CHAPTER 1

THE NATURE OF PSYCHOLOGY

PSYCHOLOGY
 PSYCHOLOGY
• psyche • logos
soul study

• psycho • logy
mind science

THE SCIENCE OF THE MIND

 It is a scientific study of behavior
and mental processes which gives
the idea that mind and behavior can
be subject for scientific investigation
( Atkinson, 2003)
GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY

To understand why people act the way

they do.
 To explain that behavior, we must know
the events in the environment that have
caused that behavior;
To describe as how individuals differ
when observed in the same events;
To predict behavior by identifying all the
conditions under which an event is likely to
occur;
and To control so as to prevent unwanted
consequences that may bring about
undesirable outcomes.
BEHAVIOR

It is anything that a person or

animal
1.does,
2.feels,
3.thinks or
4.experiences.
CLASSIFICATION OF BEHAVIOR

1. OVERT - refers to the responses and

reactions of the individual which are
directly observable by other people.

2.COVERT - refers to those processes

which are not directly observed but are
inferred by external actions such as the
reactions of the muscles and glands and
other organized patterns of responses.
 Early Schools in Psychology
1. STRUCTURALISM - Wilhem Wundt (1879)
First school of contemporary psychology.
It emphasizes on the structure of conscious
experiences broken down into its
components elements such as sensations,
preceptions, mental images and feelings
These complex substances are analyzed by
using introspection ( looking within) to study
the component element of behavior by
describing one's own memories,
perceptions, cognitive processes, or
motivations
2. Functionalism - William James
It emphasis on the process of
conscious activity that is overt and
observable behavior rather than its
component elements.
It describes the operations of the
mind and not its structures.
3. Behaviorism - John B. Watson
It rejects the concept of mental
consciousness, but instead, it advocates
measurable and objective observation of
behavior through stimulus response,
habit formation, habit integration.
It denies the existence of instinct or of
inborn tendencies, but insists on learned
behavior through conditioning.
All human learning are products of
training.
4. Gestalt - Max Wertheimer
(1912)
German word = unified form or shape
The whole is more than the sum of all
its parts.
It emphasizes on the organization of
perceptual experience into whole
rather than on its meaningful patterns.
5. Psychoanalysis - Sigmund Freud
It was developed as a treatment to
mental disorders caused by extreme
fatigue, insomia and nervousness.
It stresses the role of man's cravings,
motives and desires which are often
hidden and repressed in the
subconscious or unconscious mind
which may result to abnormal behavior.