something; a mental
impression.

6. Mental Processes:
Attention - The ability to focus selectively on a
selected stimulus, sustaining that focus and
shifting it at will.

7. Mental Processes:
Remember - is defined as to recall or make an
effort to keep a person, event or thing in one's
mind.

8. Mental Processes:
Reasoning - the action of thinking about
something in a logical, sensible way.

9. Mental Processes:
Problem-solving - the process of finding
solutions to difficult or complex issues.

10. Mental Processes:
Dream - an idea or vision that is created in
your imagination and that is not real.
A fantasy is something you imagine.
Wish - feel or express a strong desire or hope
for something that is not easily attainable; want
something that cannot or probably will not
happen.

11. Mental Processes:
Anticipation – expectation or
prediction.

12. Psychology is one of the
behavioural sciences together with:
Anthropology
Sociology
Economics
Political Science
History

13. Anthropology
The comparative study of human
societies and cultures and their
development. Social anthropology
and cultural anthropology study the
norms and values of societies.

14. Anthropology

15. Sociology
The study of the development,
structure, and functioning of human
society.

16. Sociology

17. Economics
The branch of knowledge concerned
with the production, consumption,
and transfer of wealth

18. Economics
Employee 1
15k / month
Buying “needs”
first over
“wants”.
Employee 2
10k / month
Buying “wants”
first over “needs”.

19. Political Science
The branch of knowledge that deals
with systems of government; the
analysis of political activity and
behaviour.

20. Political Science
Anti-Tambay Law

21. History
The study of past events,
particularly in human affairs.

22. History

23. Behavior
Refers to the actions and reactions of
the individual when exposed or placed
on a certain situation or environment.
Overt / Observable by the naked eyes.

24. Types of Behavior
Overt
Covert
Conscious
Unconscious
Rational
Irrational

25. Types of Behavior
Overt – observable and can be
manifested outwardly, (walking, playing
writing)
Covert – not directly visible, (lying,
thinking, learning)

26. Types of Behavior
Conscious – actions that is within one’s
awareness, (solving math problem
mentally; all emotional feelings)
Unconscious – actions done by an
individual yet he is not aware of doing
so, (hunger and thirst)

27. Types of Behavior
Rational – an action which is in the
realm of sanity and adequate reason,
(ex. admiring an athlete because of his
physique)
Irrational – pertains to actions which
are done without any apparent reason
and explanation

28. Goals of Psychology
To describe – detailed characterization of a certain
phenomenon.
To explain – expounding the various causes of
why certain behaviors occur.
To predict – anticipation of any future actions of
an individual.
To control – alteration of the behavior of the
individual.

29. Goals of Psychology
To describe – detailed
characterization of a certain
phenomenon.
To explain – expounding the
various causes of why
certain behaviours occur.
To predict – anticipation of
any future actions of an
individual.
To control – alteration of the
behaviour of the individual.

30. Intro to Psychology
Thank you for
paying attention.
Prepared by:
Orlando A. Pistan, *MA-GC
Psychology Instructor