Psychology

Psychology

1. is

   • Scientific study of the mind and behavior
     • uses
       • Empirical method
         • its goal
           • *predict behavior *understand its causes

2. beginnings

   • Philosophy
   • Physiology

3. its most important questions

   • Nature vs. nurture
     • What is more influencial, genes or the environment?
   • Free will vs. determination
     • To what extent can people control their own actions?
   • Accuracy vs. inaccuracy
     • To what extent can we process the information from the world correctly?
   • Conscious vs. unconscious processing
     • To what extent are we aware of our actions and decisions?
   • Differences vs. similarities
     • Are people generally the same or are they influenced by many factors in different ways?

4. Schools of thought

   • Structuralism
     • Important contributors
       • Wundt, Titchener
     • Description
       • Uses introspection to analyze and classify our experiences
   • Functionalism
     • Important contributors
       • James
     • Description
       • Studies behavior and how it helps people live in their environment
   • Psychodynamic
     • Important contributors
       • Freud, Jung
     • Description
       • Focuses on the role of unconscious thought, feelings and memories, placing importance on our childhood experiences
   • Behaviorism
     • Important contributors
       • Watson, Skinner
     • Description
       • Its study is limited to behaviors, given that it is impossible to objectively study the mind
   • Humanistic
     • Important contributors
       • Rogers, Maslow
     • Description
       • Focuses on the power of free will and self determination that drives a person towards self-actualization
   • Cognitive
     • Important contributors
       • Ebbinghaus, Piaget
     • Description
       • Focuses on mental processes, like memory, thinking and perception
   • Social-cultural
     • Important contributors
       • Festinger, Heider
     • Description
       • Focuses on how social situations and culture influence a person's behavior