AP Psychology

Unit 1: Science of Psychology

Essential Task 1-2: Distinguish the different careers in psychology (clinical, counseling, developmental, educational, experimental, human factors, industrial-organizational, personality, and psychometric)

We are here

The Science of Psychology

Approaches to Psych Growth

of Psych

Research Methods Statistics

Descriptive Correlation Experiment

Case Study

Survey

Naturalistic Observation

Descriptive Inferential

Ethics

Sampling

Central Tendency

Variance

Careers

Essential Task 1-3:

• Early Psychology– First Lab – Wundt– Structuralism – Titchner– Functionalism – William James

• Psychoanalytic – Freud• Behaviorism – Pavlov, Watson and Skinner• Cognitive Revolution• Contemporary Trends in Psychology

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Early Psychology - Wundt

• Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology laboratory at the University of Liepzig in 1879. By insisting on measurement and

experimentation he moves psychology from a philosophy to a science

Outline

PHILOSOPHY SCIENCE

This is my lab!

Structuralism Bradford Titchner School of psychology

that stressed the basic units of experience (physical sensation, feelings, and memories) and the combinations in which they occur.

Study these ‘atoms of experience’ to get the structure of the mind

• Introspection Too Subjective!

Break this down to its atoms of experience

How do you know what this is?How is your mind structured in

order to perceive it?

So what is this?

And this? How’s structuralism working for you now?

This is not a pipe.

Functionalism William James

Rejects Structuralism Influenced by Darwin

Functionalism –theory of mental life and behavior that is concerned with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to function in its environment.

Functionalists looked at the whole system of mental processes (not just at the tiny elements of consciousness)

Our brains are like the hardware of a computer and our minds (mental processes)) are like the software of a computer

Psychodynamic Psychology

• Sigmund Freud• Behavior results from forces at

work within the individual, often at an unconscious level. Often formed during childhood.

• Late 1800s• Since the person can’t access

their own unconscious, it is hard to prove or disprove this theory scientifically.

Psychodynamic = Unconscious

Behaviorism

• Studied only observable behaviors• Studied how organisms learn behaviors.• Classical Conditioning – learning that results

from things happening to you.– Ivan Pavlov – Dogs– John B. Watson – Baby Albert

• Operant Conditioning – learning that results from getting rewards or punishments.– B.F. Skinner – Skinner Box

Behaviorism

The Cognitive Revolution

• The precursors to cognitive psychology:– Gestalt psychology

• Study of how we perceive objects as whole patterns• Therapy that wishes to treat the whole person

– Humanistic psychology• Emphasizes realization of full potential• Recognizes importance of love, self esteem,

belonging, and self-actualization

The Cognitive Revolution

• Study of mental processesThinkingLearningFeelingRememberingDecision making

New Directions in Psychology

• Evolutionary psychology– Studies the adaptive value of behaviors

and mental processes• Positive psychology

– Study of the subjective feelings of happiness and well-being

– Focus is on positive attitude

Essential Task 1-2: Careers

• Distinguish the different careers in psychology – Clinical– Counseling– Developmental– Educational– Experimental– Human Factors– Industrial-Organizational– Personality– Psychometric

Outline

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Clinical vs. CounselingClinical

• Focuses on individuals with serious mental illness (e.g. schizophrenia)

• Concerned with diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders

• Split: Treat & research the cause of psychological disorders and the effectiveness of different types of therapy.

Counseling• Deal with “normal” problems,

(i.e. stress caused by career change or marital problems)

• Focus more on the psychologically healthy individual

Career options include: Licensed social workersCounseling psychologists Clinical psychologists Psychiatrists Psychoanalysts

Developmental

• Study of physical and mental growth from birth to old age

• study of changing abilities from womb to tomb

• Subfields– Child psychology– Adolescent psychology– Life-span psychology

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Educational

• School Psychologist• Psychological evaluations• Consult with school personnel in relation to

students’ learning, behavior, and environments• They are trained to look at the effectiveness of

academic programs, classroom agendas, and treatment interventions, which assists in the development of specific interventions.

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Experimental

• Design research experiments• May or may not have a direct impact on

the treatment of patients• Animal subjects• Drug trials

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Human Factors

• The science of understanding the properties of human capability (Human Factors Science).

• Design, develop and deploy systems and services (Human Factors Engineering).

• Ergonomics – when HFE is successfully applied

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Industrial Organizational

• Study of psychological principles in industry and business

• Examples– Selecting and training personnel– Productivity improvement– Optimizing working conditions– Managing the impact of automation on

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Personality

• looks at the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behavior that make a person unique.

• Study of how people differ from one another on traits such as– Conscientiousness– Agreeableness– Neuroticism– Openness– Extraversion

• Administer personality tests such as the MMPI or the Myers Briggs

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Psychometric

• the field of psychology concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement.

• Create psychological tests that are reliable and valid.

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