Chapter 1: Psychology is the Study of Human Behavior

1. Chapter 1:Psychology is the Study of Human Behavior 1.2 Why should you study Psychology 1.3 How can psychology help you achieve self-actualization? 1.4 How do psychologists learn about human behavior? 1.5 What are the basic areas of study in psychology?

2. Psychology comes from the Greek word Psyche meaning “soul” and logos which has come to mean “logics or science.” • If you put it together, it means the science of the soul. • Now today, it’s modern definition is the study of human behavior. What is Psychology?

3. Psychologists use the scientific method to collect data about behavior. • Using the insights gained through observation, and experiment, they attempt to answer some of life’s most important questions. How do Psychologists collect data about human behavior?

4. Why do people act the way they do? • Can behavior be predicted or changed? • Can people’s lives be made happier or more productive? • What can be done to help people who have lost touch with reality? Questions often asked:

5. If human beings were simple creates like dogs or horses, the answers to these questions would be relatively easy. But our lives are not controlled by the same instincts and drives that dominate other forms of animal life. Questions often asked:

6. Human beings are uniquely gifted with the power of reason and language and the ability to create a complex culture. Questions often asked:

7. Your assignment is to Observe and write down the answers: (please do not list the person’s name)

8. Lets talk about it…Do not use person’s name

9. In the beginning, no one thought too much about why people act the way they do. Psychology a Young Science

10. Scene 1: A Cave, 500,000 BC OLBA: Why is Rad sitting there in the corner all by himself? It’s nicer here by the fire with the others. KRIK: I don’t know. Forget him. I’m ready to eat. Psychology a Young Science

11. People blamed demons or spirits for their behavior they couldn’t explain it any other way. If Rad acts strangely, the wise ones said, it’s because an evil spirit has invaded his body. Psychology a Young Science

12. It remained for the ancient Greeks to study behavior more carefully. Their gifted philosophers understood emotional states can affect the way a person feels. Psychology a Young Science

13. Scene 2: Greece, Fourth Century B.C. Phipias: Plato, you’re a philosopher. Do you think there’s a connection between the mind and body? Plator: Whenever the soul within it is stronger than the body and is in a very passionate state, it shakes up the whole body from within and fills it with maladies. Psychology a Young Science

14. Insights such as Plato’s helped teach humanity that the mind can affect the behavior of the body. But until a little over a hundred years ago, psychology could not be called an organized science. Psychology a Young Science

15. A 19th century French American doctor, Edouard Seguin, set the stage when he wrote, “I look upon psychology as …a science of observation , where things are to be observed and put in their places, and nothing is to be created or imagined.” Psychology a Young Science

16. In 1879, WilhelmWundt, a German professor, established the first psychological laboratory at the University of Leipzig. Wundt believed that he could discover the nature of the mind by studying behavior “from the inside.” Psychology a Young Science

17. Scene 3: Leipzig, 1879 Wundt: Tell me again, Herr Professor, exactly what I should do. Wundt: I call my method of self observation introspection. While you take part of my experiments, you must keep careful records of your feelings, thoughts emotions,- everything that happens inside you. From these reports, we will learn about the structure of the mind and the nature of consciousness. We’ll see how simple mental states are built up into complex experiences such as memory, creativity, and learning. Psychology a Young Science

18. Wundt’s methods put psychology on a firm footing as a science but gained little support in the United States. Americans were more interested in behavior that could be observed than in what the introspectionists claimed to feel. Philosophers such as William James an John Dewey studied the way individuals adjust to their environment. They emphasized the importance of experience and learning. Psychology a Young Science

19. Their followers made studies of mental illness, animal behavior, normal and mentally challenged children, and ways of measuring intelligence. Psychology a Young Science

20. So complex is human behavior, however, that other schools of psychology also developed. At the beginning of the 20th century, Sigmund Freud developed his theory of psychoanalysis, a method of analyzing and treating mental disorders. Psychology a Young Science

21. Inspired by Freud’s work, psychologists began to study the role of the unconscious in influencing our behavior. Psychology a Young Science

22. Scene 4: Vienna, 1900 Patient: But doctor Freud, what does my relationship with my father have to do with my problem? Freud: Ah, everything! You must realize the experiences of childhood, buried deep within your unconscious, still influences you. The child is father to the man. Psychology a Young Science

23. Many psychologists weren’t satisfied with Freud’s emphasis on the role of the unconscious. Ivan Pavlov, a Russian psychologist who won the Noble Prize in 1904 for his work on the digestive process, helped prepare the way for a new explanation of behavior. Psychology a Young Science

24. Pavlov discovered that dogs could be conditioned (trained) to salivate when they heard a musical tone. Normally, saliva is produced only when the animals, see, smell or taste food. Psychology a Young Science

25. Pavlov conditioned this automatic response by sounding the tone each time he fed the dogs a special meat powder. He repeated the process six to eight times. After that, the dogs salivated freely whenever they heard the tone. Psychology a Young Science

26. Video Example of Pavlov's Conditioning Another Example of Classic Conditioning

27. Real Life Classical Conditioning 2 Real Life Classical Conditioning 3 Real Life Classical Conditioning Classic Conditioning 4

28. Jim vs. Dwight and the Altoid Conditioning episode The Office Example

29. Psychology a Young Science

30. This project will be focusing on the Pavlov’s general idea of Classical Conditioning. See the following slides for some ideas. YOUR FIRST PROJECT!

31. You can only work with one to two classmates from class or by yourself. Classic Conditioning Project

32. You will create your own video recording an actual concept of classic conditioning OR create a fake version just to verify that you understand the concept. Classic Conditioning Project

33. 3. You must have the ability to record a video but if you do not, you will have an alternative instead. Classic Conditioning Project

34. 4. There is no violence or bullying allowed in these projects. Use your best judgment to evaluate if it is acceptable or not. If you are not sure, please ask me if you need help. Classic Conditioning Project

35. Some Examples Include: Teaching your dog to sit: • Open up the drawer that the treat is in. • The dog comes running. • Pull the treat out. • The dog automatically sits. • When the dog sits, you then give him/her the treat. Classic Conditioning Project

36. http://www.eruptingmind.com/pavlov-classical-conditioning-theory/http://www.eruptingmind.com/pavlov-classical-conditioning-theory/ • In psychology “learning” is defined as a relatively permanent change in, or acquisition of, knowledge or behavior. • The key term here is “relatively” because although we tend to hold onto what we learn, it can be changed a later date. • For example, your friend teaches you how to play tennis, but later you get a qualified instructor who modifies and improves your technique. Let’s go over the content again:

37. http://www.eruptingmind.com/pavlov-classical-conditioning-theory/http://www.eruptingmind.com/pavlov-classical-conditioning-theory/ • What we learn can also be forgotten over time, especially if we do not regularly use the skills or knowledge we have acquired. • For example, you may learn to drive a car but if you don’t drive for several years, you will most likely forget what you had previously learnt and so would need to practice again. • In addition to this, in order for us to learn something we first need to experience it at the level of sensation via our five senses. As without our senses learning would be virtually impossible. Let’s go over the content again:

38. http://www.eruptingmind.com/pavlov-classical-conditioning-theory/http://www.eruptingmind.com/pavlov-classical-conditioning-theory/ Classical Conditioning • Classical conditioning is a term used to describe learning which has been acquired through experience. • One of the best known examples of classical conditioning can be found with the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov and his experiments on dogs. Let’s go over the content again:

39. In these experiments, Pavlov trained his dogs to salivate when they heard a bell ring. In order to do this he first showed them food, the sight of which caused them to salivate. • Later Pavlov would ring a bell every time he would bring the food out, until eventually he could get the dogs to salivate just by ringing the bell and without giving the dogs any food. • In this simple but ingenious experiment, Pavlov showed how a reflex (salivation, a natural bodily response) could become conditioned (modified) to an external stimulus (the bell) thereby creating a conditioned reflex/response.

40. We can gain a better understanding of classical conditioning by looking at the various components involved in his experiment; • The unconditioned stimulus. • The conditioned stimulus. • The unconditioned reflex. • The conditioned reflex. • So let’s look at each of these classical conditioning components in more detail now. • Note : In its strictest definition classical conditioning is described as a previously neutral stimulus which causes a reflex (stimulus means something which causes a physical response). Components Involved In Classical Conditioning

41. An unconditioned stimulus is anything which can evoke a response without prior learning or conditioning. • For example, when a dog eats some food it causes his mouth to salivate. • Therefore the food is an unconditioned stimulus, because it causes a reflex response (salivation) automatically and without the dog having to learn how to salivate. • Unconditioned Stimulus – This causes an automatic reflex response. The Unconditioned Stimulus (food)

42. The conditioned stimulus is created by learning, and therefore does not create a response without prior conditioning. • For example, when Pavlov rang a bell and caused the dogs to salivate, this was a conditioned stimulus because the dogs learnt to associate the bell with food. • If they had not learnt to associate the bell with food, they would not have salivated when the bell was rung. • Conditioned Stimulus– You need to learn first before it creates a response. It is an acquired power to change something. Conditioned Stimulus (bell)

43. An unconditioned reflex is anything that happens automatically without you having to think about it, such as your mouth salivating when you eat. • Unconditioned Reflex – Reflex that happens automatically and you didn’t have to learn how to do it. Unconditioned Reflex (salivation)

44. A conditioned reflex is a reflex which you have learnt to associate with something. • For example, the dogs salivated when Pavlov rang a bell, when previously (without conditioning) the bell would not cause the dogs to salivate. • Conditioned Reflex – A reflex that can be evoked in response to a conditioned stimulus (a previously neutral stimulus) Conditioned Reflex (salivation in response to bell)

45. Important Features Of Classical Conditioning • The word conditioning is used to mean a type of learning that occurs without you having to think about it, almost like an automatic type of learning. Although later on this learning may be reinforced by reflecting upon that experience. • For example, sometimes you will see a dog flinch when you raise your hand. This flinching is a conditioned reflex, and can be seen in dogs that have been mistreated by their owners. The same can be found in women who are abused. • This later example shows that classical conditioning is not solely confined to animals, as it can just as easily occur in humans. • Finally, conditioned reflexes are involuntary, which means they occur automatically and without you having to think about it.

46. • Classical conditioning occurs when a previously neutral stimulus causes a reflex. • Ivan Pavlov is most famous for his work on dogs and classical conditioning. • The unconditioned stimulus causes an automatic reflex response without prior learning (e.g. food in mouth causes salivation). • The conditioned stimulus is created by learning, whereby a stimulus becomes associated with something else (e.g. dog associates bell with food, and ringing bell causes dog to salivate). • The unconditioned reflex is a reflex that happens automatically (e.g. salivation is an unconditioned reflex, because it happens automatically when you put food in your mouth). • The conditioned reflex is a learnt response pattern (e.g. dog salivating to sound of bell). • Conditioning takes place automatically and without you having to think about it, and the conditioned reflexes are involuntary. Summary

47. John Watson, an American Psychologist saw the value of Pavlov’s work. Son after World War I, Watson announced that psychology should deal only with behavior that can be observed and measured. Watson was not interest in Freud's studies of the unconscious or in Wundt’s introspection. Psychology a Young Science

48. The only task of psychology, Watson proclaimed, was to “predict and control behavior”. This approach is known as behaviorism, now ranks as one of modern psychology’s most important concepts. Psychology a Young Science

49. Since the 1960s, humanist psychology has emerged as a contrasting school of thought to both psychoanalytic and behaviorists theories. Humanist psychologists, who emphasize the study of having healthy, productive emotions, believe that people can take responsibility for their own lives. Psychology a Young Science

50. Carl Rogers, a leading American psychologist, summed up the humanist philosophy when he said, “The aim is ….to cope with the present problem and with later problems in a better integrated fashion.” Psychology a Young Science