Psychology

Question 1

Define psychology
One question about social change

Answer 1

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychologists actively study and understand mental processes, brain functions, and behavior.
OR
Psychologists study how and why humans act as they do. Instead of studying how humans function in cultures or societies, psychologists focus on the individual:
- personal and unique experiences that influence how the individual acts and thinks
- Why do individuals act as they do in given situations

Do most people need help changing their behaviors, or can they be self-changers?

Question 2

What is experimental psychology?

Answer 2

The branch of the discipline that sets up experiments to see how individuals act in particular situations.
Question - Would you help a complete stranger that was being threatened with violence by another person?

Question 3

What is clinical psychology?

Answer 3

The branch of the discipline that develops programs for treating individuals suffering from mental illnesses and behavioral disorders.

Question 4

Outline the main tenets of the three schools of thought in psychology:

Answer 4

psychoanalytic
theory, behaviorism, and learning theory.

Question 5

Define Psychoanalytic theory

Answer 5

The mind is divided into two parts; the conscious and the unconscious. We are aware of our conscious but not aware of our unconscious. According to psychologists, our unconscious mind has more influence than the conscious mind on our personalities and our behavior.

Question 6

Define Behaviorism

Answer 6

Behavior = Anything you do!
-Breathing, walking, thinking, drawing, playing sports, texting
-Analysis = Scientific demonstration of cause-effect relationships (IF – THEN)
-Look for changes in one event resulting from changes in another event
-Behaviour + Analysis = The scientific demonstration of events that cause you to do what you do
- Behaviorism (Skinner) - not paying attention to the world around yourself

Question 7

Define learning theory

Answer 7

Learning Theorists agree that humans are born with little instinct but much learning potential. They believe that most human behavior is learned, especially in children and youth