Fundamentals of
Psychology
Session 2
R. S. Jenorge
Content
Recap
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Recap….
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• Word Wall
• Fundamentals of Psychology Research
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Psychology of Word Wall
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Roots of Psychology
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5 major perspectives in Psychology
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• THE NEUROSCIENCE PERSPECTIVE: BLOOD, SWEAT, AND FEARS
When we get down to the basics, humans are animals made of skin and bones. The neuroscience perspective considers
how people and nonhumans function biologically: how individual nerve cells are joined together, how the inheritance of
certain characteristics from parents and other ancestors influences behavior, how the functioning of the body affects
hopes and fears, which behaviors are instinctual, and so forth. Even more complex kinds of behaviors, such as a baby’s
response to strangers, are viewed as having critical biological components by psychologists who embrace the
neuroscience perspective. This perspective includes the study of heredity and evolution, which considers how heredity
may influence behavior; and behavioral neuroscience, which examines how the brain and the nervous system affect
behavior. Because every behavior ultimately can be broken down into its biological components, the neuroscience
perspective has broad appeal. Psychologists who subscribe to this perspective have made major contributions to the
understanding and betterment of human life, ranging from cures for certain types of deafness to drug treatments for
people with severe mental disorders. Furthermore, advances in methods for examining the anatomy and functioning of
the brain have permitted the neuroscientific perspective to extend its influence across a broad range of subfields in
psychology.
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• THE PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE: UNDERSTANDING THE INNER PERSON
To many people who have never taken a psychology course, psychology begins and ends with the
psychodynamic perspective. Proponents of the psychodynamic perspective argue that behavior is motivated
by inner forces and conflicts about which we have little awareness or control. They view dreams and slips
of the tongue as indications of what a person is truly feeling within a seething cauldron of unconscious
psychic activity. The origins of the psychodynamic view are linked to one person: Sigmund Freud. Freud
was a Viennese physician in the early 1900s whose ideas about unconscious determinants of behavior had a
revolutionary effect on 20th-century thinking, not just in psychology but in related fi elds as well. Although
some of the original Freudian principles have been roundly criticized, the contemporary psychodynamic
perspective has provided a means not only to understand and treat some kinds of psychological disorders
but also to understand everyday phenomena such as prejudice and aggression.
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• THE BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE: OBSERVING THE OUTER PERSON
• The behavioral perspective grew out of a rejection of psychology’s early emphasis on the inner workings of
the mind. Instead, behaviorists suggested that the fi eld should focus on observable behavior that can be
measured objectively. John B. Watson was the first major American psychologist to advocate a behavioral
approach. Working in the 1920s, Watson was adamant in his view that one could gain a complete
understanding of behavior by studying and modifying the environment in which people operate.
• The behavioral perspective was championed by B. F. Skinner, a pioneer in the fi eld. Much of our understanding of
how people learn new behaviors is based on the behavioral perspective. As we will see, the behavioral perspective
crops up along every byway of psychology. Along with its influence in the area of learning processes, this perspective
has made contributions in such diverse areas as treating mental disorders, curbing aggression, resolving sexual
problems, and ending drug addiction (Silverman, Roll, & Higgins, 2008).
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• THE COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE: IDENTIFYING THE ROOTS OF UNDERSTANDING
Efforts to understand behavior lead some psychologists straight into the mind. Evolving in part from
structuralism and in part as a reaction to behaviorism, which focused so heavily on observable behavior and
the environment, the cognitive perspective focuses on how people think, understand, and know about the
world. The emphasis is on learning how people comprehend and represent the outside world within
themselves and how our ways of thinking about the world infl uence our behavior. Many psychologists who
adhere to the cognitive perspective compare human thinking to the workings of a computer, which takes in
information and transforms, stores, and retrieves it. In their view, thinking is information processing .
Psychologists who rely on the cognitive perspective ask questions on subjects ranging from how people make
decisions to whether a person can watch television and study at the same time. The common elements that
link cognitive approaches are an emphasis on how people understand and think about the world and an
interest in describing the patterns and irregularities in the operation of our minds.
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• THE HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE: THE UNIQUE QUALITIES OF THE HUMAN
SPECIES
Rejecting the view that behavior is determined largely by automatically unfolding biological
forces, unconscious processes, or the environment, the humanistic perspective instead
suggests that all individuals naturally strive to grow, develop, and be in control of their lives
and behavior. Humanistic psychologists maintain that each of us has the capacity to seek and
reach fulfillment. According to Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, who were central figures
in the development of the humanistic perspective, people strive to reach their full potential if
they are given the opportunity. The emphasis of the humanistic perspective is on free will ,
the ability to freely make decisions about one’s own behavior and life. The notion of free will
stands in contrast to determinism , which sees behavior as caused, or determined, by things
beyond a person’s control
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What is Psychology?
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5Zw/viewform?usp=sf_link
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The Scientific Method
• The scientific method is the approach used by psychologists to systematically
acquire knowledge and understanding about behavior and other phenomena
of interest. As illustrated in Figure 1, it consists of four main steps:
• (1) identifying questions of interest,
• (2) formulating an explanation,
• (3) carrying out research designed to support or refute the explanation,
• (4) communicating the findings
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Why is research Important?
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There are many ways psychologists use to make sense/ meaning to the data that has been gathered. There are two
types of research involved.
1) Basic Research
2) Applied Research
• Basic research is research that answers fundamental questions about behavior. For instance, bio psychologists
study how nerves conduct impulses from the receptors in the skin to the brain, and cognitive psychologists
investigate how different types of studying influence memory for pictures and words. There is no particular
reason to examine such things except to acquire a better knowledge of how these processes occur.
• Applied research is research that investigates issues that have implications for everyday life and provides
solutions to everyday problems. Applied research has been conducted to study, among many other things,
the most effective methods for reducing depression, the types of advertising campaigns that serve to reduce
drug and alcohol abuse, the key predictors of managerial success in business, and the indicators of effective
government programs.
• The results of psychological research are reported primarily in research articles published in scientific journals,
and your instructor may require you to read some of these. The research reported in scientific journals has
been evaluated, critiqued, and improved by scientists in the field through the process of peer review.
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Activity
• Discuss 5 Basic research and 5 applied research topics
Basic Research topics Applied Research
Effects of drinking water How does screen colour affect child’s mind?
Causes for divorce Addiction to video games
Causes of aggressive behaviour in children Reduce bullying in school
Cognitive developments in infants
Psychological influence on athletes? Alcohol addiction affect children’s emotional
well being
Methods of positive learning for children How social media affects young adults
mental health?
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Objectives of Research
• The research has the following three objectives:
• 1. Theoretical objective(formulate the new theories, principles or laws;
explanatory in nature)
• 2. Factual objective(find out new facts; descriptive in nature)
• 3. Application objective(suggests new applications; improvement and
modification in practice) The first two types of objectives of research
contribute new knowledge in the form of new theory and facts in a
particular field of study or discipline. The third objective does not
contribute to knowledge but suggests new application for practical
problems
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General Characteristics of Research
• 1) It gathers new knowledge or data from primary or first-hand sources
• 2) It places emphasis upon the discovery of general principles
• 3) It is an exact systematic and accurate investigation.
• 4) It uses certain valid data gathering devices
• 5) It is logical and objective
• 6) The researcher eliminates personal feelings and preferences
• 7)Research is carefully recorded
• 8) Conclusions and generalizations are carefully arrived at.
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Specific Characteristics of a research
• The following are the specific characteristics of research:
1. A sound philosophy is the basis of research
2. Research is based on insight and imagination
3. Research requires an inter-disciplinary approach
4. Research should come out of a desire to do things better
5. Research is not the field of the specialist only
6. Research generally requires inexpensive material
7. Research is based on the subjectivity and intangibility of social phenomena
8. Research is perhaps incapable of being dealt through empirical method
9. Research is based on inter dependence of causes and effect
10. Research cannot be a mechanical process
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The functions of Research
• The main function of research is to improve research procedures through
the refinement and extension of knowledge. The refinement of existing
knowledge or the acquisition of new knowledge is essentially an intermediate
step toward the improvement of the research process. The improvement is
associated with various aspects:
• 1. Research encourages scientific and inductive thinking, besides promoting
the development of logical habits of thinking and organisation.
• 2. The function of research is to make a decision concerning the refinement
or extensionof knowledge in this particular area.
• 3. Research assumes significant role in the formation of policies, for the
government and business. Research also tries to solve various operational
and planning problems.
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• 4. Another function of research is to aid administrators to improve the
Social systems. Research is equally important to social scientists for analysing
social relationships and seeking explanations to various social problems.
• 5. The function of research is to improve the students learning and
classroom problem with which teacher is encountering with problems. The
more effective techniques for teaching can be developed.
• 6. Research helps in carrier development.
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• Steps to Follow When Conducting Research The research process as a
planned sequence that consists of the following six steps:
• 1. Developing a statement of the research question
• 2. Developing a statement of the research hypothesis
• 3. Defining the instrument
• 4. Gathering the data
• 5. Analysing the data
• 6. Drawing conclusions regarding the hypothesis
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Formulating Hypothesis
• The first step in testing a research hypothesis involves turning the conceptual variables into
measured variables, which are variables consisting of numbers that represent the conceptual
variables. EG: “number of psychotherapy hours the patient has accrued”.
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Research Designs
• Quantitative
• Qualitative
• Mixed Methods
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Qualitative Research
• Qualitative research methods include gathering and interpreting non-
numerical data. The following are some sources of qualitative data: 1
• Interviews
• Focus groups
• Documents
• Personal accounts or papers
• Cultural records
• Observation
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Quantitative Research
• Quantitative studies, in contrast, require different data collection
methods. These methods include compiling numerical data to test
causal relationships among variables. Some forms of data collection
for this type of study include:1
• Experiments
• Questionnaires
• Surveys
• Database reports
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Home Work
• Identify a research topic and categorize if it’s a Quantitative or Qualitative
research design.
• Mention one data collecting instrument for the above design.
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Thank you
