1. How Psychologists
Conduct Their Work


2. The Focus
 Psychologists focus on:
 Factors that are unique
to the individual
 On personal / unique
experiences that
influence how an
individual will act and
think.

3. Br anches of
Psycholog y:
 Clinical
psychology -
develops programs
for treating
individuals suffering
from mental
illnesses and / or
behavioural
disorders.

4. Research
Psychologists
 Use a variety of methods in their
studies:
 Conduct experiments
 Create long term studies
 Organize surveys
 Engage in reviews of
scholarly literature

5. Experimental
psycholog y
 Set up experiments
to see how
individuals act in
particular situations
in order to identify
the normal range of
human behaviour
and the reasons for
them.

6. Psychological Research
 Much involves the strong link between
people’s attitudes (what they think) and
their behaviours (what they do).
 Do you need to change people’s attitudes
before you can change their behaviour?
 THIS IS A MAJOR CHALLENGE

7. The Psychological
Questions

8. Cognitive Consistency
Social psychologists have
discovered that most
individuals desire this
The desire to avoid
attitudes that conflict with
each other.
We tend to live more
satisfying lives when we
do.

9. Changing
Our Minds
What makes us
change our
attitudes is the
discomfort that we
experience when
two attitudes
conflict.

10. Cognitive
Dissonance
Theory
The most favoured
theory of attitude
change.
States that people try
to avoid conflicts
between what they
think and what they
do.

11. Psychology and Social Change
Behaviour Modification Theory
• States we must move through a number of
stages before we can successfully change.
• Psychologists who study BM attempt to
determine methods that can successfully
change or modify human behaviour.
– Of special importance for psychologists who
work with criminals.
• Think “The Fun Theory” 

12. Behaviour Modification Theory
• “The Stages of Change” model is typical of the
behaviour modification theory:
Stage Characteristics
Precontemplation Denial and refusal
Contemplation Questioning
Preparation Investigation
Action Commitment
Maintenance (begins about six months after Transition
action stage begins)
Termination Completion

13. Behaviour Modification Theory
• Overall psychologists have concluded that
positive reinforcement is a more effective
method of modifying behaviour than negative
reinforcement or punishment.
Operant Conditioning
Classical Conditioning