General Psychology

1. General Psychology

2. Scripture • Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. They that mourn - Either for their own sins, or for other’s, and are steadily and habitually serious. They shall be comforted - More solidly and deeply even in this world, and eternally in heaven.

3. Contemporary Perspectives and Areas of Specialization • Psychoanalysis and behaviorism still influence theory and research. • Psychoanalysis • Explaining personality • Downplay Freud’s emphasis on sexual drives and emphasize cultural experience instead • Reject Freud’s view that personality development is complete by age 5, instead, accept Erikson’s view that personality is continually shaped and changed throughout life • Behaviorism • B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) • Stressed the role of consequences in controlling behavior • People and other animals tend to repeat behaviors that are followed by positive consequences and tend to avoid behaviors that bring negative consequences

4. Contemporary Perspectives and Areas of Specialization • Humanistic psychology and positive psychology highlight personal growth. • Humanistic Psychology • Emphasizes people’s innate capacity for personal growth and their ability to make conscious choice • Carl Rogers (1902-1987) • Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) • Positive Psychology • A scientific approach to studying optimal human functioning that asserts that the normal functioning of human beings cannot be accounted for with purely negative (or problem-focused) terms

5. Contemporary Perspectives and Areas of Specialization • Cognitive psychology analyzes how the mind organizes and interprets experiences. • Cognitive Psychology • From the Latin “to know” • A psychological approach that attempts to understand behavior by studying how the mind organizes perceptions, processes information, and interprets experiences • Stinking Thinking – Becks Depression Inventory

6. Contemporary Perspectives and Areas of Specialization • The neuroscience perspective focuses on the nervous system • Neuroscience perspective • An approach to psychology that attempts to understand behavior and mental processes by examining the nervous system • Plasticity of the brain – etc… • Fight/Flight • Nature-nurture debate • The question of whether individual differences in behavior are primarily due to inborn biological processes or to environmental factors

7. Contemporary Perspectives and Areas of Specialization • Evolutionary psychology studies how behavior is shaped by natural selection. • Evolutionary psychology • An approach to psychology based on the principle of natural selection • Natural selection • The process by which organisms with inherited traits best suited to the environment reproduce more successfully than less well-adapted organisms over a number of generations which leads to evolutionary changes • Evolution • The genetic changes that occur in a species over generations dues to natural selection

8. Irreducible Complexity • Mike Behe introduced the concept of irreducible complexity in his book, Darwin’s Black Box • Something is irreducibly complex if it is composed of two or more necessary parts • Remove one part and function is not just impaired but destroyed • A mousetrap is irreducibly complex @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

9. The Mousetrap • A mousetrap cannot be built by natural selection @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

10. The Mousetrap – An Explanation “An everyday example of an irreducibly complex system is the humble mousetrap. It consists of (1) a flat wooden platform or base; (2) a metal hammer, which crushes the mouse; (3) a spring with extended ends to power the hammer; (4) a catch that releases the spring; and (5) a metal bar that connects to the catch and holds the hammer back. You can't catch a mouse with just a platform, then add a spring and catch a few more mice, then add a holding bar and catch a few more. All the pieces have to be in place before you catch any mice.” Michael Behe - 2002 @ Dr. Heinz Lycklama

11. Contemporary Perspectives and Areas of Specialization • The sociocultural perspective studies how behavior is shaped by social and cultural forces. • Sociocultural perspective • An approach to psychology that emphasizes social and cultural influences on behavior V-Code in the DSM-V • Culture • The total lifestyle of people from a particular social grouping, including all the ideas, symbols, preferences, and material objects they share

12. Contemporary Perspectives and Areas of Specialization • Individualism and collectivism • Individualism • A philosophy of life stressing the priority of personal goals over group goals, a preference for loosely knit social relationships, and a desire to be relatively autonomous of others’ influences • Collectivism • A philosophy of life stressing the priority of group goals over individual goals, a preference for tightly knit social relationships, and a willingness to submit to the influence of ones’ group • Dynamic systems theory • The idea that new forms of behavior emerge through the interactions of people’s biology and their culture and physical environment

13. Culture and the Self If a culture nurtures an individual’s personal identity, it is said to be individualist, but if a group identity is favored then the culture is described as collectivist. A collectivist support system can benefit groups who experience disasters such as the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Kyodo News

15. Culture and the Self

16. Culture and the Self WHICH IS MORE VALUABLE? BASED ON A CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW SHOULD WE STRIVE FOR A MORE COLLECTIVE OR INDIVIDUALISTIC SOCIETY?

17. Contemporary Perspectives and Areas of Specialization • Seven areas of specialization for research psychologists • Neuroscience • Developmental psychology • Experimental psychology • Comparative psychology • Cognitive psychology • Personality psychology • Social psychology

18. Contemporary Perspectives and Areas of Specialization • Four areas of specialization for applied psychologists • Clinical psychology • Counseling psychology • Industrial/organizational psychology • Educational and school psychology