Chapter One Notes Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental process. Two major organizations of psychologists in the US: a.) American Psychological Association (APA) founded 100 yrs. ago b.) American Psychological Society (APS) founded in 1988 The Fields of Psychology 1) Developmental Psychology-They study human mental and physical growth from prenatal period through childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age a)Child Psychologists study whether babies are born with distinct personalities and temperments and how they become attached to parents and caretakers. What age does sex differences behavior emerge, importance of friendship b)Adolescent Psychologists-Study how puberty changes in relationships with peers and parents. c) Life Span Psychologists study the adult years. Focus is on how individuals adjust to partnership, parenting, middle age, retirement and death 2) Physiological Psychology investigates the biological basis of human behavior, thoughts and emotions. -Neuropsychologists-brain and nervous system -Psychobiologists-body chemistry, hormones, psychoactive medications -Behavioral geneticists-investigates the impact of heredity on both normal and abnormal traits and behavior 3. Experimental Psychology-conduct rearch on basic psychological processes, learning, memory, sensation, perception, cognition, innovation and emotion 4. Personality Psychology-Study differences in individuals in such traits as anxiety, sociability, self esteem, need for achievement and aggressiveness a) Major issue for personality Psychologists is whether a given characteristic is a stable personality trait or simply a response to social situation 5) Clinical and Counseling Psychology: Clinical: Primarily in diagnosis, cause and treatment of Psychological disorders. Counseling: Primarily "Normal" problems of adjustment 6) Social Psychology: Study how people influence one another 7)Industrial and Organizational: Concerned with practical issues as selecting and training personnel; improving productivity and working conditions; and impact of computerization and automation on workers ENDURING ISSUES Psychologist share a common interest in five enduring issues that override their areas and cut to the core of what it means to be human 1. Person-Situation: To what extent is behavior caused by a process that occurs inside the person (thoughts, emotions, motives, attitudes, values, personality,genes and factors outside the person (incentives, cues in the environment, persence of people) 2. Nature-Nuture nature-the person we become a product of innate, inborn tendencies nuture-or is it a reflection of experiences and upbringing 3. Stability vs. Change stability-characteristics we develop in chilhood more or less permanent and fixed change- or do we change in predictable and unpredictable ways over the course of our lives 4. Diversity vs. Universality What extent is every person in certain aspects? a) like all other peolpe b) like some other people c) like no other person 5. Mind and Body -Relationship between what we experience (thoughts and feelings) and what our biological processes are (activity in nervous system) Psychology as Science What does psychology have in common with other sciences. -Scientific method: relies on collection data, generating a theory to explain data, producing testable hypotheses based on the theory and testing those hypotheses empirically Theory- Systematic explanation of a phenemenom, organizes known facts, predicts new facts exercise a degree of control over the phenemenom Hypotheses- Specific, testable preditions derived from a theory THE GROWTH OF PSYCHOLOGY -Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Bradford Titchener-Structuralism Psychology was born in 1879 -Wilhelm Wundt-tried to explain immediate experience and to develop ways to study it scientically. -Titchener broke down consciousness in to three basic elements: Physical senstions(what we see), feeling (liking or disliking bananas), images (memories of other bananas) Structualism William Jones: Functionalism: Theory of mental life and behavior that is concerned with how an organism uses its perceptual abilities to function in its environment Sigmund Freud- Psychodynamic psychology- personality theories contenting that behavior results from psychological factors that interact within the individual Redefining Psychology: The study of behavior John B Watson: Behaviorism conditioning: automatic reflex shaped by learning(Ivan Paubu doss) tabula rasa(latin for blank slate) like an infant Behaviorism: studies only observable and measurable behavior Cognitive Revolution_2 schools that paved the way Gestalt Psych and Humanistic Psychology. -Gestalt psych: how people perceive and experience objects as whole patterns -Humanistic Psych: emphasizes nonverbal experience and altered states of consciousness as ameans of realizing one's full potential -Existential psychology: focuses on meainglessness and alienation of modern life and how these factors lead to apathy and psychological problems -Cognitive Psychology: study of mental processes in the broadest sense New Directions Evolutionary Psych: concerned with the evolitionary orgins of behaviors and mental process, their adaptive value and the purposes they continue to serve Positive psych: focuses on positive experiences, subjective well being, self determination, the relationship between positive smotions and physical health Human Diversity Gender: psych and social meaning attached with being biologically male or female Feminist theory: views on the social roles of women and men, problem send rewards of those roles, prescriptions for changing those roles Research Methods in Psychology -Naturalistic observation: Research method involving the systematic study of animal or human behavior in natural settings rather in a lab -Observer bias: Expectations or biases of the observer that might distort or influence a person interpretation of what actually observed -Case studies intensive description and analysis of a single individual or a few individuals -Survey research: research technique in which questionaires or interviews are administered to a selected group of people -Correlational Research-based on the naturally occurring relationship between 2 or more variables -Experimental research- an investigator deliberately manipulates selected events or circumstances and then measures the effects of those manipulations or subsequent behavior a) independent variable: manipulated to test its effects on the other, dependent variables b) dependent variable: measured to see how it is changed by manipulations in the independent variable c) experimental group: controlled experiment, the group subjected to a change in the independent variable d) control group: group not subject to change in the independent variable e) experimenter bias: expectations by the experimenter that might influence the results of an experiment or it's interpretation Smothermon (winning through enlightment) pgs.2-44 Chapter one: Basic Mind structure -purpose of the mind is to survive itself through the passage of time and to this end it will do almost anything by: laying down memory traces of events as they happen and calling upon these memories as needed in survival situations -by seeking out those basic supplies it must have in order to avoid death. -a need to be right is part of survival, it represents successful ploys of the past. -Justification: is the process the mind takes facts and interprets them in a way that suits its need to be right. Chapter 2 "Stuff" Unreality, your attachment to the illusions of life -beliefs, opinions, positions, judgements, prejudice, all mind structures which cerve the functions of making others wrong and keeping us with no responsibility. Chapter3: Judgements: someone or something is seen as better or worse than someone or something Chapter 4: Belief systems: Beliefs arises from your willingness to trust direct experiences. Belief systems limit what we are willing to experience in life and what we are willing to have happen in life. Chapter 5: Drama: what you do when you dream while your awake. Drama: is the intentional although often in involuntary, acting you do in life, which you believe is real: you call your self a victim -it is not conscious. Chapter 6: Guilt means you are going to do it again. Guilt is the "feeling" which supports a "position" called "ian bod" is a position the mind chooses to have in order to gain acceptance (rightness) with itself and others Chapter 7: Jealousy is a panic state associated with the thought of the other person leaving the relationship Chapter 8: Polaritives of the mind law of Polarities: any position that the mind takes involves a wrong side Polarites are prejudice, opinion, position and judgement are made and the process of polarization is the foundation of all evolution Chapter 2--Maisto Pychobiology-branch of psychology that deals with the biological bases of behavior and mental processes.
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