INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY Lecturer: Dr. Paul Narh Doku Contact: pndoku@ug.edu.gh 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
Reading List Kalat, W. J. (2008). Introduction to psychology (8 th ed). Thomson learning, inc. pages. 3-8 Nairne, S. J. (2014). Psychology (6 th ed). Wadsworth, cengage learning. pages. 2-6 Coon, D. and Mitterer, O. J (2012). Psychology: modules for active learning (13 th ed). Cengage learning. pages 12-19 Bernstein, A. D. (2014). Essentials of psychology (6 th 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 assumptions, views and opinions about the discipline. The views are wrong because they do not fit into any of the definitions or what psychology is actually about. Exercise Give examples of some of the misconceptions
Some misconceptions Psychology is mind reading, It is about magic, tricks and mysticism. As you are aware now, psychology is rather about the whats, hows and whys of human behaviour 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 in another place irrespective of the distance and physical barrier. A key ingredient in clairvoyance is absence of prior information of the event. Example: while studying here in this lecture room, one can perceive and tell exactly what is happening in the office of the president of the Republic of 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 is, is not considered as precognition if it is based on the known. For instance; Prediction of Ghana s population rate in 5 years using the population and growth rate in 2013 cannot be precognition. Example of precognition: Accurately foretelling the scoreline of a football match based on means which are not scientific.
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
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. palmistry
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) The first step in understanding anything is naming. Description involves observing a behaviour and noting everything about it: what is happening, where it happens, to whom it happens, and under what circumstances it seems to happen. This requires one to portray the phenomena accurately to identify the variables that exist and then to determine the degree to which they exist. EXPLANATION (Why of behaviour) Requires knowledge of why the phenomenon exists or what causes it. Finding explanations is an important step in the process of forming theories. A theory is a general explanation of a set of observations or facts. The goal of description provides the observations, and the goal of explanation helps to build theory
Goals of Psychology PREDICTION (When will it happen again?) The ability to anticipate an event prior to its actual performance based on knowledge of underlying causes. The knowledge of what causes kleptomania or nocturnal enuresis help to anticipate future occurrence of behaviour or not. This helps to control or modify the behaviour to make it much more adaptive CONTROL (How can it be modified or changed) The focus of control, or modification of behaviour, is to change it from an undesirable one to desirable(such as failing in school) to a desirable one (such as academic success).
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