Chapter 1 notes The nature of psychology - - Psychology is the scientific study of behaviour and the mind Behaviour refers to actions and responses that we can directly observe, whereas the term mind refers to internal states and processes, such as thoughts and feelings, that cannot be seen directly and that must be inferred from observable, measurable responses Clinical psychology is the study and treatment of mental disorders Subfields of psychology o Biopsychology/neuroscience Focuses on the biological underpinnings of behaviour o Developmental psychology Examines human physical, psychological, and social development across the lifespan o Experimental psychology Focuses on such basic processes as learning, sensory systems, perception and motivational states (Sexual motivation, hunger, thirst) o Industrial-organizational psychology Examines people’s behaviour in the workplace o Personality psychology Focuses on the study of human personality o Social psychology Examines people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour pertaining to the social world Psychology’s scientific approach - Science is a process that involves systematically gathering and evaluating empirical evidence to answer questions and test beliefs about the natural Empirical evidence is evidence gained through work experience and observation o Example: if we want to know people’s intellectual abilities and how they change as they age, we test them, collecting empirical data, rather than guessing or using folk wisdom Understanding behaviour: some pitfalls of everyday approaches - - In everyday life there are many ways in which we can get misconceptions about the human behaviour – the internet books, and other media Personal experiences can lead us to inaccurate beliefs – though they do provide us with empirical data. However, unlike scientific data, everyday observation is casual rather than systematic Misconceptions can also result from our own faulty thinking o We make mental shortcuts when forming judgements o We may fail to consider alternative explanations for why a behaviour has occurred o Once our beliefs are established, we often fail to test them further Using science to minimize everyday pitfalls - - To avoid perceiving illusory correlations, psychologists typically use statistics to analyse their data To minimize drawing erroneous conclusions about what has caused what, psychologist often are able to examine behaviour under highly controlled experimental conditions in which they intentionally manipulate one factor Science is also a public affair False starts: the other researchers later are unable to duplicate the original researchers’ findings Science is a self correct process Thinking critically about behaviour - Critical thinking involves taking an active role in understanding the world around you rather than merely receiving information Critical thinking also means evaluating the validity of something presented to you as fact /when someone makes a claim or asserts a new fact, ask yourself the following o What, exactly is the claim or assertion? o Who is making this claim? Is the source credible and trustworthy? o What’s the evidence, and how good is it? o Are other explanations possible? Can I evaluate them? o What is the most appropriate conclusions Of astrology and asstrology: potential costs of uncritical thinking - - Misconceptions can add up and contribute to an increasingly misguided view of how the world operates People always accept misconceptions without critically thinking o Example: Disney selling Baby Einstein videos to parents saying it will make their babies smarter Despite the lack of scientific evidence, people spend untold amounts of money to have their personalities analyzed and their futures forested Pseudoscience: a field that incorporates astrology, graphology – dressed up to look like science Psychology’s goals 1. 2. 3. 4. To describe how people and other animals behave To explain and understand the causes of these behaviours To predict how people and animals will behave under certain conditions To influence or control behaviour through knowledge and control of its causes to enhance human welfare Psychology as a basic and applied science - Basic research: the quest for knowledge purely for its own sake Applied research: designed to solve specific practical problems In psychology, the goals of basic research are to describe how people behave and identify the factors that influence or cause a behaviour Applied research uses principles discovered through basic research to solve practical problems Psychology’s broad scope: a simple framework - Levels of analysis: behaviour and its causes can be examined at the biological level (brain processes, genetic influences), the psychological level (our thoughts, feelings and motives), and the environmental level (past and current physical and social environments to which we are exposed) Mind – Body and nature – nurture interactions - Mind-body interactions – the relations between mental processes in the brain and the functioning of other bodily systems Our illogical capacities affect how we behave and experience the world our experiences influence our biological capacities Nature, nurture, and psychological factors must all be taken into account Perspectives on behaviour - Perspectives: different ways of viewing people New perspectives are engines of progress Psychology’s intellectual roots - - - - Mind-body dualism: the belief that the mind is a spiritual entity not subject to physical laws that govern the body o Dualism implies that no amount of research on the physical body (including the brain) could ever hope to unravel the mysteries of the nonphysical mind Monoism: hold that the mind and body are one and that the mind is not a separate spiritual entity o To monists, mental events correspond to physical events in the brain o Helped set a stage for psychology because it implied that the mind could be studied by measuring physical processes within the brain British empiricism: held that all ideas and knowledge are gained empirically – that is through the senses o According to empiricists, observation is a more valid approach to knowledge than is pure reason, because reason is fraught with the potential for error Darwin’s theory of evolution o Implied that the mind was not a spiritual entity, rather the product of other species Early schools: structuralism and functionalism - - Wundt and Titchener believed that the mind could be studied by breaking it down into its basic components – would ultimately become structuralism – the analysis of the mind in terms of its basic elements (example: movement of hands caused by muscles and tendons) Introspection: looking within Functionalism: held that psychology should study the functions of consciousness rather than its structure (example: would ask why do we have hands? How does it help us adapt in our environment?) The psychodynamic perspective: forces within - Psychodynamic perspective: searches for the causes of behaviour within the inner workings of our personality (our unique pattern of traits, emotions, and motives), emphasizing the role of unconscious processes Psychoanalysis: Freud’s Great Challenge - - Psychoanalysis: the analysis of internal and primarily unconscious psychological forces Also proposed that humans have power inborn sexual and aggressive drives and that because these desires are punished in childhood, we learn to fear them and become anxious when we are aware of their presence All behaviour, whether normal or “abnormal” reflects a largely unconscious and inevitable conflict between the defences and internal impulses Modern psychodynamic theory - Downplay the role of hidden sexual and aggressive motives and focus more on how early relationships with family members and other caregivers shape the views that people form of themselves and others The behaviour perspective: the power of the environment - Behaviour perspective: focuses on the role of the external environment in governing our actions Origins of the behaviour perspective - According to John Locke, the human mind is born as a blank slate – upon which experiences are written In this view, human nature is shaped purely by the environment Learning is the key to understanding how experience moulds behaviour Behaviourism - Behaviourism: a school of thought that emphasizes environmental behaviour through learning Behaviourists sought to discover laws that govern learning Behaviour modification: techniques aimed at decreasing problem behaviours and increasing positive behaviours by manipulating environmental factors - Dominated north American researching on learning into the 1960s, challenged psychodynamic views about the causes of psychological disorders, and led to effective treatments of some disorders Cognitive Behaviourism - Cognitive behaviourism: learning experiences and the environment affect our behaviour by giving us the information we need to behave effectively The human perspective: self – actualization and positive psychology - Humanistic perspective: emphasized free will, personal growth, and the attempt to find meaning in one’s existence Humanists rejected psychodynamic concepts of humans as being controlled by unconscious forces, and rejected behaviourism’s view of humans as mere reactors to the environment Self actualization: the reaching of one’s individual potential Positive psychology movement: emphasizes the study of human strengths, fulfillment, and optimal living Focus on the good things rather than negative The cognitive perspective; the thinking human - Cognitive perspective: examines the nature of the mind and how mental processes influence behaviour Origins of the cognitive perspective - Gestalt psychology: examined how the mind organizes elements of experience into a unified “whole” perception We like to perceive wholes Renewed interest in the mind - The mind as a system that processes, stores, and retrieves information Interest in cognition swelled by the 1960s and 70s – period of time referred to as the cognitive revolution The modern cognitive perspective - Cognitive psychology: focuses on the study of mental processes, embodies the cognitive perspective Cognitive neuroscience: uses sophisticated electrical recording and brain-imaging techniques to examine brain activity while people engage in cognitive tasks Cognitive neuroscientists seek to determine how the brain goes about tis business of learning language, acquiring knowledge, forming memories, and performing other cognitive activities The sociocultural perspective: the embedded human - Social settings shape our actions and values, our sense of identity, and our every conception of reality - Sociocultural perspective: examines how the social environment and cultural learning influence our behaviour; thoughts, and feelings The social psychological component - Social psychology pays special attention to how the environment influences our behaviour, but its emphasis is narrowed to the social environment Example: dressing up for a party and being aware that other people at the party will see how you look Social cognation: how people form impressions of one another, how attitudes form and can be changed, how our expectations affect our behaviour, and so forth The cultural component - Culture: refers to the enduring values, beliefs, behaviours, and traditions that are shared b a large group of people and passed from one generation to the next Norms: rules that specify what behaviour is acceptable and expected for members of that group Socialization is the process by which culture is transmitted to new members and internalized by them Cultural psychology: explores how cultural is transmitted to its members and examines psychological similarities and differences among people from diverse cultures Important difference among cultures is the extent to which they emphasize individualism versus collectivism North American and northern Europe promote individualism Asian, African, and south African cultures nurture collectivism The biological perspective: the brain, genes, and evolution - The biological perspective examines how brain processes and other bodily functions regulate behaviour Behavioural neuroscience - Behavioural neuroscience: examines brain processes and other physiological functions that underlie our behaviour, sensory experiences, emotions, and thoughts Neurotransmitters: are chemicals released by nerve cells that allow them to communicate with one another Cognitive neuroscience – the study of brain processes that underlie thinking and information processing – represents an intersection of cognitive psychology and behavioural neuroscience Behaviour genetics - Behaviour genetics: the study of how behaviour tendencies are influenced by genetic factors Identical twins are more similar than fraternal twins Evolutionary psychology - - - Natural selection: if an inherited trait gives certain members an advantage over others (such as the ability to attract mates), these members will be more likely to survive and pass on these characteristics to their offspring Evolutionary psychology: seeks to explain how evolution shaped modern human behaviour Evolution pressures have stimulated the development of brain mechanisms that allow us to learn, think, reason, and socialize more effectively Sociobiology: holds that complex social behaviours are also built into the human species as products of evolution Social biologists argue that natural selection favours behaviours that increase the ability to pass on one’s genes to the next generation o Aggression o Competition o Dominance in males o Cooperative nurturing tendencies in females Can explain behaviours like giving up one’s own life to save the kids or relatives Using levels of analysis to integrate the perspectives - See table 1.3 on page 24 3 basic framework o Behaviour can be examined at biological, psychological, and environmental levels Read review page 25 An example: understanding depression - Depression the most commonly experienced psychological problems in our culture If we experience negative feelings such as sadness, difficulty sleeping, grief for an intense amount of time, then we crossed the boundary to clinical depression 8-10% of Canadians will experience depression in their life time Genetics plays a role in some cases Depression is related to biochemical factors and sleep rhythms in the brain Neurotransmitters: involved in the transmission of nerve impulses within the brain If you wake depressed people in the middle of their sleep, they will feel less depressed Depression as a psychological level Depression is associated with a thinking style in which the person interprets events in a pessimistic way Severe losses or rejections in childhood help to create a personality style that causes people to overreact to future losses, setting the stage for later depression Depression is also related to childhood histories of abuse, parental rejection, and family discord Environmental level of analysis Depression is a reaction to a non-rewarding environment Depressed people complain a lot to seek excessive reassurance and support from others The sociocultural environment Symptom pattern and its causes may reflect cultural differences - Read page 28 Summary of major themes 1. As a science, psychology is empirical 2. Though committed to an objective study of behaviour, psychologists recognize that our experience of the wold is subjective and that we respond to a psychological reality created by our own thought processes, motives, and expectations 3. As our levels of analysis theme shows us, behaviour is determined by multiple casual factors that can interact with one another in complex ways 4. Nature and nurture not only combine to shape our behaviour, but also influence each other 5. Behaviour is a means of adapting to environmental demands, and psychological capacities have evolved during each species’ history because they facilitated adaptation and survival 6. Behaviour and mental processes are strongly affected by the cultural environment in which they develop Page 29-35
