Lesson 1: Introduction to Psychology


Attention

 


Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

  • Identify personal merits of studying the field of Psychology
  • Match historical figures in the history of psychology with their individual contributions to the field
  • Reflect on culture, race, gender and other factors that contribute to your behavior.
  • Match specific credentials in Psychology (and related fields) with education and responsibilities

Teaching

Defining Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of human and animal behavior.

The goal of Psychology are:

  1. Describe behavior (using specific terminology that everyone can agree on)
  2. Explain behavior (theories and models)
  3. Predict behavior (correlations along with the theories and models)
  4. Control behavior (interventions)

Why study Psychology?

I used to ask everyone in my class why they are taking this class but the answer was almost always "Because it is on the list of the classes I need to take!" That is not quite the introspective answer I was looking for!

However, consider this...the designers of your college program WANTED you to have this class! Studying Psychology provides you with very important thinking skills that are applicable to any field of study and any kind of work.

Critical Thinking Skills

The brain is the most complex structure that we know of. In addition, each one of us utilizes our brain in different ways and have been influenced by a wide variety of different factors. At the end of the day, we are a very difficult animal to understand!

By studying human behavior we are challenged to address questions that have many answers instead of just one. Coming to conclusions requires that we utilize critical thinking skills that allow us to evaluate different sources of information in order to assure that our conclusions are based on good information.

There is no field better than Psychology for you to practice the skills of evaluating different sources of information based on the validity and usefulness of this information.

Many Viewpoints

First and foremost, your textbook presents you with a number of different perspectives with the major theories that have arisen over the history of the field of Psychology.

Some of the great work done in Psychology is a result of competing ideas. One Psychologist, such as Freud, may proclaim that the personality is created through a constant struggle between inner forces of the psyche (Id and Super-Ego). Other Psychologists might think this is foolish and come to the conclusion that human behavior is best explained as being shaped over time by a continual influx of reinforcements and punishments from the environment.

This is the rich field of Psychology...full of competing theories and notions of how the mind works! Over the course of this semester we are going to examine these perspectives. Ultimately you need to conclude which of these notions is the most useful to you. In fact, you may find out that sometimes one theory is good at explaining some things while another theory is good at explaining other things.

Influences on our Minds

Many factors play a role in determining who we are. Our cultural upbringing, gender, race, age, education, parental influences, genetics. etc. We take all of these things into consideration when we are trying to achieve the goals of psychology.

Working in the Field of Psychology

If you have an interest in the mind and how people behave, then perhaps you are destined for a career in Psychology! Education is the key part of working in this field and different degrees allow you to do different things.

Here is a table that explains some of those degrees and what you can do with them.

Letters Education What you can do
MHRT-I

Trainings

MHSS - Mental Health Support Specialist
First Aid / CPR
CRMA - Certified Residential Medication Aide
Crisis Intervention Method (MANDT)

Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician - I

Residential services, group homes, supported apartments, etc.

MHRT/C Provisional

Completed the first 5 MHT courses in the KVCC Mental Health Program

Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician / Community Provisional

Case Management, Community Integration, Program Management, etc.

MHRT/C Completed all 10 MHT courses in the KVCC Mental Health Program

Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician / Community

Case Management, Community Integration, Program Management, etc.

LSX

Bachelor Degree in mental health related field or other field

Requires completed bachelor's degree, confirmed employment at the LSX level; designated fully licensed LSW supervisor; three letters of recommendation.

After the two years under supervision eligible to pursue LSW license.

Licensed Social Worker - Clinical Conditional

Medical Social Work, Hospice Social Work, Hospital Social Work, Nursing Home Social Work, Child Protective, Supervisor for MHRT/C's

LSW

Bachelor Degree in Social Work or another related field

Successfully pass the LSW licensing exam; three letters of recommendation

Licensed Social Worker

Medical Social Work, Hospice Social Work, Hospital Social Work, Nursing Home Social Work, Child Protective, Supervisor for MHRT/C's; supervision bachelor's level interns

LMSW

Masters in Social Work

Successfully pass the Intermediate/Masters licensing exam; three letters of recommendation

Licensed Master of Social Work

Can work as social worker in non-clinical roles such as training, education, agency administration or research

MC

Masters in Social Work

Requires completed MSW degree: confirmed employment at the MC level; designated fully licensed LCSW supervisor; passing the Inermediate/Mastere's exam; three letters of recommendation.

After the two years under supervision eligible to pursue LCSW license.

Licensed Master Social Worker, Conditional Clinical

Allowed to conduct psychosocial assessments, diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions, consultant; supervision of LSW's and social work students.

LCSW

Masters in Social Work

Two years supervised work experience; Passed the Clinical licensing exam; three letters of recommendation.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Allowed to conduct psychosocial assessments, diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions, consultant; supervision of LSW's and social work students.

Allowed to practice at the independent level.

LCPC Masters in Counseling

Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor

Can collect a fee from individuals, families, groups, organizations or the general public to provide counseling service to assess and treat intrapersonal and interpersonal problems and other dysfunctional behaviors and to assist in the overall development and adjustment of those served.

Clinical Work, Psychotherapy, Group Psychotherapy, Family Psychotherapy, etc.

Psych NP Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree

Psychiatric Nurse Practictioner

Allowed to assess for medical conditions as well as mental health conditions. Allowed to prescribe psychiatric (psychotropic) medications. Can practice independently.

Psy. D. Doctor of Psychology

Less emphasis on the RESEARCH aspect of Clinical Psychology and more on the applied/clinical aspects.

Ph.D. Doctorate

The Ph.D. is a degree, not a license, so in and of itself they cannot do anything specific (and charge insurance companies for the work)

However, if someone has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and passes they exam, they are a "Clinical Psychologist"

MD/DO

Medical Doctor - Psychiatrist

MD is a regular Alopathic Doctor - this is the name of your regular doctor's field

DO is a Doctor of Osteopathy

Both are considered "regular doctors"

The difference between a Clinical Psychologist and a Psychiatrist is the medical background.

A psychiatrist has a regular Medical Doctor (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) and specialized in Psychiatry. Often they are in the role of diagnosing disorders and prescribing medication.

A clinical psychologist focuses on counseling and group work and does not prescribe medicine (though there are some states that provide special post-doc training to allow for writing prescriptions.)

As you can see there are many options for working in the field as long as you have the persistence to continue in your education!


Assessment

In this section you will find a list of the required Assessments that accompany this Lesson. The Lesson Discussions are designed for the ONLINE and HYBRID versions of this course. If you are not in an ONLINE or HYBRID version of this course you can ignore these instructions unless otherwise guided by your instructor.

Lesson 1 Discussion A

For this discussion I want you to reflect upon the field of psychology as you understand it right now. How do you think this set of knowledge and skills will be useful to you in your career/program/life?

Lesson 1 Discussion B

Reflect on culture, race, gender and other factors that contribute to your behavior. Describe different aspects of yourself and how they may have been influenced by your culture, race, gender, etc. Why do you think it is important to understand the source of these traits?


Remember, you must post at least ONE reply to the discussion prompt and at least TWO responses to others' posts to earn full credit on graded discussions. Your replies should be MORE than just a "I agree!" or "Very cool!" It should be "substantive" by expanding on the students post, asking a questions, adding your own thoughts to what they have said, etc.

These instructions apply to EVERY graded discussion in this class; these instructions will not be repeated.

Lesson 1 Quiz

  1. Matching historical figures in Psychology with their contributions.
  2. Matching credentials with their education and responsibilities.