Introduction to Psychology

What is Psychology

• Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the mind, behavior, and mental processes.
• Key areas include cognitive processes, emotional responses, and social/biological influences on behavior.

Understanding Cognitive Processes

• Thinking refers to how we process information and make decisions.
• Memory is how we encode, store, and retrieve information.
• Problem-solving involves strategies for overcoming obstacles and achieving goals.
• Cognitive processes drive how we think, remember, and solve problems.
• The frontal lobe is responsible for problem-solving, word production, and emotion.
• The temporal lobe is responsible for memory.
• The parietal lobe is responsible for touch sensation and spatial awareness.
• The occipital lobe is responsible for vision.

The Role of Emotions

• Emotions influence decision-making, relationships, and mental health.
• Types of emotional responses include positive emotions like joy, excitement, and contentment, and negative emotions like fear, anger, and sadness.
• The amygdala plays a key role in emotional responses.
• Fear triggers the 'fight or flight' response.

Social and Biological Influences on Behavior

• Behavior is shaped by social factors such as family, peers, culture, and societal norms.
• Biological influences include genetics, brain structure, and neurotransmitters.
• Behavior factors include the interaction between nature (biology) and nurture (environment).
• Cultural norms affect how we express emotions, while biology affects how we experience them.

Psychologists' Goals

• Describe: Observes and details behaviors and mental processes.
• Explain: Understands the causes of behaviors and mental processes.
• Predict: Anticipates behaviors and mental processes based on patterns.
• Control: Uses knowledge to influence or manage behavior for positive outcomes.
• Improve: Enhances individuals’ well-being through practical applications of psychology.

Great Thinkers in Psychology

• William Wundt was a structuralist interested in the basic elements of human experience.
• William Wundt founded the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879.
• William Wundt established modern psychology as a separate formal field of study.
• Sigmund Freud studied the unconscious mind and used psychoanalysis in practice.
• William James is considered the "Father of Psychology" and taught the first psychology class at Harvard in 1875.
• William James theorized that thinking, feeling, learning, and remembering assist in species survival.
• William James studied how animals and people adapt to environments.
• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) was a behavioral psychologist known for Pavlov's Dog's experiment.
• Ivan Pavlov studied the observable behavior in place of studying the though process.
• John B. Watson worked with Ivan Pavlov and believed psychology should concern itself only with the observable facts of behavior.
• John B. Watson maintained that nearly all behavior, including apparently instinctive behavior, is the result of conditioning and occurs because the appropriate stimulus is presented in the environment
• B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) introduced the concept of reinforcement to behavioralism.
• Abraham Maslow was a humanistic psychologist who described nature as evolving and self-directed.
• Abraham Maslow believed humans are not controlled by events in the environment or by unconscious forces.

Approaches in Psychology

• Biological
• Psychodynamic
• Behavioral
• Cognitive
• Humanistic

Biological Perspective

• Considers biological factors that affect human beings and how psychological factors affect the body.
• The nervous system studies neural communication and the nervous system as a whole.
• Neuropsychology studies communication between brain cells and how this relates to human behavior.
• Genetics are heritable factors that control observable behaviors, which are passed down through generations.
• Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers in the brain (e.g., serotonin, dopamine) that affect mood, motivation, and cognition.
• Brain structures like the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex are key regions.
• Genetics examines hereditary influences on behavior and psychological traits.
• Hormones are biological substances (e.g., cortisol, adrenaline) that regulate responses to stress and other stimuli.
• The nervous system focuses on the central (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral nervous systems.

Psychodynamic Perspective

• Emphasizes unconscious processes and how early life experiences influence behavior.
• The unconscious mind is central to understanding thoughts and motivations.
• Behavior arises from conflicts between the id, ego, and superego.
• Early childhood experiences are pivotal in shaping personality and behavior.
• Defense mechanisms are psychological strategies (e.g., repression, denial) used to manage internal conflicts and anxiety.

Behavioral Perspective

• Emphasizes the scientific study of observable behavioral responses and their environmental determinants.
• Behavior is learned through interaction with the environment.
• Internal states (thoughts and emotions) are secondary to observable behavior.
• Stimulus-response relationships emphasizes the link between stimuli and behavioral responses.
• Learning theories includes classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning.

Cognitive Perspective

• Emphasizes the mental processes involved in knowing: directing our attention, perceiving, remembering, thinking, and solving problems.
• Unlike behaviorism, cognitive psychology uses scientific methods to explore internal mental processes.
• The mind functions like a computer, where information is input, processed, and output.
• Schemas (mental frameworks) help people organize and interpret information but can also lead to biases or errors.
• Behavior results from cognitive processing where thoughts and perceptions influence actions and emotions.

Humanistic Perspective

• Emphasizes a person's capacity for personal growth, freedom to choose a destiny, and positive qualities.
• Humans have the ability to make conscious choices and are not entirely determined by biology or external forces.
• Free will gives humans the capacity to choose a destiny and qualities in life.
• Humans should be studied as whole beings, considering all aspects of their experience like holism.
• People are naturally good and have the desire to achieve their full potential, which is an innate goodness and growth.
• An individual's perception of the world shapes their behavior and emotions, subjective experience is central.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:

• Includes five levels of human needs.
• Physiological needs such as food and water.
• Safety needs like security and stability.
• Love and belongingness like relationships and social connections.
• Self-esteem needs like self-respect and recognition.
• Self-actualization to achieving one's full potential.
• Ideal self vs. real self: Congruence between these leads to greater self-fulfillment.
• Unconditional positive regard: Feeling accepted without conditions fosters personal growth.

Goals of Research Methods

• Experimental Method: Pursues the goals of control and explanation.
• Descriptive Research: Pursues the goal of description.
• Correlational Research: Correlational Research.

Experimental Research

• Research that manipulates one or more variables, while controlling other factors, to determine the effects of one or more other variables with the purpose is to determine whether there is a casual relationship.
• A theory can be defined as a "general principle proposed to explain how a number of separate facts are related like an idea about a relationship.
• A theory can be tested by doing research and analysis.

Experimental Research Concepts

• Independent Variable: Variable manipulated by the experimenter to determine its effect on another, dependent variable such as Frequency of exercise or Type of diet.
• Dependent Variable: Variable showing the effect of the independent variable such as Symptoms of depression or Blood sugar levels.
• Experimental Group: Participants who are exposed to the experimental condition of interest.
• Control Group: Participants who are not exposed to the experimental condition of interest.

Descriptive Research

• Research that involves the recording of behaviors that have been observed systematically and simply records what he or she has systematically observed.
• Types include Naturalistic Observation, Case Studies, Surveys, Psychological testing and Archival research.

Correlational Research

• Studies the degree of relationship between two or more variables.
• Variables include event, behavior, condition or characteristic E.g. age, height, temperature and intelligence.
• Correlation is the degree of relationship between two or more variables such as the relationship between obesity and exercise.

Other Research Methods

• Observational: Naturalistic or laboratory observations.
• Surveys and Questionnaires: Gathering data from participants.
• Case Studies: In-depth analysis of a single individual or group.
• Longitudinal vs. Cross-Sectional Studies.

What Drives Behavior?

• Biological Basis includes genetics influence of inherited traits on behavior.
• Biological Basis also includes brain structure where how specific regions like the prefrontal cortex and amygdala contribute to actions and emotions.
• Chemicals like dopamine and serotonin are neurotransmitters that impact mood and behavior.
• Environmental Basis includes social influences such as impact of peers, family, and cultural norms.
• Learning experiences include how conditioning and reinforcement shape behaviors.
• Nature vs. Nurture include the dynamic relationship between biological predispositions and environmental factors.