Psychology: Common Sense Terms

Introduction to Psychology

Task 1

Common sense phrases are used in everyday life. They deliver a lot of meaning in very few words, whereas Psychological terminology would give us a scientific understanding and explanation of the word or phrase. Below are some examples to explain this.

The saying that ‘hes a chip off the old block’ means that the person is very similar in character to one of their parents (usually the father). In Psychological terms it would be explained using genetics (which is a displine of the Biological approach in Psychology). Because most of the characteristics that you can see in a living thing have multiple genes that influence them, this will determine which part of their Mother or Fathers characteristics they will then carry.

‘A good smack never did a child any harm, that’s how they learn what is right and what is wrong’ has been proven wrong by Behavioral Psychologists, by conducting conditioning experiments. B.F Skinner who studied and performed an experiment on operant conditioning proved that to punish a child, does not always provide the direction that reward does, and in fact it teaches the child that a particular behaviour is unacceptable, and doesn’t show which other behaviours are acceptable.

‘You have to respect authority – otherwise there would be kaos’ could be easily compared to Behavioural Psychologists Stanley Milgrim, who was mostly famous for his ‘study of obedience’ experiment in 1963, which resulted in a shocking number of participants who were willing to inflict pain when instructed by a person in authority.

‘That was a Freudian slip’ is a phrase used when someone makes a mistake when they have made a speech for example, which could result in uncovering that person’s unconsci...

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... it is only one persons view.

In 2003, Cardwell et al (and others) wrote an ‘up to date’ version, and defined Psychology as ‘Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes (the mind) and psychologists are interested in every aspect of behaviour and every type of mental process’ this also focuses on the Behavioural perspective like the definition by John B. Watson, but it also states that psychologists are interested in ‘every type of mental processes’, which covers every other approach to Psychology, and this is where the two definitions differ, but it also gives a greater understanding to what Psychology covers as a whole.

References:

Watson, John B. 1913. "Psychology as the behaviorist views it." Psychological Review 20: 158–177.

WATSON, JOHN B. 1919. Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist. Philadelphia: Lippincott.