psychology definition
scientific study of behaviour, thought, and experience, and how they can be affected by physical, mental, social, and environmental factors.
psychology is concerned with
individual behaviour although some exceptions in social psychology
psychology is the behaviour
of ALL individuals
the biopsychosocial model
is a means of explaining behaviour as a product of biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors
psychology spans a number of
different perspectives
biological perspective focus
Genes, brain anatomy and function, and evolution
biological perspective examples
psychological perspective focus
behaviour, perception, thought, and experience
psychological perspective examples
sociocultural perspective focus
interpersonal relationships, families, groups, societies, and ethnicities
sociocultural perspective examples
developmental psychology
study how thought and behaviour change and remain stable across the life span
biological psychology
study of the underlying physiological mechanisms, including neurotransmissions, relating to the expression of thought and behaviour
personality psychology
study of what makes people unique and the consistencies in peoples behaviour across time and situations
and how different personality characteristics can influence how we think and act
social psychology
study of how a group influences behaviour of people or how one person can change people’s behaviour, also in workplaces
clinical psychology
study of the assessment and treatment of mental, emotional and behavioural disorders and the promotion of psychological health
defining behaviour
the observable actions by which an organism adjusts to its environment
the study of behaviour recognizes
- the role of mental processes in behaviour (the unobservable)
things to be aware of when studying behaviour
goals of psychology (what are psychologists trying to do?)
what is behavioural data?
measures of behavioural data must be
objective
every topic in psychology could be examined
from a biological, cognitive, or sociocultural perspective
the scientific method
is a way of learning about the world through collecting observations, developing theories to explain them, and using the theories to make predictions