CHAPTER 1 PSYCHOLOGY: YESTERDAY AND TODAY CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Define psychology and describe the goals and levels of analysis psychologists use.  Psychology is the study of mental processes and behaviour.  The goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and control behaviour and mental processes. Psychologists vary in the degree to which they focus on some of these goals more than others.  The study of psychology must occur at multiple levels, including the level of the brain (the biological activity associated with mental processes and behaviour), the level of the person (the content of mental processes), and the level of the group (social influences on behaviour). 2. Describe the influences of early myths and ancient Greek philosophies on psychology.  Early explanations of human behaviour were rooted in superstition and magic.  Later, philosophers, beginning with the ancient Greeks, tried to develop more objective theories of human consciousness and reality.  The work of such early philosophers as Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle contributed to the later formation of psychology as a natural science. 3. Name important early psychologists and describe their major theories and research methods.  The development of psychology has been strongly influenced by shifts in the soc