PSYCHOLOGY: Chapter 1 Introducing Psychology Lecture Notes
* Items in bold are not in the text.
1-1: Why Study Psychology?
Psychologist: a scientist who studies the mind and behavior of humans and animals.
Physiological: having to do with an organism's physical processes.
Cognitive: having to do with an organism's thinking and understanding.
3 things you can learn from psychology:
1.) Helps you gain a better understanding, insight, of your own behavior.
2.) Gives you knowledge about how psychologists study human and animal behavior.
3.) Gives you practical applications of the knowledge for enriching your life.
2 reasons to study psychology:
1.) Insight: gain knowledge of how and why people do things
* "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Just because you have learned some psychology, doesn't give you the expertise to diagnose others.
2.) Practical information: Psychology gives you information that you can use each day.
Social psychology: a broad field of psychology that seeks to explain how our thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and behaviors are influenced by interactions with others.
Shaping: a systematic way of dispensing rewards and punishments.
Mnemonic devices: memory aids that help you retain information.
Emotions: occur as the result of a physical stimulation paired with some social or personal event.
Psychology: the scientific study of behavior that is tested through scientific research.
- what it covers: everything that people think, feel, and do.
- systematic: step by step; following a set plan.
4 goals of psychology:
1.) To describe
2.) To explain
3.) To predict
4.) To influence behavior
psychological principles: generally valid ideas about behavior.
hypothesis: an assumption or prediction about behavior that is tested through scientific research. It is a researcher's prediction about what the results of
a study are expected to be.
- 2 methods of collecting data: observation and experimentation. Psychologists may use a questionnaire or a survey.
** There are many hypotheses, but real answers to psychological questions come only through agreement of experts after years of research on
many different aspects to a problem.
theory: is usually a complex explanation based on findings from a large number of experimental studies. Theories change as new data improves our
understanding, and a good theory becomes the source of additional ideas for experiments.
basic science: the pursuit of knowledge about natural phenomena for its own sake.
- subjects: Term used for the human, or animal, participants in psychological research.
2 ways basic scientists observe behavior:
1.) Naturalistic observation: is analyzing the behavior of humans and animals in their environment.
2.) Controlled observation: is observation done under laboratory conditions.
applied science: discovering ways to use scientific findings to accomplish practical goals.
- patients/clients: Term used for the humans in the counseling side of psychology.
- 4 types of applied scientists:
1.) Clinical psychologists
2.) Industrial/organizational psychologists
3.) Counseling psychologists
4.) Engineering psychologists
3 areas of delayed development in orphans raised in orphanages:
1.) physical development
2.) intellectual development
3.) emotional development
- Wayne Dennis: Psychologist who studied the effect of stimulation on children in orphanages.
* date of study: 1960
* conclusion: This lack of normal development to the fact that these babies have nothing to look at but a blank, white ceiling and white crib cushions,
and are handled only when they need to be fed or changed. They get very little stimulation.
* levels of stimulation and effects on children: Even though children who lack stimulation tend to develop poorly, it does not follow that
providing infants with maximum stimulation will cause them to grow up emotionally sound and
intellectually superior. Quite the contrary, most babies do best with a medium level of stimulation
* social interaction: Interacting with other people.
- Rice, Cunningham, and Young (1997): Psychologists whose study concluded that social interaction is much more important than visual stimulation.
Normal development is more likely to result from long-term interactions with a responsive caregiver.
Scientific method: a general approach to gathering information and answering questions so that errors and biases are minimized.
- 3 methods for obtaining data:
3.) case studies
- 4 steps in the scientific method:
1.) identifying a specific problem or question
2.)formulating a hypothesis
3.) collecting data through observation and experimentation
4.) analyzing the data.
Wilhelm Wundt: doctor who began psychology as a separate, formal field of study. Some feel he is the founder of psychology.
- what he created: Laboratory of Psychology - Wundt’s school of psychological study.
- when: 1879
- where: Leipzig, Germany
- idea: He proposed the idea that psychological experience is composed of compounds, much like the compounds found in chemistry.
* 2 kinds of elements: sensations and feelings.
- importance of his work: the importance of Wundt’s work is the procedure he followed, not the results he obtained.
- introspection: a method of self-observation in which an individual observes, analyzes, and reports his or her own mental experiences.
Effect of scientific method on psychological theories: Although psychologists use the scientific method to demonstrate and support many theories, many questions about behavior remain unanswered. Psychological theories are continually reviewed and revised. New theories and technological developments are constantly generating new questions and new psychological studies.
1-2: A Brief History of Psychology
Marmaduke B. Sampson: In the 1800's wrote an account (page 14) to explain why crime occurs.
-idea: According to Sampson, the behavior of S.S. was the direct result of the shape of his head.
Phrenology: the study of the structure of the skull to determine an individual's character, personality and mental capacity.
(Basically, they felt the bumps on your head to figure out what "type" of person you were.)
- when created: created in the late 1700’s, but it became an important practice in the United States in the mid-1800s.
- pseudoscience: a false science.
- Franz Joseph Gall: founder of phrenology in the late 1700’s.
- 3 theories on phrenology:
* Believed certain traits were in specific areas of the brain wherever there was a bump on the skull.
* A less developed a trait showed as an indentation
* Anyone's personality could be charted by studying bumps, and dents, on the head
- effect on medical science: Modern scientists credit phrenology for encouraging study into the role of the brain in human behavior.
Phrenology may have inspired scientists to consider the brain, instead of the heart, as being responsible for human behavior.
*** Phrenology was a scam but very popular. In fact, in the election of 1860, there were even campaign ads describing the candidate's phrenological charts.
Ancient Greeks: The first to study human behavior. (See info from page 23)
- date: 400's and 500's BC
- basic idea: people’s lives were dominated not so much by the gods as by their own minds.
* rational: Level-headed, clear thinking.
- philosophy: the search for absolute truth.
* philosophers: attempted to interpret the world they observed around them in terms of human perceptions.....objects were hot or cold,
wet or dry, hard or soft....and these qualities influenced people’s experience of them.
- use of systematic study: They didn't use one.
- contributions: They set the stage for the development of the sciences, including psychology, through their reliance on observation as a means of knowing
Nicolaus Copernicus: Polish scientist in the mid 1500's.
- dates: 1473-1543
- idea: that the earth was not the center of the universe, but revolved around the sun. (Catholic Church taught that the geocentric universe theory was the ONLY
correct one. To go against it was heresy.)
* Geocentric universe: earth-centered universe.
* Heliocentric universe: Sun-centered universe.
** In doing this, he introduced observation as a key element of the scientific procedures that had begun to develop. ***
Galileo Galilei: Italian scientist who was forced to recant his ideas in front of the Inquisition. (He had the same problem as Copernicus.)
- dates: 1564-1642
- use of telescope: he used a telescope to confirm predictions about star position and movement based on Copernicus' work.
** This introduced the modern concept of experimentation through observation.
Renaissance scientists: Continued questioning scientific ideas… and the Church. They made great strides in the area of science.
- date: 1350-1700's
- effort: They continued to refine the modern concept of experimentation through observation.
Dualism: the concept that the mind and body are separate and distinct. The mind was considered "God's domain" so you couldn't question it.
- Dualists: 17th Century philosophers that popularized the concept that the mind and body were separate and distinct.
Rene Descartes: (1596-1650) proposed that a link existed between mind and body.
- 3 points:
1.) Proposed that a link existed between mind and body.
2.) Reasoned that the mind controlled the body’s movements, sensations, and perceptions.
3.) His approach to understanding human behavior was based on the assumption that the mind and body influence each other to
create a person's experiences.
* Doctrine of Interaction: Descartes' idea that the mind and body influence each other to create a person's experiences.
*** We are still studying the mind-body connection in psychology today. ***
John Locke: English philosopher of the same time period that stated his theory called
- Empiricism: the idea that ALL knowledge is obtained through observation and experience.
* tabula rasa: Locke said that all people were born tabula rasa, a blank tablet - and our experiences etch knowledge onto our brains.
* "Experience is the best teacher" It is from John Locke's idea of tabula rasa that we get this modern saying.
Ernst Hilgard quotation: "Modern science began to emerge by combining philosophers' reflections, logic, and mathematics with the observations and
inventiveness of practical people."
- meaning: It took people questioning and inventing all around to piece together scientific knowledge.
4 later scientific discoveries: (mostly from the Scientific Revolution 1700’s)
1.) Biologists had announced the discovery of cells as the building blocks of life.
2.) Later, chemists developed the periodic table of elements.
3.) Physicists made great progress in furthering our understanding of atomic forces.
4.) Natural scientists were studying complex phenomena by reducing them to simpler parts.
History of psychology: is a history of alternative perspectives. As the field of psychology evolved, various schools of thought arose to compete and offer new
approaches to the science of behavior.
7 historical areas of the study of psychology
- Early Thought (what we just covered above from the Greeks through the Scientific Revolution 1700's)
- Psychology as a Discipline
- Psychology as the study of Individual Differences
- Psychology as the study of Unconscious Processes
- Psychology as the study of Observable Behavior
- Psychology as the study of Cognitive Processes
- Psychology as the study of Neurophysiological (Biopsychological) Processes
Structuralism: school of psychology, which studies the structure of consciousness, what it consists of, rather than what it does.
Wilhelm Wundt: doctor who established modern psychology as a separate, formal field of study.
- date: 1879
- where: Leipzig, Germany
- Laboratory of Psychology: Wundt's school for psychological study.
- major recognition: Is considered as the founder of psychology.
- physiology: the study of how the body works.
- area of real interest: the study of the human mind.
- Structuralist: a psychologist who studied the basic elements that make up conscious mental experiences.
- 3 contributions:
1.) He modeled his research on the mind after research in other natural sciences he had studied.
2.) He developed a method of self-observation called introspection to collect information about the mind.
* introspection: a method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings.
3.) He tried to map out the basic structure of thought processes.
* form of brain mapping: It was sort of like an early version of the brain mapping we are doing today.
- historical importance: Wundt's experiments were very important historically because he used a systematic procedure to study human behavior.
This approach attracted many students who carried on the tradition of systematic research.
Functionalism: a school of psychology which focuses on the functions of the conscious mind and the goals or functions of behaviors.
William James: American psychologist who is a close rival for the title of "founder of psychology" with Wundt.
- what he did at Harvard: taught the first class in psychology at Harvard University.
* date: 1875
- 5 contributions:
1.) He wrote the first textbook of psychology, The Principles of Psychology (1890). It covered all that was known about psychology at that time.
2.) He speculated that thinking, feeling, learning, and remembering (all activities of the mind) serve one major function: to help us survive as a species.
3.) He focused on the functions or actions of the conscious mind and the goals or purposes of behaviors.
4.) Created Functionalism as a new school of thought.
* Functionalists study how animals and people adapt to their environments.
5.) His writings and theories on motivation and emotion are still influential.
Sir Francis Galton: a nineteenth century English mathematician and scientist.
- idea: He wanted to understand how heredity influences a person’s abilities, character, and behavior.
* heredity: includes all the traits and properties that are passed along biologically from parent to child.
- 5 ideas/actions:
1.) Traced the ancestry of various eminent people and found that greatness runs in families.
2.) Concluded that genius (or eminence) is a hereditary.
3.) Raised the question: "Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we could get rid of the less desirable people?"
4.) Encouraged "good" marriages to supply the world with talented offspring. (Possibly early ideas on genetic engineering.)
5.) Invented procedures for directly testing the abilities and characteristics of a wide range of people. These tests were the primitive ancestors
of the modern personality tests and intelligence tests.
* Charles Darwin: was Galton's cousin. (Hence the heavy dose of evolution ideas.)
- major problem with his idea: He did not consider the possibility that the tendency of genius to run in distinguished families might be a result of the exceptional
environments and socioeconomic advantages that also tend to surround such families.
- what he used for data: biographies.
- 2 types of tests he invented:
- Inquiries Into Human Faculty: Galton's book which is regarded as the first study of individual differences.
* date: 1883
- major psychological debate question he raised: the issue of whether behavior is determined by heredity or environment. This remains a focus
of controversy today.
3 German Gestalt psychologists: Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka
- their idea: disagreed with the principles of structuralism and behaviorism. They argued that perception is more than the sum of its parts. It involves a "whole
- Gestalt: German meaning pattern or configuration.
- Gestalt Psychology: the study of how sensations are assembled into perceptual experiences.
* forerunner of: cognitive approaches to the study of psychology.
6 Contemporary Approaches to Psychology (see chart page 21)
Psychoanalytic Psychology: The study of how unconscious motivations influence behavior.
- Sigmund Freud: a physician who practiced in Vienna< Austria until 1938. He pioneered the study of the unconscious mind, and of psychology in general,
in the 1930's and 40's.
* area of interest: the unconscious mind
+ unconscious: * "unconscious" then, means the term "subconscious" we use today.
* 4 ideas:
1.) Believed that our conscious experiences are only the tip of the iceberg.
2.) Believed that beneath the surface are primitive biological urges that are in conflict with the requirements of society and morality.
3.) Believed that these unconscious motivations and conflicts are responsible for most human behavior.
4.) He also thought that they (the unconscious motivations) were responsible for many medically unexplainable physical symptoms that
troubled his patients.
+ These today are referred to as psychosomatic symptoms - meaning that the physical symptoms an individual is
experiencing are not due to organic cause, but they are created in one's mind.
* free association: a therapy technique in which a patient said everything that came to mind—no matter how absurd or irrelevant it
seemed—without attempting to produce logical or meaningful statements. The person was instructed not to edit or
censor the thoughts.
* psychoanalyst: a psychologist who studies how unconscious motives and conflicts determine human behavior.
* what Freud thought free association revealed: the operation of unconscious processes.
* dreams: are expressions of the most primitive unconscious urges.
+ dream analysis: basically an extension of free association, in which he applied the same technique to a patient’s dreams.
> symbolism: Freud believed that each dreamer used symbols to represent his or her unconscious wishes, fears, or
desires. The symbolism is as individual as the dream. In order to understand one's dreams,
Freud felt one had to figure out the symbolic language.
* Freud’s case studies: extensive notes on all his patients and treatment sessions.
+ use: to develop and illustrate a comprehensive theory of personality.
- 3 ways modern psychologists view Freud and his theories: They may support, alter, or attempt to disprove it. But everyone has an opinion on Freud.
- Case study (modern usage): is an analysis of the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, experiences, behaviors, or problems of an individual.
Behavioral Psychology: Believes that events in our environment (rewards and punishments) can influence our behavior. Also a school of psychology that holds that the
proper subject matter of psychology is objectively observable behavior - and nothing else
- Ivan Pavlov: Russian physiologist who won the Nobel Prize in 1904 for his studies related to the physiology of digestion. His pioneering
work charted a new course for psychology.
Important vocabulary terms for understanding Pavlov's ideas:
Stimulus: anything that causes a response
Response: any reaction to a stimulus
Neutral: causing no effect
Unconditioned: natural, automatic
Conditioned: learned; taught
* experiment: Pavlov would strike a tuning fork and give the dog some meat powder. The dog would naturally salivate when the meat powder
reached his mouth. After Pavlov had repeated the procedure several times the dog would salivate when it heard the tuning
fork, even if no food appeared. The dog had been conditioned to associate the sound with the food. (See page 19)
* conditioned reflex: was a response (salivation) elicited by a stimulus (the tuning fork) other than the one that first produced it (the
+ how it was used by psychologists: used as a new tool as a means of exploring the development of behavior.
+ what it allowed: It enabled psychologists to explain how certain acts and certain differences among individuals were
the result of learning.
+ Classical Conditioning: a learning procedure in which associations are made between a natural stimulus and a neutral stimulus.
- Behaviorists: psychologists who analyze how organisms learn or modify their behavior based on their response to events in the environment.
* John Watson: American psychologist who formulated the Behaviorist position around 1924.
+ "Father of American Behaviorism": Many people believe he deserves this title.
+ 3 ideas:
1.) He said that psychology concerned itself with only the observable facts of behavior.
2.) He further maintained that all behavior, even apparently instinctive behavior, is the result of
conditioning and occurs because the appropriate stimulus is present in the environment.
3.) He truly defined and solidified the Behaviorist position.
* B. F. Skinner: American psychologist who refined and popularized the Behaviorist position. He attempted to show how Behaviorist
principles could be applied in everyday life.
+ reinforcement: is a response to a behavior that increases the likelihood the behavior will be repeated.
+ what he attempted to do: attempted to show how his laboratory techniques might be applied to society as a whole.
> Walden Two: (1949) Skinner's novel in which he portrayed a Utopia (a perfect society) in which conditioning,
through rewarding those who display behavior that is considered desirable, rules every facet of life.
The book was very popular.
+ Criticism: Many people criticized Skinner's ideas because they said conditioning was "manipulative", and would be used to
limit personal freedom.
Humanistic Psychology: Believes that individual or self-directed choices influence our behavior.
- humanists: a psychologist who believes that each person has freedom in directing his or her future and achieving personal growth.
- 3 humanistic psychologists: Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Rollo May
- 5 main points:
1.) Humanists describe human nature as evolving and self-directed.
2.) Humanists do not view humans as being controlled by events in the environment or by unconscious forces.
3.) Humanists believe that the environment and other outside forces simply serve as a background to our own internal growth.
4.) Humanists emphasize how each person is unique and has a self-concept and potential to develop fully.
5.) Humanists believe that the potential for personal growth and development can lead to a more satisfying life.
Cognitive Psychology: school of psychology which believes that some process that govern human and animal behavior are internal. They believe we process, store,
and retrieve information influences our behavior.
- 3 main contributors: Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky, and Leon Festinger.
- Cognitivists: a psychologist who studies how we process, store, retrieve, and use information and how cognitive processes influence our behavior
* 2 ideas:
1.) Believe that behavior is more than a simple response to a stimulus.
2.) Behavior is influenced by a variety of mental processes, including perceptions, memories, and expectations.
Biological Psychology: School of psychology that believes biological factors influence our behavior.
- viewpoint emphasized: the impact of biology on our behavior.
- Psychobiologists: a psychologist who studies how physical and chemical changes in our bodies influence our behavior.
* 2 findings:
1.) Genetic factors influence a wide range of human behaviors.
2.) In many ways, our behavior is the result of our physiological makeup.
Sociocultural Psychology: school of psychology that studies the influence of cultural and ethnic similarities and differences on behavior and social
- 5 main points: A sociocultural psychologist
1.) Considers how our knowledge and ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving are dependent on the culture to which we belong.
2.) Studies the impact and integration of the millions of immigrants who come to the United States each year.
3.) Studies the attitudes, values, beliefs, and social norms and roles of these different ethnic groups.
4.) Study methods to reduce intolerance and discrimination.
5.) Is concerned with issues such as gender and socioeconomic status and is based on the idea that these factors impact human behavior
and mental processes.
- Leonard Doob's 1990 experiment: illustrated the cultural implications of a simple, reflexive behavior like a sneeze.
Doob asks, "Will [the person who senses the urge to sneeze] try to inhibit this reflex action? What will he say,
what will bystanders say, when he does sneeze? What will they think of him if he fails to turn away and sneezes in
their faces? Do they and he consider sneezing an omen and, if so, is it a good or bad omen?”
* conclusion: To answer such questions, we would have to understand the cultural context in which the sneeze occurred.
1-3: Psychology as a Profession
Depression: an emotional state of dejection and sadness, ranging from mild discouragement to feelings of utter hopelessness and despair.
Psychologists: a scientist who studies the mind and behavior of humans and animals.
- degree necessary: usually have a doctorate degree (Ph.D.) in psychology.
- 4 points:
1.) Have a Ph.D, or Psy. D in psychology.
2.) Usually work in counseling settings.
3.) Most cannot prescribe medications. (this depends on the laws of the state.... yes, they can in Missouri.)
4.) Are usually involved in research.
- 3 part task of psychologists (and psychiatrists): They are trained to observe and analyze behavior patterns, develop theories on
behavior, and apply what they know to influence behavior.
- Careers in Psychology Handout
- Degrees in Psychology Handout
Psychiatry: a branch of medicine that deals with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders.
** After a student completes medical school, he or she continues training in psychiatric medicine and learns to treat people with disturbed behavior.
- psychiatrist: is a medical doctor
* degree necessary: M.D.
* 7 points
1.) Is a medical doctor.
2.) Can prescribe medication
3.) Can operate on patients
4.) Many times works with a psychologist
5.) Work in hospitals, have their own private practices, or combine both.
6.) Usually not involved in research.
7.) Focus their efforts primarily on helping patients deal with emotional difficulties
* 3 areas shared with psychologists: testing, evaluating, and treating patients
Areas of Specialization in Psychology Handout
2 most popular subfields of psychology: Clinical and counseling psychology
Clinical psychologists: are psychologists who diagnose and treat people with emotional disturbances
- 3 points:
1.) They help people deal with their personal problems.
2.) They work mainly in private offices, mental hospitals, prisons, and clinics.
3.) Some specialize in giving and interpreting personality tests designed to determine whether a person needs
treatment and, if so, what kind.
- % of all psychologists: 50%
Counseling psychologists: usually helps people deal with problems of living.
- 2 points:
1.) They usually work in schools or industrial firms, advising and assisting people with the problems of everyday life.
2.) They help people adjust to the challenges of life.
Degree needed for both clinical and counseling psychologists:
- Most states require a doctorate.
School psychologists: Actually work in the schools.
- 5 points:
1.) School psychologists are educated in principles of human development, clinical psychology, and education.
2.) They give psychological tests.
3.) They help young people with emotional or learning problems.
4.) They supervise programs for students with special needs.
5.) They may help teachers implement classroom strategies.
Basic versus applied science: A large number of specialists study personality, social psychology, or developmental psychology. These psychologists are usually
involved in basic rather than applied science.
Personality psychologists: Obviously, they study personality.
- 3 points:
1.) They investigate personality development.
2.) They study personality traits.
3.) They may create personality tests.
Social psychologists: Study the individual in a group setting.
- 2 points:
1.) They study groups and how they influence individual behavior.
2.) Some are particularly interested in public opinion and devote much of their time to conducting polls and surveys.
Developmental psychologists: are psychologists who study the emotional, cognitive, biological, personal, and social changes that occur as an
- areas of study: Childhood, adolescence, adulthood, the elderly, and the dying process.
Educational psychologists: are psychologists who are concerned with helping students learn, although they may never actually work with students.
- 5 points:
1.) They deal with topics related to teaching children and young adults.
2.) They particularly study intelligence, memory, problem solving, and motivation.
3.) They evaluate teaching methods.
4.) They devise tests.
5.) They develop new instructional devices.
Community psychologists: are psychologists who may work in a mental health or social welfare agency operated by the state or local government or by a
private organization. A community psychologist may help design, run, or evaluate a mental health clinic.
Industrial/Organizational psychologists: are psychologists who use psychological concepts to make the workplace a more satisfying environment for employees
- main employers: business firms and government agencies.
- Industrial psychologists: Work in business/industry.
* 5 points - They study and develop methods to
1.) boost production.
2.) improve working conditions
3.) place applicants in jobs for which they are best suited.
4.) train people
5.) reduce accidents.
- Organizational psychologists: study the behavior of people in organizations such as business firms.
Environmental psychologists: study the effects of the surroundings on people.
- 2 points:
1.) They work in business settings or within the government.
2.) They may look at the effects of natural disasters, overcrowding, and pollution on the population in general
as well as individuals and families.
Psychobiologists: study the effect of drugs or try to explain behavior in terms of biological factors, such as electrical and chemical activities in the nervous system.
*** This is really a "hot" area now. ***
Forensic psychologists: apply the principles of psychology to the legal system by investigating areas of criminal behavior and developing criminal profiles.
(You see lots of these glamorized "profilers" on TV, but in reality they are few and far between. It's a tough field to get in.)
- 3 areas of employment: legal, court, and correctional systems.
- 5 roles:
1.) They provide testimony as an expert witness in a trial.
2.) They may be employed to counsel inmates at a correctional facility.
3.) They work with law enforcement authorities in solving criminal cases. (Like the FBI’s criminal profiling division.)
4.) They assist police by developing personality profiles of criminal offenders.
5.) They help law enforcement officers understand problems like abuse.
Health psychologists: Work with doctors and researchers
- 2 points:
1.) They study the interaction between physical and psychological health factors.
2.) They may investigate how stress or depression leads to physical ailments.
Experimental psychologists: psychologists who study sensation, perception, learning, motivation, and emotion in carefully controlled laboratory conditions.
- importance: supply information and research used in psychology.
American Psychological Association (APA): is a scientific and professional society of psychologists and educators.
- date founded: 1892
- 5 points:
1.) It is the major psychological association in the United States and is the world’s largest association of psychologists.
2.) It is made of 53 divisions, each representing a specific area, type of work or research setting, or activity.
3.) It has some divisions are research-oriented, while others are advocacy groups.
4.) It represents a cross section of the diverse nature of psychology.
5.) It works to advance the science and profession of psychology and to promote human welfare.
American Psychiatric Association: American Psychiatric Association is a medical specialty society recognized world-wide. Its over 35,000 U.S. and international member physicians work together to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental disorder, including mental retardation and substance-related disorders. It is the voice and conscience of modern psychiatry. Its vision is a society that has available, accessible quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment.