Chapter 1—What Is Psychology?
Learning Goals
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Explain what psychology is and how it developed. Describe six contemporary approaches to psychology. Describe two movements that reflect a positive approach to psychology. Evaluate careers and areas of specialization in psychology. Apply some strategies that will help you succeed in psychology.

After studying Chapter 1, you will be able to: Define psychology. Describe the influence that philosophy, biology, and physiology had on the beginnings of psychology as a science. Compare the two early scientific approaches in psychology: structuralism and functionalism. Describe the focus of each of the six contemporary approaches to psychology. Describe the positive psychology movement, and discuss why this movement recently emerged in psychology. Discuss career opportunities in psychology. Profile the main areas of specialization in psychology. Say how studying habits may be optimized. Understand how to be a critical thinker.

CHAPTER 1: OUTLINE
Psychology is a science dedicated to the study of behavior and mental processes. In this chapter you are introduced to the history of this science, a variety of contemporary perspectives in psychology, the positive psychology movement, and an overview of psychology-related careers. At the end of the chapter, the reader learns about the most effective methods of studying and learning. There are three concepts important to the definition of psychology: science, behavior, and mental processes. Psychologists use scientific methods to observe, describe, predict, and explain behaviors and mental processes. Behaviors are actions that can be directly observed, while mental processes are experiences that cannot be observed directly, such as thoughts and feelings. The history of psychology is rooted in philosophy, biology, and physiology. Rene Descartes and Charles Darwin