MODULE 1

CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY: NATURE AND SCOPE

Psychology touches almost every aspect of our lives --- it is very much a
part of us and of our society. It is an extremely exciting and challenging field as it
continues to grow as a body of knowledge. Psychology challenges people on how
they can provide answers to basic questions about the human condition.

Why study Psychology?

The primary concern of psychology is human adjustment. An individual

is stimulated to action by forces within or outside himself. He experiences needs,
wants, or interests and seeks ways of fulfilling them. A person’s entire life
consists of series of responses that are either satisfying or unsatisfying to himself
and that earn either approval or disapproval from his associates. In other words,
as a child, an adolescent or an adult, a person constantly is engaging in the process
of adapting himself or adjusting to inner strivings or outer demands.

Without some knowledge or understanding of a situation, the individual by

chance makes a good adjustment; too often the adjustment is bad and may even
become serious maladjustment. The psychologist’s function are to discover the
basic principles of good adjustment and then to help people apply these principles
in every phase of human relationships so that they become well- adjusted,
constructive members of their various groups.

I. Psychology Defined

The term psychology is derived from two Greek words: psyche, the soul,
and logos, the study of. If soul is interpreted as self, then psychology connotes the
study of the self. The self is a dynamic (active) organism or living being that
constantly affects and is being affected by other “selves.” Psychology, therefore,
is defined as the scientific study of human behavior and of human relations.

As a science, it is systematic and empirical and it is dependent upon

measurement. Behavior, on the other hand, refers to the activities or processes that
can be observed objectively such as the reactions of the muscles and glands as
well as the organized patterns of responses as a whole. It also include internal
processes such as thinking, feeling and other reactions which cannot be inferred
from external behavior. Thoughts, memories, motivations, dreams, perceptions
and beliefs of people are further categorized as part of these internal processes.

Behavior may either be:

• Overt = are behaviors that are those observable, such as walking,

studying or the blushing of your face.
• Covert = are behaviors that are not observable through one’s senses.
Only the person concerned knows what he/she is going through. An
example would be the strong palpitation of your heart when you are
called to recite in the class and you are not prepared.

II. History of Psychology

To fully understand psychology, we need to consider its past. Psychology

has its roots in many disciplines, dating back to the views of early Greek
philosophers (i.e. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle) who studied the nature of the
mind, the soul, and the body and human experiences (Myers, 1986 as cited by
Teh, 2007). In the 17th century, the philosopher Rene Descartes supported the
Nativist view that some ideas are innate. On the other hand, John Locke
advocated the Empiricist view that knowledge is acquired through
experiences and interactions with the world. Today, the debate over these
issues, more popularly known as nature versus nurture debate, persists.
1. Greek Influences

a. Democritus (c.460-c.370 BC) believed that the human mind is

composed of atoms which could circulate freely and which enabled it to
penetrate the whole body. Atoms from the environment enter through the
sense organs enabling us to perceive the world around us.
b. Aristotle (c.384-322 BC), a student of Plato, distinguished three
functions of the soul:
• vegetative- concerned with the basic maintenance of life;
• appetitive - concerned with motives and desires
• rational - the governing function located in the heart
c. Galen (AD c. 130-200), theory of dependence of human
temperament on physiological factors.
• Blood – sanguine (cheerful)
• Phlegm – phlegmatic (sluggish)
• Black bile – melancholic (sad)
• Yellow bile – choleric (irascible)

2. Medieval Period

➢ St. Augustine – credited for his different faculties of the soul as will,
memory, imaginations and others
➢ St. Thomas Aquinas - ‘the mind is the form of living matter”
➢ Rene Descartes – formulated the theory of mind-body interaction or
Psychophysical Parallelism
➢ John Locke – introduced the first idea as the unit into which all
experiences may be analyzed. He also believed that children were
born into the world with minds like “blank slate” (tabula rasa in
Latin) and that their experiences determine what kind of adults they
would become.
➢ George Berkeley – had the theory of knowledge (solipsistic
philosophy) and said that ideas (which in their own sum constitute
mind) become the only reality.
➢ David Hume – wrestled with the problem between impression and
ideas; between images and direct sensations.
 3. Modern Developments

Recent developments in psychology include three fields that are highly

cognitive in orientation. The first, was advocated by Herbert Spencer views
humans as information processing systems. Pioneered by Noam Chomsky, the
second field modern linguistics, is the study of how mental structures are
required to comprehend and speak a language. Finally, there are the important
advances in neuropsychology that studies the relationship between
neurobiological events and mental processes.

Looking at the history of psychology, one gets a sense of the advancement

of its meaning. The definition of psychology has changed over the decades,
depending on the school of thought prevailing during particular eras. During the
time of Wundt, for example, psychology was defined as the science of mental life.
He then focused on the inner experiences of the mind (e.g. sensations, feelings
and thoughts).

From 1920 to 1960, Watson redefined psychology as the science of

behavior. His definition implied a shift in emphasis from science being rooted in
observation. He believed that since people cannot observe a feeling, thought or
sensation, it would seem less scientific for psychology to deal with such topics.

Then in the 1960s, psychology recaptured its initial interest in conscious

and unconscious mental processes. To reflect psychology’s concern with overt
behavior and covert thoughts and feelings, psychology is now defined as the
scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

III. Three Principles of Scientific Behavior

There are three principles of scientific behavior: objectivity, accuracy and

healthy skepticism in the study of behavior and mental processes. These principles
are the very core of what makes psychology a science and they can help us to
become critical thinkers:
1. Objectivity – Objectivity means evaluating research and theory on their
merits, without preconceived ideas or biases. For example, to test the
validity of the detector tests, case studies and anecdotal experiences are
used to support or discount their usefulness.

2. Accuracy – Gathering data from the laboratory and the real world in
precise ways make psychological studies accurate. For instance, to
conclude from a small number of eyewitness accounts that there are
unidentified flying objects (UFOs), fails considerably short of scientific
accuracy. Rather than relying on limited samples and immediate
impressions, psychologists base their thinking on detailed and thorough
study that is as precise as possible.

3. Healthy Skepticism – Researchers observe many amazing events and so

a careful approach to these strange events and phenomena is necessary.
Appealing as it may be to believe accounts of UFO or criminal multiple
personalities, psychologists maintain a healthy skepticism: a cautious view
of data, hypotheses and theories until results are repeated, verified and
established over time.

IV. Pseudoscientific Methods of Psychology

From earliest times onward, man has been searching for answers to
questions regarding what he is like as a person and what his fate will be.
Consequently, various nonscientific systems of personality evaluation and
life prediction came into being.

1. Astrology – It is based upon the belief that a person’s fate is influenced by

the star or planet under which the person is born and the position in the
heavens of that star at the time of his birth.

2. Numerology – It emphasizes the relation of numbers to human fate. For

example, the numbers three, seven and thirteen have been considered to be
especially significant.
3. Palmistry (Chiromancy) – Palmistry consists of the practice of evaluating
a person’s character or future life by “reading” the palm of that person’s
hand. Various “lines” (‘heart line’, ‘life line’, etc.) and “mounts” (or
bumps) purportedly suggest interpretations by their relative sizes,qualities
and intersections. In some traditions, readers also examine characteristics
of the fingers, fingernails, fingerprints and palmar skin patterns, skin
texture and color, shape of the palm and flexibility of the hand.

4. Phrenology – A theory propounded by Galen (c.1822) and more or less

popular during the 19th century, deals with the relationship that was
supposed to exist between the faculties of the mind and their location in the
brain. The exterior of the skull was mapped, each area representing a
particular faculty. An excessive protuberance or ‘bumps’ on a particular
area of the cranium was supposed to indicate that the appropriate faculty
was present to a large degree.

5. Physiognomy – The term physiognomy can also refer to the general

appearance of a person, object or terrain, without reference to its implied
characteristics. It represents a belief that the width of the forehead, the
texture of the skin and hair, and similar physical characteristics are
indications of the possession of definite personality tendencies that
influence an individual’s activities and relationships. Physiognomy as
understood in the past is clearly pseudoscience.

6. ‘Commonsense’ Approach – Some persons still seem to be convinced that

all they need in order to succeed in their life’s endeavors and in their
relationships with their associates is the utilization of ‘good common
sense.’ Their judgments concerning what is ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ desirable or
undesirable, in human relationships is based upon casual observation, more
or less correct hearsay, and personal prejudices or biases.
 V. Schools of Psychological Thought

The psychological study of human behavior has evolved over a relatively

brief time span, beginning a little more than a century ago. Over that time,
psychologists have subscribed to many different perspectives. Once fully
developed and presented, these perspectives provide researchers with a frame of
reference in which to do new work. A specific perspective on the study of behavior
is called ‘a school of psychological thought.’

A. Early Traditions

A.1: Structuralism (Elementarism)

Wilhelm Wundt (pronounced Voont, 1832-1920) developed the first widely

accepted school of psychological thought. He founded the first psychological
laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879. Its focus was the study of mental life.
Before Wundt, the field of psychology simply did not exist, psychological
questions lay in the domain of philosophy, medicine and theology. One of
Wundt’s major contributions was teaching his students to use the scientific
methods when asking psychological questions.

In the latter part of the 19th century, Edward Bradford Titchener, a Wundt-
trained psychologist, introduced the term structuralism that specified mental
structures and analyzed the basic elements of mental life. Introspection (literally,
looking inside), the examination of one’s own emotional states and mental
processes, was the structural psychologists’ major method of data collection
(Myers, 1986). For example, a person would report the sensations of drinking
kalamansi juice.

Wundt, Titchener and others espoused structuralism – the school of

psychological thought that considered the organized structure of immediate
conscious experience as the proper subject matter of psychology. Structuralists,
as they were called, tried to observe only the inner workings of the mind to find
the elements of conscious experience.
The task of psychology according to this group is to:

1. Analyze consciousness into its component elements, as in chemistry

(hence, the name elementarism). The chief concern then of psychology,
according to this theory was the “structure of the mind.”

2. To have the subject report sensations, feelings and images through his
own sensory experiences --- called the method of introspection or
mental self-analysis.

A.2: Functionalism

Built on the basic concepts of structuralism, functionalism was the school

of psychological thought that tried to discover not just the mind’s structure but
how and why the mind functions and is related to consciousness. It also sought
to understand how people adapted to their environment.

The purely analytic character of structuralism had its critics, notably

William James, a psychologist from Harvard University. James advocated another
school of thought known as functionalism, which was concerned with the
functions of the mind and behavior to adapt to the environment (Santrock, 2003,
as cited by Teh 2007). Functionalists would ask questions like “What do people
do, and why do they do it?”

James described the mind as a dynamic set of continuously evolving

elements. In this work, he coined the phrase stream of consciousness, describing
the mind as a river, always flowing, never remaining still.

Functionalists held the view that it is not the ‘structure’ that should be of
prime importance to the psychologists but the ‘function’ of matter – the whole
system of events between the S (stimuli) and the R (response). They alsobelieved
in the objective method of observing behavior rather than the introspective
method of observing awareness.
A. 3: Gestalt (geh-SHTALLT)

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

A new approach was developed in the early 20th century – Gestalt

Psychology. Gestalt is a German word that means pattern, organization, form or
configuration. This school of psychological thought argued that it is necessary to
study a person’s total experience, not just parts of experience (the mind or
behavior). Gestalt psychologists such as Max Wertheimer (1880-1943), Wolfgang
Kohler (1887-1941) and Kurt Koffka (1886-1941) suggested that conscious
experience is more than simply the sum of its individual parts. Believing that each
mind organizes the elements of experience into something unique, by adding
structure and meaning to incoming stimuli, Gestalt psychologists analyzed the
world in terms of perceptual frameworks. They proposed that people mold simple
sensory elements into patterns through which they then interpret the world. By
analyzing the whole experience—the patterns of a person’s perception and
thoughts – one could understand the mind and its workings.

A.4 Psychoanalysis

One of the first researchers to develop a theory about emotional disturbance

was Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud was a physician who was interested in
helping people overcome anxiety and focused on the causes and treatment of
emotional disturbances. Working from the premise that unconscious mental
processes direct daily behavior, he developed techniques to explore those
unconscious processes: free association and dream interpretation. He emphasized
that childhood experiences shape and influence future adult behaviors and that
sexual energy influences day-to-day behavior.

Early in his clinical practice, he was surprised to find that some people
apparently experienced loss of feeling in a hand (numbness) or paralysis of the
legs even though they had no medical disorder. These odd symptoms often
disappeared once the person recalled and discussed stressful events and feelings
of guilt or anxiety that seemed to be related to the symptoms. Although these
events and feelings lay hidden beneath the surface of awareness, they could
influence behavior.

From this sort of clinical evidence, Freud concluded that the human mind
is like an iceberg. Only the tip of an iceberg rises above the surface of the water,
the great mass of it lies hidden in the depths. Freud came to believe that people,
similarly, are aware of only a small part of the ideas and impulses that dwell within
their minds. He argued that a much greater portion of the mind --- one that
contained our deepest images, thoughts, fears and urges --- remains beneath the
surface of conscious awareness, where little light illumines them.

Freud labeled the region that pokes into the light of awareness the conscious
part of the mind. He called the regions below the surface the preconscious and
the unconscious. The preconscious mind contains ideas thatare out of awareness
but can be made conscious by focusing on them. The unconscious mind is
shrouded in mystery. It contains primitive instincts such as sex and aggression.
Some unconscious urges cannot be experienced consciously because mental
images and words cannot portray them in all their color and fury. Other
unconscious urges may be kept below the surface by repression because they
would create anxiety.
Freud’s Eros and Thanatos: Life and Death Instincts

Freud’s theory of drives evolved throughout his life and work. He initially
described a class of drives known as the life instincts and believed that these
drives were responsible for much of behavior.

In his 1920 book, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Sigmund Freud applied
the concept of Eros to psychoanalysis. He referred to Eros as the life instinct,
which includes sexual instincts, the drive to live and basic instinctual impulses
(such as thirst and hunger). These elements are all necessary to preserve and
prolong life, both for the individual and for the human race. Eros is associated
with behaviors that support harmony among people, such as collaboration and
cooperation. The energy created by the life instincts is known as libido.

According to Freud, Eros is just one part of a dual system. The other - its
counterpart - is Thanatos, which is the death instinct. It includes negative
feelings, like hate, anger and aggression. As the counterpart to Eros, it is
associated with anti-social behaviors, such as sadism and violence, and it serves
to balance Eros by driving the individual (and the human race) toward death and
extinction. Freud theorized that Eros and Thanatos cannot exist without each other
- which both the life instinct and the death instinct correspond and clash with each
other in a lifelong struggle. In Freud’s view, self-destructive behavior is an
expression of the energy created by the death instincts. When this energy is
directed outward onto others, it is expressed as aggression and violence.

B. Psychological Schools Grow Broader

Cognitive psychology emerged in the 1970s which stresses thinking

processes; in the 1980s and 1990s, psychology studied neurological and
biological foundations of behavior.
 B.1 Behaviorism

The term behaviorism refers to the school of psychology founded by John

B. Watson based on the belief that behaviors can be measured, trained, and
changed. Behaviorism was established with the publication of Watson’s classic
paper Psychology as Behaviorist Views It (1913).

Another definition is that Behaviorism, also known as behavioral

psychology, is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviors are
acquired through conditioning. Conditioning occurs through interaction with the
environment. Behaviorists believe that our response to environmental stimuli
shapes our behavior.

There are two types of conditioning:

1. Classical conditioning – a technique used in behavioral training in which

a naturally occurring stimulus is paired with a response.
2. Operant conditioning – sometimes referred to as instrumental
conditioning. It is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and
punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is
made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior.

B.F Skinner (1904-1990) supported behaviorism and in the 1940s, he

attempted to explain the causes of behavior by cataloguing and describing the
relations among events of the environment (stimuli) and a person’s or animal’s
reactions (responses). Skinner believed that we are what we do – that there is no
“self”, only a collection of possible behaviors. He also viewed our actions as
results of past experiences rather than genetics. According to Skinner, our
environment determines completely what we do but we control our actions.

Behaviorists focus on how observable responses are learned, modified, or

forgotten. They emphasize how current behavior is acquired or modified. One of
their fundamental assumptions is that disordered behavior can be replaced with
appropriate, worthwhile behavior through traditional learning techniques.
 B.2 Humanistic/Existential psychology

Another important modern psychology is the humanistic psychology – the

school of psychological thought that emphasizes the uniqueness of each human
being’s experience and the idea that human beings have free will to determine
their destiny. Humanistic psychologists:

➢ see people as inherently good and as striving to fulfill themselves;

➢ believe that psychoanalytical theories are wrong to say that people are
fraught with inner conflict and that behaviorists are too much
narrowly focused on stimulus-response relations.
➢ assert that human beings are conscious, creative, and born with an
innate desire to fulfill themselves.

Proponents of the humanistic view, such as Abraham Maslow and Carl

Rogers, believe that human beings have the desire to achieve a state of self-
actualization. Self-actualization is a final level of psychological development in
which a person attempts to minimize ill health, function fully, have a superior
perception of reality, and feel a strong sense of self-acceptance. They believe that
people create their own perceptions of the world, choose their own experience,
and interpret reality in ways that lead toward self-actualization. For the humanists,
self-actualization is not only a final state but also an instinctual and motivational
need.

a. Victor Frankl – founder of Logotherapy, which is a form of existential

psychology. Logo is the Greek word which denotes meaning. He is thought
to have coined the term, Sunday neurosis. The term refers to a form of
anxiety resulting from awareness in some people of the emptiness of their
lives once the working week is over.

Logotherapy is composed of three basic principles.

i) The first basic principle is that life has meaning in all
circumstances, even despondent ones.
ii) The second principle is that the main motivational force is the
desire to find meaning in life.
 iii) Lastly, the third basic principle states that humanity has the freedom
of attitudinal choice, even in situations of unchangeable affliction\

b. Rollo May - He is often associated with humanistic psychology,

existentialist philosophy and, alongside Viktor Frankl, was a major
proponent of existential psychotherapy. Existentialism, for May means:

• Existence over essence (being > substance)

• No split between subject and object
• People search for meaning in their lives
• We are ultimately responsible for who we are and who we become
• Existentialists are anti-theoretical (dehumanizing)

VI. Branches of Psychology and Its Related Fields

Subfield Description
Behavioral genetics Behavioral genetics studies the
inheritance of traits related to
behavior.

Behavioral Behavioral neuroscience

neuroscience examines the biological basis of
behavior.
Clinical psychology Clinical psychology deals with
the study, diagnosis, and
treatment of psychological
disorder.

Clinical Clinical neuropsychology

neuropsychology unites the area if biopsychology
and clinical psychology,
focusing the relationship
between biological factors and
psychological disorders.

Cognitive psychology Cognitive psychology focuses

on the study of higher mental
processes,

Counseling psychology Counseling psychology focuses

primarily on educational,
social, and career adjustment
problems.

Cross-cultural Cross-cultural psychology

psychology investigates the similarities and
differences in psychological
functioning in and across
various cultures and ethnic
groups.

Developmental Developmental psychology

psychology examines how people grow and
change from the moment of
conception through death,
Educational psychology Educational psychology is
concerned with teaching and
learning processes, such as the
relationship between
motivation and school
performance.

Environmental Environmental psychology

psychology considers the relationship
between people and their
physical environment.

Evolutionary Evolutionary
psychology psycholog
y considers how behavior is
influenced by our genetic
inheritance from our ancestors.

Experimental Experimental
psychology psycholog
y studies the processes of
sensing, perceiving, learning,
and thinking about the world.

Forensic psychology Forensic psychology focuses on

legal issues, such as
determining accuracy ofwitness
memories.

Health psychology Health psychology explores the

relationship between
psychological factors and
physical ailments or disease.

Industrial/organizational Industrial/organizational
psychology psychology is concerned with
the psychology of
the
workplace.
Personality psychology Personality psychology focuses
on the consistency in people’s
behavior over time and thetraits
that differentiate one person
from another.

Program evaluation Program evaluation focuses on

assessing large scale programs,
such as the Head Start
preschool program, to
determine whether they are
effective in meeting their goals.

Psychology of women Psychology of women focuseson

issues such as discrimination
against women and the cause of
violence against women.

School psychology School psychology is devoted to

counseling children in
elementary and secondary
schools who have academic or
emotional problems.

Social psychology Social psychology is the study

of how people’s thoughts,
feelings and actions are
affected by others.

Sports psychology Sports psychology applies

psychology to athletic activity
and exercise.
REFERENCES:

Crow, Lester D., Alice Crow. (1968). “An Outline of General Psychology,”
Littlefield, Adams & Co., USA.

Feldman, R. S. (2010) Psychology and your life. New York: McGraw Hill.

Hilgard, Ernest R., Rita L. Atkinson, Richard C. Atkinson,

(1979).“Introductionto Psychology”, 7th Ed. Hardcourt Berace
Jovanolich, Inc.

Kahayon, Alicia H., Gaudencio V. Aquino, (1999 ).“General Psychology”,

4thEd., National Book Store

Leonano, Ma. Sofia B., Glora Q. Resurreccion, Edna B. Gatmen. (2004).

“Psychology and You”, New Day Publishers.

Macapagal, M. J. (2008) The Nature of Psychology. In L.A. Teh & M. J.

Macapagal (Eds.), General Psychology for Filipino Psychology Students
(pp 21-48). Loyola Heights, Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University
Press.

Miranda, Norma C. (2011). “Psychology: Essentials to Understanding

Behavior”, National Book Store.