Psychology Notes PDF

The History of Psychology Terminology and Considerations When talking about the history of psych there is mass amounts of bias because of limitations such as gender norms, social conventions, sexism and racism. Etymology ○ Derived from greek psyche,...

The History of Psychology Terminology and Considerations When talking about the history of psych there is mass amounts of bias because of limitations such as gender norms, social conventions, sexism and racism. Etymology ○ Derived from greek psyche, meaning spirit or soul, and logos, meaning to study Defining Psychology The scientific study of mind and behavior ○ Mind:internal,covert behaviors ○ Behavior:external,overt behaviors Hoping to Do Measure and Describe Behavior ○ What behaviors occur ○ Under which conditions ○ How often Explain and Predict Behavior ○ Why does this behavior occur? ○ What triggers it? Modify Behavior ○ Can we make a desirable behavior more likely to occur? ○ An undesirable one less likely? 3 Ways of Framing Explanations Psychological Explanations ○ Thoughts, emotions, and internal motivations Biological Explanations ○ Genes, Hormones, ad physiological processes Environmental Explanations ○ External, physical, and social surroundings The Philosophical Roots of Psychology Greek philosophers asked questions about morality, the mind, and human nature Early physiologists detailed the anatomy of the brain and its connection to behavior ○ Ali ibn al-’Abbas al-majusi (930-990AD) The Mind Body Problem How can we study the mind if it is unobservable? What is the relationship between the body (behavior) and the mind? Monism vs Dualism Rene Descartes (1596-1650) ○ Dualism of mind and body  Mind is an intangible, non physical thing Body is a physical and separate entity Philosophical Dualism:the mind and body are different things Materialistic Dualism: the mind and the body are different and the body is specifically physical Monism vs Dualism Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) ○ The mind is not a separate, intangible entity; it is the product of the brains physicals action Monism: the mind and the body are the same thing, not separate entities Philosophical Materialism: Mental events are derived from physical events Realism vs Idealism John Locke (1632-1704) ○ Philosophy should focus on understanding the abilities and the extent of the human mind Philosophical Realism: Perception of the world around us is produced by information sent from sensory organs Realism vs Idealism Immanuel Kent (1724-1804) ○ We are born with some innate knowledge of the world and our experiences add to that understanding Philosophical Idealism: Perception of the world around us comes from how the brain interprets incoming sensory information ○ We see things based on existing knowledge that shapes what we are currently experiencing Empiricism vs nativism Philosophical Empiricism: Our knowledge of the world is gained entirely through experience ○ I know that dogs are dangerous because i was bitten by one and it hurt Philosophical Nativism: Our knowledge of the world is innate present from birth ○ I Know that snakes are dangerous because i recoil any time i encounter them even the first time Structuralism and Functionalism Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) ○ “Father of Modern Psychology” ○ Psychology should use scientific techniques to study the rules that determine how the human mind combines and related various pieces of information  Structuralism ○ School of thought focused on analyzing the basic elements of the mind and trying to determine what those elements were Edward Titchener (1867-1927) ○ Student of Wundt ○ Attempted to better understand our subjective experiences by applying empirical observations Introspection: a systematic process of “looking within” to allow for self-observation Focused on sensations, which they considered the basic elements of consciousness Functionalism William James (1842-1910) ○ Focused on investigating the function or purpose of consciousness Ask “what does the mind do?” Functionalism ○ School of thought focused on the adaptive significance of mental processes Influenced by Darwin's Theory of Evolution Adaptation allows organisms to survive and reproduce Moving to Modern Perspectives The Psychodynamic Perspective Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893) and Pierre Janet (1859-1947) ○ French physicians seeking to treat patients with symptoms that had no apparent physical cause Condition called Hysteria Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) ○ Austrian physician who focused on treating individuals with hysteria and nervous disorders ○ Founded psychoanalytic school of thought Idea that the unconscious influences thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in hidden ways Psychoanalysis ○ Therapeutic approach to giving patients insight into their unconscious minds Behaviourism Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) ○ Russian physiologist studying digestion Classical (or Pavlovian) Conditioning ○ Through experience (learning), a stimulus in the environment can come to elicit a physical response John B. Watson (1878-1958) ○ Thought that psychology should focus on observable behavior, not unobservable inner consciousness ○ Especially interested in predicting behavior by understanding stimulus-response relationship  Behaviorist definitions ○ Psychology The scientific study of behavior ○ Behavior Overt or observable actions B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) ○ American psychologist inspired by Pavlov Interested in active, rather than passive, behavior “No account of what is happening inside the human body, no matter how complete, will explain the origins of human behavior Classical (or Pavlovian) Conditioning ○ Through experience (learning), a stimulus in the environment can come to elicit a physical response Operant (or Instrumental) Conditioning ○ Through experience (learning), an organism can modify their behavior based on the consequences of having carried out those actions in the past Gestalt Psychology Max Wertheimer (1880-1943) ○ German psychologist interested in visual perception ○ Intrigued by perceptual errors in which our interpretations distort sensory reality (i.e., illusions) Gestalt Psychology ○ Interested in understanding how the mind organizes and combines stimuli to create a wholistic perceptual experience Sir Frederic Bartlett (1886-1969) ○ British psychologist interested in false memories ○ Errors in recall show memory is not a simple recording device ○ Exceptions can affect recall Developmental Psychology Jean Piaget (1896-1980) ○ Swiss psychologist interested in understanding mistakes children make as the grew up (such as putting water into a bigger glass and them thinking there is less water) ○ The type of mistakes made provide insight to their mental abilities and how they think Developmental Psychology ○ Interested in how psychological phenomena and abilities change with age Social Psychology Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) ○ German psychologist interested in understanding social behaviour in group settings  ○ Argued against the environment being the driving force of behaviour because individuals subjective perception of the environment is more important in driving behaviour than reality Soloman Asch (1907-1996) and Gordon Allport (1897-1967) ○ Investigated how people come to make inferences about others and how those inferences affect their behaviour towards those individuals Social Psychology ○ Interested in how people interact with one another and how their behaviour can be influenced or influence others Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Psychology ○ Interested in internal, mental processes such as thought, reasoning, memory, and perception Cognitive Revolution in 1960s in response to popularity of behaviorist theories View humans as information processors governed by thought Cognitive Behaviorism Cognitive behaviourism ○ Idea that learning experiences and the environment affect our behaviour by giving us the information we need to behave effectively Evolutionary Psychology Evolutionary Psychology ○ Interested in how natural selection has shaped the human mind and its abilities Neuroscience Neuroscience ○ Interested in function of the brain Cognitive Neuroscience ○ Study of the relationship between the brain and the mind Behavioural neuroscience ○ Study of the relationship between the brain and behaviour Cultural Psychology Culture Psychology ○ Interested in how culture influences behavior Culture ○ Shared experiences, values, beliefs, etc… within a particular group Can be race, country of origin, age, etc… Chapter 3 The Biological Component Outline Neurons ○ Electrical signal transmission ○ Chemical signal transmission The Nervous System ○ Central Nervous system ○ Peripheral nervous system Endocrine system Hemispheric Lateralization Neurons: Communication at the Cellular Level What are Neurons? Neurons ○ Cells that convey sensory information from the body into the brain, carry out operations within our central nervous system, and transmit commands from the brain to body Part of our nervous system Basic structures of behaviour Types of Neurons Motor Neuron: carries commands to the muscles and organs Sensory Neurons:Carry information from the body and outside world into the brain and the spinal cord Interneurons: Neurons which connect one neuron to another in the same part of brain or spinal cord Energy and the Cell Membrae Polarization ○ A state in which there is a difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of the neuron Volatge ○ Measure of the difference in electrical charge between two points Resting Potential ○ Difference in charge between inside and outside of membrane of a neuron test Energy and the Cell Membrane Ions ○ Atoms that have lost or gained electrons Positive: Na+, K+ Negative: Cl-, A- What Moves the Ions? Force of Diffusion ○ Tendency of ions to move through membrane to less concentrated side  Electrostatic Pressure ○ Force where ions are repelled from similarly charged, attracted to oppositely charged Sodium Potassium Pump ○ Large protein molecules that move sodium ions through cell membrane to outside, potassium ions back inside Ion Channels Ion channels ○ Gated pores in the membrane formed by proteins; limit the flow of ions into and out of the cell Can be chemically gated or electrically gated ○ Chemically Neurotransmitters or hormones ○ Electrically Change in electrical potential of the membrane Depolarization Local potential ○ Partial depolarization Polarity in an area shifts towards zero when disturbed Local potential is a graded potential ○ Varies in magnitude with the strength of the stimulus that produced it If local potential exceeds the threshold for activating electrically gated channels, then an action potential occurs Action Potential: Abrupt depolarization of membrane that allows neuron to communicate Action potential is ungraded ○ All-or-none-law: Occurs at full strength or it does not at all Action potential is nondecremental ○ Travels down the axon without any decrease in size ○ Propagated at each successive point along the way Hyperpolarization Increase in electrical charge across a membrane (more negative) ○ Usually due to the inward flow of chloride ions or outward flow of potassium ions Refractory Periods Absolute Refractory Periods ○ Sodium ion channels are unresponsive to further stimulation A new action potential cannot occur Relative Refractory Period ○ Sodium ion channels could support another action potential, but potassium channels are still open A new action potential can occur, if the stimulation is sufficiently strong enough to overcome the charge Rate Law Rate Law  ○ Axon encodes stimulus intensity not in the size of its action potential but in its firing rate Myelin Sheath Fatty, insulating layer that wraps around the axon ○ Speeds transmission by forcing signals to “Jump” ahead to nodes of ranvier Made up of glial cells ○ Schwann cells in peripheral nervous system One bundle per cell ○ Oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system Multiple bundles per cell Glial Cells Make up the myelin sheath Break down dead neurons Bring in nutrients for neurons Provide physical support to keep neurons in place and form scaffolding for development The Synapse End of axon terminals are terminal buttons Vesicles are bubbles containing neurotransmitters Synapse is fluid-filled space between neurons Neurotransmitters Chemical substances that carry messages across the synapse to either excite other neurons, or inhibit firing