South 고등학교 2학년 Humans and Psychology

Chapters: 4

1. Psychology as science

Goals of modern psychology · Research methods · Branches of psychology

Nature of Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour – Psychology is the science that studies mental processes (like thinking and remembering), experiences (our private feelings) and behaviour (what we do). Mental processes cannot be seen, so psychologists infer them from behaviour. Behaviour can be overt (seen from outside) or covert (hidden inside, like a racing heart). Psychology is a discipline with its own methods and theories. It is a natural science because it uses experiments and studies the brain and body, and a social science because it studies people in families, groups and culture. Mind and brain are linked but not the same. Many popular beliefs about psychology, like "psychologists read minds", are not true.
Methods of Psychology: Observation, Experiment, Correlation, Survey, Tests and Case Study – Psychologists use six main methods. Observation means watching and recording behaviour carefully, in natural or controlled settings, as a participant or non-participant. An experiment changes one variable (IV) for an experimental group but not a control group, keeps extraneous variables constant and measures the effect (DV); only experiments show cause and effect. Correlational research measures two variables and finds how strongly they move together (r from −1 to +1: positive, negative or zero), but it cannot prove cause. A survey asks many people through interviews or questionnaires. Psychological tests are standardised tools that must be reliable, valid and have norms. A case study is an in-depth study of one person or group using many sources.
Growth and Branches of Psychology: From One Lab to Many Fields – Modern psychology began in 1879 when Wilhelm Wundt set up the first psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany (structuralism, using introspection). William James asked what the mind does (functionalism). Freud stressed unconscious wishes (psychoanalysis), Gestalt psychologists said we see wholes, and Watson said study only visible behaviour (behaviourism). Later came humanistic (Rogers, Maslow), cognitive and constructivist (Piaget, Vygotsky) views. In India, ideas about the mind are ancient; modern psychology began at Calcutta University in 1915 and later focused on Indian problems and indigenous ideas. Psychology now has many branches (cognitive, biological, developmental, social, clinical, health, educational, organisational, environmental, sports and more) and links with philosophy, medicine, economics, sociology, computer science, law and media. It also helps us in daily life.

2. Understanding the self

Brain and mind · Adolescent development · Perception, memory, learning · Personality and motivation · Emotions

Neuroscience: How the Brain Builds the Mind – Neuroscience studies the brain and nerves. The brain has three main parts: the cerebrum (thinking, senses, movement), the cerebellum (balance) and the brainstem (breathing, heartbeat). It is made of about 86 billion neurons that pass electrical signals and talk across synapses with chemicals. Each lobe has main jobs; Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas handle speech; mirror neurons fire when we act and when we watch others act. The hippocampus forms memories and the amygdala adds emotion. EEG records brain waves, ECG records the heart and a spirogram records breathing.
Human Development: Meaning, Life-Span View and Influences – Development is the pattern of change that begins at conception and continues through the whole life. It includes growth (increase in size), maturation (changes that unfold on a biological timetable) and learning from experience. The life-span view says development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, shaped by history, studied by many disciplines and contextual. It involves biological, cognitive and socio-emotional processes that affect each other. Development results from heredity (genotype) and environment working together to produce what we see (phenotype). Contexts matter: Bronfenbrenner described nested systems (micro, meso, exo, macro and chrono), and Durganand Sinha described the Indian child's ecology as inner and outer layers that change over time.
Personality: Approaches and Assessment – Personality is a person's steady, typical way of thinking, feeling and acting across situations. Type approaches sort people into groups (Type A and B, introvert and extravert). Trait approaches describe people on many dimensions (Allport, Cattell, Eysenck, Big Five). Freud's psychodynamic approach looks at the unconscious, id, ego, superego and defence mechanisms; post-Freudians (Jung, Horney, Adler, Fromm, Erikson) stress social and goal-seeking forces. The behavioural approach says personality is learned. The cultural approach links it to ecology and way of life. Humanistic approaches (Rogers, Maslow) stress growth and self-actualisation. Personality is assessed through self-report tests, projective techniques and behavioural methods.
Emotions: Nature, Expression, Culture and Management – An emotion is a strong feeling with three parts: body arousal, a thought or appraisal of the event, and an outward expression. There are a few basic emotions that vary in intensity and can mix. Emotions are shown by face, voice and body; basic facial expressions are widely shared, but culture sets display rules. Negative emotions can be managed (awareness, reappraisal, relaxation, exercise, support) and positive ones built (gratitude, hope, kindness, friends, flow).

3. Understanding others

Situations and attitudes · Social problems from a situational view · Conflict in relationships · Cooperation

Social Psychology: How Other People Shape Us – Social psychology studies how other people change our thoughts, feelings and actions. Behaviour depends on both the person and the situation. In groups we often conform to the majority or obey authority. Stereotypes (thoughts), prejudice (feelings) and discrimination (actions) harm groups. When many people watch, each feels less responsible to help. Competition breeds conflict, while shared goals build cooperation.

4. Life and adjustment

Adjustment and maladjustment · Stress and coping · Happiness

Mental Health: Feelings, Stress and Support – Mental health is how we think, feel, cope and get along with others. Like physical health, everyone has it and it moves up and down. Emotions are useful signals. Stress adds up like water in a bucket; healthy coping (sleep, movement, talking, calm breathing, planning) lets it drain. Self-esteem and good relationships protect us. If feelings stay very heavy for two weeks or more, or stop daily life, talk to a trusted adult or a professional — asking for help is a sign of strength.
Positive Psychology: Happiness, Strengths and Growth – Positive psychology studies what helps people live well, not only what goes wrong. Happiness has three sources: pleasure, engagement (flow) and meaning. Everyone has character strengths such as kindness or curiosity, and strengths grow with practice. Self-actualisation means becoming the best version of yourself once basic needs are met. Small daily habits can raise well-being.