Chapter 1
What Is
p
sychology?
COn
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ept Map
40 Chapter 1 What Is Psychology?— Confirmation bias, the
tendency to look for and accept
evidence that supports our
beliefs and ignore evidence that
disconfirms them.The Science of Psychology
The Modern Study of Personality
Psychology is the discipline concerned with behavior and mental processes and how they
are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external environment.
Unlike pseudoscientific approaches to behavior, it relies on empirical data.- Wilhelm Wundt founded the first psychology
laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, in 1879, and
emphasized the analysis of experience through
trained introspection. - American William James emphasized the
adaptive nature of behavior, an approach
known as functionalism. - Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis,
an early form of psychotherapy, in Vienna,
Austria.
Psychologists differ in the work they
do. They may:- conduct research, either in basic
psychology, to gain knowledge for
its own sake; or in applied
psychology, to find practical
uses for knowledge. - teach.
- provide mental health services
(psychological practice). - consult with business, govern-
mental, and other groups to apply
the findings of research.
Psychology’s Present
The four major perspectives of psychological science:- The biological perspective focuses on how bodily
events interact with the external environment to affect
behavior, feelings, and thoughts. - The learning perspective emphasizes the
environment’s effect on behavior. - The cognitive perspective emphasizes mental
processes in reasoning, memory, perception, language,
problem solving, and beliefs. - The sociocultural perspective focuses on the
influence of social and cultural forces on behavior.
What Psychologists Do
Critical thinking rests on eight basic guidelines:- Ask questions.
- Define terms.
- Examine the evidence for a claim.
- Analyze assumptions (beliefs taken for granted) and biases (beliefs
that prevent us from considering the evidence fairly). - Avoid emotional reasoning.
- Avoid oversimplification.
- Consider alternative explanations.
- Tolerate uncertainty.
Critical and Scientific Thinking
in Psychology
— Principle of falsifiability,
the statement of a
hypothesis in such a way
that it can be disproved
by counterevidence.— In science, the goal is to develop a theory, an organized
system of assumptions and principles that explain a set of
phenomena and their interrelationships.— Psychological scientists resist drawing firm conclusions
until others have replicated the study and gotten similar
results.- Read, recite, review.
- Dig deep—process the information.
- Retest yourself on previously recalled material.
- Forget about cramming.
Psychological practitioners seek to
understand and improve people’s
physical and mental health. There are
many kinds, with different qualifica-
tions:- Psychotherapist is an unregulated
term. - Clinical psychologists have
Ph.D., Ed.D., or Psy.D. degrees. - Psychiatrists have M.D. degrees.
- Psychoanalysts have completed
training in psychoanalytic
institutes.