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What is Psychology?. Psychology Topics. What is Psychology and a Brief History The Brain Learning Drugs Relationships Abnormal Psychology Lies Social Media Sports Psychology. Psychology. Definitions: Our text book – The scientific, systematic study of behaviors and mental processes
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Psychology Topics What is Psychology and a Brief History The Brain Learning Drugs Relationships Abnormal Psychology Lies Social Media Sports Psychology
Psychology • Definitions: • Our text book – The scientific, systematic study of behaviors and mental processes • Simply Psychology – The scientific study of the mind and behavior • American Psychology Association – Study of the mind and behavior – from the functions of the brain to the actions of nations, from child development to care for the aged
Psychology • The Goals of Psychology: • Description – stating the facts • Explanation – why people and animals behave in certain ways & under certain conditions • Prediction – using past behavior to predict future behavior • Influence – Trying to influence behaviors in some way
A Brief History of Psychology • Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650) – Proposed a link between mind and body; believed the mind controlled the body’s movements, sensations, and perceptions • Wilhelm Wundt (1832 – 1920) – established modern psychology as a formal field of study • William James (1842 – 1910) – father of psychology in the US; focused on the functions or actions of the conscious mind and the goals or purposes of behaviors • Gestalt Psychology – group of German psychologists, argued perception involves a “whole pattern” (Gestalt in German). Example: When you see lights flashing in a sequence, you perceive motion.
A Brief History of Psychology • Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) – interested in the unconscious mind; unconscious motivations and conflicts are responsible for most human behavior • Ivan Pavlov (1849 – 1936) – Russian psychologist known for his work in classical conditioning • John B. Watson (1878 – 1958) – believed psychology should only be concerned with observable facts about behavior • BF Skinner (1904 – 1990) – introduced reinforcement – response to a behavior that increases the likelihood that behavior would be repeated
A Brief History of Psychology • Humanists – 1960’s – Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Rollo May – described human nature as evolving and self-directed. Did not view humans as being controlled by events in environment or unconscious forces • Cognitivists – Since 1950 – Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky, and Leon Festinger – believe behavior is more than a simple response to a stimulus
What Psychologists Do Psychologist – Person trained to observe, analyze and evaluate behavior
What Psychologists Do • Clinical Psychologists – help people deal with personal problems • Counseling Psychologists – help people adjust to challenges in life; work in schools or in industrial firms • School Psychologists – help young people with learning or emotional problems • Developmental Psychologists – study physical, emotional, cognitive, and social changes that occur throughout life • Educational Psychologists - deal with topics related to teaching children and young adults; intelligence, memory, problem solving, and motivation • Community Psychologists – help design, run or evaluate mental health clinics • Industrial/ Organizational Psychologists – study and develop methods to boost production, improve working conditions, place applicants in jobs for which they are best suited, train people, and reduce accidents • Experimental Psychologists - perform research to understand how humans or animals operate
The Brain How do we know... CAT Scan: Computerized Axial Tomography PET Scan: Postitron Emission Tomography MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging
The Brain • CAT: Brain is bombarded with X-ray beams • and absorption of radiation is measured and • analyzed to make a 3D model. • PET: Inject radioactive solution into blood, • then measure absorption. Active neurons • absorb more blood ...so more radiation. • MRI: Same idea as these two combined, but • with harmless radio frequencies. Interaction • between the radio frequencies and the brain • cells is measured and analyzed to create an • image.
The Endocrine System Hormones released by the Endocrine System Hypothalamus Regulates the body’s internal environment (heart rate, body temperature, and secretions of the pituitary gland) Pituitary Gland - Also known as the master gland – responsible for controlling the other glands Oxytocin – stimulates contractions for labor Growth Hormone – stimulates growth Also known as the master gland – responsible for controlling the other glands
The Endocrine System Hormones released by the Endocrine System Thyroid Thyroxin – influences metabolism, growth and development Parathyroids PTH – increases blood levels of calcium Adrenal Glands Cortisol – raises glucose levels in the blood, reduces swelling Aldosterone – promotes absorption of sodium and excretion of potassium Epinephrine and Norepinephrine – stimulate fight – or – flight – faster heart rate, faster blood flow, facilitate oxygen flow to the lungs, blood glucose is increased for more available energy
The Endocrine System Hormones released by the Endocrine System Gonads Testosterone in males; Estrogen and Progesterone in females Pancreas Insulin – promotes removal of glucose from blood Glucagon – raises glucose level in blood Thymus Gland Thymosins – stimulate development and differentiation of T lymphocytes (white blood cells that fight infection) Pineal Gland Melatonin – regulates sleep-wake cycle
The Brain • Left Hemisphere • Controls the right side of the body • Logical side - responsible for • Words • Logic • Numbers • Analysis • Lists • Sequence
The Brain • Right Hemisphere • Controls the left side of the body • Creative side – responsible for • Rhythm • Color • Imagination • Daydreaming • Dimension
Corpus Callosum What it is Thick band of nerve fibers that connect brain cells in one hemisphere to those in the other White matter – helps transmit signals faster Has recently been surgically cut in an effort to treat epilepsy – isolates seizures and prevents spread
Lobes of the Brain And Their Functions • Frontal Lobe – Emotional control center • Responsible for personality and influencing decisions • Cognition • Motor Skill Development • Parts of Speech • Impulse Control • Regulates emotions • Planning
Lobes of the Brain And Their Functions • Parietal Lobe – Responsible for processing sensory information & coordinates spatial relations • Sensing pain • Regulating & processing the senses • Movement and orientation • Speech • Visual perception and recognition • Cognition and information processing
Lobes of the Brain And Their Functions • Temporal Lobe – Responsible for Memory and Auditory processing • Contains hippocampus – responsible for transferring short to long-term memories • Helps form long-term memories and process new information • Formation of visual and verbal memories • Interpretation of smells and sounds
Lobes of the Brain And Their Functions • Occipital Lobe – Responsible for visual processing • Smallest of lobes • Visual-spatial processing • Movement and color recognition
How much do we NEED? • Infants require about 16 hours per day • Teenagers need about 9 hours • Most adults need 7 to 8 hours
What if we don’t get enough sleep? • Estimates of 100,000 vehicle accidents per year due to driver fatigue • 1500 Deaths • Impaired attention, concentration, and problem solving • Can increase chance of heart disease • Can lead to depression • Ages your skin • Makes you forgetful • Can lead to weight gain • Study showed those who slept less than 6 hours 30% more likely to be obese than those who slept 7 to 9 hours • May increase risk of death (cardiovascular disease, etc.) • Impairs judgment
Important People and Concepts Structuralism – Wilhelm Wundt – interested in the basic elements of the human experience Used introspection – participants were trained to report their thoughts Wundt - Used their reports to try to map the structure of thought processes
Important People and Concepts • Wundt’s student, Titchener- Believed that the goal of psychology was to study mind and consciousness • Defined consciousness as the sum total of mental experience at any given moment, and the mind as the accumulated experience of a lifetime • Believed he could understand reasoning and the structure of the mind if he could define and categorize the basic components of mind and the rules by which the components interacted
Important People and Concepts • Functionalism – William James – Studied how animals and humans adapt to their environment • Alternative to structuralism – concerned with function more than structure • James – Father of Psychology in America
Important People and Concepts • Gestalt Psychology – German for “whole pattern” – group of German Psychologists • Disagreed with structuralism and functionalism - Perception is more than the sum of its parts • Example: lights flashing in sequence gives perception of motion
Important People and Concepts • Psychoanalysis – Sigmund Freud – More interested in the unconscious mind • Beneath the surface are primitive biological urges • These are responsible for most human behavior • Used the concept of Free Association – Freud would interpret the associations
Important People and Concepts • Behavioral Psychology – Psychology should concern itself with observable behavior, not with unobservable events that take place in the mind • Ivan Pavlov – Russian physiologist – investigated classical conditioning – a conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (reflex response) • Famous experiment: Rang a tuning fork each time he gave dogs food • Dog would salivate when food reached its mouth • After several runs, dog would salivate when it heard the ring • This happened even when no food was offered
Important People and Concepts Behavioral Psychology John Watson - Maintained that all behavior, even instinctive, was the result of conditioning B.F. Skinner – Introduced the concept of reinforcement - response to a behavior that increases the likelihood it will be repeated https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA96Fba-WHk Operant Conditioning – Method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments Positive Reinforcement – addition of something to increase a response Negative Reinforcement – Removing something to increase a response
Important People and Concepts Humanist Psychology – Emphasizes an individual’s drive towards self-actualization and creativity; OR the environment and other outside forces don’t control human development Abraham Maslow - Best known for “Hierarchy of Needs” Stressed focusing on people’s positive qualities
Important People and Concepts • Cognitive Psychology – Focuses on how we process, store, and use information and how this information influences our thinking, language, problem solving, and creativity • Behavior is more than a response to a stimulus • Behavior is influenced by a variety of mental processes – • perceptions • memories • expectations
Important People and Concepts • Cognitive Psychology – Jean Piaget • Studied the “Origins of Knowledge” – believed “how the knowledge was gained affects how valid it is” • Ex: gravity v. black holes • Suspected the key to human knowledge was in discovering how children’s minds work • Found that “Children don’t think like grown-ups”
Important People and Concepts • Cognitive Psychology – Jean Piaget • Proposed four stage cycle of development • Sensorimotor – Birth to Age 2 • Children experience the world through senses • Cannot perceive the world from other’s point of view • Preoperational Stage – Age 2 to Age 7 • From 2-4 children use symbols to represent the world • From 4-7 children become curious and ask questions
Important People and Concepts • Cognitive Psychology – Jean Piaget • Proposed four stage cycle of development • Concrete Operational – From Ages 7-11 • Children can think logically • No longer egocentric • Formal Operational – From Age 11 onward • Children develop abstract thought
Important People and Concepts Cognitive Psychology – Jean Piaget
Important People and Concepts • Erik Erikson – Believed that personality develops in stages – similar to Freud and Piaget • Student of Freud’s daughter, Anna • Introduced his Stages of Psychosocial Development in 1959 • He believed a child’s environment was crucial to growth, adjustment and identity
Nature vs. NurtureWhat makes us US? • Heredity – Genetic transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring • All effects genes have on behavior occur through their role in building and modifying the physical structures of the body • Those structures then interact with the environment to produce behavior • Book Ex : Musical parents – inheriting a gene that influences musical ability by contributing to brain development that analyzes sound well