comparative psychology

Examples of comparative psychology in the following topics:

• Comparative Psychology

  • Comparative psychology is the scientific study of animal behavior and mental processes, which can lead to a deeper and broader understanding of human psychology.
  • "Comparative psychology" refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of nonhuman animals (especially as these relate to the adaptation, evolution, and development of behavior), which can lead to a deeper and broader understanding of human psychology.
  • Comparative psychology is sometimes assumed to emphasize cross-species comparisons, including those between humans and animals.
  • However, some researchers caution that direct comparison with human psychology should not be the sole focus of comparative psychology, and that intense focus on a single organism to understand its behavior is also valuable.
  • Research in comparative psychology is usually studied under controlled laboratory experiments in order to discover general principles of behavior.

• Introduction to Animal Behavior

  • Animal behavior has been studied for decades, by biologists in the science of ethology, by psychologists in the science of comparative psychology, and by scientists of many disciplines in the study of neurobiology.
  • Comparative psychology is an extension of work done in human and behavioral psychology.
  • One cannot study behavioral biology without touching on both comparative psychology and ethology.

• Careers in Psychology

  • Psychology is a very broad field, and there are many career options available for graduating students of psychology.
  • Clinical psychology involves the study and application of psychology for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and treating psychologically based dysfunction.
  • Comparative psychology is the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of nonhuman animals, especially as they relate to adaptive significance and the development of behavior, which can lead to a deeper and broader understanding of human psychology.
  • Careers in health settings can vary widely and include health psychology (sometimes called health-and-wellness psychology), occupational-health psychology, and medical psychology.
  • The study of chimpanzees using tools to gather food is an example of a potential area of research in comparative psychology.

• Goals of Psychology

  • Simply put, psychology is the study of the soul.
  • Forensic psychology is the intersection between psychology and the justice system.
  • Comparative psychology is the study of non-human animals, specifically their mental processes and behavior, in an attempt to make links to human behavior.
  • Comparative psychologists study everything from primates to insects hoping to make sense of a variety of behaviors, such as mating practices.
  • Define the overarching goal of psychology, and discuss the various goals of the different subfields of psychology.

• Abnormal Psychology

  • Abnormal psychology seeks to study, understand, diagnose, and treat psychological disorders.
  • This branch of psychology studies the nature of psychopathology and its causes, and the resulting knowledge is applied in clinical psychology to the treatment of clients with psychological disorders.
  • The term "psychopathology" can also refer to the manifestation of a psychological disorder.
  • So, what kinds of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors represent a true psychological disorder?
  • This graph shows the breakdown of psychological disorders from the DSM-IV in 2007, comparing the percentage prevalence among adult males and adult females in the United States.  

• Psychological Theories of Deviance

  • Psychological theories of deviance use a deviant's psychology to explain his motivation or compulsion to violate social norms.
  • Psychological theories of deviance use a deviant's psychology to explain his motivation and compulsion to violate social norms.
  • Compared to normal controls, youth with early and adolescent onset of conduct disorder displayed reduced responses in the brain regions associated with antisocial behavior.
  • These psychological symptoms of conduct disorder, both in terms of neuroanatomy and neurotransmitter regulation, help to explain the explanatory link between psychology and crime.
  • Thus, until it was removed in 1986, homosexuality (the psychological condition) could have been a psychological explanation for deviant sexuality.

• Behaviorism: Follett, Munsterberg, and Mayo

  • Behaviorism initiated a focus on the psychological and human factors influencing workers.
  • Mary Parker Follett, Hugo Munsterberg, and Elton Mayo are all considered pioneers and founders of the industrial/organizational psychology and behaviorism movements in management theory.
  • He was one of the pioneers of applied psychology, extending his research and theories to industrial/organizational (I/O), legal, medical, clinical, educational, and business settings.
  • Munsterberg's writings are considered the genesis of the field of industrial psychology.
  • Compare and contrast the three most famous pioneers and founders of the behavioral perspective in organizational theory

• The Psychological Perspective

  • One crucial psychological finding is that members of stereotyped groups internalize those stereotypes and may suffer as a result.
  • One of the most important social psychological findings concerning race relations is that members of stereotyped groups internalize those stereotypes and thus suffer a wide range of harmful consequences.
  • Since its introduction into the academic literature in 1995, Stereotype Threat has become one of the most widely studied topics in the field of social psychology.
  • The opposite of Stereotype Threat is known as Stereotype Enhancement, which entails an individual's potential to confirm a positive stereotype about their social group, and a subsequent increase in performance ability in the related task as compared to their ability prior to their exposure to the stereotype.
  • Psychological perspectives examine the effects of these kinds of propagated stereotypes.

• New Concept

• Nature vs. Nurture

  • Developmental psychology seeks to understand the influence of genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) on human development.
  • Developmental psychology is the scientific study of changes that occur in human beings over the course of their lives.
  • Each of these traits is measured and compared between monozygotic (identical) twins, biological siblings who are not twins, and adopted siblings who are not genetically related.
  • The diathesis–stress model is a psychological theory that attempts to explain behavior as a predispositional vulnerability together with stress from life experiences.
  • The term diathesis derives from the Greek term for disposition, or vulnerability, and it can take the form of genetic, psychological, biological, or situational factors.