Understanding the

Self
Summary Report
Definition of Psychology
The word “Psychology” is the combination of two terms study (ology) and soul (psyche),
or mind.

“Psyche” is defined as:

1. The Spirit or Soul.

2. The Human Mind.

3. In Psychoanalysis, the mind is functioning as the centre of thought, emotion, and

behaviour.

“Soul” is defined as:

1. The spiritual or immortal elements in a person.

2. A person’s mental or moral or emotional nature.

What is Behaviour?
It refers to anything we do, think we feel.

Types of Behaviour

1. Covert – Behavioural pattern known only to the person experiencing it.

2. Overt – Behavioural pattern which can be observed by others.

Classification of Behavior

1. Conscious – Behavioral responses and processes that an individual is aware of.

2. Unconscious – Mental processes and body reactions that the individual is not aware of.
 Highlights in the Historical
Development of Psychology

1. Rene Descartes
He was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist and the
father of modern western philosophy (1629-1649)
Contribution:

 Animal studies
 Reflex action
 Cartesian Coordinate System
 Passions of the Soul (Les passions de l’ame)

2. John Locke

Contribution:

 Published the idea that children are born in “blank slates”

(Tabula Rasa)

3. Franz Josef Gall

Contribution:

 Founder of phrenology (1758-1828).

4. Charles Robert Darwin

He was an English naturalist, geologist and

biologist

Contribution:

 Theory of Evolution

5. Wilhelm Wundt

Contribution:

 Established the first Psychological Laboratory in Leipzig,

Germany.

6. Herman Von Helmholtz

He is known for his mathematics of the eye, theories of

vision, ideas on the visual perception of space, color vision
research, and on the sensation of tone, perception of sound,
and empiricism in the physiology of perception.

Contribution:

 Studied the speed of nerve impulse, in physiology and

psychology

7. Ernest Weber

He was a German physician who is considered one of the

founders of experimental psychology.

Contribution:

 Physiology of sense organ

8. Gustav Fechner
 He was a German philosopher, physicist and experimental
psychologist.

Contribution:

 Psychophysics

9. G. Stanley Hall

First American Ph.D in Psychology

Contribution:

 established the first psychological laboratory for children

and adolescents in U.S

10. James Cattel

He was an American psychologist and the first

professor of psychology in the United States

Contribution:

 Formulated the first questionnaire known as (16 PF).

11. William James

He was an American philosopher and psychologist, and

the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United
States.

Contribution:

 Published “ Principles of Psychology.”

12. Edward Titchener
 He was a British psychologist who studied under Wilhelm Wundt
for several years.

Contribution:

 Propagate the structuralism in U.S.

13. Edward Thorndike

Contribution:

 Pioneered on trial and error learning of animals using

puzzle box.

14. Sigmund Freud

He was an Austrian Neurologist and the founder of

psychoanalysis

Contribution:

 Developed psychoanalysis, interpretation of dreams.

15. Alfred Benit

Was a French psychologist who invented

the first practical IQ test

Contribution:

 Developed the first intelligence test in France

16. Ivan Pavlov

 A Russian physiologist best known in
psychology for his discovery of classical
conditioning

Contribution:

 Proponent of classical conditioning.

17. Max Wertheimer

He was an Austro-Hungarian-born psychologist

Contribution:
 One of the three founders of Gestalt psychology,
along with Kurt Koffka and
Wolfgang Kohler.

18. John Watson

He was an American psychologist

Contribution:
 Psychological school of behaviorism.

19. Jean Piaget

He was a Swiss Psychologist known for

his work on child development

Contribution:
 Propagated cognitive psychology
 20. BF Skinner

He was an American psychologist, behaviorist,

author, inventor, and social philosopher

Contribution:
 Proponent of operant conditioning

21. Abraham Maslow

He was an American psychologist

Contribution:

 Established the humanistic psychology

(Hierarchy of needs)

Principles (Mind and Brain)

Psychology describes and attempts to explain consciousness, behavior, and social
interaction. Empirical psychology is primarily devoted to describing human experience
and behavior as it actually occurs
 Fields of Basic Research

1. Abnormal Psychology

Is the study of abnormal behavior in order to describe, predict, explain, and change
abnormal patterns of functioning.

2. Biological Psychology
Is the scientific study of the biological bases of behavior and mental states. Because all
behavior is controlled by the central nervous system, it is sensible to study how the
brain functions in order to understand behavior.

Neuroscience – Is the scientific study of the nervous system

Neuropsychology - Is the branch of psychology that aims to understand how the
structure and function of the ’brain relate to specific behavioral and psychological
process.

3. Cognitive Psychology
Is the mental processes underlying behaviour. It uses information processing as a
framework for understanding the mind. Perception, learning problem solving, memory
attention, language and emotion are all well researched areas.

4. Comparative Psychology
It refers to the study of the behavior and mental life of animals other than human
beings.

Behaviors of an animal
 Biological Clock
o Age and female fertility, decrease of female fertility with advancing
maternal age.

 Circadian Rhythm
o A molecular mechanism that results in a circadian rhythm in a living
organism.

 Communication
 Cooperation
 Diurnal
o The behavior of animals and plants that are active in the daytime.
  Hibernation
o Is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in endotherms.
Hibernation refers to a season of heterothermy characterized by low body
temperature, slow breathing and heart rate, and low metabolic rate.
 Territorial
o Relating to the ownership of an area of land or sea, particular territory,
district, or locality.

 Social Animal
o Refers to an animal which is highly interactive with other members of its
species.
 Bird
 Ant
 Bee
 Gray Wolf
 Lion

 Nocturnal
o Is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and
sleeping during the day. The common adjective is “nocturnal”, versus
diurnal meaning the opposite
 Migration
 Mating

5. Developmental Psychology
Mainly focusing on the development of the human mind through the lifespan

6. Health Psychology
Is the application of psychological theory and research to health, illness and health care.

7. Personality Psychology
Studies enduring psychological patterns of behavior, thought and emotion, commonly called an
individual’s personality.

8. Quantitative Psychology
Involves the application of mathematical and statistical modeling in psychological
research, and the development of statistical methods for analyzing and explaining
behavioral data.

9. Psychometrics
Is the field of psychology concerned with the theory and technique of psychological
measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and
personality traits.
 10. Social Psychology
Is the scientific study of the nature and causes of human social behavior and mental
processes.

11. Clinical Psychology

Includes the study and application of psychology for the purpose of understanding,
preventing, and relieving psychologically-based.

12. Counseling Psychology

Is a psychology specialty that facilitates personal and interpersonal functioning across
the lifespan with a focus on emotional, social, vocational, educational, health related,
developmental, and organizational concerns.

13. Educational Psychology

Is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational
interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as
organizations.

14. Forensic Psychology

Covers a broad range of practices primarily involving courtroom testimony on given
issues. Forensic psychologists are appointed by the court to conduct competency to stand
trial evaluations.

15. Legal Psychology

Is a research-oriented field populated with researchers from several different areas
within psychology (although social and cognitive psychologists are typical).

16. Human Factors Psychology

Is the study of how cognitive and psychological processes affect our interaction with
tools and objects in the environment.

Survey

Are used in psychology for measuring attitudes and traits, monitoring changes in mood,
or checking the validity of experimental manipulations.

Case Study

It is the study of a person, a small group, a single situation, or a specific “case”.

Neuropsychological Methods

Involves the study of both healthy individuals and patients, typically who have suffered
either brain injury or mental illness.