Science of

Psychology
Araojo, John Dranreb
Entredicho, Mary Joyce
Jeciel, Charisse Nicole
Olip, Frexie
BSP 2-1
 Psyche – soul; Logos – science
•Psychology was a part of
metaphysics, and deals with the
nature, origin, and destiny of the
soul.

•But modern psychology is

empirical, and does not deal with
the problems relating to the soul.
2
•It deals with a
definite subject-
matter viz., mental
processes.

3
Thus psychology deals with the following:

• Mental processes;

Their expressions in behavior;

•

•Their concomitant physiological

processes;

• Their external stimuli;

•Animal behavior, human mind, normal

behavior and abnormal behavior; and

•The peculiar traits and the objective

products of collective behavior.
4
 PSYCHOLOGY IS THE
SCIENCE OF MIND
•In 1892, William James defined
psychology as the ‘science of mental
processes’.

•In his view, psychology may be

defined in terms of conscious state.

•This definition is open to two

criticisms.
5
 PSYCHOLOGY IS THE
SCIENCE OF MIND
•First, sciences are of two kinds:
natural sciences and value science.

•Psychology is a natural science

since it deals with mental processes
as they actually happen in mind.

•Logic, Ethics, and Esthetic are value

science.
6
 PSYCHOLOGY IS THE
SCIENCE OF MIND
•Psychology deals with the mental
processes of all minds, human
and animal, normal and
abnormal.

•Psychology deals with behavior,

physiological processes, external
stimuli, and social events
connected with mental events. 7
PSYCHOLOGY IS THE SCIENCE
OF CONSCIOUSNESS
• In 1884, James Sully defined
psychology as the science of the
‘inner world’ as distinguished from
physical science which study the
physical phenomena.
•In 1892, Wilhelm Wundt defined
psychology as the science which
studies the ‘internal experiences’.
8
 PSYCHOLOGY IS THE
SCIENCE OF BEHAVIOR
•In 1905, William McDougall defined
psychology as the ‘science of behavior’.

•In 1911, Walters Bowers Pillsbury

defined psychology as the ‘science of
behavior’.

•Nevertheless, during this period, most of

the psychologists did not completely
overlook the importance of consciousness
which accompanies behavior. 9
 PSYCHOLOGY IS THE
SCIENCE OF BEHAVIOR
These definitions are defective for the
following reasons:

•First, psychology is a positive science,

and should be mentioned definitely.

•Secondly, psychology is primarily

concerned with the study of experience or
consciousness. It employs the methods of
observation and experiment for
psychological investigation. 10
PSYCHOLOGY IS THE SCIENCE OF
EXPERIENCE AND BEHAVIOR OF
THE INDIVIDUAL IN RELATION TO
HIS ENVIRONMENT
Kurt Koffka holds that even though
the concept of ‘consciousness’
cannot be completely discarded
from psychological vocabulary, the
main aim of psychology is the study
of behavior.
11
 PSYCHOLOGY IS THE
SCIENCE OF EXPERIENCE
AND BEHAVIOR
Psychology may be defined as the
science of experience and purposive
behavior of individuals who processes
the relevant information from the
environment for satisfactory
adjustment.

12
 GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY
1) TO DESCRIBE
- To describe behavior.
- Through describing the behavior of humans
and other animals, we are better able to
understand it and gain a better perspective.
13
 GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY
2) TO EXPLAIN
- Some theories focus on just a small aspect of
human behavior (knows as mini-theories) while
others serve as all-encompassing theories
designed to explain all of human psychology
(known as grand theories).
14
 GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY
3) TO PREDICT
- To make predictions about how we think and act.
- Once we understand more about what happens
and why it happens, we can use that information to
make prediction about when, why, and how it
might happen again in the future.
15
 GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY
4) TO CHANGE
- Psychology strives to change, influence, or control
behavior to make constructive and lasting changes in
people’s lives.
- From treating mental illness, to enhance human well-
being, changing human behavior is a huge focus of
psychology.
16
HISTORY OF
PSYCHOLOGY
WUNDT AND STRUCTURALISM Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) was a German
scientist who was the first person to be referred
to as a psychologist.
His famous book entitled Principles of
Physiological Psychology was published in
1873.
Wundt viewed psychology as a scientific study of
conscious experience, and he believed that the
goal of psychology was to identify components
of consciousness and how those components
combined to result in our conscious
experience.
18
JAMES AND FUNCTIONALISM William James (1842–1910) was the first
American psychologist who espoused a different
perspective on how psychology should operate.
James was introduced to Darwin’s theory of
evolution by natural selection and accepted it as
an explanation of an organism’s characteristics.
As James saw it, psychology’s purpose was to
study the function of behavior in the world, and as
such, his perspective was known
as functionalism.
Functionalism focused on how mental activities
helped an organism fit into its environment.
19
 FREUD AND
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
Freud (1856–1939) was an Austrian
neurologist who was fascinated by patients
suffering from “hysteria” and neurosis.
Hysteria was an ancient diagnosis for
disorders, primarily of women with a wide
variety of symptoms, including physical
symptoms and emotional disturbances,
none of which had an apparent physical
cause.

20
 FREUD AND
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
In Freud’s view, the unconscious mind
was a repository of feelings and urges of
which we have no awareness.
According to Freud, the unconscious
mind could be accessed through dream
analysis, by examinations of the first
words that came to people’s minds, and
through seemingly innocent slips of the
tongue.
21
WERTHEIMER, KOFFKA,
KÖHLER, AND GESTALT
Max Wertheimer (1880–1943), Kurt
PSYCHOLOGY
Koffka (1886–1941), and Wolfgang
Köhler (1887–1967) were three German
psychologists who immigrated to the
United States in the early 20th century to
escape Nazi Germany.
These men are credited with introducing
psychologists in the United States to
various Gestalt principles.
22
WERTHEIMER, KOFFKA,
KÖHLER, AND GESTALT
PSYCHOLOGY 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.
23
PAVLOV, WATSON,
SKINNER, AND Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) studied a
BEHAVIORISM
form of learning behavior called a
conditioned reflex, in which an animal
or human produced a reflex
(unconscious) response to a stimulus
and, over time, was conditioned to
produce the response to a different
stimulus that the experimenter
associated with the original stimulus.
24
PAVLOV, WATSON,
John B. Watson (1878–1958) was an
SKINNER, AND
BEHAVIORISM influential American psychologist whose most
famous work occurred during the early 20th
century at Johns Hopkins University.
Watson preferred to focus directly on
observable behavior and try to bring that
behavior under control. Watson was a major
proponent of shifting the focus of psychology
from the mind to behavior, and this approach
of observing and controlling behavior came to
be known as behaviorism.
25
MASLOW, ROGERS, AND
HUMANISM
Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) was an
American psychologist who is best known
for proposing a hierarchy of human
needs in motivating behavior.
Maslow asserted that so long as basic
needs necessary for survival were met
(e.g., food, water, shelter), higher-level
needs (e.g., social needs) would begin to
motivate behavior.
26
MASLOW, ROGERS, AND
HUMANISM
Abraham Maslow (1908–1970) was an
American psychologist who is best known
for proposing a hierarchy of human
needs in motivating behavior.
Maslow asserted that so long as basic
needs necessary for survival were met
(e.g., food, water, shelter), higher-level
needs (e.g., social needs) would begin to
motivate behavior.
27
MASLOW, ROGERS, AND
HUMANISM
Carl Rogers (1902–1987) was also an
American psychologist who, like Maslow,
emphasized the potential for good that
exists within all people.
Rogers used a therapeutic technique
known as client-centered therapy in
helping his clients deal with problematic
issues that resulted in their seeking
psychotherapy.
28
MASLOW, ROGERS, AND
HUMANISM Carl Rogers (1902–1987) emphasized the
potential for good that exists within all people.
Rogers used a therapeutic technique known as
client-centered therapy in helping his clients deal
with problematic issues that resulted in their
seeking psychotherapy.
Client-centered therapy involves the patient taking
a lead role in the therapy session. Rogers believed
that a therapist needed to display three features
to maximize the effectiveness of this particular
approach: unconditional positive regard,
genuineness, and empathy.
29
THE COGNITIVE REVOLUTION
Noam Chomsky was very influential in the early
days of this movement.
Chomsky (1928–), an American linguist, was
dissatisfied with the influence that behaviorism
had had on psychology. He believed that
psychology’s focus on behavior was short-
sighted and that the field had to re-incorporate
mental functioning into its purview if it were to
offer any meaningful contributions to
understanding behavior.

30
 FIELDS OF
PSYCHOLOGY
31
 EXPERIMENTAL
A branch of psychology that
study behavior processes and
make extensive use of
experimental methods.

32
 DEVELOPMENTAL
Studies the physiological,
cognitive, and social
development that takes
place throughout life.

33
 SOCIAL
The scientific study of the
behavior of individuals in
their social and cultural
setting.

34
 PERSONALITY
Observation of personality
and how it differs among
people.

35
 CLINICAL
Assessment and treatment
of mental illness, abnormal
behavior, and psychiatric
problems.

36
 SCHOOL
Consumed with the science
and practice of psychology
with children, youth,
families, learners of all
ages, and the schooling
process.
37
 COUNSELING
Focuses on the emotional,
social, vocational, educational,
health-related, development, and
the organizational concerns that
normally impact our daily lives.

38
 EDUCATIONAL
Involves the study of how people learn,
including topics such as student
outcomes, the instructional process,
individual differences in learning, gifted
learners and learning disabilities.
It involves not just the learning process
of early childhood and adolescence but
includes the social, emotional, and
cognitive processes that are involved in
learning throughout the entire lifespan.
39
 INDUSTRIAL
Branch of psychology that
studies and applies
psychological theories to
workplace environments,
organizations and employees.

40
 ENGINEERING
A field of psychology that focuses on
the relationship between humans and
the products that we use everyday.
Specialists in this field concentrate
on exploring the relationships
between man and machine, so to
speak.

41
 HEALTH
Health Psychology specializes in
exploring biological,
psychological, cultural, societal,
and environmental factors of
life, and how each of these
affects physical health.

42
PERSPECTIVE OF
PSYCHOLOGY
43
 BIOLOGICAL APPROACH
Biopsychologists look at how your
nervous system, hormones and genetic
makeup affect your behavior.
Biological psychologists explore the
connection between your mental
states and your brain, nerves and
hormones to explore how your thoughts,
moods and actions are shaped.

44
 BIOLOGICAL APPROACH
It means that for the biological approach,
you are the sum of your parts. You think the
way you do because of the way your brain is
built and because of your body's needs. All
of your choices are based on your physical
body. The biological approach attempts to
understand the healthy brain, but it also
examines the mind and body to figure out
how disorders like schizophrenia develop
from genetic roots.

45
 Psychodynamic Approach
The psychodynamic approach was
promoted by Sigmund Freud believed
that unconscious drives and
experiences from early childhood are
at the root of your behaviors and that
conflict arises when societal
restrictions are placed on these
urges.
46
 Behavioral Approach
Behavioral psychologists believe that
external environmental stimuli
influence your behavior and that you
can be trained to act a certain way.
The behavioral approach is really
effective when you don't care what
someone thinks, as long as you get
the desired behavior.
47
 Cognitive Approach
Cognitive psychologists believe that your
behavior is determined by your expectations
and emotions.
So, with this approach, we turn away from
people as machines without free will and
delve back into thoughts and feelings. How
you act is based upon internal processes,
and there is much more stress upon
individuals.

48
 Humanistic Approach
Humanistic psychologists believe that you're
essentially good and that you're motivated to
realize your full potential.
Psychologists from this camp focus on how
you can feel good about yourself by fulfilling
your needs and goals.
The humanistic approach works on individual
empowerment. Whether you are right or not,
in a larger sense, you are motivated to be the
best person you can be. All your choices
come from trying to improve your life.
49