UNIT 1: Psychology as a science for studying and understanding human behaviour
IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATION TO
TEACHING
• Psychology is a science because it takes the scientific approach to understanding human
behaviour
• The four major objectives of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and change
or control behaviours
• Science is a body of systematised knowledge obtained by observation and verified by
experimentation
• Statistical analysis is also used to capture data on human and animal behaviour
• Psychology uses research and careful observation to examine how people behave and
think
• Through empirical evidence, psychologists can understand human behavior because of
observation
• Psychologists apply the understanding gleaned through research to create evidence-
based strategies that solve problems and improve lives
• Its major objective is to seek and find the truth
HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
• Similarly, psychology obtained its information by means of careful observation and
measurement of behaviour
• The fact that the way humans interact runs through a complete range including physical,
mental, and emotional conduct
• Furthermore, human behavior is influenced by a variety of factors, including genetics
and the environment
• Behaviour in psychology from a scientific view, is that we cannot observe feelings or
thoughts without the use of special equipment. However, we can observe and measure
a persons’ behaviour
• Not only can behaviour be seen, but it can be recorded and studied
• In psychology we concern ourselves mainly with the observable and measurable
behaviour
• The role of the brain or mind can only be inferred on the basis of behaviour’
ANIMAL PSYCHOLOGY
• As science extends its interests to the behaviour of animals; the purpose is for
understanding animals
• Animal psychology is the scientific study of animal behavior dealing with the
interaction of animals with each other, with other living beings, and with the
environment.
• Studying animals is critical to understanding basic principles underlying behaviour and
to advancing the welfare of both humans and animals
• The knowledge gained can be applied to understanding human behaviour
• Similarities between human and animal behaviour are being observed through
experiments
• Through understanding animal behaviour, we will be better able to understand human
behaviour where similarities have been observed to exist
APPLICATION TO TEACHING/ EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
• Educational Psychology is applied to teaching and learning in a classroom and school
setting
• The scientific aspect of Educational Psychology is based on the fact that teachers and
students use psychological approaches to understand and control the learning
opportunities that the schooling environment offers
• Educational psychology identifies conditions conducive to learning and how teaching
can bring about effective learning
Hence in all the previous work we unpacked, you might recall that the psychologists had
embarked on closely studying how the minds of the varying animals function, we also talked
of stimulants that activated how these animals behaved, at times changing the normal behaviour
due to either negative or positive reinforcements
COMPILED BY PROF B MAKENA
