[教育学]新加坡某大学普心教学课件.pptVIP

Psychology: Yesterday and Today Lecture 1 What is Psychology? What does this term ‘Psychology’ mean? Old: psukhe (or psyche) meaning ‘breath’ or ‘soul’, and logos meaning ‘word’ or ‘reason’. Defined in the 16th century as the study of the soul or mind. Modern: psycho meaning ‘mind’ and logy meaning ‘science’. 18th century the term Psychology became more prominent as did the meaning ‘study of the mind’. What is Psychology? Definitions of Psychology: Science of behaviour (Carlson, Buskist, Martin, 2002). The science that studies behaviour and the physiological and cognitive processes that underlie it, and the profession that applies the accumulated knowledge of this science to practical problems (Weiten, 1995). The science of behaviour and mental processes (Seamon Kenrick, 1994). Simply cannot be defined; indeed, it cannot be easily characterised (Reber, 1995). The rise of Psychology Each of us are aware of our existence (i.e. we are consciously aware of it). This conscious awareness is a private experience. = the mind To a large extent we are in control of our own behaviour - we engage in behaviour. The science of Psychology is built on the assumption that behaviour is strictly subject to physical laws, rather than ‘motivating spirits’ (animism). Issue of free will/determinism Psychology utilises the scientific method. The rise of Psychology Before Psychology could be defined as a science in the late 19th century two important prerequisites were required: Attitude: The mind could be studied utilising objective methods, like other natural sciences such as Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Method: Methods needed to be developed and defined to investigate psychological processes. Rise of Philosophy and Physiology in the 17th and 18th centuries. Philosophical underpinnings of Psychology Thinking about thinking is not a recent enquiry: Plato (427-347BC): Memory is like a writing on a wax tablet. The mind is like an aviary. Philosophical underpinnings of Psychology T