1. Defining PsychologyPsychology is the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes.Psychologists approach human behavior as scientists who think criticallyand are curious, skeptical, and objective. Behavior includes everythingorganisms do that can be observed. Mental processes are thoughts,feelings, and motives.As a truly general science, psychology addresses all sides of humanexperience—positive and negative, strengths and weaknesses. Psychology ischaracterized by controversy and debate, and new psychologicalperspectives sometimes arise when some scientists question the views ofothers.2. Psychology in Historical PerspectivePsychology emerged as a science from the fields of philosophy andphysiology. Two founders of the science of psychology are Wilhelm Wundtand William James. Wundt’s structuralism emphasized the conscious mindand its structures. James’s functionalism focused on the functions of themind in human adaptation to the environment. The functionalist emphasison the mind’s adaptive character fit well with the new understandings thatcame from Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.3. Contemporary Approaches to PsychologyDifferent approaches to psychology include biological, behavioral,psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive, evolutionary, and socioculturalviews. All of these consider important questions about human behavior fromdifferent but complementary perspectives.The biological approach focuses on the body, especially the brain andnervous system. Technological advances in brain imaging have allowedresearchers to examine the brain in all its complexity. The behavioralapproach emphasizes the scientific study of observable behavioralresponses and their environmental determinants. John B. Watson and B. F.Skinner were important early behaviorists. The psychodynamic approachemphasizes unconscious thought, the conflict between biological instinctsand society’s demands, and early childhood family experiences. SigmundFreud was the founding father of the psychodynamic approach. Thehumanistic approach emphasizes a person’s capacity for positive growth,freedom to choose one’s destiny, and positive qualities. The cognitiveapproach emphasizes the mental processes involved in knowing. Cognitive
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Psychology | The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. |
Science | The use of systematic methods to observe the natural world,including human behavior, and to draw conclusions. |
Behavior | Everything we do that can be directly observed. |
Mental Processes | The thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly. |
Critical Thinking | The process of reflecting deeply and actively, asking questions, evaluating the evidence. |
Empirical Method | Gaining knowledge through the observation of events, the collection of data, and logical reasoning. |
Positive Psyhcology | A branch of psychology that emphasizes human strengths. |
Structuralism | Wundt's approach to discovering the basic elements, or structures, of mental processes; so called because of its focus on identifying the structures of the human mind. |
Functionalism | James's approach to mental processes, emphasizing the functions and purposes of the mind and behavior in the individual's adaptation to the environment. |
Natural Selection | Darwin's principle of an evolutionary process in which organisms that are best adapted to their enviroment will survive and produce offspring. |
Biological Approach | An approach to psychology focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system. |
Neuroscience | The scientific study of the structure,function, development,genetics, and biochemistry of the nervous system, emphasizing that the brain and nervous system, emphasizing that the brain and nervous system are central to the understanding behavior, thought, and emotion. |
Behavioral Approach | An approach to psychology emphasizing the scientific study of their observable behavioral responses and their enviromental determinants. |
Psychodynamic Approach | An approach to psychology emphasizing unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives(such as the drive for sex) and society's demands, and early childhood family experiences. |
Humanistic Approach | An approach to psychology emphasizing a person's positive qualities,the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose any destiny. |
Cognitive Approach | An approach to psycholgy emphasizing the mental processes involved in knowing: how we direct our attention,perceive,remember,think,and solve problems. |
Evolutionary Approach | An approach to psychology centered on evolutionary ideas such as adaptation,reproduction,and natural selection as the basis for explaining specifc human behaviors. |
Social Cultural Approach | An Approach to psychology that examines the ways in which social and cultural environments influence behavior. |
Psychopathology | The scientific study of psychological disorders and the development of diagnostic categories and treatments for those disorders. |
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