Understanding Psychology: Concepts,

Theories, Methods, and Career Pathways

Exploring the Human Mind, Behavior,

and Filipino Context
 1. Defining Psychology and Its Relevance

• • Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and

mental processes.
• • Relevance:
• - Helps understand human development and
relationships.
• - Applied in education, health, business, and
counseling.

• Example: A guidance counselor applying psychological

principles to help students manage stress.
2. Major Psychological Theories and Filipino
Indigenous Concepts
• • Major Theories:
• - Psychoanalysis (Freud)
• - Behaviorism (Skinner)
• - Humanism (Maslow, Rogers)
• - Cognitive Psychology (Piaget)
• • Filipino Indigenous Concepts:
• - Kapwa (shared identity)
• - Pakikipagkapwa-tao (humaneness)
• - Bayanihan (community spirit)

• Example: Using the concept of Bayanihan in community therapy and

resilience.
 3. Methods of Inquiry in Psychology
• • Experimental Method – testing cause-effect
relationships.
• • Survey Method – gathering self-reported data.
• • Case Study – in-depth analysis of individuals.
• • Observation – naturalistic or laboratory-based.

• Example: Conducting a survey on Filipino

students’ coping mechanisms during exams.
 4. Career Pathways in Psychology
• • Clinical Psychologist – provides therapy and assessment.
• • Industrial-Organizational Psychologist – applies psychology in
the workplace.
• • Educational Psychologist – enhances teaching and learning.
• • Forensic Psychologist – works in legal and criminal settings.
• • Researcher/Professor – contributes to knowledge and
teaching.

• Example: A psychologist working with schools to improve

mental health programs.
 SOCIAL SCIENCES:
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

Source: [Link]
SOCIAL SCIENCES: WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

Over the last few years, Psychology has become more

and more popular as a topic of everyday discussion.
It’s not unusual to open Instagram to find “5 Easy
Psychology Tips” or to hear a friend unofficially
diagnosing someone as “manic” or “mentally ill.”

This focus on psychology, especially mental health,

has only increased during COVID-19. Basketball and
football games now display Mental Health Public
Service announcements. But such popularity brings
up big questions. What exactly is Psychology What
defines it as a research field? How does it utilize the
scientific method? And how do people use it in real
life? Let’s take a look.
What is Psychology as a
Research Field?
Simply defined, Psychology is the
scientific study of the mind and
behavior. Psychology attempts to
understand how the mind creates
emotions and motivates behavior. It is
generally divided into many subfields,
with focuses on different key aspects
and applications of the discipline.
The main subfields include:

[Link] Science and Cognitive Psychology,

which focuses on the mechanisms of thinking
and learning in the brain,

[Link] Psychology, which focuses on how

Psychology can treat mental illness,

[Link] Psychology, which studies

how people grow and adapt throughout their
lives,

[Link] Psychology, which focuses on how we

perceive ourselves and respond to the world
around us.
Other subfields designated by the
American Psychological Association
include Climate and Environmental
Psychology, Counseling Psychology,
Experimental Psychology, Forensic
Psychology, Health Psychology, Human
Factors and Engineering Psychology,
Industrial and Organizational
Psychology, Psychology of Teaching and
Learning, Quantitative Psychology,
Rehabilitation Psychology, and Sport
and Performance Psychology.
How do Psychological
Researchers Conduct
Studies?
Psychology is a social science that follows scientific
procedures for its research process to reach evidence-
based conclusions. Psychology uses the scientific
method to conduct its studies: starting with
an observation and question, and moving on to
a hypothesis, tested by an experiment, that leads to
a conclusion and an eventually sharing of results. This
process ensures that studies are able to be repeated and
results can be tested, as well as enables the sharing of
important findings with a larger research community, who
can refute it, support it, or even add on to its findings.
The types of studies that psychological researchers use also
vary. An ideal scenario might be an experimental study,
because it allows for a more isolated study of variables. An
experimental study manipulates or changes an independent
variable, while keeping everything else constant, to see the
results on a dependent variable. For example, when studying
the effect of caffeine on sleep habits, caffeine is the
independent variable because it is changed, and sleep is the
dependent variable because the outcome is affected by the
amount of caffeine. Such a study allows for more clear
conclusions to be made, because it is easier to
eliminate confounding variables, which might affect the
relationship between the independent and dependent variables
and lead to misleading conclusions
How Do People
Use Psychology
In Real Life?
Whether or not you realize it, psychology
plays a part in many aspects of everyday life.

Well known applications include therapy and

research, but there are many other ways in
which psychologists work. Forensic
psychologists work with the government and
often testify in court about how Psychology
supports cases. Environmental psychologists
help utilize Psychology to improve humans’
impact on the Earth. Educational
psychologists often work in schools to help
devise more effective teaching and learning
strategies
The impact of Psychology goes outside
simply those who study it. Many
psychological research studies have
changed the way that people live their
lives. For example, the findings that
spanking children is ineffective and leads to
negative outcomes have led to a decrease
in the number of parents using spanking as
a disciplinary method with their children.
When social psychologists released a study
revealing that the phrasing “Be a Voter” was
more effective than telling people to “Go Vote,”
politicians quickly began using the new phrasing.
Further, the continued and persistent work by
psychological researchers has led to
breakthroughs in the treatment of many mental
illnesses, from new medications for various
mental illnesses (see here) to new methods of
treatment like using Virtual Reality to help treat
phobias, addiction, and PTSD (see more here).
Simply put, Psychology’s real-life effects are vast
and valuable.