1. Developmental Psychology
Introduction to Psychology:unit01
Subia Naz
Lecturer
11.09.2020

2. Outlines:
 At the end of this unit learners will be able
to:
1. Define Psychology.
2. Identify different perspectives in
Psychology.
3. Identify various fields of Psychology
4. Demonstrate understanding and its
practical applications to Nursing.

3. Psychology:
Psychology is the science of the mind
and behavior. The word "psychology"
comes from the Greek word psyche
meaning "breath, spirit, soul", and the
Greek word logia meaning the study of
something.

4. Major Perspective of Psychology
Biological :
 Cause of behavior is your brain.
 To change behaviors, you have to change
the way the brain functions

5. Conti..
 The biological perspective is a way of
looking at psychological issues by
studying the physical basis for animal and
human behavior. It is one of the
major perspectives in psychology and
involves such things as studying the brain,
immune system, nervous system, and
genetics.

6. Behaviorism:
 How does the environment impact the
way you behave?
 Environmental conditions like
rewards/punishments

7. Cognitive:
 Based on mental process (Speaking,
Thinking etc.)
 People act because they think; People
think because they are human

8. Humanistic:
 People are innately good and capable of
choice.
 Main task of humans is to grow and
develop

9. Psychodynamic:
 Behavior is result of unconscious
dynamics, inner forces.
 Not based on observation

11. Socio-cultural:
 Behavior results from social and cultural
influences.
 Ex: Kissing

13. Evolutionary:
 Mental abilities evolve over millions of
years
 Ex: Vision

17. The different fields of
psychology:
 Clinical psychology:
 Cognitive psychology:
 Developmental psychology
 Evolutionary psychology
 Forensic psychology
 Health psychology
 Neuropsychology
 Occupational psychology
 Social psychology

18. The different fields of
psychology:
Clinical psychology:
 Clinical psychology integrates science,
theory, and practice in order to understand,
predict and relieve maladjustment, disability,
and discomfort.
 Clinical psychology also promotes adaption,
adjustment and personal development.
 A clinical psychologist concentrates on the
intellectual, emotional, biological,
psychological, social, and behavioral aspects
of human performance throughout a person's
life, across varying cultures and
socioeconomic levels.

19. Clinical psychology:
 Cognitive psychology investigates internal
mental processes, such as problem solving,
memory, learning, and language (how
people think, perceive, communicate,
remember and learn).
 This branch of psychology is closely
related to other disciplines, such as
neuroscience, philosophy and linguistics.

20. Developmental psychology:
 Developmental psychology is the scientific
study of systematic psychological changes
that a person experiences over the course of
his/her life span.
 Developmental psychology is often referred
to as human development. It used to just
focus on infants and young children, but also
includes teenagers and adults today - the
whole human life span.

21. Cont…
 Developmental psychology includes any
psychological factor that is studied over the
life of a person, including motor skills,
problem solving, moral understanding,
acquiring language, emotions, personality,
self-concept and identity formation

22. Evolutionary
psychology
 Evolutionary psychology looks at how human
behavior has been affected by psychological
adjustments during evolution.
 Just as biologists talk about natural selection
or sexual selection during evolution, this
branch of psychology applies psychology to
the same way of thinking. An evolutionary
psychologist believes, for example, that
language or memory perception are functional
products of natural selection.

23. Forensic psychology:
 Forensic psychology involves applying
psychology to criminal investigation and
the law. A forensic psychologist practices
psychology as a science within the
criminal justice system and civil courts.
 Forensic psychology involves
understanding criminal law in the
relevant jurisdictions in order to interact
with judges, lawyers and other
professionals of the legal system.

24. Cont….
 Forensic psychology involves the ability to
testify in court, to present psychological
findings in legal language to the
courtroom, and to provide data to legal
professionals in a clear way.

25. Health
psychology
 Health psychology is also called behavioral
medicine or medical psychology. This branch
observes how behavior, biology and social
context influence illness and health.
 While a doctor treats the illness, the health
psychologist will focus more on the person
who has the illness, by finding out about their
socioeconomic status and background,
behaviors that may have an impact on the
disease (such as medication compliance), plus
the biological reasons for the illness.

26. Neuropsychology:
 Studies the structure and function of the
brain in relation to clear behaviors and
psychological processes.
 Neuropsychology is also involved in lesion
studies in the brain, as well as recording
electrical activity from cells and groups of
cells in higher primates, including some
human studies.

27. Occupational
psychology
 Occupational psychology, also known as
industrial-organizational psychology, I-O
psychology, work psychology, organizational
psychology, work and organizational psychology,
occupational psychology, personnel psychology or
talent assessment - studies the performance of
people at work and in training, develop an
understanding of how organizations function and
how people and groups behave at work.
 The occupational psychologist aims to increase
effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction at work

28. Social psychology:
 Social psychology uses scientific methods to
understand and explain how feeling, behavior
and thoughts of people are influenced by the
actual, imagined or implied presence of other
people.
 A social psychologist will look at group
behavior, social perception, non-verbal
behavior, conformity, aggression, prejudice,
and leadership. Social perception and social
interaction are seen as key to understanding
social behavior.

29. Why Is Psychology
Important for
Nursing?
 Nurses perform many important tasks in the
care of patients. Interacting with patients from
a diverse range of backgrounds allows nurses
to provide better care.
 An educational background that includes
psychology training can give you the tools
that you need as a healthcare professional to
provide the best care and accurately identify
any mental health issues that a patient may
have.

30. Your Educational Training:
 Patient care is the focus of your formal education
as you work toward earning a nursing degree.
Patients who are ill or injured may experience a
wide range of emotions.
 Nurses who understand these emotions are better
able to provide care for patients who seem angry or
depressed about their health. Nearly all nursing
degree programs include psychology courses,
whether a basic course in general psychology or
specialized courses in patient psychology that
focuses on the mental states of ill or injured people.

31. Cont…..
 Nurses who are working on an advanced
degree will typically take more courses on
psychology than those with basic training.

32. Caring for Patients:
 Commonly referred to as bedside manner, the
way that you communicate with and care for
patients can have an impact on the patient’s
mental state and overall sense of well-being.
 Nurses who can provide compassionate care
to even the most challenging patients have the
ability to empathize with patients. This
compassion can be discovered by studying
psychology and how illness and disease
changes the patients mental states.

33. Cont….
 Psychology courses are a simple solution
to learning how to promote positive
thinking in patients, which can in turn
decrease the amount of time spent in the
hospital or other healthcare facility.
 Positive thinking and optimism has been
shown to decrease recovery time and
enhance the sense of well-being among ill
patients.

34. Cont….
 Patient care is more complex than simply
providing medications and personal care.
 As a nurse, you will also need to be able to
communicate effectively with people who are
in pain or suffering from illnesses.
 Taking psychology courses will give you the
information you need to provide the best care
in even the most challenging circumstances
for patients.

35. Specialized
Degrees:
 There are several options available to
obtain a nursing degree, including mental
health nursing programs that allow you to
work in specialized environments.
 Mental health nurses need to be familiar
with a wide range of mental disorders and
learn how to work with patients with
severe mental illnesses.

36. References:
 Cohen, L.M.; McChargue, D.E.; & Collins, Jr. F.L. (Eds.). (2003).
The Health Psychology Handbook: Practical issues for the
Behavioral Medicine Specialist. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
 Ogden, J. (2012). Health Psychology: A Textbook (5th ed.).
Maidenhead, UK: