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[Short notes]
Topic 1: Psychology: A Science and a Perspective
Note: Read reference textbooks
The word ‘psychology’ is derived from the Greek words:
Psyche: Mind, soul or spirit and
Logos: Knowledge, discourse or study
Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes. Uses scientific
method to acquire knowledge
Behaviour includes all of our outward/ observable or overt actions and reactions such as
talking, facial expressions, and movement.
Mental processes refers to all the internal, covert (hidden) activity of our minds such as
thinking, feeling, and remembering.
• History: Long before psychology became a formal science, philosophers grappled with
fundamental questions that would later define the field. Are people inherently rational or
irrational? What is mind/soul/spirit? How body interacts with mind?
• Hippocrates: The body was made up of 4 humours- liquids within the body- blood, phlegm,
yellow bile and black bile.
• Plato: The soul could exist separately from the body
• Aristotle: Soul and body are two aspects of the same underlying structure. “It’s clear that the
soul is not separable from the body” in his book De Anima.
• Rene Descartes: The conversation often starts with René Descartes in the 17th century. He
famously proposed Cartesian dualism, arguing that the mind and body are two completely
different substances: the body is physical and mechanical, while the mind is non-physical
and thinking. This raised the enduring "mind-body problem"—how could two such different
things interact? The mind and body are distinct entities and they interact through pineal
gland- Dualism. Descartes also believed in innate ideas, suggesting some knowledge is
present from birth, not from experience.
• Study of soul and mind- both are not distinguishable and not directly observable.
• Questions about human mind could not be answered solely by means of reasoning but it
requires empirical approach- acquiring knowledge based on systematic observation and
experimentation etc.
Knowledge from Experience (Empiricism: Locke, Berkeley, Hume): In contrast to
Descartes, the empiricists believed that all knowledge comes from sensory experience.
• John Locke proposed the mind at birth is a "tabula rasa" (a blank slate), on which
experience writes. He talked about simple ideas combining into complex ideas through
association. For Locke, personal identity was based on continuous memory, not a fixed
substance.
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• George Berkeley took empiricism even further with immaterialism, arguing that "to be is
to be perceived"-physical things are essentially our sensory experiences of them. He also
suggested that we learn to see depth through experience, linking visual information with
touch, a concept called "touch teaches vision".
• The possibility of a scientific field of psychology- 18th century
• 1897- Wilhelm Wundt has founded the first former library of research in Psychology at
University of Leipzig. Wundt is often described as the founder of experimental
psychology.
Schools of Psychology
Structuralism: Early perspective in psychology associated with Wilhelm Wundt and Edward
Titchener, in which the focus of study is the structure or basic elements of the mind. Analysing the
content of consciousness in order to determine its basic elements and relationship between them.
Wundt believed that consciousness, the state of being aware of external events, could be broken
down into thoughts, experiences, emotions, and other basic elements.
Objective introspection: The process of examining and measuring one’s own thoughts and
mental activities. 1908- Edward Titchener published a book on “The Animal Mind”. Structuralism
challenged by other psychologists. The field should focus not only on the structure of
consciousness but also its function. The new school of thought functionalism is strongly influenced
by Darwin’s natural selection- physical traits that help an animal adapt to its environment and
survive are passed on to its offspring.
Functionalism: This school of thought studies the function of behaviour or mind in the world;
and focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment. Functionalism
is the doctrine that what makes something a thought, desire, pain (any type of mental state)
depends not on its internal constitution, but solely on its function. The earliest view that can be
considered an ancestor of functionalism is Aristotle's theory of the soul; In contrast to Plato's
claim that the soul can exist apart from the body.
William James: Principles of Psychology (1890)
Functionalism also played a part in the development of one of the more modern perspectives,
evolutionary psychology.
Gestalt: How individuals perceives? The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
The word Gestalt roughly translates to “whole;” a major emphasis of Gestalt psychology deals
with the fact that although a sensory experience can be broken down into individual parts, how
those parts relate to each other as a whole is often what the individual responds to in perception.
For example, a song may be made up of individual notes played by different instruments, but the
real nature of the song is perceived in the combinations of these notes as they form the melody,
rhythm, and harmony. Gestalt is a German word meaning “an organized whole” or “configuration,”
Gestalt psychologists: Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Köhler Gestalt psychologist
intrigued by the tendency to perceive sensory patterns as well-organized wholes rather than as
separate isolated parts. Gestalt ideas are part of the study of cognitive psychology. The Gestalt
approach has also been influential in psychological therapy- Gestalt therapy
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Psychoanalytic: Psychological factors that caused psychological disorders are driven by
unconscious desires and drives. There is an unconscious (unaware) mind into which we push, or
repress, all of our threatening urges and desires.
The basic assumption of the psychoanalytic perspective is that behaviour stems from unconscious
processes, meaning beliefs, fears, and desires that a person is unaware of but that nonetheless
influence behaviour. Freud believed that many of the impulses that are forbidden or punished by
parents and society during childhood are derived from innate instincts. Because each of us is born
with these impulses, they exert a pervasive influence that must be dealt with in some manner.
Forbidding them merely forces them out of awareness into the unconscious. They do not
disappear, however. They may manifest themselves as emotional problems and symptoms of
mental illness or as socially approved behaviour such as artistic and literary activity. For example,
if you feel a lot of anger toward your father but you cannot afford to alienate him, your anger may
become unconscious, perhaps expressed in a dream about him being hurt in an atrocious accident.
Freud believed that we are driven by the same basic instincts as animals (primarily sex and
aggression) and that we are continually struggling against a society that stresses the control of
these impulses. During therapy with patients, Freud used the method of free association, in which
the patient was instructed to say whatever comes to mind as a way of bringing unconscious wishes
into awareness. The analysis of dreams served the same purpose. Psychotherapy: Process in which
a trained psychological professional helps a person gain insight into and change his or her
behaviour. Well-known followers of Freud’s were Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Karen Horney, and his
own daughter, Anna Freud.
Behaviourism: The view that observable, overt activities that can be measured scientifically should
be studied by psychology. Further to predict change and modify the behaviour. American
psychologist John Watson is known as the father of behaviourism. Freud believed that all behaviour
stems from unconscious motivation, whereas Watson believed that all behaviour is learned. Watson
believed that phobias are learned through the process of conditioning.
Ivan Pavlov observed that the salivation reflex could be caused to occur in response to a totally
new stimulus- the process is called conditioning. B. F. Skinner’s operant conditioning of
voluntary behaviour became a major force in the twentieth century. He introduced the concept of
reinforcement to behaviourism.
Humanistic perspective: ‘Third force’ in psychology humanism was really a reaction to both
psychoanalytic theory and behaviourism. People have free will, the freedom to choose their own
destiny, and strive for self-actualization, the achievement of one’s full potential.
Carl Rogers developed what he called client- centered therapy, an approach in which the client, or
patient, directs a discussion focused on his or her own view of a problem rather than on the
therapist’s analysis.
Abraham Maslow’s explained hierarchy of needs in a pyramid. Needs towards the bottom of the
pyramid are more physical, and needs towards the top become more psychological and social
humanism exists as a form of psychotherapy aimed at self-understanding and self- improvement.
Cognitive perspective: How people think, remember, store, and use information?
Focus on memory, intelligence, perception, thought processes, problem solving, language, and
learning has become a major force in psychology. Cognitive neuroscience includes the study of
the physical workings of the brain and nervous system when engaged in memory, thinking, and
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other cognitive processes- imaging the structure and activity of the living brain, such as
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), and
Positron Emission Tomography (PET).
Sociocultural perspective: Focuses on the relationship between social behaviour and culture, in
which thinking and behaviour is seen as the product of learning and shaping within the context of
one's family, social group, and culture. Social psychology which is the study of groups, social roles,
and rules of social actions and relationships, and cultural psychology, which is the study of cultural
norms values, and expectations. Cross-cultural research: The comparisons of a behaviour or issue
are studied in at least two or more cultures
Biopsychological perspective: Perspective that attributes human and animal behaviour to
biological events occurring in the body, such as genetic influences, hormones, and the activity of
the nervous system. Biological psychologists look for links between specific behaviours and
particular biological factors that often help explain individual differences. Example:
Physiological processes underlying serious neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease
and help pharmacological researchers in their efforts to create more effective medications for
these disorders. The structures of the brain and central nervous system, the functioning of
neurons, the delicate balance of neurotransmitters and hormones, and the effects of heredity to
look for links between these biological factors and behaviour.
Evolutionary perspective: Evolutionary origins of human behaviour. Study how human behaviours
required for survival have adapted in the face of environmental pressures over the long course of
evolution? Focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics that all humans share
Overlaps with biopsychology and the sociocultural perspective.
Evolutionary psychology draws heavily on Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection- Survival of
the fittest.
Conclusion: No one perspective has all the answers. Its recommended to take an eclectic
perspective- one that uses the “bits and pieces” of several perspectives that seem to best fit a
particular situation.
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Subfields of psychology
Clinical
Organizational & Counselling
Positive
Subfields of
Psychology
Social &
Cultural Developmental &
Educational
Experimental&
Cognitive
Mental health professionals
▪ Psychologist: A professional with an academic degree and specialized training in one or
more areas of psychology.
▪ Psychiatrist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of
psychological disorders.
▪ Psychiatric Social Worker: A social worker with some training in therapy methods
who focuses on the environmental conditions that can have an impact on mental
disorders, such as poverty, overcrowding, stress, and drug abuse.
Goals of psychology
• Description [what is happening?]: Involves observing a behaviour and noting
everything about it: what is happening, where it happens, to whom it happens, and
under what circumstances it seems to happen.
• Explanation [why is happening?]: Based on the observations, the psychologist might try
to come up with a tentative explanation
• Prediction: [When will it happen again?]: Determining what will happen in the future is a
prediction.
• Control: [How can it be changed?]: The focus of control, or the modification of some
behaviour, is to change a behaviour from an undesirable one to desirable one.
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The goal of description provides the observations; the goal of explanation helps build theory;
prediction and control contribute to changing and modifying behaviour.
Research in Psychology
Naturalistic observation
• Research in which an investigator simply observes some naturally occurring behaviour and
does not make a change in the situation.
• To understand a realistic picture of what people, do in their natural habitat.
• For example: (i) a researcher investigating helping behaviour might observe the kind of
help given to victims in a natural calamity like flood and earthquake; (ii) to understand
animal behaviour (iii) to understand social behaviour in a market place.
• Participant observation: A naturalistic observation in which the observer becomes a
participant in the group being observed.
• Observer effect: Tendency of people or animals to behave differently from normal when
they know they are being observed
• Observer bias: Tendency of observers to see what they expect to see.
Case study
• Study/ understand one Individual in in-depth detail
• For example, Sigmund Freud’s theory of Psychoanalysis is based on case studies of his
patients; Phineas Gage is a case study
• Probably the most famous case of frontal lobe damage is that of a man by the name
of Phineas Gage. On September 13, 1848, Gage (age 25) was working as a railroad
foreman in Vermont. He and his crew were using an iron rod to tamp explosives down into
a blasting hole to remove rock along the railway’s path. Unfortunately, the iron rod created
a spark and caused the rod to explode out of the blasting hole, into Gage’s face, and
through his skull Although lying in a pool of his own blood with brain matter emerging
from his head, Gage was conscious and able to get up, walk, and speak. But in the months
following his accident, people noticed that his personality had changed. Many of his friends
described him as no longer being himself. Before the accident, it was said that Gage was a
well-mannered, soft-spoken man, but he began to behave in odd and inappropriate ways
after the accident. Such changes in personality would be consistent with loss of impulse
control—a frontal lobe function.
• Case studies are good ways to study things that are rare/ unique. To understand the lived
experiences of individuals- experience of trauma. Illness, triumph etc.
• Case studies done with limited samples unlike surveys
• Disadvantages: Cannot generalize the results and possibility of researcher bias.
• Another limitation is that relying on individual's memories and reconstruction of earlier
events, it can be distorted or incomplete.
Survey Method
• Provide questionnaires and collect responses from many participants. There are online and
offline surveys.
• Example: Census, mental health surveys, experience of online shopping
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• Sampling: How the individuals going to participate in the survey are selected? A method to
select/ recruit respondents / participants for a particular study
• Sample has to be representative of the population through random selection – Random
sampling
• Other sampling technique as well- purposive sampling, snowball sampling
• Disadvantages: Possibility of lie, lack of accuracy and error in answering, social
desirability effect
Variables
Variable are behaviours, events, or other characteristics that can change, or vary, in
some way. For example, in a study to determine whether the amount of studying makes
a difference in test scores, the variables would be study time and test scores. Example:
psychological variables, socio-demographic variables etc.
• Independent Variable (IDV): Variable in a research that is manipulated by the
researcher
• Dependent Variable (DV): Variable in a research that is dependent upon IDV. It is
also called outcome variable
• Extraneous variables: A measure that is not under investigation in an experiment but may
potentially affect the outcome or DV and thus may influence results. Such potential
influence often requires that an extraneous variable be controlled during research like
time & environment. For example: In a study on the effect of sleep deprivation (IDV) on
memory (DV), noise in the testing room is an extraneous variable.
• Confounding variables: It is specific type of extraneous variable. Conceptually distinct
but empirically inseparable from independent variables, systematically related to both
IDV and DV. This makes it difficult (or impossible) to determine whether the DV is
influenced by the IDV or the confound. If a study examines the effect of therapy type
(IDV) on well-being (DV), but participants in one therapy group also differ consistently
in personality or past experiences, those characteristics may act as confounding
variables.
Correlation method
• Correlation is actually a statistical technique, a particular way of organizing numerical
information so that it is easier to look for patterns in the information.
• A correlation is a measure of the relationship between two or more variables.
• Example: Living around greenery increases well-being (Positive correlation) / More
screen time reduced vision (Negative correlation)
• Correlation coefficient represents two things: The direction of the relationship and its
strength; the value ranges between [+1 to -1]
• Correlation does not prove causation.
Experimental method
• A deliberate manipulation of a variable to see if corresponding changes in behaviour
result, allowing the determination of cause-and-effect relationships- while holding all the
other variables that might interfere with the experiment’s results
• Experimental research steps include: Deciding the variables and developing hypothesis,
Explaining IDV and DV, Selection of participants, Random assignment of participants
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to control group and experimental group, Following ethical consideration in the
experiment etc.
• Experimental group: Subjects in an experiment who are subjected to the independent
variable. OR A group in which the hypothesized cause is present
• Control group: Subjects in an experiment who are not subjected to the independent
variable and who may receive a placebo treatment. OR A group in which the
hypothesized cause is absent
• Placebo effect: The phenomenon in which the expectations of the participants in a study
can influence their behaviour. A clinically significant response to a therapeutically inert
substance or nonspecific treatment (placebo), deriving from the recipient’s expectations
or beliefs regarding the intervention. It is now recognized that placebo effects
accompany the administration of any drug (active or inert) and contribute to the
therapeutic effectiveness of a specific treatment. For example, patients given a placebo
to relieve headaches may report statistically significant reductions in headaches in
studies that compare them with patients who receive no treatment at all.
• Random assignment: Process of assigning subjects to the experimental or control
groups randomly, so that each subject has an equal chance of being in either group
• Ethical considerations have to be maintained throughout the research such as informed
consent, debriefing and confidentiality. For example: Sandford prison experiment
(1971) and little albert experiment (1920)
• Deception is withholding the information from participant that affects the results of an
experiment
• Debriefing is the process of giving participants a fuller explanation of the study in
which they participated and the need for deception
• Major challenge in experimental research is to establish the external validity.