How to Learn Psychology

 We all use the principles of psychology everyday and probably don’t even  realize it. When we spank our child for doing something wrong, we are  utilizing the learning principle of punishment. When we get nervous  right before we have to give that big speech, we are activating our  autonomic nervous system. When we talk to ourselves in our heads,  telling ourselves to “calm down,” “work harder,” or “give up,” we are  utilizing cognitive approaches to change our behaviors and emotions. 

 This text is designed to give you a general idea of what psychology  is, how information is developed, what we have learned about ourselves,  and how psychology is applied to help improve people’s lives. The  chapters are organized so that you can get a better idea of how  psychology works; from basic theories and principles, through research,  understanding and explaining results, to the actual application of  psychological techniques. 

 This text is not designed to make you a psychologist. It is written  in a general format so that you can gain a better idea of all of the  major concepts in psychology. If you were to major in psychology as an  undergraduate, each chapter would be a separate course. And, to get your  doctorate, which is required to be called a psychologist in most  states, you would take an additional five to seven years further  studying the concepts in this text. 

 You will learn a lot, however, and hopefully you will increase not  only your knowledge base, but also your interest in the principles of  psychology. This website provides a great deal of information about the  applications of psychology in a self-help format, as do many other very  helpful and professional sites. Read on…learn…and improve your  understanding of your greatest asset…the human mind.

What is Psychology

 Psychology is the study of cognitions, emotions, and behavior.  Psychologists are involved in a variety of tasks. Many spend their  careers designing and performing research to better understand how  people behave in specific situations, how and why we think the way we  do, and how emotions develop and what impact they have on our  interactions with others. These are the research psychologists who often  work in research organizations or universities.  Industrial-organizational psychologists work with businesses and  organizations to help them become more productive, effective, and  efficient, and to assist them in working with their employees and their  customers. Practitioners, typically counseling and clinical  psychologists, work with individuals, couples, families, and small  groups to help them feel less depressed, less anxious, become more  productive or motivated, and overcome issues which prevent them from  living up to their potential. 

The study of psychology has five basic goals:

1. Describe –

 The first goal is to observe behavior and describe, often in minute detail, what was observed as objectively as possible 

2. Explain –

 While descriptions come from observable data, psychologists must go  beyond what is obvious and explain their observations. In other words,  why did the subject do what he or she did? 

3. Predict –

 Once we know what happens, and why it happens, we can begin to  speculate what will happen in the future. There’s an old saying, which  very often holds true: “the best predictor of future behavior is past  behavior.” 

4. Control –

 Once we know what happens, why it happens and what is likely to  happen in the future, we can excerpt control over it. In other words, if  we know you choose abusive partners because your father was abusive, we  can assume you will choose another abusive partner, and can therefore  intervene to change this negative behavior. 

5. Improve –

 Not only do psychologists attempt to control behavior, they want to  do so in a positive manner, they want to improve a person’s life, not  make it worse. This is not always the case, but it should always be the  intention.