Psychology

Polytechnic University of the Philippines
College of Arts
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
Manila

GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (PSYC 1013)

Course Description:

This course has a broad coverage of the conceptual and empirical foundations of psychology in its main fields. The discussion of the theories, concepts, and finding which focuses on complex human behavior: how and why we think, feel and behave the way we do, how we act and interact with others, and why and how we become the unique individuals that we are.

Course Objectives:

A. General o To assist students in understanding themselves, the problems they face in the context of the Philippine society and the ways of meeting such problems. B. Cognitive 1. Demonstrate acquired knowledge of psychology as a scientific field of study; 2. Describe the biological and developmental processes of human organisms; 3. Explain various factors responsible for individual differences and how such differences are manifested through responses to multifaceted realities. 4. Distinguish different sources of stress; and 5. Compare normal and abnormal behaviors; recognize the ill effects of indiscriminate use of drugs, and the need to maximize the positive individual and collective potentials of the Filipino people. C. Value Aim o Appreciate the importance of forming wholesome beliefs, attitudes and values for the enhancement of individual effectiveness and harmonious social interactions.
Course Outline:

A. Orientation, Nature and Scope of Psychology 1. Definition of Psychology 2. Historical Background 3. Objectives of the Discipline 4. Approaches to Psychology 5. Related Fields 6. Methods of Research 7. Importance of Psychology B. Biological and Development Processes 1. Mental Status Examination Neurological Basis of Psychology 2. Psychological Development C. Human Perception and Consciousness 1. Sensory Processes 2. Human Perception 3. Consciousness 4. Psychoactive Drugs D. Thinking, Learning and Memory 1. Thinking and Language 2. Learning 3. Memory E. Motivation and Emotion F. Individual Differences and Personality G. Frustration, Conflict and Stress H. Social Psychology 1. Individual Social Behavior 2. Social Influences 3. Psychology at Work 4. Research Methods in Social and Industrial Psychology 5. Environment and Urban Psychology I. Abnormal Behavior

Evaluation Techniques: A. Quizzes B. Class Participation C. Major Exams D. Attendance E. Assignments F. Group Activities G. Reaction Paper H. Reporting

INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY

Definition of Psychology o Taken from two Greek words psyche which means “breath”, “spirit” or “soul”; and logos which means “study of”. o It is the science that studies systematically the behavioral processes of the individual human being. Science – Psychology is a science that gathers facts systematically, organizes them into general principles and formulates theories out of these factual data. Behavior – actions or activities of the individual as matters of psychological study. It may be overt/covert, conscious/unconscious, simple/complex, rational/irrational, voluntary/involuntary. o Psychology is both an applied and academic field that studies the human mind and behavior. Research in psychology seeks to understand and explain how we think, act and feel. Applications for psychology include mental health treatment, performance enhancement, self-help, ergonomics and many other areas affecting health and daily life.

Historical Background of Psychology

We can actually trace the background of psychology along two ways – the traditional and the scientific.

A. Traditionally, psychology is said to have began with man’s earliest speculations regarding human nature. B. The Greek Influence o Democritus – believed that the human mind is composed of atoms and which enabled it to penetrate the whole body. o Plato – the mind or soul is distinct in its own right and is God-given. He also said that the soul is composed of three parts – that which exerts reason (in the head); that which is responsible for our noble impulses (in the heart); and the basest part, the seat of our own passions (in the diaphragm). o Aristotle – distinguished three functions of the soul – the vegetative, concerned with the basic maintenance of life; appetitive, concerned with motives and desires; and the rational, the governing function located in the heart. The brain merely performs minor mechanical processes as a gland. He also conceived of a “common sense”, one of the mental functions which ties perception and sensation together. o Galen – contributed his theory of the dependence of human temperament on physiological factors. Differences in behavior is attributable to the “humors” or vital juices of the body:
|HUMOR |TEMPERAMENT |CHARACTERISTIC |
|Blood |sanguine |cheerful |
|Phlegm |phlegmatic |sluggish |
|Black Bile |melancholic |sad |
|Yellow Bile |choleric |irascible |

C. The Medieval Period o St. Augustine – introduced and used the method of introspection. D. Pre-Modern Period o Rene Descartes – “Cogito ergo sum” which means “I think therefore I am”. o John Locke – “Tabula Rasa” which means “blank slate”. E. Scientific Psychology o 1879 – Wilhelm Wundt, a German psychologist founded his Psychological Laboratory at Leipzig, Germany. He is the Father of Psychology. o Psychology in America -James Cattell and Granville Stanley Hall studied with Wundt at Leipzig. -William James conducted experiments at Harvard as early as 1875. - G. Stanley Hall and William James established the first psychological laboratory in America at John Hopkins University in 1881. - Hall founded the first psychological journal The American Journal of Psychology in 1887. He is also the first president of the American Psychological Association in 1892. o Psychology in France - Philippe Pinel and others began as early in the 19th century the enlightened psychological interpretation of insanity. o Psychology in England - Charles Darwin – Origin of the Species - Sir Francis Galton – individual differences and techniques of measurement. - Karl Pearson and Spearman - development of Statistical methods. o Psychology in Germany - E.H.Weber – worked on sensation and stimulation. - Fechner modified Weber’s work into Weber-Fechner Law. - Max Wertheimer – worked on the organization of mental processes.

Schools and Movements in Psychology
When psychology was first established as a science separate from biology and philosophy, the debate over how to describe and explain the human mind and behavior began. The different schools of psychology represent the major theories within psychology.

Structuralism and Functionalism

Structuralism was the first school of psychology, and focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Major structuralist thinkers include Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener. The focus of structuralism was on reducing mental processes down into their most basic elements. Structuralists used techniques such as introspection to analyze the inner processes of the human mind.
Functionalism formed as a reaction to the theories of the structuralist school of thought and was heavily influenced by the work of William James. Major functionalist thinkers included John Dewey and Harvey Carr. Instead of focusing on the mental processes themselves, functionalist thinkers were instead interested in the role that these processes play.

Behaviorism

Behaviorism became a dominant school of thought during the 1950s. It was based upon the work of thinkers such as:
• John B. Watson
• Ivan Pavlov
• B. F. Skinner
Behaviorism suggests that all behavior can be explained by environmental causes rather than by internal forces. Behaviorism is focused on observable behavior. Theories of learning including classical conditioning and operant conditioning were the focus of a great deal of research.

Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a school of psychology founded by Sigmund Freud. This school of thought emphasizes the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior.
Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three elements: the id, the ego and the superego. The id is composed of primal urges, while the ego is the component of personality charged with dealing with reality. The superego is the part of personality that holds all of the ideals and values we internalize from our parents and culture. Freud believed that the interaction of these three elements was what led to all of the complex human behaviors.

Freud's school of thought was enormously influential, but also generated a great deal of controversy. This controversy existed not only in his time, but also in modern discussions of Freud's theories. Other major psychoanalytic thinkers include:
• Anna Freud
• Carl Jung
• Erik Erikson.

Humanistic Psychology
Humanistic psychology developed as a response to psychoanalysis and behaviorism. Humanistic psychology instead focused on individual free will, personal growth and the concept of self-actualization. While early schools of thought were largely centered on abnormal human behavior, humanistic psychology differed considerably in its emphasis on helping people achieve and fulfill their potential.
Major humanist thinkers include:
• Abraham Maslow
• Carl Rogers.
Humanistic psychology remains quite popular today and has had a major influence on other areas of psychology including positive psychology. This particular branch of psychology is centered on helping people living happier, more fulfilling lives.

Gestalt Psychology
Gestalt psychology is a school of psychology based upon the idea that we experience things as unified wholes. This approach to psychology began in Germany and Austria during the late 19th century in response to the molecular approach of structuralism. Instead of breaking down thoughts and behavior to their smallest elements, the gestalt psychologists believed that you must look at the whole of experience. According to the gestalt thinkers, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology is the school of psychology that studies mental processes including how people think, perceive, remember and learn. As part of the larger field of cognitive science, this branch of psychology is related to other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy and linguistics.

Cognitive psychology began to emerge during the 1950s, partly as a response to behaviorism. Critics of behaviorism noted that it failed to account for how internal processes impacted behavior. This period of time is sometimes referred to as the "cognitive revolution" as a wealth of research on topics such as information processing, language, memory and perception began to emerge.
One of the most influential theories from this school of thought was the stages of cognitive development theory proposed by Jean Piaget.

The Branches of Psychology and its Related Fields

a. The subfields of Psychology as pure science 1. Biological Psychology – the subfield which explains behavior and mental processes with and through the findings about what the structures of the brain are and their functions as well as the neural processes taking place in the brain. 2. Experimental Psychology – deals with experimentally finding out how individuals respond to sensory stimuli, perceive other individuals, events and situations, how they learn, remember, reason and affectively respond. 3. Developmental Psychology – deals with human development and the factors that determine the execution of behaviors and the acquisition of attitudes from birth to old age. 4. Social Psychology – concerned with how individuals perceive and interpret their social world and how the beliefs, emotions, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others. 5. Personality Psychology – deals with the traits of individuals which account for the consistent patterns of their perceiving, thinking, feeling, and behaving, which function over time and across situations. 6. Abnormal Psychology - a field of psychology that deals with psychopathology and abnormal behavior. The term covers a broad range of disorders, from depression to obsession-compulsion to sexual deviation and many more. Counselors, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists often work directly in this field. 7. Cognitive Psychology - the branch of psychology that studies mental processes including how people think, perceive, remember and learn. As part of the larger field of cognitive science, this branch of psychology is related to other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics. 8. Comparative Psychology - Comparative psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the study of animal behavior. Modern research on animal behavior began with the work of Charles Darwin and Georges Romanes and has continued to grow into a multidisciplinary subject. Today, biologists, psychologists, anthropologists, ecologists, geneticists and many others contribute to the study of animal behavior.

b. The subfields of Psychology as applied science 1. Clinical Psychology – applies psychological principles to the diagnosis and treatment of more serious emotional and behavioral problems through psychological means, which we call psychotherapy. 2. Counseling Psychology – concerned with helping individuals with less serious emotional and behavioral problems in view of facilitating the actualization of their potentials and of facilitating their growth and development as persons. 3. School Psychology – applies psychological principles especially those of Child Psychology to the learning in school in view of identifying their emotional problems and view of helping those involved in their learning to solve such problems. 4. Educational Psychology – applies psychological principles to the creation and devising of methods and strategies of teaching in view of facilitating more effective teaching and learning. 5. Industrial Psychology or Organizational Psychology – applies psychological principles to the selection of individuals who are most suitable for particular jobs. 6. Engineering Psychology – applies psychological principles to the designing of machines and tools for work activities in view of improving the relationship between workers and machine, thereby minimizing human errors in work and maximizing productivity. 7. Forensic Psychology – defined as the intersection of psychology and the law, but forensic psychologists can perform many roles so this definition can vary. In many cases, people working within forensic psychology are not necessarily "forensic psychologists." These individuals might be clinical psychologists, school psychologists, neurologists or counselors who lend their psychological expertise to provide testimony, analysis or recommendations in legal or criminal cases.

Methods of Research in Psychology

Descriptive or Correlational Research Methods

Case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation, and laboratory observation are examples of descriptive or correlational research methods. Using these methods, researchers can describe different events, experiences, or behaviors and look for links between them. However, these methods do not enable researchers to determine causes of behavior.
Remember: correlation is not the same as causation. Two factors may be related without one causing the other to occur. Often, a third factor explains the correlation.

Example: A psychologist uses the survey method to study the relationship between balding and length of marriage. He finds that length of marriage correlates with baldness. However, he can’t infer from this that being bald causes people to stay married longer. Instead, a third factor explains the correlation: both balding and long marriages are associated with old age.

Measuring Correlation

A correlation coefficient measures the strength of the relationship between two variables. A correlation coefficient is always a number between –1 and +1. The sign (+ or –) of a correlation coefficient indicates the nature of the relationship between the variables.
A positive correlation (+) means that as one variable increases, the other does too.
Example: The more years of education a person receives, the higher his or her yearly income is.
A negative correlation (–) means that when one variable increases, the other one decreases.
Example: The more hours a high school student works during the week, the fewer A’s he or she gets in class.

The higher the correlation coefficient, the stronger the correlation. A +0.9 or a –0.9 indicates a very strong correlation; a +0.1 or a –0.1 indicates a very weak correlation. A correlation of 0 means that no relationship exists between two variables.
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Common correlational research methods include case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation, and laboratory observation.

Case Studies

In a case study, a researcher studies a subject in depth. The researcher collects data about the subject through interviews, direct observation, psychological testing, or examination of documents and records about the subject.

Surveys

A survey is a way of getting information about a specific type of behavior, experience, or event. When using this method, researchers give people questionnaires or interview them to obtain information.
When subjects fill out surveys about themselves, the data is called self-report data. Self-report data can be misleading because subjects may do any of the following: • Lie intentionally • Give answers based on wishful thinking rather than the truth • Fail to understand the questions the survey asks • Forget parts of the experience they need to describe

Naturalistic Observation

When using naturalistic observation, researchers collect information about subjects by observing them unobtrusively, without interfering with them in any way. Researchers create a record of events and note relationships among those events. With naturalistic observation, researchers face the challenge of getting a clear view of events without becoming noticeable to the subjects.

Laboratory Observation

As the name implies, researchers perform laboratory observation in a laboratory rather than in a natural setting. In laboratory observation, researchers can use sophisticated equipment to measure and record subjects’ behavior. They can use one-way mirrors or hidden recording devices to observe subjects more freely while remaining hidden themselves. Unlike observation in a natural setting, laboratory observation offers researchers some degree of control over the environment.

Psychological Tests

Researchers use psychological tests to collect information about personality traits, emotional states, aptitudes, interests, abilities, values, or behaviors. Researchers usually standardize these tests, which means they create uniform procedures for giving and scoring them. When scoring a test, researchers often compare subjects’ scores to norms, which are established standards of performance on a test. A well-constructed standardized test can evaluate subjects better than self-report data.

Reliability

A test has good reliability if it produces the same result when researchers administer it to the same group of people at different times. Researchers determine a test’s test-retest reliability by giving the test to a group of people and then giving the test again to the same group of people at a later time. A reliable test will produce approximately the same results on both occasions.
Psychologists also use alternate-forms reliability to determine a test’s reliability. They measure alternate-forms reliability by giving one version of a test to a group of people and then giving another version of the same test to the same group of people. A reliable test will produce roughly the same results no matter which version of the test is used.

Validity

A test is valid if it actually measures the quality it claims to measure. There are two types of validity: • Content validity is a test’s ability to measure all the important aspects of the characteristic being measured. An intelligence test wouldn’t have good content validity if it measured only verbal intelligence, since nonverbal intelligence is an important part of overall intelligence. • Criterion validity is fulfilled when a test not only measures a trait but also predicts another criterion of that trait. For example, one criterion of scholastic aptitude is academic performance in college. A scholastic aptitude test would have good criterion validity if it could predict college grade point averages.

Experiments

Unlike correlational research methods or psychological tests, experiments can provide information about cause-and-effect relationships between variables. In an experiment, a researcher manipulates or changes a particular variable under controlled conditions while observing resulting changes in another variable or variables. The researcher manipulates the independent variable and observes the dependent variable. The dependent variable may be affected by changes in the independent variable. In other words, the dependent variable depends (or is thought to depend) on the independent variable.

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Experimental and Control Groups

Typically, a researcher conducting an experiment divides subjects into an experimental group and a control group. The subjects in both groups receive the same treatment, with one important difference: the researcher manipulates one part of the treatment in the experimental group but does not manipulate it in the control group. The variable that is manipulated is the independent variable. The researcher can then compare the experimental group to the control group to find out whether the manipulation of the independent variable affected the dependent variable.

Often, subjects in the control group receive a placebo drug or treatment, while subjects in the experimental group receive the real drug or treatment. This helps researchers to figure out what causes the observed effect: the real drug or treatment, or the subjects’ expectation that they will be affected.
Example: Suppose a researcher wants to study the effect of drug A on subjects’ alertness. He divides 100 subjects into two groups of 50, an experimental group and a control group. He dissolves drug A in saline solution and injects it into all the subjects in the experimental group. He then gives all the control group subjects an injection of only saline solution. The independent variable in this case is drug A, which he administers only to the experimental group. The control group receives a placebo: the injection of saline solution. The dependent variable is alertness, as measured by performance on a timed test. Any effect on alertness that appears only in the experimental group is caused by the drug. Any effect on alertness that appears in both the experimental and control groups could be due to the subjects’ expectations or to extraneous variables, such as pain from the injection.

Extraneous Variables

Ideally, subjects in the experimental and control groups would be identical in every way except for the variables being studied. In practice, however, this would be possible only if researchers could clone people. So researchers try to make groups with subjects that are similar in all respects that could potentially influence the dependent variable. Variables other than the independent variable that could affect the dependent variable are called extraneous variables.
One way to control extraneous variables is to use random assignment. When researchers use random assignment, they create experimental and control groups in a way that gives subjects an equal chance of being placed in either group. This guarantees the two groups’ similarity.

Approaches in Psychology

1. Information-Processing Approach – complex mental processes can now be theorized and tested through simulations in a computer.

2. Psycholinguistics – pioneered by Noam Chomsky in his book SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES (1957) psychology can now be applied to the mental structures needed to understand and speak a language.

3. Neuropsychology – Studies of the brain and the nervous system has established the relationship of neurobiological events and mental processes.

THE SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES OF PSYCHOLOGY

Generally, the definition of psychology emphasizes the study of human behavior. This meaning can be expounded as to the scope and objectives in relation to following sequence of academic study as to understand, describe, predict and control certain behavioral phenomenon along the conditions and situations within a given environment.

1. Provide understanding of the behavioral actions through the cause - effect relationship in order to gain specific insight of the situation. 2. Describe the human behavior on a given situation or condition. 3. Provide a mechanism to facilitate the prediction of the behavior of individual in the cause-effect relationship as to the standard action on a given response of the individual. 4. Provide the control mechanism to change the behavioral of the individual.