Existential And Cognitive Psychology Notes PDF

**Chapter 17: Existential Psychology / Humanistic Psychology** 1. **Heidegger's Concept of Dasein and Thrownness**: - **Dasein**: Refers to \"being there,\" emphasizing the unique way humans exist by being aware of and questioning their existence. - **Thrownness**: Th...

**Chapter 17: Existential Psychology / Humanistic Psychology** 1. **Heidegger's Concept of Dasein and Thrownness**: - **Dasein**: Refers to \"being there,\" emphasizing the unique way humans exist by being aware of and questioning their existence. - **Thrownness**: The aspects of life one cannot control, like birth circumstances or historical context, shaping individual existence and choices. - Relationship: Thrownness highlights the constraints within which Dasein makes choices, underscoring the tension between freedom and limitation. 2. **May's Theory: Anxiety and Guilt**: - **Anxiety**: Arises from threats to one's values or existence. - **Normal Anxiety**: Proportionate to the situation, fosters growth. - **Neurotic Anxiety**: Disproportionate and immobilizing, impedes growth. - **Guilt**: Results from failure to act authentically or fulfill potential. - May links guilt and anxiety as interconnected aspects of confronting existential concerns. 3. **Third-Force Psychology**: - Definition: Humanistic psychology, emphasizing human potential, freedom, and personal growth. - Limitations of Other Forces: - Psychoanalysis: Too deterministic, focused on unconscious drives. - Behaviorism: Overly mechanistic, ignores subjective experiences. - Goal: Celebrate human creativity, self-actualization, and meaning. 4. **Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs**: - Structure: Physiological → Safety → Love/Belonging → Esteem → Self-Actualization. - Not Universal: Priorities may change due to culture, circumstances, or personal values. - Example: In poverty, physiological needs dominate; in a safe environment, esteem or belonging may take precedence. 5. **Conditions of Worth and Incongruence**: - **Conditions of Worth**: Expectations placed by others, making love or acceptance conditional on behavior. - **Incongruent Person**: Experiences a mismatch between true self and behaviors shaped by external conditions, leading to psychological distress. **Chapter 19: Cognitive Psychology** 1. **Piaget's Concept of Schema**: - **Schema**: Mental frameworks used to organize and interpret information. - Works through assimilation (integrating new information) and accommodation (modifying schemas for new information). - Example: A child's schema for "dog" (four-legged animal) expands when encountering a cat and recognizing differences. 2. **Turing's "Imitation Game"**: - **Goal**: To determine if a machine can exhibit intelligent behavior indistinguishable from a human's. - **How It's Done**: A human interrogator interacts with a human and a machine through typed responses. If the interrogator cannot reliably distinguish the machine, it \"passes\" the test. 3. **Strong vs. Weak AI**: - **Strong AI**: Claims that machines can truly understand and have minds like humans. - **Weak AI**: Machines simulate intelligence but lack genuine understanding or consciousness. 4. **Chinese Room Example**: - Explains the difference between syntax (manipulating symbols) and semantics (understanding meaning). - Scenario: A person in a room uses a rulebook to respond to Chinese characters without understanding the language, demonstrating that following rules ≠ understanding. 5. **Neural Networks and Simulating Synaptic Changes**: - **Neural Network**: A computational model inspired by biological neural systems, designed to process information through interconnected nodes. - Simulates Synaptic Changes: Adjusts connection weights (synaptic strength) based on input/output patterns, akin to learning in the brain.