Human Behaviour
Innate Behaviour
•
•
•
•
“Nature”
reflex actions (stare at clock)
this behaviour is passed along genetically
it is believed that these innate reflexes
diminish over time depending on the species
• also diminish depending on the necessity of
the reflex
• still maintain ‘fight or flight’ response
Learned Behaviour
• learning is a change in behaviour that is a
result of experience
• we have certain capabilities at birth, while
‘learning’ takes place over a lifetime
Human Contact and Learning
• it has been shown that isolated animals do
not ‘learn’ certain basic survival needs
• eg. birds and songs, cats and vision, isolated
animals do not learn to parent
• the same has been shown for humans
• isolated children (locked in closets/attics) have
extreme problems in learning
• ‘Anna’
• young girl locked in an attic
• when discovered she showed no emotions, made
no sounds
• was unable to master simple tasks such as using a
knife and fork
• theory of “critical periods” comes in to play
• this theory suggests that there are key times in a
person’s life for learning certain skills
Perception
• perception is influenced by past experiences or
by your surroundings
• Where do we get ‘perception’ from?
• eyes
colour, depth, shapes, light
• ears
tone, volume, frequency
• feel
texture, temperature
• taste
bitter, sweet, sour, salt
• smell
??? – strong association with
taste
Kinds of Learning
• Classical Conditioning
• a reaction to a situation because that situation
or one like it in the past is associated with
something pleasant or unpleasant
• eg. Pavlov’s dog, the Pavlovian response
• may help to explain our attitudes and
emotions towards certain things, experiences,
smells etc.
•
•
•
•
Operant Conditioning
B.F. Skinner
studies in rats in particular
rat presses a bar and eventually discovers how to
obtain food
• rewards work better than punishments
• punishment tends to kill all behaviour and give
attention, therefore could stop from trying
anything OR enforce negative behaviour
• Observational Learning
• studies in imitation and mental imagery
• Insight Learning
• not sudden
• problems that you have been working on for a
long time and finally becomes solved
• ****
Do Memory Exercises sheet
Memory
• it is important, obviously, but a selective
memory is key
• if we remembered nothing, you would have
already forgotten this sentence
• if we remembered all, you would go ‘nut’s’
•
•
•
•
Sensory Memory
received through the five senses
has three levels
Level 1 great accuracy, short lived, only
lasts a fraction of a second
• Level 2 -
Short term memory, can hold
for 15 seconds IF it caught your
attention
• can store approximately 7 separate
unorganized thoughts.
• Level 3 •
•
•
•
Long term memory
vast storage capabilities
lifetime storage perhaps
difficult at times to retrieve
stress hampers retrieval, but retrieval can be
worked on
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Improve Recall
give material meaning (eg. MAIN)
organize info.
spread practice over time/several sessions
learn actively (tactile)
transfer learning from other areas
work to understand overall idea of a section
Mind Control - Video
• 1. The greatest battle of the 21st century will be a battle of the ____.
• 2. Where did mind control weaponry originate?
• 3. How did the Soviets work on POW’s minds in Korea?
___________,_________,________
• 4. What was the drug that was discovered in the 50’s that proved to be
a very powerful mind altering drug?
• 5. What happened to Frank Olson?
• Why do you think this event occurred?
6. What procedure interested the Canadian Intelligence Service (CSIS)
• 7. What happened to Linda McDonald?
• 8. What happened to Patty Hearst?
• 9. 1978 Religious leader Jim Jones created ‘Jonestown’ in what South
American country?
• 10. What eventually happened to the people of Jonestown?
Emotions
• affected by heredity, learning, maturity
• tendencies are likely innate
• however, we are taught to behave within a
certain range – one way or another
• different emotions at different ages
• eg. romantic love develops through adolescence
• as we age, we can ‘unlearn’ undesirable
behaviour
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
there are only a few primary emotions
interest
distress
enjoyment
shame
surprise
contempt
fear
disgust
anger
• all of the primary emotions have internal
feeling and external expression
• internal state can be measured by checking
breathing, HR, perspiration, hormone levels
• probably cannot stop feeling but can learn to
control behaviour associated with it
• Slang assignment
• Gender roles and media assignment
• Castaway assignment
Expression
• partly learned, partly innate
• behaviour associated with it is likely learned
• no difference in arousal levels of emotions
between male and female
• there IS a difference in how we express
ourselves however, because of social
acceptability
• eg. OK for males to act out temper and OK for
females to cry
Love
• pre-1900’s, orphanages had very high death
rates, despite physical needs being taken care of,
ie. fed, clothed, sheltered
• orphanages adopted rules of picking up and
playing with children daily and the death rates
dropped
• parental care and affection OR lack of it can affect
a child’s physical, psychological and social
development
• those with warm, loving care have a better
chance of becoming emotionally stable adults
Romantic Love
• people in Western societies are attracted to
others who grew up in the same
neighborhood, live nearby, or work in the
same place or line of work
• married and dating people tend to be similar
in age, race, religion, social class, education,
attitudes and intelligence
• physical appearance is important at first but it
replaced over time
• physical attractiveness is more likely
important for men – why?
• people also tend to be more attracted to
others who are generally attracted to them
Love change?
• Passionate Love
• -very intense, highly sexual
• -generally early
•
•
•
•
Companionate Love
-’warm’, trusting, tolerant
-Intimacy – warm, close, sharing
-Commitment – perseverance through difficulties
Graph
Types of ‘Love People’
• Romantic – emphasize beauty in search of the perfect
mate
• Game Players – no long term involvement
• Companionate – long term relationship requires long
involvement
• Altruistic – gentle/caring without expecting much in
return
• Possessive – extremely jealous, very involved
emotionally
• Pragmatic – emphasizes practicality and rationality
based on mutual satisfaction
Stress
• What do you believe?
– avoidance is the best way to manage it?
– suppressing emotions is best?
– crying is a poor way to deal with it?
– it is immature to laugh at one’s problems
– it is bad to lean on others in times of stress
– stress is bad
• ****Stress in itself is not bad
• stress can be, and often is good
• if too relaxed, you may not do as well because
tension tends to motivate us
• both pleasant and unpleasant events can
cause stress
• Stress- definition
– a physical, chemical or emotional factor that
causes bodily or mental tension and may be a
factor in disease causation
Dealing with Stress
•
•
•
•
keep healthy – exercise, good diet
think about other activities
see problems in a different light (humour)
take positive action – get support from loved
ones, friends, professionals
• accept there is nothing that can be done to
change the situation
• expressing anxiety, frustration and tension are all
healthy ways to deal with stress IF done
reasonably
When is stress a problem?
• depends on the person – some can handle
more than others
• there are ways to increase your ability to
handle stress
• a physically healthy body can handle stress
better
• From your list of 9 primary emotions
• outline the indicators of each
• identify/list examples of what makes you feel
that way
• explain how you do or would deal with each
of the examples
Motivation
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• both physical and learned
• needs affect motivation
Freud
• theory that the mind has 3 aspects
• EGO – conscious mind, aware of the decisions
made
• ID – seeks pleasure, ‘wants more dessert’,
important in infancy
• SUPEREGO – acts as a ‘conscience’, what we
should and should not do