Mental Processes: Internal and subjective experiences inferred from behavior, such as sensations, perceptions, dreams, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings.
2. Research in Psychology
Basic Research:
Pure science is aimed at increasing the overall scientific knowledge base.
Applied Research:
Scientific studies are designed to solve practical, real-world problems.
3. Major Psychological Approaches
Humanistic Approach
Focus:
Emphasizes personal choice and self-determination.
Key Idea:
Individuals are guided by their physiological, emotional, or spiritual needs.
Behavioral Approach
Focus:
Analyzes behavior through the lens of conditioning.
Key Idea:
Explains human thought and behavior in terms of observable responses and the consequences they elicit.
Psychoanalysis Approach
Focus:
Treatment and explanation based on the impact of past experiences.
Key Idea:
Unconscious influences stemming from personal history can affect current mood, behavior, relationships, work, and self-esteem.
Evolutionary Approach
Focus:
Looks at human thoughts and actions through the process of natural selection.
Key Idea:
Psychological traits that are advantageous for survival are likely inherited across generations.
Cognitive Approach
Focus:
Investigates how people interpret, process, and remember environmental information.
Key Idea:
Mental “rules” or schemas shape the way we think and behave.
Biological (Neuroscience) Approach
Focus:
Attributes behavior to biological processes.
Key Idea:
Human cognition and reactions are influenced by genes, hormones, and neurotransmitters.
Social-Cultural Approach
Focus:
Examines how cultural contexts influence thoughts and behaviors.
Key Idea:
Family, friends, environments, and religious views play significant roles in shaping behavior and cognition.
4. The Biopsychosocial Approach
Integration:
Combines elements from biological, psychological, and social-cultural perspectives to provide a more comprehensive understanding of behavior.
Example:
An extroversion tendency can be explained by:
Behavioral conditioning: Rewards or punishments influencing social behavior.
Evolutionary pressures: The survival advantage of being socially outgoing.
Cognitive interpretation: How social cues are perceived.
Social-cultural influences: Norms regarding interpersonal distance and group behavior.
5. Domains/Subfields of Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Study Focus:
How and why do humans grow, change, and adapt throughout the lifespan?
Personality Psychology
Study Focus:
The nature, development, and structure of personality, including stable individual differences and maladaptive traits.
Social Psychology
Study Focus:
Interpersonal and group dynamics, exploring topics like prejudice, implicit bias, bullying, group behavior, attitudes, and public perceptions.
Educational Psychology
Study Focus:
Factors that influence teaching and learning, especially within school settings.
Clinical Psychology
Study Focus:
Behavioral and mental disorders across the lifespan, including adjustment issues, traumatic stress, serious mental illness, and crisis intervention.
Counselling Psychology
Study Focus:
Culturally-informed practices aimed at improving well-being, alleviating distress, resolving crises, and enhancing daily functioning.
Experimental Psychology
Study Focus:
Basic behavioral processes such as motivation, learning, attention, memory, perception, and language in both humans and animals.
Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychology
Study Focus:
Application of psychological principles to optimize human behavior in the workplace—covering areas such as motivation, leadership, group dynamics, work conditions, and job satisfaction.
Psychometrics
Study Focus:
Development, administration, scoring, and interpretation of psychological tests used in clinical, educational, and industrial settings.
Positive Psychology
Study Focus:
Scientific exploration of the “good life” by identifying and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities thrive.