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Psychology Final Study Guide
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psychology­ scientific study of behavior and mental processes science­ psychology is a social science, dealing with the structure of human society and the nature and interactions of the individuals who make up society behavior­ is any action that other people can observe or measure mental processes thinking­ mental processes (cognitive activities) include dreams, thoughts, and memories relation to other sciences­ psychology is a social science, but it has foundations in the natural sciences. Social sciences deal with the structure of human society and the nature and interactions of the individuals who make up society. These individuals and their behavior/mental processes are the focus of psychology. Some areas of psychology are also closely related to the natural sciences­ psychology seeks to answer questions by following steps involved in scientific research types of psychologists
○ clinical psychologists­ most common­ help people with problems like anxiety and depression; uses interviews and psychological tests
○ counseling psychologists­ don't treat serious disorders like clinical psychologists, but rather people who have adjustment problems; also uses interviews and tests
○ school psychologists­ help students who have problems with learning; focus more on the individual student
○ educational psychologists­ also help students learn, but they plan methods for an entire school system. focus on psychological, cultural, economic, and instructional factors that affect students
○ developmental psychologists­ study the changes that occur throughout a person’s lifetime: physical, emotional, cognitive, and social changes
○ personality psychologists
­ identify characteristics, or traits in people
○ social psychologists­ concerned with people’s behavior in social situations
○ experimental psychologists­ engage in basic research which is research that has no immediate application and is done for its own sake. they conduct research into basic processes. history of psychology:
○ Stone Age­ believed in spirits and evil spirits. they needed to get rid of these evil spirits so they drilled holes in their heads
○ Egyptians­ believed in Ka and that Ka was the source of everything. They believed that Ka came from Ka2 who came from Ka3 who came from Ka4 etc.
○ Greeks­ Socrates believed in introception (looking inward; through thought you can discover) ○ Plato vs Aristotle­ plato says that mind and body are separate and that there are 2 worlds: one of matter and one of ideas. Matter=the body; ideas= mind/soul
■ Aristotle was more scientific and believed in the brain saying that human behavior is subject to certain rules and laws.
○ Hippocrates­ chemical explanation for behavior
■ 4 liquids dominate our body:
● blood­ friendly, outgoing, popular, nice
● phlegm­ cool, chill, low energy
● black bile­ sad, depressed
● yellow bile­ aggressive
○ Middle Ages­ believed in witches and demons so many exorcisms were done
○ Descartes­ said, “I think therefore I am.”
○ Phrenology­ the study of bumps on your head
Birth of Modern Science
○ Wundt­ father of psychology; studied in a lab in Liepzing, Germany

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started structuralism­ basic elements of consciousness; looks at it broken into smaller parts
■ introspection ­ broke into 2 parts:
● objective sensations­ see, hear, smell, taste, feel
● subjective feelings­ emotional responses and mental images
○ James­ believed that conscious experience cannot be broken down into parts
■ functionalism­ experience is a “stream of consciousness”; how does behavior/ mental processes help people?
○ Freud­psychoanalysis­ emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives and internal conflicts in determining human behavior.
■ conscious­ what you're aware of right now
■ pre­conscious­ things you could remember if you tried. for example,