Psychology: Field of Study that is concern with the mind and behavior.

 It is new science.

o Most discoveries have been taking place from the 150 years ago

onward till now.

o It is origin traces back to ancient Greece, but became science

only recently.

o It is been first discussed by Socrates, then Plato, and then

Aristotle.

 Two dominant theoretical perspectives regarding how the brain

worked, structuralism and functionalism.

 FIRSTLY: Structuralism = breaking down the processes of brain and

mental sphere into their basic elements.

o Named by Wilhelm Wundt, he separated psychology from

philosophy.

o Later improved by Edward Titchener.

o It relies on trained introspection = what was going on in the

minds while performing tasks. (It later proved to be unreliable

method).

 SECONDLY: William James (1842-1910) developed functionalism,

disagreed with Structuralism.

o Mind is constantly changing. It is pointless to look for the

structure of conscious experience.

 o Rather, focus on how and why an organism does something, i.e.,

functions or purpose of the brain.

o Look for the underlying cause of behavior and the mental

processes involved.

o This emphasis influenced modern psychology.

 Now: both replaced by several approaches.

1. Psychoanalysis; founded by Sigmund Freud

o people could be cured by making conscious their

unconscious thoughts and motivations.

2. Behaviorists: rely on controlled laboratory experiments

and rejection of any unseen or unconscious forces as

causes of behavior.

3. The humanistic approach is the 'third force' in

psychology. Proposed the importance of subjective

experience and personal growth.

 Psychology has some general goals:

o To describe the behavior and cognitive: this beneficial for

developing laws and perceptions of behaviors.

o To explain those laws and perceptions.

o To predict current and future behavior in order to get benefits of

them.

o To change the behaviors or thoughts whenever needed.

 How Psychology is studied?

 o Most universities teach psychology.

o At first, a series of introductory courses dealing with core

elements of the subject will be taught.

o For example: Subjects regarding exploration of mental

health, childhood and development, etc.

o When the study advances, the study becomes more specialized.

It might deal with topics such as cognitive abilities and

processes, neuroscience and the psychology of certain groups of

people.

o In the final year it is required to carry out your respective

original and mostly new research.

 The importance of psychology:

o It allows more understanding on how the body and mind work

together.

o It helps decision-making.

o It helps avoiding stressful situations.

o It can help with time management, setting and achieving goals.

o It can help people in living effectively.

 o It helps people to recover from traumas and other mental

disorders.

o It can help humans to improve their attitudes towards

themselves and others.

o It helps more understanding of humans and animals and the best

way to treat them.

 Who is Psychologist?

o Psychologist is a doctor or licensed person to work in that field.

o He/she is a person who studies normal and abnormal mental

states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes

and behavior.

 Psychological well-being of employee in firms:

o According to Experimental evidence such as Oswald et al (2015),

the psychological well-being of employees in firms and

organization hugely affect the productivity.

o The productivity will eventually result in higher revenue and

profit of the firms and organizations.

 Organizations/companies should put serious measures to support their

employee’s mental health.

 Since psychology has a big role in employees happiness:

o There has to be constant dialogue between the employees and

their managers.

o There has to be available literature on the subjects regarding

mental illnesses in work place and ways to prevent.

o There has to be programs to enhance employee’s mental health.

For example, in Australia, there is Beyond Blue, Sane Australia’s

Mindful employer program or theMental Health First Aid Course

run by Australian Red Cross.

o The demands that are placed on employees

This includes things such as the volume of work, the way in

which the work is performed and the environment.

o Employers need to ensure they are providing employees with

work they are capable of completing and provide systems for

employees to report difficulties.

o Employees need to have a say in how they do their work.

o Employees require the support of their employer in completing

their job be it through resources such as training, or the

provision of clear systems, policies and procedures.

o Employers need to provide a workplace that promotes and

supports positive healthy relationships between employees and

offers policies and processes for dealing with conflict in the

workplace.

o It is important that employees understand their role and that the

boundaries between roles are clearly defined.

o Change management, how an organization manages change in

the workplace is significant. Employers need to engage

employees in the process and to provide them with access to

support through the change process.