Introduction to Psychology PDF

 Lecture 1: What is Psychology Psychology: the science of behavior, (science of the mind), the science of behavior and mental processes. Psychologists: someone who is interested in what people say about their experiences and lives. They also use...

 Lecture 1: What is Psychology Psychology: the science of behavior, (science of the mind), the science of behavior and mental processes. Psychologists: someone who is interested in what people say about their experiences and lives. They also use behavior to find out about mental and biological processes, motives, and personality traits. they also studied the mind and mental processes. they are also interested in things like: your physiology, genetic make up, and mental processes that are outside your conscious awareness. Goals of psychology: 1. Describe behavior: nature of this behavior? 2. Understand and explain behavior: why did this occur? 3. Predict behavior: when and under what circumstances it will occur? 4. Controlled behavior: what factors influence this behavior  Lecture 2: Approaches  Psychology Approaches to psychology: see how the psychological industry has transformed/ grown. there are different ways of looking at any phenomenon. REMARKS: not until the 11th century a Persian physician Ibn Sia said that there is a connection between emotions and physical response. "Physiological Psychology" many schools of thought have helped shape the field of psychology that include: structuralism: approach that breaks down complex experiences, feelings or thoughts into their simplest part to better understand them. (hurtful, stressful, felt misunderstood, attacked, betrayed, memories, thoughts like: "they hate me"). Wilhelm Wundt: 1st psychological laboratory (Germany 1879), he studied mental process: sense, attention, memory & emotion. He used introspection: observing & recording people's perception, thoughts and feelings. Wundt's discovery: He discovered that people took longer to report what sound they had just heard than to simply respond that they had heard the sound. These studies mark the first time researchers realize that there is a difference between sensation of a stimulus and the perception of that stimulus, and the idea of using reaction times to study mental events has now become a mainstay of cognitive psychology. functionalism: understanding the purpose and function of mental processes rather than breaking them down into smaller parts (structuralism), he sees them as ways/ tools that helps humans adapt/ thrive in their environments -William James. psychoanalysis: Sigmund Freud explored how unconscious drives, desires and conflicts shape human behavior and contributes to mental health issues. behaviorism: studying observable behavior since it's seen and can be measured only. behaviorists use "strict experimental procedures" to study behavior. Ivan Pavlov: dog hears bell, so it knows that there is food so it starts drooling (salivation) John B. Watson: Child feared white fur coat. (believes that environment can influence behavior) B.F. Skinner: reinforcement and punishment on rats humanistic psychology: humans have free will and are motivated by positive goals and aspirations. - Carl Rogers positive psychology: positive side of human behavior/ experience. it focuses on promoting factors that help individuals & communities thrive. - Martin Seligman  Lecture 2: Ctued : Types of Psychologists Academic psychologists: 1. Cognitive psychologist: study the way people think, learn and understand the world around them 2. Physiological psychologist: study how the brain and other biological system influence behavior 3. Developmental psychologist: study how people grow, develop and change throught there lives from infancy to old age 4. Social psychologist: study how people influence eachother and how social conflicts affects an indivisuals behavior Applied psychologists: 1. School psychologist: focus on student's learning and mental health within the educational setting (test and evaluates students, analyze learning problems, and council teachers and parents). 2. Sport psychologist: focus on the psychological factors that impact an athlete's performance/ exercise 3. Industrial/ Occupational/ Business psychologist: improve workplace dynamics, employee performance and organization health (help solve a variety of issues in work settings). 4. Forensic psychologist: apply psychology to the legal, judicial and correctional system 5. Health psychologist: study how psychological, behavioral and social factors affect heath and illness (improve health by altering behavior) 6. Clinical psychologist: specialized in assesment, diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders Clinical psychologists diagnose and treat a range of mental health disorders, with clinical-child psychologists focusing on children specifically. Counseling psychologists focus more on helping people navigate life's challenges and cope with less severe issues. An interview with a clinical psychologist would provide deeper insight into the daily responsibilities, challenges, and methodologies they use to support their clients.  Lecture 3: Code of Ethics d Cduct The Four Ethical Principles: Respect: psychologists should treat every person with respect and recognize their value and dignity. This involves being aware of the power they may have over their clients and being sensitive to how that power could afect their client. psychologists consider: privacy and confidentiality, respect, communities and shared values, impacts on the broader environment, issues of power, consent, self determination, compassionate care. Competence: psychologist believe that it is crucial to keep improving their skills & knowledge to maintain high standards in their professional work. They also recognize the importance of knowing their limits- what they are trained to do and what they aren't- and making sure they work within those boundaries to provide the best care. psychologist consider: possession of appropriate skills and care, knowing their limits and referring to others, keep up with advances in the evidence base, maintaining technical and practical skills, professional ethics & decision making, recognizing limitations and taking mitigating action, being cautious in making knowledge claims. Responsibility: psychologist understands that they have important responsibilities towards their clients, the general public and the field of psychology. They are committed to avoiding causing harm and ensuring their work is not misused or abused in ways that could negatively impact society. psychologist consider: professional accountability, responsible use of knowledge and skills, respect for the welfare of humans, non- humans and the living world, potentially competing duties. Integrity: psychologist believe it is essential to be honest, clear, accurate and fair in all their interactions with people. They aim to uphold standards of integrity in every aspect of their work, whether it's in scientific research, therapy or other professional activities. psychologist consider: honesty, openness and canndour, accurate & unbiased representation, fairness, avoidance of exploitation & conflict of interests, maintaining personal & professional boundaries, addressing misconduct. Why should we regulate the profession in this way (following those ethical codes)? 1. protect vulnerable people 2. Protect the reputation of the profession  Lecture 4 & 5: Research Methods Three hurdles that tend to skew our logic: 1. Unreliability of personal opinions in psychology: they are subjective (personal opinion) and different from a person to another - they are bias and prejudice - lack of empirical evidence 2. Overconfidence: we tend to think that we know more than we do 3. the Barnum effect: it is when people believe that a broad, vague description about personality or behavior applies specifically to them. Even though the description could actually apply to almost everyone. they think it's a perfect fit to their unique self. Applied vs Basic Research: applied research has clear practical applications basic research explores questions that you may be curious about but not intended to be immediately used Hypothesis: expresses a relationship between two variables a variable is anything that can vary among participants in a study independent variable: the manipulated in the experiment e.g. drug dependent variable: the measured in the experiment (it is dependent on the independent variable) e.g. drug effect Operational definitions: explain what you mean in your hypothesis, how will the variable be measured in real life terms, how you operationalize the variables will tell us if the study is valid and reliable Sampling: identify the population you want to study, the sample must be representative of the population you want to study, get a random sample, stratified sample. Experimental Methods: looking to prove causal relationships 1. Beware confounding variables: the object of an experiment is to prove that A causes B. A confounding variable is anything that could cause change in B, that is not A. 2. Hawthorn effect: people change their behavior simply because they know they are being observed or are part of an experiment even if you're in the control group you might still act differently just because you're aware you're being watched. 3. Experimenter bias: is when a researchers unconscious behavior affects the study, and the double blind procedure helps prevent that from happening. 4. Other confounding variables: the placebo effect (people feel better or experience change simply because they believe they are receiving treatment) & order effects (these happen when the order in which participants do tasks in an experiment influences the result). Correlational Methods: expresses a relationship between two variables (not causal) 1. Types of correlation: positive (variables go in the same direction) & negative (variables go in opposite directions) 2. Correlation coefficient: is a number that tells us how strong a relationship is between two variables, it ranges from -1 to +1. The farther the number is from zero whether positive or negative the stronger the correlation. Data Collection Method: 1. Survey methods: most common type of data collection method - measures correlation - cheap & fast - needs good random sample - low response rate 2. Naturalistic observations: watch subjects in their natural environment - do not manipulate the environment - ecological validity effect - we can never really show cause and effect. 3. Case studies: a detailed picture of one or a few subjects - tells us a great story, but is just descriptive research - does not give us correlation data Types of data: Quantitative: data measured on a numeric scale (height, weight, response time, temperature and grades) Qualitative: non-numerical information gathered through methods such as interviews, observation, or textual analysis. It provides rich, descriptive insights into individuals experiences, perceptions, and behavior, allowing for deeper understanding of social phenomena and subjective aspects of human life.  Lecture 6: Neuropsychology 1 Nervous System Divisions: 1. Central Nervous System (CNS): neurons in the brain & spinal cord 2. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): nerves connecting the brain & spinal cord to other parts of the body PNS consists off: 1. Somatic system: responsible for movement of voluntary muscles and reflex arc. The system carries nerve impulses back-and-forth between the central nervous system and the skeletal muscles, skin, and sensory organs. The somatic nervous system consist of afferent nerves (sensory nerves) & efferent nerves (motor nerves). 2. Autonomic nervous system: connect with internal organs and glands, regulates internal involuntary action such as blood flow, heartbeat, digestion, and breathing. Autonomic Nervous System: controls glands and small muscles (heart, blood vessels, lining of the stomach and intestines). Has two divisions.: 1. Sympathetic nervous system: it is always working, but it becomes especially active during times of stress or danger (fight or flight) response, it prepares your body to deal with a threat by: speeding up your heart rate, dilating the arteries of your heart for better blood flow, slow down digestion (conserve energy), triggering, sweating, and release of stress hormones (adrenaline) 2. Parasympathetic nervous system: active when your body is at rest - affecs one organ at a time - helps with: digestion & conserving/ protecting energy body resources. The Sympathetic & Parasympathetic systems work together to maintain normal body function. One system is more active at a given time. CNS: made up of the brain and spinal cord structure: what it is made up of (cerebellum and cerebrum) function: what does it do?  Lecture 7: Neuropsychology 2 Basic anatomical division: forebrain - midbrain - hindbrain The organization of the brain (function): 1. Central core: regulates primitive behaviors (manages basic autonomic survival functions) 2. Limbic system: controls emotion. 3. Cerebrum: regulates higher intellectual processes (thinking, decision-making, problem solving) Central Core Central Core (Brainstem): is responsible for controlling involuntary and primitive behavior, it includes 1. Midbrain: controls motor movements, particularly movement of the eyes - helps process, visual and auditory information. 2. Pons: sleeping, waking up and dreaming. 3. Medulla Oblongata: regulate critical/ autonomic functions like: breathing and heart rate. Central Core (Cerebellum): 1. Coordination of movement 2. Learn new motor response 3. Language, planning & reasoning Central Core (Thalamus): Relay center that directs info from sense receptor to cerebrum The Limbic System A set of structures closely interconnected with the hypothalamus. Involved in motivation, emotion, learning, and memory. Impose additional control over instinctive behavior (which is controlled by the hypothalamus and the brainstem). The Cerebrum Parts: the outer layer (the cerebral cortex) - 2 hemispheres - hemispheres are connected by corpus callosum - 4 lobes (frontal, partial, occipital, temporal) Hemisphere specialization: Left: language expression, logical activities, mathematical computations Right: spatial and pattern sense, understands only simple language Specialized areas: 1. primary motor area: located in the frontal lobe, in front of the central fissures. Controls voluntary movement of the body & executive functioning. 2. primary somatosensory area: located in parietal lobe. Controls temperature, touch, pain & sense of body movements. 3. primary visual area: located at the back of the occipital lobe. Control vision. 4. primary auditory area: located in the temporal lobe. analysis of complex auditory signals. Communication in the brain: the brain communicates with the body through neurons. Each neuron.: receives, processes and transmits messages to thousands of others. Neuron Structure: dendrites: "receiver" ; receive stimulation from other neurons cell body: contains the nucleus and responsible for life processes of the cell axon: long narrow tube that carries the neural impulse towards the terminal branches terminal branches: "senders" ; contain chemicals that neurons used to communicate with other neurons. Language & the brain: patient with brain damage aphasia: language defects caused by damage to specific part of the brain that controls speech and language Brocas area: located in the lef t frontal lobe of the brain. Damage to Broca's area cause expressive aphasia, they can understand speech, but have difficulties enunciating words clearly, or speaking fluently. Wernicke's area: located in the lef t temporal lobe. Damage to. Wernicke's area cause receptive aphasia. they cannot comprehend words, what can easily produce words (making the speech meaningless).  Lecture 8: Psychological Development Developmental psychologist: are interested in how and why aspects of human functioning develop & change across life span. Heredity and Environment: People debate on whether heredity (nature) or environment (nurture) are more important than human development. Most agree that both nature and nurture are important and that they interact continuously to guide development. Stages of development: 1. behaviors at each stage is different from earlier or later stages 2. all children go through the same stages in the same order 3. environmental factors affect speed, but not the order of stages Capacities of the newborns: vision: infants born with sensory systems function - newborn have bad visual acuity - they tend to prefer faces hearing: turn towards sound - prefer mother's voice - distinguish rhythms of language - understand voice tone (approval/ disapproval) taste & smell: discriminate between taste (prefer sweet- tasting liquid) - discriminate between odors (turn their heard away from bad/ noxious smells) learning & memory: learn simple responses - good memory at 3 months Cognitive Development: Piaget (1896- 1980) Swiss psychologist who worked on understanding children's cognitive development for several decades - he had the most widely known theory of cognitive development - was intrigued by kids's thoughts and behavior and worked to understand their cognitive development. Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development: 1. The Sensorimotor Stage (Birth - 2 yrs): infants know the world through movements and sensations - learn through basic actions like sucking, grasping, looking & listening - realizing that actions have effects - object performance (object continue to exist even when they can't see them) - understanding that they are separate beings 2. The Pre operational Stage (2- 7 yrs): symbolic thinking - understand spatial, numerical & time concepts - egocentric thinking (3- 4 yrs old start to develop basic "theory of mind") - concrete thinking - struggle with constancy 3. The Concrete Operational Stage (7- 11 yrs): think logically about concrete events - understanding conservation - inductive logic - logical & organized but concrete thinking 4. The Formal Operational Stage (12 & up): abstract thinking and reasoning about hypothetical problems - abstract thought emerges - thinking about moral, philosophical, ethical, social & political issues - deductive logic Schemata: a schema describes both the mental and physical actions involved and understanding and knowing. shaima, to our categories of knowledge that helps us to interpret and understand the world. In Piaget's view, schema includes both a category of knowledge and the process of obtaining that knowledge. as experience has happen, this new information is used to modify, add to, or change previously existing schemas. Assimilation: is the process of adding new information to the schemas we already have. We take a new experiences and fit them into what we already know. The process is somewhat personal because we often adjust our interpret new information so it matches what we already believe or know. we tend to make new things fit into our existing understanding, even if it requires some small changes to the details. Accommodation: is the process of changing or adjusting our existing schema when we encounter new information that doesn't fit into what we already know this could be modify our current scheme or creating a brand new one. When you information or experiences don't fit into our existing schema, we can't just assimilate it. Instead, we have to change our understanding to accommodate the new information. accommodation can lead to the development of an entirely new schema. Piaget's Stages Theory: critiques argue that Piaget underestimated how capable children rarely are. They believe that the tasks he used to test children's cognitive skills required more than just the specific ability he was assessing. for instance to complete some tasks, children needed other skills like memory or physical coordination. Piaget's test for object, permanence involve hiding an object and observing whether the child would look for it. However, this task required, not only the understanding that the object still exists, but also memory for where the object was hidden and the ability to physically search for it some research researchers think that because of this, the task was too complex, and it didn't accurately reflect on the child's understanding of object permanence. new research showed that infants made displayed signs of object permanence much earlier than Piaget suggested.  Lecture 8 ctued: Psychological Development Moral Developments: Kohlberg extended Piaget's work and arrived at six developmental stages of moral judgment, grouped into three levels Responses & what they mean: stage 1: obedience: Heinz should not steal the medicine because he will be put in prison stage 2: self interest: Heinz should steal the medicine because he will be much happier if he saves his wife, even if he will have to serve a prison sentence stage 3: conformity: Heinz should stick the medicine because his wife expects it stage 4: law & order: Heinz should not steal the medicine because the low prohibit stealing stage 5: human rights: Heinz should steal the medicine because everyone has the right to choose the life regardless of the law or Heinz should not steal the medicine because the scientist has a right to a fair compensation stage 6: universal human ethics: Heinz should steal the medicine because saving a human's life is more fundamental than property rights of another person or Heinz should not steal the medicine because others may need the medicine just as badly and their lives are equally significant Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development: level 1: pre- conventional: obedience and self interest level 2: conventional: conformity and law and order level 3: social: post- conventional: contract and universal ethical principles Personal & Social Development: early social behavior: positive behavior like smiling at an early age help strengthen parent- child bond stranger anxiety appears around 7 to 8 months separation anxiety peeks around 14 to 18 months Both linked to memory development and growth of autonomy Attachment: when infant see closeness to a particular people and feel more secure in their presence. It can be assessed through procedure called "strange situation", where a child is observed as the primary caregiver leaves and returns to the room. Bowlby (1969): Bowlby's evolutionary theory of attachment, suggest that children come into the world biologically pre- programmed to form attachments with others because this helps them to survive. Bowlby suggested that a child would initially form only one attachment and that attachment figure acted as a secure base for exploring the world. The attachment relationship acts as a prototype for all future social relationships so disrupting it can have severe consequences. Mary Ainsworth (1913- 1999): developed Bowlby's ideas and created the "stranger situation" (1970) Attachment styles: