Lecture 1 - What Is Psychology-AGB-2023 PDF

1 We all use principles of psychology in our day to day living but we are largely unaware of this. 2  The science of behavior and cognitive processes. (Baron, 2001) The scientific study of the mind and the brain. (Lilienfeld et al, 2008)...

1 We all use principles of psychology in our day to day living but we are largely unaware of this. 2  The science of behavior and cognitive processes. (Baron, 2001) The scientific study of the mind and the brain. (Lilienfeld et al, 2008) KEY TERMS: Behaviour, Cognitive Processes, Mind, Brain 3  Behaviour- any observable action or reaction of a living organism.  Cognitive processes- every aspect of our mental life- thoughts, memories, mental images, reasoning, decision making.  Is there a difference between the MIND and the BRAIN? 4 To understand psychology, we must focus on all levels:  Biological influences Molecules to brain structures Thoughts Feelings Emotions  Social influences?  Cultural influences? 5  It is difficult to predict behaviour Paul Meehl (American Psychology Professor) proposes that the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour.  Thereis no single variable that can completely determine behaviour.  Multicollinearity often exists when understanding human behaviour. 6  Weoften lack awareness of the psychological influences.  People are influenced by each other.  Psychological concepts are difficult to define.  There are limits to how well our brain can understand itself. 7  Psychologicalsubjects usually know they are being studied.  Individuals are unique.  Culture impacts individuals’ behaviour. 8 9 Philosophy Through reasoning philosophers tried to answer the following questions:  How do we perceive the world ?  Do people have free will or are our actions determined by events outside and inside their bodies and what is the connection between mind and body?  Are our behaviours caused by our genes (nature) or by our environment (nurture)  What is the link between our thoughts, feelings and consciousness? 10  Thought that the mind and body were distinct entities and that they interacted through the pineal gland found in the brain – this train of thought was known as dualism.  Other philosophers suggested that mind can influence body and body can influence mind – this is known as interactionism.  Philosophers later concluded that questions about the human mind could not be answered solely by reasoning but required careful observations. 11  Physiologists had been using the scientific method to answer questions about the nervous system and our senses for years.  These findings were combined with the reasoning of philosophers, and it was concluded that the human mind could be studied through empirical means – and the scientific field of psychology emerged. 12  Wilhelm Wundt  G. Stanley Hall  Structuralism  Functionalism  Behaviorism: John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov  Cognitive Theory: Ellis, Beck  Psychoanalytic Theory: Freud, Neo-Freudians  Humanistic Theory: Rogers  Existentialists: S. Kierkegaard, V. Frankl, 13 14  Born and educated in Germany.  In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt founded the 1st formal laboratory for research in psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany.  Known as the founder of Experimental psychology  In the 18th century it was believed that there were 4 basic tastes: sour, sweet, bitter and salty. Wundt in his scientific experiments added alkaline and metallic tastes.  He is considered the "father of modern psychology." 15 16 G. STANLEY HALL  A student of Wilhelm Wundt  Influential in taking psychology to the U.S.A.  He founded the 1st laboratory of Psychology at John Hopkins in 1883.  Helped to start the APA and was the 1st president. 17 What should psychology study?  Structuralism  Functionalism  Behaviourism  Something else? 18  Backed by Wilhelm Wundt  Proposed that psychology should focus on analyzing the contents of consciousness.  In general, its an attempt to analyze the structure of the conscious mind by breaking it down into its component elements.  This could be done through Introspection  Titchener, a student of Wundt coined the term, but Structuralism did not last long beyond his death 19  Backed by William James Functionalism was criticized perhaps most famously by Wundt.: "It is literature. It is beautiful, but it is not psychology," he said of functionalist William James’ The Principles of Psychology. 20  Psychology should focus on the conscious mind  Functionalism was influenced by Charles Darwin and his evolutionary theory  Functionalism was concerned with the ongoing use of conscious experience, i.e., the purposes of consciousness and behaviour.  James argued that consciousness cannot be broken into elements, he coined the phrase “stream of consciousness”  Influenced Behaviourism and Applied Psychology 21  Backed by John B. Watson & B. F. Skinner 22  The work of behaviourism is the study of human behaviour.  Behaviourism is a movement in psychology that advocates the use of strict experimental procedures to study observable behaviour (responses) in relation to the environment (stimuli).  Behaviorism is only concerned with behavior that can be observed and measured.  Referred to as the ‘black box psychology’. [the mind is fully understood once the inputs and outputs are well defined]  Watson founded behaviorism.  Skinner focused on the role of reinforcement. 23  Watson coined the term “Behaviourism" in 1913.  Behaviorism assumes that behavior is observable and can be correlated with other observable events.  Behaviorism's goal is to explain relationships between antecedent conditions (stimuli), behavior (responses), and consequences (reward, punishment, or neutral effect).  Watson's theory was more concerned with effects of stimuli. He derived much of his thinking from Pavlov‘s animal studies (classical conditioning).  For example, the ringing of a bell eventually produced the same response as food for Pavlov's dogs 24  One of the most famous behaviourist psychologists  Stated that because internal mental states cannot be studied scientifically, they should not be part of psychology.  Ratherthe field should focus only on overt responses to various stimuli.  Itis stated that by 1930 it seemed that behaviorism had answered the question, what should psychology study? 25  Critics say that Behaviourism oversimplifies human behavior and that it sees the human being as an automaton instead of a creature of will and purpose.  Regardless of what the critics say, the behaviouristic approach has exerted a strong influence on psychology. Identifies laws of learning. Demonstrate the importance of objectivity.  Some critics included : Gestalt psychologists, Psychoanalytic, humanistic and cognitive theorists. 26  Ourthinking affects our behaviour tremendously.  We cannot focus only on behaviour, it is our interpretation of an event that leads to the resultant behaviour.  Focuses on how thoughts and feelings about a particular event come together to influence the resulting behaviour 27  Studied thinking, learning, and perception in whole units, not by analyzing experiences in parts.  “ the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”  They argued that it is the organization of elements rather than the elements themselves, that is important.  Max Wertheimer, a German psychologist, was the first person to advance the Gestalt viewpoint 28  Interest shifted to the work of a Viennese psychiatrist Sigmund Freud.  Freud argued for the role of the unconscious and other internal processes in human behavior and mental disorders.  Our everyday lives are filled with symbols that will lead us to understand the unconscious.  The psychoanalyst helps to decode these symbols to help us resolve our conflicts. 29  They argued that people have free will and do not just exhibit behaviors that lead to positive reinforcement and avoid those behaviors that lead to punishment.  They also argued that people are motivated by future goals and by the desire for personal growth.  The further believe that once certain conditions of growth are present a person will experience self- actualisation  Conditions of worth however result in lack of fulfillment, incongruence and distress 30  Psychologists have utilized the critical multiplism approach in understanding human nature.  This diversity has its advantages and disadvantages. Disadvantage: it is difficult to arrive at a grand theory that brings together all the subfields. Advantage: there are many approaches to understand human nature. 31  Clinical Psychology  Counseling Psychology  Developmental Psychology  School Psychology  Educational Psychology  Experimental Psychology  Cognitive Psychology  Industrial/Organizational Psychology  Psychobiology and evolutionary Psychology  Forensic Psychology  Nature vs. Nurture  Free-will vs. Determinism  The Mind-Body Debate  Science vs Common Sense  Idiographic vs Nomothetic  Reductionism vs Holism 33 The Nature-Nurture Debate  This has been an ongoing debate  British philosopher John Locke believes that we are born with what others refers to as tabula rasa and over time our environment shapes us.  Most psychologists were therefore convinced that human behaviour was due to what they had learned.  Resent research has shown otherwise. Behaviour geneticists through twin and adoption studies have investigated intelligence, interests, personality and mental illnesses and have concluded that these psychological traits have been influenced considerably by genes. 34 The Nature-Nurture Debate  More and more psychologists recognize that both the environment and genes play a major role in understanding human behaviour.  The confusion arises when we try to measure certain characteristics and determine how much of it is caused by the environment or by genes.  Evolutionary psychology (sociobiologists): human beings are equipped with certain human psychological systems in order to survive and reproduce.  Darwin suggests the term survival of the fittest.  Evolutionary psychologists however have received some criticisms where this is concerned. 1: Evolutionary predictions are difficult to test.2: There explanations are superficial, made up after the fact. 35 Free Will-Determinism Debate  Are we free to do what we want when we want?  Free will is considered by many psychologists as an illusion.  Behaviourist such as Skinner believes that our behaviour is influenced by subtle environmental cues that we are not aware of; we therefore respond automatically to these cues.  Compatibilists offer a compromise for this debate. They propose that free will and determinism aren’t mutually exclusive. Our genes and environments for the most part limit our behaviours but we have the freedom to select or reject certain options. 36  Hasyour thinking changed as a result of being introduced to this course?  Whatapproaches will you take in understanding human beings?  Ispsychology necessary in our everyday lives? 37