Goals of Psychology
 Describe
behavior
 Explain why a behavior occurs
 Predict behavior in the future
 Control or modify behaviors
Example of These Goals:
Investigating Autism
Describe Behaviour
 impaired
communication
 impaired social interactions
 impaired cognition (unable to imagine)
 most often (but not always) associated
with mental retardation
Characteristics continued
 Preference
for aloneness; ignores others
 Insistence on sameness
 Liking for routines
 Abnormal motor & sensory responses like
repetitive movements or over-responding to
sensory stimulation
 Extreme variability in severity & symptoms
Describe Behaviour Cont..
 Mental
Retardation:
 Substantially below average intellectual
functioning along with related limitations
in at least 2 other areas (like social
skills, communication, self-care, safety,
etc..
Psychology’s Goals:
Investigating Autism
Explain why autism occurs:
 Early
explanations suggested cold,
rejecting parenting caused autism NOT supported by data.
 (Remember - theories can be refuted)
 More recent research focuses on a
biological cause for autism: abnormal
brain development which may have a
genetic basis.
The Brain in Autism
- Why? Cont..
 The
most consistent differences in the
brains of persons with autism: abnormal
CEREBELLUM &/or LIMBIC SYSTEM
 Some also have an abnormality of the
connection between the 2 sides of the
brain: the CORPUS CALLOSUM.
 May be linked to early brain injury or
maternal illness during pregnancy
Predicting who is at risk:
 2-4
x as many males with autism
 families with an autistic child are 50100X more at risk to have another with
autism
Predicting when symptoms
may worsen:
 situations
where there is sensory
overload
 situations when usual rituals or ways of
doing things are disturbed
Psychology’s Goals:
Investigating Autism
Controlling The Behaviour
 Controlling
the symptoms of autism
by avoiding certain situations or
stimuli.
 Decreasing the risk of autism thru
genetic counseling (perhaps
eventually a genetic test may be
possible) & good prenatal care
Autistic Savants or Savant
Syndrome
 Individuals
with autism who possess
exceptional ability in some area (may be
artistic, musical, memory, or
communication). (Remember
Rainman?)