Learning Objectives
- Define Psychology
- Define structuralism and functionalism and the contributions of Wundt and James in the development of psychology
- Describe Freud’s influence on psychology and his major theoretical contributions
- Describe Darwin’s influence on evolutionary psychology
- Define behaviorism and the contributions of Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner to psychology
- Explain the basic tenets of humanism and Maslow’s contribution to psychology
- Describe the basics of cognitive psychology and how the cognitive revolution shifted psychology’s focus back to the mind
- Summarize the history of psychology, focusing on the major schools of thought
- List and define the five major domains, or pillars, of contemporary psychology
- Describe the basic interests and applications of biopsychology and evolutionary psychology
- Describe the basic interests and applications of cognitive psychology
- Describe the basic interests and applications of developmental psychology
- Describe the basic interests and applications of social psychology and personality psychology
- Describe the basic interests and applications of abnormal, clinical, and health psychology
- Define industrial-organizational psychology, sport and exercise psychology, and forensic psychology
- Explain why an education in psychology is valuable
- Describe educational requirements and career options for the study of psychology
Figure 1. Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. (credit “background”: modification of work by Nattachai Noogure; credit “top left”: modification of work by U.S. Navy; credit “top middle-left”: modification of work by Peter Shanks; credit “top middle-right”: modification of work by “devinf”/Flickr; credit “top right”: modification of work by Alejandra Quintero Sinisterra; credit “bottom left”: modification of work by Gabriel Rocha; credit “bottom middle-left”: modification of work by Caleb Roenigk; credit “bottom middle-right”: modification of work by Staffan Scherz; credit “bottom right”: modification of work by Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team)
Clive Wearing is an accomplished musician who lost his ability to form new memories when he became sick at the age of 46. While he can remember how to play the piano perfectly, he cannot remember what he ate for breakfast just an hour ago (Sacks, 2007). James Wannerton experiences a taste sensation that is associated with the sound of words. His former girlfriend’s name tastes like rhubarb (Mundasad, 2013). John Nash is a brilliant mathematician and Nobel Prize winner. However, while he was a professor at MIT, he would tell people that the New York Times contained coded messages from extraterrestrial beings that were intended for him. He also began to hear voices and became suspicious of the people around him. Soon thereafter, Nash was diagnosed with schizophrenia and admitted to a state-run mental institution (O’Connor & Robertson, 2002). Nash was the subject of the 2001 movie A Beautiful Mind. Why did these people have these experiences? How does the human brain work? And what is the connection between the brain’s internal processes and people’s external behaviors? This course will introduce you to various ways that the field of psychology has explored these questions.
This module will introduce you to what psychology is and what psychologists do. You’ll learn the basic history of the discipline and about the major domains and subdivisions that exist within modern psychology. Lastly, you’ll consider what it means to study psychology and what career options are available for those who do.
