Psychology

Introduction

Why study psychology ?

There are many answers to that question, but the best one is the psychology covers almost everything which is of interest to human beings.
The great majority of people are more interested in what drives them and other than in just about anything else.

The Basic Thoughts

You can see something of the enormous extent of contemporary psychology by considering the following (almost random) selection of issues which have been addressed by psychologist.
Does telepathy exit? What happens when we dream? What are the similarities and differences between loving and liking?

The Basic Thoughts

Why are some people cleverer than others? How does human memory work? How does therapy cure mental disorders? Are women better drivers than men? How do friendships form? etc.. It has numerous applications in everyday life.

Other areas
Advertising Marketing In general profession. Where a knowledge of psychology is of a great value.

Proceed to definition
According to the author of most textbooks, Psychology is the science of behaviour.
This definition has some merit, because it is true that most psychologist do attach considerable importance to observing and measuring the behaviour of participants in their studies. However, psychology is not just the science of behaviour.

Proceed to definition
Many psychologist accept that participants accounts of their own conscious experience (often known as INTROSPECTION) provide valuable information when trying to understand human behaviour.

Definition of Psychology According to Sternberg(1995: 4)

To define psychology as the study of the mind and of behaviour and to argue that psychologist seek to understant how we think, learn, perceive, feel act, interact with others, and even understand ourselves.

Others views
There is another reason for not regarding psychology simply as the science of behaviour. Most psychologists are not in fact directly interested in behaviour itself. What they are attempting to do is use information about behaviour in order to draw inferences about internal processes and motive.

Produce a new definition

Psychology is the science which uses introspective and behavioural evidence to understand the internal processes which lead people to think and to behave in the ways they do

Definition of Psychology
Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society. In this field, a professional practitioner or researcher is called a psychologist, and can be classified as a social scientist, behavioral scientist, or cognitive scientist. Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior, while also exploring the physiological and neurobiological processes that underlie certain functions and behaviors.

Concept Explore
Psychologists explore such concepts as perception, cognition, attention, emotion, phenomenology, motivation, brain functioning, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Some, especially depth psychologists, also consider the unconscious mind. Psychologists employ empirical methods to infer causal and correlation relationships between psychosocial variables. In addition, or in opposition, to employing empirical and deductive methods, someespecially clinical and counseling psychologistsat times rely upon symbolic interpretation and other inductive techniques. Psychology incorporates research from the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities, such as philosophy.

Application of psychology
While psychological knowledge is often applied to the assessment and treatment of mental health problems, it is also applied to understanding and solving problems in many different spheres of human activity. Although the majority of psychologists are involved in some kind of therapeutic role (clinical, counseling, and school positions), many do scientific research on a wide range of topics related to mental processes and behavior (typically in university psychology departments) or teach such knowledge in academic settings; and some are employed in industrial and organizational settings, and in other areas such as human development and aging, sports, health, the media, law, and forensics.

Psychology as a profession
Clinical psychologists.
From working with children with learning difficulties to counseling people with HIV / AIDS. Clinical psychologists use a wide variety of techniques to diagnose and treat emotional and behavioural problem. Often working as part of a team within the community or in hospital setting.
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Psychology as a profession
Counseling psychologists. May work with individuals or groups using psychological theories to enable people to overcome their problems and take control of their life. Educational psychologists. Employed it schools, colleges, nurseries and special units to diagnose and solve learning difficulties.

Psychology as a profession
Health psychologists.
Using psychological principles to promote healthier living. Employed in hospitals, academic health research units, health authorities and university department. Occupational or Industrial psychologists. Work with industry, helping in selecting suitable candidates for employment

Biological Bases
Psychology is the science of mental life. Principles of psychology (1890) William James.

The study of mind includes.

The study of mind in body.

Biological Bases
Level of biological organization
The individual organism Cell Tissue Organ System Organism

Group of organism Species Genus Family Order Classes

Phylum (Division) Kingdom

System Of The Body

Nervous system Endocrine system Integument system Skeletal system Muscular system Cardiovascular system Lymphatic system Respiratory system Digestive system Urinary System Reproduction system Immune system

Level Of Neural System

Cell Tissue Organ System Neuron Nerves, Ganglia, Nuclei Brain, Spinal Cord, Brain stem Nervous System Central ( Brain, Spinal cord Per Peripheral (somatic, skeleton) Autonomic Organism Person

Some Common Neurological Disorders

Amnesia Aphasia Alexia Agraphia Acalculia Apraxia Agnosia ( Memory) ( Speech) ( Reading) ( Writing) ( Math) ( Action) ( Knowledge )

Human Brain

Perception

PERCEPTION
Perception (from the Latin perceptio, percipio) is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs. For example, vision involves light striking the retinas of the eyes, smell is mediated by odor molecules and hearing involves pressure waves.
(Cohen et al., 1996)

Southern Culture of Honor

120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Northern Southern

Insult
(Cohen et al., 1996)

No Insult

Southern Culture of Honor

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Northern Southern

Insult

No Insult

(Cohen et al., 1996)

Southern Culture of Honor

12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Northern Southern

Insult

No Insult

(Cohen et al., 1996)

Southern Man
Southern man better keep your head Don't forget what your good book said Southern change gonna come at last Now your crosses are burning fast Southern man I saw cotton and I saw black Tall white mansions and little shacks. Southern man when will you pay them back? I heard screamin' and bullwhips cracking How long? How long? Southern man better keep your head Don't forget what your good book said Southern change gonna come at last Now your crosses are burning fast Southern man Lily Belle, your hair is golden brown I've seen your black man comin' round Swear by God I'm gonna cut him down! I heard screamin' and bullwhips cracking How long? How long?

Sweet Home Alabama

Big wheels keep on turning Carry me home to see my kin Singing songs about the Southland I miss Alabamy once again And I think its a sin, yes Well I heard mister Young sing about her Well, I heard ole Neil put her down Well, I hope Neil Young will remember A Southern man don't need him around anyhow Sweet home Alabama Where the skies are so blue Sweet Home Alabama Lord, I'm coming home to you

How Can We Reduce Aggression?

exposure to non-aggressive models promote empathy and identification with those we might aggress against minimize aggression cues and opportunities