The Scope of Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of the behavior and cognitive processes of individual organisms. The goal of psychology is to describe, understand, predict, and control behavior. To properly introduce you to psychology requires the entire book, but we will begin with a brief explanation of a few key terms followed by some examples.

An organisms, of course, is a person or animal. Behavior refers to the actions of organisms that can be directly observed by others. Walking to class is an observable behavior. So is talking to a friend and taking notes in your psychology class.

                Psychologists also study cognitive processes (or cognition for short). Cognitive processes refer to unobservable mental activities such as thinking, feeling, sensing, and perceiving. Thinking about walking to class is not an observable behavior because another person cannot see your thoughts. Because cognitive processes cannot be observed directly, psychologists must study them by making inferences from observable behavior—what someone says and does. Only by studying behavior can the psychologist learn what someone is thinking, feeling, sensing, or perceiving.

                Some cognitive processes such as memories and desires are particularly difficult to study. These memories and desires may influence our actions, thought, and feelings, but they do so without our conscious awareness.

                Psychologists study both behavior and cognition. They study observable behavior by viewing it directly. Cognition is studied by making inferences from observable behavior. In essence, psychologists are interested in systematically uncovering functional relationships between behavior and other variables, which could also be behavioral. Psychologists study these topics within the context of teaching, research, business, athletics, medicine, government, and, of course, therapy for the treatment of psychological problems.

                Most psychologists are genuinely interested in understanding human behavior at home, at work, and at play, and in finding solutions to human problems. A quick glance at the rest of this text will provide you with a glimpse of the specific topics that psychologists study: human development, sexual behavior, thinking, motivation, emotion, social relationships, perception, language, stress, and so on. Psychology’s broad scope is reflected in the diversity of its subject matter. Consider, for example, some of the questions that psychologists are addressing today.

§  To what extent is our behavior determined by hereditary factors, by environmental factors, or by their interaction?

§  How do alcohol and other drugs affect the brain and nervous system?

§  How do our perceptions influence what we can learn about our environment?

§  Can viewing violent actions on television or in movies contribute to a person becoming aggressive in real life?

§  What factors contribute to the development of eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia?

§  How and to what extent do reward and punishment influence learning and behavior?

§  How is memory related to the physical structure of the brain?

§  What cognitive processes are involved in decision making? Are human thought processes analogous to the way the computers process information?

§  As we grow older and mature, what sorts of physical, cognitive, personality, social, and sexual changes might we expect to experience?

§  Is dreaming reflective of our innermost desires and fears?

§  How successfully do intelligence tests measure intelligence? Why do people’s intelligence and other personality characteristics differ?

§  Does stress have harmful effects on the body as well as the mind?

§  What causes schizophrenia—a chemical imbalance in the brain? Stress? Can schizophrenia be inherited?

§  What is an effective treatment for depression?

§  Why are some people helpful to those in need while others are not?

§  What factors determine when and with whom we fall in love?

In the midst of all this diversity you might be able to detect a single common thread—the

behavior of individual organisms—that unties these questions of how those organisms learn, think, act, perceive, and interact with their environment and with other organisms. The organism might be a fish, a rat, a pigeon, or a chimpanzee. More often than not, however, the organism is a human being.

(Source: Buskist W., Gerbing D. W. Psychology: Boundaries and Frontiers. United States of America: HarperCollinsPublishers. 1990. Page 2-3)

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