2-A-what is (Clinical) Psychology

7/24/2019 2-A-what is (Clinical) Psychology

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CLINICAL PERSPECTIVES ON

ANXIETY, MOOD AND STRESS

GENS 0005

LECTURE TOPIC TWO (A): WHAT IS

(CLINICAL) PSYCHOLOGY?

DR. JOSHUA M. BRODERICK


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What is psychology?

Psychology is a discipline of science. It is concerned withthe systematic study, and development of understanding,of the brain, mind and behaviour

Both humans and non-humans (animals and computers!)

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What is the mind?

The mind is the hypothetical place where we engage in mental process

People study these mental processes

Thoughts (e.g., Psychology is cool)

Decisions (e.g., I want to enroll in this course) Learning and memory (e.g., I remember that party when I was 6)

Motivations (e.g., I am afraid)

Buthow do we study these mental processes? We study mental procesesby inference based on the behaviour of the organism

For example, what is this guy thinking?

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What is the mind?

And, what are these people/animals thinking?

As humans, we make inferences about the thoughts of others all the time.

Psychology does this in a scientific manner, using more sophisticatedmethods than just mere observation although sometimes it is just that

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What is the brain?

The brain is the physical seat of the mind. It enables mental processes tooccur.

In psychology, brain and mind are thought of as inseparable but distinct

Dualism (the mind and body are separate, Decartes) Without the brain we could not thinkor do anything else!

How do we know this? philosophy, science and the development oftechnology
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What is behaviour?

Behaviour is the observable things which an organism does

As mentioned previously, you infer mental processes from behaviour

Commonly, researchers will infer various mood states from behaviours

Link to operant conditioning video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_ctJqjlrHA


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Psychologists also measure physiological variables

With the advance of technology, more sophisticated measurements of

physiology are now available to psychologists and neuroscientists

This could be viewed as an extension of behaviourism variables are

observable and quantifiable

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What about nature and nurture?

Psychology takes into account both nature and nurture in describing

how and why people and other animals do/think/feel what they

do/think/feel

The theory of evolution by natural selection (Charles Darwin) Organisms whose inherited characteristics are better adapted to their

environment will survive and reproduce; while those with inherited

characteristics which are not suited to survival die out

Psychology as a discipline assumes that aspects of our thinking,

behavior, motivation, decision making (and many other things) musthave helped individuals survive and reproduce in the past

However this does not mean the environment still does not play a role in

shaping who we (and animals) become

Epigenetics is a new branch of science examining the interesting

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10/12

What are the main psychology disciplines?

Cognitive science

Social psychology

Cognitive neuroscience Behavioural neuroscience

Abnormal psychology

Perception

Psychophysiology

Translational psychology

Evolutionary psychology

Organisational psychology

Forensic psychology

Clinical psychology


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What is clinical psychology?

Understanding how to reduce distress and impairment in peoples live

through specific interventions which are informed by our understanding of

all psychological phenomena (from the bottom of the pyramid up!)

In this course, we will be learning about some of the process andmechanisms which form the basis of our understanding of how mood,

anxiety and stress become manifest and some of the ways that have

been tested empirically to reduce those negative factors

A clinical psychologist is a specific type of professional

They have over 8 years training before they become fully registered

and are able to treat individuals and groups

They are able to diagnose and treat a number of different mental

disorders

The are different to psychiatrists in that they cannot prescribe

medication (they are not medical doctors)

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Basic psychological processes

(cognitive psychology, neuroscience,

perception, motivation)

Social psychology

Abnormal and

Clinical Psychology

What is clinical psychology?

2-A-what is (Clinical) Psychology

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