Psychology
What is Psychology?
study of how and why
humans act as they do
 Instead of studying how
humans function in cultures
or societies, psychology
focuses on the individual,
and the personal and
unique experiences that
influence how the individual
acts and thinks
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Types of Psychology
Experimental Psychology
 The branch of the discipline
that sets up experiments to
see how individuals act in
particular situations
 Question - Would you help
a complete stranger that
was being threatened with
violence from another
person?
The Case of Kitty Genovese
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The Case of Kitty Genovese - Kitty was
murdered on the street outside her New York
City apartment after loud shouting was heard 38 people witnessed the murder but did
nothing to stop it
Psychologists have long been interested in our
unwillingness to get involved in uncomfortable
situations even if someone’s personal safety is
at risk
People have a tendency see themselves as
bystanders in such situations rather than as
ACTORS
ACTORS are people who become active
participants in a situation
The Bystander Effect - Kitty Genovese
When Bystanders Join In
4 years after Genovese was murdered,
two psychologists, John Darley and Bibb
Latane, wanted to identify the factors that
influence bystanders’ decisions to get
involved in public situations
 Experiment: What would affect whether
or not people would get involved in a
Frisbee game with strangers
 Conclusions?
 Relation to Genovese case?
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Clinical Psychology
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY is
the branch of the discipline that
develops programs for treating
individuals suffering from
mental illnesses and
behavioural disorders
 Eg. Psychologists treat
dangerous offenders in federal
prisons in an attempt to prevent
them from reoffending on
release
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Psychological Schools of
Thought
Like the other social sciences, psychology
has been divided into a number of schools
of thought:
Psychoanalytic Theory
 Behaviouralism
 Learning Theory
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Mini SGA
Create a small role play / skit on one of the following famous
psychologists. Highlight his / her main theories, applications and
conclusions to psychology in your skit!
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Sigmund Freud p. 19
John B. Watson and Benjamin Spock p.20
Ivan Pavlov p. 20
B.F. Skinner p. 20, 54
Alfred Bandura p. 21
Carl Jung p. 55
Abraham Maslov p. 58
Marion Woodman p. 58
Psychoanalytic Theory
The mind is divided into
two parts: the conscious
(aware of ) and the
unconscious (not aware
of)
 According to psychologists,
our unconscious mind has
more influence than our
conscious mind on our
personalities and
behaviour
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The Unconscious Mind
The Unconscious mind is divided
into three parts:
Id – which encourages us to
seek physical satisfaction
2. Superego – prompts us to
do the moral thing, not the
one that feels best
3. Ego – the referee between
the two and deals with
external reality, this is our
most conscious self
1.
Sigmund Freud
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The founder of psychoanalytic theory
He believed our early childhood
experiences, usually involving our
relationships with parents and family, are
stored in our unconscious mind
While we are normally unaware of these
memories, they can have a powerful
influence on the way we function
Those that live with a general sense of
frustration, our behaviour may become
neurotic and connected with anxiety or
obsessiveness which can be treated using
dream analysis, hypnosis and individual
counseling
Freud felt that individual sexual satisfaction
or frustration was the key element in
personality development
Alfred Adler (1870-1937)
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Adler believed that
difficulties people
encounter in gaining
self-esteem and
recognition, if not
overcome by the normal
means lead to
compensatory behaviour
and resultant personality
disorders which are now
widely referred to as an
inferiority complex.
Carl Jung (1875-1961)
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Responsible for the identification of
the Extroverted (outward-looking;
outgoing; rely on others for sense of
well being) and Introverted (inwardlooking; emotionally self sufficient;
well being comes from within)
personality types.
Worked closely with Freud but split
later in their careers
The other aspect of Jung's work
which has been very influential is his
approach to the analysis of dreams.
Behaviourism
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Behaviourists believe that
psychologists can predict and control
or modify human behaviour by
identifying the factors that motivate it
in the first place
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Behaviourists placed particular stress
on the early childhood years, and the
rules or practices parents use to raise
their children because they believe
these methods have a huge influence
on the character of individuals even
into adulthood
Charles B. Watson (1878-1958)
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The founder of behaviourism
He used animal experiments to
determine whether strict of
flexible learning patterns are
more effective
Wrote book “Psychological
Care of the Infant and Child”
concluded that children should
be brought up using a
‘scientific’, strictly scheduled,
rules-based model.
Benjamin Spock (1903-1998)
He believed that a
permissive approach to
child rearing, rather than a
strict one, would result in
successful, well-adjusted
adults.
 He encouraged parents to
be loving, flexible and
supportive
 Wrote book “Baby and
Child Care”
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Learning Theory
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Learning Theorists agree that humans
are born with little instinct but much
learning potential
They believe that most human
behaviour is learned, especially in child
and youth
By controlling the way in which
humans learn behavious, society can
have a great influence on their
ultimate personalities
Believe that children who were brought
up in loving families would grow up to
become secure and loving adults, but
only if parents provided clear and
consistent expectations for good
behaviour, and swift but fair
consequences for bad behaviour
Psychological Questions
Focus on people’s behaviours (what they do) and
attitudes (what they think)
 Key Questions:
-what must people do to successfully change their
behaviours
-what factors make behaviour-modification
programs successful?
-do most people need help changing behaviour, or
can they be self changers?
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Example: Consider an individual who has been convicted three times for driving
under the influence. Is it necessary to change a person’s attitude about
drinking before he or she will stop drinking and driving?
Theory of Attitude Change
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
 Six Stages of Change (Behaviour
Modification)
-Pre-contemplation (denial, refusal)
-Contemplation (questioning)
-Preparation (investigation)
-Action (commitment)
-Maintenance (transition)
-Termination (completion)
 Positive and Negative Reinforcement
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B.F. Skinner
(1904-1990)
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Skinner proved that pigeons could be
trained to peck at a particular
coloured disk to get food rewards
Rats received food rewards for
pressing specfic levers in a
complicated sequence leading many
theorists to believe that learning was
a STIMULUS-RESPONSE effect
He believed that if the subject is
correctly stimulated it will give the
appropriate response
Theory of OPERANT CONDITIONING:
learning can be programmed by
whatever consequences follows a
particular behaviour
Abraham Maslov (1908-1970)
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Analysis of human needs
organized into a hierarchy
ranging from basic survival
through to the need for love,
security and esteem
Highest level was “self
actualization (integration of the
self > making the personality
whole)
Maslov’s theories had most
profound impact on industrial
psychology (making workplace
a satisfying experience by
raising morale of workers to
improve performance)
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
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Pavlov’s experiments with
dogs showed that is was
possible to get a dog to
associate the sound of a
bell with the imminent
arrival of food
At the sound of a bell, the
dog would salivate in
anticipation
Alfred Bandura (Born in 1925)
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Bandura concluded that learning is largely
a modeling experience and more
complicated than a mere stimulusresponse effect
When humans observe behaviour – either
acceptable or unacceptable – they are
more likely to practice it
Experiment- Bobo
Question – What does this mean to us?
What applications can be made to today?
http://www.experimentresources.com/bobo-doll-experiment.html
Activity: Dream Analysis
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The following is a Jungian dream analysis method. The method is
based on the belief that objects and people in a dream have a
personal meaning to the dreamer, and that the dreamer (not an
analyst) is best able to understand his/her own dream. Often people
and objects in our dreams represent parts of ourselves, or ways we
would like (or are afraid) to be. For instance, if you dream of your
very outgoing friend, Tom, and you feel wonderful in the dream, it
might be your unconscious encouraging you to become more
outgoing.
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Start by recalling a dream you have had, jotting down as many
details as you can. (Choose a dream you’ll feel comfortable
discussing with others.) Then, working with a small group of
students, take turns revealing your dreams while others in the group
ask the following sets of questions:
1. What is the setting or settings?
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What does each place remind you of or make you think of?
What does it feel like to be in these settings?
What is the mood of the dream (scary, funny, light, peaceful ...)?
How does this mood affect you?
2. Who are the people in the dream? (Discuss each person individually.)
• What is the main characteristic of each; what is each person like? (Jung would
ask, “What is the essence of each person?”) For example, organized, funny,
worldly....?
• How do you feel about each person in the dream?
• If a person is unknown, what kind of person would you imagine him/her to be
given the way s/he looks and acts in the dream?
• What is each person doing in the dream?
• How do their actions make you feel?
• Does a person remind you of anything or anyone in your life?
• Is there some part of you that is like this person, or would like to be more like
this person, or reacts strongly against him/her?
3. Describe the objects in your dream as you would to someone from
another planet.
• What are they used for? How do they work?
• Do you like or dislike them?
• Do they remind you of anything, any part of yourself, or anyone in
your life?
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What are the major actions and events in the dream?
How do you react to them in the dream?
How do they make you feel?
Do they remind you of any situations in real life?
5. Considering all the different thoughts that came to mind as you
discussed your dream, how do you understand your dream now?