Psychology for Dummies (2 page)
Read Psychology for Dummies Online
Authors: Adam Cash
Tags: #Psychology, #General, #Body; Mind & Spirit, #Spirituality
S o you’ve bought
Psychology For Dummies.
How does that make you feel? Hopefully, you’re feeling pretty good. And why shouldn’t you be? You’re going to discover all kinds of interesting information about the basics of human behavior and mental processes.
Everybody is interested in psychology. People are fascinating, and that includes you! We often defy explanation and evade predication. Figuring people out can be pretty hard. Just when you think that you’ve figured someone out, bang, he surprises you. Now I know that some of you may be thinking, “Actually, I’m a pretty good judge of people. I’ve got a handle on things.” If that’s the case, that’s great! Some folks do seem to have a more intuitive understanding of people than others. For the rest of us though, there’s psychology.
Psychology For Dummies
is an introduction to the field of psychology. I tried to write this book using plain English and everyday examples with the hope that it will be real and applicable to everyday life. I’ve always felt that tackling a new subject is more enjoyable when it has real-world importance. Psycho-logy is full of jargon, so much jargon that it even has its own dictionary, aptly named
The Dictionary of Psychology
(Penguin Reference Books). This book is for those of you who are interested in what people do, think, say, and feel, but want the information presented in a clear and easily understandable manner.
The information in this reference is not intended to substitute for expert medical advice or treatment; it is designed to help you make informed choices. Because each individual is unique, a physician must diagnose conditions and supervise treatments for each individual health problem. If an individual is under a doctor’s care and receives advice contrary to information provided in this reference, the doctor’s advice should be followed, as it is based on the unique characteristics of that individual.
Conventional language for psychologists can sound like gibberish to someone who has never had a psychology class. As I state earlier in this chapter, I try to stay away from jargon and technical language in this book. You may come across an attempt at a joke or two. I tend to take a lighter approach to life, but sometimes people don’t get my sense of humor. If I try to crack a joke in the text and it bombs, please don’t be too harsh. I’m a psychologist after all, and I don’t think we’re known for our sense of humor. I hope I don’t come across as insensitive or cavalier either — that is certainly not my intention.
Sometimes, talking about psychology can be pretty dry, so I try to liven things up with examples and personal stories. I make no references to any patients I’ve ever had in therapy. If there appears to be a resemblance, it’s purely coincidental. In fact, I took great care in preserving the privacy and confidentiality of the people I have worked with.
You can find a lot of psychology books out there. Most of them are either too technical and specialized or cover too narrow an area of psychology. Here are some of the reasons why I think
Psychology For Dummies
is the book for you:
You’ve got a lot of questions about people.
You’ve got a lot of questions about yourself.
You’re thinking about going into the field of psychology.
You’re currently studying psychology or a related discipline, such as social work or counseling.
You’re interested in psychology but don’t have the time or the money to take a psychology course.
You’ve got people all figured out, and you want to see if I’m on track.
Psychology For Dummies
is divided into eight separate sections; each is intended to cover one of the broad areas or topics of psychology. A nice thing about
For Dummies
books is that they’re designed to be user friendly. You don’t have to read the entire book from cover to cover to find what you’re looking for. Just flip to the section that interests you and have at it!
Part I provides a definition of psychology and an overview of the field. I cover armchair psychologists and introduce the concept that we’re all “acting” psychologists, analyzing and assessing human behavior everyday.
This part also contains a brief outline of the professional practice of psy- chology. I introduce the scientific nature of psychology and the different approaches psychologists use to investigate and understand people. Finally, I briefly touch on the different applicable areas of psychological knowledge from treatment to applied psychology.
In Part II, I discuss the basic structures of the nervous system and the important role that biology plays in psychological knowledge. After introducing you to the brain and its parts, “Nice to meet you,” I introduce the concept of conscious awareness and its important role in psychology. Finally, I explain the faculties that permit us to stay in contact with the world around us — our senses.
Part III covers human thought, which psychologists call cognition. I discuss both the content of thought and the thought process here. I include a discussion of the concept of intelligence and the different theories of “being smart.” I also cover emotion and motivation in this part. Definitely check this part out if you’re interested in love. Or, if you’d rather read about being angry, there’s something here for you as well.
In Part IV, I introduce you to the extremely important contributions that Ivan Pavlov, the “father” of classical conditioning, has made to the field of psychology. I briefly discuss his classic experiments and provide some good examples (at least I think they’re good) designed to illustrate the basic principles of how humans learn. After talking about Pavlov and his dogs for a while, I introduce the second coming of learning theory, operant conditioning. I provide some basic definitions that cover the concept and some more edge-of-your-seat examples. Well, maybe they’re not that exciting, but they’re still pretty good.
Part V introduces psychoanalysis and the work of Sigmund Freud. I begin with the basic structure of the psyche and follow that up with Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, along with a discussion on the famous defense mechanisms, such as denial and repression. I also introduce you to the second generation of psychoanalysts, Anna Freud, Erik Erikson, and others.
Next, I introduce you to personality theory and the most common personality types. This part goes on to cover topics such as knowing yourself, developing identities, forming relationships, and communicating — social stuff, as the title of Part V implies. I also discuss the influence that others have on our behavior and the different ways that individuals behave in groups. Finally, I take a look at developmental psychology and briefly trace development from conception to adolescence.