Module 2: Psychology’s Big Issues and Approaches
2.1: Psychology’s Biggest Question
● Today, psychology is the scientific study of behavior + mental processes
● Nature-nurture issue: controversy over the contribution of genes and experiences in
psychological development
○ E.g. Are humans born evil or made evil?
● Natural selection: principal that those w advantageous traits will survive to reproduce offspring
that have those same traits
○ Created by Charles Darwin
2.2: Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis
● Levels of analysis: the different views of analyzing a phenomenon
○ Biological, psychological, social-cultural
● Biopsychosocial approach: considering the 3 levels of analysis when approaching a situation
Perspective Focus
Behavioral How we learn observable responses
Biological How brain and body create emotions, thoughts,
memories, etc
Behavior genetics How genes + environment influence individual differences
Cognitive How we encode, process, store, remember info
Evolutionary How natural selection has promoted certain
behaviors’/genes’ survival
Humanistic How we meet our needs for love and acceptance and
achieve self-fulfillment
Psychodynamic How the unconscious directs all behavior
Social-cultural How behavior and thinking vary across situations and
cultures
2.3: Psychology’s Subfields
● Cognitive psychology: study of all mental activities
● Evolutionary psychology: study of evolution of behavior and mind
● Psychodynamic psychology: study of how unconscious influences behavior and how to use that
info to treat patients w psychological disorders
● Social-cultural psychology: study of how situations and cultures affect behavior and thinking
● Psychometrics: study of measurement of human abilities, attitudes, traits
Basic Research (increase knowledge base)
● Biological psychology → links between brain and mind
● Cognitive psychology → how we perceive, think, solve problems
● Developmental psychology → how behavior + mental processes change over lifespan
● Educational psychology → how psychological processes affect teaching and learning
● Personality psychology → persistent traits/patterns
● Social psychology → how ppl influence each other
Applied Research (solve practical problems)
● Industrial Organizational (I/O) psychology → optimize human behavior in workplaces
○ Human factors psychology: I/O subfield that explores how ppl and machines interact
● Counseling psychology → help ppl cope w challenges
● Clinical psychology → assess and treat ppl w psychological disorders
● Psychiatry: branch of medicine that deals w psychological disorders
○ Psychiatrists + physicians can prescribe drugs and treat physical causes of
psychological disorders
● Positive psychology → study human functioning to make communities thrive
The Helping Professions
● Clinical psychology → assess and treat ppl w psychological disorders
● Community psychology → study how ppl interact w social environment and how social
institutions affect ppl
● Counseling psychology → help ppl cope w challenges
American Psychological Association
● 1892; Clark University
● Mary Whiton Calkin - 1st female APA president
● G. Stanley Hall - 1st APA president; 1st to get psych PhD
● Margaret Floy Washburn - 1st female to get psych PhD
