PsychologyOverview.docVIP

Adapted from  HYPERLINK /  and HYPERLINK /   HYPERLINK /wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment /wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment Psychology Overview WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY? Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organisms physical state, mental state, and external environment (Wade and Tarvis, 1990). Many psychologists spend their careers designing and performing research experiments 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. 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. Psychology can be described in some of the following ways: The science or study of individual mental activity and behavior Focuses on processes occurring within the individual Focuses on connections between mind and body Has its roots in philosophy Has its roots in biology, medicine and physics Is systematic and scientific Is concerned with animal development Basic Questions in Psychology: How do humans and animals act? How do humans interact with each other? How do humans develop? How do humans differ among themselves? What is behavior attributable to -- heredity or environment (nature vs. nurture)? To what extent is behavior attributable to unconscious mind as compared to conscious mind? Does thought control language or does language control thought? FIVE MAJOR AREAS OF FOCUS: I. ACTION: behavior and its physiological basis, such as biological (brain and nervous system), motivation (emotions, such as fear and rage, that direct action), and learning (how humans learn to act in new ways). II. DEVELOPMENT: How beings (humans and animals) develop, such as prenatal development