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What is Psychology?

What is Psychology?. Psychology = the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Such study can involve both animal and human behaviors. Feel, think, and do. Why should we study Psychology?. Psychology can help us understand our own behavior understand social dynamics

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What is Psychology?

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  1. What is Psychology?

  2. Psychology = the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Such study can involve both animal and human behaviors. Feel, think, and do.

  3. Why should we study Psychology?

  4. Psychology can help us • understand our own behavior • understand social dynamics • understand we aren’t alone in our feelings • understand how to train / use incentives (motivate) • understand how we learn / use memory tools…

  5. Psychologists have 4 goals: • 1. Describe Behavior • 2. Explain Behavior • 3. Predict Behavior • 4. Influence Behavior

  6. 1. Describe Behavior • First goal for any scientist or psychologist; • describe or gather information about the behavior being studied and to present what is known.

  7. Greek philosophers decided people have minds and control their own behavior. Plato 387 BC Aristotle 335 BC 5th Century BC Socrates

  8. But what is the MIND? Many early philosophers believed in… Dualism = theory that mind and body are distinct and separate.

  9. Rene Decartes argued the mind and body are distinct but must be linked. 17th Century

  10. The term Psychology was first used in 1853 Elements of Psychology By J D Morell

  11. The first lab was set up to study Psychology in 1879. Wilhelm Wundt “Father of Experimental Psychology”

  12. Wundt enabled Psychologists to reach another GOAL: 2. Explain Behavior

  13. 2. Explain Behavior: • Psychologists are not content simply to state the facts. Rather, they also seek to explain why people (or animals) behave as they do. • Hypothesis. • Theory.

  14. How did Wundtstudy cognitive (private, unobservable mental) behaviour? Cognitive: having to do with an organism’s thinking and understanding Physiological: having to do with and organism’s physical processes. People self-report their thoughts and feelings using introspection (look inside).

  15. Introspection: A method of self-observation in which participants report their thoughts and feelings. Introspection Scientific Method

  16. The Scientific Method What am I so tired? Sleep patters/hours? If I only get 4 hours of sleep will I be tired for work? Compared to 8 hours? Sleep 4 hours/8 hours

  17. What is the difference between a Hypothesis and a Theory?

  18. Hypothesis = educated guess about behavior that is tested through scientific research. Example: an experiment designed to look at the relationship between study habits and test anxiety might have a hypothesis that states, "We predict that students with better study habits will suffer less test anxiety.” Your hypothesis should always explain what you expect to happen during the course of your experiment or research.

  19. Theory = a complex explanation based on many scientific studies A theory arises from repeated observation and testing and incorporates facts, laws, predictions, and tested hypotheses that are widely accepted. A theory has been extensively tested and is generally accepted, while a hypothesis is a speculative guess that has yet to be tested.

  20. When Psychologists have a THEORY, they can reach another GOAL: 3. Predict Behavior

  21. 3. Predict Behavior: • To predict, as a result of accumulated knowledge, what organisms will do and, in case of humans, what they will think or feel in various situations.

  22. Other Psychologists use these theories to reach the last GOAL: 4. Influence Behavior

  23. 4. Influence Behavior: Finally, some psychologists seek to influence behavior in helpful ways. - Basic science vs. applied science

  24. Basic Science: Some Psychologists seek to influence behavior in helpful ways. They are conducting studies with a long-term goal of finding out more about human or animal behavior. *Pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. Perhaps is may become useful later. Ex. Why do we study the soil on mars, it's not like we were going to plant something there, but it's just good to know.

  25. Applied Science: More interested in discovering ways to use what we already know about people to benefit others. *Using psychology principles to solve problems Ex. learn of an area's terrain to understand what plant it is suitable for.

  26. Section Quiz 1-1

  27. You are probably asking yourself how many theories about behavior are there? How many can you name/describe? Historical ______? Contemporary______?

  28. There are 4 Historical and 6 Contemporary Approaches Use Graphic Organizer 1 to document them

  29. HISTORICAL

  30. 1. Structuralism Human experience can be broken down into basic elements of consciousness Wundt (1832-1920) Introspection Ask how you feel.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW6nm69Z_IE&index=4&list=PLn7y6NU57Hy7-aXQSXVgJadwaF_TxnarS

  31. 2. Functionalism People and animals adapt to their environments. Behaviors help them survive. William James (1842-1910) “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.”

  32. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufqOe0_pres&list=PL76F82C863E380422https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufqOe0_pres&list=PL76F82C863E380422 3. Inheritable Traits Heredity influences ability, character, and behaviour. Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911) Nature vs Nurture Genius/greatness runs in families. Eugenics: study to improve human population First to use questionnaires and surveys.

  33. 4. Gestalt = whole form - 3 German Scientists Sensations are assembled into perceptual experiences. Perception is more than the sum of its parts. Early 20th century German psychologists Figure-ground perception https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWucNQawpWY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkWnj2KAVF0&list=PL1C7F61610C1DC7F3&index=1

  34. Gestalt Pictures

  35. CONTEMPORARY

  36. Psychoanalytic Psychology Unconscious motives and conflicts determine human behaviour. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Dream Analysis Free Association: anything that comes to mind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNN-gU25w8Q

  37. Count the number of 'F's in the following text: 
FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE-
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF-
IC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE
EXPERIENCE OF YEARS

  38. A Freudian slip is a verbal or memory mistake that is believed to be linked to the unconscious mind. Common examples include an individual calling his or her spouse by an ex’s name, saying the wrong word or even misinterpreting a written or spoken word.

  39. Behavioural Psychology Behavior is learned or modified in response to the environment. Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) Classical Conditioning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhqumfpxuzI

  40. Classical Conditioning • How Classical Conditioning Works: • Ivan Pavlov noticed dogs began to salivate in response to a tone after the sound had been repeatedly paired with the presentation of food. Pavlov quickly realized that this was a learned response and set out to further investigate the conditioning process. • - Classical conditioning involves pairing a previously neutral stimulus (such as the sound of a bell) with an unconditioned stimulus (the taste of food). This unconditioned stimulus naturally and automatically triggers salivating as a response to the food, which is known as the unconditioned response. • - After associating the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus, the sound of the bell alone will start to evoke salivating as a response. • The sound of the bell is now known as the conditioned stimulus and salivating in response to the bell is known as the conditioned response.

  41. Operate Conditioning Operant conditioning focuses on using either reinforcement or punishment to increase or decrease a behavior. (reward) Through this process, an association is formed between the behavior and the consequences for that behavior. For example, imagine that a trainer is trying to teach a dog to fetch a ball. When the dog successful chases and picks up the ball, the dog receives praise as a reward. When the animal fails to retrieve the ball, the trainer withholds the praise. Eventually, the dog forms an association between his behavior of fetching the ball and receiving the desired reward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6LEcM0E0io https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt4N9GSBoMI

  42. Behavioural Psychology Behavior is learned or modified in response to the environment. John Watson (1878-1958) Only observable behaviour (not the unconscious) should be studied. Little Albert

  43. Behavioural Psychology Behavior is learned or modified in response to the environment. B F Skinner (1904-1990) Operant Conditioning Reinforcement

  44. Humanistic Psychology Human behavior is self-directed. Self- Actualization Abram Maslow (1908-1970) Hierarchy of Needs

  45. Humanistic Psychology Human behavior is self-directed. Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

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