Section 1: Introduction to Psychology
2: Influence of Research on Psychology
3: Experimental Research
4: Types of Research
How to Learn Psychology
We all use the principles of psychology
everyday and probably don’t even realize it. When we spank our child for
doing something wrong, we are utilizing the learning principle of
punishment. When we get nervous right before we have to give that big
speech, we are activating our autonomic nervous system. When we talk to
ourselves in our heads, telling ourselves to "calm down,"
"work harder," or "give up," we are utilizing
cognitive approaches to change our behaviors and emotions.
This text is designed to give you a general
idea of what psychology is, how information is developed, what we have
learned about ourselves, and how
psychology is applied to help improve people’s lives. The chapters are
organized so that you can get a better idea of how psychology works; from
basic theories and principles, through research, understanding and
explaining results, to the actual application of psychological techniques.
This text is not designed to make you a
psychologist. It is written in a general format so that you can gain a
better idea of all of the major concepts in psychology. If you were to
major in psychology as an undergraduate, each chapter would be a separate
course. And, to get your doctorate, which is required to be called a
psychologist in most states, you would take an additional five to seven
years further studying the concepts in this text.
You will learn a lot, however, and
hopefully you will increase not only your knowledge base, but also your
interest in the principles of psychology. This website provides a great
deal of information about the applications of psychology in a self-help
format, as do many other very helpful and professional sites. Read
on…learn…and improve your understanding of your greatest asset…the
What is Psychology
Psychology is the study of cognitions,
emotions, and behavior. Psychologists are involved in a variety of tasks.
Many spend their careers designing
and performing research to better understand how people behave in specific
situations, how and why we think the way we do, and how emotions develop
and what impact they have on our interactions with others. These are the
research psychologists who often work in research organizations or
universities. Industrial-organizational psychologists work with businesses
and organizations to help them become more productive, effective, and
efficient, and to assist them in working with their employees and their
customers. Practitioners, typically counseling and clinical psychologists,
work with individuals, couples, families, and small groups to help them
feel less depressed, less anxious, become more productive or motivated,
and overcome issues which prevent them from living up to their potential.
The study of psychology has five basic
first goal is to observe behavior and describe, often in minute detail,
what was observed as objectively as possible
descriptions come from observable data, psychologists must go beyond what
is obvious and explain their observations. In other words, why did the
subject do what he or she did?
3. Predict – Once we know what happens, and
why it happens, we can begin to speculate what will happen in the future.
There’s an old saying, which very often holds true: "the best
predictor of future behavior is past behavior."
4. Control – Once we know what happens, why
it happens and what is likely to happen in the future, we can excerpt
control over it. In other words, if we know you choose abusive partners
because your father was abusive, we can assume you will choose another
abusive partner, and can therefore intervene to change this negative
– Not only do psychologists
attempt to control behavior, they want to do so in a positive manner, they
want to improve a person’s life, not make it worse. This is not always
the case, but it should always be the intention.