Understanding Psychology: Basics for Beginners (2023)

What is psychology in simple terms?

"Does that mean you can read minds?", "Can you tell me what I'm thinking?", "Okay, then I have to be careful with you." These are some of the clichés you've heard when you do that Mentioned psychology. Psychology is not about reading minds; It's not a discipline how to join the X-Men. Psychology is about people's minds, but not in the way people would like to believe. So what is psychology? First, psychology was the study of consciousness, of what is happening inside the mind; this was after Wundt. His research focused on analyzing feelings and sensations through introspection and describing what goes on in the mind. However, this type of perspective was gradually discarded. With Watson, psychology soon became known as the study of what is observable, ie, overt behavior. This is called behaviorism.

The most important changes occurred in the 1960s as the discipline expanded its scope to study mental events that Watson had excluded. Technological advances made it possible to study these mental events (or cognitive processes). Individual reactions to stimuli could be measured and conclusions drawn from them. In addition, there has been a growing body of research on mental processes. Together, these two developments can be called the cognitive revolution. Taking all these developments into account, psychology can now be defined as “the science of behavior and cognitive processes” (Baron, 1998). In other words, psychology analyzes "all aspects of human behavior and experience" (Baron, 1998). The definition consists of two components:Behaviorjcognitive processes. Behavior is any observable action of an organism. Cognitive processes, on the other hand, are one's thoughts, mental images, how one argues, one's memories, etc.

Key Perspectives in Psychology

When studying behavior, there are several perspectives to consider. Before we delve into them, let's set up a scenario to better understand them: when a woman goes on stage, the audience applauds, and then she starts singing. According to the behavioral perspective, which focuses on overt behavior, the emphasis would be on the overt actions of the singer and the audience. The cognitive perspective, which examines cognitive processes, what is thought and how to reason; Here the emphasis or focus would be on the singer's thoughts, her memories of the song she is singing. The third is biological, which deals with "biological events and processes underlying behavior" (Baron, 1998). From this perspective, one would look at one's emotions while singing, the audience's emotions, and how these are reflected physiologically. Socio-cultural aspects of social behavior and the influence of culture on one's own behavior; then one would wonder if singing on stage is a common event/activity in that culture. Psychodynamics explores personality and unconscious behavioral processes; With this perspective, one might wonder about her personality and the reasons (conscious or unconscious) that led her to this stage of singing. The evolutionary perspective considers the possible role of inherited behavioral tendencies.

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methods in psychology

The scientific method has been integrated to explain human behavior and provide a better understanding of it. Systematic methods for data collection are used here. Data is collected as accurately as possible and is free from bias. This inclusion makes “psychology a science” (Baron, 1998). There are certain methods used by psychologists to understand human behavior. These are the basic concepts taught in an introductory psychology course. Observation is a fundamental technique for understanding behavior. There are two types of observation: naturalistic observation and systematic observation. The first involves observing behavior as it naturally occurs; for example, just watching people in, say, a mall. The latter in this case means carefully observing and measuring the events and processes of the world or behavior; for example, watching children play during recess to understand how they interact and play.

Next comes the case study method, which collects detailed information about a specific individual, which is then used to develop principles of behavior. An example of this could be gathering detailed information about Joe Goldberg to understand why he does what he does. However, when that person is particularly unique, it may be inappropriate to generalize to others. With this method, too, there is a risk of developing bias. In the polling method, a large group of people answer questions about their views or behavior. This method can collect information from a large group and can be created quickly. A simple example of this could be the polls that appear before YouTube videos.

The correlation method attempts to determine whether two variables are related and to what extent. For example, the more coffee you drink, the longer you stay awake. Psychologists look for correlations between variables to "make accurate predictions about behavior" (Baron, 1998). It should be noted, however, that correlation does not imply causation; other factors may play a role. Finally, in the experimental method, one variable, the independent variable, is systematically changed and the effects of these changes on the other variable, the dependent variable, are measured. So when one variable causes changes in the other, the relationship between the variables is said to be causal. For example, a researcher might study the effects of different amounts of sleep (independent variable) on performance (dependent variable). In addition, the experimenter must be careful with confounding variables, factors affecting the experiment.

branches of psychology

Psychology is a huge discipline with a number of concepts to consider. There are several sub-areas of this discipline. First up is clinical psychology, which deals with “the diagnosis, causes, and treatment of mental disorders” (Baron, 1998). Experimental psychology, as the name suggests, is concerned with understanding fundamental psychological processes such as learning, cognition, and motivation. Biopsychology examines the biological basis of behavior. Here it is understood that everything biological is psychological and vice versa. Developmental psychology examines how people change not only physically but also cognitively and socially over the course of their lives. This subfield is huge in itself and you can find prominent figures in this subfield such as Piaget and Vygotsky. Educational psychology deals with all aspects of the educational process. It focuses on how teachers teach and how students learn, and most importantly, how learning can be improved. Social psychology deals with aspects of social behavior and thinking, how one thinks and interacts with others. It deals with concepts such as non-verbal communication, attitudes, interpersonal relationships, social cognition, and the like.

Cognitive psychology analyzes cognitive processes such as memory, decision-making, reasoning, etc. Industrial psychology studies behavior in the workplace. It addresses factors such as group behavior, decision-making, motivation, workplace analysis and training in an organisation/workplace. Counseling psychology is dedicated to people with personal problems that are not related to mental disorders. There are many other subfields such as sport psychology, cross-cultural psychology, positive psychology, etc. It seems that the discipline is constantly evolving.

Psychologist versus Psychiatrist

When one is introduced to psychology, one is exposed to the basic concepts and ideas mentioned above. Another important concept that anyone interested in this field should know is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. They are similar but different. Psychologists are trained in graduate psychology programs. A psychiatrist, on the other hand, is a doctor who specializes in treating mental disorders. However, many psychologists specialize in treating these disorders and therefore focus on the same issues as psychiatrists. Furthermore, the two "work together in the same psychiatric facility" (Baron, 1998).

Conclusion

The concepts covered in this article are explained very briefly and are likely to be introduced in the first few lessons of a basic psychology course. Because the subject is vast, it's difficult to cover everything that psychology has to offer in one article. Psychology is a very interesting and useful discipline. It is useful in that one is able to better understand people and oneself; one is able to understand the inner workings of the human mind and can therefore understand why people do what they do. With psychology you can try to be a better version of yourself and maybe if you are interested in helping others to do so. You might not be able to read someone else's mind, but you'd like to think you're pretty close.

references

Baron, R. A. (1998). Chapter 1 Psychology A science... and a perspective.Psychology(4^theHrsg.), S. 5-23. Pearson.