1. Chapter 1 : Introduction
The Nature of Psychology
Ailene C. Ygot
Instructor
2. Psychology as a Science
• psyche (mind) + logos (study)
• actions, responses, behavior
• How? objective and systematic study
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior
and mental processes.
3. Psychology as a Science
• Goals:
describe, explain, predict and control
behavior and mental processes
• How can I control my fears?
• How can I learn to study?
4. History of Psychology
• Nativist View – some ideas
are innate
17th century
Rene Descartes
• Empiricist View – knowledge
is acquired through
experiences and interaction
with the world
NATURE
NURTURE
5. History of Psychology
• 1879 – first psychological laboratory
• University of Leipzig, Germany
• Wilhelm Wundt – Father of Psychology
study on senses – vision
attention, emotions and memory
6. History of Psychology
• 1883 – first psychology lab in the US
• John Hopkins University
• Granville Stanley Hall
• founded the first American Journal of
Psychology
7. History of Psychology
• 19th century
• Titchener / Wundt
• Structuralism
mental structures – perception, consciousness,
thinking and emotions
Introspection – method of data collection
8. History of Psychology
• 1900’s
• William James
• Functionalism
functions of the mind and behavior to adapt to
the environment
9. History of Psychology
• 1900’s (US)
• John B. Watson
• Behaviorism
challenged Functionalism
observable behavior
10. History of Psychology
• 1912 (Germany)
• Max Wertheimer
• Gestalt Psychology
“gestalt” – form , configuration
the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
experiences cannot be broken down into smaller
units
11. History of Psychology in the
Philippines
• 17th century – Psychology was taught in the
Phils. (UST & USC)
• 1926 – first Department of Psychology (UP)
• UST – first university to offer undergraduate,
master’s and doctoral degrees in Psychology
12. Pioneers in Psychology in the
Philippines
• Sinforoso Padilla – established the first
psychological clinic in the Philippines in UP in
1932
• Jesus Perpina – set up the FEU psychological
clinic in 1933
• Estefania Aldaba-Lim – first Filipino to
receive a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. In
1962, she set up the Philippine Psychological
Corporation.
14. Psychodynamic Approach
Sigmund Freud
behavior stems from the unconscious mind
manifestations – dreams, slips of speech
(“Freudian slip”) , or mannerism
Psychoanalysis – therapeutic approach of Freud
Carl Jung and Alfred Adler
15. Behavioral Approach
John B. Watson – father of Behaviorism
only by studying behavior could psychology be
considered a science
mind cannot be observed directly
Stimulus-Response (S-R) psychology – offshoot
of behaviorism
Stimulus (environment) – Response (responses to
stimulus) - Rewards and Punishments following
these responses
16. Cognitive Approach
mental processes –
perceiving
remembering
reasoning
deciding
problem solving
how?
Focus on specific behaviors and then interpreting them in
terms of underlying mental processes
17. Biological Approach
how the brain underlie behavior and mental
processes
physiological processes
neurotransmitters – chemicals produced in the
brain that are believed to have an effect on the
person’s moods
serotonin
norepinephrine
18. Phenomenological or Humanistic
Approach
subjective and personal experience of events
(phenomenology) and the need for personal
growth
the belief that an individual’s principal
motivational force is a tendency toward growth
and self actualization
Abraham Maslow
Carl Rogers
19. Sociocultural Approach
the ways by which social and cultural
environments influence behavior
cultural context should be considered
comparing behavior across countries;
or within a country
20. Depression
• Psychodynamic
• Behavioral
• Cognitive
• Biological
• Humanistic
• Sociocultural
• Anger turned inward
• Lack of positive reinforcers
• Interpretation of their
ability to control events
• Genetic susceptibility to
depression
• Self-esteem
• Culturally acceptable?