Psychology is a

Science
Or is it?
Dr. Tony Tsarkov, M.D.

Psychologists: Usually have masters or

doctorate. Trained in methods, knowledge, and
theories of psychology.
Psychiatrists: MD; usually use medications to
treat problems. Generally do not have extensive
training in providing talk therapy.
Psychoanalysts: Receive additional training
post-Ph.D. or M.D. at an institute.
Psychiatric Social Workers: Many have masters
degrees and perform psychotherapy. Presently a very
popular profession.
Not all psychologists perform therapy!

Be familiar with the definition of Psychology

To understand the Scientific Method
Understand why Psychology is a science and evidence based practice
Be familiar with the historical roots of Psychology
Understand the different research methods used by psychologists

 Psychology comes from the root words

psyche, or mind, and logos, or study

Psychology is defined as the scientific

study of behavior and mental processes.

Psychology is an objective and

systematic study of how people

behave and think.
Its goals are to describe, explain,

predict, and control behavior and

mental processes.

Rene Descartes
(1596 1650)

Rene Descartes
Beliefs:
Rationalist: True knowledge comes through reasoning
Nativist: Heredity provides individuals with inborn
knowledge and abilities and we use this to reason
We are to doubt everything thats the only way we
can be certain about anything
I think, therefore I am.

John Locke
(1632 1704)

John Locke
Saw the mind as receptive and passive,
with its main goal as sensing and perceiving
Tabula rasa we are born as a blank slate,
everything we know is learned
This is in direct contrast to the rationalist
Descartes

Hermann
Helmholtz
(1821 1894)

Hermann Helmholtz
He was a mechanist he believed that

everything can be understood with basic physical

and chemical principles
He pushed for the need to test and demonstrate
things.

Gustav
Fechner
(1801
1887)

Gustav Fechner
Psychophysics he pushed to investigate the
relationship between the physical world and our
conscious psychological world
He thought it possible to measure the perceived
as well as the physical intensities of sensory
stimuli and to determine a mathematical
relationship
Just noticeable difference (JND) approach

Wilhelm Wundt
(1832 1920)

Wilhelm Wundt
1st Psychological lab (1879)

University of Leipzig, Germany

Focus on consciousness
Find basic elements of conscious processes
Discover how elements (sensations and feelings) are
connected
Specify laws of connection
Introspection
Self-observation: seeing mental processes in
immediate experience

Structuralism
Lots of work on sensation & perception and breaking those down into minute detail
Three basic mental elements

Images, feelings & sensations

Titchner
Found 43,000 elements associated with sensory experiences

30,000 associated with visual

11,000 associated with auditory
4 associated with taste (was correct with this one)

Functionalism
Focus on adaptation
Applying Darwins theory of natural selection to mental processes

William James
Stream of consciousness
Consciousness is personal/selective, continuous (cant be cut up for

analysis), and constantly changing

Structuralism was foolish to search for common elements to all minds

Behaviorism
Focus on observable behavior

J. B. Watson
Felt that the main goal of psychology should be the

prediction and control of behavior

Stimulus-response theory
We respond to stimuli with our behavior, not thoughts
Pavlovs dog studies
Reinforcement for behavior
If our behavior produces rewarding consequences,
then we will do it again

Gestalt psychology
Wholes vs. multiple individual elements
You shouldnt dissect an experience into

separate elements to discover truths

instead, look at the whole

Freuds Psychodynamic Theory

Conscious vs. unconscious conflicts
Unconscious: motivations and memories of

which we are not aware

Mental illness arises from being overwhelmed by
which of these is in control
Psychoanalysis as therapy: tell me about your
childhood.

Early dates

Greek philosophers: Studied the nature of the mind, the

(Socrates, Plato,
soul, the body, and human
Aristotle)
experience

17th Century

Rene Descartes

Nativist View:
some ideas are innate

John Locke

Empiricist View:
Knowledge is acquired through
experiences & interactions with the
world

1869

Sir Francis Galton of

England

Studied individual differences> devt of

intelligence tests

1879

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of Psychology
Established the first psychological
laboratory (Germany @ Leipzig Univ. )
Research: senses (vision), attention,
emotion and memory

 Psychodynamic Approach
Behavioral Approach
Cognitive Approach
Biological or Behavioral Neuroscience

Approach
The Phenomenological or Humanistic Approach
The Sociocultural Approach
The Evolutionary Psychology Approach
Systemic approach

 Developed by Sigmund Freud

States that much of our behavior

stems from unconscious

processes, conflict between
biological instincts & societys
demands, and early family
experiences.
Basis for the therapeutic approach

called psychoanalysis

 John B. Watson: father of Behaviorism

Behaviors are activities of people or other

organisms that can be observed by others.

States that when we attempt to understand an

event, we need to look at the observable behaviors

& their environmental determinants.
Little Albert experiment.

Concerned with mental processes,

such as perceiving, remembering,
reasoning, deciding, and problem
solving.
States that Only by studying
mental processes can we fully
understand what people do.

 Concerned with how the brain and nervous system

underlie behavior & mental processes.

Attempts to relate behavior to electrical and

chemical events taking place inside the body

The Nervous System (brain) and the Endocrine

System are studied to determine the biological

causes of behavior.

 Focuses on the subjective and

personal experience of events

(Individual Phenomenology) , and
on the need for personal growth.
Concerned with describing the

inner life and experiences of

individuals, rather than
developing theories or predicting
behaviors.

 Studies the ways by which

social and cultural environments

influence behavior
A persons cultural context

should be considered in order to

understand behavior.
Focuses on comparing

behaviors across countries as

well as across cultures within a
country.

 Emphasizes the importance of adaptation,

reproduction, and survival of the fittest in explaining

behavior.
Focuses on the conditions that allow people to fail

or survive.

 These focus on the feedback loops within the

family system that cause double bind or catch

22 situations that cause the presenting problems.
The solution is the problem focus
The Structures (Munich) or feedback loops (Milan)
cause the issues.

 Experimental Method
Quasi-experimental

Method
Correlational Method
The Naturalistic
Observation Method
The Survey Method
Standardized Tests
Case Studies
Archival Research

The main objective of an experiment is to

discover the effect of an independent
variable (IV) on a dependent variable
(DV).
IV: variable to be manipulated;
independent of what the participant does
DV: variable being measured; depends on
the IV

Ex. Effect of Music on Memory

Similar to the experimental method

except
that random assignment of
participants is not possible.

The objective of this method is to determine whether two or more

variables are associated or related to each other.

The variables are first measured, after which a correlational analysis or

technique (e.g. Pearson r) is conducted to determine the relationship.

Involves observing the phenomenon of

interest as it occurs naturally.

Ex. Observing primates in their natural

environment, systematically observing the

behavior of newborn babies, and
observing couples public display of
affection (PDA) in the school campus.

Employs either a written questionnaire or

an interview schedule.
Ex. Political opinions, sexual attitudes, or

product preferences
Allows us to gather data about

experiences, feelings, thoughts, and

motives that are hard to observe directly.

Respondents are required to answer a series of

questions and their responses scored to reflect
something about their persons. A respondents
score is compared with those of the others who
took the same test.

Ex. Otis Test, Stanford-Binet Test (IQ)

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(MMPI)
Indigenous Tests: Panukat ng Pagkataong Pilipino
(PPP), Panukat ng Ugali at Pagkatao (PUP)

Descriptive record of an
individuals experiences or
behavior, or both, as kept by an
observer.

The main objective is to obtain a

case history of the person being
studied.

Written records (i.e. public and private documents),

statistical archives, and physical traces of human beings
are systematically studied in lieu of actual behaviors.

Exs. Diaries, letters, paintings, books, poems,

newspaper or magazine articles, movies, and speeches.

A range of objective approaches are used

Variables are controlled
Observation leads induction and deduction
Theories are tested against real world
Practice is evidence based on observation
Common factors evidence base to counselling.