Psychology

1. Psychology

2. What is Psychology? • Study of how and why humans act as they do • Instead of studying how humans function in cultures or societies, psychology focuses on the individual, and the personal and unique experiences that influence how the individual acts and thinks

3. Types of Psychology Experimental Psychology • The branch of the discipline that sets up experiments to see how individuals act in particular situations • Question - Would you help a complete stranger that was being threatened with violence from another person?

4. The Case of Kitty Genovese • The Case of Kitty Genovese - Kitty was murdered on the street outside her New York City apartment after loud shouting was heard - 38 people witnessed the murder but did nothing to stop it • Psychologists have long been interested in our unwillingness to get involved in uncomfortable situations even if someone’s personal safety is at risk • People have a tendency see themselves as bystanders in such situations rather than as ACTORS • ACTORS are people who become active participants in a situation • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JozmWS6xYEw • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSsPfbup0ac&feature=related

5. When Bystanders Join In • 4 years after Genovese was murdered, two psychologists, John Darley and Bibb Latane, wanted to identify the factors that influence bystanders’ decisions to get involved in public situations • Experiment: What would affect whether or not people would get involved in a Frisbee game with strangers…

6. EXPERIMENT: -3 young women (members of an experimental team – called Confederates)-2 women began a Frisbee game in the waiting room at Grand Central Station- the main terminal in NYC-these 2 women threw the Frisbee to the 3rd Confederate-VARIABLE (part of the experiment that changed and was tested)a) she joined game, laughing and smilingb) let the frisbee fall to the floor and kicked it away, telling the other two that they were silly and behaving dangerously-Whether she (third Confederate) acted positively or negatively was the most important VARIABLE (factor that had an influence on the experiment’s outcome) in determining the bystander’s response.-The times she responded negatively, no one else in the waiting room joined the game; the times she responded positively, however, 86% of the people in the waiting room joined in. Occasionally, people would come in to the waiting room just to join the game.-Conclusions: whether or not we intervene in a situation depends on the cues we get from the participants and to the bystanders. If this conclusion is extended to the Genovese case, it suggests that if just one bystander had joined in to try to help her, others might have come forward to help as well.

7. Clinical Psychology • CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY is the branch of the discipline that develops programs for treating individuals suffering from mental illnesses and behavioural disorders • Eg. Psychologists treat dangerous offenders in federal prisons in an attempt to prevent them from reoffending on release

8. Psychological Schools of Thought Like the other social sciences, psychology has been divided into a number of schools of thought: • Psychoanalytic Theory • Behaviouralism • Learning Theory

9. Mini SGA (Small Group Activity) Create a small role play / skit on one of the following famous psychologists. Highlight his / her main theories, applications and conclusions to psychology in your skit! • Sigmund Freud p. 19 • John B. Watson and Benjamin Spock p.20 • Ivan Pavlov p. 20 • B.F. Skinner p. 20, 54 • Alfred Bandura p. 21 • Carl Jung p. 55 • Abraham Maslov p. 58 • Marion Woodman p. 58

10. Psychoanalytic Theory • The mind is divided into two parts: the conscious (aware of ) and the unconscious (not aware of) • According to psychologists, our unconscious mind has more influence than our conscious mind on our personalities and behaviour

11. The Unconscious Mind The Unconscious mind is divided into three parts: • Id – which encourages us to seek physical satisfaction • Superego – prompts us to do the moral thing, not the one that feels best • Ego – the referee between the two and deals with external reality, this is our most conscious self

12. Sigmund Freud • The founder of Psychoanalytic Theory • He believed our early childhood experiences, usually involving our relationships with parents and family, are stored in our unconscious mind • While we are normally unaware of these memories, they can have a powerful influence on the way we function • Those who live with a general sense of frustration, our behaviour may become neurotic and connected with anxiety or obsessive behaviour and thinking which can be treated using dream analysis, hypnosis and individual counseling • Freud felt that individual sexual satisfaction or frustration was the key element in personality development

13. Alfred Adler (1870-1937) • Adler believed that difficulties people encounter in gaining self-esteem and recognition, if not overcome by the normal means lead to compensatory behaviour and resultant personality disorders which are now widely referred to as an inferiority complex.

14. Carl Jung (1875-1961) • Responsible for the identification of the Extroverted (outward-looking; outgoing; rely on others for sense of well being) and Introverted (inward-looking; emotionally self-sufficient; well being comes from within) personality types. • Worked closely with Freud but split later in their careers • The other aspect of Jung's work which has been very influential is his approach to the analysis of dreams.

15. Behaviourism • Behaviourists believe that psychologists can predict and control or modify human behaviour by identifying the factors that motivate it in the first place • Behaviourists placed particular stress on the early childhood years, and the rules or practices parents use to raise their children because they believe these methods have a huge influence on the character of individuals even into adulthood

16. Charles B. Watson (1878-1958) • The founder of Behaviourism • He used animal experiments to determine whether strict of flexible learning patterns are more effective • Wrote book “Psychological Care of the Infant and Child” concluded that children should be brought up using a ‘scientific’, strictly scheduled, rules-based model.

17. Benjamin Spock (1903-1998) • He believed that a permissive approach to child rearing, rather than a strict one, would result in successful, well-adjusted adults. • He encouraged parents to be loving, flexible and supportive • Wrote book “Baby and Child Care”

18. Learning Theory • Learning Theorists agree that humans are born with little instinct but much learning potential • They believe that most human behaviour is learned, especially in child and youth • By controlling the way in which humans learn behaviour, society can have a great influence on their ultimate personalities • Children who were brought up in loving families would grow up to become secure and loving adults, but only if parents provided clear and consistent expectations for good behaviour, and swift but fair consequences for bad behaviour

19. Psychological Questions • Focus on people’s behaviours (what they do) and attitudes (what they think) • Key Questions:-what must people do to successfully change their behaviours-what factors make behaviour-modification programs successful?-do most people need help changing behaviour, or can they be self changers? • Example: Consider an individual who has been convicted three times for driving under the influence. Is it necessary to change a person’s attitude about drinking before he or she will stop drinking and driving?

20. Theory of Attitude Change • Cognitive Dissonance Theory – the state of having two or more conflicting cognitions (ideas, beleifs, values, emotions) • People want consonance among their cognitions and therefore will look to reduce dissonance • Dissonance reduction can be achieved in one of three ways: • lowering the importance of one of the discordant factors • adding consonant elements • changing one of the dissonant factors

21. Theory of Attitude Change The Fox and the Grapes by Aesop (ca. 620–564 BCE). In the story, a fox sees some high-hanging grapes and wishes to eat them. When the fox is unable to think of a way to reach them, he decides that the grapes are probably not worth eating, with the justification the grapes probably are not ripe or that they are sour (hence "sour grapes"). This example follows a pattern: one desires something, finds it unattainable, and reduces one's dissonance by criticizing it.

22. Theory of Attitude Change • Smoking is a common example of cognitive dissonance because it is widely accepted that cigarettes can cause lung cancer. • In terms of the theory, the desire to live a long life is dissonant with the activity of doing something that is likely to shorten one's life. • The tension produced by these contradictory ideas can be reduced by any number of changes in cognitions and behaviors, including quitting smoking, denying the evidence linking smoking to lung cancer, or justifying one's smoking. • For example, smokers could rationalize their behavior by concluding that only a few smokers become ill, that it only happens to very heavy smokers, or that if smoking does not kill them, something else will.

23. Theory of Attitude Change • Six Stages of Change (Behaviour Modification)-Pre-contemplation (denial, refusal)-Contemplation (questioning)-Preparation (investigation)-Action (commitment)-Maintenance (transition)-Termination (completion) • Positive and Negative Reinforcement

24. B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) • Skinner proved that pigeons could be trained to peck at a particular coloured disk to get food rewards • Rats received food rewards for pressing specfic levers in a complicated sequence leading many theorists to believe that learning was a STIMULUS-RESPONSE effect • He believed that if the subject is correctly stimulated it will give the appropriate response • Theory of OPERANT CONDITIONING: learning can be programmed by whatever consequences follows a particular behaviour

25. Abraham Maslov (1908-1970) • Analysis of human needs organized into a hierarchy ranging from basic survival through to the need for love, security and esteem • Highest level was “self actualization (integration of the self > making the personality whole) • Maslov’s theories had most profound impact on industrial psychology (making workplace a satisfying experience by raising morale of workers to improve performance)

26. Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) • Pavlov’s experiments with dogs showed that is was possible to get a dog to associate the sound of a bell with the imminent arrival of food • At the sound of a bell, the dog would salivate in anticipation

27. Alfred Bandura (Born in 1925) • Bandura concluded that learning is largely a modeling experience and more complicated than a mere stimulus-response effect • When humans observe behaviour – either acceptable or unacceptable – they are more likely to practice it • Experiment- Bobo • Question – What does this mean to us? What applications can be made to today? • http://www.experiment-resources.com/bobo-doll-experiment.html

31. Activity: Dream Analysis • The following is a Jungian dream analysis method. The method is based on the belief that objects and people in a dream have a personal meaning to the dreamer, and that the dreamer (not an analyst) is best able to understand his/her own dream. Often people and objects in our dreams represent parts of ourselves, or ways we would like (or are afraid) to be. For instance, if you dream of your very outgoing friend, Tom, and you feel wonderful in the dream, it might be your unconscious encouraging you to become more outgoing. • Start by recalling a dream you have had, jotting down as many details as you can. (Choose a dream you’ll feel comfortable discussing with others.) Then, working with a small group of students, take turns revealing your dreams while others in the group ask the following sets of questions:

32. 1. What is the setting or settings? • What does each place remind you of or make you think of? • What does it feel like to be in these settings? • What is the mood of the dream (scary, funny, light, peaceful ...)? • How does this mood affect you? 2. Who are the people in the dream? (Discuss each person individually.) • What is the main characteristic of each; what is each person like? (Jung would ask, “What is the essence of each person?”) For example, organized, funny, worldly....? • How do you feel about each person in the dream? • If a person is unknown, what kind of person would you imagine him/her to be given the way s/he looks and acts in the dream? • What is each person doing in the dream? • How do their actions make you feel? • Does a person remind you of anything or anyone in your life? • Is there some part of you that is like this person, or would like to be more like this person, or reacts strongly against him/her?

33. 3. Describe the objects in your dream as you would to someone from another planet. • What are they used for? How do they work? • Do you like or dislike them? • Do they remind you of anything, any part of yourself, or anyone in your life? 4. What are the major actions and events in the dream? • How do you react to them in the dream? • How do they make you feel? • Do they remind you of any situations in real life? 5. Considering all the different thoughts that came to mind as you discussed your dream, how do you understand your dream now? • Or as a class, visit: http://www.dreammoods.com/dreaminformation/dreamtheory/jung3.htm