Unit: 1: Introduction to psychology

A. Definition of psychology:
Psychology has been defined in different ways. Some people have defined
psychology as an art. Other people have defined psychology as a science. Many text
books define psychology as the science of mind and behavior. Psychology involves the
study of human nature and/or behavior. Different opinions come from different
perspectives.
The term ‗psychology‘, literally means the science of the soul.
(Psyche—soul; logos =science).
The word psychology comes from the Greek words that mean ―the study of soul‖.
 Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes.
 Psychology primarily studies WHO and WHAT we are, WHY we act and think in a
particular manner and what is our potential as an individual.
 Psychology is best defined as the "scientific study of behavior in humans and
animals." Behavior is what people and animals do.
 It is a science of mind and behavior
 It is amental or behavioral characteristics of an individual or group
 It is a study of mind and behavior in relation to a particular field of knowledge or
activity.
 Psychology is the field of science dedicated to understanding human
motivations, behavior, and the mind.
 According to the American Psychological Association: Psychology is the study of the
mind and behavior andIt is the study of the mind, how it works, and how it affects
behavior.
Branches of Psychology:
 Clinical psychology
 Cognitive psychology
 Developmental psychology
 Evolutionary psychology
 Forensic psychology
 Health psychology

1
  Neuropsychology
 Occupational psychology
 Social psychology

Goals of Psychology:
 To describebehaviors: what is the nature of behaviour.
 To explain or understand why organism behave in certain ways
 To predict how organism will behave in the future.
 To control or for best regulate behavior.

Terminologies:
 Abnormal behavior: Behavior that causes people to experience distress and
prevents them from functioning in their daily lives.
 Absolute threshold: the smallest intensity of a stimulus that must be present for
the stimulus to be detected
 Conditioned response (CR): a learned response to a stimulus that was not
originally capable of producing the response.
 Conditioned stimulus (CS): an initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a
particular
 Developmental psychology: branch of psychology devoted to identifying and
explaining the continuities and changes that individuals display over time.
 Developmental stage: a distinct phase within a larger sequence of
development; a period characterized by a particular set of abilities, motives,
behaviors, or emotions that occur together and form a coherent pattern.
 Emotional self-regulation: strategies for managing emotions or adjusting
emotional arousal to an appropriate level of intensity.
 Encoding: the process by which external stimulation is converted to a mental
representation.
 Synapse: the connective space (juncture) between one nerve cell (neuron) and
another.
 Synaptogenesis: formation of connections (synapses) among neurons.

2
 Learning: a relatively permanent change in behavior (or behavioral potential)
that results from one‘s experiences or practice.
 Memory span: a general measure of the amount of information that can be held
in the short-term store.
 Negative reinforcer: any stimulus whose removal or termination as the
consequence of an act will increase the probability that the act will recur.
 Neurons: nerve cells that receive and transmit neural impulses.
 Operant conditioning: a form of learning in which freely emitted acts (or
operants) become either more or less probable depending on the consequences
they produce.
 Operant learning: a form of learning in which voluntary acts (or operants)
become either more or less probable, depending on the consequences they
produce.
 Perception: the process by which we categorize and interpret sensory input.
 Rehearsal: a strategy for remembering that involves repeating the items one is
trying to retain.
 Secure attachment: an infant-caregiver bond in which the child welcomes
contact with a close companion and uses this person as a secure base from
which to explore the environment.
 Secure base: use of a caregiver as a base from which to explore the
environment and to which to return for emotional support.
 Selective attention: capacity to focus on task-relevant aspects of experience
while ignoring irrelevant or distracting information.
 Self: the combination of physical and psychological attributes that is unique to
each individual.
 Self-concept: one‘s perceptions of one‘s unique attributes or traits.
 Self-esteem: one‘s evaluation of one‘s worth as a person based on an
assessment of the qualities that make up the self-concept.
 Self-recognition: the ability to recognize oneself in a mirror or a photograph.
 Sensation: detection of stimuli by the sensory receptors and transmission of this
information to the brain.

3
B. Mind:
i. Definition & Meaning:
There are no common definitions for mind is existed, different theorists people
define about Mind is and what its distinguishing properties are; although there is a
lengthy tradition of inquiries in philosophy, religion, psychology and cognitive science
about Mind in different way; i.e.
 The mind is the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world
and their experiences, to think, and to feel.
 Mind is a person's ability to think and reason.
 Mind is the element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives,
thinks, wills, and especially reasons.
 Mind is the conscious mental events and capabilities in an organism
 Mind is the organized conscious and unconscious adaptive mental activity of an
organism.

ii. Concept and Theory of Mind:

The core concepts involved in Theory of Mind are beliefs, desires, and intentions,
which are used to understand why someone acts in a certain way or to predict how
someone will act (Kloo et al., 2010). Overall, Theory of Mind involves understanding
another person's knowledge, beliefs, emotions, and intentions and using that
understanding to navigate social situations.
Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires,
emotions, knowledge, etc.—to oneself, and to others, and to understand that others
have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that are different from one's own.

iii. The mind Vs the Brain:

While brain is considered to be a physical thing, mind is considered to be mental.

Dr. Daniel Siege stated that our minds are created within relationships –
including the one that we have with ourselves… Each of us has a unique mind: unique
thoughts, feelings, perceptions, memories, beliefs, and attitudes, and a unique set of
regulatory patterns. These patterns shape the flow of energy and information inside us,
and we share them with other minds.

4
 I. Development of Mind:
The structure of personality according to Freud (3 parts):

1. Id: the unconscious reservoir of primitive drives and instincts. It follows the pleasure
principle (the infant is a total Id).

2. Ego: that part of personality that controls and interacts with the outside world. It
controls motility, perception, inhibits primary, instinctual drives (through defense
mechanism. It mediates between Id super-ego and follows the reality principle.

3. Super-Ego: it is the moral component of personality (conscience) and is composed

of morals values and ethics usually derived from one‘s parents. It imposes demands
on Id in the form of conscience or guilt feelings.

Both ego and super-ego operates at all three levels of consciousness.

Identification and notation of defense mechanisms can be an important part of the
psychological assessment and influence on the treatment process.

II. Levels of the mind:

Freud stated;‖ The mind is like an iceberg it floats with one-seventh of its bulk
above water‖. He added there are three levels of mind (consciousness).

5
1-The Conscious mind

Conscious mind consists of all the mental processes of which we are aware, and
this is seen as the tip of the iceberg. For example, you may be feeling thirsty at this
moment and decide to get a drink.

2-The Sub-conscious mind

The preconscious contains thoughts and feelings that a person is not currently
aware of, but which can easily be brought to consciousness. It exists just below the
level of consciousness, and before the unconscious mind. The preconscious is like a
mental waiting room, in which thoughts remain until they 'succeed in attracting the eye
of the conscious'. This is what we mean in our everyday usage of the word available
memory.
For example, you are presently not thinking about your mobile telephone number, but
now it is mentioned you can recall it with ease. Mild emotional experiences may be in
the preconscious but sometimes traumatic and powerful negative emotions are
repressed and hence not available in the preconscious.

3-The Unconscious mind:

The unconscious mind comprises mental processes that are inaccessible to

consciousness but that influence judgments, feelings, or behaviour. According to Freud
the unconscious mind is the primary source of human behavior. Like an iceberg, the
most important part of the mind is the part you cannot see.
Our feelings, motives and decisions are actually powerfully influenced by our
past experiences, stored in the unconscious.
Freud applied these three systems to his structure of the personality, or psyche –
the id, ego and superego. Here the id is regarded as entirely unconscious whilst the ego
and superego have conscious, preconscious, and unconscious aspect.

Conclusion
 Psychology has been part of every human‘s life.
 To maintain healthy life and effective relationships we need to understandour
psychology (behaviour) and that of other.