INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
Lecturer: Dr. Paul Narh Doku Contact: [email protected] Department of Psychology, University of Ghana Session Overview
• This session will deal with the meaning and scope of psychology, misconceptions about psychology, pseudoscience (para- and pseudo – psychology), the goals of psychology and the relevance of psychology in our lives.
This Session’s Goals and Objectives
At the end of this session, you will be able to: – Explain what psychology is and differentiate it from the views of the layperson. – Explain para and pseudo psychology. – Mention some misconceptions about psychology. – Mention and explain the 4 goals of psychology. – Point out the relevance of psychology.
Session Outline
The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows: • Part I - meaning and scope of psychology • Part II - misconceptions about psychology • Part III - pseudoscience (para- and pseudo – psychology) • Part IV - the goals of psychology • Part V - the relevance of psychology in our lives. Reading List
Kalat, W. J. (2008). Introduction to psychology (8th ed). Thomson learning, inc. pages. 3 - 8 Nairne, S. J. (2014). Psychology (6th ed). Wadsworth, cengage learning. pages. 2 - 6 Coon, D. and Mitterer, O. J (2012). Psychology: modules for active learning (13th ed). Cengage learning. pages 12 - 19 Bernstein, A. D. (2014). Essentials of psychology (6th ed). Wadsworth, cengage learning. pages 3 – 8 The session notes titled “Introduction to Psychology”
Part I - Meaning and scope of psychology Meaning and scope of psychology
Exercise • In your own words, explain how you understand the word Psychology Root meaning of psychology
The term psychology is derived from two Greek words- “psyche” and “logos”.
Psyche means mind/soul while logos refer to knowledge of or study of.
Psychology has therefore in the past been referred to as:
• The study of the mind
• The study of the soul
• Knowledge of the mind
• Knowledge of the soul
Contemporary view
The earlier definitions of psychology are restrictive in nature and scope and do not reflect the actual terrain of the subject as it stands today.
Contemporary definitions have therefore broadened the scope to incorporate the contemporary terrain covered by the subject such as:
the science of behaviour
the science of behaviour and mental processes (Myers, 1995)
the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.(Coon, 2001; Atkinson, et al, 2003)
the scientific field that attempts to understand the minds and behaviour of humans and animals.
Key words!
Science/Scientific – Psychology is a science because it uses the scientific method to gain knowledge Behaviour a. whose behaviour do Psychologists study? – organisms (humans and animals) b. what is behaviour in the context of Psychology? – both overt and covert behaviours Mental Processes – synonymous to covert behaviours Organisms – humans and animals Part II - Misconceptions about psychology? Misconceptions about psychology?
. People hold wrong Exercise assumptions, views and opinions about the • Give examples of some of discipline. the misconceptions . The views are wrong because they do not fit into any of the definitions or what psychology is actually about.
Some misconceptions
. Psychology is mind reading, • As you are aware now, psychology is rather about the whats, hows . It is about magic, tricks and and whys of human behaviour mysticism. . Some also believe it is about fortune telling (soothsayers) That is psychologists can predict the future of others on the basis of some lines in one’s palm etc.
Part III - PARA AND PSEUDO PSYCHOLOGY PARA AND PSEUDO PSYCHOLOGY
Para and Pseudo psychology are two broad areas which fall outside scope of psychology. Para psychology literally means “beyond psychology.” Pseudo Psychology is termed as 'false Psychology' because the methods employed by practitioners are not scientific. Scientific methods is currently the only method endorsed and used by credible Psychologists. Para and pseudo psychology deals with behaviours and phenomena which cannot be observed and verified by others or through any known scientific method. PARA-PSYCHOLOGY
. Parapsychology goes beyond the five senses. We call such processes Extrasensory Perception (ESP). . ESP is the unproven ability to communicate, gain knowledge and information outside the use of the five senses, or cause things to happen using only the power of the mind. . ESP processes do not lead themselves to rigorous scientific test and verification . Reported ESP experiences involve telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis, etc.
Telepathy
This is known as thought transfer from one person to another without the mediation of any known channel of communication. One is said to experience telepathy when a thought you have or something you are thinking of also occurs to another person at the same period. Example: Clairvoyance
This is the ability to see what is happening at a particular place at a certain time without having any prior knowledge of the events.
It involves being able to see or give an account of an ongoing events at another place or what is happening • Example: while studying here in in another place irrespective of the this lecture room, one can distance and physical barrier. perceive and tell exactly what is A key ingredient in clairvoyance is happening in the office of the absence of prior information of president of the Republic of the event. Ghana.
Precognition
The ability to perceive and accurately predict or foretell future events or the acquisition of information about events which will exist or occur in the future without any prior knowledge.
In religion this may be called prophecy. A prediction no matter how accurate it • Example of precognition: is, is not considered as precognition if it Accurately foretelling the is based on the known. scoreline of a football match For instance; Prediction of Ghana’s based on means which are not population rate in 5 years using the scientific. population and growth rate in 2013 cannot be precognition. Psychokinesis Psychokinesis
Simply means the power of the mind over matter.
The ability of an individual to exert influence over animate and inanimate objects by will power.
Others call it mental influence over physical events without the intervention of any known physical force.
The claim of having powers and ability to move objects without any physical contact can not be verified by science
By its nature psychokinesis is not considered as part of ESP but is usually studied under parapsychology PSEUDO-PSYCHOLOGY
Means false psychology hence it refers to unsubstantiated, false or fake psychology.
It involves practices which are given semblance of psychology but which in the real sense of the word are not.
They are given some manifestation of science but do not satisfy scientific requirements
It has been referred to as dubious and unfounded system, which relies on some physical features of a person to predict his/her future. Examples include, Graphology, palmistry, phrenology etc Graphology
• The believe that one's handwriting reveals one's personality traits and could also be used to predict job performance Note that this is different from an aspect of forensic psychology in which an expert in handwriting can determine one’s signature DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GRAPHOLOGY AND FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
Graphology is concerned about the using the size, the slant and other aspects of one’s handwriting to make predictions about the person. Forensic psychologists ascertain the veracity and authenticity of signatures and/or handwritings.
12/09/14 palmistry
• It is the claim and believe that lines and the pattern of the in individual's palm have something to do with their personalities and that the nature of the lines and the pattern could be used to predict one’s future or destiny – success or otherwise.
phrenology
It is the belief that the bumps on one’s head and shape of one's skull determine one's personality, intelligence, and other individual characteristics. Based on this we may often hear people describe others as stupid or intelligent because of shape of the head. Problems with para and pseudo psychology They lead to ready acceptance of chance events as evidence of paranormal phenomena. Paranormal activities cannot be replicated. Scientists discredit events that cannot be replicated under similar conditions. There seem to be no explanation for paranormal phenomena. It has been found that such processes are used to perpetrate fraud on others. It reduces active conscious beings into passive unthinking beings. Part IV - Goals of Psychology Goals of Psychology
The Goals of Psychology are: Description: Explanation/Understanding: Prediction: Control: Goals of Psychology
DESCRIPTION (What is happening) EXPLANATION (Why of behaviour)
The first step in understanding anything Requires knowledge of why the is naming. phenomenon exists or what causes it.
Description involves observing a Finding explanations is an important behaviour and noting everything about step in the process of forming theories. it: what is happening, where it happens, A theory is a general explanation of a to whom it happens, and under what set of observations or facts. circumstances it seems to happen. The goal of description provides the This requires one to portray the observations, and the goal of phenomena accurately to identify the explanation helps to build theory variables that exist and then to determine the degree to which they exist. Goals of Psychology
PREDICTION (When will it • CONTROL (How can it happen again?) be modified or changed) The ability to anticipate an event prior • The focus of control, or to its actual performance based on modification of behaviour, is knowledge of underlying causes. to change it from an The knowledge of what causes undesirable one to kleptomania or nocturnal enuresis desirable(such as failing in help to anticipate future occurrence school) to a desirable one of behaviour or not. (such as academic success). This helps to control or modify the behaviour to make it much more adaptive Do psychologists meet all the 4 goals?
NO! not all investigations will try to meet all four of the goals,
In some cases, main focus would be on description and prediction. (e.g. personality theorist).
In other cases focus would be on description and explanation (e.g. experimental psychologists).They design research to find explanation for observed (described) Part V - The relevance of Psychology Why do we study psychology a. Knowledge in psychology will enable individuals to understand themselves better b. In addition to knowing oneself better, psychology also helps individuals to understand others….. why they think, feel and act the way they do. c. Furthermore, psychology provides insight into social issues and behaviour – why do individual's private behaviour tends to be significantly different from what they do in public and other social situations? d. Finally, the study of psychology put individuals in a better position to evaluate conflicting claims on human behavior and make informed judgment and draw valid conclusions. CONCLUSION
THE NEW COMMANDMENT
NOW GO YE INTO THE WORLD AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY
How?
1.Through education
2. Application in all aspects of life