Introduction to Psychology Notes

Introduction to Psychology

• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and the mind
  • Scientific means unbiased and empirical
• Behavior refers to directly observable actions and responses
• Mind refers to internal states and processes (e.g., thoughts, feelings) inferred from observable responses

Goals of Psychology

• Description: what is happening, where, and to whom?
• Explanation: why is it happening?
• Prediction: when will it happen again?
• Control: how can it be changed?

Research in Psychology

• Basic research: knowledge-driven, concerned with "what is"
• Applied research: problem-focused, concerned with "how to"

Types of Psychologists

• Clinical psychologist
• Counselling psychologist
• Research psychologist
• Industrial psychologist
• Educational psychologist
  • Psychologists must register with the HPCSA (Health Professions Council of South Africa)

Psychology in Perspective

• Influenced by philosophy, physiology, and physical science

Early Schools of Psychology

• Structuralism: analyzing consciousness into basic elements, led by Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener
• Functionalism: focusing on the functions of consciousness, led by William James

Three Influential Schools

• Gestalt psychology: studying the mental processing of information, focusing on the whole rather than individual parts
• Psychoanalysis: studying the unconscious mind, led by Sigmund Freud
• Behaviorism: focusing on observable behavior, led by Ivan Pavlov and John Watson

Contemporary Perspectives

• Psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theory: recognizing the importance of early childhood experiences and social relationships
• Behavioral perspective: believing that behavior is shaped by the environment
• Cognitive perspective: studying thought processes and mental processing
• Sociocultural perspective: examining the influence of society and culture on behavior
• Biopsychological perspective: studying the biological basis of behavior
• Evolutionary psychology: searching for the biological bases of universal mental characteristics

Levels of Analysis

• Biological level: examining the biological processes underlying behavior
• Cognitive level: studying thought processes and mental representations
• Environmental level: examining the role of the environment in shaping behavior
• Social level: examining the influence of social factors on behavior

A Brief History of Psychology in South Africa

• Beginnings of psychological services in South Africa: late 19th century to early 20th century
• Custodialism: locking people away in asylums
• Interventionism: intervening to help people with mental illnesses
• Standardization of intelligence tests: overemphasizing the role of heredity and racial differences
• The "poor white" problem: the fear of miscegenation and the need to maintain white economic superiority

Introduction to Developmental Psychology

• Developmental psychology: studying human development across the lifespan
• Divided into three broad domains: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development

Nature and Nurture

• Biological and environmental factors interact to shape development

Prenatal Development

• Conception to birth: germinal stage (fertilization to 2 weeks), embryonic stage (2-8 weeks), and fetal stage (8 weeks to birth)
• Critical periods: vulnerability to teratogens and environmental influences

Prenatal Hazards

• Teratogens: any disease, drug, or environmental agent that can harm a developing fetus
  • Examples: radiation, malaria, drugs, AIDS, tobacco, alcohol

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

• Characteristic pattern of abnormalities associated with alcohol intake during pregnancy
• Poor growth, damage to the central nervous system, and characteristic facial features
• Prevention: avoiding alcohol during pregnancy, education, prenatal screening, and improving maternal nutrition

Infancy

• Physical development: rapid growth, cephalocaudal and proximodistal development trends
• Cognitive development: studying what babies know about the world
  • Sensory development, motor skills, and language development### Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development
• Piaget proposed that children's cognition passes through 4 distinct stages:
  • The sensory motor stage (birth - around age 2)
  • The preoperational stage (age 2-7)
  • The concrete operational stage (age 7-11/12)
  • The formal operational stage (age 11/12 - adulthood)

The Sensory Motor Stage (birth - around age 2)

• Infants use their senses and physical actions to learn about the world
• Infants think using their eyes, ears, hands, mouth, etc.
• Infants can't carry out many activities in their minds like adults can
• Much of infant behavior consists of reflexes, which are inborn and automatic responses to stimulation
• Examples of reflexes:
  • Rooting reflex (stroking the cheek to stimulate sucking)
  • Palmar grasp reflex (grabbing onto a finger)
  • Sucking reflex (sucking on a finger)
• Infants gradually learn to coordinate their sensations and perceptions with their physical movements and actions
• Infants start to act intentionally to make things happen, such as shaking a rattle to make a sound
• During this stage, infants develop object permanence, which is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are not being perceived

Criticism of Piaget's Theory

• Some research suggests that infants may require an understanding of object permanence earlier than Piaget thought
• This research uses the "violation-of-expectation" method, where infants are habituated to a repeated stimulus and then shown a surprising event

Erikson's Psychosocial Theory

• Erikson's theory is based on the idea that development proceeds through 8 stages, each characterized by a particular crisis or conflict in social relationships
• Each crisis can be resolved in either a positive or negative way, and a positive resolution can enhance healthy development
• The stages are:
  • Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust (birth - 1 year)
  • Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (1-2 years)
  • ...and so on

Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust (birth - 1 year)

• If a child receives warm and responsive care during the 1st year, they are likely to develop a sense of trust
• Trust involves feeling confident about going out and exploring the world
• Mistrust occurs if a child is handled harshly or has to wait too long for comfort
• A positive resolution of the 1st psychosocial crisis (trust vs. mistrust) sets the stage for later healthy development

Attachment Theory

• Attachment refers to the close affectionate relationship between an infant and 1-2 caregivers
• Bowlby's attachment theory is based on the idea that the formation of a strong and secure emotional relationship between an infant and caregiver is crucial for healthy development
• The quality of the first attachment relationship has implications for later development, including relationships with friends, romantic partners, and future children
• Insecure attachments are associated with caregiver behavior that is insensitive, inconsistent, or rejecting

Factors Influencing Attachment Security

• Sensitive and responsive caregiving is crucial for attachment security
• Factors that influence attachment security include:
  • Psychological resources of the caregiver
  • Infant characteristics
  • Contextual sources of stress and support

Day Care and Attachment

• Research evidence suggests that day care is not harmful to attachment
• The quality of care is more important than who provides it
• Good quality day care can make up for insensitive care at home

Childhood Development (± age 2 - puberty)

• Physical development:
  • Growth rate slows down
  • Body fat declines
  • Gross and fine motor skills improve
  • Exercise is important for healthy development
• Cognitive development:
  • Piaget's preoperational stage (± 2-7 years)
  • Children's thinking is still limited and egocentric
  • Children can't use operations in their thinking
  • Piaget's concrete operational stage (± 7-12 years)
  • Children can think logically about concrete objects
  • Egocentrism declines
  • Children can conserve quantities and understand reversibility### Psychosocial Development
• Autonomy VS Shame & Doubt (1-3 yrs):
  • Toddlers need to decide to do things for themselves to develop autonomy and independence
  • Parents should give children a reasonable amount of free choice and be supportive and understanding
  • Setting limits and guidance are also important to foster autonomy
• Initiative VS Guilt (3-6 yrs):
  • Preschool children develop initiative as they think up and carry out new tasks and plans
  • They learn to control their behavior to avoid harming others and feel guilty if they do something wrong
  • Internalizing standards of parents, teachers, and authority figures helps children develop a sense of guilt
• Industry VS Inferiority (6-12 yrs):
  • Children develop new mental and motor skills, leading to new demands from adults
  • They learn and practice skills for future adult roles, such as reading, writing, and numeracy
  • Education happens not only in school but also in families, where children learn socially responsible intelligence

Play

• Defined as pleasurable activity engaged in for its own sake
• Types of play:
  • Practice play: trying out new skills
  • Constructive play: using materials to create something
  • Pretend play: transforming objects or environments to represent something else
  • Games: engaged in for pleasure, with rules and competition
• Functions of play:
  • Physical, social, and cognitive development
  • Learning motor and cognitive skills
  • Mastering emotional conflict and anxieties
  • Developing understanding of self and society

Adolescence

• Period of transition from childhood to adulthood
• Recognized stage of life in many societies, marked by initiation rituals, religious ceremonies, etc.
• Typically begins around age 11-13 and carries through to ages 19-20 or until young people take on adult roles
• Physical Development:
  • Puberty: adolescent growth spurt, primary and secondary sexual characteristics
  • Cognitive Development:
    • Piaget's formal operational stage: thinking systematically about abstract problems
    • Adolescent egocentrism: imaginary audience and personal fable
  • Psychosocial Development:
    • Erikson's Stage 5: Identity VS Role Confusion

Adulthood

• Physical Development:
  • Early adulthood: physical performance peaks, senescence begins
  • Middle adulthood: physical decline becomes noticeable
  • Late adulthood: outward signs of aging increase
• Cognitive Development:
  • Fluid intelligence may decline from middle adulthood
  • Crystallised intelligence increases
• Psychosocial Development:
  • Erikson's Stage 6: Intimacy VS Isolation
  • Erikson's Stage 7: Generativity VS Stagnation
  • Erikson's Stage 8: Integrity VS Despair

Psychopathology

• Definition: the study of illness of the mind or psychological disorders
• Criteria for distinguishing disorders from normal behavior:
  • Statistical deviance
  • Maladaptiveness
  • Personal distress
• Signs and symptoms of disorders:
  • Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Feeling tired most of the day
  • Eating less or more than usual
  • Worrying about a lot of different things
• History of mental illness:
  • Early Era: demonic possession, exorcism, and trephination
  • Ancient Era: Hippocrates' work on vital fluids and imbalance
  • Asylum Era: treating patients with kindness and consideration
  • Scientific Era: scientific discoveries, classification systems, and treatments