Lesson 1: What is Psychology?

What is Psychology?

Psychology is the study of the mind, brain, and behavior of individuals. Of course, this is a very broad field of study which includes all aspects of behavior, mental health and disorder, cognitive and perceptual processes, emotion and motivation, developmental processes, etc.

Generally, Psychology is the study of the individual psyche and while it may include the study of how culture and social systems affect the individual, those cultures and systems are not studied in themselves. The study of psychology seeks to answer fundamental questions about individual mental experience and behavior. Just a few of the questions that are within the scope of psychological research are the following:

• What thought processes lead to healthy experiences?
• How can people with debilitating mental disorders be helped?
• How can we improve learning?
• Why do people discriminate and how can we alleviate discrimination?

Psychologists are scientists and they answer questions like this with careful research.

There are 4 goals of psychological research:

1) Describe behavior

2) Predict Behavior

3) Explain behavior

4) Change behavior.

First, Psychology, like any science, is grounded on careful observation. So the first goal of Psychology is to simply describe behavior. Psychologists initially collect careful observations through various methods: naturalistic or systematic observation, case studies, self-reports, surveys or historical archives to name a few methods. An example of a descriptive statement would be that out of 47 artists and writers, 38% had a mood disorder (Jamison, 1989).

The second goal of psychology is to predict behavior. Psychologists try to determine the likelihood of a behavior (like applying for a job) under a specified condition or set of conditions (like being diagnosed with a mental illness). An example of a predictive statement would be that mental illness does not predict entry into a creative profession for most types of mental illness (Kyaga, Landén, Boman, Hultman, Långström, & Lichtenstein, 2013).

Third, psychologists want to explain behavior. Psychologists want to understand why a behavior occurs under certain conditions. An example of an explanatory statement might harsh early life experiences lead to the autonomy and independent thinking necessary to think creativity (Ludwig, 1995).

Finally, psychologists seek to promote the conditions of behavioral change. An important tenant of the field of psychology is to find ways of increasing healthy, desirable behaviors while decreasing unhealthy behaviors. An example of this would be that to increase creative productivity it is better not to think about getting a reward (Amabile, 1998; Pink, 2011).

 

Take a minute to take some notes: What are the 4 goals of social science? Think of an example of each. 

Two General Branches of Psychology

In general, Psychology can be divided into main two branches: Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychology.

Clinical Psychology is concerned primarily with the treatment of maladaptive behaviors and mental illness 

Experimental Psychology is primarily concerned with the scientific understanding of behavior. Psychology is such a broad area that there are many subfields within it.

Currently, the American Psychological Association (APA) has 54 major divisions within its organization (apa.org). For the purposes of this class, we will be concerned with 7 general divisions, or branches. Understanding of these areas will inform material in later chapters.

 

Take a minute to take some notes: What is the difference between Clinical and Experimental Psychology? How do you think they relate to one another?

 

What branches of Psychology are most relevant to the Psychology of Art?

1. Neuroscience:  This branch of psychology explores the relationship between physiological structures and processes on behavior. In other words, how do genes, hormones, neurotransmitters, and the anatomy of the nervous system influence behavior? To answer the question of whether or not a person is creative, a neuroscientist would most likely order blood work or a brain scan.  Follow this link for an example of a neuroscientist who studies creativity Links to an external site. (Jung, 2016).

Image Source: Link Links to an external site.

 

2. Behaviorism: This branch of psychology focuses only on external, observable influences on behavior, rather than internal, hidden influences such as thoughts, emotions, or motivations. A behaviorist would investigate observable, environmental influences such as rewards and punishments to explain behavior. For example, a behaviorist may claim that a person is creative because they have been rewarded for producing creative products and punished for not producing creative projects. Here is an example of a paper on Behaviorism and the study of creativity Links to an external site. (Cautilli, 2004).

 

Image source: Link Links to an external site.

3. Cognitive Psychology: This branch of psychology investigates how the mind processes information including mental operations and mental representations. Cognitive psychologists may study every part of the thought process including sensation, perception, attention, memory, language, problem solving and decision-making. A cognitive psychologist would examine how one’s knowledge, memories and perception of a situation influence their behavior. For example, see this chapter by Solso Links to an external site. (his books are on your suggested reading list)   (Solso, 1994).

Image Source: Link Links to an external site.

4. Humanistic: This branch of psychology proposes that individual behavior is driven by free will rather than by the environment or unconscious forces. Generally, humanistic psychologists claim that a primary motivation for behavior is to achieve personal growth and experience a meaningful life. A humanistic psychologist would examine individual’s choices to explain behavior. For example a humanistic psychologist may say that a person is driven to creativity out of a natural desire to express themselves. For example, click here Links to an external site. (Arons).

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5. Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic: This branch of psychology examines the role of unconscious motivations on behavior. A typical psychoanalyst would investigate early childhood experiences that have created emotional responses below the individual’s awareness. A psychoanalyst may claim a person is driven to create through unconscious motives to resolve hidden conflicts. For example, read this article Links to an external site. (Roazen, 1998).

Image Source: Link Links to an external site.

Links to an external site.Please click here Links to an external site. for a great, interactive video describing these 5 perspectives described above. Be sure to take the “quiz” at the end to reflect on which school of psychology appeals to you (McGraw-Hill, 2016).

 

In addition, there are 2 more general branches of psychology important to the class.

 

6. Social Psychology: This branch of psychology examines how an individual is influenced by their social context. In other words, a social psychologist examines the influence of other people – society, media, family, roles, etc. on behavior. Click here to read an article Links to an external site. from one of the preeminent researchers in the Psychology of Creativity (Amabile & Pillemer, 2012).

Image Source: Link Links to an external site.

7. Personality Psychology: Personality generally refers to an individual’s unique patterns of behavior, thoughts and emotions. Personality psychology studies how these patterns make an individual unique. For example, read this article Links to an external site.by another prominent creativity researcher (Feist, 1998).

 Image Source: Link Links to an external site.

 

Take a minute to take some notes: What are the 7 branches of Psychology most relevant to this course? Take a moment to review each and define in your own words.

 

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE: Take this Short Quiz