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LECTURE – MAY 20, 2008

LECTURE – MAY 20, 2008. Historical Roots – Chapter 1 Biological & Neurological Basis of Behaviour – Chapter 3 Sleep and Dreams Hypnosis. Historical Roots. Pioneers in the Study of the Mind Wilhelm Wundt Established the first psychology laboratory in 1879 and developed introspection.

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LECTURE – MAY 20, 2008

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  1. LECTURE – MAY 20, 2008 • Historical Roots – Chapter 1 • Biological & Neurological Basis of Behaviour – Chapter 3 • Sleep and Dreams • Hypnosis

  2. Historical Roots Pioneers in the Study of the Mind • Wilhelm Wundt • Established the first psychology laboratory in 1879 and developed introspection. • Wundt’s method of having trained observers report on their conscious, moment-to-moment reactions

  3. Historical Roots • Pioneers in the Study of the Mind • William James • Wrote PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY in 1890 • Concept of STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS • Continuity • Personal • Constant state of change • Deals with objects independent of itself • Consciousness is selective

  4. Historical Roots • Pioneers in the Study of the Mind • Sigmund Freud • Introduced psychoanalysis in The Interpretation of Dreams, 1900. • Psychoanalysis is Freud’s theory of personality and method of psychotherapy, both of which assume the importance of unconscious processes

  5. HistoricalRoots • Pioneers in Applied Psychology • Alfred Binet • Developed the first INTELLIGENCE Test in response to the needs of a government committee which placed “feeble-minded” children in special schools • Prior to Binet’s formal test of intelligence level the diagnosis for “feeble-mindedness” was a medical one and assumed physical disability

  6. Historical Roots • The Behaviorist Alternative • In 1913, John B. Watson defined psychology as the study of behavior, offering an alternative to mentalistic approaches and marking the start of behaviorism in the United States. • Behaviorism • A school of thought that defines psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior • Dominated psychology from the 1920’s to the 1960’s

  7. Historical Roots • The “Cognitive Revolution” • Many types of evidence suggested that behaviorism was too restrictive. • These included studies of child development, animal behavior, and brain studies • Cognition • A general term that refers to mental processes such as thinking, knowing, and remembering.

  8. The Battle of the “Schools”: Structuralismvs. Functionalism • Two intellectual schools of thought regarding the science of psychology • Structrualism – led by Edward Titchener • Focused on analyzing consciousness into basic elements • Introspection – careful, systematic observations of one’s own conscious experience • Functionalism – led by William James • Focused on investigating the function or purpose of consciousness

  9. Who Won the Battle? • Most historians give the edge to James and the functionalists • Depending on introspection does not allow for any independent objective evaluation of a claim • Today, psychologists are not really categorized as structuralists or functionalists • Applied psychology and Behaviourism - descendants of functionalism • Behaviourism - early 1900’s • The next major school of thought to influence the development of psychology

  10. Sigmund Freud and the Concept of the Unconscious Mind • Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): Austria • Founded Psychoanalytic school of thought • Emphasis on unconscious processes influencing behaviour • Unconscious = thoughts, memories, and desires that are below the surface of conscious awareness but exert great influence on behaviour

  11. Behaviourism Revisited: B.F. Skinner • B.F. Skinner (1904-1990): United States • Environmental factors determine behaviour • Responses that lead to positive outcomes are repeated • Responses that lead to negative outcomes are not repeated • Beyond Freedom and Dignity • More controversy regarding free will and the debate between nature vs. nurture

  12. The 1950’s: Opposition to Psychoanalytic Theory and Behaviourism • Charges that both were de-humanizing • Diverse opposition groups got together to form a loose alliance • A new school of thought emerged - Humanism • Led by Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and Carl Rogers (1902-1987) • Emphasis on the unique qualities of humans: freedom and personal growth

  13. Psychology’s Roots in Canada • First experimental laboratory in the British Empire established by James Mark Baldwin at the University of Toronto in 1891 • Baldwin helped found the American Psychological Association in 1892 • Canadian Psychological Association founded in 1939 • Important contributions by Brenda Milner and Donald Hebb

  14. Putting the Psyche Back in Psychology: The Return of Cognition • Cognition = mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge • 1950’s and 60’s – Piaget, Chomsky, and Simon • Application of scientific methods to studying internal mental events • Cognitive psychology: the new dominant perspective?

  15. Biological Psychology: The Biological Basis of Behaviour Biological perspective - behaviour explained in terms of physiological processes • James Olds (1956) • Electrical stimulation of the brain evokes emotional responses in animals • Roger Sperry (1981) • Left and right brain specialization • Donald Hebb (1949) • Cell-assemblies describe neural networks

  16. CANADA’S CLAIM TO FAME • Donald Hebb – McGill University (Neuropsychology) • Brenda Milner (who worked with Wilder Penfield) – Montreal Neurological Institute • Donald Meichenbaum – University of Waterloo (Cognitive Psychology) • David Bakan – York University (Social Psychology) • Doreen Kimura – University of Western Ontario (Neuropsychology)

  17. Psychology’s Historical Roots • It begins with Aristotle • Cartesian Philosophy • British Empiricism • European Philosophy • German Psychology • French Psychology • Russian & Soviet Psychology • North American Psychology

  18. NEUROBIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR THE BODY’S COMMUNICATION NETWORK May 20, 2008

  19. Brain and Behaviour • Importance of studying the brain and how it is built is because that architecture supports human cognitions, emotions, beliefs and consciousness • It is where the field of psychological research and delivery begins as we look at the “hard properties” of our lives: pain, love, depression, anxiety, etc.

  20. The Body’s Communication NetworksThe Nervous System • Central Nervous System(CNS) • The network of nerves contained within the brain and spinal cord • Peripheral Nervous System(PNS) • The PNS comprises the somatic and autonomic nervous systems

  21. Sleep and Dreams The Sleep-Wake Cycle • Biological Rhythm • Any periodic fluctuation in a biological organism. • Circadian Rhythm • A biological cycle that occurs approximately every twenty-four hours, e.g., sleeping and waking.

  22. Sleep and DreamsNight Work, Sleeping, and Health • Shift work (rotating day and night shifts) is more dangerous than night work. • About 200,000 traffic accidents a year are sleep related. • Those who drive in the middle of the night take microsleeps. • Brief episodes of sleep that occur in the midst of a wakeful activity and increase the risk of accident

  23. Sleep and DreamsHow to Stay AwakeWhen Driving • Participants drove two hours in a simulator. • During a break, they drank caffeine, or a placebo, or took a nap. • Both caffeine and nap reduced the number of traffic incidents during the second hour.

  24. Sleep and DreamsA Typical Night’s Sleep • Typically 4-5 episodes of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep per night occur. • Later episodes are longer and farther apart. • Most “deep sleep” (stages 3 & 4) occurs early in the night.

  25. SLEEP PROBLEMS AND THE CYCLE OF SLEEP

  26. Sleep and Dreams • Psychologists used to believe that dreaming occurred infrequently. • Now they believe that REM sleep and dreaming are biologically adaptive. • Animal Data • REM rebound • In fact, there is evidence that they are important for brain maturation. • In newborns, 50% of sleep is REM sleep. • Later in childhood and adulthood, about 20% of sleep is REM sleep.

  27. Sleep and Dreams About what do People Dream? • Three most common themes are: • falling, being chased or attacked, repeatedly trying but failing to perform a task • 64% of dreams are associated with sadness, fear, or anger and aggressive acts outnumbered friendly acts by 2:1 • 18% of dreams were happy or exciting

  28. Sleep and DreamsCultural Influences on Dream Content • Dreams reflect a culture’s beliefs, values, and concerns. • Cross-cultural similarities are: • Aggression is more common than is kindness • Gender differences in content • Cross-cultural differences reflect different cultural emphases (e.g., Japanese dreams versus North American dreams).

  29. Sleep and Dreams Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams • Sigmund Freud believed that dreams expressed wishes, often disguised. • Manifest Content • Conscious dream content that is remembered after awakening • Latent Content • The unconscious, censored meaning of a dream

  30. Sleep and DreamsActivation-Synthesis Theory • A more neuropsychological approach to understanding dreams is the Activation-synthesis theory. • Dreams result from the brain’s attempt to make sense of random neural signals that fire during sleep.

  31. Sleep and DreamsActivation-Synthesis Theory • Neural signals firing in the brain stem spread up into the cortex randomly ACTIVATING images and memories • Drawing on past experiences stored in memory the brain creates stories in an effort to make sense, or SYNTHESIZE, the images

  32. Hypnosis • Hypnosis • Attention-focusing procedures in which changes in a person’s behavior or mental state are suggested. • Hypnotic Susceptibility • The extent to which an individual is characteristically responsive to hypnosis. • Posthypnotic suggestion • A suggestion made to a subject in hypnosis to be carried out after the induction session has ended.

  33. HypnosisThe Myths and Realities • Coercion • Subjects in hypnosis experiments are aware of what they are doing. • Pain Relief • Hypnosis can be used to reduce pain in people high in hypnotic responsiveness. • Posthynoptic Suggestion • Can be used effectively when coupled with psychotherapy. • Memory Enhancement • This claim is unsubstantiated.

  34. RECAP/REVIEW • Highlights in the history of Psychology • Major historical figures • Canadian psychologists • Six contemporary theoretical perspectives • How brain functioning & behavior are interconnected • The brain functions as two “mini brains” • New technologies for studying the brain • Different ways to consider dreams

  35. Chapters to read for TEST #1 • 1 • 3 • 4 pp 131 - 155 • 5 • 10 • 8 pp 322 -325 • Look at summary of Chapter 2

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